Issue 7: Vote No on the Sin Tax & Keep Cleveland Strong!

Vote No on the Sin Tax Issue 7

Issue 7 means twenty more years of taxes and broken promises.

20 MORE YEARS OF TAXES:

We built the stadiums but the owners got even MORE.

• Bed Tax- $42,208,096 between 2000-2010
• Car Rental Tax- $30,777,748 between 2000-2010
• Concessions- Receives all the profit from concessions sold at games
• Parking- $117,802,711 between 2000-2010
• Stadium Ads- Receives all profits from ads placed in the Stadiums.
• Naming Rights- Recently sold for $100 million.

TWENTY MORE YEARS OF BROKEN PROMISES:

They Promised More Jobs:

Stadium promoters promised 28,000 jobs would be created in the Gateway district. This never happened. It is estimated that only a third of those the jobs appeared. Does this Keep Cleveland Strong? NO!

They Promised a Stronger Community:

One out of every three Clevelanders now lives in poverty and more than one-quarter of Cuyahoga County mortgages are underwater. Yet Issue 7 would give millionaire franchise owners millions more!!

THERE IS ANOTHER WAY:

The downtown power brokers, politicians and billionaire franchise owners are trying to rush this tax through. We should slow down the process and explore other options.

• The New England Patriots relied on private funding to build their stadium, using public funding for only 17% of their costs.
• The Indianapolis Colts increased taxes in 6 counties outside Indianapolis  to help fund the Lucas Oil Stadium.
• The Denver Broncos enacted a multi-county sales tax to help fund the Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium, helping their home town taxpayers.

Those three teams evidently know more than just how to win football games!! (Don’t you wish the Browns did, too?)

Go to the Coalition Against Unfair Taxes to learn more by clicking here!

John Boehner's Tea Party Whopper!

With President Obama's, "if you like your health care plan - you can keep it," being the Lie of the Year for 2013, refusing to be outdone by his golfing buddy, Speaker Boehner immediately becomes the front runner for "Lie of the Year" for 2014 with his claim that he has attended "hundreds of Tea Party events."

From Breitbart --

Politicians may be known for stretching the truth, but Speaker John Boehner's claim he's attended “hundreds of Tea Party events” over the past four years apparently pulled it well past the point of breaking.

In reviewing press reports, Breitbart News was only able to identify three Tea Party events Boehner has attended, all of which occurred before he became speaker. Boehner's spokesman now says the Ohio Republican has merely “talked with hundreds of Tea Party supporters.” Several top Ohio Tea Party activists, meanwhile, said they didn't know of Boehner's attending any Tea Party events in his home state.

Boehner made the claim at a Thursday luncheon event at the Middletown, Ohio, Rotary Club, specifying that by attending so many events he's been able to identify patterns in who makes up the Tea Party.

“I've gone to hundreds of Tea Party events over the last four years. The makeup is pretty much the same. You've got some disaffected Republicans, disaffected Democrats. You always have a handful of anarchists. They are against everything. Eighty percent of the people at these events are the most ordinary Americans you've ever met – none of whom have ever been involved in politics. We in public service respect the fact that they brought energy to the political process,” Boehner said.

In 2009 and 2010, Boehner attended at least three Tea Party rallies.

The first was April 15, 2009 in Bakersfield, California, where he attended with House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy. The second was September 6, 2009, where he spoke against Obamacare, then under consideration in Congress, at a Cincinnati Tea Party Voices of America Freedom Rally. The third was April 13, 2010 at a Tea Party rally held in Orlando, Florida, organized by Tea Party activist Jason Hoyt and attended by an estimated 2,000 people.

Incidentally, all were more than four years ago, which was the length of time Boehner specified during which he had attended the events.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, told Breitbart News late Friday, “Rep. Boehner attended Tea Party rallies, including in Florida and California, from the very start of the movement, and he's talked with hundreds of Tea Party supporters in recent years as he has traveled in Ohio and around the country.”

Boehner keeps an extremely busy schedule as he travels the country fundraising for Republican candidates, during the course of which he has undoubtedly met many people who self-identify as being of the Tea Party.

However, back home in Ohio, prominent local Tea Party activists say he has largely been missing in action.

“Speaker Boehner is my Representative,” Ann Becker, an Ohio Tea Party activist, said Friday. “He has been to only one Tea Party event. It was in September of 2009. His staff has been to a few more events. But hundreds is an extreme overstatement. He also has met with Tea Party leaders in the district a few times.”

“I am unaware of Boehner attending 'hundreds of Tea Party events,'” Ralph King, co-coordinator of the Cleveland, Ohio, Tea Party Patriots, said. “I would say the closest Boehner would ever be to a Tea Party event is he would have been driving the British ship in the Boston Harbor!”

Marianne Gasiecki, founder of the Mansfield, Ohio, Tea Party told Breitbart News on Friday, “John Boehner has not been to any Tea Party rallies outside of his district that I know of.”

“If he does go to Tea Party rallies in his district," Gasieki said, "it's only during campaign season."

Boehner was a notable no-show at the massive rally attended by more than 20,000 Tea Party activists on the west lawn of the Capitol on March 20, 2010 called to oppose Obamacare one day before the final vote. Numerous Tea Party-friendly members of Congress, including Steve King (R-IA), Michele Bachmann (R-MN), and Mike Pence (R-IN) spoke at the event.

Boehner also did not attend an August 27, 2013 Tea Party rally of 300 activists held in front of Speaker Boehner's Troy, Ohio, offices. The purpose of the rally was to urge Boehner to defund Obamacare.

At the luncheon Thursday, Boehner went on to explain how he has a fairly positive view of the Tea Party movement but not the organizations that claim its mantle in urging Congress to be more conservative.

According to Boehner, "[t]here's the Tea Party and then there are people who purport to represent the Tea Party."

"I don't have any issue with the Tea Party," Boehner said. "I have issues with organizations in Washington who raise money purporting to represent the Tea Party, those organizations who are against a budget deal the president and I cut that will save $2.4 trillion over 10 years. They probably don't know that total federal spending in each of the last two years has been reduced, the first time since 1950."

According to Boehner, Tea Party activists "probably don't realize that we protected 99 percent of the American people from an increase in their taxes. They were against that too, the same organizations. There are organizations in Washington that exist for the sheer purpose of raising money to line their own pockets."

"I made it pretty clear I'll stand with the Tea Party," Boehner concluded, "but I'm not standing with these three or four groups in Washington who are using the Tea Party for their own personal benefit."

Boehner also mocked Republicans who opposed his efforts to pass immigration reform legislation.

"Here's the attitude," he told the audience. Then, in a high pitched, theatrical voice, Boehner screeched out, "Ohhhh. Don't make me do this. Ohhhh. This is too hard."

 

Kansas : the ninth state to join the Health Care Compact

  

Can Ohio be #10?

From Jamie at HealthCareCompact.org:

With the stroke of Governor Brownback's pen earlier this week, Kansas became the ninth state to join the Health Care Compact! Kansas joins Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama in petitioning Congress to allow them to regulate health care at the state level. You can read more about the victory in this story by the Wichita Eagle.

In Kansas, big-government groups pulled out all the stops, spreading misinformation to claim that the Compact will harm Medicare and that the federal government can manage health care better than the states. (Healthcare.gov, anyone?) Fortunately, the people of Kansas saw through these lies, and Gov. Brownback made an especially salient point in his signing statement: "The Health Care Compact will allow states to restore and protect Medicare for generations to come. Obamacare is the most serious attack on Medicare and seniors since the program's inception. By cutting $700 [b]illion out of Medicare, President Obama and his allies made a policy statement that ideology is more important than protecting seniors."

In addition to Gov. Brownback, special appreciation is due to Rep. Brett Hildabrand and Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, who led the Compact through the Kansas House and Senate, respectively.

All told, nearly 70 million Americans live in states that have joined the Compact. And with bills moving in both Ohio and Louisiana, that number could reach 85 million by the end of the year. That's 85 million Americans who won't be further harmed by the ongoing travesty of Obamacare.

But before the Compact goes into effect, it must pass the U.S. House and Senate. As you may know, Congressman James Lankford of Oklahoma has filed the Compact (HJ Res 110) in the U.S. House, and has already recruited 11 of his colleagues to co-sponsor alongside him. U.S. Senators are beginning to take notice as well.

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Senior Pastor at Old Stone Church & Former President of Downtown Cleveland Residents Association: "Vote No on Issue 7 - The Sin Tax"

The below is an opinion piece against Issue 7, the Sin Tax, by R. Mark Giuliano - the senior pastor of the Old Stone Church on Public Square and the former president of the Downtown Cleveland Residents Association...

From The Plain Dealer -- 

 

Great things are happening in Cleveland, there's no doubt about it. As a downtown resident, immediate past president of the Downtown Cleveland Residents Association, and senior pastor of the historic Old Stone Church on Public Square, I have seen, firsthand, the emerging strength of our city core over the last six years, and would be discouraged, to say the least, to see it stop or even slow now. But a new Cleveland needs a new way of doing business and that could very well start by ending the so called “sin tax.”

Do our stadiums bring added economic and social value to downtown Cleveland and the region as a whole? Yes; clearly! The Gateway District alone is booming with new restaurants, pubs and, most importantly, new residents who bring a demand for more housing and retail in downtown such as the new Heinen's 33,000-square-foot grocery store at East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue. Do the stadiums belong to us and not the teams who play in them? Yes; we are all shareholders. As owners and landlords of these community assets, do we need to provide periodic maintenance and upgrades? Again, yes; if we want pro sports teams and the ability to host major concerts and events, of course we do. But is a sin tax the way to get the job done in the most equitable and helpful way? Probably not.

Growing cities look for smart ways of powering their cultural economic engines. Let our esteemed council people take the lead by exploring more just and contemporary ways of funding our important stadiums and the economic dividend they bring.

Besides, the research shows that sin taxes do not work the way some revenue-hungry benefactors claim they do. In their 2009 article, "Taxing Sin," for the market-oriented research group, the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, Richard Williams and Katelyn Christ debunk the myths surrounding sin taxes: Sin taxes don't discourage unhealthy behaviors such as drinking and smoking (the original argument for sin tax). And more often than not, monies raised are less likely to fund programs that help those with unhealthy behaviors (research, cessation programs, etc.) and more likely to fund stadiums and the arts. Moreover, sin taxes create a codependent relationship, where those funded need those taxed to continue in their unhealthy ways in order to keep the revenue stream flowing.

Of greatest concern to me, and anyone else who cares about what is just, is the fact that a sin tax is a tax where a targeted group of citizens bears the burden of the whole. And sin taxes usually fall, say Williams and Christ, "disproportionately on consumers at the lower end of the income distribution," those least likely, financially speaking, to be able to enjoy the benefits of our pro sporting and entertainment events. A sin tax, in other words, singles out and places an unjust burden on the few, often those with less means, to generate benefits for the many.

The sin tax is an easy but unimaginative and grossly unfair way of generating necessary funds to sustain Cleveland’s amenities. I'm all for taking care of our stadiums and our exceptional arts programs, but why not do it through a fairer and more sophisticated, multilayered approach which spreads out the tax burden of stadium ownership while nudging up rental fees. Or, at the very least, why not extend a small fractional sales tax levied on all citizens? After all, if we all benefit, and I think we do, then we should all contribute. Let’s love the sin and hate the tax!

R. Mark Giuliano is the senior pastor of the Old Stone Church on Public Square and the former president of the Downtown Cleveland Residents Association.

Vote No on Issue 7

Stop the Sin Tax!

Art credit: zazzle.com

From Appleseeds blog:

  

The Easter Lily. For many, the beautiful trumpet-shaped white flowers symbolize purity, virtue, innocence, hope and life—the spiritual essence of Easter.

History, mythology, literature, poetry and the world of art are rife with stories and images that speak of the beauty and majesty of the elegant white flowers. Often called the “white-robed apostles of hope,” lilies were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ’s agony. Tradition has it that the beautiful white lilies sprung up where drops of Christ’s sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and deep distress. Churches continue this tradition at Easter time by banking their altars and surrounding their crosses with masses of Easter Lilies, to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and hope of life everlasting.

More of the history of the Easter Lily is here.

Happy Easter from Cleveland Tea Party Patriots

Junk Science Behind Junk Food

From Tea Party Patriots --

First, it was skyrocketing premiums. Then, it was non-compliant plans. Now, the far-reaching effects of Obamacare are coming to a vending machine near you. Food labeling regulations, namely Section 4205 of the Affordable Care Act, were finalized on April 3 by the Food and Drug Administration, requiring vending machines to now post the calorie content of all food items. This latest action sets into motion another costly measure that will have a profound impact on businesses.

Companies operating 20 or more vending machines, which dispense prepackaged and premade food items, will have to adhere to the new rule. According to the FDA’s own analysis, millions of machines will be affected.

“FDA estimates that there would be approximately 10,800 operators under the proposed requirements, controlling between 4 million and 5.6 million machines that sell covered vending machine foods. The initial mean estimated cost of complying with the proposed requirements is $25.8 million, with an estimated mean ongoing cost of $24.0 million… Per operator costs are estimated to be $2,400. FDA estimates that average per machine costs are less than $10 annually.” [1]

The FDA report tried to make this unreasonable mandate appear more palatable with its $10-per-machine breakdown. However, as Ohio Watchdog.org pointed out, it’s going to financially squeeze small businesses.

“Chris Heaton, director of sales for Enterprise Vending Inc., said his company can now begin to calculate costs. It won’t be cheap.

“It’s an investment without any return to the company,” Heaton said.

If the FDA estimates of less than $10 per vending machine for compliance costs are accurate, “the impact to Enterprise will be close to $500,000 annually.”

Based on industry estimates of one vending machine for every 40 adults, the total cost for Ohio businesses could be more than $2.2 million each year…

Does the FDA expect vending companies to eat the cost of the regulation?

“Unfortunately, that is realistic to expect,” Heaton said. “Just knowing the industry, the costs and the prices, there will be companies that struggle with the cost, the needed manpower, the labor and the printing to be able to cover the mandate with their current prices.”

He doesn’t think his competition will allow Enterprise to pass along the costs.” [2]

The added expense isn’t the only hurdle the industry faces in bringing the machines into compliance. The FDA originally estimated it would take 14 million hours annually for vending companies to comply. 

This generated outcry from industry experts, including National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) Sr. VP Government Affairs Ned Monroe, who stated, “Our industry has always understood that consumers need access to product nutritional information, but requiring an industry to invest 14 million hours annually is absurd and sure to kill jobs. We are opposed to the colossal burden these regulations impose on our industry and this report just confirms what an enormous and unfair burden it truly is.” [3] Through further data collection, the FDA decreased the hours of burden to 816,000. [1] 

This massive effort to “fundamentally transform” vending machines into calorie-conscious reminders at the expense of businesses must provide substantial benefits to do all this, right? Think again. FDA openly admitted:

“FDA has not estimated the actual benefits associated with proposed requirements. Food choice and consumption decisions are complex and FDA is unaware of any comprehensive data allowing accurate predictions of the effect of the proposed requirements on consumer choice and vended foods.” [1]

What’s even more disturbing is that there are published studies proving food labeling does nothing to modify consumer choice or curb obesity. [4]

Expensive, ineffective regulations backed by junk science or assumptions – what else can we expect from Obamacare?

Jenny Beth Martin on the IRS scandal: they want us in jail

Art credit: tsu3rdvp.blogspot.com

“One prosecution would make an impact” 

From Istook at The Washington Times:

IRS “wants to throw us in jail,” says tea party leader 

“They want to throw us in jail,” says Tea Party Patriots leader Jenny Beth Martin about the latest bombshell news of the IRS‘ targeting of the Tea Party movement.

Emails released under a federal court order showed the Obama administration’s Justice Department and the IRS‘ Lois Lerner discussed working together to find a tea party case they could prosecute for supposed false claims about political activity.

“One prosecution would make an impact,” Ms. Lerner wrote in one of her emails.

Ms. Lerner has pleaded the Fifth Amendment rather than testify to Congress. She faces contempt of Congress charges because she had already made self-serving statements before clamming up when questioned.

“Clearly they were trying to find ways to throw us in jail,” says Ms. Martin, co-founder and president of Tea Party Patriots, the largest national grassroots Tea Party group. “They were looking to trump up charges to throw us in jail,” she told me in an interview on my daily talk show on The Washington Times Radio Network.

“I cannot overstate the silencing effect this has already had on groups all across the country,” said Ms. Martin. “While the IRS lied to Congress … they were looking for ways to trump up charges to throw us in jail.”

The new batch of emails was not provided by the IRS to congressional investigators, but was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by Judicial Watch.

One of the emails specifically mentioned “Tea Party Patriots,” so Ms. Martin said the news of the Justice Department’s coordination with the IRS caught her immediate attention:

“All day long I just kept thinking, had the inspector general not come out with his report, would I have been in jail yesterday? Would they have found some reason to throw me in jail and would my 11-year-old twins be wondering what Mommy did wrong to throw me in jail, when indeed I hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just this Obama administration, this corrupt administration, trying to make people who disagreed with them be quiet.

“It’s sickening. We have to get to the bottom of this. The people who did this must be held accountable. We will do everything we can to make sure they are held accountable. We are not backing down. We will not let this government intimidate us.”

Nevertheless, she says the IRS effort already has suppressed conservative groups: “I cannot overstate the silencing effect this has already had on groups all over the country.”

Ms. Martin also told my listeners that Tea Party Patriots has filed its own FOIA lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department. The goal is to force disclosure of the secretive “off-plan” process used to develop proposed new stifling regulations on nonprofits that try to inform the public about what government is doing.

Responses to those FOIA requests were due in January, but the IRS kept dragging them out, most recently trying to extend its deadline until July. Instead, the Tea Party Patriots filed suit on April 15 to force the IRS to divulge the background and origin of those proposed regulations. More than 150,000 comments were submitted in response — a record number — mostly in opposition.

Ms. Martin says the regulations appear to be an extension of an out-of-control effort to target and suppress the tea party and other conservative groups.

“While they lied to Congress they were looking for ways to trump up charges to throw us in jail,” she told my audience. “We have government that has gone wild.

“To think that they were trying to throw volunteers in jail for speaking out against our government and being concerned about the direction of our country, for being concerned about our $17 trillion in debt … shows just how out of touch with reality and our founding principles the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., the Obama administration and the ‘Department of In-Justice’ are.

“It’s astounding that this is what’s happening in our government and our country. It’s not justice to try to punish people that disagree with you politically.”

Former Rep. Istook serves on the national board of Tea Party Patriots. Hear his daily radio show, noon to 3 p.m. Eastern, at www.kzlsam.com.   

Keep Cleveland Strong: Vote No on Sin Tax Issue 7!

It is time for all hands on deck to beat Issue 7 the proposed Sin Tax extension!  

Not surprisingly, on the pro-Sin Tax side the corporate cabal that has been fleecing the residents of Cuyahoga County for far too long - the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) - has been running a constant campaign of misleading half truths and shameful scare tactics in the efforts to pass the Sin Tax.

Under the leadership of the same so-called corporate & elected leaders supporting the Sin Tax extension, the Cleveland/Cuyahoga County has continually rated in the top rankings of Worst City, Most Miserable City or Most Dangerous to live in the U.S. (2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013).  

And, I guess in trying to out do themselves being the 7th most financially distressed region in the U.S. for 2012 - the Cleveland/Cuyahoga area was rated the #1 Most Miserable City to live and one of the Worst Run Cities in the U.S. in 2014!

So as you see - while the pro-Sin Tax cabal has claimed the tag "Keep Cleveland Strong" it is clear this Cuyahoga County cadre of corporate clowns just want to "Keep Doing Cleveland Wrong!"

Why Should You Vote No on Issue 7?

If giving more money to the same corporate & elected leaders whose continued failed leadership earned us the above "stellar & cellar" rankings is not enough to Vote No on Issue 7 maybe how they are continuing to fleece the region for their pet projects will....

We still owe approximately $70 million on the Gateway bonds and will be paying those until 2023 to cover cost over runs in building Progressive Field & Quicken Loans Arena and to cover the poorly negotiated team leases.

The same Greater Cleveland Partnership fronted groups pushing for the Sin Tax are made up from the same corporate social club that pushed and received the forced sales tax increase for the Med Mart. In which we just paid another $3 million to part ways with the original developer MMPI.

And in the latest endeavor of feeding at the public trough is the proposed redesigning of Public Square at the cost of $60 million by Land Studios - another Greater Cleveland Partnership controlled front group.  

The City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County have each pledged $10 million towards this project. That would be $20 million of your money! Forget about being responsible and using this money for their poorly negotiated leases, the Sin Tax or maybe important things like fixing our failing infrastructure & roads - we need more grass, green space and park benches! 

To summarize the Sin Tax -- 

The Sin Tax is set to expire in August 2015. 

Using their money & influence as the largest Chamber of Commerce in Ohio and one of the largest metropolitan chambers of commerce in the nation, the GCP had the GOP controlled Ohio Legislature add in a last minute provision to Governor Kasich's budget bill that would give Cuyahoga County the option to extend the Sin Tax beyond the scheduled 2015 expiration. 

Yes, the so-called "Party of Lower Taxes" controlling the Ohio legislature supported a tax extension. A better way of saying it is - the Ohio legislature dare not and know better than to defy the wishes of the Greater Cleveland Partnership.  

In conducting what amounted to nothing more than a dog & pony show for their pre-determined outcome and, without any meaningful discussions or consideration on alternative funding, the Cuyahoga County Council - doing their bidding for the GCP - immediately looked to your pocket book, and unanimously voted to put Issue 7 the Sin Tax extension on the upcoming May primary ballot.

To be clear with an indisputable fact - there was no need to immediately ask the voters to pay for the Sin Tax extension - there was plenty of time and it could have been put on the November 2014 or May 2015 ballot. And furthermore, there is no danger of losing our beloved sports teams should the Sin Tax extension be voted down.

If they wanted, the so-called corporate & elected "leaders" in Cuyahoga County had and still have more than enough time to explore alternative funding avenues for the Sin Tax.  

Without jeopardizing any funding or violating the leases, the Sin Tax extension could have been placed on the November 2014 or May 2015 ballot. Instead, and as usual in Cuyahoga County, they immediately look to the voters to support this "Billionaire Bailout" for the stadiums. 

By voting No on Issue 7 - it will simply force the so-called corporate & elected leaders to do their due diligence - which they did not do when the original leases were negotiated or now when they came straight to the voters asking for what amounts to a stimulus for the stadiums and/or a bailout for billionaires.

Most importantly voting No on Issue 7 will send a message that we the people of Cuyahoga County will no longer stand for the status quo that was supposed to have stopped with the Greater Cleveland Partnership pushed County Reform.

It is time to say enough is enough! 

Vote No on Issue 7!

Donald Rumsfeld's letter to the IRS

From Donald Rumsfeld's FB page (h/t Hot Air):

Speaker Boehner's Electile Dysfunction

There is only one thing that can be said about this video - Priceless!

The below video is from J.D. Winteregg (http://www.jdwinteregg.com/) who is running against Speaker Boehner in the Ohio 8th Congressional District...

To find out more about J.D. Winteregg click here.

Vote No on Issue 7: Spineless Pro-Sinners

As we see many local elected officials & candidates cowering in fear of the Greater Cleveland Partnership if they do not support passage of the Sin Tax (Issue 7), it is nice to see some candidates showing the resolve and integrity to stand up to the same corporate cabal that has been fleecing Cuyahoga County residents since their inception in 2004.  

To date, City of Cleveland Council members Brian Cummins & Michael Polensek are the only elected officials brave enough to speak out against the Sin Tax.

Sadly, every single one of the current County Council members & County Executive Ed FitzGerald showed they were woefully lacking in the spine department when it came to Issue 7 when they unanimously, with minimal if any discussion of alternative funding avenues, voted for it to be placed on the May 2014 ballot.

In the contested races for County Council and the Democrat primary for County Executive, there are only 2 candidates that have shown they are willing to speak out against the status quo and have declared their opposition to Issue 7, the Sin Tax.

Challenging incumbent County Councilwoman Sunny Simon in District 11 is John Currid.  Besides wanting a plastic bag tax, Simon is a staunch supporter of  - and had no issues with immediately asking the voters to pay for - the Sin Tax.

In contrast to Simon, her challenger John Currid is very clear in his stance against Issue 7 the Sin Tax. He does not believe that the voters should again be burdened with the Sin Tax.

From John Currid --

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

February 18, 2014 

CONTACT: 

John J. Currid

(216) 502-0914

campaign@bestcuyahoga.com

WEBSITE:

http://www.BESTCuyahoga.com

Innovative Thinking and Fresh Ideas Needed; the Sin Tax Is a Failed Funding Scheme. 

South Euclid, OH – John J. Currid, Candidate for County Council, District 11 has come out against the renewal of the County Sin Tax and urges residents to reject the upcoming tax levy. Previous leaders for both the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County entered into agreements that were short sighted and placed a heavy burden on the residents of Cuyahoga County. The Sin Tax was established as a scheme to pay for the unfunded promises of Gateway and the Cleveland Browns Stadium. 

“I am running for County Council because the time is long overdue for leadership that provides unique ideas and innovative solutions that makes Cuyahoga County more attractive to young families and competitive businesses throughout the county” says Currid. 

If the Sin Tax is not renewed, the county and City of Cleveland are still responsible for the legal agreements made with each of the teams. With the announcement that United Airlines is pulling their Hub from Cleveland Hopkins Airport there is a distinctive opportunity to responsibly fund these obligations while making Cuyahoga County an inviting community for families to take root and competitive for businesses to prosper. 

Rather then burdening the residents with this continued tax Currid suggests, “The time has come to close Burke Lakefront Airport and immediately implement a redevelopment plan for the lakefront. Burke Lakefront is an unnecessary and rarely used luxury that we can no longer afford.” 

The benefits of a thriving lakefront support a BEST Cuyahoga; this is a responsible and achievable plan that makes Cuyahoga County more competitive and desirable for families and businesses to invest in the county while loosening the tax burden currently keeping the region down. To learn more about this and other plans that make up the BEST Cuyahoga (Business, Education, Safety, & Taxes) visit www.BESTCuyahoga.com. 

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On the other side of the aisle, in the Democrat primary for County Executive, against the establishment supported front-runner Armond Budish, all but one of the candidates are Sin Tax supporters.

Democrat candidate Tim Russo has been the only County Executive candidate that has been vocal and actively working across the political aisle in trying to defeat the Sin Tax.  

County Council incumbents & Ed FitzGerald should all be ashamed for continuing with the same status quo, especially since the voters in Cuyahoga County spoke out against the status quo by passing the County Reform. Candidates and elected officials brave enough to stand up for the people in this county should be applauded!

Keep Cleveland Strong!

Vote No on Issue 7 

Good News: IRS Set to Water Down Newly Proposed Free Speech Regulation

Art credit: http://lutheranprof.org/

From Katie Pavlich at Townhall:

Shortly after former IRS Director of Tax Exempt Groups Lois Lerner admitted last year that her agency had been inappropriately targeting conservative organizations, a new set of rules were proposed that would make what the IRS did to tea party groups legal and would limit the free speech of tax-exempt groups across the political spectrum. The rules specifically define "candidate related activity" as voter registration, candidate forums and debates, distribution of voter guides, discussion of incumbent voting records, simply referencing the names of candidates during meetings and more.

During the public commenting period, a record breaking 150,000 people left comment strongly suggesting the rule be completely thrown out. Conservative groups like the Tea Party Patriots and liberal groups like the ACLU are both opposed to this type of regulation on the free speech of tax-exempt groups. [emphasis added]

Now, IRS head John Koskinen plans to rewrite the previously proposed rules and will open up another public comment period once they are finished.

He said the new rule would take into account backlash from conservative Tea Party groups as well as some liberal advocacy organizations that the agency's proposal – intended to address concerns that the tax-exempt groups were engaged in partisan warfare – would bar, even voter education and registration programs.

He was interviewed on the eve of Tax Day, the April 15 deadline for Americans to file their returns.

"I think we have to take all of that into consideration," Koskinen told the weekly video newsmaker series. "There are very thoughtful comments and concerns, and one of the questions that has evoked a lot of comment is, once you define what political activity is, to what organizations should it apply in the 501(c) context and how much of it should be allowed? All of that is going to be very important."

Last week Koskinen faced tough criticism [from] Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Orrin Hatch for failing to kill of the newly proposed rules faster. The new regulation has also prompted calls for tax reform on Capitol Hill.

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Income Tax due today

File your income tax returns today. The only post office open late is the Orange Rd. main branch - open until 9pm. Map here. 

Truth in Campaigning? Not in the 9th District GOP Primary!

At this time of the year many people are being flooded with campaign literature through the U.S. Mail and are being bombarded with emails, tweets and facebook messages/posts from candidates in the upcoming primary races.

The primary challengers do their best to portray themselves as reflecting the views of the voters in the political party with which they are affiliated. And as we all know, incumbents facing a primary challenge will use the best spin doctors money can buy to redefine a poor voting record in attempts to make it appear they are line with the views of their political party.

Pretty much - GOP candidates & incumbents try to make themselves Ronald Reagan, and Democrat candidates & incumbents try to make themselves Bill Clinton or John Kennedy.

A case in point of candidates trying to mislead voters and create themselves as something they are not would be the GOP primary in Ohio's 9th Congressional District between Richard May and Robert Horrocks. The winner will face off against Democrat incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur this November.

Taking a quick look on the "About" page on Mr. Horrocks campaign website, in trying to portray himself as conservative, you immediately see the obligatory quote from Ronald Reagan on the right side bar. 

And at the top of the page, in an attempt to show voters he supports "Family Values," Horrock's has a picture of himself with his kids - and what he would want you to think is his wife...

And this is where we come to the integrity of candidates..... while attempting to portray himself with a wife and kids - at the very bottom of this webpage - Horrock mentions he lives with his partner in Lakewood and has shared parenting with his ex-wife.  Why no picture of Horrocks & his partner?

It is clear that by having a warm & fuzzy family picture placed boldly at the top of his webpage and the one sentence regarding his "partner" at the bottom - Horrocks is clearly trying to mislead conservative voters into thinking he is something he is not!

Make no mistake - this is not about Horrock's being gay - it is about Horrocks being deceitful and clearly trying to mislead voters. The question begs to be asked -- if he cannot be honest with voters in his primary race - how could one expect Horrocks to be honest if he is elected to office? 

Further advancing this farce would be the Plain Dealer, the local newspaper that supports all things liberal. The PD has recently come out and endorsed candidate Robert Horrocks over Richard May in this race. 

Taking issue with Richard May because he supports traditional marriage and doesn't "think a gay man can't represent the 'party of traditional values,'" in their endorsement of Horrocks the PD looks past his failures and questionable abilities as a previously elected official.... (emphasis added)

Horrocks, of Lakewood, is far from an ideal candidate. He couldn’t immediately explain how New Carlisle developed financial problems in 2002 when he was on city council. (Voters recalled him the next year). He's experienced foreclosure. May revealed that Horrocks removed, at May's request, links on his Facebook page to websites that included photos of scantily clad men.

Horrocks should have learned by now that the personal is political on the campaign trail. 

On balance, Horrocks appears to be a thoughtful, if flawed, candidate...

Thoughtful but flawed?!?!? How about lacking integrity, honesty, fiscal responsibility, etc...?

With our country facing a $17 trillion debt, the Plain Dealer supports a candidate, Horrocks, who was recalled by voters in New Carlisle over financial problems in the city that happened under his watch. But he is thoughtful!

The Plain Dealer clearly endorsed Horrocks not because of his qualifications or past performance as an elected official - but simply because of his being gay. This should not be about a persons sexual orientation or sexual confusion and should be about integrity of the candidates - and Horrocks has shown he has none!

In full disclosure - I have personally known Richard May for many years and have stood shoulder to shoulder with Richard in fighting against the RINO's in Cuyahoga County. 

As a group, the Cleveland TPP does not endorse candidates, but as an individual I can personally attest to the fact that Richard May is a conservative candidate that not only walks his talk - he truly lives by it.