Free Republic

State government took from funds to prevent blindness and promote organ donations in order to balance the budget. Millions of Ohio motorists were blindsided by a June 9 raid on $2.7 million they had voluntarily paid to thwart blindness in children and help solve the critical shortage of organ donations. When The Dispatch opened Gov. Ted Strickland's eyes yesterday to his administration's grab of $1.4 million intended for the Save Our Sight Fund, he promised that the money would be returned. "We will certainly correct that," Strickland said. "That is not something I was aware of. I will find out...

Editor's note: This is one of a series of features analyzing advertisements sponsored by organizations that are engaged in the debate over health care. AD TITLE: "Health Reform Testimonials." SPONSORS: Families USA along with Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). SUMMARY: An unusual collaboration between a prominent liberal group and the prescription drug industry uses heartrending vignettes of "real people" to press for affordable, comprehensive health insurance. Yet some of the people profiled in the ads might not get much relief under the main proposals that are pending in Congress. Families USA says it purchased three weeks of time...

Today I learned that the AMA has issued an “unqualified endorsement” of the House Bill for health insurance overhaul. In my opinion, the AMA has sold out doctors, and most importantly, our patients, in supporting this government take over of our most private and personal freedom – our choices about when, where, and with whom we will have medical care when we are sick. As a protest against their support of the House Health”care” Bill, I have resigned from the AMA after nearly thirty years of membership. Health “care” is a misnomer these days. It is more aptly called health...

The purpose of this document is to describe planning scenarios for state and local governments to target high-priority populations for vaccination in order to reduce the health and societal impact of the novel H1N1 influenza virus. Background Data from U.S. and international sources suggests that it is appropriate to plan for a vaccination program to reduce the health and societal impacts of the novel H1N1 influenza virus. In order to increase the probability of success of such a program, planning scenarios should be provided to state and local health authorities promptly. Planning scenarios can facilitate readiness to implement specific plans...

U.S. Postal Service officials are considering closing 33 post office branches in the Columbus area in an effort to control costs. Nationwide, more than 3,000 branches in 396 cities -- including Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland -- are on the list. The Postal Service is bleeding $20 million a day. "That's unprecedented; that's almost unheard of," said Kathy Lucas, spokeswoman for the Postal Service's Columbus district. "We have not had to do any layoffs, and that's why we are taking every possible step we can." Postal Service officials say nothing is etched in stone. "Everything is preliminary now," Lucas said. In...

Frustrated Ohioans are starting to blame President Barack Obama for the state's economic problems, according to a statewide poll released today. Obama's approval rating is in a free-fall in Ohio, considered by many political observers to be the most important swing state in a presidential election. A new survey by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute shows that only 49 percent of the state's voters approve of the way Obama is handling his job, 13 points lower than the 62 percent who gave Obama a thumbs up in a May 6 Quinnipiac poll of Ohioans. The 49-44 percent approval rating represents...

<p>American Electric Power Co. (AEP) and Southern Co. (SO) are pulling out of Futuregen, a U.S. government-backed project to capture and store the greenhouse- gas emissions from a coal-fired power plant, the companies' top executives said Thursday.</p> <p>The companies, two of the biggest coal-burning utilities in the U.S., are exiting the Futuregen Alliance just weeks after it won renewed support from the federal government. The Obama administration earlier this month all but guaranteed almost $1.1 billion for the project, to be based in Mattoon, Ill., reviving a project that had suffered a major setback in early 2008 when the Bush administration backed out of funding plans after costs almost doubled. The companies' departure from the alliance was reported earlier by Bloomberg News.</p>

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), an environmental group that is an active player in political campaigns, said it would not endorse any member of the House who opposed the climate bill scheduled to be voted on this week. In a statement issued on the climate bill Tuesday afternoon, the League called the American Clean Energy and Security Act “the most important piece of environmental legislation to ever come before the House of Representatives.” The bill would create a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent over the next four decades. House Democratic leaders have scheduled a...

In these hard times, the campaign for the Metro Parks levy is facing a financial crunch. The campaign's original goal was to raise $400,000. So far, contributors have given $130,000. Metro Parks said American Electric Power, Grange Insurance and the law firm of Squire Sanders & Dempsey are among the businesses endorsing the levy. To save cash, the campaign doesn't plan any TV ads. It does plan to use its network of supporters to blast e-mails and has discussed using social-networking sites such as Facebook to get the message out, Executive Director John O'Meara said.

"Following the colonial migrations, the United States enjoyed the greatest influx of Irish during the 1840s as Ireland suffered the Great Famine," he said. "Hungry but hopeful, poor but perseverant, Irish-Americans seized the opportunity to work hard, enjoy success, and pursue the American Dream. 'Leaders' "Many took on the difficult work of constructing America's infrastructure. Others assumed positions of leadership. "Among those leaders were signers of the Declaration of Independence and Presidents of the United States. Still others enjoyed great success and influence in the arts and literature. "From social activists to business leaders, athletes to clergy, and first responders...

How does $8-a-gallon gas sound? Few Americans would want to see that happen. Unfortunately, President-elect Barack Obama’s choices for the government’s two highest energy posts have expressed a surprising level of comfort with sky-high gas prices. As if that weren’t bad enough, the incoming Obama administration and new Congress have suggested that they might reverse the pro-domestic oil drilling measures enacted since last summer. It is starting to look as though the change coming to Washington will bring bad news at the pump in the years ahead. As gas prices topped $4 a gallon last July, President George W. Bush...

BREAKING Being discussed on Columbus, Ohio talk radio now, follow link.

ACORN representative to be on after the 11 am news. Listen live on the link provided.

While most people are familiar with the legal right to a presumption of innocence – being innocent until proven guilty – that exists in the modern nations, an Ohio gun ban lobbyist with ties to Barack Obama seems to be quite ignorant about the matter. Having suffered yet another stinging loss in the Ohio legislature with passage of Castle Doctrine, Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence (OCAGV) Executive Director Toby Hoover told Ohio University's The Post that "a gun owner who shoots an intruder in their home should not be assumed innocent." Investigations by Buckeye Firearms Association have revealed that OCAGV's...

Sen. Barack Obama, whose campaign has sharply criticized the role of outside political groups in the presidential race, has benefited more than any other candidate from millions of dollars in independent political expenditures, records show. The increasing support for Mr. Obama has given him a boost from the same sort of political activity his campaign has railed against, especially when millions of dollars in union and other special-interest money backed his opponents. The political arm of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and other independent groups have spent more than $7.1 million directly supporting the Illinois Democrat's bid for the...

Good article, link only http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/08/09/pacs_and_lobbyists_aided_obamas_rise/

On August 31 at Newsbusters, Warner Todd Huston caught NBC political correspondent Andrea Mitchell's assessment about the kind of women who would be supporting the McCain-Palin ticket: ..... they (McCain-Palin) think that they can peel off some of these working class women, not college educated, who, the blue collar women who were voting for Hillary Clinton and may be more conservative on social causes. Combining Mitchell's take with the statement by Eleanor Clift (noted by NB's Brent Baker) that "in many newsrooms" McCain's pick of Sarah Palin was "greeted by "laughter," you get the distinct impression that the media believe...

The candidate that claims to be the only presidential contender who doesn't take money from lobbyists is in fact the biggest recipient of lobby-related contributions. Barack Obama rakes in millions from law firms serving the interests of Wall Street, including the financial institutions that gave us the subprime lending crisis. Lawyers that work for firms that earn hundreds of millions of dollars for lobbying may technically not be lobbyists, but they share in their colleagues' earnings as influencers of Congress - a legal loophole that allows Obama to claim his hands are clean of lobby loot. The top contributors to...

Q. Military moms certainly know what it’s like to juggle family and career under stress, how have you managed to balance career and family? Like the women I’ve met across the country, I play many different roles. I’m a wife, a working woman, a daughter, a sister, and a best friend. But most importantly, I’m a mom. No matter where I am — at work, on the campaign trail, you name it — my girls are always on my mind. Finding a balance between all of these roles is something that I’ve dealt with throughout my marriage. Barack and I...

WASHINGTON – Democrat Barack Obama says he would delay rescinding President Bush's tax cuts on wealthy Americans if he becomes the next president and the economy is in a recession, suggesting such an increase would further hurt the economy. Nevertheless, Obama has no plans to extend the Bush tax cuts beyond their expiration date, as Republican John McCain advocates. Instead, Obama wants to push for his promised tax cuts for the middle class, he said in a broadcast interview aired Sunday. "Even if we're still in a recession, I'm going to go through with my tax cuts," Obama said. "That's...