Continuing the Health Care Fight in Ohio; Support HB 489 & SB 244

Patriots,

We must not allow the hard work you have done in the fight against government run health care go to waste -- we must continue this fight, but now it needs to be at the state level. Our efforts must be channeled into areas where we can have a reasonable expectation of success. In the the same way we did in D.C., we now need to fill up the phones, faxes and emails in Columbus.

One of the avenues in which we can achieve this reasonable expectation of success comes from reconcentrating our efforts in supporting Senate Bill 244 sponsored by OH State Senator Shannon Jones & OH State Senator Tim Grendell. As introduced, SB 244 would prohibit requiring an individual to maintain a policy of health insurance in the State of Ohio.

Being introduced when the OH House goes back into session on 5/11/2010, OH Rep. Barbara Sears will be introducing OH House Bill 489 (HB 489) which would also prohibit requiring an individual to maintain a policy of health insurance in the State of Ohio and will be a companion bill to SB 244.

Here is the text of HB 489 as it will be introduced on 5/11/2010....

As Introduced

128th General Assembly
Regular Session 2009-2010

H. B. No. 489

Representatives Boose, Sears

Cosponsors: Representatives Adams, J., Adams, R., Amstutz, Bacon, Baker, Blair, Bubp, Burke, Coley, Combs, Derickson, Evans, Goodwin, Grossman, Hite, Hottinger, Huffman, Jordan, Lehner, Maag, Martin, McGregor, Mecklenborg, Morgan, Ruhl, Stautberg, Stebelton, Wachtmann

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A BILL

To enact section 3901.711 of the Revised Code to prohibit requiring an individual to obtain or maintain a policy of health insurance.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 3901.711 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 3901.711. (A)(1) No individual who is a resident of this state, regardless of whether the individual has or is eligible for health insurance coverage under any policy or program provided by or through the individual's employer, or a plan sponsored by this state or the federal government, shall be required to obtain or
maintain a policy of individual health insurance coverage.

(2) No provision of Chapter 1751. or Title XXXIX of the Revised Code shall render an individual who is a resident of this state liable for any penalty, assessment, fee, or fine as a result of the individual's failure to procure or obtain health insurance coverage.

(3) No public official, employee, or agent of this state or any political subdivision shall impose, collect, enforce, or effectuate any penalty as a result of the failure of an individual who is a resident of this state to procure or obtain health insurance coverage.

(B) The attorney general shall seek injunctive or any other appropriate relief as expeditiously as possible to preserve the rights and property of the residents of this state, and to defend as necessary this state, its officials, employees and agents in the event that any government, subdivision, or government agency enacts or adopts any law, rule, or regulation that violates division (A) of this section.

(C) This section shall not apply to individuals voluntarily applying for coverage under the medicaid program established under Chapter 5111. of the Revised Code or the children's health insurance program established under sections 5101.50 to 5101.529 of the Revised Code.

What to Do

To help set the stage prior to HB 489 being introduced, we are requesting everyone contact their OH House Rep and ask them to publicly declare their support for this bill. When you contact them please share your feelings on why you believe OH residents should not be forced into purchasing government mandated health insurance.

Contact OH House Speaker Armond Budish. Please inform Speaker Budish that as an OH resident you support this proposed legislation and ask that he do the same.

Speaker Armond Budish
77 S. High St 14th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111
Phone: (614) 466-5441 Fax: (614) 719-0008
Email: district08@ohr.state.oh.us

Contact your OH House Rep and ask that they publicly declare their support for HB 489. To find your OH House member click here for their contact information.

If you have not yet done so, please consider signing the online petition supporting State Senator Shannon Jones. You can read & sign the on-line petition in support of SB 244 by clicking here.

Cleveland Ban The Cams Petition Signature Collecting: This Saturday May 8th

From our friends at Cuyahoga County for Liberty --

The LARGE majority of people in greater Cleveland want the traffic cams in Cleveland to go away.

We need your help in gathering signatures on the petitions to have this issue put on the ballot for November's election.

We were at the West Side Market on May 1st and it is a tremendously productive place to gather signatures.

If you can help out for an hour or more, that would be incredibly helpful.

We will be on the parking lot side of the market, right where you enter the market. If you go to the link below, we will meet at the intersection where it shows Market St. and W. 24th.

• Date: Saturday, May 8, 2010
• Time: 9:00am - 2:00pm
• Location: West Side Market - 1979 West 25th Street, Cleveland, OH

Here's a map of where the market is: http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&q=west+side+market&fb=1&gl=us&hq=west+side+market&hnear=Beachwood,+OH&cid=0,0,12372574425359174750&ei=gd7cS6aBN5TSNb-c_NMH&ved=0CAcQnwIwAA&ll=41.48664,-81.702983&spn=0.007008,0.01354&z=16

Geauga / Lake County Tea Party Patriots host Tea Party in Mentor

Tea Party

in

Mentor

The Geauga / Lake County Tea Party Patriots invite you to our Tea Party in Mentor.

Bring your Friends, Family, Neighbors, Flags, Signs & Patriot Spirit and stand with us as Americans in our non-partisan rally.

No candidates will be speaking!

• When: Sunday, May 16, 2010
• Time: 3:00 PM -
• Where: Mentor Municipal Center
• Address: 8500 Civic Center Blvd (State Rt 615) Mentor, OH 44060 (Click Here for Map)

Contact Coordinators Tom Baher & Arzella Melnyk at geaugalakecountyteaparty@gmail.com

Fiscal Responsibility * Constitutionally Limited Government * Free Markets

Join the Counter Protest against Illegal Amnesty today in Cleveland

Our friends at the Grassroots Rally Team members will be staging a counter protest to a rally Co-sponsored by Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula Counties, Reform Immigration for America, Latino Pastors Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People protesting the new Arizona Immigration law and to push for "their" version of immigration reform.

Please join the Grassroots Rally Team on the southwest corner of E. 9th Street and Lakeside (across from the Free Stamp) Monday May 3rd from 11:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.

We need to let Senator Brown and Senator Voinovich know citizens oppose amnesty!

Please click here to sign the Tea Party Patriots petition supporting the new AZ Immigration law.

Arizona "tweaks" New Immigration Law; Some in GOP Still Backing Away

Many people have many thoughts on how we should fix the illegal immigrant problem plaguing our country and what we should do with the ones that are already here illegally. One thing is for sure.... doing nothing will only allow the problem to expand and become a bigger financial strain on states, counties, & cities, most of which are already facing a shortage of cash & cutting back on services.

One of the first steps, being a nation of laws, the federal government should enforce the current immigration laws. But what is a state to do when the federal government does NOT enforce their own laws and this lack of enforcement is creating a financial strain on the well being of the community along with creating an unsafe environment for U.S. citizens?

Most would say it is incumbent on the elected state officials, within the powers vested in them under our Constitution & affirmed in their State Constitution, to take action in addressing the problems when the Federal government refuses to do so. The State of Arizona did just that and is now facing a full frontal attack on their states rights by the federal government that allowed the problem to grow to epidemic proportions.

In attempts to address the concerns of the PC Korretniks on the left, illegal immigrants & the expected onslaught of legal challenges, the State of Arizona recently refined the language in their controversial and so-called civil rights violating new illegal immigration law....

From L.A. Times --

The initial law, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer last week, required police to determine a person's immigration status if officers formed a reasonable suspicion about their legality during any "lawful contact." That led to suggestions by some legal experts that police would be obligated to scrutinize even people who asked for directions.

Lawmakers on Thursday night changed the language to require scrutiny only of people who police stop, detain or arrest. They also changed a section of the bill that barred officers from "solely" using race as grounds for suspecting someone is in the country illegally; opponents had argued that that would allow race to be a factor. The legislators removed the word "solely" to bar race from being used by officers enforcing the law.

"It absolutely clarifies what the intent was," said Paul Senseman, a spokesman for Brewer, who supported the changes and is expected to sign them into law. "It's undeniable now that this bill will not lead to racial profiling." More....

The intent of AZ's new law was always clear -- removing the illegal immigrants already there and stop/stem the flow of illegal immigrants from over the porous border that the federal government refuses to address. It has nothing to do with being against a certain race or culture. Nowhere in the law does it say only target people from Mexico or specific races from Latin America.

The mostly disobedient and far from peaceful protests by groups against enforcing any laws dealing with illegal immigration (other than complete Amnesty) has the GOP in a tizzy. Instead of supporting the will of the voters some high profile members of the Elephant clan show they are more concerned with votes & running for political cover than doing what's right...

Arizona's immigration law has been an immediate hit with the Republican base, but some of the party's top strategists and rising stars worry that the harsh crackdown may do long-term damage to the GOP in the eyes of America's Hispanic population.

And the party's long-term thinkers worry that the Arizona law is merely a quick political fix which may create a permanent rift with the fastest growing segment of the U.S. electorate.

"It's like a virus that you get and you don't feel like you're unhealthy for the first few days, but after that you have a fever and you're really sick," says Matthew Dowd, former President George W. Bush's chief strategist in 2004. "You can't win a national election and you can't win certain states without the Latino vote. And Republicans already had a problem."

"I think there is going to be some constitutional problems with the bill," top Bush strategist Karl Rove said during a stop on his book tour. "I wished they hadn't passed it, in a way." (AZ Central)

And they've even got their "bought & paid for" wing of the Tea Party speaking out against the law....

Even Sal Russo, the longtime California Republican political operative who helps fund the Tea Party Express, acknowledges that the Arizona law creates problems for the party.

"I think Republicans do a poor job of communicating to non-traditional Republican voters," Russo said. "We've done a poor job in reaching out beyond the Republican base, and I think that's been part of the problem. (AZ Central)

Even though this new law has bi-partisan support in Arizona, and the fact that AZ Governor Jan Brewer actually saw an increase in poll numbers AFTER the law was signed, as usual ignoring the will and voice of "We the People," Russo & the GOP want to make it about the "party" and not the people.

A couple of polls being ignored by the spineless GOP and the "drive-by" Tea Party Express is a Gallup poll showing 51% of Americans aware of the Arizona law support it -- along with 39% of the people polled who have not yet heard of the law also supported it. The 39% most likely reflects U.S. citizens happy somebody is just doing something about the illegal immigration problem in this country.

And in a poll done by SurveyUSA, 82 percent of Florida Republicans who have heard about Arizona's law agree with it—and 81 percent think Florida should pass a similar measure.

You can click here to sign the Tea Party Patriots petition supporting Arizona's new law.

Do You Support Arizona's New Immigration Law?

From our National Coordinators (www.teapartypatriots.org) --

Dear Fellow Tea Party Patriots,

We are getting a lot of emails from inside of Arizona asking for support of their state's new law and from outside of Arizona expressing their opinion about the new law.

Do you support Arizona's new immigration law and believe in the right of each state to protect its own citizens from the effects of illegal immigration? If so, go to our petition site and sign the petition by clicking here.

After signing the petition, share the link with everyone on your Facebook pages and email lists. Finally, please use the 'I Support Arizona' image on your Facebook and Twitter profiles.

For further information, click here for a link to the text of the bill.

Being a "nation of laws," AZ is just asking the laws be enforced.... the Federal Government wasn't -- so they are!

We discussed this topic in our last meeting. It was nearly unanimous that we should be supportive of the new AZ law. With stress being put on this not being an attack on any one race of people... simply put -- NO immigrants should be given "special status" over others. We will welcome ALL legal immigrants willing to be become American citizens.

Is Puerto Rico Being Forced Down the Path to Statehood?

From the Pittsburgh Tea Party Patriots --

Would you please call the U.S. Representatives today and ask them to vote no on H.R. 2499? This is a trojan horse, middle of the night kind of bill that you may not have heard about yet. The Left is trying to label anyone who votes against this bill as a racist, so all representatives must be called!

TIME TO MELT THE PHONES!

Congress is at it again!

Now they are trying to sneak in a vote that would put Puerto Rico on the path to statehood. The only trouble is, they haven't exactly told US about it (sound familiar??).

Please take a moment and read the information below, then pick up the phone and CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE! ... Then call five friends and ask them to do the same! :)

Click on congressmerge.com/onlinedb/index.htm to get your Representative's best phone numbers. Start with the DC offices, then move on the the LOCAL numbers!

Demand your Representative vote NO on HR 2499

Here's what Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com had to say:

There is a bill to make Puerto Rico a state. Again, they are trying to pull one over on us and on Puerto Ricans, who have consistently said they do not want to become a state. Read below for more information (from Eagle Forum). This was also discussed by Rep Tom Price on a conference call yesterday.

Please consider this:

• The U.S. would transform, overnight, into a bilingual nation. At least half of Puerto Ricans do not speak English, the language of our U.S. Constitution and founding documents. The Washington Times article, "Puerto Rican statehood," analyzes all the implications of adding a foreign language-speaking state to the Union.

• It would bring immediate demands for massive federal spending. The average income of Puerto Ricans is less than half that of our poorest state, and infrastructure and the environment are far below American standards. Puerto Rico has a population with a median national income of $17,741, nearly a third of that for the U.S.

• Puerto Rico is already a democracy. Despite the bill's deceptive title, Puerto Rico already has an elected government and exists as a self-governed commonwealth of the U.S.

• Statehood would give Puerto Rico more congressional representation than 25 of our 50 states! It would inevitably give Democrats two additional U.S. Senators and 6 to 8 additional Members of the House.

H.R. 2499 is stealth legislation designed to lead to the admission of Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico as the 51st state, thereby making us a de facto bilingual nation, like Canada. The U.S. Congress should not be forcing Puerto Ricans to vote on statehood, especially since the Puerto Rican people have rejected statehood three times since 1991!

No Member of Congress who describes himself as a limited government, fiscal conservative should be casting a YEA vote for H.R. 2499, as Puerto Rican statehood would cause an immediate increase in federal expenditures, particularly for taxpayer-funded welfare state services.

The Puerto Rican government is even playing hardball with it own people! Read this by Ann Shibler :

The United States House of Representatives is set to vote on H.R. 2499, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, as early as this week. This bill would mandate a non-binding expression by the voters of Puerto Rico as to their wishes with regard to retaining their commonwealth status or becoming a state or becoming an independent nation, but in conjunction with other legislation already introduced inside Puerto Rico, the commonwealth status of the island could be eliminated as early as this year.

Three times in the past 43 years Puerto Ricans have voted against becoming the 51st state in the Union, the last time being 11 years ago. But this time the bill is rigged to eliminate the commonwealth option and grant either full statehood, or total independence. Sen. Jose Hernandez-Mayoral of the island's minority Popular Democratic Party said, "Behind this innocuous bill lies a fully thought out assault on Congress to designate the island the 51st state." "With the commonwealth option out of the ballot, statehood is finally, albeit crookedly, assured a victory."

To read the whole article click here.

For the complete text of HR2499 Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2009 click here.