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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This is not a Halloween prank

photo credit: 2popcornmovies.blogspot.com

IRONY ALERT! Joshua Caplan at Breitbart has the not-a-joke headline: “Facebook Suffers Data Protection Mishap at London Security Event”:

Facebook was left red-faced earlier this month after the social network giant suffered a data protection mishap during a cybersecurity conference hosted in London, according to reports.

The blunder occurred when Facebook misplaced an email list of the summit’s participants.

Financial News London reports:

The privacy breach was not at any old seminar though, it happened at an event entitled “Cyber security: the next 50 years”, which was hosted by Facebook and The Fulbright Commission, the US-UK scholarship programme, at their offices in Brock Street.

The panel discussion was headed by Gail Kent, Facebook’s global public policy lead on security. Fulbright scholars and security experts Jamie Collier, Cameron Colquhoun and Karen Renaud also spoke and the talk was followed by a networking reception.

But the next day guests were shocked to receive an email from Chris Horry, chief operating officer at the Fulbright Commission, which has been forwarded to Capital.

…

Attendees initially assumed the message was an ironic joke, given the theme of the event, and wondered whether a Facebook employee had grabbed the guest list in view of the company’s track record on this issue.

“Unfortunately, I have to inform you that in the course of yesterday evening’s cyber security event, a printed guest list with the name of the invitee and email address has been mislaid,” an email via Horry to participants read. “Whilst we do not expect that the list has been misappropriated, we cannot exclude that possibility. Please rest assured we very much value your data privacy and sincerely apologise for this unfortunate incident.”

Read the rest here.

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Tax cuts and Ohio take-home pay

image credit: walorski.house.gov

The Daily Signal website has a report on the real dollars-and-cents impact of the Trump tax cuts. It also has an interactive map, so you can select Ohio and find how much the tax cuts benefit taxpayers in your district.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has been one of the strongest and boldest reforms of President Donald Trump’s first term in office. According to analysis from The Heritage Foundation, the tax law will give hardworking Americans tax breaks in every congressional district and in every state.

Across the nation at large, the average American will take home on average $1,400 more of their paycheck in 2018. For married couples with two children, that figure doubles to just under $3,000.

>>> You can find the average tax cut in your district here [interactive map].

While higher-taxed districts will see more in dollar savings as a result of the tax cuts, they are certainly not the only winners from the Trump tax cuts. In fact, lower-income districts will feel more relief in their tax burden, as they will see a higher percentage of their taxes cut than Americans in higher-income areas.

Taxpayers in the 11^th District (represented by Marcia Fudge) saw approx. $898 more in annual take-home pay.

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Jailbreak and Ohio Issue #1

art credit: uclu.org

Paul Mirengoff at PowerLineblog was considering the case of the dud bomber – what was this guy doing out on the streets and not in jail for priors.

Our Under-Incarceration Problem, Explosive Packages Edition

Inevitably, Democrats and their partners in the mainstream media want to focus on the political leanings of the man suspected of sending packages to leading leftists. However, Daniel Horowitz contends that the real story here is “jailbreak,” i.e., the failure to put criminals behind bars and keep them there.

I agree that this is a key element of the story. The suspect apparently has a lengthy rap sheet that included dealing drugs, theft, traffic violations, and battery. A close analysis of his record will likely show he should have been in jail.

This is a recurring but almost always ignored phenomenon. In one high-profile case after another, we learn that the criminal is a chronic offender with a rap sheet that, in a properly functioning society, would have mandated his incarceration at the time of his latest offense.

Yet, Democrats and too many Republicans, including some in the White House, are dead set on increasing the number of convicted felons, including dealers of drugs like fentanyl, on the streets. They want shorter sentences for such offenders and they want them released from jail early — an obvious recipe for more crime faster.

In short, the bipartisan leniency-for-felons crowd seeks to make our under-incarceration problem worse, even though doing so can only increase the occurrence of crime, including violent crime. The consequences of this perverse policy are there for all to see, but the leniency crowd averts its eyes.

This line of reasoning also relates to Ohio Issue #1, on the ballot in just over a week. Issue #1 would reduce penalties for drug offenses. An earlier CTP blog quoted Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor’s views on Issue 1. Click here.   

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