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Sep

26

WLST on WCPN

Filed Under Announcements, WCPN/SOI | Comments Off

And it’s going to be quite the show:

Reporters’ Roundtable: A Merger, a Moratorium, and a Motor Company
Workers at General Motors head back to assembly lines after a two-day strike. The American Bar Association pushes for a moratorium on the death penalty in Ohio. And, how do you like the sound of this? A $174 fine for jaywalking in Cleveland. We’ll talk about those stories, plus a possible state university merger and a few others. Join us Thursday morning at nine.

Guests:
Jill Miller Zimon, blogger, Writes Like She Talks
Janet Okoben, education reporter, The Plain Dealer
Jeff Stacklin, online editor, Crain’s Cleveland Business

You can listen live from here or at your leisure from here, all courtesy of WCPN and its Sound of Ideas show.

I received word late this afternoon of an additional surprise but since it’s not posted on the site yet, I won’t give it away. I will only say that it’s very Cleveland-centric and relevant to much that’s been going on.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:25 pm September 26th, 2007 in Announcements, WCPN/SOI | Comments Off 

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Sep

26

Specs, roll call on Lieberman-Kyl non-binding resolution

Filed Under Government, Military | 4 Comments

First of all, another “not voting” for Obama.  I’m sorry, but that is just not okay.  He has got to vote on this stuff or he loses all rights to stick others with their votes.  Bad, bad form.

Second, read the details here at The Carpetbagger Report and see the roll call here. From Carpetbagger:

In the 11th hour, the Lieberman-Kyl measure was pulled, so that proponents could give the language a little touch-up. It came back today, and passed fairly easily.

The Kyl-Lieberman Iran amendment — which ratchets up the confrontation with Iran by calling for the designation of its armed forces a terrorist organization responsible for killing U.S. troops — just passed overwhelmingly, 76-22.

Of the Dem Presidential candidates, Hillary voted for the measure, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd opposed it, and Barack Obama missed the vote. On the GOP side, John McCain missed the vote.

To be sure, the revised version is preferable to the original. Two offending paragraphs, in particular, were omitted entirely, including the notion that “it should be the policy of the United States to combat, contain, and roll back the violent activities and destabilizing influence inside Iraq of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, its foreign facilitators such as Lebanese Hezbollah, and its indigenous Iraqi proxies.”

Indeed, the original resolution also included language that the Senate would “support the prudent and calibrated use of all instruments of United States national power in Iraq, including diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military instruments,” as part of our drive to “combat” Iran’s “destabilizing influence.”

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown voted against it and George Voinovich voted for it.

So, anyone think more about this post’s ideas yet?

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:03 pm September 26th, 2007 in Government, Military | 4 Comments 

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Sep

26

Pitch the Huffington Post-no money, just eyes

Filed Under Blogging, Politics, Writing | 5 Comments

USA Today carried a superduper secret today, one that all freelance writers ache to find once they’ve identified a market for which they want to write: information on where to send a pitch.

The Huffington Post doesn’t include this email address anywhere on the site, at least not where I could find it.  And, once I found it in the article, I googled it and again, it didn’t turn up anywhere except in the USA Today article.

So – what is it?

Most bloggers (you have to be invited in or ask to be invited via pitch@huffingtonpost.com) get a password that allows them access to the site. Some non-techies use other methods. Actor Alec Baldwin faxes his stuff in. Late historian Arthur Schlesinger used to call Huffington and dictate.

Go forth and multiple those pitches, bloggers.

P.S. – as you might imagine, there’s no money in it.  But the HuffPo is around #5 on most “most read blog” lists.  Lots of eyes glossing over the screen at your words and thoughts.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:37 pm September 26th, 2007 in Blogging, Politics, Writing | 5 Comments 

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Sep

26

Carnival of Ohio Politics #84 now posted

Filed Under Announcements, Blogging, Carnivals | Comments Off

Scott of Pho’s Akron Pages had the honor of putting together this week’s Carnival of Ohio Politics – #84 – cue Twilight Zone music.

Thanks to Scott who edited it with great aplomb (I just never get to use that word).

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:10 pm September 26th, 2007 in Announcements, Blogging, Carnivals | Comments Off 

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Sep

26

E-Verify puts duty on businesses to determine immigration status

Filed Under Business, Government, Immigration | Comments Off

This article from the Oregon Statesman Journal describes a new tool that American businesses will be expected to use in order to detect a prospective employee’s immigration status.

On Tuesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services added a new photo-screening tool to its E-Verify program, formerly the Basic Pilot program.

The system uses the Internet to verify a newly hired worker’s employment eligibility.

“The photo tool enhancement will give employers an additional resource to help verify identity and employment authorization status,” said USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez.

The photo tool allows employers to check the validity of an applicant’s Employment Authorization Document (EAD), a permit to work in the United States, or a Permanent Resident Card, known as a green card, with images stored in the USCIS’ databases.

You can learn more about E-Verify here and Washington Technology’s spread is also helpful.

What I note:

E-Verify, run by the U.S. government – the Deparment of Homeland Security, says that it is free and voluntary.  Yet, it exists.  So, what, if any, business-wide standard will come to exist?

I’m not aware of the extent to which E-Verify currently is used, so I can’t say if use of it is considered an expectation of every company.

But logic would tell me this:

Americans want to reduce illegal immigration.  Business have used illegal immigrants to keep down costs.  Businesses have said that it’s difficult to figure out if someone is illegal or not.  The government has implemented a free and electronic way for businesses to learn about a prospective hire’s immigration status.

How can we not expect that businesses should do this?

That expectation doesn’t mean that no other measures are necessary but only that businesses can no longer get off the hook for lame excuses about not knowing or not being able to verify.

I’ve written about my expectations for businesses in regard to immigration here.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:57 pm September 26th, 2007 in Business, Government, Immigration | Comments Off 

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Sep

26

Lawsuits littering AT&T’s path to planting boxes on our yards

Filed Under Business, Government, Utilities | Comments Off

Lisa Renee at Glass City Jungle posts the entry we knew we’d see eventually that details the multiplying municipal lawsuits against AT&T as the company tries to implant its metal boxes on people’s lawns.

You can catch up on the history and passage of SB 117, the enabling legislation, here at Bill Callahan’s Cleveland Diary. I wrote about it in these posts.

Are you aware of any similar actions that should be added to the list?

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:37 pm September 26th, 2007 in Business, Government, Utilities | Comments Off 

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Sep

26

Borgemenke’s smugness won’t safeguard OH GOP agenda

Filed Under Government, Ohio, Politics, Statehouse | 1 Comment

Yesterday morning, I wrote here about how Scott Borgemenke, chief of staff for Ohio House Speaker, Republican and future candidate for something we don’t know yet, Jon Husted, said that not much would happen in the Ohio legislature this fall that would hinge on the dwindling numbers of Republican house members who actually will be present and working. I suggested that maybe he shouldn’t be so smug and maybe Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, a Democrat, shouldn’t be underestimated about being aware of and taking advantage of the situation.

Well, today, the Columbus Dispatch published this article, “GOP carving out its agenda.”

Let’s take a look at what they’re looking at, according to the article (all bold is mine to indicate the issue involved):

1 & 2. “Gov. Ted Strickland-opposed measures [two exist and Husted has said which he prefers] that would cut the estate tax and create a special-education voucher program.”

The extent of opposition to the estate tax cuts, according to the article:

Strickland opposes any estate-tax cut in light of the tight budget, spokesman Keith Dailey said. House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, also opposes a cut.

“From everything I’ve looked at, this is something that only touches 2 percent of the population,” Beatty said. “The argument that people are fleeing Ohio because of this, I find that very hard to believe.”

And for special ed vouchers:

The governor also hasn’t changed his mind since June, when he used his line-item veto to eliminate a special-education voucher proposal from the state budget. Rep. Jon M. Peterson, R-Delaware, is drafting a new version.

3. “Deciding how to re-regulate Ohio’s electricity industry will top the fall agenda.”

Strickland’s plan is SB 221 and there’s to be an announcement about it this afternoon. Here’s more on the support it’s garnered so far and the bill’s introduction.

4. “clarify state gambling law in order to ban the electronic wagering machines that are popping up across the state.”

5. “A proposal from Auditor Mary Taylor that would create an Office of Internal Auditing, where internal agency audits would be reported. Strickland in July issued an executive order creating a similar office.” I believe Strickland’s been a “not interested” on this one.

6. “House Bill 125, a doctor-supported plan that creates standardized contracts between health-care providers and third-party payers.”

7. “House Bill 230, which bans anyone younger than 18 from indoor tanning without a doctor’s prescription.” Read more

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:46 pm September 26th, 2007 in Government, Ohio, Politics, Statehouse | 1 Comment 

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