Unlike Ohio senators, clowns are professionals

Before passage of the Ohio budget in late December, Senate Republicans removed from the bill a provision that would have cut legislative salaries by five percent. This is great news to tax-weary Ohioans, knowing that legislators have so favored themselves because they only make $60,584 a year for part-time jobs with full benefits.

We appreciate their exemplary performance in not only representing their own interests, but for having frittered countless opportunities to do something important - anything important - but have used their time, instead, to bash political opponents as they try to influence the next election.

Thomas Suddes, whose political commentary is reproduced in the Dispatch, wrote on 12/13/09 “The only differences between the Republican-run Ohio Senate and the Ringling Bros. circus is that the Senate doesn't charge admission (unless you lobby), and Ringling clowns are professionals.”

In this essay he reports that of the 219 Senate bills introduced in 2009 three reached the governor’s desk. “That means (a) most Senate bills are just publicity stunts ... or (b) Republican senators ... aren’t dying of overwork.” Read his essay here. I personally favor the (a) option. And the (b) option.

While the solution for school financing has never been more distant in Ohio law books, our lawmakers nevertheless reserve plenty of time to interfere with lives of constituents. Consider wine purchases and auto wipers.

They had time to protect the interests of the Ohio Wine Producers Association with a new law that limits your household to no more than 24 cases of wine in one year. To understand the details, here’s a link to the Dispatch report.

Also, Ohio’s new law that makes little people turn on their lights when they use their auto wipers went into effect recently. That should draw international ridicule for crude and disruptive government interference.

It is, of course, one of those publicity stunts, but one that backfired with people who know in their hearts they are smart enough to figure out when to turn on their lights. Just when you think government has reached the limit for stupidity, along comes something like this.

Remember, on election day, not those politicians’ deprecating proclamations; remember their performance. If your public servants haven’t been part of the solution to your problems then they are a cause of your problems. That will be the only important point of focus when you step in the voting booth.

EDIT 1/5/10
State Rep. Jay Hottinger wasn’t in the crosshairs of this essay because he isn’t a senator. He is, however, among those I’ve indirectly criticized, without naming him, for what I’ve called, politely, “deprecating proclamations.”

I’m glad he called me 1/4/10 to brief me on his position regarding the state budget and other matters. As our representative from the 71st District we should keep up on what he’s thinking and how he’s voting, but unfortunately there is no easy way to do this, given the lack of interest by the Advocate and the Dispatch.

Related to the above essay, Jay said he supports the 5% pay cut for legislators and he voted against the windshield wiper bill.

He also addressed the state of Ohio economics. Most everyone who cares knows he is a loud and frequent critic of Governor Stickland’s budget. He said this is because it allows for a $5-$8 billion short-fall in a few years.

I said, ok, what are your solutions? He rattled off several possibilities, often adding that he wasn’t sure he’d fully support each of them or some such disclaimer. But from my hasty and incomplete notes, here’s what he said:

One source of more income would be a penny added to the sales tax. That would produce a billion dollars a year, he said.

The rest of his ideas were focused on the other side of the balance sheet: savings. Here are areas he would study: 1) Reform government pensions; 2) make cost-saving corrections in the way the state bids and awards construction projects; 3) prison reforms that would provide for fewer inmates; 4) reduced reimbursement to nursing homes by Medicaid; 5) privatization of the Ohio Turnpike; 6) repeal what are or will be non-funded mandates to schools such as the proposals for a) all-day kindergarten; b) adding 20 days to the school year; c) teacher ratio of 15 students per teacher (presently it is 21-1).

Without adding my thoughts about his thoughts at this point, that’s what he said.

Thanks for nothing, Big Brother

For all the posturing governments large and small do over their role in keeping you safe, their aim couldn’t be worse.

Consider, for instance, the newest annoyance to motorists in the name of traffic safety: Ohio legislators recently decreed that you must turn on your headlights whenever you use windshield wipers.

Now you don’t have to determine that you’re not safe, even though there may be plenty of daylight. Columbus rulers have made that decision for you.

There, Bunky. Feel better, now that Big Brother has given lawmen yet one more excuse to arrest you?

Never mind that Ohio still doesn't outlaw cellphones in the hands of drivers, and lawmen refuse to seriously patrol for tailgating - surely the two most dangerous and stupid of driver addictions.

The lights-on law is every bit as worthless to traffic safety as the ticketing machines in Heath - a city I’ve visited only three times since Reflex cameras began making Australians richer.

There are stores similar to Heath’s in many other nearby places and I’m using them. Heath, I’ve learned, is an easy habit to break.

Government greed, intrusion, and profiteering at drivers’ expense operate behind a smoke screen sold as “safety.” So far it’s worked in Heath and Columbus, but that may change. Big Brother, I hope, has misjudged the degree to which drivers want to be “protected.”

Ending property tax cap would be dangerous

Property owners in Ohio may get rear-ended by a sneak attack from the state legislature. Apparently there is pressure coming from schools to lift the 1976 cap that keeps property taxes from rising when house prices rise.

Why this is dangerous and dumb is the subject of a column by Thomas Suddes in today's Dispatch - Democrats could be in for a shock if they touch property-tax cap

Suddes is, by the way, the most refreshing and intelligent of Dispatch columnists. Maybe that's because he isn't a staffer, but writes from Ohio University. To find his essay on the Dispatch web site you have to enter his name in the search box.

Anyway, his essay today exposes the seriousness of those protecting property from more tax by Big Brother: "Democrats like to claim that Social Security is the third rail in national politics: touch it, and you die. They might find out, and soon, that Ohio politics might have a third rail, too: property-tax caps."

Yeah, but I'm still with Howard

Yesterday I wrote here about campaign funding for state representative candidates Hottinger and Hill. The information came from the Advocate web site and turned out to be incomplete.

Keith W. Hare of Granville caught the errors and made corrections in the comments section, so if you're interested in the details, please go read what he said at this link.

Michael Shearer, Advocate editor, also commented to the effect that the newspaper's database had been brought up to date as of yesterday, but it still doesn't jibe with figures provided by Mr. Hare who got his from the Ohio Secretary of State.

Mr. Hare reports campaign expenditures of $13,059 for Hill; $169,410 for Hottinger. So the presumption I used - that nobody owns Howard Hill and many have purchased Jay Hottinger - has been shot down.

Even so, the point by Mr. Hare - that the top seven of Hottinger's donors kicked in $72,680 and that they are all from out of state - says something about whether Jay has been - and will if elected - exclusively represent the interests of folks in Licking County as should be the case.

I still think Howard will do a better job for the Licking County commoner if he is elected.

I'm with Howard Hill and here's why

This may be the toughest race Jay Hottinger, Licking County's state representative has ever run, even if it weren't for the stench hanging on Republicans because of President Bush. It will be tough because for the first time in my memory Jay will be running against a school teacher with a working man's perspective - and common men and women will indeed get out to vote this year. Jay's opponent is the son of political servant of great stature - Don Hill, whose many years of service to local citizens earned him wide respect and his name on the county government building. Don served with ability and honesty and likely his son would serve us equally well.

This contest pits Howard Hill, the commoner, against Jay Hottinger, the business establishmentarian. Nobody owns Howard, many have purchased Jay. Their contributors are listed at the Advocate's data base:

Howard Hill: Balance on hand: $150;
Donations By Contributor: No records found.

Jay Hottinger: Balance on hand 10/23/08: $103,900;
Donations by Contributor: Charles Dolan, Eva Dolan, Helen Dolan, Larence Dolan - each donated $10,670 (Charles Dolan is described by The Museum of Broadcast Communications as "one of the least known but most powerful moguls in the modern cable television industry in the United States.")

Then there is David Brennan of Akron who gave $10,000 and who runs Ohio's largest charter school company, according to The Ohio Federation of Teachers, and Ann A. Brennan, also of Akron, who donated $5,000.

An Ohio Federation of Teachers report prepared in cooperation with the AFL-CIO union, “... shows clearly that David Brennan has been allowed to circumvent numerous state laws, and that profit, not helping children learn, is the primary motive,” said OFT President Tom Mooney."

The report states that David Brennan built his education empire on public dollars enabled by favorable legislation adopted after enormous campaign contributions to legislators. In one two-month period alone, November and December 2001, while the House was deliberating HB 364 (which significantly relaxed regulations on charter schools), the Brennan family contributed $162,500 to GOP members of the House, all in $2,500 checks (the maximum per cycle at that time) ... Brennan’s charter school operations have faced little scrutiny from regulators, including state auditors, who were also the recipients of his political contributions.

Also contributing to Jay's campaign funds:
Ohio Academy of Nursing Homes - $10,000

William L Lager - owner of "A complete learning management system providing educational services; namely, classroom instruction, primarily on-line, for grades K through 12"

Oil and Gas Association - $5,000

Then there's First Energy, plus First Energy PAC, plus Gary Leidich, president of First Energy, each donating $5,000 to Jay's campaign, plus Gib Reese, Jerry McClain, Les Wexner, Dan Delawder, Marathon Oil, Meijer PAC, - and the list just goes on and on for ten web pages of special-interest donors who have staked a claim for favorable votes by Jay Hottinger.

Owing a piece of any legislator is exactly and precisely what's wrong with government. Jay is worth less as a representative of the common working stiff by $103,900; Howard has maintained his full value. I'm with Howard.

Licking County stands out among bad governments

When Licking County's zealous prosecutor took advantage of a quirk in a Licking County state legislator's badly written law to snare a 15-year-old girl as a sexual predator, (which I wrote about yesterday) I suspect he didn't know it would be a world event.

AP picked it up from the Advocate's report and it has been a subject of interest from New Jersey to Spokane, from Alabama to Canada, and recently it has jumped the ocean to England. Google News claims to have listed 223 news articles about this event as of this morning.

Only one reason for such widespread interest and that is the depths to which government - our local government - has sunk. We are an oddity in a world filled with bad governments.

Let us reflect on our world reputation when our county prosecutor, Ken Oswalt, and our state representative, Jay Hottinger, ask for re-election.

ODNR is dangerous

For some weird, off-the-wall, undeniably goofy reason, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources wants bears roaming free in Ohio.

Kill one - even one in your own yard that is threatening you - and they can put you in the pokie for a year, fine you $1,000, and take your gun. Oh, and make you pay "restitution" for the bear, whatever that is. What kind law is letting these ODNR idiots loose on people?

If you ever get into a conflict with a bear running your neighborhoods, you better fear the ODNR. That's the implication of events reported in a Dispatch article today.

It tells about a Coshocton County man getting in all sorts of trouble for killing a bear that came into his yard twice in one night, threatening him and his dog. The bear was seven yards away when he pulled the trigger.

This incident points - again - to a government bureaucracy that is running amuck, and, as a consequence, keeping citizens from defending themselves and their property.

What legal system gives these Ricky Rangers the authority to endanger citizens of Ohio by excessive pandering to dangerous wildlife? And why doesn't the Ohio legislature put reasonable limits on their authority?

Lets build a nuclear plant in Granville

Thanks to Gov. Strickland and state legislators, Ohio is facing the threat of more nuclear reactors.

Associated Press wrote a good summary of this situation. I didn't see it in print anywhere but located it instead via Google. Here's the link.

Congratulations to Ohio government for this decision, and to the media for alerting us after the fact. Well, no, media haven't really done that yet.

Property owners will have no voice in where these things go. Could be Granville, for all we know. And how about stockpiling the nuclear waste out on West Main Street?

Whether it works out that way or not, you can bet the bureaucrats and energy companies are going to destroy the safety, security and property values of some nice neighborhoods.

They will, that is, unless Ohio citizens intervene.

The care and feeding of Ohio legislators

Ever wonder just how lavishly Ohio taxpayers treat the folks who go to Columbus and make laws? Read about it here - Legislative Benefits, Privileges, and Restrictions of Office.

In summary: They do very well, thank you (as you might expect), including salaries of at least $58,934; and up to $91,865 for the House speaker and Senate president. Add $6,500 to $10,000 for committee chairpersonmanship.

Then there is a list of bennies that go with all that - insurance, retirement, whatnot.

But maybe the best thing is the vacation. Get this: They just went on summer break and won't return for work until the week after the elections; a whooping five-month vacation. Nothing is too good for government employees.

That figures out to $8,419 per month of work at the bottom of the scale, not counting bennies.

Not too shabby. Try to match that in the real world, bunky.

Earmarks: the Washington hog trough

Among the most important freedoms that citizens gave away to government is control over the money they earn. Most is sent to Washington bureaucracy where it is disbursed in ways that would be amusing if it were someone else's money.

"Earmarking" our money for specific projects and political interests is a budgetary end-run which is commonly practiced and evermore expensive.

SourceWatch encyclopedia says earmarks "are typically handed out as favors in exchange for votes on key pieces of legislation by party leaders and appropriations chairmen."

Ohio legislators, as a group, are doing their share at the hog trough - $305 million this year, according to an Associated Press report in yesterday's Advocate.

Another report in the Columbus Dispatch yesterday told how Voinovich, Ohio's own "chief deficit hawk," did his part to balance the budget by making off in the night with $18.7 million for his folks back home in Ohio. He also co-sponsored another $171 million for other states.

Let the meaning of "oink" start to rule Ohio's voting booths.

Ohio's "under-the-influence" law misses the point

Note: this was originally published at Newark Tea Party September 1, 2006. It was called to mind yesterday as I tried to learn how the State of Ohio presumes drivers to be drunk. So I looked at the Ohio Revised Code until my eyes went numb. The main section, 4511.19 Operating vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs - OVI, is at this link. I first wrote about the law when it was new because misses the point. More on this tomorrow.

A new state under-the-influence law was described in Friday's Advocate by Licking County Municipal Judge Michael Higgins. Taking effect Aug. 17 [2006] the law lists several "commonly used drugs of abuse," in the judge's words. The law provides for prosecution based on the presence of these drugs in the blood or urine of the accused. There is no need, the judge reported, for proof that the person was operating a vehicle or watercraft in an impaired manner. And worse, the concentrations specified in the law are, in the words of the judge, "extremely low and may reflect ingestion of the illegal drug days or even weeks before the operation of the vehicle or watercraft."

The new law accommodates prosecutors who formerly couldn't prove the connection between drug consumption and impaired vehicle operation. Now, they no longer have to try. If the drugs show up in the tests, the law now assumes there is a connection even though the accused may have abstained for weeks.

Dumb law. But it calls to mind the irrationality of convicting drivers with a certain level of blood alcohol. Blood-alcohol level does not indicate specific degree of impairment. Individuals differ from one to the other, and from one day to another, depending on other physical factors. You can read about it here.

Predicting the amount of blood alcohol that will result from drinking so much of this or that also depends on various factors. There is a loose connection between number and type of drinks consumed within a certain time period and you can see the scope of variations which can be projected using a "drink wheel," assuming the bar owner will give you a computer and Internet access. Here's the link.

The only sure way to know if you have an illegally high level of blood alcohol is to do a self-test. And would you know where to get a personal breathalizer? Well, neither did the Ohio Highway Patrol officer I questioned several months ago. Strange.

You'd think that personal breathalizers would be readily available at every drug store and gas station and bar. In fact, government, ever willing to intrude on every other human activity might even promote their use, in view of the stakes involved in driving under the influence.

Here's something else that doesn't make sense to me: None of the legal sharpshooting aimed at DUI takes into account the effects of prescription and over-the-counter medicines consumed, many of which can cause great impairment. Maybe because this involves the work of doctors and drug companies instead of bar owners and breweries.

Impairment is impairment, no matter what did it, and determining how much a person is impaired, not what caused the impairment is not just critical to road safety, but the only fair way to prosecute for endangering others. This calls for an instrument to measure impairment itself. Surely there is a scientific way to do this. Skip the blood, the breath, the urine. Can the person function or not? How difficult would it be to measure this at the time of the arrest? Not very. And how much more fair would it be? Infinitely.

Self-defense by force isn't just a guy thing

The Ohio Senate unanimously agreed that Ohioans should be able to respond with force in defense of their lives and family. Further, that doing so should not open them to civil lawsuits.

State Senator Jay Hottinger of Newark is to be congratulated for his vote on this, the Ohio "Castle Doctrine."

We should use the occasion to remember that this isn't just another NRA Second Amendment fight, though the NRA is leading this law through state legislatures. SB 184 - the fight of law-abiding citizens who want to live safely in their own homes - now goes to the House for consideration.

We also need to remember that this isn't just a guy thing. Many, if not most, homes today are headed by the "weaker sex," mostly the sex that needs emboldened for self-defense. They need to buy guns and learn to use them safely, and this might be a small impetus.

That Ohio and other states need to "legalize" something so fundamentally necessary as the "right" to defend oneself in one's own home against criminals is pretty sick. It is just one more sign of how far off the edge the legal profession has pushed rights of regular people.

Stealing for the sake of bigger government

State-level Republicans and governor and Dispatch are trying to abscond with $230 million in stop-smoking funds.

Protagonists in this latest scam claim they'll "create jobs" (hooray for more jobs, as usual!) if they can only get their paws on the pot full of money paid by the tobacco industry as punishment for - what? - selling tobacco products? (As for "more jobs" please read Magic Nanny Strickland should cut government slop, not sell bonds.)

The money was ear-marked for the people trying to influence other people to quit smoking. Like they've been doing any good anyway. What do these people do with all that money?

Still, the purpose of the financial punishment of tobacco companies was to do battle with smokers.

But big state government can't stand to see any stash of change not being spent on the creation of bigger government, which is exactly their plan - a plan sketched in today's Dispatch editorial entitled "The greatest good."

And, by the way, this plan for "stimulating the economy" entails not just scarfing money that doesn't belong to "stimulating the economy," but also a vast new debt of $970 million in bonds which every Ohio taxpayer will also provide to this "stimulation."

True to form in this matter, the state legislators, governor and Dispatch never saw a government spending plan they didn't like.

Ohio Department of Transportation: The killer

"Although it carries far less traffic, Ohio 16 is taking its place alongside Interstate 70 as one of the most dangerous routes in Licking County..." are the ominous words that begin an Advocate report on the lousy state of the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Though the ODOT spokesman mentioned as a factor in roadway crashes the antiquated roads people in Ohio must navigate, more blame was cast on driver deficiencies.

I think it's the other way around. I think ODOT and traffic-deciders everywhere - including Newark Ohio - are too concerned about their images and their publics to do an honest job of protecting drivers from danger. And I think all these folks are far more concerned about the convenience of their contractors than they are about reasonable traffic flow.

I also think that waiting until after the fact - in road design and construction - does more to kill people than any other factor. Ohio 16 has been overloaded and therefore dangerous to drivers for many years. It didn't just happen. Running major highway routes through the heartland of Newark and Heath is another danger that should have been solved decades ago with the construction of bypasses and/or an outer belt.

An example of having more concern for contractors than drivers is the incredibly inconvenient way in which traffic in the Ohio 16 "construction" zone is made to crawl for unnecessarily slow mile after unnecessarily slow mile. Not just where construction is taking place, but also where no construction is or will be. It's just one long, nasty, irritating drive, when in reality slow traffic ought to be confined to the exact places and hours during which construction workers are nearby. All it takes is the timely placement and removal of traffic signs. Without this very small consideration by ODOT, Ohio 16 is a road-rage hatchery.

ODOT and other traffic-deciders place cones and flags willy nilly because, apparently, it makes it easier for the workers. A local example is when city workers sweep or maintain the freeway and route traffic over one lane for many empty miles unfrequented by other vehicles or humans, and when they shut down entire streets to avoid placing flaggers to direct traffic.

Traffic-deciders are inconsistent and often wrong in setting speed limits. An example of this is (the last time I noticed) the 45-mph limit in a miles-long stretch of Ohio 13 that passes Dawes Arboretum. It was suggested by a long-ago Arboretum employee who knew nothing about traffic safety. Meanwhile, traffic through Jacksontown is (the last time I noticed) 45 mph. And further down the road where the ODOT employees turn in and out on Ohio 13, the perfect and newly built roadway is (last time I noticed) apparently safe only at speeds up to 45 mph. And traffic on the new four-lane section of Ohio 79 bypassing Hebron and on down to the Interstate is a stupid 50 mph and the four-lane bypassing Granville is a stupid 55 mph, perhaps both so designated as well-heads to mayors' courts.

There are thousands of such "safe" speed-sign mistakes all over the place. That's why drivers have to decide for themselves which are reality-based speed signs and which are not, factoring in the likelihood of lurking speed-sign enforcers.

Same with those annoying and often unreadable interstate signs that have light bulbs supposedly helping drivers. More often than not they don't have anything to say but they are lit anyway. So who could blame motorists for ignoring them altogether?

Meantime, there are real danger zones (such as the intersection of the expressway off-ramp and Hudson Avenue where many motorists have learned the hard way about the consequences of running red lights) that are not flagged by any of ODOT's or the city's special warning signs - only flowers for the victims. What's with that? Are they afraid that flagging these roadway/traffic-light-designer flaws is an admission of guilt?

Same with the short entry ramp from Buena Vista onto the expressway. Why not flag that ramp by urging west-bound ex-way drivers to drive in the left lane? That solution would be far easier and offer more convenience to motorists than is the Great-Decider solution of tearing out the ramp.

Similarly, why won't ODOT place throughout the state signs along the Interstate instructing drivers to use the left lanes for passing and slower traffic to keep right? And why doesn't ODOT ensure that "resume speed" signs are always placed where resuming speed is legal?

ODOT's speed signs limiting trucks to 55 are deceitful when, if truckers were to obey them, they would do far more harm than good. Not enforcing them is the only way to avoid massive road rage. This stupidity was an Ohio legislature feel-good law passed when the last Bush screwed up the flow of oil to America, as I recall. It has been on the books ever since, almost universally ignored - which is one more reason Ohio drivers have for not trusting their ODOT.

ODOT needs to get with the reality of what makes and fails to make a safe and efficient flow of traffic. If that ever happens, drivers will start believing the value of road signs and the value of ODOT itself, but it will be a long, slow road getting there.

"Castle Doctrine" hearing set for this Wednesday

Ohio is among states in which you can't respond in force in the defense of your life or family without fear of civil lawsuits by criminals.

Senate Bill 184, the "Castle Doctrine" will, if passed, put an end to this foolishness. SB 184 will go before the Criminal Justice Committee 10 a.m. Wed., 1/30/08 for a public hearing in the North Hearing Room.

Anyone who is interested in legalizing one's right to defend himself while under criminal attack should attend the hearing if possible and if not, then contact members of the Senate Judiciary - Criminal Justice Committee. They are listed on the NRA website here.

Included among those members is our own Senator from Lancaster, Tim Schaffer (R-31); Telephone: 614-466-5838; Email: SD31@mailr.sen.state.oh.us

Foreign aid for Newark Ohio

Makes me all warm and fuzzy because those crazy people in Washington are giving foreign aid to people in Newark Ohio like they give it to other countries.

We're going to get paid with tax money for being taxpayers and it's going to cost $150 billion.

They all know, of course, that there is nothing in their federal pants pockets; nothing but debt, meaning they are creating even more debt to "pay" us.

There they were, in that bill-signing photo yesterday, all those crazy congressional leaders, sitting there with the craziest among all crazies, our very own President Bush, smiling at each other and signing this boondoggle and proclaiming it as a fix.

And never once mentioning - nobody ever does - the price of oil which has, and is, devastating our economy to the point where we get foreign aid to survive in Newark Ohio until the election.

Unelected appointees spending tax money

Sending our tax money this way and that on questionable and/or wasteful projects is handled in this state, in large part, by unelected political appointees.

Dan Dodd, state representative from the 91st District, has written an essay about the folly of these practices, and you can read it at WCLT's web site.

Sex offenders, cell phones, and local revitalization

Sex offenders...
I second today's Advocate editorial regarding the mistakes of the new sex-offender regulations. They just don't make sense, and particularly so when compared to the ways in which other types of convicted evil-doers - drug dealers and killers, for instance - are set free after serving their time.

Good job, Advocate. Read it here.

Cell phones ...

Consumer Union is making it really easy for citizens to speak out for regulation of the cell phone industry. I used the form they e-mailed me to encourage meaningful federal legislation.

CU sent a follow-up e-mail, encouraging me to spread the word. Here's what the e-mail said:

"Pass the Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act of 2007
"The cell phone industry doesn't like real competition--so it produces phones we can only use with a particular company, contracts that lock us in with early termination fees, and more. I just took a moment to help turn it around. After FCC investigations last fall and pro-consumer standards passed in some leading states, Congress is finally stepping in to improve the market for all of us.

"I just took two minutes to tell my lawmakers the most important changes I want to see, and I hope you will too. It will take support from tens of thousands of regular people like us to offset the power of a well funded corporate lobby, but Consumers Union -- the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports and a cell phone reform proponent -- has a great track record getting things done. Click here to join me in action."

18th Congressional renewal plan ...

Zack Space is launching "Renew Ohio 18," a long-term game plan to revitalize Southeaster Ohio's economy. Read it here.

Motto for bad government: Go along to get along

Candidates buy votes with promises to better serve their constituents. Once enthroned, they often melt into yea-sayers and appear to be considering the values of the good ol' boys over those of citizens.

They don't make waves or dare speak about the group's folly, wastefulness or injustice because to do so would be offensive to the individuals across the table. Accolades for each other, however, flow bravely and easily.

Going along to get along: It's comfortable but it's cowardly.

Zack Space sponsors needed gun legislation

A bill being co-sponsored by our congressman, Zack Space, will, according to NRA, "make it easier for lawful gun owners and dealers to comply with federal law and regulations, while ensuring those who break the law are punished accordingly."

It also "serves as a vital step toward modernizing and improving BATFE’s overall operations," said the NRA.

I once spent countless man-hours retrieving from BATFE a family heirloom gun that had been stolen from me, even long after the case had been resolved in court. Bureaucrats working there seemed obstinate and out of anybody's control. Long story that involved years'-long effort, a thick file of correspondence, and finally the return of my by-then rust-spotted gun.

The new bill is H.R. 4900 - "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2007.” The NRA put out a news release on it today at this link.