Teh Gayz Driving Conservatives Crazypants

On Monday, the Supreme Court decided not to delay same sex marriage in Alabama, and conservatives are flipping their shit.

The huge flip-out is brought to you in part by Justice Clarence "Pubes on a Coke" Thomas. In his dissent on the Alabama case, he may have dropped a hint that SCOTUS is going to lean pro-LGBT in upcoming rulings.

In just two days, Alabama has turned into a disaster. SCOTUS struck down the state's ban, meaning immediately same-sex couples can get married. But Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was all "Hell naw, not in my 'Bama!" and ordered probate judges to ignore the highest court in the land and NOT offer marriage licenses. Some are complying and some are defying that order. And now a woman has been arrested for officiating a same sex marriage. Wut?

The walls of bigotry continue to fall, and it couldn't happen at a faster pace. Hell, even Nebraska took their lumps and decided they loved guns more than they hated gays and by proxy recognized same sex marriage.

But that doesn't mean the anachronistic creepers aren't going down kicking and screaming. Sam Brownbeck, governor of Kansas, took a break from dealing with the budget nightmare he created to issue an executive order removing LGBT from the state's protected class list. Because sometimes slashing pensions and cutting education needs to be punctuated with an announcement to the nation of "Don't worry folks, Kansas still hates fags."

And now we even see congress getting in on the action. Ted Cruz, recent ex-Canadian and potential presidential candidate, has re-introduced the State Marriage Defense Act which would require the federal government to defer to state law in deciding if people are married or not. This is, on its face, insane: imagine getting legally married in Alabama and receiving all the normal state and federal tax benefits and then moving to Ohio with your job and suddenly you're not married, lose all protections, and can't even visit your partner in the hospital. It'll never make it to Obama's desk. But Teddy's aiming for the White House and doesn't want anyone thinking he's okay with them queers.

We are living in a monumental time. SCOTUS will be deciding if the Constitution guarantees the right for same sex couples to marry by June, and based on Thomas's hint, it's going to change the law federally. It is going to be a sight to behold, and finally give me a chance to officiate same-sex marriages here in Ohio (or Indiana, or Kentucky).

Let's just hope that the sullied character of the bigots desperately grasping at straws and straw men don't do too much damage in their sad attempt to keep hold of a time long past its expiration date.

Gov. Kasich Insurance Pout Party

So I run a small business, just me and one other, and I don't have the resources larger companies do and as I'm soon to be single, I thought I'd check out what's going on with the Ohio Insurance Exchange.

I mean, I don't keep directly up to date on exactly what days what portions of the ACA are being implemented, so I thought I'd check it out. Here's the page. You don't have to visit it because it's useless. It's basically a government page, paid for by my tax dollars, saying Obamacare is terrible and we're not doing an exchange and the US government can just do it because Boo Obama and Boo Healthcare and why's everyone so mean?

Literally useless.

So I contacted the email address on the page and wrote the following note:

Hello,

It's difficult writing this email because I don't want to offend anyone who did not compose or direct the construction of the exchange page. This is directed at those people.

As a small business owner, I was looking to find out what opportunities might be emerging in Ohio for obtaining insurance due to the ACA. Visiting http://www.ohioexchange.ohio.gov/Pages/default.aspx and the linked pages, I was literally looking for information on where "individuals and small business owners in every state can purchase qualified coverage."

But there was no actual information about what was happening, when it was happening, and when I, as a two-person business, might be able to even begin researching my health care coverage options. What I found instead was a thinly-veiled whine-fest that amounted to "Obama is mean and we're not gonna play."

If Gov. Kasich wants to be a petulant brat about the ACA passing, let him do it in the corner, in private. This is an issue that affects real people in real ways and pouting obstruction on an Ohio government "information" page is doing no one any good or service.

By providing vague, formless information on the web page, Gov. Kasich is not slowing or stopping the ACA, but proving that a partisan grudge is more important than the people and businesses of the state of Ohio, and by demonstration is unfit to lead our great state.

And yes, I pasted the meme into the email as well.


Imagine if some brilliant new tech was invented that gave everyone - despite socioeconomic status - the ability to connect to the internet and be a part of a global community. Imagine it was relegated to the States as to how to offer access to this new technology and you hear stories from Oregon or California or Colorado like "OMG Awesome Tech!!!!" and you finally decide to dig in and see what it's all about and look at your Ohio page for the New Tech information and all the page says is "The president and the internets are stupid. That is all."

That's how I feel.

And Ohio's not the only one. There are many of us in this basket of borderline or blue at the presidential election, but locally gerrymandered into a minority in our state. It's downright scary at times, but this time it's just the governor being a whiny, weak, sad man.

Cincinnati Casino Collapse, Bus Driver Got a Job to Do

There was a collapse at the new Cincinnati Horseshoe Casino during construction. Unfortunately, the press conference got in the way of one bus driver who hit a news van on live television. Awesome. Way to Go go Ohio!

Gov. Kasich: "I don't read"

Just kidding. That was taken out of context. He doesn't read newspapers in the state of Ohio. The state of which he has been elected Governor. I guess that's why he doesn't understand the constituents in his own state. Oh, so it's not a right wing conspiracy to decimate the Democratic voting base via disenfranchisement; he just doesn't know any better. Silly.

Watch it here:


(via ThinkProgress)

Ohio Issues and "All Things Democrat"

Some of you may recall when I wrote on occasion for a blogging outfit called All Things Democrat? No? Well stop on over there. I've been picked up again and will be doing something once a week. This week? Ohio's ballot Issues that'll be showing up tomorrow.

The gist:
Issue 1: Extends max age for judges which will result in a lopsided Republican majority all the way up Ohio's judicial ladder.
Issue 2: Kasich's union-busting bullshittery that will harm all public employees (except Kasich).
Issue 3: Kasich's Anti-Obamacare legislation, cleverly worded to include "preserve freedom" in the language.

Check out more of the outrageous detail over at ATD, and if you live in Ohio, remember: Vote 1, 2, 3, NO.

Ohio's Issue 3: So Hard to Say NO

Ohio's Issue 2 on November's ballot is relatively straightforward. The Kasich administration is trying to kill unions, collective bargaining and anything that has to do with the Democratic base; and as opposed to Wisconsin, this includes police and fire. They tried to do this with SB5. After gathering many times over the required signatures, it turned into a referendum, Issue 2.

There is some confusion on whether you are voting yes on repealing or voting no on the bill (that is intentional), so here's a picture to help:



Vote NO on Issue 2 if you support your public employees including teachers, fire, and police.


"But wait," you're saying. What's this about Issue 3?

I saw an absentee ballot this weekend and was terrified by what I saw on that ballot as Issue 3.

Long story short, Issue 3 is Kasich's Anti-Obamacare amendment to Ohio's constitution. It's pure politics and nothing but BS. Why was it scary? Because the language is a little confusing except for the incredibly biased header which reads: To Preserve The Freedom Of Ohioans To Choose Their Health Care And Health Care Coverage

I mean, who doesn't want to preserve freedom?

This one's moving under the radar because so much has been put into Issue 2, but it cannot be ignored. Millions of Ohio voters are going to go to the polls this November and probably have a good idea about Issue 2, but know little about issue 3. How do you think that header is going to affect them? How will that affect their on-the-spot voting on an issue?

Vote NO on Issue 3 to stop Kasich's do-nothing, stop-Obama agenda.

Here's the page for info (and ballot language) for Issues 1, 2, & 3 in Ohio.


And have a great week!

Wisconsin: Template for the Fall of America

Every time I think Republicans can get no lower, I am not surprised when they beat out my expectation and take another dip. What happened in Wisconsin yesterday was a swan dive straight into hell.

Here's how it went down:

• Gov. Walker takes power, immediately gives corporations big tax cuts.
• Gov. Walker suddenly has a money problem.
• Gov. Walker & Repubs craft "budget" bill that strips public employee unions of right to collectively bargain (gov't control of wages, basically).
• Gov. Walker shouts to the heavens that it is about the budget, not about busting unions.
• Union workers protest over proposed bill.
• Senate Democrats realize if they all leave, there will be no quorum, no vote, and bill cannot pass.
• Senate Democrats must leave the state and shack up in Illinois because Gov. says he could "compel" them to the capitol (Read: worst episode of Cops evar)
• Workers continue protest.
• Gov. takes fake "Koch" call, reveals he is underhanded goon, wants to trick Dems into coming back.
• Gov. says It's about the budget!
• Gov. discusses bounty hunters to get the Dems back.
• THEN: Breaking the legally-binding meeting rules, Republicans strip the bill of spending (therefore don't need a quorum) and pass the bill without Democrats.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Yes, the same Republicans who look at the health care bill as being shoved down their throats just practiced some of the most dirty, underhanded, illegal politics ever seen. These are not just crafty, clever, or manipulative elected officials - these are terrible people who lied, cheated, and finally weaseled their way through to breaking the unions for the *sole purpose* of decimating a source of finance for the Democratic Party and sticking their middle finger up the ass of the American Public Employee.

Doc Thompson in for Glenn Beck skimmed over the video of the committee vote and lied to his listeners, saying there was a Democrat from the Senate who came back (It was a House Democrat presenting rules). Rush Limbaugh managed to call teachers lazy bums and protesters bullying mobs in the first couple minutes.

And the best thing to see is the people in Wisconsin get PISSED. Someone better. These are the first dominoes in the Republican master plan of Corporate Wealth-ocracy ruling over the proles. If you're not in Ohio or Idaho - where it's already happened - and not in Wisconsin, keep the TV on. It's coming. And if you're not part of a union? Head over your shoulder, there - you're next.

Ohio's Shady Abortion Tactics - Heartbeat Bill

It appears that the Republicans at the state level are following suit with those at the national level: no ideas, no job creation, but get on up in them lady parts and STOP abortion!



This is Ohio State Rep. Lynn R. Wachtmann (R), and tomorrow he's going to introduce the "Heartbeat Bill" which is aimed at banning any abortions at the point when a heartbeat becomes detectable. Sounds absurd, right? The bad news? "42 of the 99 representatives in the Ohio state House have signed on to the bill, which would make an exception to the heartbeat rule only in emergency medical situations."

But even the head of Ohio Right to Life doesn't support the bill:

Michael Gonidakis wants to ban all abortions, but the executive director of Ohio Right to Life knows it doesn't help his cause to fight for bills that he says have no chance of being upheld by the federal courts.

So we've got another example of politicians ignoring jobs and the economy and politically posturing themselves by passing legislation that will ONLY set an already ailing state up for a prolonged legal battle. Awesome. Maybe Rep. Wachtmann can dig deep and fund that process instead of us taxpayers.

You can reach Rep. Wachtmann to let him know (politely) that this legislation will do nothing but hurt Ohio here:

Address:
77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Phone: (614) 466-3760
Fax: (614) 719-3975
Email: district75@ohr.state.oh.us

That's My Governor!

I have a feeling this is going to be a regular and depressing feature. From ThinkProgress:

Delivering on his vision for a "new way," Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) "is on pace to be the first governor since 1962 to have an entire Cabinet without any racial diversity." Every one of his 22 full-time agency head appointments has been a white person. Only five are women. Dubbing diversity as "metrics that people tend to focus on," Kasich said, "I can't say I need to find somebody to fit this metric" because "it’s not the way I look at those things. I want the best possible team I can get."

Yesterday, the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus held a press conference to express their waning patience with his dismissive attitude and "implore[] Kasich to make better strides to diversify his Cabinet." But according to State Senator Nina Turner (D-OH), this time Kasich’s response was a bit more blunt. According to Turner, when the caucus offered him help in finding qualified minority applicants, Kasich told Turner, "I don’t need your people."

FMS: Fuck my state. Argh!

Dear Ohio: WTF?

The Republicans blamed 400,000 lost jobs on every incumbent Democrat in office - and won most places because of it. For governor? 2 years out of Bushrape of the economy (where Ohio was beaten like a red-headed stepchild), we knocked out Strickland for Kaisch, a Wall Street tool who bankrupted seniors through Lehman Bros. and helped push jobs out of the state and country. Nice, Ohio. For Senate, you gave pretty-boy Portman Voinovich's seat, which wasn't a total surprise. But could someone tell me how Jean Schmidt keeps her damn job? At least they kept Kucinich up in Cleveland. But...Ohio's Tan Man Fake-Cry Boner will probably be taking the Speaker role. Good times.

So as we went, much of the country went (Ah, but so good to see Crazypants Angle and Batshit O'Donnell lose races). Right Wing Talk Radio sounds like 3-hour blocks of the Happy Ending portion of their weekly massage.

But not to worry. They will soon fall apart. You've got McConnell focusing on nothing but ousting Obama in 2 years, a handful of Tea Party folks and some extreme Republicans looking at everything from a full repeal of health care to privatizing Social Security to dismantling the Department of Education. Some say "meet in the middle" while others say "We'll shut down the government!" They control the House but not the Senate. They are schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder wrapped into one.

So, in other words, somehow even less will happen than it does now and in 2 years the Republicans will be taken to task for not just failing to get America back on track, but making it worse than it is now. Because the only thing they have the ability to do is make rich people richer, disenfranchise voters, and send jobs overseas.

Tea Party Eats July 4th in Cincinnati

Here's the link.

Near where I live in Cincinnati, Hyde Park has a problem on the 4th of July: no one wants to subsidize the fireworks and parade venture. Who's going to save the day? Who's going to save America from potentially-unpatriotic non-shenanigans? The Tea Party!

They claim that there will be no proselytizing during the event, but [insert 5000 links here] documents how stupid and offensive they can be.

Oddly enough, Hyde Park is a younger, hipper, more liberal section of a city that is - for the most part - relatively conservative. Infiltration. And a great marketing move for a party associated with racists and gun-toting morons.

What's next?

I leave you with awesome:



Feel free to steal it :)

Drunk Lady + Dogs + Parrots = Ohio

I'd say "Only in Cincinnati" but I think you can probably find such absurdity Ohio-wide.

From cincinnati.com:

MIDDLETOWN - Over the incessant barking of half a dozen small dogs, Sgt. Steve Ream couldn't believe what he saw inside a Beech Street house.


On a bed with the dogs was a woman, with "one large white parrot... standing on her forehead, biting her in the face. There was another smaller bird on her chest."

This was in addition to as many as 10 cages with other birds, all of them squawking and causing the dogs to bark. The woman appeared to be so intoxicated, Ream said, "that she could not remove the bird off her face."

The Friday night run started as a domestic disturbance, a man and a wife who had been drinking and arguing so loudly that neighbors had gotten involved.

Ream then took Janice McCoy-Nuttle, 49, to the front porch, because "I couldn't understand what she was trying to say due to the dogs barking and other noise."

She denied that her husband, Kevin Nuttle, who was outside the house with a bleeding ear, had been assaulted.

It would have ended there, Ream wrote in his report, but McCoy-Nuttle got angry at her husband, swore at him and threw an inhaler at him, nearly striking the officer.

Ream then put her in the back of his cruiser, and wrote that she kicked at the windows and banged her head on the bars. At the police station, where she had to be restrained, she was charged with disorderly conduct with intoxication.

The couple had been celebrating Nuttle's return after four months on the road as a truck driver.

McCoy-Nuttle was later found guilty in Middletown Municipal Court and fined $240.

Ohio, Cincinnati Politics - Recap

Yesterday was that time of the year again: Me drinking wine out of a box until 1am! It was also election day!

Couple notes on the presentation, then to the issues and how they fared.

• WLWT - What was up with the giant "2" in 2009? You're channel 5. WTF?
• WKRC (channel 12) - not everyone has a 52" 1080p television. I've got a reasonably large tube TV and could not make out the results on the bottom of the screen.
• WCPO (channel 9) - Unrelated to elections, but "A travel trend with all the benefits?" Who's writing your naughty copy?

And on to the issues:

Ohio Issue 1 was funding for veteran care. No-brainer. Passed like nuts.

Ohio Issue 2 was to allow the state to outline guidelines for animal care. Well, you may say, that sounds cheery! Of course Yes! And that's why it was worded the way it was. The Humane Society was hard against it because it basically allowed the state to bow to dirty, mass meat producers and draw up guidelines that favor those mass producers so animals can be kept in tiny little cages, etc. The NO lobby was out to lunch on education, so it passed easily. Sad day for independent farmers in Ohio.

Ohio Issue 3 was ...Casinos! They've got 'em in Indiana, West Virginia, Michigan, but not here. The bill called for four casinos to be built: Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. Aside from the churchy folks, it was pretty easily passed and means a great deal of income and jobs for our state. Oh, and gambling and maybe some hookers. So yay!

Hamilton Co. 4 was for family medical care, 5 for MR/DD, both passed.

Hamilton Co. 6 was a levy to support the Museum Center and 7 was to support the libraries as Ohio found it necessary to cut the state budget for libraries - one of our best resources - by over 25%. Until today, county has never had a hand in funding. Both passed!

Hamilton Co. 8 was to keep the Water Works a public utility (passed), and 9 was: a Yes vote meant you wanted anything having to do with streetcar planning to be put on a ballot for general vote. It went down, meaning the city can spend that money without voter approval when the time comes, after talking about it for a decade, that they might invest in a rail system.


Really, I thought this post would be a little more interesting. Sorry about that. But yay casinos!

Official Million Can March Post

RevPhat has put together the official Million Can March post over at Les Enrages. I suggest you get over there right now, take a gander, get the code for that lovely dancing can badge (now in my right column), and start organizing! We have less than one month to donate 1 million cans.

Comments disabled 'cause: do it over there!

Yes We CAN!

Swine Flu: Ohio Represent!

That's right, motherfuckers! Oink! Oink! Ohio's in the mix. One of only 6 states to be visited by the piggy sickness.

I know you're jealous.

Ohio, Cleveland Down the Tubes

Back in 2004, Cleveland was rated the poorest big city in the USA. It's not a big stretch. The Flats are a crime-ridden ghost town anymore and many an office building downtown is simply vacant, the owners unable to get businesses to HQ or even branch there. A friend of mine was violently mugged walking from his car to work, in the morning hours, in almost the center of downtown.

As a former resident of Greater Cleveland (Parma), it's hard to watch happen, especially since all of my and Mrs. Shambles family still call it home.

As a continuing resident of Ohio, it was even more of a bummer to see yesterday's report in Forbes:

Washington, D.C. -

The turmoil of the mortgage market granted a temporary reprieve from hearing about the woes of America's Rust Belt. That doesn't mean things are better. Despite a decade of national prosperity, the former manufacturing backbone of the U.S. is in rougher shape than ever, still searching for some way to replace its long-stilled smokestacks.

Where's it worst? Ohio, according to our analysis, which racked up four of the 10 cities on our list: Youngstown, Canton, Dayton and Cleveland. The runner-up is Michigan, with two cities--Detroit and Flint--making the ranking.

Yeah, just sad.

Recession

Here's a map from the AP:



Oh, hey, look: Ohio's brown-orange. No shit.

What any person living in any city in Ohio could tell you is that we were using the term "recession" five years ago, if not longer. And now that the retards in Washington finally walk on eggshells to touch the bum of The R Word with their twenty foot pole, people in Ohio are starting to use The D Word: Depression.