Author Archives: Editor

Ten Ways to Fix the State Budget Fiasco

Posted on July 14, 2009 | Leave a comment

By Daniel Downs

When the State benefits, public vice is okay. To get what they want, government leaders are ardent supporters vice that many studies show harms communities, wrecks families, and often destroys lives. For the easy money, Gov. Strickland and Ohio legislators have approved what Ohio voters rejected-slot machine gambling, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Let’s hope voters remember this when they run for reelection.

The good news is Ohio lawmakers who voted against it intend to take the issue to the Supreme Court. Again, it’s a matter of politicians violating the Constitution, even though Gov. Strickland found found a convenient loophole to jump through.

That also means their is still hope that good creative solutions to solving the $3.2 billion budget deficit will be enacted. Marc Kilmer of the Buckeye Institute proposes ten ways to reform the state budget, which would also enable lawmakers to balance the budget. The following are his ten proposals.

1.    Eliminate the Department of Development – a corporate welfare agency. It hasn’t helped Ohio’s economy and few would miss it if it were eliminated completely. Savings: $157 million over two years.

2.    Move away from Medicaid institutional care. Unlike most other states, Ohio relies on expensive institutional care like nursing homes for its Medicaid recipients. Most recipients prefer cheaper alternatives like in-home care over nursing homes. Savings: $400 million per year.

3.    Reform Medicaid Florida-Style. Medicaid offers low-quality, high-cost care and it takes up a large portion of the budget. Reforms enacted in Florida provide Ohio lawmakers an excellent roadmap for tackling this difficult issue. Savings: $1.5 billion per year.

4.    Education funding should follow the student. If the state implemented a plan where the dollars followed students to whatever school they choose, it would lead to a better education for students as well as savings to the taxpayers. Savings: $500 million per year.

5.    Eliminate the increases from Fiscal Year 2009’s level — Legislators gave some agencies an increase from last year. If these agencies’ funding was held at the same level as Fiscal Year 2009, it would save $343.6 million.

6.    Increase state employee health insurance premiums. On average, state employees pay 15% of the premiums for health insurance. Their private sector colleagues pay roughly 20%. State employees should pay the same. Savings: $57 million over 2 years.

7.    Eliminate non-vital agencies. The Ohio Arts Council, the Cultural Facilities Commission, the Commission on Minority Health, e-Tech Ohio, the Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, and the Ohioana Library Association may serve certain special interest groups well, but in this budget crisis the services they provide are hardly vital. Savings: $111 million over 2 years.

8.    Make users of government services shoulder the cost. The state park system’s millions of visitors each year can pay increased user fees. Savings: $70 million.

9.    Don’t expand government health insurance to the middle class. In 2007 the governor and legislators of both parties expanded a government health insurance program to middle class children. The increase has yet to be implemented and should be permanently abandoned. Savings: $119 million over two years.

10.    Eliminate some Medicaid services. If the state would stop paying for Medicaid recipients’ usage of chiropractors, hospice, and a few other services, the state could save $712 million over two years.

When the above saving are added it, the total amounts to $3.97 billion. Hey! that is more than the $3.2 billion. That violating the voters right to say to slot machine gambling isn’t necessary Gov. Strickland. It does means politicians wold have to show fiscal discipline and responsibility.

I still like the executive branch reorganization legislation that would save Ohio taxpayers around $2 billion this budget cycle.

Maybe it’s time Gov. Strickland and other liberal politicians obey the Constitutional and the people’s will. Better yet, why not resign and let someone more creative and responsible get the job done for the people.

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Posted in economy, Governor, news, Ohio, politics

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United Methodists Battle Gambling in Ohio

Posted on July 13, 2009 | 1 comment

By Kathy L. Gilbert

Gambling is increasingly becoming an addiction to states trying for balance their budgets in the midst of an economic crisis.

Giving in to the temptation by allowing casinos or expanding state-sponsored gambling would heap the financial burden on those least able to afford it, said several United Methodists on the front lines of the public policy debate.

“In these economic bad times, we are witnessing the throwing over of the common good,” said the Rev. Tom Grey, a United Methodist pastor who is field director for the grassroots organization Stop Predatory Gambling. (,em>SPG is an excellent source of information.)

One of the latest battlegrounds is Ohio, where the governor, Ted Strickland, is a United Methodist minister who was elected in 2006. Strickland, who earlier expanded the state lottery to Sundays and added Keno games, is proposing bringing in video slot machines at the state’s seven racetracks as a way to bridge a $3.2 billion budget deficit. Keno is a bingo-like gambling game offered by some state lotteries.

The Rev. Tom Grey

The Rev. Tom Grey

This is an about face for a politician who had been an outspoken opponent of gambling during his campaign, said the Rev. John Edgar, a United Methodist pastor who has been fighting to keep gambling out of Ohio for the past 19 years. Edgar is chair of the anti-gambling task force for the East and West Ohio Annual (regional) Conferences.

“We are profoundly disappointed. I believe it shows an amazing public cowardice,” Edgar said. “United Methodists and the Ohio Council of Churches have led the effort for 19 years to stop casinos in Ohio.”

Tom Smith, public policy director for the Ohio Council of Churches, said gambling opponents face their toughest fight ever this year because of the overall economic situation.

Gambling proposals are coming from three directions, Smith said. Beside the video slot machines proposed by the governor, there is another proposal from bars and restaurants to put slot machines in their businesses and there is a drive to put casinos on the November ballot.

Slippery slope

In defense of his latest proposal, Strickland says state law allows slot machines as part of the Ohio lottery. It is the same argument he used to introduce Keno to the state, said East Ohio Bishop John Hopkins.

“Once you start letting gambling in you get hooked and it becomes addictive,” he said. “Living on gambling income promotes behavior that is counter to the health of the state.”

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland

Hopkins and West Ohio Bishop Bruce Ough have been working on building a relationship with the governor. Strickland is on “honorable location,” which means he is in good standing as an ordained minister but not active in the church. Ough said he was ordained a deacon in West Ohio and ordained as an elder in Kentucky.

Both bishops wrote a personal letter to Strickland expressing their disappointment in his decision to expand gambling.

“We suggested it would have been a better expression of his moral leadership if he had stood his ground and offered other ways to balance the budget,” Ough said.

“The United Methodist Church has a longstanding commitment to oppose gambling. It is bad economics,” Ough said. “We are obliged not to use forms of generating revenue that causes harm.”

The United Methodist Social Principles calls gambling “a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, destructive of good government and good stewardship.”

Selling bad public policy on the grounds revenues will benefit education is reprehensible, Edgar said.

“We are saying we care so little about our children that we will fund their education only if we can do it out of the gambling losses of our neighbors.”

Tax on the poor

Gambling is a regressive tax, said the Rev. Cynthia Abrams of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.

“It is an extra tax on the poor and the most vulnerable such as older adults who are lonely and looking for social interaction,” she said, pointing to the practice of many seniors boarding buses to go to casinos as a social activity.

One “frightening and weird” fact is that a major financial drain on casinos is the money spent on replacing the cushions on stools in front of slot machines, she said.

“People won’t get up from machines even to go to the bathroom. That shows the seductiveness of slot machines, that is how they are designed.”

Abrams said the economic crisis has compounded the issue, but the trend toward resisting higher taxes helped the gambling industry gain a foothold before the recession kicked in.

“This environment of people resisting raising taxes has had intended and unintended effects on state budgets,” she said. “In essence, we want services all the time, but we have moved away from the idea of paying our fair share.”

Grey said United Methodists will stand strong and continue to fight this dangerous menace in other key states as well as Ohio.

“What a ripe time for the church to speak truth to gambling,” he said. “You can’t gamble yourself rich.”

Source: United Methodist News Service, July 10, 2009.

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Posted in economy, news, Ohio, politics, taxes

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SCR 15, Ohio Cap & Trade Resolution

Posted on July 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

Before the 4th of July break, the Ohio Senate passed concurrent resolution S.C.R. 15 by a vote of 21-11. S.C.R. 15 is a concurrent resolution opposing Cap and Trade legislation being proposed in the U.S. Congress. it has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives but not in the Senate.

President Barack Obama proposed this legislative scheme to Congress that would establish a specific limit or cap on greenhouse gas emissions. Emitters of green house gases would be required to purchase government credits (tax credit) until the cap is met after which, emitters would be allowed to sell or trade their remaining credits (tax) to others.

So why is the Ohio Senate against this method of reducing carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions? Didn’t they do the same to the automobile industry? Yes, and cars now cost as much as much as houses once did.

The following are the reasons why the Ohio Senate opposes the federal government’s cap and trade bill. Increased taxation by means of cost inflation is the first reason.

Companies that are required to participate in the cap and trade program will ultimately pass the cost of participation in the program on to consumers. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that price increases resulting from a 15% cut in greenhouse gas emissions would cost the average household between 1.7% to 3.3% of its after-tax income every year, with households in the bottom fifth of the income scale losing the largest share of income.

In addition to pushing costs up on most consumer goods, it would severely impact the cost of energy to all Ohio businesses and citizens.

The combustion of coal produces more than 50% of the electricity generated in the United States, with Ohio receiving more than 85% of its electricity from coal. Thus, the cap and trade program will result in massive increases in energy costs for all consumers because the cost to produce electricity from coal will be markedly higher. The increased energy costs will disproportionally impact states in the middle part of the United States such as Ohio that are more reliant on coal. The Congressional Budget Office has acknowledged that these increases in energy costs will effectively act as a regressive tax affecting every household in the nation, with a disproportionate effect on poorer families.

The Senate also recognizes that the federal government would gain billions of dollars at the huge expense to Ohio consumers and workers.

The cap and trade program will result not only in a massive windfall of hundreds of billions of dollars for the federal government through the sale of emissions credits, but also in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. The program ultimately will not result in the overall global decrease of greenhouse gas emissions because many industries that emit greenhouse gas will merely relocate to countries with less stringent standards.

The solution proposed by the Ohio Senate is simple:

[E]nact legislation that encourages states to establish and develop their own renewable energy portfolio standards.

The Ohio legislature has already proposed and enacted legislation toward this goal several years ago. Requiring energy providers to use clean energy technology and provide Ohio consumers a set percentage of clean energy was one enactment. This and other aspects of Ohio’s energy plan renders cleaver taxation scheme of Obama and Democrats redundant and counter-productive.

In light iof these facts, one has to agree with the Ohio Freedom Alliance that the passage of S.C.R. is a victory for Ohio. It is an important step to stopping the federal government from furthering a form of taxation without representation.

The next step is for the Ohio House of Representative to pass their version of the anti- Cap & Trade Resolution H.C.R. 25.

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Posted in economy, House of Representatives, news, Ohio, politics, Senate, taxes

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Dayton Tea Party Independence Day Weekend Rally

Posted on July 4, 2009 | 1 comment

The Dayton Tea Party held their July 3 Rally at Golden Gate Park in Brookville. According to Brookville Police Chief Ed Preston, more than 5,000 were in attendance. This was only one of many Tea Parties held across Ohio and the nation. In Ohio, cities with scheduled Tea Parties included Ashland, Cadiz, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Freemont, Mansfield, Marietta, North Canton, Springfield, and Zanesville. Brendan Steinhauser’s map of known Tea Parties throughout the nation is posted on the Freedom Works blog.

According to the Tea Party Protests blog, there were over 200,000 Tea Party events held nationwide around the tax filing deadline of April 15. Of the 200,000, the national Tax Day Tea Party website reported 800 registered events in 50 states. Americans gathered in protest against government-generated debt that robs them of over one-third of their income through taxes. Astronomical debt by unaccountable federal politicians continues to be a huge issue at the Tea Party.

Brookville mayor David Seagraves gave the opening address. He challenged the Partiers further their involvement not only in the Tea Party movement but also in local, state and national politics. What followed his speech was great music by Dan River’s band, a visit by the comedian President Barak Obama (maybe it was a twin from Kenya?), many more fired up speakers, and some awesome fireworks. Whoever was performing the light show was a real pro.

Rob Yarger, a local business owner, emceed the Dayton Tea Party. Encouraged by Rob Scott, the chief brains behind the organization, Yarger also spoke to the Partiers about the socialization of business, health care, and the growing intrusion of the government in our lives and homes.

Deborah Mulholand, owner of home-based marketing business Angelic Enterprises, rallied the Partiers to support the Fair Tax movement. She said, the national income tax was first proposed by Karl Marx. Contrary to Obama’s international denial, America is a Christian not a socialist nation. While God only asks for 10 percent, government seeks over 60 percent. We pay more than just income tax. We pay tax on just about everything. The federal government is even proposing to tax burping. The Fair Tax would replace all taxation with a 23 percent sales tax. It would reduce the thousands of pages of tax code to 133 pages, and it would eliminate the IRS bureaucracy. All working Americans would receive a 7.5 percent pay raise just by getting rid of the FICA tax, and small businesses would save 15 percent. What better way to end the use of the tax code to reward favorite supporters by federal politicians for their votes.

Pres. Obama’s speech was pretty anti-climactic following Mulholand. Nevertheless, he made some interesting comments. Obama claimed he intends for all Americans to have a job. That is a job working for the government. He also proposed to create a simpler tax code: Tell us what you make and send it in.
I notice something strange about him. His voice was a little muffled, he a plastic or stone faced appearance, and he never quit smiling … I’m sure what his problem was.

Anyway, Arlene Holland was the next speakers. Emcee Yarger introduced her as a Spanish Sarah Palin. I think she is a little more dynamic than Palin. Holland is a legal immigrant from Honduras, where the people said no to communism. Yet, they are still fighting to maintain their constitutional self-governance. She said she could be silent no more about the erosion of our constitutional freedoms and democracy by elites. America belongs to us not to them. They are attempting to rule over our children and run or lives. Their bailouts only reward corrupt government. It is time to stand up and refuse to be silent, she said. Quoting John F. Kennedy’s famous dictum, Holland said, “It’s not what your country can do for you, it is what will do for your country. Now, what will you do?”

I’m sure the next three speakers, all young members of the Ohio legislators, found her fiery speech a hard act to follow. By young, I mean all men in their 30s. The first was Greene County’s own Jarrod Martin. He spoke about the need for a public hearing on the State Sovereignty Resolution, which is being held up by the Speaker of the House. As Mulholan said earlier, out-of-control spending by the federal government, their encroachment on state authority, their intrusion in state affairs, amounts to taxation without representation. According to Martin, the originators of the Constitution did not intend for big government and huge debt to dominate American life and politics. The federal government was given limited, enumerated powers. The ninth and tenth Amendments prove that all others rights and authority belongs to states and the people. That is why Ohio HCR 11 is needed to send a clear message to Congress that enough is enough.

Rep. Martin introduced Rep. Seth Morgan as a leading sponsor of HB210, which proposed to reduce the pay of Ohio politicians. Morgan speech was short and sweet. We have to stop the overburdening and over-reaching spending and power grabbing efforts of both Ohio and Washington D.C. politicians. Just as the signers of the Declaration of Independence knew they were signing their death warrants if the Revolution failed, we must likewise recommit ourselves to give us liberty or give us death cause of liberty and self-governance.

The next new generation of leaders to speak was Rep. Josh Mandel. He graduated from OSU, served in the US Marine Corps, and local government. He overcame entrenched political opposition to lower property taxes. He get property taxes rolled back first by proposing it, then by going house to house to garner support, and then by the overwhelming support of local taxpayers and voters. Just as he accomplished what status quo leaders said was impossible by doing the hard work necessary, we together doing the hard work can achieve the goals represented by the Tea Party. We can protect and restore our liberty.

The last speaker of the night was Greg McAfee, owner of McAfee Heating and Air. As did most of the speakers, he covered most of the current issues of our day including universal health care, foreclosures, global warming, cap-and-trade. One area of government intrusion in the personal lives of homeowners comes into play when homeowners want to sell their house. McAfee said the government is now empowered inspect homes and force owners to replace windows and doors before being permitted to put their home on the market. He also pointed out the free universal health care will not be free. Business owners will be forced to pay for it. In the end, however, consumers will pay for it through inflation.

McAfee concluded by calling for a return to the basics: (1) Returning to values worth passing on our children like honesty. (2) Honoring heroes who exemplify those values. Congress held a moment of silence for the king of pop culture Michael Jackson while also ignoring the passing of war hero Ed McMahan, who spend much of his life serving his country. (3) Restoring self-governance engendered by capitalism, by the practice of our fundamental rights like free speech, and the discipline of hard work. (4) Returning to being a nation of people under God. (After all, God is co-founder of the United States of America.)

During the entire event, the long line leading to the concession stand and to the coffee bar never subsided. Along with food and latté for the stomach, a number of organizations with booths offered something for the political soul like petitions in support of the Ohio Sovereignty Resolutions (HCR-11/SCR-13), petitions of protest against the cap-and-trade bills, books by National Center for Constitutional Studies, Glenn Beck’s Common Sense, and others. Eric W. Deaton had his campaign booth set up. He is planning to replace George Voinovich in the Senate. Our own Campaign for Liberty and John Birch Society organizations were also offering their political soul food. (See the links below for more info about work and ideals.)
Links:
www.daytonohioteaparty.com
www.OhioFreeState.com
www.ohiolibertycouncil.com
National Constitutional Education Society
www.deatonforsenate.com
John Birch Society
www.ohiofreedom.com
www.campaignforliberty.com

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Posted in economy, events, Greene County, Independence Day, news, politics

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Become a Xenia Busker … First Fridays

Posted on July 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

Xenia will be having something called “First Fridays” on (believe it or not!) the first Friday of each month throughout the summer. We want to have live performances on the streets from 5 to 8+ PM starting on July 3 and YOU are invited to participate.

No pay. Probably not too many people at first. It might be hot.

But if you want to do your thing
     Play your guitar
     Or conga drum
     Or bucket
     mandolin, harmonica, banjo
     If you play a bagpipe
     Juggle
     Swallow a sword
     Breath fire
     If you want to paint yourself silver and play statue
     If you want to twirl your baton
     Show off your dance routine
     If you always wanted to be a mime
     If you want to sing out, sing out
     Whatever

We’re going to give you the chance. Buskers are welcome in Xenia on First Friday. All over town, but especially downtown. At the theater or The Cavern or somewhere else.

And I told the person in charge of arranging the whole thing that I knew some people.

So help me out
Don’t make me a liar
Think of it as a talent show for the whole town.

And we’re having an open stage/open mic starting at 8:30 at The Cavern along with a new exhibit of local art.

So hit me up with a message if you might be interested and I’ll sign you up!

Thanks
Peace
Alan

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Dayton Tea Party sets next Rally on July 3 in Brookville

Posted on July 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

The Dayton Tea Party has set their next Rally on July 3 at Golden Gate Park in Brookville starting at 7 p.m.

The Rally will feature children’s area, informational booths, engaging speakers, music, and Dayton Tea Party fellowship. The event will conclude with a professional fireworks show. “Brookville is a perfect place to hold the next rally. The city is a beautiful location that truly speaks to the heart of America,” said Rob Scott, founder of the Dayton Tea Party.

“The support we have received has been unreal and speaks to the masses who are frustrated with their government’s spending habits,” said Scott. “This event is not about political labels but standing up for what the Tea Partiers believe in.”

More details will be released such as the speaker lineup and musical acts.

The Dayton Tea Party is a grassroots and nonpartisan group opposed to wasteful government spending. The Tea Party is made up of students, homemakers, working people, and professionals from all political spectrums. To sign-up for email updates for the Dayton Tea Party, go to www.daytonohioteaparty.com. For questions, contact info@daytonohioteaparty.com.

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Washing Your Hands Properly Stops the Spread of Contagious Disease

Posted on June 30, 2009 | Leave a comment

By Dr. Joseph Mercola

Most people know that washing your hands can help to prevent passing on nasty viruses and bacteria. But how many people just flick their hands under a dribbling tap and think that will do? Now hopeless hand washers will be caught with glowing green fingers by a good hand-washing test.

A new hand-washing training kit uses a cream containing a harmless dye that glows green in ultraviolet light to show up shoddy hand washing. Demonstrators put a blob of cream on people’s hands and send them away to wash them. When they come back, they are often amazed at how much glowing green dye remains on their fingers. If the dye were a microbe, they would be standing a good chance of infecting themselves and passing it on to other people.

The glowing cream can also be used to show how viruses such as those that cause colds and flu can survive on hard surfaces and be spread from hand to hand. Just touching a doorknob that has had a little of the special cream applied to it can make people’s fingers turn green under UV light — and then when they touch another person’s hand the green glow gets passed on.

It has been shown time and time again that washing your hands with soap and water can kill viruses that cause:

• The common cold
• Hepatitis A
• Acute gastroenteritis
• Other illnesses

Thorough hand-washing truly is an important step, as you are at far greater risk of passing on an infection by shaking someone‘s hand than even by sharing a kiss.

One report even found that regular hand washing may be more effective than drugs in preventing the spread of respiratory viruses such as influenza. Germs that cause stomach infections such as salmonella, campylobacter and norovirus can also circulate directly from person to person via your hands.

Good hand hygiene has, in fact, been called your best option in the event of a flu pandemic.

In the study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, people who used antibacterial soaps and cleansers developed a cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms just as often as people who used products that did not contain antibacterial ingredients.

Studies have also found that soap and water work better than the waterless, alcohol-based hand wipes and rubs. Further, the active ingredient in most antibacterial products is triclosan, an antibacterial agent that kills bacteria and inhibits bacterial growth. But not only does triclosan kill bacteria, it also has been shown to kill human cells.

Antibacterial soaps and cleansers kill both good and bad bacteria, which is why they are prone to contributing to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and potentially also to allergic diseases like asthma and hay fever.

The Society for General Microbiology’s good hand-washing test was eye-opening for many who believed they had thoroughly washed their hands, yet found they had many spots of “glowing green” left.

So to make sure you’re actually removing the germs when you wash your hands, follow this three-step hand-washing technique:

1. Use warm water
2. Work up a good lather all the way up to your wrists for at least 10 or 15      seconds
3. Don’t forget to get all surfaces including the backs of your hands, wrists,      between your fingers and an area often overlooked — your fingernails

There is one important caveat to remember, and that is your skin is actually your primary defense against bacteria — not the soap.

So resist the urge to become obsessive about washing your hands. If you wash them too frequently you can actually extract many of the protective oils in your skin, which can cause your skin to crack and bleed.

Sources: Mercola.com June 26, 2009
                  Science Daily June 3, 2009
                  Society for General Microbiology June 3, 2009

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A better way to balance State budget than cut services to the poor, elderly, and library patrons : HB 25/SB 52 Reorganizing Ohio’s Executive Branch

Posted on June 26, 2009 | 1 comment

In April, Gov. Strickland issued an executive order to reduce and control spending. In May, the office of Budget and Management estimated an additional budget shortfall would exceed $900. In response to this assessment, Gov. Strickland made the following statement:

“The national recession continues to present historic economic challenges for every state and Ohio is no exception. Even though we have reduced state government spending by nearly $2 billion this biennium, we are now faced with even steeper revenue shortages. Addressing the challenges before us will require extraordinary collaboration and bipartisan consensus-building among the state’s elected leadership. I know that we can work together to make the tough choices necessary to maintain a balanced budget while continuing to invest in education and job-creation that will lead to Ohio’s economic revival.

Did the governor mean state jobs or private sector jobs? Earlier this month, Gov. Strickland said state government must be reduced by another $2 billion to balance the budget. To accomplish this, he has closed mental health facilities and other facilities, reduce staff to Reagan era numbers, and reduced budgets of most state agencies. State employees have voluntarily sacrificed further increases in pay for several years. After all of these fiscally responsible steps, a budget deficit of $3.2 billion still exists.

I suppose that is why Gov. Strickland proposes additional cuts to local library budgets. The deficit probably accounts for a number of proposed cut is services for the poor and elderly as well.

In his last press release, Gov. Strickland repeatedly said, “We must resize the government.” Of course, he means the cuts to agency budgets and some of their personnel. What he doesn’t mean is downsizing the executive branch itself. Yet, there are concurrent bill in both House and Senate committees that will do just that. In February, Representatives Jarrod Martin and Robert Hackett cosponsored HB 25 and Senator Timothy Grendell is the sponsor of SB 52. (Where is Senator Chris Widener?) If these bills would pass, at least $2 of the $3.2 billion would be realized.

Yes, it would be limited-government advocates dream come true. The 20 cabinet-level agencies would be consolidated into 10 cabinet-level departments.

Yes, it would actually reflect the downsizing occurring throughout the private sector as well.

According to analysis by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, the bill would not “affect the provision of services by and operations of political subdivisions.” Because government is notorious for inefficiency anyway, the disruption of some services during the transition is bound to occur. Nevertheless, less bureaucracy means less waste and (god-forbid) less taxation.

Although Gov. Strickland still says he doesn’t want to raise new taxes, his comrades on Capitol Hill and elsewhere are creating a New Deal Era economic crisis requiring more taxes and more national debt to justify the enlargement of the federal powers and further the Left’s goal of a fully socialist-Marxist economy. Maybe that t is why loyal party member Strickland is in the key position in a key state.

This federally-driven economic crisis is even more reason for getting Ohio legislators to pass HB25/SB52 to consolidate the executive branch and meet the balance budget. If we can achieve it in Ohio, we can also achieve it at the federal level too. “Yes we can!”

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Posted in economy, government services, Governor, House of Representatives, news, Ohio, politics, Senate, taxes

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Greene County Library Funding Emergency

Posted on June 25, 2009 | Leave a comment

Governor Strickland has proposed a last minute change to the State Budget: he proposes to cut funding for Ohio’s Libraries by an additional $100 million dollars a year for the next two years.

Public libraries are a vital lifeline to job hunting information, education, and family fun in a down economy. Greene County Public Library receives 55% of its funding from the State of Ohio. This funding rises and falls with the State’s income, and funding for libraries has already fallen dramatically in the current recession. If the Governor’s new cut became permanent, it would devastate the services the library provides to children, teens, adults, and seniors throughout Greene County.

Under the Governor’s proposal, the funding for Ohio’s libraries would drop to nearly half of 2008 levels. The cost to the Greene County Public Library would be $2.2 million in 2009 and $3.5 million in 2010. The cut for this year would be in addition to the $3.3 million reduction the library is already facing because of declining state tax revenues.

The Greene County Public Library has already absorbed large drops in state funding, even while staff has been working hard not to reduce services for patrons. But, without this key state funding, the library will have to make deep cuts in hours, eliminate services, and possibly even close branches.

You can help Greene County Public Library protect the funding that will keep it doing what it does best — serving you — by contacting your representatives and the Governor’s office by phone and email this week to let them how you feel about the Governor’s proposal: the decision on this proposal will be made before July 1.

Please contact:

Governor Ted Strickland
(614) 466-3555
(614) 644-4357 (Fax)
http://governor.ohio.gov

Representative Jarrod Martin
(614) 644-6020
(614) 719-3970 (Fax)
district70@ohr.state.oh.us

Representative Robert Hackett
(614) 466-1470
(614) 719-6984 (Fax)
district84@ohr.state.oh.us

Senator Chris Widener
(614) 466-3780
SD10@senate.state.oh.us

(Note: To speed up the process, you can write one email with your name and address, and then cut and paste it into your email to the legislators.)

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Posted in economy, Governor, Greene County, news, politics

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Xenia AIA Sports

Posted on June 24, 2009 | Leave a comment

In 2007, Athletes In Action constructed a state-of-the-art sports complex consisting of baseball, football and soccer fields. The complex hosts many high-profile sports tournaments, ranging from Collegiate Baseball games, Mid-American Conference Tournaments, American Mideast Conference Tournaments, OHSAA and many others. AIA Sports Complex is a highly sought after facility.

Last month, the Planning and Zoning Department approved the construction of a bleacher stand for the baseball fields. It will have 750 seats, media seating and other amenities. Considering the average team that competes at AIA brings 25 players and 4 coaches, the number of spectators including parents, friends, scouts, media and Xenia community members could be utilizing these much needed bleachers.

It would be a crime if I failed to mention the Xenia AIA team’s next at-home game is June 25. Game starts at 7pm.

For more information about AIA, its league and/or games, go to the AIA website at http://www.aiabaseball.org/greatlakes.

Source: Xenia Development Corner, May 2009.

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