Ohio’s Crazy Gun Laws
March 30, 2008
I was reading an article in today’s Columbus Dispatch today about gun laws in Ohio and although I already knew this to be the case, it never ceases to shock me. Citizens of our great state have the right to openly carry their registered hand guns.
As long as you haven’t been convicted of a felony, if you want to wear a pistol on your belt or walk around town carrying a shotgun, Ohio has no law against it.
It’s like the old wild west, isn’t it? Personally I don’t see the reason for people to have their own guns, and I do not believe that having a gun in your home makes you more safe, but even if you own your own gun, WHY would you need to carry it around town with you so that everyone can see it?
Strickland on Education
March 29, 2008
Many of us have been eagerly awaiting Governor Ted Strickland’s reform plans for Ohio education. According to the Columbus Dispatch, it looks like we will be waiting a bit longer.
One major contention with many Ohio educators is the Ohio Graduation Test that students must pass to graduate. Surely you have heard complaints about this test. You won’t see those in this blog though. I am an educator and I believe in accountability. This is an assessment tool that tests students on material that they theoretically should have learned by the 10th grade year. However, this test covers things from 8th and 9th grade as well. Both students and teachers should be held accountable and although this may not be the most perfect way to do so, it does need to be done.
To find out more about Strickland’s plans, check out the dispatch blog.
I will leave you with this thought…it makes me a bit nervous when state legislators who have little background in educational theory begin to make or tinker with educational policy. Just because someone went to school, does not mean they understand how students learn.
Chelsea Picks Her Mom
March 29, 2008
At a campaign stop today in Pennsylvania, Chelsea Clinton was asked which of her parents would make a better president. She responded:
“His question is, ‘Do I think my mother will be a better president than my father,’” Clinton, 28, told the crowd at Lehigh Valley Hospital, where she had been discussing her mother’s health care proposals.
“Well, again, I don’t take anything for granted,” she said, “but hopefully with Pennsylvania’s help, she will be our next president, and yes, I do think she’ll be a better president.”
“I agree,” the former president told a crowd at Asheville High School in North Carolina later Friday.
Well, even Bill agrees. What say you?
Bloomberg Still Witholding Support
March 27, 2008
In a news article written by the AP, it was reported that New York governor Michael Bloomberg has yet to make up his mind on whom he might endorse, work for, and support financially.
After Bloomberg’s introduction Thursday, Obama heaped praise on the mayor for his “extraordinary leadership.”
Well this is quite an example of political “butt kissing.” All candidates have to do it. But my question is this…who cares what Bloomberg thinks? The New York primary has already been held and does he really have much influence outside or New York?
Clinton Supporters Urge Pelosi Not to Interfere
March 26, 2008
The Washington Post has an article today that in part reports that Clinton donors and supporters tell Nancy Pelosi to back off. In a letter to Pelosi, Clinton supporters wrote:
The criticism represented the latest effort by Clinton’s campaign and its allies to beat back talk that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has amassed enough of a lead in pledged delegates that she will not be able to overtake him, and arguments that a continuation of the conflict between the two candidates will hurt the party in November.
In my opinion Nancy Pelosi has not done a very good job of running the House of Representatives during her tenure. She has not reached out to republicans and with the divisive political scene in Washington, the republicans have yet to reach out to her.
As I’ve stated before in a post, the democratic party set up the rules of the game when they created a system that involved super delegates. I find it very curious that the Obama supporters want to abandon the system. Why do you think that might be?
Child Donates Allowance For Pet Rescue
March 24, 2008
Doesn’t the title of this post say it all? According to the This Week newspaper of Westerville:
A child’s monthly allowance can go a long way toward keeping him stocked up on candy and baseball cards.
But for seven-year-old Alex Knipfer, that extra pocket change is already earmarked for the Westerville Division of Fire.
With the help of his parents and little sister, Alex recently turned his earnings into extra equipment to be placed on the division’s medic units. The devices function as animal oxygen masks, and are used to resuscitate family pets that have been overwhelmed by smoke.
The McVay Elementary School student said that he and his family got the idea from reading Scholastic News at school.
“At school we talk about fire safety,” Alex said. “I do chores and save for charity. It made me feel really good, because I like doing stuff for other people.”
Alex’s mother, Laura Knipfer, said that Alex and his sister, Julia, have both been excited to make donations to charity each year on their birthdays.
“The first year, Alex donated to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank and they sent him back a very nice thank-you letter. He was really excited,” she said. “So this year we did some research online and found a company called SurgiVet that makes these masks for fire departments.”
Each of the two kits contains multiple masks to be placed over dog and cat muzzles when they are in need of oxygen, according to John Ross, deputy chief at the Division of Fire.
“Basically in the past if we had an animal that was pulled out (of a fire) we’d blow oxygen through an adult mask or just a regular breathing tube,” Ross said. “Luckily we don’t have very many fires in Westerville, but it’s not uncommon for us to pull pets out when we do, and these masks are built to make a tighter seal around an animal’s mouth, and also helps prevent the animal from biting.”
Alex’s father, John Knipfer, said that he and his wife started Alex and Julia in donating as a way to teach them about helping others and being responsible with their money.
“We thought it would be something good to do by building responsibility early on, and decided that if they’re going to do chores for their allowances, you can also give back,” he said. “Right now it might only be in a small way, but it’s a big thing to (Alex and Julia).”
Ross said that both kits have been placed on the city’s ladder trucks and are ready to be used. According to SurgiVet’s Web site, the oxygen masks are useable for at least two years, and can be operated for as long as three years.
“This was a good opportunity for public service,” Ross said. “(The Knipfers) raised their kids to do these nice deeds, and that’s amazing that they take a piece of what they earn and do something charitable with it.”
Does it get any better than that? As a big animal lover, this story was very inspiring to me.
Paroled sex offenders lose funding for ongoing therapy
March 24, 2008
Thank you Akron Beacon for this very interesting article:
AKRON — The state has stopped paying for counseling services for paroled sex offenders because of budget constraints, a move that leaves many offenders without the ability to pay for much-needed therapy, critics say.
The decision by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction means there are high-risk sex offenders going unchecked, said Dr. James Orlando of Summit Psychological Associates.
His agency treats about 200 sex offenders in Summit, Stark, Portage, Tuscarawas and Mahoning counties.
“They are being left to their own devices not to re-offend,” Orlando said. “If we don’t find a way to manage them in the community, there are going to be more sex offenses and more people are going to be victimized.”
The state payment of $35 per counseling session enabled offenders to get treatment, said Orlando, who plans to approach county mental health boards to fill the funding gap.
In the meantime, he has set up a sliding-scale payment system with minimal co-payments.
But many paroled sex offenders are unemployed and find it difficult to get jobs because of their records, Orlando said.
The state-funding cut was part of a $71 million reduction in the budget for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Ohio had spent about $1.3 million a year funding external treatment programs for sex offenders, said Linda Janes, a deputy director in the department.
“We feel absolutely awful about the cuts, but it’s a consequence of the budget crisis,” Janes said.
The state is trying to shift the task of counseling paroled sex offenders to the department’s Adult Parole Authority, which could begin in May, Janes said.
Sex offenders on parole would be able to go to adult parole offices, which are located in every county, for treatment and counseling, she said.
Orlando said the goal of sex-offender treatment is to give offenders the tools to control their urges.
“Even though (an offender) will still have deviant desires, (he or she) won’t act on it,” Orlando said.
The cutback was intended to help the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and
Correction reduce its budget by $71 million.
How many chances to sex offenders get in this country? I do believe in rehabilitation but I don’t believe in letting sick people prey on children. When do we say, lock them up and throw away the key???
Time to End the Whining About Crossover Voting in Ohio
March 24, 2008
Thanks to Anne Fisher at the Columbus Dispatch for an excellent op-ed today.
Illinois lawmakers rejected a proposal to create open primaries in the state. But before the March 4 vote, the bill’s sponsor said that open primaries “show the people that we trust the people.”
“Let’s have some faith in the voters,” continued state Rep. Raymond Poe, a Springfield Republican.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections doesn’t appear to share Poe’s faith and is, unfortunately, calling for a witch hunt.
Board members have ordered an investigation to determine whether any of the 16,000 Republicans in Cuyahoga County who switched parties on March 4 did so to back the Democratic candidate they presume would be weaker in a general-election race against John McCain. Those wascally wepublicans.
Some Ohio Republicans clearly switched sides that day. One of them bragged to me the weekend after the primary about voting for Hillary Clinton. “You know, she’s just not a nice person!” he said.
I gritted my teeth, knowing that his vote, and other illicit votes like his, had no real impact, given Clinton’s healthy margin of victory over Barack Obama in Ohio.
And I won’t fink out the crossover voter. Folks who make an abomination of the voting process must answer to their conscience or maker. Take your pick.
Using anecdotal evidence to ferret out the cheaters after the fact doesn’t make fiscal sense or resolve the problem.
Change the system instead. I know self-described independent voters who have been hitching a ride on the primary process in Ohio for as long as they could vote. Close the primaries completely, allowing only party members to vote, and have the parties pay for them; or open them all the way up by eliminating the public declaration of party fealty.
Ohio’s primary now is sort of open, meaning you can switch party affiliation whenever you want, but you must declare that affiliation and swear allegiance in writing to the party in whose primary you vote.
The only things missing are the Bible and a lightning bolt, but lying on the signed statement is a fifth-degree felony, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
A spokesman for the Ohio secretary of state said no one there can recall a crossover prosecution.
Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett called the Cuyahoga County investigation “an embarrassment to the Democratic Party,” but Democrats don’t have a corner on disputes over an open-primary system. In 2006, conservative Republicans sued and won a closed primary in one Virginia district. The judge ruled that the open-primary law violated the Republicans’ constitutional rights by forcing them to let people from other parties vote.
If an incumbent is on the primary ballot in Virginia, he or she chooses the method of renomination. Most go with the open primary. In this case, the incumbent apparently had enemies in the party.
If no incumbent is involved, the parties may choose open, closed or convention-only nominations.
Ohio is among the majority of states — 29 — that require party registration. That doesn’t seem fair, given the number of independent voters who want (and it’s easy to understand why) a say in who gets on the ballot in November.
Time to get on with the election and stop complaining about how Hillary only won because so many Republicans crossed over to vote for her. Didn’t happen in sufficient enough numbers.
Trinity Church of Christ Fights Back
March 24, 2008
According to an article by the associated press, the reverand at Barack Obama’s church made the following statement during Easter services:
“Any time you go through a crucifixion experience … eventually they have to lift you up,” said the Rev. Otis Moss III, who did not shy away from the controversy surrounding his predecessor at Trinity United Church of Christ, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.
I venture to say that I am not the only voter that believes that this church is doing Obama no favor by making an analogy of itself to Christ on the most holy of Christian holidays in the Church calendar. To call the criticisms of Rev. Wright a crucifixion is not only in bad taste, but is inflammatory.
Do you think that because Obama did not attend the Easter service that he does not have to respond to this controversy?
One In Ten Ohioans Receive Food Stamps
March 22, 2008
A new Columbus Dispatch article reports that the number of Ohio families receiving food stamps is the highest in the state’s history.
Advocates estimate another 500,000 Ohioans are eligible but not enrolled in the food-stamp program.
Individuals in households with incomes up to 130 percent of the federal poverty level and with assets no greater than $2,000 in most cases are eligible for food stamps. That’s earnings of no more than $22,880 a year for a family of three.
Recipients receive $100 a month. The federal government pays for the benefits while the state covers administrative costs.
But as the price of milk, fruits and other groceries climb, advocates say, recipients can buy less and less with that $100.
“Food stamps provide only about $1 per person, per meal. Who in the world is buying groceries with that?” asked Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Bank.
On average, food stamps are now providing less than two weeks of groceries.
“There’s the presumption that folks have the cash to make up the rest. Well, they don’t,” Frech said.
Not surprisingly, food pantries and soup kitchens across the state have been reporting record demands. Like the families they serve, they, too, cannot keep pace.
In central Ohio, demand at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank in January was up 14 percent over the same period a year ago, with 120,000 requests for food.
The increased demand coupled with rising food costs and fewer donations have forced the food bank to reduce the five-day supply of food it had been giving out to a three-day supply.
I’m sure that some will say it is just the lazy people that won’t get a job. But I say it is more important than ever that the people of this state look out for those that are less fortunate. It is unconscionable that in the world today that a citizen of this country cannot have the following basic needs met: food, shelter, and health care. These kids growing up in poverty are our future. Let’s all help!
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