Editor Benjamin Marrison
Columbus Dispatch
34 S. 3rd St.
Columbus, OH 43215

Dear Mr. Marrison:

In your subtle way, your lead editorial on Sunday April 15 was the most disingenuous yet: “Kasich and the House put Ohio on a sustainable path after predecessors failed” is a cruel joke.
· Bill Harris led the Senate in blocking Strickland and Budish from most of their good solution to budget problems.
· It would have been a waste of time and effort to pass more Bills in the House which would have been blocked in the Senate. Several were blocked.
· The “Jobs Budget” and SB 5 will cause losses by the state and sub state governments at all levels. · Please read the enclosed letter for evidence that Republicans caused the “mess we are in”:
1. The Republican Income Tax cut of 2005, which favored those with high income accounts for $ 1 billion per year.

NRC Licensing Board Recognizes Standing, Grants Hearing on Renewable Alternatives and Severe Accident Risks

Toledo, Ohio--On March 1st in a Port Clinton courtroom, the resources of First Energy, one of the largest power companies in the country, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) were arrayed against four citizen groups. First Energy had approximately a dozen lawyers and support staff; the NRC had about half a dozen, while the citizen groups had one lawyer who was a volunteer. It was clearly a case of David versus Goliath, and, in the first round anyway, David won a split decision.

At issue is First Energy's application to extend the operation of the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant twenty years beyond its designed lifespan, from 2017 to 2037. The four citizen groups are: Beyond Nuclear, a Washington D.C. based non-profit; the Ohio Green Party; Don't Waste Michigan; and the Citizens' Environment Alliance of Southwest Ontario. They claim that the plant, which already has a long history of accidents, leaks, and near misses can't be safely run for another twenty years, and that wind and solar power are much more practical alternatives.

"There is no doubt grassroots organizing and advocacy is helping to lay the groundwork for a path to end the war in Afghanistan. The American people are calling for an end to the war, and that begins with the President immediately announcing a significant and sizeable start to the withdrawal of all U.S. troops and military contractors by no later than this July." -- Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Why are we still in Afghanistan?
For many years, the answer has had little to do with our national security interests and everything to do with domestic political considerations and a lack of political will from our elected representatives.

The death of Osama bin Laden deep within the borders of Pakistan during a covert operation carried out by a few dozen elite soldiers underscores how little the continued occupation of Afghanistan makes sense.

But bin Laden's death has also radically changed the political environment we're in and given President Obama significant political cover to bring the war in Afghanistan to an end.

Now, more than ever, we need to speak out to make sure he does so.

Perhaps the eeriest thing about Osama bin Laden’s death is how little it means.
Yeah, I know: “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” The raid on the devil’s compound outside Abbottabad, Pakistan this week apparently kick-started our patriotic fervor, which had been languishing over the course of a pretty bad decade of military quagmire and economic collapse. Killing Osama — turning him, as the New York Times put it, into “a tall, bearded man with a bloodied face and a bullet in his head” — brought back a rush of national purpose and glory.

“On Sept. 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together,” the president reminded us in announcing the success of the Navy SEALs operation. “We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country.”

The Law resulting from SB 5 would:
Rescind the 1983 law which allowed collective bargaining by 360,000 public employees. A quote from the April 5th issue of the Columbus Dispatch, “The Kasich administration says local governments could save nearly $1.1 billion from health care and longevity pay provisions of SB 5, but a contract expert says that the methodology used to calculate the numbers for school workers is flawed.” It would be a burden on the backs of the teachers and other employees who are not overpaid. They earn 12% less than equally qualified employees in the private sector. Innovation Ohio estimates that 51,000 public employees will lose jobs due to SB 5. Many experience teachers will be replaced by those from Teach for America who are poorly trained and inexperienced.

The “saving” would be more than offset by higher costs at all levels of government:
1. Employees would pay less tax because they would earn less.
2. Some would lose their jobs and have to use their unemployment insurance.