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Petro sanctions democracy

On February 14, United States Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and 17 U.S. Representatives including Dennis Kucinich of Ohio joined U.S. Representative John Conyers in filing an amicus curiae brief opposing sanctions against the public interest attorneys. Cliff ARnebeck, Susan Truitt, Bob Fitrakis and Pete Peckarsky were primarily responsible for uncovering massive election irregularities in their challenge of the 2004 Ohio election. Ohio Attorney General James Petro asked the Ohio Supreme Court to sanction the election protection attorneys claiming the election challenge was “meritless” and “frivolous.” In Conyers memorandum to the court, he stated, “For over 200 years, one of the strengths of our democracy has been that citizens may question the results of an election. …under Ohio law, sanctions should be awarded against Ohio election contesters only in extreme circumstances, if ever, and are plainly inappropriate in this case.” Conyers asserts that contesters “protect the broader public interest.”

The Un-mighty New Hampshire Jam Force

If you’re going to do dirty tricks and break election laws, you’d better go to Ohio and not New Hampshire. Allen Raymond, the President of the Republican consulting group Marketplace LLC, was sentenced to five months in jail and fined $15,600 for jamming Democratic phone lines in several New Hampshire cities during the 2002 election.

Court records indicate that Raymond and co-conspirators plotted to jam Democratic phone lines that offered voters rides to the polls in at least four New Hampshire cities. Additionally, the Republicans disrupted the phone line operated by the nonpartisan Manchester Firefighters Union, according to the AP. The Executive Director of the New Hampshire Republican Party Chuck McGee also pleaded guilty, and James Tobin, the regional chair of Bush-Cheney 2004 re-election campaign was also indicted in the 2002 scheme.

In Ohio or Florida, instead of being indicted, the GOP would have nominated them for Secretary of State.

Government of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations

Now that they blatantly stole an election, lied about it, gloated over it, claimed it all went smoothly and got away with it – it’s no wonder they decided democracy isn’t important to the people of Ohio.

Substitute House Bill 1 was passed by a lame duck session of the Ohio General Assembly in an emergency “Special Session” just before the Christmas/holiday break without adequate notice or opportunity for the public and media to thoroughly understand its contents and impact. For the first time in nearly a century, the bill legalizes direct contributions from business corporations to certain political activities, including pro-corporate political ads.

No, that won’t influence Ohio lawmakers’ decisions if they win. Not now that the bill increases contribution limits 400% from $2500 to $10,000 for wealthy individuals and business corporations to political candidates of their choice.

The timebomb is not Social Security in 2048, it’s global warming in 2015

While George W. Bush tries to panic Americans by predicting a Social Security crisis in 2048, the Green Party of the United States reminds the country that we’re sitting on a “time bomb” just ten years down the road with global warming.

Green Party leaders are pointing to the recent study by the International Climate Change Task Force. The report, which is posted at the web site of the Center for American Progress www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=bi JRJ8OVF&b=306503, warns that global warming may reach a ‘point of no return’ in ten years when the global average temperature moves beyond 2¡C (3.6¡F) above the pre-industrial level, with severe environmental, food supply, and public health consequences around the world.

The Task Force was convened by the Institute for Public Policy Research in the U.K., the Center for American Progress in the U.S., and the Australia Institute. The report makes ten recommendations for G8 nations to take the lead on curbing global warming.

Drug War Briefs: Medical Marijuana Bill introduced in Ohio

Senator Bob Hagan (D-33rd District) introduced Senate Bill 74 which would allow doctors to recommend marijuana in certain cases, including with patients who suffer from HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, Multiple Sclerosis, cancer, nausea or chronic pain. The bill specifically does not authorize distribution of cannabis by primary caregivers or doctors and no insurance company can be forced to pay for medical use of marijuana. The introduction of this bill marks a victory for the Ohio Patient Network (OPN), the patient’s advocacy group behind state wide organizing. “Hopefully this bill will pass and the sick and dying can finally be taken off the battlefield in the War on Drugs,” said Joseph Zoretic, president of OPN.

The actual language of the bill uses the term “marihuana,” an interesting form of slang which yellow journalist William Hearst created and exploited in the 1930’s to demonize and ban Cannabis sativa. From 1850 to 1937, cannabis was used as the prime medicine for more than 100 separate illnesses or diseases in U.S. pharmacopoeia.

Drug War Briefs: Ohio “Drugged Driving” Bill passes Senate; on to House

Senate Bill 8, introduced by Jeff Jacobson (R-6th District) and Steve Austria (R-10th District), would make illegal operating a vehicle if virtually any amount of a controlled substance or metabolite of a controlled substance is present in one’s blood or plasma. A Driving under the Influence of Drugs (DUID) conviction would be a felony offense. This criminalization of post-drug use is in stark contradiction to scientific evidence that metabolites of drugs remain in bodily fluids long after any high has disappeared. The Senate vote was 30-1, with Senate Minority Leader C.J.  Prentiss, D-Cleveland, casting the only “no” vote. This bill was sent to the House on February 17th for approval.

J30 Election Reform Coalition

On January 30th at Whetstone Park, Columbus, Ohio there was a meeting of groups interested in election reform. The purpose was to, “Combine the efforts of the various election reform groups, as well as allow for communication between the groups so no one’s efforts are duplicated,” according to organizer activist Rady Ananda,

Among the 120 people present were members of CASE-Ohio, Ohio Vigilance, MeetUp, and Redefeat Bush. This cooperating group of organizations has dubbed themselves the “J30 Coalition.” Blackboxvoting.org’s Bev Harris encouraged each group to continue to work independently, in order to attack election problems from different angles, while at the same time keeping channels of communication open.

One of the problems that the J30 Coalition is addressing is conflict of interest in the electoral process due to party affiliations of members of the Board of Elections, and the privatization of voting machine contracts. Diebold is owned by a vocal Republican supporter, and Blackboxvoting.org revealed that ES&S is owned by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb) and his campaign finance director, Michael McCarthy.

Red Bird books to prisoners

“10,888 days and counting. That’s not the number of books in their inventory; it’s the number of days I’ve been warehoused in prison as of 7/28/04. The most difficult, even painful part of the prison experience is not so much the physical violence, the eight plus years of segregation, being rejected by loved ones, nor the struggle with dependency issues and personal demons. No, the real struggle is for growth. In prison you don’t truly grow as a human being; you just sort of grow old. People grow hopefully through experiencing the world around them, even if it’s simply their community. In the prison world, we fear what we can grow into. For many prisoners, the path to their social, political, spiritual and educational growth and development can be tracked by following the footprints of the worn volumes of books they’ve read and in some instances fought to possess.” - Ray Champagne, inmate, Shirley, Massachusetts

Bill Barndt is 90!

It was fitting that Bill used his 90th birthday party to organize for Worldwide Humanitarian Aid. Friends and family gathered on February 5 at the First Congregational Church to celebrate with Bill and give donations of sewing machines, medical equipment, school supplies and money for his organization. There were many cakes to choose from and a sundae bar to graze at, while singing and commemorating the many accomplishments of the man of the hour.

Bill led the group HADCCO-Hunger and Development Coalition of Central Ohio, was the local organizer for Pastors for Peace and a longtime member of the Columbus-Copapayo Sister City Project. Besides being a progressive United Church of Christ pastor, Bill also traveled all over the world to deliver humanitarian aid and good will. I have memories of him at 74 years old, bouncing around in the back of a very small jeep from San Salvador to the countryside in the middle of the night to avoid military checkpoints; trekking through untouched terrain near Copapayo, El Salvador; and leading all the children in our sister city in games and songs.

Gay marriage at the Franklin County Courthouse on Valentine’s Day

Lee Gatwood surprised Kevin Bayles, his partner of four years, with a ring right before the ceremony. Another lesbian couple, not pictured, who are African American, decided to leave right after the ceremony when they learned that they would be turned down for a marriage license. It is surprising but many Ohio citizens still do not know that gays can’t legally marry here in the “land of the free.” These six couples, accompanied by Rev. Hawk, went into the Courthouse and applied for licenses. When refused, they thanked the clerk and said. “We’ll be back next year and every year until we get equal rights!” A couple of women passing by while the ceremony was being performed, were heard to say, as if scripted in a grade B movie, “It was Adam and Eve!” and “They must be praying to a different God.” Rev. Creech commented later, “Maybe we ARE praying to a different God; ours loves and accepts everybody, regardless of orientation!”

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