How to help Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

photo credits: Sky News / Wall Street Journal

Hat tip to cleveland.com for highlighting a near west side organization that is collecting cartons of contribution for Puerto Rico – slammed by Hurricane Maria and now without power, utility services, etc. Here is the link to the San Lorenzo Club’s FB page. I had not heard of this organization before. They are accepting cartons (according to one of the posters) “until Sunday”:

we are collecting for PR until Sunday 12 noon to 8pm. 

Located at 3121 W.33rd Street in Cleveland, 44109. They are accepting canned goods, baby food, clothing, water, non-perishable items, diapers, pet supplies, everything but cash.

Google map is here.

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Issue 2 on Ohio ballots: pharmaceuticals (what IS this issue?)

image credit: MyDaytonDailyNews.com

Cleveland.com reported on the panel forum in Bay Village yesterday that presented pro and the con views of Issue 2, which will be on the ballot state-wide this November. The report was not all that illuminating, so here’s the actual language that voters will see on the ballot (via the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections):

Issue 2 To require state agencies to not pay more for prescription drugs than the federal Department of Veterans Affairs and require state payment of attorney fees and expenses to specific individuals for defense of the law Proposed Law Proposed by Initiative Petition To enact Chapter 194 of the Ohio Revised Code A majority yes vote is necessary for the law to pass. 

To enact Chapter 194 of the Ohio Revised Code, which would: 

• Require the State of Ohio, including its state departments, agencies and entities, to not pay more for prescription drugs than the price paid by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 

• Establish that the individual petitioners responsible for proposing the law have a direct and personal stake in defending the law; require the State to pay petitioners’ reasonable attorney fees and other expenses; require the petitioners to pay $10,000 to the State if the law is held by a court to be unenforceable and limit petitioners’ personal liability to that amount; and require the Attorney General to defend the law if challenged in court. 

SHALL THE PROPOSED LAW BE ADOPTED?

An Ohio doctor, Dr. Mike Sevilla, posted his page on Issue 2, and it’s a resource to start with, with several links to proponents and opponents of the Issue. And here’s the take posted by the Ohio Pharmacists organization. For what it is worth, a few months ago, Bernie Sanders endorsed Issue 2.

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Update: teaching our history in Ohio schools

 art credit: Mr. Donn's American History

Some Cleveland Tea Party readers will have called members of the Ohio School Board to keep our Founding Documents (Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers) in school curricula. Here’s the Update by Patrick O’Donnell from cleveland.com:

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Don't shortchange America's "founding documents," the state school board was told Tuesday, by trying to axe tests that make sure students learn them.

School board members have been under pressure from across the state to cut how many standardized tests students have to take. Some members have sought to cut any tests not required by the federal government, which would eliminate some math, English and science tests.

It would also wipe out the American History and American Government tests that all high school students must take.

That didn't sit well with some legislators and activists who fought to require these documents to be taught -- and included on state tests -- in 2012. That's when Senate Bill 165, called the "Founding Fathers Act" or the "Founding Documents Act" by some, mandated them.

That means the board can't cut them on its own, but can only ask the legislature to do so.

Don't bother, Senate President Larry Obhoff, a Medina Republican, told the board through an aide Tuesday. He said the legislature won't change the law, regardless of any recommendation from the board.

. . .

Despite more than 90 minutes of debate, most of which centered on procedural issues with motions and amendments, the board took no action on any tests. It delayed any vote until later this year.

Those calls and messages made a difference.

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Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor would end Medicaid expansion in Ohio

image credit: the bull elephant

Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor would end Medicaid expansion 

in Ohio if elected Governor

ICYMI, Cleveland.com reports:

Republican Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor said Monday she would end the Medicaid expansion in Ohio if she is elected governor - a clean break from the man she has served alongside for the last seven years,  Gov. John Kasich. 

As part of her run to succeed Kasich, Taylor unveiled her plan to alter the health care system in Ohio on Monday in Cleveland. She said she would end the Medicaid expansion that resulted in 725,000 more Ohioans receiving health coverage, calling the program unsustainable in the long term.

"Medicaid expansion is fiscally unsustainable and will be ended under a Taylor administration," Taylor said. "I believe that we must identify new, innovative, market-based reforms to address the issues Medicaid currently addresses today. I want to return Medicaid to its original mission of serving the people who need it while incentivizing work and ensuring opportunities for long-term success for those who are able."

. . .

"If Obamacare is not repealed, then I will work very hard with President Trump and Congress to get Obamacare repealed or get the flexibility Ohio needs in a waiver or block grant - call it whatever you want - give us the flexibility to I can implement my plan," Taylor said.

"Call it whatever you want?" How about the Health Care Compact?! Read the rest of the report here.

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Founding of America Documents Curriculum in Ohio

image credit: annenberg classroom

Saving Founding of America Documents Curriculum in Ohio. 

Your Calls Are Needed!

This Action Alert is from our friends at the Ohio Christian Alliance (a number of Ohio groups and organizations are passing along this information; I’m going with the OCA Action Alert because it provides links to the Resolution itself and the School Board members who will be voting):

Liberals on the Ohio State School Board are trying to eliminate American Government and History standards in Ohio.

The State School Board will meet on Sept 18th and 19th to consider a proposal urging the Ohio Legislature to turn the clock back by eliminating the required end of course testing in American Government and History. This will all but destroy what we accomplished six years ago with the passage of the Founding of America Documents curriculum, which guarantees that all 88 school districts teach the founding documents, namely The U.S. Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, The Northwest Ordinance, and The Ohio Constitution in the 8-12th grades with an end of course exam. This threat is serious to eliminate the Constitutional studies in the classroom.

 Click here to contact State School Board members and urge them to vote NO on the resolution.    

 Click here to read the resolution. 

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Cleveland Indians win 22 straight

It's Thursday night. Our Cleveland Indians just extended their winning streak to 22 games, 2nd longest win streak in MLB history!

WOW!

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Dreamers Amnesty

image credit: zazzle

Old news: Speaker Paul Ryan is pro-Amnesty. Yesterday, he had this to say:

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday that it was “not in our nation’s interest” to expel the roughly 800,000 young people protected from deportation by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

William A. Jacobson has more on DACA / Dreamer amnesty at Legal Insurrection:

Trump is on the verge of turning a temporary Obama policy deferring enforcement against people here illegally into a full-blown amnesty, which may even go beyond people brought here as children.

Amnesty is the issue on which to oppose Trump, particularly if you support Trump generally. It will kill his presidency, something Schumer and Pelosi correctly diagnosed. Democrats want amnesty for all illegal immigrants and open borders, they’ll take 800,000 as the way to open the door. And they’ll use even the slightest sellout to seek to separate Trump from the people who elected him so as to defeat him on other issues.

Amnesty is the gateway drug to a failed Trump presidency.

NeverTrump Republican are particularly ecstatic on social media today. They want nothing more than for Trump to fail so they can proclaim “I told you so.” They thrive on being out of power. Schumer and Pelosi are NeverTrump Republicans’ best friends right now.

When Trump was elected, my reaction was that there was great opportunity, and I’d support him when his policies were good, and oppose bad policies. Amnesty is a bad policy. It goes to something more than the rule of law, it goes to whether we have a country.

Particularly if you support Trump and want his positive policies to succeed, you need to oppose an amnesty sellout.

NumbersUSA has posted several Action Alerts over the past few days. One recommended action is to let Speaker Paul Ryan know where you stand on DACA (Dreamers) amnesty:

We're hearing from a number of NumbersUSA activists that Speaker Ryan's voicemail is full. You can also contact his office by filling out the contact form on his website:

http://www.speaker.gov/contact

An accessible background essay on the case against Dreamer amnesty is on the American Thinker blog here. 

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