Politics
Today, the coalition of civil rights organizations fighting for access and full participation of Black voters and other voting rights advocacy organizations behind the Ohio Voters Bill of Rights ballot amendment filed a legal challenge to AG Dave Yost’s unauthorized rejection of their proposal. The complaint requests that the Ohio Supreme Court issue a writ of mandamus directing the Attorney General to certify their petition, citing his clear lack of authority to opine on the proposed title, let alone reject it entirely based on his subjective distaste for it – a decision that impacts millions of Ohioans’ ability to cast a ballot.
The coalition released the following statement about their legal challenge:
“The latest rejection of our proposed ballot summary from AG Yost’s office is nothing but a shameful abuse of power to stymie the right of Ohio citizens to propose amendments to the Ohio Constitution.
Most members of the legislature should be well acquainted with the HB 6 fiasco that ultimately led to a 20-year prison sentence for former Speaker of the Ohio House Larry Householder. At the center of the scandal was the supposed need for a $1 billion, publicly-funded bailout for two nuclear reactors, Davis-Besse outside of Toledo and Perry, northeast of Cleveland. To further the scam, FirstEnergy, the owner of the reactors at the time, placed them in bankruptcy in March 2018.
In six short years, however, the two nuclear reactors have gone from being bankrupt and needing a billion-dollar bailout to Perry operating so well its current owner, Energy Harbor (EH), has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to extend its operating license for another 20 years. But as can be seen in the linked article, neither the NRC nor EH care to address pesky questions from the public such as is the energy from the Perry nuclear plant even needed in the first place?
On Tuesday night, a Free Press reporter was driving on 71 South and began descending the Greenlawn Avenue exit where the now shuttered Thurns’ butcher shop is directly to the right. As some know and often see, on the left side of the exit in a narrow area of gravel is a male houseless person and his dog. For several years now they have set up a make-shift artist camp here.
His paintings and sketches ask for kindness and a handout in a quirky loving way. As one recent sign stated, “Needing a Space Ship to leave Earth.”
The Free Press reporter rolled down his window and asked: “We’re you not able to get a bed tonight at a shelter?”
The artist quickly replies: “No! They don’t take pets.”
His plight in bone-chilling temperatures is just one of several stories to emerge this week showing how chaotic and challenging it is to protect the community’s houseless from severe cold. Some houseless refuse to leave their tent at night fearing their belongings will be taken. Houseless couples refuse to be separated, as warranted by some shelters. And there is one warming center which does allows pets, it is on the Eastside.
Introduction
This post raises the question of whether President Biden’s quest for re-election in 2024 will be negatively affected by his pledge to continue America’s support for Israel and its war on Gaza.
President Biden has put his 2024 re-election at risk by supporting Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza.
Early in this war, Biden unequivocally supported Israel’s military response to the Hamas attack on southern Israel. In just over a week after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Biden met with Netanyahu to express his and America’s unequivocal and unconditional support for Israel
(https://www.npr.org/2023/10/19/1206832708/biden-israel-trip-mideast-peace).
This article first appeared in the Buckeye Flame
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Friday vetoed HB 68, a bill that would have banned gender-affirming care in the state of Ohio and prevented trans female athletes from participating on women’s sports team in K-12 and college athletics.
“I cannot sign this bill as it is currently written,” DeWine said, repeatedly asserting that the “government does not know better than parents.”
The Ohio legislature passed HB 68 on December 13, sending it on to DeWine for his signature. The governor had 10 days after receiving the bill to make his decision. The Republican-led state legislature needs a 3/5s vote to override the veto.
In the briefing, DeWine explained that he used those 10 days to have conversations with those affected including: bill sponsor Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery), physicians and counselors who provide gender-affirming care, detransitioners and medical personnel he met during visits to children’s hospitals in Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati.
This article first appeared in the Buckeye Flame
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Friday vetoed HB 68, a bill that would have banned gender-affirming care in the state of Ohio and prevented trans female athletes from participating on women’s sports team in K-12 and college athletics.
“I cannot sign this bill as it is currently written,” DeWine said, repeatedly asserting that the “government does not know better than parents.”
The Ohio legislature passed HB 68 on December 13, sending it on to DeWine for his signature. The governor had 10 days after receiving the bill to make his decision. The Republican-led state legislature needs a 3/5s vote to override the veto.
In the briefing, DeWine explained that he used those 10 days to have conversations with those affected including: bill sponsor Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery), physicians and counselors who provide gender-affirming care, detransitioners and medical personnel he met during visits to children’s hospitals in Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati.
This article first appeared in the Buckeye Flame
After more than three years and hearing hundreds of witnesses at the Ohio Statehouse, lawmakers have passed legislation that bans healthcare for transgender youth and prevents transgender girls from competing in sports from kindergarten through college.
After receiving a favorable report from the Senate Government Oversight Committee during its fourth hearing, an amended version of Ohio House Bill (HB) 68 passed 24 to 8 during a full Senate vote Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday evening, the Ohio House voted 61 to 27 to concur, endorsing the Senate’s amended bill and sending it to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature.
Ohio House Bill 68, currently in the state Senate, would criminalize healthcare for transgender youth, ban transgender girls from competing in sports and reject the global medical consensus of millions of doctors.
During nearly eight hours of public testimony at the Ohio Statehouse, doctors and healthcare professionals begged members of the Ohio Senate Government Oversight Committee to reject House Bill 68.
The bill — which would criminalize healthcare for transgender youth and ban transgender girls from competing in sports from kindergarten through college — is set to receive a committee vote on Wednesday December 13 at 9 a.m. If lawmakers vote in favor of the bill, it will likely receive a full senate vote the same afternoon.
Editor’s Note: As described in the last Mary Jane’s Guide article, the Governor and General Assembly indicated that they want to make substantial changes to Issue 2, which passed on November 7th with the approval of over two million Ohio voters. These controversial changes are occurring at the last minute with the introduction of two bills, H.B. 326 and H.B. 341, intended to modify certain sections of the Ohio Revised Code that already contain the Issue 2 ballot language. This is a tight timeline if these modifications are to be made before December 7th, Issue 2’s effective date.
Here is Mary Jane’s planned testimony, should lawmakers hold hearings.
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December 4, 2023
Yesterday afternoon, the Franklin County Board of Elections certified the official results of the November 7, 2023 general election. As an unendorsed major party candidate who was outspent by incumbent corporate Democrat Andy Ginther by over a 60-1 margin, I collected 36 percent of the vote with 76,989 total votes.
My vote total was the highest number of votes that an unendorsed major party candidate has received in the city’s 57 Columbus mayoral elections from the year 1816 to present, and one of only two unendorsed major party candidates to run for mayor in Columbus. The other mayoral election took place 76 years ago in 1947 between insurgent Floyd Green and James Rhodes who were both Republicans.
As a losing candidate, my vote total was the third highest ever recorded. The two election losses with higher vote totals were Michael J. Dorrian’s 92,054 in 1983 and Ben Espy’s1991 loss to Greg Lashutka with 79,083. I also outvoted former mayor Michael Coleman in his 2003 unopposed election and 2007 win over Republican Bill Todd and Andy Ginther in his 2019 mayoral election that he ran unopposed in.