from al AP:

COLUMBUS — State employees had been ordered to remove thousands of Social Security numbers from a new payroll and accounting system two months before a computer backup tape containing the personal data was stolen from an intern, a newspaper reported Saturday.

David White, executive program manager for the massive new computer project called the Ohio Administrative Knowledge System, sent an e-mail to four workers on April 4 telling them to move sensitive files to a secure part of the system, according to The Columbus Dispatch, which obtained a copy of the e-mail through a public records request.

“I want all files that can be identified with SSN data put into a secure directory today,” White wrote.

Then who is at fault for not following David White’s orders? Is Strickland’s administration so incompetent that it would be impossible to say exactly who ignored this order, and then foolishly allowed an unqualified intern to store this valuable data in his car?

If this was a Republican administration, heads would have already rolled and the media would be demanding even more firing for this sort of incompetence. When is the media going to hold Strickland accountable for his failed leadership over the simple task of keep the private information of Ohioans secure?

This story has died down- probably because the media stopped covering it, which means AG Marc Dann is automatically less interested in taking further action- but there was a lot of talk about lenders giving gifts to employees in a school’s financial aid office.

Click here to read Robert Murphy’s column for the Ludwig von Mises Institute, where he digs into this issue, and explains that it is big government and subsidies which are truly at fault for this awful situation.

From the PD

On June 20, the House of Representatives passed a resolution denouncing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a long string of threats against Israel. It urged the United Nations Security Council to censure Ahmadinejad for his remarks and to consider measures to prevent Iran from obtaining the nuclear weapons that might give his bluster some deadly teeth. Finally, it reaffirmed America’s long partnership with Israel.

In a body riven by ideology and partisanship, the admittedly symbolic resolution won rare across-the-board support. Its 103 co-sponsors included Democrat Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Cleveland and Republican Steve LaTourette of Concord Township. It passed 411-2.

One of the two dissenters was Cleveland’s own odd man out, Dennis Kucinich.

As reported by Plain Dealer Washington Bureau Chief Steve Koff, Kucinich offered some characteristically tortured logic in defense of his frankly indefensible vote. The resolution, he contended, relied on a worst-case translation of a 2005 speech in which Ahmadinejad, then Iran’s newly elected leader, said Israel “should be wiped off the map.” Some Iran specialists have suggested that Ahmadinejad did not literally mean he was going to wipe away Israel, because there’s no such idiom in Persian; rather, he simply hoped the Israeli government would collapse and go away. Like Kucinich, they suggest that the more provocative translation is designed to rile the West and lay the groundwork for military action against Iran.

What poppycock….

When you find yourself agreeing with Tubbs Jones you know Kucinich has lost it.

From James Nash in The Dispatch:

About a third of the lawyers that Attorney General Marc Dann has brought on to represent the state have donated to his political campaigns, a Dispatch analysis shows.

Of the 151 lawyers green-lighted by Dann as part of a new process designed to end “pay-to-play” in the awarding of legal contracts, 51 have given to Dann’s campaigns for state Senate and attorney general, according to information provided by the attorney general’s office this week. Their political contributions to Dann, a Democrat, total $29,814.

Also, 18 of the lawyers have donated to the Ohio Democratic Party and Democratic campaign funds since 2005, the analysis of campaign-finance data found. Their party contributions total $71,230 since 2005.

Dann ran last year on a platform of ridding state government of political corruption. Among other things, he accused former attorneys general Betty D. Montgomery and Jim Petro, both Republicans, of trading legal contracts for campaign contributions.[…]

…[A] few of the new outside lawyers named by his office are familiar to political observers. David J. Leland is a former state Democratic Party chairman who was Gov. Ted Strickland’s fundraising chairman. Socrates Space is the father of new Congressman Zack Space, D-Dover. Otto Beatty Jr. is a former Democratic state representative and husband of current House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus.

Apparently, it will always be quite profitable for lawyers to donate to Attorney Generals. And in 8 months time, Dann has become the very type of politician that he campaigned so hard against.

Mr. Nash should keep in mind that, with Dann having Tom Winters, the Godfather of Ohio “pay to play” politics, serving as his First Assistant Attorney General, this sort of stuff is chump change and only the tip of the iceberg of what will take place between now and the 2010 elections.

From the PD

A pair of Democrats seeking Ohio congressional seats held by incumbent Republicans raised more than $150,000 during the fundraising quarter that ended June 30, Federal Election Commission reports show.

State Rep. Steve Driehaus collected $165,610 for his effort to unseat Cincinnati GOP congressman Steve Chabot, and had $157,193 in the bank at the end of the month. Chabot raised $263,451 and had $413,932 in the bank.

State Sen. John Boccieri, who is seeking the seat currently held by Navarre GOP Rep. Ralph Regula, raised $155,200 and had $144,709 in the bank. Regula has not said whether he’s seeking re-election, and his campaign has not yet filed its quarterly campaign finance report. The reporting deadline is July 15.

Upper Arlington Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce, who is a top target for Democrats next year, raised a hefty $356,539 and had $452,969 in the bank. Her 2006 foe, Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy, raised $35,220 during the quarter, but owed more money than the $26,456 she had in the bank.

Concord Township Rep. Steve LaTourette, who is facing a challenge from former Democratic appeals judge Bill O’Neill, collected $333,000. O’Neill didn’t file a report because he didn’t start campaigning until July.

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As I have mentioned before, I’m a big fan of talk radio- It has always been a relaxing escape for me from the world of liberal academia and the politically correct wusses that everyone has to deal with in life. Plus, it is the only media outlet that conservatives dominate, which is why the libs want to re-regulate radio opinion shows.

Even though no talk show host can come close to being as good or funny as Rush Limbaugh, Ohio still has plenty of great conservative talk shows. And now that they all offer streaming access and/or podcasting, you can listen to them no matter where you live, at your convenience.

So if you are a fan of conservative talk radio, please vote in the poll above. Liberals have nothing to gain by changing the poll results, so I hope they don’t. I included every conservative talk show in Ohio that I think is important, in terms of their their influence on the Ohio political landscape.

Since I was heavily involved in the 2006 elections, I am quite certain that I haven’t left anyone of importance out. But that means that my personal bias went into this poll- So if you think I should add someone, please tell me, and I’ll include him or her next time.

I’ve been subscribed to Senator Voinovich’s email newsletter since he first announced it, and this is an excerpt from today’s:

Last month, Sen. Voinovich attended a check presentation ceremony celebrating Fayette County’s recent economic development grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The $2.4 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant will help the Madison Mills Water Supply Project – a new water supply system that will provide 1.5 million gallons of water a day to the ethanol plant being constructed near the Village of Bloomingburg. Sen. Voinovich believes we need a Second Declaration of Independence – independence from foreign sources of energy – in order to strengthen our economic and national security. Ethanol is one of the most successful alternative forms of energy. The project will employ up to 100 local contractors to construct the facility. Once constructed and operational, the ethanol plant will employ approximately 60 highly skilled workers and will generate private investment in excess of $142 million. By providing the water infrastructure, the $7.2 million project will enable the new ASAlliances Biofuels ethanol plant to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol.

And why does “big corn” need checks from the Federal Government? Because not only is ethanol so inefficient that it takes more energy to produce it than it actually creates, but the true cost of ethanol is hidden from consumers when pandering politicians buy the support of the farming community and subsidize the production of ethanol with taxpayer money and oversized cardboard checks!

And the increase use of ethanol is making tortillas more expensive in poorer countries, and is partially responsible for the recent increase in American food prices.

Don’t you wish that government could just stop subsidizing and stop playing with market forces?

This story from partisan-Democrat Julie Carr Smyth is MUCH more important than Strickland’s sub-Taft approval ratings:

COLUMBUS - Though Ohio voters continue to be satisfied with their new governor, more than a quarter of them say someone in their family is likely to head out of state within the next year for better opportunities, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The independent Quinnipiac University poll found 28 percent of Ohio voters are very or somewhat likely to have a family member move in the next 12 months. Sixty-six percent of voters ranked the economy as poor or not so good, and only one in five think it’s likely to improve soon.

Since Ohio has the 2nd worst business climate in the nation, plenty of Ohioans and companies are forced to pack up and leave the Buckeye State.

So, since educated and hard working Ohioans are leaving Ohio at an incredible pace, could it be that our state is left with the elderly and other dependents who count on state services and are forever trapped on the Democrat plantation? Could this factor be inflating Strickland’s approval numbers?

The dirty little secret is- Democrats want this trend to continue, because the chances of victory in Ohio for the 2008 Democrat Presidential nominee improves if productive Americans continue leave the state.

Update: Nathan Burd, a conservative candidate for State Representative (19th District) and a friend of RAB, agrees with me.

It appears that Marc Dann is ignoring the intent of the voters, who have repeatedly voted against gambling in Ohio. Ben from the Keeler Report and his liberal buddy Kyle from the kook Chief Source blog went to an Ohio gambling center and filed this excellent report:

As James Nash in The Dispatch reported a few weeks ago, these gaming centers are popping up all over Ohio. And I think its very obvious that regardless if the games are of “skill” or of “chance,” gambling is readily available in Ohio.

Could the thousands of dollars that the gambling interests have donated to Dann’s campaign have anything to do with why he is turning a blind eye to these types of gambling centers?

And I hope Ben can get rid of that ugly “Mitt in ‘08″ bumper sticker soon!

From al AP:

Columbus- A top assistant to Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has received a $3,700 home security system at state expense after receiving a telephone threat.

The system is to be installed by state agents, then monitored by the attorney general’s Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation rather than by a private contractor. The total cost is not yet known.

Deputy First Assistant Attorney General Brian Laliberte, 33, said he received a strange call at work on June 29. The deep voice of a male caller said: “Karma is a b, what goes around comes around.” As he was hanging up, Laliberte said he thought he heard the caller say, “You’re dead.”

Laliberte oversees Dann’s criminal division.

The State Highway Patrol investigated the incident but closed it as unfounded.

Death threats to the attorney general are fairly common, said Mark Weaver, a deputy attorney general from 1995 to 1999, but staff members rarely are threatened.

First, I LOVE how readily accessible Mark Weaver is to give quotes to the MSM. Weaver is truly Ohio’s omni-present Republican.

As Eye on the Statehouse notes, Dann’s office has 1,300 employees. Hopefully, Dann won’t waste more taxpayer dollars because of “unfounded” phone calls.

This just adds to the large pile of negative press Dann has received in recent weeks. Maybe the male caller with the deep voice was simply trying to warn Dann’s employees that Marc’s chances for re-election are dead?

The interview is boring, but I wanted to point out the relevance this vaguely worded answer given by Kelley Kelly, who was asked to expand on what he means when saying that the Democrat candidate for President must be “tougher” than the Republican candidate:

“Tough! You don’t sign up to be president unless you’re a very tough person with a strong vision for where American should be and go. And all of our Democratic presidential candidate are forward-looking, like “what have we got to do? How do we take this country out of the bad direction on in the last eight years, turn it around, and move it forward in the right direction?” All of our Democratic candidates have that vision and the ability to do that? To be that transformational leader. On the Republican side, I just don’t see it. So, how does the Democrat win Ohio? They stand up and defend Democratic values. They speak to the hopes an aspirations to all of their fellow Americans about what this country can be and how close it is and then they get everybody involved in this common pursuit for the common good and moving the country forward. And they campaign relentlessly, that’s what they got to do and work, of course, with the Ohio Democratic Party because in this off year we’re building what we like to think is the strongest Democratic Party in the nation.”

Translation: Dems will spend the 2008 campaign screaming that we have already lost in Iraq until they are blue in the face. They are too heavily invested in the defeat of America to do anything else.

Also, could there be a more annoying phrase than “in this common pursuit for the common good?” Strickland has used that phrase, and that phrase to me is as irritating as hearing long fingernails on a chalkboard.

From the PD

Toledo- An uproar over a golf outing for politicians in which strippers handed out drinks has resulted in the resignation of at least one local Democratic Party official in northwest Ohio, a state party official said Thursday.

John Irish, chairman of the Lucas County Democratic Party, told state party officials he intends to resign his position and ask for the resignation of the organization’s executive director, Domenic Montalto, said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern.

From Peter Bronson:

Ohio’s representative in Washington should make the whole state blush Buckeye red.

Other states sent war heroes, inventors and scholars to the capitol. Ohio sent an anti-war Democrat with a voice like a foghorn, who is famous mainly for hating the president.

No, not Sen. Sherrod Brown. Not Rep. Dennis Kucinich. I’m talking about former Ohio Gov. William Allen, who is so embarrassing he makes ex-Gov. Bob Taft look like Thomas Jefferson.

Allen (1803-1879) hated President Lincoln and supported the Confederacy. He once said, “These abolitionists say slavery is the cause of war. I say it is not. They say slavery ought to be exterminated. I say it ought not.”

Yet a statue of racist old “Earthquake Allen” has been standing in the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol since 1887 - making Ohio look stupid.

Ohio’s other statue is no great shakes, either. It’s President James Garfield - who served just one mediocre year before he was killed by an assassin.

Click here to submit your suggestion to Peter for who should replace Allen.

Peter has some great suggestions, but my only hope is that we pick someone who ISN’T a politician- Since I believe Ohio should be represented by inventors and achievers, instead of bureaucrats.

Woody Hayes would be a great choice, but maybe a successful Ohio entrepreneur would be a better choice. My pick would be Dave Thomas. What is yours?

Here is State Senator Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) calling for the resignation of the Lucas County Democrat Party Chairman John Irish to resign for tolerating strippers being invited to a recent party fundraiser. She said that the hiring of strippers by the party was “disrespectful to women.” Ok, great.

But here is State Senator Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) standing in front of a room full of strippers, lobbying on behalf of their industry.

But, unless Fedor is a political opportunist and hypocrite, didn’t she just argue that those strippers’ choice of employment is inherently exploitive and “disrespectful to women?”

I think it is fairly obvious that Fedor already had problems with the local Dem party, and is just using this as a hammer to beat them with. Fedor clearly has no objection to stripping, even though I pray that also means she will remain fully clothed, twenty-four hours a day.

And in other news, Ohio Democrat Party Chris Refern says the outing was inappropriate, but distances himself from calls for John Irish and others to resign:

A written statement by Mr. Redfern said yesterday that officials of the Ohio Democratic Party are “reviewing the events leading to and including the inappropriate and unacceptable activities that occurred at the Lucas County Democratic Party golf outing.”

Mr. Redfern said Mr. Irish and Mr. Montalto were both invited to meet with him in Columbus today. “Though the Ohio Democratic Party does not have the ability to legally remove those responsible for the offensive actions, this is a matter of great concern to me and the party,” he said.

Yes, the Ohio Democrat Party can’t directly remove local party leaders. But you can darn well bet that they can cut off their fund raising ability, and politically crush people such as John Irish like a bug if they were truly upset about this stripping fundraiser.

From the Mansfield News Journal:

MANSFIELD — Richland County officials fear local election costs will rise based on a directive from Ohio’s Secretary of State.

Jennifer Brunner’s paper ballots requirement for provisional voters — those whose right to cast a ballot in a certain precinct is temporarily unclear — may force the county to order paper ballots. Officials estimated Richland County could spend $15,000 to $20,000 for optical scan paper ballots, to meet Brunner’s requirements. Scanners cost about $5,000 each, local officials said.

“We might as well go back to a paper ballot,” Deputy Elections Director Jeff Wilkinson said, citing the expense.

Jennifer Brunner and other Democrats seem to be infatuated with provisional ballots, while Jennifer’s son is more interested in a different type of paper.

But seriously, provisional ballots provide for the greatest opportunity for fraud. What could possibly be Brunner’s motivation for being so concerned about provisional ballots, other than encouraging illegal votes for Democrats?

Clearly, Brunner has still not learned how to do her job properly, and Richland County taxpayers will now have to pay for her clumsy mistakes.

From technologynewsdaily.com

Haven’t seen this news bit yet…

The file contains the names, Social Security numbers and check amounts of approximately 561,126 additional taxpayers with uncashed state personal income tax refund checks (and/or school district income tax refund checks) issued in 2005, 2006 and through May 29, 2007. This includes checks that were cashed after May 29, 2007.

Approximately 14,874 individuals in this group have had business with the state, but because of the complexity of the files the state cannot yet determine exact sources of all this data. Some files include data from the Ohio Department of Commerce and the Ohio Lottery. Of the 14,874 individuals, bank account information was included for 3,471 of those individuals.

Would that include winners of big jackpots from the Ohio Lottery? Those could be some pretty valuable bank accounts.

The kook lefties at Progress Ohio are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce to oppose government intervention in private industry.

I just wanted to take this time to welcome Brian Rothenberg and the other PO Froot Loops into the pro-free market, conservative movement. And I politely encourage them all to apply the same logic that was used in the post I linked to whenever they discuss sick day mandates, minimum wage increases, smoking bans, environmental regulations, anti-discrimination laws, and other sorts of harmful government intervention and coercion in the private sector.

This is the best news I’ve heard today! Fox News is starting its own business news channel on October 15.

Neil Cavuto is, by far, the best commentator on television, and I hope he gets more airtime. But who will be FBN’s version of Maria Bartiromo? Here is one suggestion…

Ted Strickland proudly endorses Bob Taft’s socialist Third Frontier program:

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said Wednesday he wants to grow his predecessor’s Third Frontier high-tech initiative.

“I’d like to see it embellished and expanded in the years to come,’’ Strickland said following a speech at the Duke Energy Center promoting the state’s aerospace industry and energy development efforts.

After speaking to the 43rd Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, Strickland said the state’s current budget problems don’t permit it, but he’d like to see the Third Frontier program expanded in the future to focus on the state’s energy needs.

After being so supportive of the 3rd Frontier, the Ohio GOP would look like a bunch of sillies if they attacked Strickland for this.

But I’m comforted to see that, in Ohio, with Democrats supporting big government, we are finally starting to return to the natural order of things.