Writes Like She Talks

Watch Ohio Gov. Kasich’s State of the State live @ The Ohio Channel

Jill Miller Zimon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:08:18 +0000

Seriously – why would anyone drive six hours roundtrip from Columbus to Steubenville for a one hour speech when you can watch it on the Internet? Want efficientgov? Watch it livestreamed and tweet it for those who will have to check in later. Not sure what the hashtag is for it yet but I suspect it won’t be hard to figure out once it starts.

Here’s the link. Read more about what might be said here.

PD’s Rachel Dissell Gives Some Justice to Dimora Details re: Treatment of Women

Jill Miller Zimon — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:10:17 +0000

I think, and I’ve heard from multiple others who also think that Rachel Dissell’s front page article today in the Plain Dealer, “Jimmy Dimora trial reveals former Cuyahoga County commissioner’s coarse talk about women,” does a very good job of putting the information revealed through Jimmy Dimora’s trials about how he and those around him treated women in both a local and a broader context.

Definitely check out the cleveland.com comment thread – be sure you’re sitting down, even if you’re used to the tone they sometimes take on. And also browse this comment thread on Connie Schultz’s Facebook page.

Folks, we have a long, long way to go. If this cause inspires you, please check out Name It Change It, an effort to catalogue and call out, on a non-partisan basis as you will see from the examples, just how rampant the sexism is, especially when politics is involved.

This Thursday: Local Government Collaboration: Are We There Yet???

Jill Miller Zimon — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:47:45 +0000

The last several months have been extraordinarily busy ones for me as I find and hit a groove with my work at The Civic Commons on behalf of the EfficientGovNetwork. You can check out what Jill built, with some very excellent assistance from the Civic Commons team, here and can join us in person to see what we’re working toward this Thursday at an afternoon hour-long City Club Forum:

Local Government 2.0
Ohio’s State Budget and What it Means

February 2 @4:30pm

The $112 billion state budget Governor Kasich signed in July 2011 is in full effect. The budget cut $2 billion to local governments and schools; repealed the estate tax and included an expansion of charter schools. The votes were along party lines- Democrats criticized the budget for including too many cuts and GOP legislative leaders praised the budget for filling in a multi-billion budget shortfall.

The City Club, in partnership with The Civic Commons, ideastream and

The Plain Dealer, will examine the state budget as well as educate the community on the policies and programs proposed to help municipalities.

Moderated by: Joe Frolik, The Plain Dealer

Panelists:

Randy Cole, President, Ohio Controlling Board; Policy Advisor, Kasich Administration

Kathy Mulcahy, Mayor, Orange Village

Tony Paglia, VP, Government Affairs, Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber

Make reservations*

*Reservations must be made 24 hours in advance of the event. Reservations will be held 15 minutes past start of program, such as 12:15 for noon programs. Reservations will then be open to standby ticketing.

Special Event:
$20 Member
$20 Non Member

Reservations Toll-Free at 888-223-6786 or locally at 216-621-0082

Let me know if you have any questions and feel free to pass this on to folks whom you think might want to join us.

[video] Florida Primary: Gender Gap To Favor Romney, Not Repeat South Carolina Switcheroo

Jill Miller Zimon — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:10:25 +0000

Last time, however, it didn’t hold. Will it today? And to be clear, we’re not talking the gap between how men versus women vote for Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich. We’re talking about the gap between who women prefer between the two candidates.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Citing his combative style and personal life, many women in Florida say they won’t support Newt Gingrich in the Republican primary. That gender gap has allowed Mitt Romney to open a commanding lead in Florida over the former Speaker, WSJ’s Neil Hickey reports.

This WSJ report covers why, very specifically, the women going for Newt thing in South Carolina won’t happen in Florida:

On Feagler & Friends tonight: Dimora, County Economic Development, Arts levy & Obama SOTU

Jill Miller Zimon — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:17:00 +0000

It was a very fun taping – airs tonight at 8:30pm on WVIZ and again on Sunday at 11:30am. Ohio Channel broadcast info is on the WVIZ page in the sidebar to the right of the blurb:

Prosecutors Lay Out Dimora Indiscretions

Posted Friday, January 27, 2012

Prosecutors Roll up Sleaze at Dimora Trial—week two of the corruption trial of former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora brought the most titillating testimony to date. Witnesses told of arranging gambling trips and the services of prostitutes for Dimora. An FBI agent told of a female public employee trading sex for a job. A former county employee said Dimora accepted a cash bribe from another job seeker.

County Development Fund—Cuyahoga County government this week initiated a key facet of its development strategy. A $100-million fund will provide money for a host of loan programs aimed at enticing business to set up shop. Repaid loans will seed further loans.

Arts Backers Prepare for Tax Renewal—for the past four years smokers countywide have paid a 30-cent per pack tax on cigarettes with the money diverted to local arts organizations. Since the tax’s inception, tens of millions have gone to organizations such as the Cleveland Orchestra, the Museum of Art and ideastream as well as to a host of smaller groups. Cuyahoga Arts and Culture is already strategizing a return to the ballot in late 2015.

State of the Union—President Obama used his State of the Union address to renew his call for higher taxes on the wealthy. What’s being called the ‘Buffett tax’ would hit the wealthiest Americans with a minimum 30 per cent income tax. He also called for tax breaks to benefit companies creating jobs in the United States. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels in the Republican response said Obama is not to blame for the nation’s weak economy but has failed to deliver on promises to fix it.

Pain, Still a National Problem: Dr. Richard W. Rosenquist, director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Pain Management department—more than a third of Americans suffer from chronic pain. For many it’s debilitating and many fail to get relief even after they’ve consulted a doctor. We’ll examine the reasons pain remains a scourge despite modern medical advances and discuss the prospects for relief of an age-old problem. This segment is part of a week of ideastream coverage entitled “Body in Pain.”

Guests

Harry Boomer, reporter, 19 Action News
Jill Miller Zimon, blogger, Writes Like She Talks
Ned Whelan, Whelan Communications.

Last day to engage directly with County prosecutor candidates in Civic Commons forum

Jill Miller Zimon — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:07:16 +0000

One of the things I loved the most about the Meet the Bloggers forums of 2005-2007 was that it let me sit next to and ask questions directly of people like Ted Strickland, Richard Cordray, Jim Petro and Sherrod Brown. Once you have a taste of that, you never want to go back to just writing a letter or placing a call, but alas MTB is no more.

However, into the fray went my colleague, Dan Moulthrop, at the Civic Commons where he is moderating a fantastic online forum with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Candidates. This forum is a SUPERB way to interact DIRECTLY with people who want to be elected to office. They want to be your public servant, you better believe they should be engaging in the public & this forum does that.

Today is the last day so please go read & ask and comment. It’s your county and your vote.

Romney, Gingrich, the Gender Gap, and Florida

Jill Miller Zimon — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:59:08 +0000

Well, the idea that the perceived and polled gender gap that appeared to favor GOP presidential nominee candidate and former Massachusett’s governor, Mitt Romney, absolutely fizzled and flipped when it came to election day in South Carolina last week.

Yet now, here again, CNN is reporting that their polling shows a gender gap favoring – wait for it – Romney again:

A gender gap appears to have developed as well. In South Carolina, Gingrich won among men and women, according to exit polls. But in Florida, although Gingrich has an edge among men, Romney had the advantage among women.

“Some of that may be due to recent coverage of Gingrich’s personal life, but it is almost certainly due to other factors as well. Gingrich’s favorable rating has consistently been higher among men than among women for years before he became a presidential candidate, suggesting that men may find his red-meat approach to issues more appealing than women do,” says [CNN Polling Director Keating] Holland.

Many people have anticipated that Florida is not South Carolina, and I share that opinion. How different is the female electorate in the Sunshine State from the same segment in the Palmetto State?

We won’t know for sure until next Tuesday evening, after they vote. I have my suspicions but I’m going to keep them to myself until election night.

What do you think?

Attention Newt Gingrich: You are not Russell Crowe

Jill Miller Zimon — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:59:08 +0000

Some of us have work to do that we hope really will make a difference in people’s lives, short-term and long-term, so I’m working very hard to keep myself from being utterly distracted by the inept field of GOP primary candidates, especially after watching last night’s debate in Florida. It’s totally like watching a train wreck – you just can’t turn away.

But here’s my main observation for the day:

To Newt Gingrich: You are not Russell Crowe, the debates are not gladiator matches, NBC is not the Coliseum, but you are a relic.

And good on the local journos who asked excellent questions including one which Rick Santorum totally did not answer (address the risk posed to Florida’s tourist industry by offshore oil drilling versus the jobs it could create) and why is it okay for the candidates to court Florida voters with Spanish language materials but it’s not okay for the government to provide them with anything in their native language?

That latter question led to a disgusting attempt for the candidates to one-up themselves on supporting the assimilation of all the glorious strands of our society into one.

How on earth does that represent anything other than a denial of liberty, the value supposedly so dear to the conservatives?

We all know how much I hatez the English-only talk.

In case there’s any doubt, Gingrich supports “Personhood” amendment, defunding Planned Parenthood in 2013

Jill Miller Zimon — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:04:25 +0000

From an appearance last week, via this NPR report:

NEWT GINGRICH: We are fully human upon conception because all of the genetic patterns needed are in existence at that moment, and therefore the right should attach at that moment.

[NPR reporter Don] GONYEA: Gingrich also singled out an organization that is public enemy number one for many anti-abortion activists.

GINGRICH: We will defund Planned Parenthood sometime early in 2013.

Oh – if only there were just 57 reasons to vote no on Newt Gingrich.

[video] U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords To Resign

Jill Miller Zimon — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:29:10 +0000

This made me cry.

Click here to view the embedded video.