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Apr
30
Where I stand: Brunner v. Fisher in Ohio’s US Senate race
Filed Under Democrats, Elections, Jennifer Brunner, lee fisher, Ohio, Politics, rob portman, senate | 5 Comments
Early on, I didn’t believe Jennifer Brunner wanted to run for U.S. Senate.
Early on, I felt sadness creep in because 1) I was wrong in not believing that she wanted to run for the U.S. Senate and 2) I really loved her as Secretary of State.
But early on, when I learned that becoming Ohio’s junior U.S. Senator was what she wanted to do, I never, not once, not for a single second, hesitated to support her as the best candidate and as someone who would serve Ohioans with distinction as a U.S. Senator. I will be voting for Jennifer Brunner in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate race on May 4, next Tuesday. Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:24 pm April 30th, 2010 in Democrats, Elections, Jennifer Brunner, lee fisher, Ohio, Politics, rob portman, senate | 5 Comments
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Apr
30
Alice Miller & Plain Dealer Page of Violence*
Filed Under Civil Rights, Crime, Culture, Education, Ethics, Health Care, Illness, intolerance, Law, leadership, Mental health, Parenting, peace, Sexism, Social Issues, Women, Youth | 1 Comment
Take a look at the Plain Dealer’s Metro section today, page B3. Here are the headlines:
North Ridgeville teen guilty of killing of sex abuser
Brooklyn ex-mayor pleads not guilty in 2008 case [charges involve assaulting a woman at City Hall while the ex-mayor was drunk]
Couple: Boy found beaten, tied to table
Then read this obituary of Alice Miller and this account of her work at Alice Miller, Child Abuse and Mistreatment. It’s not just what makes it to B3.
What are people thinking?
Devastating. Just absolutely tears rolling down my cheeks red with anger devastating.
We have failed to inculcate that there were laws to protect animals before there were laws to protect kids and that being a parent involves undertaking the single most grave responsibility there is in this life: raising another human being.
*TO BE CLEAR: It’s not the PD’s fault that people are committing these acts. Yes, they choose the news we end up reading, but “but for” people being behind these acts, there wouldn’t be any of this to report. Frankly, if I thought it would keep one person from hurting another and protect one person from being hurt, I’d tell the PD to fill an entire day’s edition full of these stories until people rid themselves of every tool of anger, rage, intolerance and lack of a conscience. If we don’t trust that we can make an argument with words to persuade others, I refuse to accept that using violence will reach any preferable result.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:26 am April 30th, 2010 in Civil Rights, Crime, Culture, Education, Ethics, Health Care, Illness, intolerance, Law, leadership, Mental health, Parenting, peace, Sexism, Social Issues, Women, Youth | 1 Comment
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Apr
29
Unique, Inspiring Global Women’s Business Event in Cleveland, May 5
Filed Under Business, Cleveland+, Economy, Gender, leadership, Ohio, Women | 1 Comment
Due to an upcoming family event and the continuing pressures of City Council work, I’m unable to participate in this year’s inaugural Elite Women Around The World’s economic development trade summit on May 5, 2010, 8am – 6pm at Corporate College East, 4400 Richmond Road, Warrensville Heights (very easy to get to). But please do not let that stop you from attending with hundreds of women in business who will gather to network and learn how to promote, advance, encourage and inspire each other. The event’s LinkedIn post and Crain’s listing both have a great deal of specifics.
Rita Singh, a Pepper Pike resident and incredible supporter of women in all walks of life, founded the event which will be put on by her company, Miraj International. I can completely hear her saying this quote, “When women are involved in the economy, important shifts happen.” says Rita.
The keynote address will be given by Ms. Almas Jiwani, President of United National Fund for Women, Ontario Canada.
More than 40 speakers will conduct workshops and panel discussions. You can read about some of the key folks here and more information about the event here, including registration materials.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:11 pm April 29th, 2010 in Business, Cleveland+, Economy, Gender, leadership, Ohio, Women | 1 Comment
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Apr
18
PD Endorses Kelli Perk in Dem Primary for OH House 17 (Mandel’s seat)
Filed Under Cleveland+, democracy, Elections, Government, Independents, OH17, Ohio, Politics, Primary, Statehouse, Voting | Leave a Comment
Yesterday’s Plain Dealer published this endorsement of Democrat Kelli Perk for the May 4 primary she’s in against Tim White to be the party’s nominee for the Ohio House seat being vacated by Josh Mandel. The GOP candidate will be Walton Hills Mayor Marlene Anielski.
My biggest complaint has always been that my district gets left behind in terms of strategic planning when it comes to the Ohio Democratic Party’s review of the Ohio House opportunities. I’m not sure that much has changed this year, except that with re-districting around the corner, perhaps it matters less than I imagine. The district is a weird shape with very wide-ranging demographics, including a lot of voters classified as independents or unaffiliated (which is to say, they don’t vote in primaries except if they’re voting on issues).
I’m not a party person, as I’ve said many times, so I really can’t substitute my imagination for the ODP’s thinking. But I have to say, after following the district’s races closely for about five years now, I still don’t get the more or less hands-off nature of the ODP’s approach to this district versus others.
I will tell you that I’m very glad that we will have someone new representing the district.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:07 am April 18th, 2010 in Cleveland+, democracy, Elections, Government, Independents, OH17, Ohio, Politics, Primary, Statehouse, Voting | Please comment
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Apr
14
Judges, Conservatives, Liberals: We Are All Activists
Filed Under activism, democracy, Law, leadership, Social Issues, Writing | 4 Comments
I’ve written on defining “activism” before but this op-ed in today’s New York Times is superb, as an op-ed and as an argument for why U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is as activist as was the late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger. From professor of law, Geoffrey R. Stone (University of Chicago – yeah yeah yeah where President Obama taught) who also is an editor of The Supreme Court Review, an excerpt (but read the whole thing):
Rulings by conservative justices in the past decade make it perfectly clear that they do not “apply the law” in a neutral and detached manner. Consider, for example, their decisions holding that corporations have the same right of free speech as individuals, that commercial advertising receives robust protection under the First Amendment, that the Second Amendment prohibits the regulation of guns, that affirmative action is unconstitutional, that the equal protection clause mandated the election of George W. Bush and that the Boy Scouts have a First Amendment right to exclude gay scoutmasters.
Whatever one thinks of these decisions, it should be apparent that conservative judges do not disinterestedly call balls and strikes. Rather, fueled by their own political and ideological convictions, they make value judgments, often in an often aggressively activist manner that goes well beyond anything the framers themselves envisioned. There is nothing simple, neutral, objective or restrained about such decisions. For too long, conservatives have set the terms of the debate about judges, and they have done so in a highly misleading way. Americans should see conservative constitutional jurisprudence for what it really is. And liberals must stand up for their vision of the judiciary.
The only thing I disagree with is that very last line – all jurists should stand up for their vision of the judiciary, but they should admit that their decisions affect the law – and that that action of making legal decisions, in and of itself, is activist. Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:23 am April 14th, 2010 in activism, democracy, Law, leadership, Social Issues, Writing | 4 Comments
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Apr
13
LIVE-BLOG: Cleveland City Club Brunner-Fisher Debate
Filed Under Cleveland+, Debates, Democrats, Jennifer Brunner, lee fisher, Ohio, Politics, senate | 2 Comments
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:01 pm April 13th, 2010 in Cleveland+, Debates, Democrats, Jennifer Brunner, lee fisher, Ohio, Politics, senate | 2 Comments
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Apr
13
Brunner, Fisher Debate at MARRIOTT (sponsored/hosted by City Club)
Filed Under Jennifer Brunner, lee fisher, senate | 2 Comments
The Plain Dealer’s item today on the Brunner-Fisher debate, including the “What you need to know box” makes no mention that this event is NOT in the City Club facility – it’s at the downtown Cleveland Marriott.
Democratic Candidates for U.S. Senate, Ohio, Jennifer Brunner (Secretary of State) and Lee Fisher (Lt. Governor) debate at the Cleveland Marriott Hotel, 127 Public Square.
I suppose the City Club website could be wrong, but you know, there may be a few people who didn’t notice this change in venue when signing up or reading the PD’s print coverage today. I just posted a comment at the cleveland.com entry.
I know I hate showing up at the wrong place – esp. if you’ve parked your car etc.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:20 am April 13th, 2010 in Jennifer Brunner, lee fisher, senate | 2 Comments
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Apr
10
Can Poland’s Tragic Political Losses in Plane Crash Lead to More Possibilities?
Filed Under democracy, Government, Israel, leadership, Politics, RIP | 1 Comment
I went to college, studying modern foreign governments among other things, in the era of Lech Walesa (so much did it affect my college years and learning that I thought the song, Safety Dance, was actually, Save Gdansk) and the Solidarity Movement. Additionally, I’m a quarter-Polish – my paternal grandfather came over as a stowaway in a pickle barrel during the later part of World War I. My first boyfriend was Polish Catholic and while the irony was lost on me, it did kind of freak out my parents.
So this incredible loss, also mentioned in Joe’s TMV post here, while indescribable to me, must be even more so to the people of Poland, including its Jewish community, of which my ancestry makes me a part and which has grown and experienced a renaissance over the last couple of decades. Additionally, as YNET reports, President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were considered great friends of Israel. Talk about the times they are a-changing.
But there is a nexus I think of when broad losses like the one that Poland’s political leadership must now face occur. It’s an incident I learned about when I was going through a two-year leadership training institute and it was mentioned to us as an example of how even the most tragic losses still can give rise to extraordinary re-birth and re-creation. The incident to which I’m referring is the Orly crash of 1962 (the year I was born, incidentally). Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:18 am April 10th, 2010 in democracy, Government, Israel, leadership, Politics, RIP | 1 Comment
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Apr
2
From Ohio Governor Ted Strickland on the passing of Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyers who was just 70 years old and yet the longest-serving state court chief justice in the country:
I am saddened to learn of the passing of my friend and Ohio’s Chief Justice, Thomas Moyer. I was honored when Tom swore me in as governor. That was the beginning of a warm and close working relationship, the kind of mutually respectful relationship you always envision leaders of different branches of government having. But that was Tom: dignified, respectful, thoughtful and always concerned for the well-being of others. It was never about him. Tom unselfishly served the people of Ohio for so many years. I know he was very much looking forward to his retirement, but he loved what he did. In recent years, he was a leader and a partner in Ohio’s bipartisan efforts to fight foreclosure and to take a serious and comprehensive look at corrections reform. He spoke passionately and convincingly for reducing the influence of money in judicial elections.
Coincidentally, the chief justice who preceded Moyer and whom Moyer bested in the 1986 election, Frank D. Celebrezze, died last week.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:59 pm April 2nd, 2010 in Courts, Law, Ohio, Politics, RIP | 1 Comment
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Apr
1
Taping Feagler & Friends Tomorrow
Filed Under Jill Miller Zimon, Media, Politics | Leave a Comment
Newsmaker: Megan O’Bryan, executive director, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. The Special Commission on Missing Persons and Sex Crime Investigations, of which O’Bryan was a member, completed its work this week with a 933-page report and a series of two dozen recommendations detailing how Cleveland police can better handle such cases. The Cleveland Mayor’s office set up the Commission after the Imperial Avenue serial killings brought out public complaints that police often treated crime victims with disdain.
Roundtable: Kevin O’Brien, editorial writer, The Plain Dealer; Jill Miller Zimon, blogger, “Writes Like She Talks.”
Voter Loyalty—Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is telling local boards of election that voters who want to switch parties in the upcoming primary must sign a document swearing that their change of heart is for real. They must affirm they’ll uphold the principles of their new party. Critics, some newspapers among them, say Brunner is being too harsh but her office says election law backs her stand. More than a dozen states have similar laws.
No Traction for Reform Suit in Ohio—State Attorney General Richard Cordray this week refused to join attorneys general in more than a dozen other states who’ve filed suit to challenge the constitutionality of health care reform legislation. Cordray, a Democrat, says the suit is without merit.
Neither Snow nor Sleet but Saturdays…maybe– The U.S. Postal Service is thinking about dropping Saturday mail delivery. It would be an economy move for the post office, which lost almost four billion dollars last year. The post office says mail volume dropped dramatically because of the recession and because so many Americans now rely on email.
Newsmaker II: Dr. Leanne Chrisman, family practitioner, University Hospitals. ideastream® kicks off “Fighting Fat,” a weeklong focus on the problems being caused by obesity. Dr. Chrisman discusses the physiological dangers of extreme body fat and addresses the higher medical costs that obesity-related complications can bring on. Read more
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:35 pm April 1st, 2010 in Jill Miller Zimon, Media, Politics | Please comment
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Apr
1
Obama Loves Sight of Oil Rigs, Okays Them for Reflecting Pool
Filed Under Barack Obama, Energy, Environment, Government, Politics, Social Issues | 2 Comments
If I were a prankster, I’d find every body of water close to President Obama and erect an oil rig in it because that’s how angry I am about the new off-shore drilling announcement. Forget that it won’t decrease our reliance on foreign oil, forget that there are already millions and millions of acres of drillable ocean area, forget that the Atlantic Seaboard is one of the most densely populated areas of our country and already weathers red tides, mercury in its fish and the worst kids of flotsam and jetsam in its waters.
Oh – just go read what I wrote at BlogHer about the announcement and the reax to it.
Because of my attachment to Israel and my demand that we become more energy independent so that we don’t keep fueling the oil countries that relax on our backs, I’m as desirous if not more so than most Americans for decreasing our reliance on those nations. What do you think of Obama’s announcement? I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who live along the Gulf Coast and have lived through its horizon’s transformation.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:28 am April 1st, 2010 in Barack Obama, Energy, Environment, Government, Politics, Social Issues | 2 Comments
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