Kasich's Favorite Education Sector

Two closed charter schools’ records unauditable

The two Talented Tenth Leadership Academies in Columbus have been shut down, their founder has been indicted on criminal theft charges, and now the former charter schools have been placed on Ohio Auditor Dave Yost’s “unauditable” list.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/03/14/two-closed-charter-schools-records-unauditable.html

Posted by Paul Hunter

Unsolicited Endorsement For Judge.

Would Brian Shidaker be a good choice for Judge of Clinton County Municipal Court?

In my educated opinion the answer is a resounding yes.

He is currently and has been involved in the criminal justice system for many years as a felony prosecutor at the Court of Common Pleas. No other candidate for the position can make that claim.

The following information is from the County Prosecutors office.

a. Brian has participated in the prosecution of Felony, Misdemeanor, Juvenile Delinquency, Children Services Abuse/Neglect and Child Support Cases.

b. He has participated in the prosecution of nearly every type and classification of felony crime, the more serious including but not limited to: 2 Capital Murder Cases; Rape, Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Burglary, Felonious Assault, Sexual Battery, Manslaughter, Child Pornography, Child Endangering, Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity, and Drug Trafficking.

c. Brian has felony trial conviction rate of 94%.

d. He has participated in the prosecution of several thousand cases over the last six years.

e. Despite many higher court appeals of Brian's convictions none have been overturned.

Brian's other job:

As a close observer of City affairs over the last 20 years I can honestly state that Brian is, by far, the best Director of Law to hold that very important municipal office. If asked, many city council members wold agree with that assessment. It is also excellent preparation for typical municipal court cases.

“Ohio law describes the position: The city director of law shall act as the legal adviser to and attorney for the municipal corporation. He shall prepare all contracts, bonds, and other instruments in writing in which the municipal corporation is concerned, and shall indorse on each his approval of the form and the correctness thereof. He or his assistants shall be the prosecutor in any police or municipal court, and shall perform such other duties and have such assistants and clerks as are required or provided.”

The Municipal Court Judge is also the court's administrator responsible for the courts day to day operations and its annual of $900,000 budget and 14,000 cases. The tax payers of Wilmington are required to make up any of the court's fund shortages.

Paul Hunter

Can Congress Serve Two Masters?

The House of Representatives, invited the Israeli leader to make a personal campaign speech in the House. In the meantime the Senate has acted in what can be perceived has doing the Prime Minster's bidding by interfering in the delicate Iranian nuclear negotiations.

Some speculate that this activity is an attempt by the GOP to woo the traditionally Democrat leaning Jewish voters.

Paul Hunter

Save Our Landfill

Presentation to Council 3/5/15

As a proponent and enthusiast of recycling this subject is very important to me, other greenies and land preservers.

For several years and several city administrations, cardboard recycling has been a subject often discussed but never acted on.

The need for such a program is two fold. The obvious one is that there is a finite amount of resources left for future generations and we are fast exploiting what remains. I think of my new great-grandson's future along with all the other great-grandsons future and what it will look like. We are passing along an earth that they will have to live in. I sigh with disappointment when I now have to pack a reusable material in the trash.

The second and just as important to legislators is the using up and shortening the life of our landfill capacity. I hope that we can extend the life of the new landfill expansion sufficiently to allow the debt to be retired and a few more years to accumulate a fund for the eventual closure of the facility. Then we can consider converting the land for it ultimate purpose, a west side city park connected by trails to the other parks.

We have always left our small businesses with no way to recycle their tons of cardboard shipping containers that end up in the landfill. That method costs them, reduces landfill life and wastes a resource.

Until recently local residents had a option to trashing cardboard by using the county supplied drop off point on West Main St. Every time that I have gone to the site several people were using the facility. That option has ended and now all of that an estimated 130 tons of card board will go into the landfill each year.

According to one internet source “...the effect on the environment of recycling one ton of cardboard saves about nine cubic yards of landfill space, 700 gallons of water and forty six gallons of oil.

One person's suggestion: See if county solid waste and/or OEPA could assist in obtaining a baler or compactor for a landfill drop off site. I and many others I know, would be willing to make a one dollar contribution per site visit and small business owners could be asked for two dollars. If market conditions dictate these fees could be waved for a period.

As Don Wells often said. “Save our landfill” I would add to that by urging you to save resources for my, great- grand children and yours.

Note: After the meeting a local resident offered to donate a cardboard baler to the recycling effort.

Paul Hunter

AuH2O, Not My Cup Of Conservative Tea

AuH2O, Not My Cup Of Conservative Tea

He voted against the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1954.

He opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964

This pleased southern Democrats, and Goldwater was the first Republican to win the electoral votes of all of the Deep South states. However, Goldwater's vote on the Civil Rights Act proved damaging to his presidential campaign in 1964 and probably caused he landslide defeat in the election.

When Republicans ask, as they often do, why the vast majority of black voters reject the Party of Lincoln, they need to look no further than the Goldwater-Nixon southern strategy.

Barry never realized the contradiction in one of his more famous quotes “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice”.

Paul Hunter

Some Clinton County Revenue Data

County sales tax receipts for 2014 of $7,854,088 indicate an uptick of $683,461 over 2013. This total is getting close to the 2007 record of $7,877,318

The increase in sales tax more than offset the loss of casino tax distributions that fell from $504,275 for 2013 to $494,496 for 2014.

The local government funds, a designated portion of state revenues returned to the counties and other political subdivisions decreased by $22,000 from 2013 to 2014.

Paul Hunter  

Amateur Poli-Sci

Karl Marx and Ayn Rand got it wrong!

Karl thought that the state would wither away after the transition to the communist ideal where labor value was the only value and each member of the commune would work hard and to the best their ability would allow. This would be done willingly without the incentive to obtain more goods and services than the next person. In turn each person would receive an equal portion of material even if they could not produce as much as others.

That principal lasted but a short time after the Bolshevik led Russian revolution's attempt to create the first communist/socialist state. After Lenin died and Trotsky were removed with extreme prejudice, Stalin and his political heirs usurped communist ideals, people withered away and not the state. All of the other nation states that have called themselves communist have turned into dictatorships led by personality cult despots.

The Libertarian idea is that mankind, given the freedom to do so, would sort itself out into talented achievers and loyal workers. All citizens, guided by natural rights, would “do the right thing” without overweening government interference.

So far no nation state has achieved that exalted status. All political movements that have attempted to do so have crashed on the rocks of plutocracy and imperialism.

To date man appears to not be perfectible.

In my experience (1933 to present) this most workable method of organizing society has been the implementation of a hybrid system of government. A representative political system that guarantees and enforces basic rights, the rule of law and a free but limited market economy . For the longest sustained period in our, or any nation's history, around sixty years, the business cycle had been tamed and living standards had increased for all citizens. Certainly excesses occurred, a war of choice was undertaken, but over all the nation prospered without the feast or famine of economic roller coaster rides.

For the past twenty years, a period that included two wars of choice paid for with a credit card and an uncontrolled capital market, we seem to have forgotten the principals what fostered those halcyon days. At present the social compact between capital, labor and the common man has become tattered. Plutocracy is not only raising it's hoary head it appears to be winning. Has that special period disappeared never to return?

My father and grandfather warned me that the younger generation was ruining the country, now its my turn.

Paul Hunter paulhunter45177@gmail.com