From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — When it comes to elected officials and earmarks, the policy seems to be the less said the better.

This time the cold shoulder is coming from the Senate, which, like members of the House of Representatives, don’t want the public to know which pet projects they want taxpayers to fund.

Since Monday, CNN has called — or tried to call — all 100 senators, asking them if they would release their 2008 earmark requests. More often then not, calls were immediately sent to voice mail and never returned.

Only six senators gave us their requests and six said they made no earmark requests. Eighteen said they would not give us their requests and 70 did not return calls. (See how your senator responded)

Last week, of 435 members of the House of Representatives, 312 did not respond to our requests. Of the remainder, 47 gave us their requests, 68 said they would not and six said they had not made earmark requests.

That pdf file shows that Senator Brown’s office flat out refuses to turn over his list of pork projects that he is securing funding for. Why the big secret, Senator Brown?

It’s also a shame that Senator Voinovich’s office didn’t call CNN back. Maybe the phone lines were busy, as George was busying calling out to radio stations and giving radio interviews that make Mike Coleman’s “don’t question my manhood” Glenn Beck interview sound good.

Since there are a number of important local races going on throughout the state, I’m going to spend some time focusing ones that I think are worth discussing. The first one is Joe Kotoch, who is running for Rocky River City Council in Ward 1. Read more »

Family values? Traditional values? No- And they are willing to run a liberal Bush-hater, and the former national chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans as a candidate:

Despite accusations that he has been disloyal to their party, Republican leaders voted last night to endorse Bill Brownson for Columbus City Council.

Brownson, who will replace placeholder candidate John Campbell, is the first openly gay candidate to be backed by the county GOP’s 144-member central committee.

Allegations of disloyalty came during Brownson’s time as national chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans when the GOP gay-advocacy group withheld its endorsement for President Bush for re-election.

That doesn’t make Brownson the best candidate, some say.

Central committee member Jack Etheridge questioned Brownson in a June 16 e-mail to other members.

He disputed the Log Cabin group’s decision not to endorse Bush; its filing of a federal suit against then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy; and its issuing of statements against both a law and a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

“I do not question his prerogatives,” Etheridge wrote. “But we as committee members must also evaluate matters of principle and judgment.”

In a June 20 e-mail to The Dispatch, committee member Jeni Horn expressed concern that most of the GOP worked hard to support Bush in 2004.

Log Cabin’s decision to withdraw support for the president showed that Brownson put his personal concerns before the party’s, Horn wrote.

Brownson, 43, disagrees.

“I think they probably haven’t done all their homework on that front,” he said.

So this guy couldn’t even bring himself to vote for a President who appointed judges who actually read the constitution (Samuel Alito & John Roberts), but a County Republican Party is willing to endorse him?

Even though no examples come to mind, I think it is entirely possible for a homosexual politician to be conservative and defend traditional values. But I have serious questions about Brownson record, and it should concern all Franklin County Republicans that he is so open about his immoral lifestyle.

From Ken Blackwell’s latest column on Townhall.com:

Michael Moore got slammed by Larry King. The outlandish documentarian was bumped from the “The Larry King Show” by none other than an ex-con, Paris Hilton.

Moore’s film “Sicko,” though, is certainly abuzz among liberal pundits. Moore offers a solution to millions of Americans without health insurance — government-run health care, just like Cuba.

Moore correctly identifies health care reform as a pivotal issue for this country, but he dives off the liberal deep-end by claiming the Cuban health care system is somehow superior to ours.

Let’s put it this way. While Major League Baseball scouts may dream of free access to Cuban pitchers, shortstops, and clean-up hitters, few Americans would consider drafting a Cuban doctor for a critical surgery.

It’s easy to discount Moore as just another half-baked Hollywood activist on a misinformed, politically fashionable tirade. That is, until you tune in to what the Democrat presidential candidates are saying. They, like Moore, believe a federal government-run health care system is the solution to our health care challenges.

Read the rest of Ken Blackwell’s column here.

Ken’s support of a more conservative version of big government Romney-care was the only time I remember disagreeing with him. But using free market solutions to get people out of the state run health care bureaucracy is certainly a smarter idea than having the government take over a massive portion of the private sector.

Does Michael Moore mention that Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts was one of the champions of creating HMOs in the first place? I guess I’ll have to wait to see when they show Sicko on cable.

This is a fascinating story, and I agree with Columbuser.

Employers should be able to hire and fire for ANY reason… but would the press coverage of this decision by the Cleveland Clinic be different if the Clinic stopped hiring Jews or homosexuals?

I know plenty of healthy and strong Jewish friends, and their faith certainly doesn’t negatively affect their health. But what if the Cleveland Clinic said “homosexuals, with the serious health risks involved with homosexuality activity… which includes an increased probability of contracting HIV, shouldn’t be working for us?” That statement is entirely reasonable, but I think the decision might not go over well.

A few months ago, I broke the story that Marc Dann’s employee, Marquez Brown, the regional public-affairs coordinator in Cleveland, sent an email out to invite Cleveland-area Democrats to walk in a parade with Dann. The contact phone number he listed was directly in his office.

According to The Dispatch Blog’s James Nash, Dann’s employees continue to be political hacks while on still on the clock:

When a junior staffer for Attorney General Marc Dann used his office e-mail account to invite people to join Dann at a St. Patrick’s Day parade, the staffer was suspended for two days.

Dann’s top lieutenant, however, won’t get in trouble for asking employees to volunteer their children to march in a July 4 parade with the attorney general.

The difference?

Marquez Brown, the regional public-affairs coordinator in Cleveland, sent the St. Patrick’s parade invitation to Cleveland-area Democrats. Edgar Simpson, Dann’s chief of policy and administration, sent the July 4 invitation to employees of the attorney general’s office.

Yeah- Parades aren’t political, and are an important, tax-payer funded activity of the Ohio Attorney General. Give me a break.

As a former employee of the Ohio House of Representatives, I can tell you that that this sort of on-the-clock activity would end up with these employees being fired and walked out of the Verne Riffe building by the Sergeant at Arms. But I guess when you’re from Youngstown and have close ties to the Mafia, I suppose your standards would be a lowered a tad.

This story won’t go beyond Nash’s blog post, I assume- Bust just imagine what would have happened if former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell did this? It would be in the paper for more than a year, and the Toledo Blade would assign a reporter to camp out and provide daily updates of “Paradegate.”

From yesterday’s The Dispatch:

Mayoral candidate William M. Todd attracted criticism from school officials last week when he said Columbus Public Schools would better educate students under his control.

Yesterday, the Republican candidate took a second swing at the schools, saying he could better manage the district’s $500 million school-construction program, too.

Todd said district officials have reneged on a 2002 bond election-campaign promise to give local businesses and minority-owned businesses a healthy share of the contracts awarded for the construction program.

School officials maintain that they have exceeded their goal to steer 20 percent of the construction dollars to “local and economically disadvantaged enterprises,” or LEDEs.

But small-business owners at Todd’s news conference yesterday told a different story, saying their efforts to win contracts have gone unsupported by the district.

Todd also took aim at Mayor Michael B. Coleman, saying he should have stepped in to make sure more minority and local businesses were hired.

“This is one of the biggest public-works projects we’ve ever seen in the history of Columbus, and local small businesses have been excluded,” Todd said. “We need to have a much more hard-and-fast requirement to include these small businesses and minority-owned businesses in this project.”

Todd said that if he were mayor of Columbus, he would encourage state mandates that small businesses be hired for portions of school-construction projects. He also supports giving more weight to small businesses during bidding.

In principle, the mandating of hiring minority and certain small businesses is not always a good idea. However, Todd’s idea is not about attempting to create the type of utopia that liberals seek through the use of racial and economic quotas. Instead, Todd is fighting back against Mayor Mike Coleman’s excessive influence as a member of the Neighborhood School Development Partnership. Coleman is far too close to the Columbus Schools contracting, and uses his influence to give contracts to those who donate to his campaign.

By mandating that small businesses in Columbus are hired by Columbus city schools, not only is Todd trying to create more jobs in Columbus, but he has formulated an idea that would fight back against Mike Coleman’s corruption… and save money in the process.

Here is Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted hugging Ted Strickland after the budget was passed with 0 dissenting votes. Good grief:

A massive increase in spending in health care for people who aren’t needy, massive increases in spending for higher education, plenty of pork projects, and vetoing some school choice provisions for children with special needs. All this mushy bipartisanship makes me want to puke, and I hope some Republican uses this picture in a primary election campaign against Jon Husted.

However, liberal-Republican-turned-Democrat-fundraiser and crony of the Cuyahoga County Dem Commissioners Jim Petro loves it:

“I think it’s about the best I’ve ever seen government function,” said Jim Petro, a moderate Republican who formerly served as state auditor, attorney general and legislator.

I am not a fan of and don’t listen to Sean Hannity as a rule, but by pure serendipity I happened to be listening when George Voinovich was on today (HT: Hotair). I was rivited! Like witnessing a horrible car wreck bursting into flames - you don’t want to acknowledge the horror, but you can’t turn away.

I could not believe that this man was a U.S. senator - and worse, I voted for him! This tells you the quality of Democrats in this state because RINOvitch was head-and-shoulders better and won in a landslide over Eric Fingerhut in 2004. Needless to say that the quality of Democrats hasn’t improved, which says more about the Ohio electorate in ‘06- but I regress.

GV has now become an iconic figure in the illegal immigration debate, representing the arrogance of the pro-amnesty supporters from the President on down. His “interview” was so embarassing, his ignorance so profound, his demeanor so childish, that his performance may have actually killed the amnesty bill by virtue of other senators rushing to dissociate themselves from him.

I don’t think I’m overstating it when I say that any illusions GV may have had of running for re-election in 2010 were dashed today. All any challenger would have to do is continually replay this blithering at every campaign stop and make it a TV ad with the trailer: “Do you want this idiot in the senate for 6 more years?” I doubt that anyone could vote for him with a clear conscience.

Follow the reactions across the political spectrum and blogosphere starting with the liveblog and links from Nasty, Brutish & Short and a great round-up at BizzyBlog; but here’s a teaser from Kathryn Jean Lopez at The Corner:

But Senator Voinovich was on Hannity’s radio show this afternoon and has been getting terrible reviews, via my inbox, since. Here’s one:

Did you hear him on Hannity?

Talk about singularly unimpressive.

1. He had no idea what the Fairness Doctrine was.

2. He essentially came on to say “Quit Calling My Office”.

3. He admitted he had only read summaries of the bill.

4. He hung up after it was clear Hannity was going to clean his clock.

I would feel bad for him if he wasn’t a RINO. He deserves this. Seriously, how can you feel bad for a guy who cried over the Bolton nomination?

Just reading the various comments is worth hours of laughter. Bookmark them for some day when you’re feeling really down. You can always say, “Boy, at least I’m not George Voinovich.”

RINO-payback’s a bitch, George.

In one of the most publicly daring strategic maneuvers in recent history, Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) successfully killed the Kennedy-McCain-Bush shamnesty bill. Yesterday, GV agreed to be “interviewed” on the Sean Hannity Show, but his 40 years of political guile allowed him to play the conservative talker like a Stradavarius (listen here). Hannity and the center-right blogosphere - much to their collective chagrin - fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

While playing the part of a doddering, woefully out-of-touch, elitist oligarch, the cunning pol forced his pro-amnesty colleagues to see themselves as the voters see them. Apparently, they did not like what they saw. Voinovich’s epiphany-inducing high-stakes gambit managed to convince 17 other senators to follow his lead and switch their previous cloture votes from Yea to Nay - including his junior protege Sherrod Brown!. This personal and professional gamble paid off big by not only preventing the cloture motion from passing (60 votes needed), but pulled the Yeas below a majority (46-53) essentially killing the bill for good.

Being a long time student of Voinoviches brilliance, throughout the new media, only this political commenter recognized the cagey end-game of the Senator in yesterday’s post:

His “interview” was so embarassing, his ignorance so profound, his demeanor so childish, that his performance may have actually killed the amnesty bill by virtue of other senators rushing to dissociate themselves from him.

This could only have been his intention all along. In retrospect, no non-Democrat could have been that stupid, out-of-touch, and arrogant short of Marie Antoinette. I bow to his brilliance and balls.

From openers

After bragging in a speech at the City Club about his fiscally conservative budget and its provisions to cut taxes for elderly homeowners, he was asked about the proposal.

But Strickland refused to weigh in, obviously aware of the political implications of either supporting a tax increase or rejecting his fellow Democrats’ proposal.

“I have my hands full dealing with the state,” he said. “These local folks and local leaders and local citizens will obviously reach a local decision about that.”

First thing, congrats to the reporter who asked him that question. And secondly, what local citizens will decide the tax…the commissioners aren’t going to put this up to the vote. Really, the only leaders who are going to matter are the three Democrats running this county!

I wonder (not really) why I could not get through to the office(es) of Senator Voinovich all day…until just now.�

In case you are unaware of how he voted please read below.

If you have time (it won't do anything anyway) call: 216-522-7095 (Cleveland office), or 202-222-3353 (Wash)

Let's make it so he has to change the number.� One timid staffer told me they got 8,000 calls at the cleveland office today.� I am sure it was not an influx of calls pleading with the Senator to Vote Yes.

Senator Voinovich (I know a staffer must read this), what are you thinking?� Why go against us on this?� Are you not running again, and want to make us mad?

original post:�http://www.star-telegram.com/448/story/149661.html

On this vote, a "yes" vote was a vote to resume Senate debate on the bill. A "no" vote was a vote against reconsidering it. Supporters of the legislation needed 60 votes to bring it up again.

Voting "yes" were 39 Democrats, 24 Republicans and 1 independent.

Voting "no" were 9 Democrats, 25 Republicans and 1 independent.

Democrats Yes

Akaka, Hawaii; Biden, Del.; Bingaman, N.M.; Boxer, Calif.; Brown, Ohio; Cantwell, Wash.; Cardin, Md.; Carper, Del.; Casey, Pa.; Clinton, N.Y.; Conrad, N.D.; Dodd, Conn.; Durbin, Ill.; Feingold, Wis.; Feinstein, Calif.; Harkin, Iowa; Inouye, Hawaii; Kennedy, Mass.; Kerry, Mass.; Klobuchar, Minn.; Kohl, Wis.; Lautenberg, N.J.; Leahy, Vt.; Levin, Mich.; Lincoln, Ark.; Menendez, N.J.; Mikulski, Md.; Murray, Wash.; Nelson, Fla.; Nelson, Neb.; Obama, Ill.; Pryor, Ark.; Reed, R.I.; Reid, Nev.; Salazar, Colo.; Schumer, N.Y.; Webb, Va.; Whitehouse, R.I.; Wyden, Ore.

Democrats No

Baucus, Mont.; Bayh, Ind.; Byrd, W.Va.; Dorgan, N.D.; Landrieu, La.; McCaskill, Mo.; Rockefeller, W.Va.; Stabenow, Mich.; Tester, Mont.

Democrats Not Voting

Johnson, S.D.

Republicans Yes

Bennett, Utah; Bond, Mo.; Brownback, Kan.; Burr, N.C.; Coleman, Minn.; Collins, Maine; Craig, Idaho; Domenici, N.M.; Ensign, Nev.; Graham, S.C.; Gregg, N.H.; Hagel, Neb.; Kyl, Ariz.; Lott, Miss.; Lugar, Ind.; Martinez, Fla.; McCain, Ariz.; McConnell, Ky.; Murkowski, Alaska; Snowe, Maine; Specter, Pa.; Stevens, Alaska; Voinovich, Ohio; Warner, Va.

Republicans No

Alexander, Tenn.; Allard, Colo.; Barrasso, Wy.; Bunning, Ky.; Chambliss, Ga.; Coburn, Okla.; Cochran, Miss.; Corker, Tenn.; Cornyn, Texas; Crapo, Idaho; DeMint, S.C.; Dole, N.C.; Enzi, Wyo.; Grassley, Iowa; Hatch, Utah; Hutchison, Texas; Inhofe, Okla.; Isakson, Ga.; Roberts, Kan.; Sessions, Ala.; Shelby, Ala.; Smith, Ore.; Sununu, N.H.; Thune, S.D.; Vitter, La.

Others Yes

Lieberman, Conn.

Others No

Sanders, Vt.

I really want to hear the case supporting this from other republicans.� There were enough that voted for it.� Did I miss the memo?� Should i have been for this?

From the morning journal

LORAIN — The cable bill that local officials fear will jeopardize their cable franchise fees was signed into law yesterday by Gov. Ted Strickland.

Local officials were concerned that the bill would deprive cities of their franchising fees and would jeopardize public access television.

The bill allows municipalities to cancel their cable current cable franchises, and gives the director of the Ohio Department of Commerce authority to issue statewide franchises for video service.

Strickland said in a statement yesterday the bill would lower costs.

''I believe that the establishment of a statewide franchise for video-service providers will not only bring additional investment to our state, but also result in lower costs and more choices for consumers in Ohio,'' Strickland said in a statement.

Sounds like Matt when he was advocating for this bill.

From ohio.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A laptop holding injured workers' personal information was stolen from a state employee two weeks before the governor announced a larger security breach of computerized data from another worker, state officials said Monday.

The Social Security numbers and other nonpublic information of 439 people was on the work laptop stolen May 30 from the home of an auditor for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, the agency said.

In a separate case, a computer backup tape was stolen from an intern's car. The tape contained personal information on state employees the names and Social Security numbers of 225,000 taxpayers.

The cases are among 11 reports so far this year of lost or stolen computer equipment or devices that are either owned by the state or went missing by private people on state property, said Lt. Tony Bradshaw, an Ohio State Highway Patrol spokesman.

Bradshaw said Gov. Ted Strickland has asked the patrol and state Department of Public Safety to look into the reports. Two of the reports involved private individuals losing laptops and state property, and the seven other missing devices contained no sensitive personal information, he said.�

From My Letter to the Editor in the Columbus Dispatch-

�The collapse of the recent immigration-reform bill in the U.S. Senate represents an opportunity to get reform right. Immigrants have helped America become the truly great nation that it is. If we decide to simply slam the door shut, we are slamming the door on the future.

That said, we are a nation of laws and as Theodore Roosevelt said, "Obedience of the law is demanded; not asked as a favor." Whenever laws are broken, we cheapen the very foundation of an orderly society. Consequently, blanket amnesty is a mistake.

If we are going to be more open, we must do it in a way that makes sense and is not subordinated to mindless political correctness. We need to employ all of the best technology at our fingertips to keep people from illegally crossing our borders. Also, we must ensure that all new immigrants become, once again in Roosevelt's formulation, "an American, and nothing but an American. There can be no divided allegiance here."

GREG R. LAWSON

The Dispatch edited out the last line of my submission- "This means assimilation, pure and simple, no matter the arguments against."

Recently, a couple of friends and I decided to organize a class in order to train people so that they could obtain an Ohio Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW) permit.� We titled the event: Help us get more guns on the street!� Good news: there are 22 more (legal) guns on the street.

�

A lot of people ask me why I feel the need to “roll strapped,� or “carry a piece,� as it is known as.� My best explanation happened on the way back into work from lunch last week.� I returned to where I work on the City of Cleveland’s East Side: University Circle, Martin Luther King Area, etc.� I noticed a white van occupied by men wearing camouflage.� I walked up to the van and asked them if there was anything I could help them with.� This seemed like one of many obvious questions at the time.

�

They told me something along the lines of: “No need to worry sir.� We are Cleveland Swat.� We are backing up some uniforms in the area.� We have been using your parking lot as staging.�� Hmmmm.��

�

My wife’s concern about me working until the middle of the night might be valid.� She seems to think that the parking lot in that area could be dangerous for me at night.�

�

I asked her who I should be more afraid of: the guy hiding in the dark alley waiting to threaten me with the gun he may or may not have, or the guys who show up every time I get paid.� You know�the guys who mug my check every time I get paid (Federal, state, local, social security)�the ones with the cheap suits and codified guns. These guys are everywhere!� Every time I make a purchase they mug my wallet, too! Its about to get worse if Tax hike Tim (Hagan) and Boss Hogg (Jimmy Dimora) get their way.� That’s right, our County Commissioners want to (will) raise the sales tax.

�

I told my wife I would take my chances with the guy in the parking lot.� If I give him a $20 he might go away.� The Ohio CCW won’t help me.� My employer is protected from me bringing a legal, registered gun on the premises�leaving me unprotected in a parking lot that the Swat team stages in.��

Recently, after a dinner across the street at Blue Point I spotted none other than City Councilman Zach Reed at the bar.� Bonus points to anyone that can point out the probelm with that last statement.� Anyhow, I thanked him for deciding to spend the night with George Forbes in the house of the man who legal dended himself against an armed teenage mugger.� To make a long story short Damon Wells (the man's house who Councilman Reed slept at) shot 16-year old Arthur Buford.� Mr. Buford and an accomplice attempted to rob Mr. Wells at gun point in front of his own house.� Mr. Wells pulled out the gun he had a permit to carry and shot Mr. Buford.��

Now why would Councilman Reed and George Frobes have to stay the night at Mr Wells home?� Turns out the people in that neighborhood broke every window out of and shot at the Wells home.

Wow…should i really try to excercise my constitutional rights?� Seems like it is more trouble than its worth.

From Rasmussen:

Senator Hillary Clinton (D) now has the highest level of base support among the major candidates running for President. Twenty-nine percent (29%) say they would definitely vote for the former First Lady if she's on the ballot in 2008. However, Clinton is also just one point below the highest level of core opposition this month-46% say they would definitely vote against her. On that count, only Senator Joe Biden (D) scores higher (47% would definitely vote against Biden).

The Republicans with the most base opposition are McCain, Romney, and Huckabee -� 42% say they'll definately be voting against them. The only other Republicans mentioned in the poll are Giuliani and Thompson, whose numbers are pretty close, though Thompson's name ID is considerably lower.

There's a discussion on CNN right now about third party candidates in 2008, with a focus on Michael Bloomberg and Ralph Nader, both of whom are life-long liberals who would split the Democratic base.

In the past, Bloomberg has said�he would not�for president. Recently, however, he suggested he hasn't made up his mind. It wouldn't be surprising for him to decide to throw his hat into the race, especially since his one of his aides, Kevin Sheekey, has been publicly urging him to do so.

As for Ralph Nader, he's waiting to see what the Democrats "come up with" in their primary. If current polls hold up and they nominate Hillary Clinton, it's much more likely he'll jump in. Just take a look at the comments he made to the San Fransisco Chronicle in February:

Former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader said he is considering a presidential run in 2008 and strongly suggested today he would enter the race if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wins the Democratic Party nomination.

"She's just another bad version of (former President) Bill Clinton,'' Nader told KGO radio host Ronn Owens in San Francisco.

When he was asked to describe Hillary, this was Nader's response: "Flatters, panders, coasting, front-runner, looking for a coronation, not taking on the huge waste in the military budget as a member of the Armed Services commission, never going after the corporate crimes against pensions, against workers. … She has no political fortitude."

So, let's review.

Our best candidates consistently lead their best candidates in the polls… It's likely that the liberal vote will be split by a third party candidate, then possibly split AGAIN by another one… The Democratic Congress has the lowest approval rating of any Congress in the history of the Gallup poll…

So far, there's really no excuse for us not to pull off a big victory in 2008.

Today and Sunday, RAB is being upgraded and is going through a redesign. Hopefully, we will be able to bring back anonymous commenting, since that was half the fun of the original Right Angle Blog. So please be patient as the dust settles after new features are installed- We will be back to beating up on liberal Democrats and wayward Republicans very soon.

Thanks,
The Management

Okay, it's now been about 48 hours since Gov. Ted has had to in the spirit of transparency reveal additional personal information that his administration allowed to be stolen from an intern's unlocked car.� We're hearing rumors, though, that his staff and the high-priced consultants it had to hire in order to sort this mess out have discovered even more information that has gone missing (tongue firmly in cheek).� Today or over the weekend, look for Gov. Ted to announce that also on the missing device were:

• His detailed plan for solving Ohio's school funding "crisis," plus�his secret formula for keeping his teachers union and other educrat buddies quiet while the legislature considers his budget that doesn't solve the "crisis" or really do much more for schools.
• Detailed memos and other work documents produced by Frankie Coleman while she was on Gov. Ted's transition team and in the Development Department.
• Otherwise expunged criminal records that pertain to a certain former member of his congressional staff.

Now we can really get to the good stuff!