November 14, 2012

Federal judge rips Jon Husted for unconstitutional change to Ohio election rules

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

In a scathing 17-page ruling (Read the full ruling in the Document viewer below), U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley said a directive on counting provisional ballots that Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted issued on Nov. 2 was "a flagrant violation of a state elections law" that could disenfranchise voters.

"The surreptitious manner in which the secretary went about implementing this last minute change to the election rules casts serious doubt on his protestations of good faith," Marbley wrote.
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Marbley noted numerous times that Husted, a Republican, set the new rules at 7 p.m. on a Friday.
"Ohio voters reasonably expect that the secretary of Ohio will abide by the General Assembly’s laws in administering a federal election," Marbley wrote. "For an executive of the state to (flout) state law in arbitrarily reassigning a poll worker’s statutory duty to a voter, with the result being disenfranchisement of the voter, is ‘fundamentally unfair and constitutionally impermissible.’"

Marbley, nominated to be federal judge by President Bill Clinton in 1997, has ruled on numerous issues regarding Ohio election laws in recent months. He has repeatedly stressed the importance of voting rights. "There’s nothing more important than the franchise and the right to vote," Marbley said during a hearing in June. "I grew up in the Jim Crow South and still remember the various mechanisms that were used to disenfranchise voters."
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Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/11/federal_judge_rips_husted_for.html

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Attorney Subodh Chandra chided Husted for wasting public money in an appeal of Judge Marbley's ruling. Chandra is representing the homeless. They are a group that needs political representation. Huge numbers of Ohioans have been displaced in the "mortgage crisis". Drivers license requirements are obviously designed to prevent them from voting.

I don't know if the federal Department of Justice can go after Jim Crow Husted.

The ruling is viewable at the link for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

November 7, 2012

MANY SAD RETURNS TODAY FOR THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION

SPENT more than $11.7 million against President Barack Obama - NRA defeated

SPENT more than $1 million against Sen. Sherrod Brown, OHIO - NRA defeated

SPENT more than $626,000 against Sen. Bill Nelson, FLORIDA - NRA defeated

SPENT more than $610,000 against Tim Kaine, Virginia (U.S. Senate) - NRA defeated

SPENT more than $341,000 against Sen. Claire McCaskill, MISSOURI - NRA defeated

SPENT more than $320,000 against Tammy Baldwin, WISCONSIN (U.S. Senate) - NRA defeated

SPENT more than $48,000 against Chris Murphy, Connecticut (U.S. Senate) - NRA defeated

What additional evidence is needed for elected officials and the media to finally discard the myth of the NRA's power to influence elections?

--Brady Campaign/Facebook feed

November 3, 2012

Kucinich:FirstEnergy Incompetence Leaves 127,000 Residents without Power

Cleveland, OH, Nov 1 -

Cleveland, OH (November 1, 2012) -- Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today released the following statement concerning FirstEnergy’s failure to return power to the people of Northeast Ohio. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that 127,000 area residents are still without power after FirstEnergy sent 200 linemen and nearly half its support staff to assist sister companies on the East Coast. Cleveland Public Power, by comparison, has only 1000 households remaining without power.

“FirstEnergy’s failure is frustrating on multiple levels and it raises serious questions about management of this Fortune 500 corporation. One hundred twenty seven thousand residents waiting in the cold is clear proof that FirstEnergy is unable to respond to a system wide emergency. With every merger and every expansion, FirstEnergy cuts staff to increase profits. They have cut so deeply, they are unable to respond to an emergency, leaving consumers to pay the price. We should not forget that this is the same company that caused a major blackout along the entire east coast because it was too cheap to maintain its tree trimming responsibilities.

“Secondly, FirstEnergy’s problem was foreseeable. Many of the residents who have called my office have raised questions about motivations. We had plenty of warning that a major storm was coming. FirstEnergy had time to send nearly 50 percent of its support staff to the East Coast. Why then did FirstEnergy not secure support staff from unaffected states before the emergency began? Media reports indicate FirstEnergy has requested support, but only after residents have been without power for days.

“FirstEnergy has a long and continued track record of incompetence. The company has a culture of cutting corners in order to increase profits. This is a company that owns nuclear power plants with abysmal safety records. We put our lives in the hands of a company that puts profits before safety.

“While I hope that all residents will soon have power, it is well established that global climate change will make severe weather more common. FirstEnergy needs to be held accountable. The people of Northern Ohio deserve better,” said Kucinich. “