Setting the clock BACK

The details are wrong. It’s “Stonehenge” – one word. In the fall, we set our clocks BACK an hour, not forward. But the picture is funny enough for me to post to remind everyone to set their clocks BACK one hour this evening.

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The critical race for Ohio’s next Secretary of State

Remember the progressive Secretary of State project?

The Secretary of State Project originated due to the culmination of frustration, anger, bitterness and overall resentment Democrats felt towards Republicans in the wake of President George W. Bush’s re-election in 2004. Still plagued with memories of Katherine Harris and Florida from the 2000 presidential contest, Democrats placed the blame for Senator John Kerry’s loss squarely on the head of former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, who ruled that provisional ballots in the state would not be counted if they were submitted in the wrong precinct, a decision upheld by the United States Court of Appeals. Bush’s victory in the state – a relatively slim 118,000+ votes – gave him the necessary electoral votes (twenty) to cross the victory threshold of two hundred and seventy.

Democratic founders of the SoS Project saw conspiracy in Blackwell's decision, insisting that those individuals who were elected on the principle of upholding and enforcing election laws were, in fact, political operatives. But rather then push for reform so that the offices of the Secretaries of State reflected a level of neutrality, perhaps making it so holders of those positions were elected on a nonpartisan basis, they instead sought to implement an aggressive agenda exactly the same in nearly every respect that they had just accused Republicans of performing.

Through the strategic process of placing specific candidates, ones that met a certain liberal or progressive criteria set down by the organization, in positions of power that oversaw and administered state elections, the Democratic Party would be "better positioned than in the previous elections to advance traditional Democratic interests," particularly when it came to the administration of election laws.

. . .

The SoS Project has not been active since 2010. It spent just over $50,000 in 2012 and its website was taken down.

The SoS Project may be gone technically, but it seems to be operating under different auspices. Paula Bolyard’s report at PJ Media shows that Ohio voters may yet be vulnerable to progressive, uh, cheating:

Ohio SoS Candidate Who Moved to Keep Trump Off 2020 Ballot

 Vows to 'Impact' Election if She Wins

Ohio has long been known as a battleground state because it often plays a pivotal role in deciding presidential elections. Although the state has a mere 18 electoral votes, Ohio is often a barometer of the nation's political mood. A down-ticket race that hasn't garnered much national attention — but should — is the contest to be Ohio's next secretary of state. Two state lawmakers, Republican Frank LaRose and Democrat Kathleen Clyde, are vying for the position that the Democratic candidate has said could impact the 2020 presidential election.

Kathleen Clyde, who, as a member of the Ohio House introduced the TRUMP Act last year to try and force President Trump to release his tax returns, has vowed to play a role in the 2020 presidential election should she win next Tuesday. Clyde, who did not return PJM's request for a comment, said in February, “It is a very powerful and important position, impacting the presidential election because of our importance as a battleground state and the redistricting process” [emphasis added]. She explained, “It matters who runs the elections in this critical state.”

LaRose, 39, is a combat veteran and U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret, who earned a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. The father of three has served in the Ohio Senate since 2011. Clyde, also 39, has served in the Ohio House since 2011. A lawyer by trade, Clyde, according to her website, is a "dedicated defender of voters and voting rights" who "wants to take her life’s work to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office to secure and modernize Ohio elections so every Ohioan’s vote counts."

 A Baldwin-Wallace University poll earlier this month showed the race in a dead heat, with LaRose and Clyde deadlocked at 32.6 percent. A Libertarian candidate, Dustin Hanna, had 7.2 percent, while nearly a third of voters were undecided, likely owing to the fact that neither candidate had statewide name recognition going into the contest.

The fact that impacting the election is on Clyde's mind "should give every Ohioan great cause for concern," LaRose told PJM. "Let me be clear. The secretary of state does not get to impact Ohio's election, the voters do." LaRose added that if he's elected to be Ohio's next chief elections officer, he "will run fair elections, assuring that the voices of Ohioans are heard."

But Democrats clearly have a different idea. That's why Democrats far and wide — from Hillary Clinton to Elizabeth Warren to Eric Holder to Tom Steyer — are focusing their attention on the race and pouring pallets full of cash into it.

Grant Schaffer, LaRose's campaign manager, told PJM, "We're facing an unprecedented wave of out-of-state spending in the secretary of state's race.

National figures like George Soros, Donald Sussman, Eric Holder, Tom Steyer and his wife, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, and Hilary Clinton have all made large personal investments in the race." All, he said, "have publicly stated interests in defeating Trump or want to run for president themselves." He said outside groups like OMG-WTF and iVote are targeting the race.

If the money is pouring in from out-of-state to promote Clyde’s campaign for SoS, that’s bad news for Ohio. And the Libertarian candidate usually splits the conservative vote. 

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#WalkAway follow-up

Photo by Brandon Straka, 

founder of the "Walk Away" movement,

 via The Daily Signal

Despite the unprecedented number of Tea Party people who rallied in the 2009 Taxpayer March in DC, the media ignored it. Including The Plain Dealer. Although the turn-out was much smaller (possibly as many as 3,500 –despite lousy weather), the #WalkAway march in DC last weekend was similarly ignored by the media. However, the Daily Signal filed a follow-up report:

The founder of the #WalkAway Campaign, a movement showcasing stories of why Americans walk away from leftist ideology and the Democratic Party, says he is pleased with an organized march last weekend in the nation’s capital and plans to take the idea on the road.

“I thought it was spectacular. I am so proud of the entire weekend from beginning to end,” Brandon Straka said in an interview with The Daily Signal.

“I have very high expectations, which is why I usually feel let down all the time, but it was one of the rare moments in life where you have the highest possible hopes and expectations and it goes so far beyond,” Straka said.

Straka, 41, a former liberal who voted for Hillary Clinton in the past but now calls himself a “gay conservative,” said he estimates that 3,000 to 3,500 attended.

The #WalkAway events started Oct. 26 with a gala dinner at Trump International Hotel, a march Oct. 27 from John Marshall Park to Freedom Plaza, and a closing brunch Oct. 28.

Read the rest here. Good photos, too

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Vote NO on Issue One

RE-POSTED FROM Oct. 2

A very contentious Issue 1 will be on the ballot this November.  Issue 1 is a very dangerous issue that will weaken drug laws in Ohio to almost the weakest in the nation.  Passage of Issue 1 will much put out the welcome mat for drug users to flock to Ohio!

In addition to weakening our drug laws - the dangerous thing about Issue 1 is that instead of making these changes how they should be - through the legislative process of our elected officials - Issue 1 will make these weak drug laws part of our Ohio Constitution.  

It is important to not get caught up in the "helping the marginal user or addict that needs help" argument.  Without a a doubt some of the drug laws in our state need to be reviewed.  But we do not want to put out a welcome mat and become enablers!

Below is part of an Op-Ed from Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor of the Ohio Supreme Court... 

The lack of consequences for fentanyl possession also applies to possession of other lethal substances, (cocaine, K2, meth and heroin, etc.). Current possession felonies become misdemeanors.

What criminal wouldn’t want to set up their drug business in Ohio?

The adoption of Issue 1 will, I predict, have a devastating consequence on our drug courts. We know, through multiple studies, that drug courts are highly effective but only when they combine the "carrot" of treatment and support with the "stick" of judicial accountability, including incarceration when needed. The courts will be unable to incentivize an addict’s participation in drug court because the "carrot" of not having a felony conviction record is gone. There would be no felony!

Who would want to participate in a drug court program knowing that they only face probation for possession of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, K2, heroin, and so forth? I predict that we will see a severe drop-off in drug court participation at the very moment when it is needed most. Lives will be lost.

To make matters worse, Issue 1 would freeze our criminal drug offense laws in time. It expressly mandates that its provisions be implemented based on the laws in effect on Jan. 1, 2018. Our General Assembly couldn’t, by passing a statute, fix all that is wrong with Issue 1.

Keep in mind that out-of-state special interest groups spent more than $4 million to put Issue 1 on the ballot and will spend more to mislead and confuse you regarding Issue 1.

The proponents seek to address a very real problem: the impact of substance abuse on our society and our criminal justice system. But by taking a hammer to that problem, the proponents have set Ohio on a dangerous course of lenient drug laws. Issue 1’s passage would gravely endanger Ohioans while doing very little, if anything, to help our addicted population. Lives will be lost. Read More....

For more details on Issue 1 Click Here.

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Judicial candidates

RE-POSTED from Oct 22

Just days away from the Nov 6 election, time to prepare to vote. You can find your sample ballot for Cuyahoga County here. You should have your Cuyahoga County voter registration postcard at hand with your precinct details. (For Lake County voters, go here. For Geauga County voters, go here.)

Most of the candidate lists with recommendations are focused on the top of the ticket races. But I’ve been researching judicial candidates and found some ratings, endorsements, and report cards. One source was the <Judge4yourself> website, which collects ratings from the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Associationm the Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association, the Norman S. Minor Bar Association, and the Ohio Women’s Bar Association.

But it also specifies which candidates receive an endorsement from the Editorial Board of the PD / cleveland.com. Since there will be some Tea Party readers who would not consider a cleveland.com endorsement as a positive, I searched further.  

The <Ohio.ivoteconservative> website represents the collective recommendations of its signatories, many of which Tea Party members will recognize. If you visit their home page and fill in three boxes of info, you will get a list of recommended candidates who will appear on your ballot. It prints out on one page, so you can take it with you when you go to vote. Below is the list of recommended judicial candidates in a downtown Cleveland precinct (if you vote elsewhere, including in another county, you’ll want to go the website and enter your details to get your list of recommended candidates.):

Oh Supreme Court (1/1/19)

  Craig Baldwin

Oh Supreme Court (1/2/19)

  Mary Degenaro

  

Ohio Court Of Appeals #8

  Raymond Headen

Cuyahoga Cnty Cmn Pleas Court (1/1/19)

  Jeffrery C. Sindelar Jr

Cuyahoga Cnty Cmn Pleas Court (1/2/19)

  Bradley Hull IV

Cuyahoga Cnty Cmn Pleas Court (1/3/19)

  Lorraine Coyne

Cuyahoga Cnty Cmn Pleas Court (1/5/19)

  Lon Cherie D. Billingsley

Cuyahoga Cnty Cmn Pleas Court (1/6/19)

  Wanda C. Jones

Cuyahoga Cnty Cmn Pleas Court (1/7/19)

  Kathleen Ann Sutula

Cuyahoga Cnty Cmn Pleas Court (1/8/19)

  Jarrett J. Northup

Cuyahoga Cnty Cmn Pleas Court (1/9/19)

  Brian Darling

Cuyahoga Cnty Cmn Pleas Court (1/11/19)

  Lori Anne Dyke

Cuyahoga Cnty Cmn Pleas Court (1/1/19)

  Denise Nancy Rini

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Trump rally in Cleveland next Monday

Donald J Trump backstage with Cleveland Tea Party's 

Ralph King before the 2016 rally at the IX Center

President Trump will visit Cleveland one day before the mid-term election. 10tv.com reports:

President Donald Trump plans a stop in Cleveland as part of a last-minute pre-election swing through several states.

Ohio's midterm elections include a close governor's race and a pair of tight congressional campaigns.

The Republican president will be in Cleveland the afternoon of Nov. 5, the day before the election . . .

DETAILS:

Mon, November 05, 2018

Cleveland, OH

03:00 pm (EST)

DOORS OPEN 12:00PM (EST)

IX Center

1 I-X Center Drive

Cleveland, OH 44136

You can register for free tickets here.

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Happy Halloween!

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