New voter photo ID law takes effect next week

 

Jake Zuckerman at Cleveland.com reports:

A new state law takes effect next week requiring Ohioans to present a state-issued photo ID to vote, whether early or on Election Day.

The effective date next week means the new law will apply to voters participating in local and county elections taking place this year. Its fuller test, however, will occur next year in presidential, U.S. Senate and statewide races.

In previous elections, Ohioans could prove their identity with alternate forms of identification like a utility bill or bank statement with their address on it. But come April 7, they’ll need state-issued identification from Ohio or a valid U.S. passport. . . .

Click here for the rest of the report.

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Playhouse Square will require theatergoers to be fully vaccinated or test negative for COVID

 

At cleveland.com: "Playhouse Square will require theatergoers to be fully vaccinated or test negative for COVID":

Theatergoers will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or show proof of a recent negative test in order to attend shows at Playhouse Square. The new policy, issued on top of the existing mask mandate for all audience members regardless of vaccination status, goes into effect on September 30.

“From the momentum we have created with the successful run of ‘The Choir of Man,’ we are building toward full-capacity performances for the return of Broadway, our beloved resident companies, concerts and comedy shows,” said Playhouse Square President & CEO Gina Vernaci in a press release. “We are all eager to enjoy live performances together again; the vaccination requirement being enacted by Playhouse Square and venues across the country enables us to maintain our forward motion responsibly.”

The new protocols are similar to the measures currently being enforced on Broadway in New York City. The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Pops Orchestra announced the same requirements starting on Sept. 15. . . .

Key phrase: “measures currently being enforced.” Full report is here. 

Will you comply?  Where do you draw your line?  Our household has tickets for performances postponed in 2020 because of the lockdowns.  We will be turning in those tickets for a tax credit.

Is it responsible to require proof of having had a dangerous experimental gene therapyinjection in order to be seated?  Showing proof of a negative test for COVID essentially validates rules that do not follow science and are merely political theater.  Sad.  And scary.  And it’s here in Cleveland.

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COVID and ivermectin: who do you trust?

 

The FDA warns us not to take ivermectin for COVID.  Cleveland.com reported on that warning, which states that the FDA “has not approved the drug for that purpose” [my emphasis].The same can be said for a cocktail of hydroxychloroquine and zinc; that’s why a prescription is called “off-label.”

On the other hand, American Partisan links to various inexpensive over-the-counter or readily available therapeutics that are effective in mitigating symptoms of the WuFlu. Ivermectin tops the list.  Ivermectin has been taken extensively in, for example, India, with a high success rate;  Daniel Horowitz reports here.

Who do you trust?  

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Some Cuyahoga County voting places have changed for Tuesday’s primary

 

From Cleveland.com:

About 14,000 registered voters in Beachwood, Broadview Heights, Richmond Heights and Cleveland’s Wards 7 and 15 will have to vote in new locations when they cast ballots in Tuesday’s special primary election, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections said Friday.

The primary will determine the Democratic and Republican nominees to fill the congressional seat that Democratic former U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights vacated to head the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,

Click here for details.

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President Trump coming to Cleveland on June 26

From MSN via cleveland.com :

Former President Donald Trump is planning to hold his first post-presidential mass rally in the Cleveland area next week, according to media reports.

The event, tentatively scheduled for [Saturday] June 26, is slated to mark a return to the boisterous mass rallies the Republican is known for holding, both as a candidate and as president.

No venue announced yet.  Save-the-date!

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Jim Renacci in the news

 

Michael P. Ramirez cartoon

Jeremy Pelzer at cleveland.com has the scoop, and it’s not particularly inspiring:

Jim Renacci, a former congressman who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2018, announced late Wednesday afternoon he intends to run against fellow Republican Gov. Mike DeWine next year.

Renacci, a Wadsworth resident who briefly ran for governor in 2018 before switching to the Senate race, is the highest-profile primary challenger yet to DeWine. Renacci, like many other conservatives, has been a vocal critic of DeWine’s coronavirus policies.

. . .

Except Mr. Renacci is not much of a conservative. 

Renacci, who often decries what he calls “career politicians,” started his political career in 1999 as the Wadsworth city council president. He eventually became mayor from 2004 to 2008.

Read the full report here.

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Independence Day fireworks: they’re on

Marc Bona at Cleveland.com reports:

The Fourth of July fireworks are coming back to downtown Cleveland for the first [time] since 2019. Light Up the Lake – Downtown Cleveland Alliance’s annual free, family-friendly fireworks show – is scheduled for Sunday, July 4. The 2020 display was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Folks can head downtown with blankets and chairs between 8 p.m. and midnight. Fireworks are slated to go off from Dock 20, which is just southwest of FirstEnergy Stadium.

The location offers a variety of viewing vantages downtown. Suggested viewing areas include the Flats – both East and West banks - and North Coast Harbor.

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Mike Gibbons will run for Portman's Senate seat

 

Earlier this week, Cleveland.com published Seth A. Richardson’s story about Mike Gibbons, who is running for Rob Portman’s Senate seat.  It begins:

Mike Gibbons, a Cleveland investment banker and real estate developer, announced Tuesday he would again run for Senate after unsuccessfully pursuing the office in 2018.

Gibbons becomes the fourth Republican to officially enter the 2022 race to succeed retiring Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican who announced in January he wouldn’t seek a third term. Gibbons has never held elected office, but ran for Senate in 2018 in an attempt to challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, losing in the primary to Republican President Donald Trump’s hand-picked choice, then-Rep. Jim Renacci.

“I’m running for Senate because we need to get our economy back on track,” Gibbons said in a statement. “We need to rein in runaway federal spending. We need to secure our borders, stand for life, and defend our 2nd Amendment rights.”

Gibbons, a Cleveland native who grew up in Parma, is the senior managing director of Brown Gibbons Lang & Company, a Cleveland investment firm. He’s been active serving on boards in the community as well as in Ohio Republican politics, including as Ohio finance co-chair for Trump’s 2016 campaign.

. . .

Read the rest here.  It would be nice if Ohio did not replace RINO Portman with another establishment GOP – such as Josh Mandel or Jane Timken. 

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Good news for Ohio

From cleveland.com:

Ohio lawmakers on Thursday sent Gov. Mike DeWine a bill that would strip his administration of the authority to issue statewide coronavirus orders, even though the governor said the measure would be “a disaster” and vowed to veto it.

Senate Bill 311, which passed 58-30 along party lines, would ban the Ohio Department of Health from issuing mandatory quarantine orders enforced against people who are not diagnosed as sick or directly exposed to disease. It passed the state Senate in September.

The bill would not void existing statewide orders, including the three-week 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew announced by the governor earlier this week, a renewed statewide mask mandate, and a “stay-at-home” order like the one DeWine ordered the state health director to issue last spring. But it would prohibit such orders from being issued in the future, and it would allow lawmakers to vote to rescind any existing state health order.

And here is the reaction from Cleveland Tea Party’s Ralph King:

It is about time the Ohio House did more than grandstand!

It is nice to see our elected officials work to get something done instead of chest thump and grandstand for the shiny ball crowd in Ohio. Enough of the impeachment circus sideshow of Rep John "Bozo" Becker and his trained chimp Rep Nino Vitale!

Big thanks to Senate President Larry Obhof and SB 311 main sponsors State Senator Kristina Roegner & State Senator Rob McColley for getting this passed.

Senate Bill 311 will serve as a check & balance and will reign in the unchecked "ultimate" authority that the OH GOP previously gave the Ohio Dept of Health Director in 2003/2004! SB311 does not limit anything - it only allows for accountability!

And since SB 311 passed with a veto proof majority in the Senate - when you veto it - I fully support an Override starting with the Ohio Senate.

Very good news indeed.

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The Mask Empire

On Frontpage, Jack Kerwick reports on The Mask Empire:

Specifically, we spoke about the rise of Mask Empire.

I tried explaining that world renowned scientists—as opposed to career bureaucrats like Anthony Fauci—have demonstrated repeatedly that masks, particularly the kinds of cloth and surgical masks that have become a daily feature of the general public, are ineffective in preventing people from getting infected with COVID-19.  Masks can even be dangerous, both vis-à-vis COVID, as well as with respect to the exacerbation of other health issues.

In fact, even some of these bureaucrats have, at one time, conceded the truth of the science behind COVID and masks.

. . .

Anthony Fauci himself remarked in March, on the eve of the peak of The Virus:

“There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.  When you’re in the middle of an outbreak wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better, and it might even block a droplet, but it’s not providing the perfect protection people think that it is.”

. . .

Face masks can pose health risks.

. . .

The bottom line is this:

The science, as the left likes to say, is settled.  Masks, particularly of the kind that are in vogue among the public, are theater.  For the elites that mandate their use, they are a means to augment their power and exert control over the masses.    

Read all about it here.  And right on cue over at cleveland.com, we have today’s headline:

Gov. Mike DeWine says Ohioans will wear masks for years, after new study finds just 1.5% of state had coronavirus antibodies in July

Insane.  Read the report here, if you can stand to.   

Contact Gov. Mike DeWine: (614) 644-4357 or by email  https://governor.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/governor/contact

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Verifying signatures on absentee ballots: a win in Ohio

 

Andrew J. Tobias reports at cleveland.com:

A group of voting-rights activists has suffered a legal defeat
in their attempt to challenge Ohio's system of verifying signatures
on absentee ballot applications.

A federal judge has ruled Ohio’s system of verifying signatures on absentee ballot applications is not burdensome enough to be struck down as illegal, rejecting arguments made by a coalition of voting-rights groups that sued the state.

U.S. District Judge Michael Watson wrote that while Ohio’s signature-matching requirements impose a “moderate" burden on voters, they have other options to cast a ballot if their vote is improperly rejected, including casting a provisional ballot on Election Day. He agreed with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose that the state has a legitimate interest in promoting an orderly and secure election, justifying that burden.

. . .

Watson’s ruling is technically just an early loss for the voting-rights groups, which could continue to seek a trial or appeal to a higher court. But it makes it significantly less likely their case will succeed, especially given that the election is only 37 days away.

Read the full report here.

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Today’s meme on next week's debate

The Trump - Biden debate is scheduled for next Tuesday, Sept. 29 in Cleveland.  Will it actually take place? Meme via Patriot Post:

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Action Alert for Ohio

image credit: Professional Adviser 

The good news headline:

Ohio pharmacy board backs off hydroxychloroquine ban
at Gov. Mike DeWine’s urging

The bad news headline:

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine proposes banning liquor sales
after 10 p.m. to stop coronavirus spread in bars

This is one smart virus that knows how to spread itself around more after 10pm.

In our neighborhood, at least half the restaurants have not re-opened since the lock-downs and the riots, and those that have opened are under onerous orders to enforce masks, distancing, etc.;  three citations and they get closed down for good.  And now comes this latest regulation to further cripple the restaurant and bar businesses.

The Ohio Liquor Control Commission is slated to hold a hearing on the rule 9 a.m. Friday. If approved, DeWine said he would sign an order that would go into effect Friday night.

Contact Gov. Mike DeWine: (614) 644-4357 or by email

Please share with your friends.

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Capricious Governors

According to cleveland.com, "Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Sunday during an interview on "Meet the Press" that he would not rule out a statewide mandate to wear masks in public."  Cuyahoga County already has a mandate.  Theaters, sports venues, and other large gathering places are still closed.  

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Mask Mandates are a Public Health Menace

image credit: insidepulse.com

At BizPacReview, Michelle Malkin has a good common sense take on the face mask mandates, such as the one issued by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine:

Contracting COVID can be fatal or debilitating for the elderly, immune-compromised and physically challenged. But there is no catastrophic public health emergency justifying sweeping government orders and ordinances that would force healthy citizens to wear masks in an increasingly oppressive climate of manufactured fear — completely untethered from pragmatic realities and risk assessments.

. . .

Watching young, healthy people jogging or hiking on isolated trails in mid-July around Colorado Springs in cloth and surgical masks drives me nuts. They’re not protecting anyone else and are likely making themselves sick. In what sane world is breathing through moist bacteria traps and cutting yourself off from vitally needed oxygen a public health virtue? Vulnerable kids especially are being lied to by panic-mongers and exploited as human shields.  . . .

The evidence does not support broad mask mandates. Yet, now we free-thinkers and free-breathers face jail time and witch hunts for dissenting. It’s all about politics, power, and control.

Read Ms. Malkin's article here.  As for me, I’ve been wearing my mask around my chin. 

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Not “protests” - RIOTS

The outrage over the death of George Floyd is justified;  the violent “protests” are not.  Many of the local news outlets are reporting on the “protests” today in downtown Cleveland.  Here’s Cleveland.com’s headline:

Protestors break windows, set police cars on fire 

as George Floyd demonstrations turn violent in downtown Cleveland

And Fox 8 news:

Protests Continue in Cleveland

Not "protests."  RIOTS.

Here’s footage from earlier today taken from a balcony overlooking Lakeside Ave.:

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Mike DeWine "plans" for Ohio

Paula Bolyard at PJ Media doesn’t think much of Governor Comrade Mike DeWine’s power-grab:

The Ohio House on Wednesday passed a bill stripping the state health director of some emergency powers and limiting stay-at-home orders to 14 days, requiring the approval of the legislature for an extension. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican who’s been basking in the praise of Democrats and the MSM for his heavy-handed approach to containing the coronavirus pandemic, has vowed to veto the bill.

. . . 

DeWine’s office told reporters on Wednesday that should the bill make it to his desk he will veto it. It does not appear at present that the House would have enough vote to override a veto. The Senate has yet to take up the measure.

“My administration is focused on the important things we need to do to help businesses responsibly reopen while protecting Ohioans’ health and safety,” DeWine said in a statement. “This week alone, this included increasing coronavirus testing and tracing, balancing Ohio’s budget, and working on plans to move Ohio’s economy forward. Ohioans need their legislators focused on these important issues. Creating more uncertainty regarding public health and employee safety is the last thing we need as we work to restore consumer confidence in Ohio’s economy.”

In other words, the governor has no intention of relinquishing the power he and the unelected health director have amassed. If that power is taken away, what will he and Acton have to talk about at their incessant, mind-numbing “Wine with DeWine” daily press briefings?

How does he plan to "restore consumer confidence in Ohio’s economy" by keeping everybody under house arrest?  Ms. Bolyard's column is here.

Meanwhile, Seth A. Richardson at cleveland.com reports:

Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that barbershops, hair salons, nail salons, tanning salons and day spas can reopen starting May 15, nearly two months after they were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses will have to abide by certain health guidelines, including social distancing and strict sanitization regimens.

May 15?  Why May 15?  What is wrong with yesterday?  

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Censorship at Fox News

Photo credit: Boingboing.net

Joey Morona at Cleveland.com reports on blatant censorship at Fox News. The headline: 

Fox News cuts ties with Diamond & Silk 

after duo spreads coronavirus misinformation, report says

These two delightful ladies have been axed for telling the truth. Here’s an example of their dastardly crimes:

Their apparent banishment comes as the duo continues to make dubious claims about the coronavirus. On their March 30 live stream, for example, they suggested the number of deaths from COVID-19 was being exaggerated to make Trump look bad.

“What I need to know is: Who has the bodies?” Diamond asked.

A week later, their Twitter account was locked for violating the platform’s rules about spreading coronavirus misinformation, Politico reported.

“The only way we can become immune to the environment; we must be out in the environment. Quarantining people inside of their houses for extended periods will make people sick!” the offending tweet said.

On Monday, Diamond and Silk called the pandemic and resulting economic shutdown a “Deep State experiment that we’ve all been suckered into.”

Read the rest of the report here.  Diamond and Silk are right on the money.

Fox News has been gradually falling in line with the mainstream media propaganda pedlars, and this latest muzzling of two champions of truth and common sense is shameful and scary.  Those who want to hear and read both sides of an issue will have to seek it out on radio or online.  

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No in-person primary voting for you

Unless you are homeless or disabled, there will be no in-person primary voting for you. (See our previous blogpost here.)  Cleveland.com reports that a judge has upheld the changes to the election timetable and method of voting – mostly by mail.  Not good news, but here it:

A federal judge on Friday declined to step in and change a plan Ohio lawmakers unanimously approved to alter the state’s primary election, which will now be held almost solely by mail through April 28 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. District Judge Michael Watson ruled that a coalition of voting-rights groups that filed suit Monday over the Ohio legislature’s plan did not show that the rights of residents would be disenfranchised enough to override the law.

Even if the plan, named House Bill 197, isn’t perfect, that’s not enough to intervene, the judge wrote in his 27-page opinion.

“The Constitution does not require the best plan, just a lawful one,” wrote Watson, whose courtroom is in Columbus. “. . .

. . .

. . . He said the state is not in violation of the National Voting Rights Act.

Here’s one part I find particularly objectionable:

[Watson] said voters had many chances to vote either at boards of elections or by mail prior to the original primary date.

Voters who planned to vote on Election Day at their polling place are penalized for not voting early.

Read the rest of the report here.

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Is Gov. Mike DeWine a pessimist?

photo credit: businessinsider.com

President Trump has been suggesting that the various restrictions recommended to slow the spread of the coronavirus could be lifted as early as Easter (April 12).  He has referenced the economic health of the US, and the other day I quoted Mike Rowe:

. . .we’re treating a virus that MIGHT have devastating consequences, in a way that will GUARANTEE devastating consequences.

. . .

. . . I also know that Safety First is no way to live indefinitely. We are at base, a Safety Third nation. We can’t remain in the air raid shelter indefinitely – if we do, they’ll be no country left, when we finally emerge.

In response to Trump’s optimism and intention to balance the health of people with the financial health (and security) of the country, the markets started to rebound. 

Cleveland.com reported yesterday:

Gov. Mike DeWine also insisted he wasn’t that far apart from President Donald Trump on their approach to the coronavirus. Trump wants America to get back to business around Easter, about two weeks from now. 

But now The Hill reports that 

Democratic and Republican governors, as well as local officials, are pushing back against President Trump’s signals that he wants to restart the economy by Easter, warning that ending strict social distancing practices could put millions of lives at risk.

Governors have ordered residents to practice those distancing procedures, to varying degrees. Many have ordered residents to stay at home, ordered nonessential businesses closed and banned gatherings of all but a few people.

And several say they will keep those orders in place even if Trump rolls back the few national restrictions he has put in place.

Among those governors is Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine:

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said “people are dying and people don’t feel safe,” therefore the economy would not come back.

“We have to #FlattenTheCurve so that when the wave comes, it’s not as big as it would have been and we are prepared for it. We are going to get our economy back, but we have to get through it, protect as many lives as we can, and then move forward. I’m looking forward to that day, but it’s not here yet,” DeWine tweeted.

Meantime, we’ve been to the grocery store, been patronizing our local bistros by ordering take-out, comparing notes with family and friends, etc.  So far, everyone we’ve talked to is looking forward to getting back to normal.  They're concerned but not scared.  We’re optimistic.

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