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Oct
26
Jim Trakas, my former rep, gets PD nod, still working to pass gambling
Filed Under Cleveland+, Congress, Dennis Kucinich, Endorsements, Jim Trakas, Ohio, Politics | 8 Comments
From the wayback machine, several regular readers commented on the revelation that Jim Trakas, a Republican who has been head of the Cuyahoga County Republican Party and was my state rep before he was term-limited out in 2006, and who is now trying to unseat Dennis Kucinich and represent Ohio’s 10th congressional district, has also been working to help pass Issue 6, the constitutional amendment that seeks to legalize casino gambling in Ohio. Pretty much every view along the spectrum is in the comments there, from April 2008, but the one commonality is that most of us, when we did comment, commented that we believed Jim to be a decent, hard-working individual, a moderate and someone with integrity.
Today, the Plain Dealer endorsed Trakas over Kucinich:
Republican Trakas was a middling legislator in Columbus, marginalized by the far-right members of his own party. We’re also, quite frankly, disappointed that in addition to running in this race, he is doing campaign work for the pro-casino forces behind State Issue 6.
The people of the 10th District deserve an advocate focused on their needs. This is a tough call, but we think Trakas can be that advocate. He is conscientious, pragmatic and unlikely to be diverted by the bright lights of national politics. His roots on a city council suggest that he’d deliver strong constituent services, as Kucinich has.
Kucinich seems unfazed that his politics have strayed so far from reality that half the Democrats in his district voted against him in the March 4 primary. Perhaps that’s because he is virtually certain to win re-election. What Kucinich should understand is that his uncompromising, unrealistic brand of politics is hurting the community he professes to love.
I do not live in the 10th – I’m in the 11th. But I like Jim so I’m happy for him. On the other hand, if I did live in the district, I’m not sure whether or not I would vote for him. On the one hand, given the strength the Democrats are expected to gain in the U.S. House, it might be good to put a moderate Republican in there – I’m a big supporter of checks and balances and fear single-party rule as much as many people do.
However, only if I lived in the district would I know how I feel about what Kucinich has or hasn’t done. The stories that come out of the district regarding his getting things done for constituents are myriad. I happened to have thought that Barbara Ann Ferris was a great and sorely undercovered candidate in the primary against Kucinich. If she’d have won, I would easily be able to support her.
I wish the residents the best of luck. I think they certainly could do far worse than Jim, and although I am adamantly against casinos and he is working to make them a reality, again – since I don’t live there, and I don’t know Kucinich well enough as a constituent, I’m not really sure how I would vote.
I do wish Jim the best of luck.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:00 pm October 26th, 2008 in Cleveland+, Congress, Dennis Kucinich, Endorsements, Jim Trakas, Ohio, Politics | 8 Comments
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Oct
26
Update on U.S. attack on Syria
Filed Under Foreign Affairs, Israel, Military | Comments Off
First, from Syria Comment:
The Bush administration seems to be ratcheting up action against Syria during its last days in power. The cross border raid undertaken on Sunday, which killed eight people, seems to fit into a broader pattern of the Bush administration initiating cross boarder attacks into countries that it is not officially at war with. The recent attacks in Northwest Pakistan are a case in point.
And Meryl Yourish’s posts tagged with Syria would be something to keep an eye on if you want to follow this incident.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:41 pm October 26th, 2008 in Foreign Affairs, Israel, Military | Comments Off
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Oct
26
Haveil Havalim #187 and #188 now posted (Carnival of Jewish Bloggers)
Filed Under Blogging, Carnivals, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, Religion, Writing | Comments Off
What War Zone? is the gracious host this week of Haveil Havalim #188. Please check it out.
Also, I missed posting a link to last week’s Haveil Havalim #187 The Sukkot 5769 Edition hosted at Ill Call Baila but I hope you’ll go check up.
Happy New Year again to everyone.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:44 pm October 26th, 2008 in Blogging, Carnivals, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, Religion, Writing | Comments Off
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Oct
26
Why is the U.S. carrying out an air attack in Syria?
Filed Under Foreign Affairs, George Bush, Israel, Military, Politics | 6 Comments
Anyone?
Media reports gave conflicting accounts of the incident, which they said had involved an air strike on civilians.
State television, quoting unnamed officials, said that an attack took place near the Syrian border town of Abu Kamal. It gave no further details on the incident.
The private television channel al-Dunia said that nine people had been killed when an unknown number of American helicopters attacked the village of Al-Sukkiraya.
“Nine people were killed and 14 wounded in the raid, which hit a group of builders while they were working,” the television station said. “All victims were civilians.”
Local residents told the Associated Press that two helicopters carrying US soldiers raided the village of Hwijeh, 10 miles inside Syria’s border. They claimed that seven people had been killed and five others wounded innthe attack.
Ideas? I just saw W. last night – I’m really not interested in this kind of crap starting anew, are you?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:16 pm October 26th, 2008 in Foreign Affairs, George Bush, Israel, Military, Politics | 6 Comments
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Oct
26
I’m very sorry to read this:
Livni, the foreign minister and prime minister-designate, won the Kadima Party primary in September following Ehud Olmert’s resignation. But she was unable to assemble a governing majority and on Sunday said she would not ask Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, for more time to bring coalition partners on board.
Livni had managed to bring the Labor Party, led by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, on board, but she failed to reach an agreement with the Orthodox Shas party or other potential coalition partners to pass the 61-seat threshhold necessary to become prime minister.
…
Although Peres is likely to recommend going to new elections, the president has three days to appoint another lawmaker to form a new government within 28 days. If the country goes to new elections, they likely will be held in February or March. Until then, Olmert will stay on as caretaker prime minister.
This inability to form a coalition (let alone maintain one once formed) is one of the main reasons I say be careful what you wish for: multi-party governments are no panacea for the problems of our two-party system.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:53 pm October 26th, 2008 in Government, Israel | 1 Comment
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Oct
26
Chicken Soup for the Swing State Soul, 10/26/08
Filed Under Barack Obama, Chicken Soup, Politics, WH2008 | 2 Comments
Edmond Dewey Swensen, known as Dewey, was campaigning in Sparks on Oct. 18 when he suffered a massive heart attack and died, his wife Susan Swensen said Friday.
In addition to speaking to Obama, Susan Swensen said she also received flowers from him and has VIP seats for his campaign appearance in Reno today.
She said her husband, 64, had been campaigning for Obama for just four days but that it had changed him.“It was like he had a complete purpose,” she said.
When Obama called her on Monday, Susan Swensen said she didn’t answer the phone because she didn’t recognize the number, but called back and spoke to Obama directly.He’d also left a message on her voicemail to offer his condolences and express his gratitude for Dewey Swensen’s campaign efforts.
“I’m so sorry for your loss and so grateful to you and Dewey for volunteering for the campaign,” Obama said in the message. “Obviously it’s a heartbreaking situation, but I just wanted to you to know I was thinking about you and praying for you and I hope all the great memories that I’m sure you must have tide you through these difficult times.”
Read the entire story. RIP, Mr. Swensen.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:28 pm October 26th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Chicken Soup, Politics, WH2008 | 2 Comments
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Oct
26
Tearing hair out over Palin contradicting herself within 24 hours
Filed Under Government, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | 11 Comments
“Now they do this in other countries where the people are not free — government as part of the family, taking care of us, making decisions for us,” she [Sarah Palin] said during a rally in Sioux City, Iowa. “I don’t know what to think of having in my family Uncle Barney Frank or others to make decisions for me.”
[Parent Jessica] Haas explained that she was having trouble getting her two-year-old son—who is deaf—access to the services to which he’s entitled.
“Have you been working with your local elected officials?” Palin asked.
Haas said that she had been doing so but was not satisfied with the results. A Palin staffer then tried to break up the conversation, reaching down from the stage and putting his arm between Palin and Haas.
Palin asked the woman if she had a specific question.
“I mean, what can we do so that parents don’t have to demand that the rights be given?” Haas said.
“Well, you need to have faith that your—that your elected officials will demand that for you, so the bureaucracy is—is enabling you to get those things, well, taken care of,” Palin said. “… as the advocate in the White House, that’s what I will ensure.”
Okay. Tell me how wrong I am.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:44 am October 26th, 2008 in Government, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | 11 Comments
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Oct
26
Bush asking Mukasey to make 200k Ohio voters cast provisional ballots
Filed Under Elections, George Bush, Government, Law, Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 2 Comments
This is just nuts. I guess if you learn that the U.S. Supreme Court can help you win the presidency, asking the Attorney General in your administration to force Ohioans to cast provisional ballots doesn’t sound so crazy.
President Bush is asking the Justice Department to look into whether 200,000 Buckeye State poll-goers must use provisional ballots on Election Day because their names do not match state databases.
White House spokesman Carlton Carroll confirmed Friday that the president will forward a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey from House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), requesting that the Justice Department look into whether the state’s voter rolls comply with the Help America Vote Act.
Thank God for the 50 state strategies. I’ve been saying for a week or so now that the best case scenario is for Ohio to go to John McCain so that the Ohio Republicans have nothing to complain about. And, according to the in-the-know folks I listened to a few nights ago, there is a strong belief that, in the end, Ohio won’t matter.
Talk about partisan behavior. Bush never has cared about Ohio. Now it seems as though he doesn’t care about much else related to democracy and federalism either.
Final thought: I speculate that this move, from a PR perspective, will backfire because some of those 200k voters are independents and Republicans. I have hard time believing that they want Bush to step in and keep their votes from counting. Way to encourage people to register, vote and partake in our government. It’s moves like this one that show the hypocrisy of Sarah Palin, John McCain and anyone else who is shouting “socialism!” “communism!” because it demonstrates the lengths to which these elected officials will go to get the result they want, show a lack of faith in the systems and people we voters and our elected state officials put in place and not allow democracy to function.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:36 am October 26th, 2008 in Elections, George Bush, Government, Law, Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 2 Comments
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Oct
26
Indy Star pulls a 2004 Plain Dealer: no endorsement
Filed Under Barack Obama, Endorsements, John McCain, Media, Ohio, Politics, WH2008 | Comments Off
Not for exactly the same reasons but still the same result. From the Indianapolis Star:
The Editorial Board is made up of eight ordinary people, privileged by position to hear more directly than most Americans from the candidates and their campaigns but also affected, like all Hoosiers, by hopes and fears for the nation and state. Board members take the responsibility to offer political endorsements seriously, weighing candidates’ strengths and weaknesses and balancing those judgments with the opinion page’s long history of support for traditional values and opposition to intrusive government programs.
After lengthy and impassioned discussions, the Editorial Board remains evenly divided, along philosophical lines, over whether McCain or Obama is the better choice for president. For that reason, the board will withhold an endorsement in the presidential race this year.
That decision should in no way discourage any voter from enthusiastically casting a ballot. The issues facing the United States are critical, and the two major-party candidates offer sharply contrasting visions of how the nation should proceed. It’s more vital than ever that Americans help shape their future by active participation on Election Day.
Here’s more on what happened at the PD in 2004. FYI, Lisa Chamberlain, who wrote that piece, used to live in the Cleveland area. She is a writer for the New York Times on real estate and is the author of the book, Slackonomics: Generation X in the Age of Creative Destruction.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:17 am October 26th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Endorsements, John McCain, Media, Ohio, Politics, WH2008 | Comments Off
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Oct
26
Cincinnati Enquirer nod to McCain relies on fabricated line attributed to Obama
Filed Under Barack Obama, Elections, Endorsements, John McCain, Media, Ohio, Politics, WH2008 | 2 Comments
The Cincinnati Enquirer endorsement of Sen. John McCain includes this paragraph (emphasis added):
The recent dialogue between Obama and “Joe the Plumber,” Ohio resident Joe Wurzelbacher, illustrated to voters Obama’s focus on “spreading the wealth” through taxes rather than growing the nation’s wealth by encouraging middle-class Americans to aspire upward, creating more businesses, jobs, income – and more tax revenue. “A strong government hand is needed to assure that wealth is distributed more equitably,” Obama says. That’s a zero-sum, central-control mentality.
One problem: Obama never said that.
As reported by snopes.com, a viral email has spread which takes a misleading and overly simplistic paraphrase of Obama’s words by the Wall Street Journal, and falsely attributes it to Obama.
Go to Liberal Oasis and/or Snopes to read more, including the partial transcript which was the basis for the WSJ article.
Ugh.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:06 am October 26th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Elections, Endorsements, John McCain, Media, Ohio, Politics, WH2008 | 2 Comments
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Oct
26
NPR twofer: Ohio ground game; Internet’s impact on political machine
Filed Under Campaigning, Elections, Ohio, Tech, WH2008 | Comments Off
Each one is just a few minutes – audio available at the hyperlinks:
Ohio ground game (includes reference to Ohio State football and Columbus Obama office):
Tension is especially high in a handful of toss-up states that will determine the winner of the presidential election, and nowhere is the tension higher than in Ohio. This is the state that determined the winner in 2004 and grass roots efforts for both campaigns are fighting long and hard. Guest Host Alison Stewart speaks with NPR’s David Greene about the battle for Ohio.
Internet impact on political machine:
The Obama machine is new kind of hybrid of top-down leadership and bottom-up energy. While many of its activities are initiated from above, it is also benefiting from a huge outpouring of voter-to-voter self-organizing. By putting the power in supporters’ keyboards, the political machinery of 2008 has differed dramatically from that of previous election years. Guest Host Alison Stewart talks with Micah Sifrey, of TechPresident.com and Chuck DeFeo, of Townhall.com about how both parties have used technology to reach out to voters and change campaigning in the future.
According to in-the-know voices I listened to in person the other night, the numbers working the ground game for Obama v. McCain are overwhelmingly in Obama’s favor. Completely different approaches, completely.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:13 am October 26th, 2008 in Campaigning, Elections, Ohio, Tech, WH2008 | Comments Off
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Oct
26
Ohio newspaper endorsement tally: Obama 9, McCain 3
Filed Under Barack Obama, Endorsements, John McCain, Media, Politics, WH2008 | Comments Off
Reminding readers of Greg Mitchell’s belief that newspaper endorsements may not matter so much, but in the swing states, they may very well be predictive.
From today’s listing at Wikipedia:
Overall:
| Summary of Endorsements (with circulation) | ||||||
| Obama | McCain | |||||
| pubs. | circ. | pubs. | circ. | |||
| Daily Newspapers[2] | 140 | 19,111,255 | 44 | 4,541,778 | ||
| Magazines, weekly papers, and other publications | 14 | 4,547,076 | 4 | 137,795 | ||
| Total | 154 | 23,658,131 | 48 | 4,541,778 | ||
| Party Switches | 32 | 5 | ||||
For McCain:
| The Courier (Findlay)[16] | 22,319[5] | Paid | Ohio | Bush |
| The Columbus Dispatch[23] | 334,422 | Paid | Ohio | Bush |
| The Cincinnati Enquirer[55] | 206,320 | Paid | Ohio | Bush |
For Obama:
| The Canton Repository[77] | 78,066[4] | Paid | Ohio | Bush |
| The Toledo Blade[85] | 147,141[4] | Paid | Ohio | Kerry |
| The Dayton Daily News[87] | 157,833[4] | Paid | Ohio | Kerry |
| The Springfield News-Sun[96] | 24,684[4] | Paid | Ohio | Kerry |
| The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) [132] | 632,797[4] | Paid | Ohio | No Endorsement |
| Akron Beacon Journal [145] | 155,436[4] | Paid | Ohio | Kerry |
| The Hamilton JournalNews [159] | 21,705[4] | Paid | Ohio | Bush |
| New Philadelphia Times Reporter[160] | 22,428[4] | Paid | Ohio | Bush[161] |
| The Middletown Journal [178] | 18,299[4] | Paid | Ohio | – |
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:06 am October 26th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Endorsements, John McCain, Media, Politics, WH2008 | Comments Off
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Oct
26
This is just such a horribly sad story – I started to follow it yesterday. I’m so sorry for the family and of course, Ms. Pressly. Violence against women. It kills. A lot.
More on Anne Pressly, an anchorwoman in Arkansas.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:44 am October 26th, 2008 in Crime, Media, RIP, Women | Comments Off
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Oct
26
Drosophila, autism, fruit flies & Sarah Palin
Filed Under Campaigning, Education, Health Care, Illness, Politics, Sarah Palin, Science, WH2008 | 9 Comments
The Moderate Voice and Think Progress each have excellent posts about the kerfuffle regarding Alaska Governor and GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin’s suggestion that fruit fly research constitutes a pet project earmark that could be cut to fund her $13 billion for special needs education (at critiqued her education proposals here). Here’s the video:
Let me say this about that:
My mother worked in the Yale MB&B lab of Dr. Alan Garen for 14 years – doing nothing but research on fruit flies. Here is a paper she helped write that was published in 1984 called, “Mutations Affecting Functions of the Drosophila Gene Glued.”
MB&B labs have been doing research for decades before my mom and they’re doing it now still. I hope my mother doesn’t faint, choke or choke someone else when she reads this. Better if she just writes a good comment about her work and what it’s led to over the years (not the least of which include jobs in science – you know, that discipline that leads to innovation, invention and economic production, not to mention health once in a while).
Although I’m not a student of the hard sciences, having grown up around it (my father had two masters in applied hard sciences and worked in the chemical business for decades), I cannot state how stunningly shortsighted I find Palin’s suggestion any better than PZ Meyers of the wonderful science blog, Pharyngula, who was quoted in the TMV post, although I definitely would not have included the name-calling descriptions, regardless of whether I was thinking them or not: Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:34 am October 26th, 2008 in Campaigning, Education, Health Care, Illness, Politics, Sarah Palin, Science, WH2008 | 9 Comments
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Oct
26
Palin supports paternalistic government that steps in for us
Filed Under Education, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | 1 Comment
I swear I talk about this everyday – and can’t wait until I’m not.
Haas explained that she was having trouble getting her two-year-old son—who is deaf—access to the services to which he’s entitled.
“Have you been working with your local elected officials?” Palin asked.
Haas said that she had been doing so but was not satisfied with the results. A Palin staffer then tried to break up the conversation, reaching down from the stage and putting his arm between Palin and Haas.
Palin asked the woman if she had a specific question.
“I mean, what can we do so that parents don’t have to demand that the rights be given?” Haas said.
“Well, you need to have faith that your—that your elected officials will demand that for you, so the bureaucracy is—is enabling you to get those things, well, taken care of,” Palin said. “… as the advocate in the White House, that’s what I will ensure.”
Okay, so, Governor Palin – didn’t she just give a speech against big government? And personal responsibility? And the fear we should feel because she equates Barack Obama with communism?
And yet here, Palin inserts religion and suggests that our elected officials are the answers to all our troubles, that they will demand things for us, “so the bureaucracy is…is enabling you to get those things, well, taken care of…”
That would give government an enormous role in education and in child-rearing. It is also completely counter to the notion of parental choice that is the foundation for vouchers and charter schools.
I’m starting to give up on the purposely conflating thing and leaning toward the doesn’t know what she’s talking about thing but more likely? She just is not thinking and just wants to say whatever she thinks people want to hear.
Those words that she tried to present as encouragement are nonsensical – unless you really do want big government and no personal responsibility.
As someone who helped get started and then was on the board of a parent networking group for kids with special or gifted education needs, here’s what I would have told the woman: Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:24 am October 26th, 2008 in Education, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | 1 Comment
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