Editorial

Dear Editor We’re extremely disappointed that the Ohio House would gut an effective 10-year-old bipartisan law at the request of the debt settlement industry. It should raise eyebrows that during committee hearings, the industry trade group was the sole proponent of the bill, while numerous pro-consumer groups offered compelling arguments against the bill. HB 173 is a bad deal for consumers and Ohio doesn’t need it. We already have effective regulation for the debt settlement industry in the 2004 Ohio Debt Adjusters Act, which was put in place for a reason. While industry would have you believe HB 173 adds regulations to keep out “bad actors,” this is a smoke screen. HB 173 includes safeguards that are already in effect under the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule of 2010.

Dear Editor Regarding the current brewhaha re: Ohio Senate Bill 193, the Ohio Republican Party's latest effort at restraining diversity and independent thinking by essentially outlawing political third parties, I can only refer the sensitive reader to J.M. Coetzee's excellent novel "Diary of a Bad Year." In it, Mr. Coetzee makes the astute point that the chief challenge of the state (i.e.- those in power, in government) is "to ensure that power will be passed from one set of hands to the next without contest of arms." To that end, many so-called democracies, the United States included, choose to offer its' citizenry a choice, Candidate A or Candidate B. Pick your poison, A or B, but C? Forget about it. On all levels of government-city, state, and national, Joe or Josephine Citizen can take his or her pick, so long as it's a Republican or Democrat. And what a diverse choice! The Democrats, owned by the corporations, mouth occasional platitudes regarding concern for the great, unwashed masses. The Republicans, obviously owned by the corporations, offer no such platitudes, so should at least be given credit for honesty. Such is the extent of democracy in America and yes, in Ohio.

We live in a city that is infamous for knocking down interesting historical structures. They seem to treat the official Historic Registry of buildings in Columbus like a “hit list” for demolition. Whenever I see the “Arch Army” on the Jumbotron at a Blue Jackets game, I scream “Go attack the bastards that knocked down the old Union Station.” Or when I see I see the Army on the march, I want to point them not towards the Red Wings or the Lightning, but towards the Columbus Titans who destroyed the historically significant Ohio Pen. It took battles by conservationists to prevent the City’s elites from destroying the magnificent Ohio Theater and Great Southern Theater to turn them into parking lots. Out of these struggles came the creation of the Historical Resource Commission in 1980.

I can't tell you how upset I am to even be writing this column. It's Hate Michigan Week, I was going to insult the state and defend Detroit #atthesamedamntime. But when chicanery in the state legislature is afoot, Ain't No Love In The Heart shall ride. HB 203, aka the Stand Your Ground bill, passed the House last Wednesday. The chances of it becoming law are high (I mean, can you really count on Kasich doing something that resembles the actions of a caring, humane individual TWICE?), but there' still time, and if we raise enough hell, then maybe, just maybe, because on the real y'all, Stand Your Ground laws are the embodiment of everything that prevents us from actually living together in peace. Most of the arguments against Stand Your Ground are about the ways in which it disproportionately affects black and brown youths, that people's latent racism can now serve as a justifiable reason for killing another human being, that black and brown people must live in constant fear that their actions will be misconstrued by some angry (almost always a) dude and the result will be their death.

History has been made in our lifetime. When President Obama came to office in 2009, he had a progressive agenda that included implementing a national high speed rail plan. Many of his platforms became unsuccessful bargaining chips and the high speed rail plan was hardly popular on both sides of the isle. Three Republican governors effectively halted the plan by rescinding astronomical amounts of money that would have improved high speed travel in their respective states. People from Wisconsin, Florida and, of course, Ohio have lost opportunities to move around their states without disrupting the climate on the road or frequently paying more for airfare. Ohio is vying for high-speed rail yet again though. Columbus is situated in a central position relative to cities in Ohio and across state lines. The third largest city in the country, Chicago, is only 350 miles away. While in the air, these cities seem worlds away, and their communities become completely disconnected. And although the road can be exhilarating- and other times exhausting- an identified high speed rail line could get passengers to their destination in only three and a half hours.

One man's overthrow of a democratically elected government is another man's fodder for a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk. Key in white and Western colonial projects is a sovereign nation all too willing to play host. Since 2009, Honduras has been that nation. Its story is a tragedy that even Shakespeare would have deemed as too emo, the bad old days of imperial neoliberalism in Latin America all over again. Honduras's presidential elections are Saturday, and its people, and the Libre party, no matter what deity, algorithm or currency system you happen to worship, need you to pray for them. On June 28, 2009, six months after Obama's inauguration and two months after his supposed apology tour, President Manuel Zelaya was woken up in his pajamas by the military and forcibly removed from the country. Every country in the world except the United States and Israel called it for what it was, a military coup, which conveniently allowed the US to continue to provide. In the sham elections that followed, the Dynamic Duo were the only countries to recognize the new government. For the right, even this wasn't enough.

On the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F Kennedy, the airwaves are awash with coverage which is contradictory, confusing and dishonest. It is clear that President Kennedy was killed by the National Security State (CIA and Pentagon). The assassination marked the rise of the military industrial complex, the American Empire and the permanent warfare state. This fact is highly troubling for Americans who have not studied the political assassinations of the 1960s nor the many subsequent crimes perpetuated by the National Security State since 1963. People want to trust their government. Understanding the evil underbelly is highly uncomfortable. Political assassinations and events such as the attacks on 9/11 can be described as a “state crime against democracy,” a term coined by Lance deHaven-Smith in his book “Conspiracy Theory in America.” The cover story does not quite fit, but the result is increased funding or power for the National Security State. These events are used to justify another war, another conflict, another enemy. There will be no peace dividend.

Dear Editor To Jim Petric's (sic)questions: “why does our mounting monster debt of some $17 trillion and unfunded promised entitlements of $60 trillion NOT sincerely, inarguably scare the shit out of you? “I am not a Tea Partier, nor a Republican--hell, I wouldn't belong to a political party that would have me--but a former old school Kennedy Democrat who simply cannot fathom why folks on both sides of the aisle aren't begging and clamoring for and demanding government spending within our means.” (John Petric' column Oct. 31) Jim and any duckies who are interested. What you seem to be asking for is a quick and easy to comprehend answer, which is a bit difficult because much of the related concepts have been distorted or substituted with falsified simplicities. What is going on is mostly a political struggle over the fiscal capacities of the Federal government. A large portion of the scramble and mumbling cannot be simply based upon "common sense." Some economic and fiscal literacy is necessary to understand where, when and by whom the fraud of the faux "debate" is being perpetrated.

With a stroke of his pen on November 6, 2013, Ohio Governor John Kasich demonstrated his utter contempt for democracy. Fearing that Ohio Libertarian Party nominee Charlie Earl, who has strong Tea Party support, would cut into his conservative base, Kasich outlawed all third parties in Ohio for the 2014 election. The offending law is Senate Bill 193, which passed last week amidst controversy and turmoil at the Statehouse. It has been dubbed the “John Kasich Re-election Protection Act” for obvious reasons. The ever-arrogant Ohio Senator Bill Seiz (R-Cincinnati) introduced the draconian law the same day the Libertarians publicly announced Earl’s nomination. Kasich has always been a bit contemptuous of competitive elections. Other than his first campaign, most of his electoral victories were landslides aided by gerrymandered districts and an incredibly safe noncompetitive seat in the 1990’s.

Dear editor Why does money matter in politics? Money appears to be overwhelming county, city, state and federal elections why does money matter so much? WHAT! Independents and undecided voters are those the big money appears to be targeting. Why does it matter that money is being spent for and against this and that. I believe money matters because there are many so-called independents and undecided that are in reality un-informed potential voters. Independents appear to not know the issues in any election and they are therefore waiting for money to be splashed around to help them decide which way they should go (vote). If you know the issues and have decided your position why would money influence your decision and/or position? It appears the big spenders have already surmised that there are no truly independents out there how did they come to that conclusion? They have observed over and over again that they can throw money your way and steer you (like cattle) where they want you to go making you believe it was your decision to go there because you are an independent….please!