Highlights from My Inbox!

There's so much idiocy going on I hardly know what to rant about these days so here are a few links to keep y'all up-to-date. The best news is that today is the first day of school and I get to pick up Gracie after school because her mom has to work. I'm planning a treat and will prolly play cards and I'll get the lowdown on her new teacher. Cool, huh? I hope Bryce comes by to tell me about his first day in high school. It's a huge school that encompasses our whole city and I hope he does well. High school today is a lot scarier than it was in my day and that worries me.

* Nicole over at Political Ruminations had a great quote on the furor on the Obamas' vacation.

* Nicole also links to Robert Greenwald's the Koch Brothers Exposed and their attack on public education in this country. He's doing a great job.

* Governor John Kasich (y'all know -- the guy we might just throw out) calls Ohio unions divided. That's plain damn lie if my Inbox is any indication. I get updates daily from the AFL-CIO and all I see is solidarity like I haven't seen since I was a kid in Toledo reading my dad's labor publications!

* Speaking of Toledo, my favorite Congresswoman, Marcy Kaptur, is livid and I'm working on transcribing a text version to go with the video. It's not an easy task for a one-handed typist like me but what she's said is so important that I want all of you to be able to see it. Most of y'all will like it a lot!

* We have yet another fight raging in Ohio. It's called HB 194 -- the voter suppression bill. It is designed to make voting in Ohio more difficult and is so convoluted it's a sin. I'm signing on to help. Voting is, in my mind, a sacred right and the cornerstone of our country and our freedom. This bill is assault on that. Here's an excerpt from a letter I received from Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-OH) of Cuyahoga County (greater Cleveland) that pretty much sums up the assault on voting rights in Ohio. I will also join any initiative to throw out anyone in the statehouse who supports it.

"H.B. 194, the Voter Suppression Bill, invalidates a vote where a voter properly marks the ballot in support of a particular candidate, but also writes in the name of that same candidate. It eliminates satellite locations for early voting and dramatically reduces the time allotted for early voting. The bill eliminates the ability of counties to provide return postage on absentee ballots.

There also are items in H.B. 194 that seem to have no other purpose than to directly disenfranchise eligible voters. Under this legislation, poll workers would not be required to tell voters they are in the wrong precinct, and that their ballots are not counted if they vote at an incorrect location. In 2008, over 14,000 votes were not counted because of voting in the wrong precinct, despite current legal requirements that poll workers assist voters in finding their correct voting precinct.

This bill will make the voting process much more burdensome, confusing, and inefficient for voters, poll workers, and election officials. Think long lines and long waiting time circa 2004... it won't be pretty. Since then, Ohio has adopted many reforms, including early voting and absentee voting to decrease lines and encourage greater participation in democracy, most of which will be eliminated by this bill."

* I was invited by The Ohio Democratic Party to their Stand Up for Ohio Rally in Columbus this past weekend. I really wanted go but it's too long a drive for me without staying overnight. I felt badly about missing it so you can imagine my delight when great videos of the some of the events arrived in my email from my young friend Lauren. My favorite is former Governor Ted Strickland speaking very eloquently about the November elections:



I think we need Ted back!!!!

Okay, it's time to settle my blood pressure. Sigh. Should I send the doctor bills to the GOP?

Happy Blogging!

Kay