Stop the Plastic Bag Tax in Cuyahoga County & City of Cleveland

Working to collaborate and impose their Nanny-State, Enviro-Goon beliefs on us,  Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Sunny Simon & City of Cleveland Councilman Matt Zone are teaming up in attempts to create a plastic bag tax at the City and County level.  

From the PD -- 

Cleveland and Cuyahoga County want to work together to get rid of plastic grocery bags rather than fight over who has the power to restrict them.

City Councilman Matt Zone and County Councilwoman Sunny Simon -- along with the county health department, solid waste district and community activists -- will meet Friday to start hammering out how, exactly, to reach that goal.

Zone has considered a city-wide ban. Simon said in February she wanted to propose a countywide 5-cent tax for each bag provided by restaurants and stores. The stores would collect the fee along with sales tax, and the money could pay for education or environmental clean up.

Simon's proposal raised questions about whether the 17-month old county council, the product of a government reform movement, has the power to pass laws that apply inside the borders of the county's cities.

"I'm not going to do anything that's going to create unrest and litigation," Simon said. "I want to work collaboratively with cities and find common ground to implement. . . a bag ordinance that's hopefully going to satisfy the residents and the businesses in the county."

A self-described passionate defender of the environment, it is simple, Simon is willing to stretch the limits of her perceived power to push her progressive agenda.

While Simon says she doesn't want to create unrest and litigation, with Ohio being a "Home Rule" state, she is clearly testing the waters to see how much authority the new county council has in mandating on the political subdivisions within its' boundaries in the form of regulation and increased taxing powers.

Quoted in an earlier PD article on the proposed plastic bag tax, Sunny delightfully stated....

"I really want to do the research and be careful," she said. "This is something that's going to be testing the waters. With this new government and the charter, how far can we go to impact residents' lives?"

The convenient and cozy county/city collaboration on the proposed plastic bag tax is more than just a plastic bag tax.

This is a step closer to big government regionalism through Agenda 21 type sustainability programs. Furthermore, this sets a bad precedent by creating an avenue for Cuyahoga County Council to opening the start taxing anything deemed unsafe for the environment. Or even more....

- Take Action Now - 

First contact Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Sunny Simon and City of Cleveland Councilman Matt Zone to voice your opposition to their proposed plastic bag tax.

We then need to reinforce the message by contacting Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Cleveland Council President Martin Sweeney at the city level.  At the county level, please voice your opposition to County Executive Ed Fitzgerald and County Council President Ellen Connally.

Contact Info

Cuyahoga County Council

County Council VP Sunny Simon
Office: (216) 698-2035
Fax: (216) 698-2040
Email: ssimon@cuyahogacounty.us

County Council President Ellen Connally
Office: (216) 698-2023
Fax: (216) 698-2040
Email: ceconnally@cuyahogacounty.us

County Executive Ed Fitzgerald
Office: (216-443-7178
Email: Click Here 

To find your Cuyahoga County Council Member, click here.

City of Cleveland Council

Councilman Matt Zone
Council Office: (216)-664-4235
Ward Office: (216)939-1717
Email: council15@clevelandcitycouncil.org

Council President Martin Sweeney
Office: (216)664-2942
Fax: (216)664-3837
Email: council18@clevelandcitycouncil.org

Mayor Frank Jackson
Office: (216)664-3990
Email: Click Here

To write a letter to the Editor of the Plain Dealer opposing the plastic bag tax, submit online form at  www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/lettertoeditor.ssf or email to: letters@plaind.com.

Sustainable Development Funding in Ohio Budget

Marianne at the Mansfield Tea Party has been closely monitoring developments in northern Ohio that extend the tentacles of Agenda 21 into our region. Now we have an opportunity to slow down or stop these encroachments on our freedom. Here’s Marianne’s Alert:

Dear Fellow Ohioans,

As explained in previous newsletters, the Greater Ohio Policy Center, an affiliate of the national organization Smart Growth America, is an Agenda 21 organization funded by extreme environmental advocacy and other Agenda 21 based groups.

The Greater Ohio Policy Center is pushing for the inclusion of funding for the Sustainable Communities Initiative in the fiscal 2013 Ohio budget!

We cannot let this happen! Take Action!

Call your Senators and Representatives and tell them we cannot have our tax dollars spent through these programs! The purpose of these programs is the redistribution of wealth, promoting public transportation (light rail), water use restriction, and what they consider to be "equitable" housing, which is why HUD is involved. Click Here to read more about the Greater Ohio Policy Center's agenda. This link clearly supports the claims made in the previous paragraph regarding their purpose. Contact Information: State Senators State Representatives

Our Representatives and Senators must be educated on the agenda of these programs. Many are ignorant of the existence of Agenda 21, and it’s our job to make sure they see the light.

Thanks for all you do!

REGULATING EGGS??

Late last week, The Hill reported that

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and a half dozen other senators have proposed legislation setting a uniform national standard for the treatment of egg-laying hens, which would ensure egg producers aren't blocked from selling across state lines due to differing state standards. . . .

Feinstein said her bill, S. 3239, would codify an agreement between the United Egg Producers and the Humane Society on how egg-laying hens should be treated and how eggs should be labeled. . . .

The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), David Vitter (R-La.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

With no budget passed in over three years, you’d think these Senators would have better things to do than stick their noses into the egg business. But it’s probably worse than that.

It's an expansion of the Food Police (remember the Food Safety Act of 2010)? And if S. 3239 becomes law, it could be used as a precedent to further the Progressive interpretation of the Commerce Clause. Co-sponsor Sen. Scott Brown is up for re-election. His office/fax number

Phone: (617) 565-3170 / Fax: (617) 723-7325

President Obama & the Democrat's "War on Women"

Holy Hypocrites Batman.... it look's like President Obama and the Democrat's think women are of a lesser value than men!

From the Washington Free Beacon -- (emphasis added)

A group of Democratic female senators on Wednesday declared war on the so-called “gender pay gap,” urging their colleagues to pass the aptly named Paycheck Fairness Act when Congress returns from recess next month. However, a substantial gender pay gap exists in their own offices, a Washington Free Beacon analysis of Senate salary data reveals.

Of the five senators who participated in Wednesday’s press conference—Barbara Mikulski (D., Md.), Patty Murray (D., Wash.), Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.)—three pay their female staff members significantly less than male staffers.

Murray, who has repeatedly accused Republicans of waging a “war a women,” is one of the worst offenders. Female members of Murray’s staff made about $21,000 less per year than male staffers in 2011, a difference of 35.2 percent.

That is well above the 23 percent gap that Democrats claim exists between male and female workers nationwide. The figure is based on a 2010 U.S. Census Bureau report, and is technically accurate. However, as CNN’s Lisa Sylvester has reported, when factors such as area of employment, hours of work, and time in the workplace are taken into account, the gap shrinks to about 5 percent.

A significant “gender gap” exists in Feinstein’s office, where women also made about $21,000 less than men in 2011, but the percentage difference—41 percent—was even higher than Murray’s.

Boxer’s female staffers made about $5,000 less, a difference of 7.3 percent.

The Free Beacon used publicly available salary data from the transparency website Legistorm to calculate the figures, and considered only current full-time staff members who were employed for the entirety of fiscal year 2011.

The employee gender pay gap among Senate Democrats was not limited to Murray, Boxer, and Feinstein. Of the 50 members of the Senate Democratic caucus examined in the analysis, 37 senators paid their female staffers less than male staffers.

Women working for Senate Democrats in 2011 pulled in an average salary of $60,877. Men made about $6,500 more.

While the gap is significant, it is slightly smaller than that of the White House, which pays men about $10,000, or 13 percent, more on average, according to a previousFree Beacon analysis. (Read more here....)

UPDATE 5/26: Townhall reports that

The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is forcing female students at the University of Arkansas to allow men into their restrooms. Why? A transgendered 38-year-old man named "Jennifer" filed a complaint claiming a university policy that requires men to use male designated restrooms and for women to use female designated restrooms is discrimminatory. Of course, the Justice Department took his/her (?) side, rather than protecting the safety of female students.

Stop the Law of the Sea Treaty

This just in from Mansfield Tea Party Patriots:

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan refused to sign a treaty known as "Law of the Sea" (LOST), a UN convention that would raid America's treasury for billions of dollars, then redistribute that wealth to the rest of the world by an international bureaucracy headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica.

The Obama administration has revived this treaty and this week, possibly tomorrow [Weds., May 23], Senator John Kerry will be holding hearings to discuss the "benefits" and support for ratification of this treaty.

This treaty is yet another tool being used to implement the UN's Agenda 21 through the redistribution of wealth, our wealth, and it must be stopped!

Click Here to Read an Excellent Article from Heritage regarding the dangers of this treaty.

!Take Action!

Contact Senators Portman and Brown. Don't forget to remind Senator Brown that this is an election year, and if he votes to ratify LOST, he'll be lost come November.

Senator Sherrod Brown

Email: http://brown.senate.gov/contact/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/sensherrodbrown

Cleveland Office PH: (216) 522-7272

Cleveland Office Fax: (216) 522-2239

D.C. Office PH: (202) 224-2315

D.C. Office Fax: (202)228-6321

Senator Rob Portman

Email: http://portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form

Website: http://portman.senate.gov/public/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/robportman

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/robportman

D.C. Office Ph#: (202) 224-3353

Cleveland Office Ph#: (216) 522-7095

Cincinnati Office Ph#: (513) 684-3265

Toledo Office Ph#: (419) 259-3895

Columbus Office Ph#: (614) 469-6774 / Toll-Free: 1-800-205-6446

Read more about this Treaty here (includes link to the text of the Treaty.)

Democrat Controlled U.S. Senate goes 0-5 on Passing a Budget

In recent headlines there has been much coverage on President Obama getting another slap down by his fellow Democrats in the Senate when, once again, they ALL voted against (0-99) a budget resolution based on Obama's failed 2013 budget blue print.

Not wanting to ruin their astonishing run of not passing a budget in over 3 years (1,117 Days) or tarnish their reputation of being a do-nothing, Democrat controlled Senate,  Senate Leader Harry Reid, joined by the establishment elite RINO's, also failed to pass four other budget measures.  The propagandist MSM does not appear to be pointing this out.

Other budget measures that were rejected by the Senate are;

• Rep. Paul Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" (failed 41-58)
• Senator Rand Paul's "Platform to Revitalize America" (failed 16-83)
• Senator Mike Lee's "Saving the American Dream" (failed 17-82)
• Senator Pat Toomey's "Restoring Balance" (failed 42-57)

The Senators from Ohio -Senator Sherrod "Sluggo" Brown (D), in cheap attempts to distance himself from his last 4 yrs of failure and still refusing to do the job he was elected to do, joined with fellow Democrats in voting against Obama's budget and the above alternative measures.

Senator Rob "The RINO" Portman (R?), joining his fellow Democrats voted against the Senator Rand Paul and Senator Mike Lee's budget proposals and voted in favor of the Rep. Paul  Ryan and Senator Pat Toomey budget proposals.

We will deal with Senator Sluggo in this general election by educating voters on his failures and forcing him to run on his record.

As for Portman.... while some have the mindless thought he is VP material for Romney -- many Tea Party groups in Ohio will be looking to give him a one way ticket to Lugarville in his next primary.

Below is contact info for Brown & Portman....

Senator Sherrod Brown

Email: http://brown.senate.gov/contact/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/sensherrodbrown 

Cleveland Office PH: (216) 522-7272
Cleveland Office Fax: (216) 522-2239
D.C. Office PH: (202) 224-2315
D.C. Office Fax: (202)228-6321


Senator Rob Portman

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/robportman

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/robportman
Email: http://portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form 

D.C. Office Ph#: (202)224-3353
Cleveland Office Ph#: (216)522-7095
Cincinnati Office Ph#: (513)684-3265
Toledo Office Ph#: (419)259-3895
Columbus Office Ph#: (614)469-6774 / 1-800-205-6446 (OHIO) 

Meeting on Fracking May 21 (Monday) at Lakeland Community College

Rep. Young to Host Public Meeting on Fracking

COLUMBUS—State Representative Ron Young (R-Painesville) has invited the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to conduct a science-based forum dealing with the impact of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” on Ohio’s economy, environment and natural resources. The forum will take place on Monday, May 21st and will begin at 6 p.m. at Lakeland Community College in room T129.

“Many residents of the 63rd House District are interested in learning more about fracking, and we hope to address these interests by using this event to speak with those individuals directly, hear their thoughts and answer their questions,” said Rep. Young.

The representatives from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will be answering questions from the attendees, which will be submitted to a moderator at the beginning of the forum. Rep. Young encourages anyone who has an interest in fracking to attend this event or to contact his office at (614) 644-6074 for more information

For more information, please contact Rachael Carl in Rep. Young’s office at (614) 644-6074

Map here. Note: Free campus parking. [h/t Diane Pierce]