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Batchelder suggested President Obama should be jailed at a Republican dinner
COLUMBUS -Today, State Rep. Vernon Sykes (D- Akron) called for Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder to apologize for comments he made suggesting that President Obama should be sent to jail.
"Speaker Batchelder's recent comments are absolutely deplorable. I call on the Speaker to apologize for such distasteful remarks immediately," said Rep. Sykes. "The unprecedented disrespect we have seen for President Obama only serves to undermine and threaten our democracy. I would expect my longtime friend, colleague and the Speaker of the Ohio House to respect the office of the President of the United States regardless of party affiliation."
This past weekend, while introducing Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R- Medina) told an audience of more than 1,000 at the Summit County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner that he thinks President Obama should be sent to jail. Speaker Batchelder is quoted in the Washington Post as saying, "The liberals are asking us to give Obama more time. And I think 25-to-life would be a good start."
Husted sided along party lines, breaking a tie vote to appeal a federal court decision to count provisional ballots
COLUMBUS- State Representatives Kathleen Clyde (D- Kent) and Alicia Reece (D- Cincinnati) expressed disappointment in Secretary of State Husted's decision to appeal the federal court ruling to count provisional ballots in the undecided Hamilton County Juvenile judge race.
"I am incredibly disappointed in Secretary Husted's decision to continue to drag out this voting debacle by once again appealing the federal court ruling to count the votes. The continued delay in resolving this case will cost citizens more of their hard earned tax dollars and further undermines confidence in Ohio's election process" said Rep. Reece. "Every citizen deserves to have their vote counted, and we will continue to fight for what is right and just."
Last week, the Hamilton County Board of Elections came to a tie vote on whether to pursue yet another appeal of the federal court's decision in favor of counting the provisional ballots. Siding with the GOP board members, Secretary Husted voted late yesterday to appeal the decision.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched an inquiry into checking account overdraft programs to determine how these practices are impacting consumers. As part of that inquiry, the CFPB is seeking public input on a sample "penalty fee box" - a disclosure on a consumer's checking account statement that would highlight the amount overdrawn and total overdraft fees charged.
"With today's technologies, consumers have more opportunities to access their checking accounts and cause overdrafts," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "But overdraft practices have the capacity to inflict serious economic harm on the people who can least afford it. We want to learn how consumers are affected, and how well they are able to anticipate and avoid paying penalty fees."
An overdraft occurs when a consumer spends or withdraws more money than is available in his or her checking account and the financial institution advances funds on the consumer's behalf. Banks generally charge an overdraft fee for each transaction that they choose to cover. For point-of-sale debit card and ATM transactions, regulations by the Federal Reserve Board prohibit a bank from charging the overdraft fee unless the consumer has opted-in. For check and online bill payments, as well as recurring debits, banks can charge an overdraft fee without any affirmative request from the consumer.
According to various industry sources, the average overdraft fee ranged from $30-$35 in 2011 and has increased by 17 percent over the past five years. A study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation published in 2008 found that consumers who overdrew 20 or more times per year paid an average of $1,610 in overdraft fees annually.
The CFPB is launching an inquiry today through a data request that is being sent to a number of banks and a Notice and Request for Information that will seek broad input from the public.
COLUMBUS, OH - Leaders from Fair Elections Ohio and Bob Meadow Ph.d., Partner at Lake Research Partners held a press call on Tuesday morning to discuss the latest poll results from recent statewide polling on the HB194 referendum.
Greg Moore, Campaign Director for Fair Elections Ohio, said, "Today's polling data released by the Lake Research Partners clearly shows that the vast majority of voters from across the state in every region and demographic group are showing their support for our repeal efforts by 54-31%. Even among Republicans across the state the support for repeal is evenly split 43% for repeal and 44% against --a strong showing considering its passage along partisan lines last year.
This support mirrors the level of support Fair Elections Ohio and our allies discovered last summer during our petition drive that was carried out in every region of the state.
The support of the voters across the state was evident in both urban and rural counties. Clearly this is an issue that cuts across partisan lines. The voices of the voters are clear. They want the restoration of their full voting rights and they are prepared to repeal HB 194 at the ballot box this fall."
Greg Moore added, "Ohioans elected our legislators to create a better future for our families and communities, not limit our constitutional right to participate in government. If the legislature and the Secretary of State choose to engage in politics and fight the will of the people, we are ready hit the streets and will have the strong support of voters across the state and across political parties."
A complete copy of the Polling Memo from Lake Research Partners can be found here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/82301422/LRP-Memo-on-HB194-Repeal
State House speaker William Batchelder (R) joked to a crowd of Republicans here Saturday night that President Obama shouldn't just be denied four more years in office -- he should be sent to jail.
"The liberals are asking us to give Obama more time. And I think 25-to-life would be a good start," Batchelder told a crowd of more than 1,000 people at the Summit County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner. He made the remarks as he was introducing former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who has been spending the past two days campaigning in the Buckeye State.
Related:
The Liar Wire: Ohio House Speaker William G. Batchelder
Hypocrisy Now! Republican Sponsored "Double Dipping" Bill Attacks Public Employees While Excluding Legislators
Speaker Batchelder: The Ohio Legislature's Largest 'Double Dipper'
COLUMBUS - Today women leaders including Ohio House Democratic Women's Caucus Chair and Representative Nancy Garland (D-New Albany), State Senator Charleta Tavares (D-Columbus), President and CEO of the Betty's Family of Restaurants Elizabeth Lessner, Raising Women's Voices Ohio Regional Coordinator Nancy Pitts and Ohio Democratic Women's Caucus Director Lauren Harmon denounced recent attacks on women's health by Republicans at the state and national levels.
During a press conference at Ohio Democratic Party headquarters, the leaders voiced their strong support for President Obama and Senator Sherrod Brown's records on women's health and their leadership in ensuring that all women have access to contraceptives.
The 2012 Planned Parenthood VOX Training brings together student leaders from across Ohio to discuss how they can best organize to for reproductive justice!
Sessions will educate attendees on messaging, recruitment, and other skills that will help you build power for women's health and rights on your campus.
Date: Saturday, March 3, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Address:
172 E State St.
6th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
If you'd like to attend this event you can RSVP online.
Whether you vote in person or by mail, you must have identification in order to cast your ballot. Click here for a full list of acceptable voter identification.
If you plan to vote by mail, identification can be as simple as a social security or driver's license number. For in-person voting most utility bills, including cell phone bills and government checks, are acceptable forms of identification.
If you do not have proper identification, do not wait to get it. If you do not have ID, you will be forced to cast a provisional ballot, which may not be counted.
Remember, primary Election Day is Tuesday, March 6.
For more information, visit the ACLU of Ohio's Vote Center.
A new coalition Voters First has been formed to help fix redistricting because Ohioans deserve fairly drawn districts. We can't rely on politicians to get the job done, so we're collecting signatures to qualify for the ballot.
What is your first campaign goal?
- Collect 2,000 petition signatures by Thursday, February 23, 2012. This will allow us to submit the ballot language for review by the Secretary of State and Attorney General.
How can I collect signatures?
- Petitions can be picked up during business hours at ProgressOhio's office on the sixth floor of 172 East State Street in downtown Columbus.
- PDFs of the petition can be downloaded here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/81850334. Printing instructions: two-sided print on 11x17 paper, folded and stapled into a booklet.
Where can I sign a petition?
- Stop by ProgressOhio's office (172 E State St, 6th Floor) during business hours or attend our first signing event, inside Tim Horton's at 5470 North High Street from 7 AM to 1 PM on Saturday, February 18th.
Where can I learn more about this?
- Visit http://votersfirstohio.org/
- You can download an info packet to present to your organization or potential signers here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/81850453.
Who is leading this effort?
- Voters First Ohio is an emerging coalition focused on getting this issue to the ballot. The steering committee is :
• Ann Henkener, League of Women Voters of Ohio
• Ellis Jacobs, Miami Valley Voter Protection Coalition
• Sam Gresham, Common Cause/Ohio
• Richard Gunther, Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University
• Dan Tokaji, Professor of Law, The Ohio State University
• Brian Rothenberg, ProgressOhio
