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Sep

28

What Do Jews Do, Rosh Hashana, 2011

Filed Under Holidays, Jewish, Jill Miller Zimon, Judaism | 4 Comments

I’ve been writing this series of blog posts since the beginning, in 2005, and am pleased to say that I’ve progressed (aka gotten OLDER) to the point where my husband is making the meal, we have guests bringing the salad, I only have to make the apple pie and order my kids around to do everything else – and pick up the phone to get help for our afternoon brunch celebration.  I am lucky – very lucky.  And I’m grateful to that husband and those kids who make my luck possible and more plentiful everyday.

I can’t even think about how this past year, 5771, has been – full of an incredibly wide variety of activities, highs and lows. But really? I think I am getting that affliction my parents used to say was only for older folks (aka my Nana in particular, my father’s mother): you only remember the good – because I just don’t remember that much bad. Maybe there really wasn’t that much bad – certainly compared to the challenges of many I know, there wasn’t.  But could it be that I simply don’t remember the bad so much anymore?

I’m choosing to enter 5772 with the belief that there actually is less bad. For all the distrust in government (just read that the public’s trust in Washington, DC is down to 15%), just this morning a fellow elected called me with enormous glee at the reality that we are in fact having an impact – that those of us who chose to extricate politics from governing can be heard and agreed with and set a tone, and we’re not alone.  There is a place for politics – I love politics.  But I don’t like politics when they mess negatively with governing or the public’s trust.  And that’s a big part of what we’re getting year-round, every year, because there is no such thing as an off-year.

And so I’m going to keep working so that there is less bad all around. My kids are in demanding stages – rewarding stages, but demanding stages.  My work in my writing, at Council and now at The Civic Commons continues to be incredibly rewarding. I feel I’ve earned these opportunities but I never forget that that’s what they are and I must treat them that way to keep earning them.

And so I see 5772 as an opportunity – it’s a new year, I’ll be turning 50, I’ll be married 20 years, my oldest will graduate from high school (baruch ha Shem as we say).

Seriously – I can’t be heard to complain.  Or, as Connie Schultz’ sign says, No Whining.

Totally no whining.

L’shanah Tovah and thank you to everyone who has supported me – you don’t even know.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:24 pm September 28th, 2011 in Holidays, Jewish, Jill Miller Zimon, Judaism | 4 Comments 

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Sep

27

Tonight: Cleveland Beyond Coal Kick-Off in Cleveland Hts, 7pm

Filed Under activism, Energy, Environment, Health Care, Moms Clean Air Force | Leave a Comment

Stefanie Spear’s EcoWatchOhio has an excellent post about the Beyond Coal group here.  It appears to be a direct result of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s commitment to clean air, with his recent $50 million gift to The Sierra Club. You can read more about their meeting this evening here. The basics:

Date/Time:
September 27, 2011 – 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Location

Cleveland Heights Public Library @ Lee Road (Main)

2345 Lee Road

Cleveland Heights, OH 44118

See map: Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, MapQuest

For questions, contact alistair@greencorps.org.  Many thanks to Alistair for reaching out to me and informing me of this development.
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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:33 pm September 27th, 2011 in activism, Energy, Environment, Health Care, Moms Clean Air Force | Please comment 

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Sep

22

Help stop the TRAIN Act

Filed Under coal, Energy, Environment, Moms Clean Air Force, Politics | 1 Comment

There’s an awful lot of news grabbing attention this week but in that bustle, please do not ignore or lose sight of the TRAIN Act which needs to be defeated in the U.S. House tomorrow. The threat to us is so strong that even the Obama administration has threatened to veto it if it makes it through Congress.

The TRAIN (Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation) Act would “…mandate new interagency economic analyses of EPA rules and delay two major air pollution regulations by years.”

You can read a lot more about how foreboding it is in any one of these posts:

TRAIN Act – Can A Quiet Prayer Protect Our Planet?

The TRAIN Act Is On The Wrong Track

Polluter TRAIN Act Headed For Our Children

Mom’s Clean Air Force has a petition on its own site which you can support by going here, and there is also a TRAIN Act petition up on the Care2 petition site. With a Friday morning deadline before the House votes, please go read the petition and consider signing and sharing it, through tomorrow morning.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:12 am September 22nd, 2011 in coal, Energy, Environment, Moms Clean Air Force, Politics | 1 Comment 

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Sep

22

Conservatives Pull Punches When Polled About Female Candidates

Filed Under Campaigning, Elections, Gender, Research, Women | 2 Comments

From Nate Silver’s Five Thirty Eight, with this lede from new research by Christopher Stout and Reuben Kline, both political scientists:

Looking at Senate and Gubernatorial candidates from 1989 to 2008 (more than 200 elections in over 40 states), we analyze the accuracy of pre-election polls for almost the complete universe of female candidates and a matched sample of white male cases. We demonstrate that pre-election polls consistently underestimate support for female candidates when compared to white male candidates. Furthermore, our results indicate that this phenomenon — which we dub the Richards Effect, after Ann Richards of Texas — is more common in states which exhibit traits associated with culturally conservative views of gender issues.

And Nate:

The size of the Richards Effect is larger in states with fewer women in the labor force — which suggests it stems from conservative attitudes about the place of women in politics. This leads to an interesting conclusion. Although the Bradley Effect assumes that people conceal their true opposition to the black candidate, the Richards Effect appears to work the opposite way: people conceal their true support for the female candidate, especially in areas with culturally conservative views about gender roles.

Fascinating! Now – why are the women folks polling as if they support Rick Perry up to twice as much or more than Michele Bachmann, and, when in the polls, Sarah Palin? Is that an over, an under or an accurate?

I haven’t read the research link yet but my first questions are: How ill is it that people don’t feel they can answer a poll that shows their true support for women? Or is it that they take longer to decide on a female candidate? Or, do those who are polled simply not mirror those who vote?

As Nate concludes:

To be sure, this is speculative. Female candidates actually suffer no apparent penalty at the ballot box. As the political scientists Richard Fox and Jennifer Lawless have argued, the underrepresentation of women in higher office stems more from a gender gap in ambition and recruitment, not from sexism toward women who do decide to run for office.

But reluctance among citizens to express their support for a woman candidate — even if they might vote for her in the end — certainly does little to encourage women to run.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:31 am September 22nd, 2011 in Campaigning, Elections, Gender, Research, Women | 2 Comments 

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Sep

16

Ohio Redistricting: See Your City in the Proposed Map

Filed Under democracy, Elections, Government, Ohio, Politics, Statehouse, Transparency | 3 Comments

Just submitted to the Plain Dealer:

Thank you for providing the online interactive map of the proposed Congressional districts which was passed by the Ohio House this week. It is shameful that the chair of the House committee that was responsible for creating the map did not make it or something similar available at the same time they released what they did. I have “read” HB 319 and it is incomprehensible unless you know your home’s census tract number or how to find those and then suffer through finding that information within HB 319.  No voter should be required to have to do that in order to figure out who may represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives.  The so-called leaders who have chosen to pursue redistricting in this way clearly define public service in an extremely narrow and exclusionary manner.  Their actions undermine all that so many other elected officials do to instill trust in government. As a fellow elected official (Pepper Pike City Council), I am angry and disappointed.

I should also mention that I called Ohio House Rep. Matt Huffman’s office on Wednesday and asked for a map that would show voters where there city is vis a vis the old and proposed congressional district maps. I have yet to get any kind of reply.

I am a garden variety Democratic, but if there is one way to make sure that a voter who sees himself or herself as an independent never supports you, refusing to let them know who is going to represent them and refusing to give them a say in how you think they should be divvied out, it’s how Huffman and others have abused the system in this task of redistricting. I’ll stop there since have some work to do that actually relates to serving all of the public – not just the ones who vote for me.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:46 am September 16th, 2011 in democracy, Elections, Government, Ohio, Politics, Statehouse, Transparency | 3 Comments 

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Sep

8

When WILL A Woman Make It To President or VP of the USA?

Filed Under Elections, Gender, michele bachmann, Politics, Sarah Palin, Voting, WH2012, White House 2012, Women | 4 Comments

Late last night, after watching some spin room action about the Republican primary debate in California, I started thinking about this question in a way that harkens back to just after Hillary Clinton was no longer in the 2008 race.

It’s not going to be Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin.  Yup, I’m predicting that right now.  Neither will be the general election presidential candidate for the GOP and I’m doubtful that either will be a VP selection of the eventual nominee either.  Might Nikki Haley or Susanna Martinez be the VP choice?  Not sure, just not sure.  But remember, if they are, then we’re going with the “some part of a term in executive office is better than no part of a term in executive office” again, just as was the case with Palin.  And many voters were pretty skeptical about that then.  With Palin eventually quitting that job, it’s hard to ask voters to trust, yet again, that being in something only partially through its expected duration means they’ve succeeded.  I think this is what Bobby Jindal and Chris Christie know very well – fill out at least one term.  There’s no question then about how much stronger a candidate it makes you. Where’s the proof? Well, did you see a single half-term anyone even up on the stage last night? Read more

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:21 am September 8th, 2011 in Elections, Gender, michele bachmann, Politics, Sarah Palin, Voting, WH2012, White House 2012, Women | 4 Comments 

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Sep

7

Word Cloud: What Getting Off the Sidelines Means

Filed Under activism, Civil Rights, democracy, Gender | 1 Comment

Word cloud of what getting off the sidelines means

Many thanks to US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for this effort and graphic.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:20 am September 7th, 2011 in activism, Civil Rights, democracy, Gender | 1 Comment 

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Sep

5

Writes Like She Tumbles

Filed Under Blogging, Jill Miller Zimon, Writing | Leave a Comment

I do a lot of micro-blogging these days – posting tweets (@jillmz) and sharing links to articles and other information via Facebook.  Although I love this blog and blogging, I’m finding it nearly impossible to make the time it takes to post the way I like to, for purposes of a blog.

Enter Writes Like She Tumbles: In the right sidebar, you can see a widget that links to the Writes Like She Talks Tumblr account (which you can visit here if you don’t click on the widget hyperlinks).  In addition, I’ve created a page on this blog (see here; it’s also reachable from the link in the top of this blog) that displays a list of my Tumblr’d items. (That page does not appear to work on the iPad right now.)

I’ve included a Disqus mechanisim for leaving comments at Writes Like She Talks at Tumblr so that conversation about the linked items can continue to occur.

I’ve explored some WordPress themes that include post format code to allow Tumblr-like posting from within the WordPress blog, but so far, none of them really look anything like what I would want. And…I’ve really run out of time trying to find something.

So – for those who miss the days when I used to post 5-10 entries, keep an eye on, follow and strike up a conversation at the Tumblr account. Or not.

And if you’re a Tumblr with advice, leave it in the comments or email me.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:32 pm September 5th, 2011 in Blogging, Jill Miller Zimon, Writing | Please comment 

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Sep

2

Fitzgerald: “This agreement represents one of the largest steps forward in access to the ballot in years”

Filed Under Council, CuyahogaCounty, democracy, Elections, Ethics, Executive, Law, leadership, Ohio, Politics, Voting | 1 Comment

I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens next summer. I’m interested to learn what process will be used to identify the voters who should receive the applications and the timeline to be deployed to make sure that the vote by mail applications are received by the voters with more than enough time for the 88 counties to mail out the ballots and get them back. What is the agreement regarding who will pay the return postage on the application itself? You get the idea of the questions to be answered.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:   John Kohlstrand: (216) 698-2099 or jkohlstrand@cuyahogacounty.us
                                Nicole Dailey Jones: (216) 263-4602, (216)338-0863 or ndjones@cuyahogacounty.us

OHIO VOTERS WILL BENEFIT FROM AGREEMENT REACHED BETWEEN
ED FITZGERALD AND OHIO  SECRETARY OF STATE

All Ohio voters to receive application to vote by mail in 2012 presidential election

CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald announced today that he has reached an agreement with Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and state legislative leaders to have voters in all 88 Ohio counties sent an application to vote by mail next year.

The deal was reached Thursday after a meeting between FitzGerald, Husted, senior staff of both leaders, and Cuyahoga County Councilman Mike Gallagher, a Strongsville Republican. It ends a standoff between the chief executive of Ohio’s largest county and the state’s chief elections officer.

“We went to bat for our constituents here in Cuyahoga County, and we ended up making voting more convenient for millions of Ohioans,” FitzGerald said today. “This is great news for anyone who believes public officials should try to keep voting simple.”

In the agreement:

n  Husted has agreed to have his office send an application to vote by mail to voters in all 88 Ohio counties in advance of next year’s presidential election.

n  In return, FitzGerald will freeze a county plan to send all active voters in Cuyahoga County an application to vote by mail this fall. The mailing will be replaced by an public outreach effort to make sure Cuyahoga County voters understand how to vote early this fall.

FitzGerald said he has spoken with House Speaker William Batchelder and Senate President Tom Niehaus. Both are publicly committing their support.

“This agreement represents one of the largest steps forward in access to the ballot in years,” FitzGerald said. “

# # #

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:26 am September 2nd, 2011 in Council, CuyahogaCounty, democracy, Elections, Ethics, Executive, Law, leadership, Ohio, Politics, Voting | 1 Comment 

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Sep

2

Husted Statement Before Fitzgerald Presser: No Absentee Application Mailings in 2011, State to Mail Applications to All 88 in 2012

Filed Under Council, CuyahogaCounty, Elections, Ethics, Executive, Government, Law, leadership, Ohio, Politics, Transparency, Voting, WH2012, White House 2012, Whitehouse09 | Leave a Comment

I don’t get a good feeling from this – but let’s hear from Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald. Very curious to know what his calculation was in agreeing to this, if Ohio SOS Jon Husted’s statement accurately reflects Fitzgerald’s understanding of the agreement. Here it is – I’ve highlighted the pertinent part:

Secretary Of State Husted Statement On Absentee Ballot Applications And Uniformity Of Ohio Elections

9/2/2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 2, 2011

SECRETARY OF STATE HUSTED STATEMENT ON ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATIONS AND UNIFORMITY OF OHIO ELECTIONS

COLUMBUS – The following may be attributed in whole, or in part, to Secretary of State Jon Husted regarding the mailing of unsolicited absentee ballot request forms and maintaining uniformity in how elections are administered in Ohio:

“Yesterday I met with Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald and Councilman Michael Gallagher to gain a better understanding of our mutual concerns regarding the distribution of unsolicited absentee ballot request forms.

“Through a productive exchange of ideas, we were able to develop a plan and achieve consensus to preserve the uniform standards I have sought statewide.

“Cuyahoga County officials have agreed not to send out unsolicited mailings for the 2011 General Election and the Secretary of State’s office will distribute absentee ballot request forms to voters in all 88 counties for the 2012 Presidential Election – so that each Ohio voter has uniform and equal access to their ballots.

“Leaders in the General Assembly, House Speaker William Batchelder and Senate President Tom Niehaus, have graciously agreed to support this plan and will appropriate the necessary resources from existing and available federal Help America Vote Act funds.

“I am glad we have been able to work out our differences but ultimately it will be the voters who benefit from this agreement. This will help reduce the chance of long lines at the polls during the Presidential Election and voters in smaller counties will have the same conveniences as voters in larger counties.”

-30-

For more information, please contact Matt McClellan at 614-995-2168 or mmcclellan@ohiosecretaryofstate.gov.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:54 am September 2nd, 2011 in Council, CuyahogaCounty, Elections, Ethics, Executive, Government, Law, leadership, Ohio, Politics, Transparency, Voting, WH2012, White House 2012, Whitehouse09 | Please comment 

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