“Republicans”: Don’t Fix the Problem, Make it a Secret Instead.

It’s a reflex, really: anytime Teapubbies want to do a thing and some pesky thing like “legality” or “optics” interferes, they do the thing anyway, and hide it. Look in your dictionary under “Teapot Dome” or “Watergate” for some classic examples. But it didn’t stop there, Cranksters: here are three examples from recent American history, showing that the GOPee is all about them thar secret thangs:

Number A: Recently, a lot of drug companies (ya know, they exist to make money by saving lives) have refused to sell Ohio drugs if they’ll be used to end lives instead of saving them. This puts a crimp in the execution-via-lethal-injection process that is so beloved by “conservatives”. In short, it’s getting hard for the Gummint to kill people quickly and cheaply.

So, there’s the thing Teapubs want to do: kill convicts. Do they come up with a new way of doing this, or an alternative punishment? Nope. In Ohio, they are trying to pass a law that would hide death drug information instead:

State lawmakers are preparing to introduce legislation to address legal concerns about Ohio’s administration of the death penalty, likely including language to keep secret the names of sources of execution drugs. Batchelder said the legislation has been drafted, and he anticipated its introduction in coming days. He declined to offer specifics about what would be included in the bill, though he said it would address issues that have arisen from court decisions related to the death penalty. “We have a problem in the sense that some of the federal judges have held that our existing system does not provide due process safeguards for those who have been convicted of homicide,” he said.

Got that? The problem is that Ohio (like some other states) is unconstitutionally executing convicts. Do the Repubs seek a constitutional way to execute said offenders? Of course not, don’t be silly. ‘Tis far easier to hide their actions than to solve the problem at hand.

Letter Two: also in newly-Red-ified Ohio (motto: “As red as Ohio State’s Scarlet, as Confederate as Ohio State’s Gray”), Guv Kasich wanted to hand his Kronies a lot of Kash. Alas, that’s illegal. So, he set up a secret money-laundering scam called JobsOhio, and then added more secrecy when the public objected to having their collective pockets picked by a load of millionare motherf***rs. The link provides a good summary of the matter, sans cranky snark and lingua franca.

Thirdly: since it’s illegal for Parties to coordinate with “outside groups”, Repubs had a problem in the recent election cycle: how to, well, break that law and get away with it. The solution? A secret Twitter account, of course. Click the link there, it’s pretty f***ing outrageous s***.

Nor are these the only examples. ‘Twould take a hundred bloggers a hundred hours to document a hundredth of these crimes. They are sufficient to illustrate the situtation: the scumball “Republicans” that Americans have stupidly put in charge of 2/3 of our government are a load of uber-liars and thieves who are not only adept at hiding their crimes: they instinctively hide them. Trust them not a bit, Gentle Reader. Not a single bit.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Kasich the Koward.

We already knew that Ohio’s Governor was a corrupt, wingnut, thieving, Wall Street millionaire, crony-centric, lying, money-laundering scumbucket. Now, we can add “huge f***ing wussy” to the list. Little Johnnie Kasich is too s***-scared to debate his gubernatorial opponent, you see. Here is an article on the issue:

“He’s not accepting the challenge because his handlers know that when the Governor is forced to speak on his feet he reveals his disdain for working Ohioans and he is unable to defend his record of helping his wealthy friends at the expense of Ohio’s middle class,” says Laura Hitt, FitzGerald’s campaign spokesperson.

But Kasich isn’t the only Ohio Republican ditching debates this year. Attorney General Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Jon Husted, and State Treasurer Josh Mandel have all declined to participate in the City Club of Cleveland’s debate series.

Mandel is a former U.S. Senate candidate with future statewide ambitions and Husted is often touted as a future gubernatorial prospect.

All of these boyos, like Kasich, are little Nancy-boys with not even a soupçon of testicular fortitude. Yes, they have things to hide, yes, they want to avoid being asked tough questions, but at the end of the day, they are cowards.

Kasich is secretive about how he stole some of his millions from the American taxpayer during the Bush Crash of 2008, he is secretive about the money he helps JobsOhio steal from Ohio taxpayers every day, he is secretive by reflex. Like all people who live criminal lives, he is petrified that someone might ask a question that will send him off to a much-deserved prison term. So he hides.

Kasich the Koward. A trembling, wimpy, pathetic, piss-poor excuse for a man. Too scared to debate. Kowardly Kasich.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

 

In your anger at the party, don’t forget the real victims. (Please vote.)

This post has a very narrow audience: those who say they will not vote unless the candidates are sufficiently in line with their personal beliefs, and think that by withholding their vote they will somehow “teach the party a lesson”. It is not targeted at any other people or groups. S’alright? S’alright.

Many of the party apparatchiks, leaders and candidates (for example, Hillary Clinton) are millionaires, and will not be hurt by your lack of participation in a hypothetical future contest. They should pay a price, but they will not. They might write books, consult, bloviate, become the ambassador to Lower Maylohda, or join the punditocracy: but one thing that they will not do is suffer. Not one wee bit.

No, the people who will be hurt by the lack of participation in a given race will be the poor. The children. The elderly. The minorities. The women. THEY will pay the price for your bitterness, defeatism and despair. You might not pay a price, the candidates might not pay…but nothing is free in this world. Somebody always pays.

In the last election, in one Ohio state congressional district, a (literal) handful of voters failed to vote for the Democrat in the race, and the Teapublican won. That state is now 100% Red. Dems have NO POWER OVER STATE GOVERNMENT.

Voting rights are being taken away. Women’s rights are being obliterated. Children are starving and dying. Millionaires are profiting and the rest of us are struggling. Because a very few voters made the choice you propose to make.

Think a bit before you decide to be dogmatic. Think of those four voters who did what you say you will do. Every vote counts. And every vote has a consequence.

Perhaps God should have mercy on those who abandon their fellow Americans to poverty, privation, and death; but the rest of us shouldn’t.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

JobsOhio: Fox, meet Henhouse.

And the foxy feasting has continued ever since. Not all that surprising, really: it’s a secretive organization that takes millions of taxpayer dollars and does secret things with them; is immune from auditing by the State Auditor; is staffed by cronies of the Guv; and can only be policed by itself. Oh, and it hasn’t done any policing of itself as yet: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/09/25/JobsOhio-conflict-of-interest.html

The stench is getting to be so bad, even the Columbus Dispatch is reporting on it (see the above link). A few choice quotes:

JobsOhio officials will double-check to make sure everyone is adhering to state law after the Ohio Ethics Commission determined yesterday that an unspecified number of employees have possible conflicts of interest.

This is because no one else is allowed to know what is going on behind closed doors:

The notices stemmed from a standard review by the ethics commission staff of financial disclosure statements for 2012 and 2011. The ethics staff goes over the business ties, investments and other key information on the forms and contacts each of those entities to see if they had any dealings with JobsOhio. Where those areas match is often a possible conflict.

JobsOhio board members are supposed to bring any potential conflict of interest to their fellow board members, who make the final determination if any actual conflict exists and whether the member should be excused from further participation. A  Dispatch review of the portion of JobsOhio board meeting minutes made public shows no record of any consideration of possible conflicts of interest, which Jones says shows there were none.

Got that? Even though there are documented instances of JobsOhio board members (and even the Governor) getting money from companies getting breaks and goodies from JobsOhio, they aren’t interested in investigating any conflicts of interest, because, they say, there aren’t any. Even though there, well, ARE.

And no one is allowed to check up on them. Because, when the 100% “Republican” Ohio state government created this slush fund for their cronies new agency, they made it shadowy, secret, and untraceable.  A perfect vehicle for people to steal the taxpayers’ hard-earned. And oh, how they are stealing: https://ohiodems.org/dayton-daily-news-investigation-jobsohio-board-has-ties-to-firms-that-got-help/

This is what one-party rule looks like. If we are going to be afflicted by political parties, let’s at least have divided government so as to keep our “representatives” somewhat honest. Or else we will continue to see these corrupt mother***ers walking around with chicken feathers stuck in their teeth.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

 

Ohio’s 100% “Republican” government gets a “D+” for Spending Transparency

But you needn’t take the Cranky word for it: as seen in the Dayton Business Journal, “The Buckeye State received a grade of D-plus from the Georgia PIRG Education Fund, which handed out grades in its “Following the Money 2013: How the States Rank on Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data” report.”

This news, on top of the new law banning the state Auditor from, well, auditing JobsOhio and its use of taxpayer funds (making it impossible to tell who is ripping us off) and a BGA survey ranking Ohio as the tenth most secretive state in the nation, you have to wonder why ANY Buckeye would trust these zeebs.

Remember, Ohioans: you picked a corrupt Wall Street millionaire crook over a Methodist minister last time around.You voted for crooked, and you got crooked. Don’t be acting all shocked an s*** after getting what you asked for.

Next time, use some f***ing brains when you cast your ballot. Unless, of course, you like a bunch of authoritarian, clandestine thieves picking your pocket and lying about it.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

It Appears to be legal to bribe an Ohio Governor

Here is the story: John Kasich has accepted many thousands of dollars from private companies during his time in office, and those companies have reaped millions of dollars in return. Most of us would call that bribery. Most of us also assume that is illegal.

Right on the first, wrong on the second. Some Ohio legislators are introducing a bill that would make it illegal for a sitting governor to accept money from private firms.

So, if they are asking to make something illegal, it must be legal now. In all the nation, Ohio must surely be the only state in which slipping a Guv a hundred grand here and there is OK. No wonder Kasich left Wall Street to take this gig-he can get richer taking bribes than he ever could scamming people on securities and stocks.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Kasich the Krooked

At least one of his Krony’s Kompanies has paid The Kasich hundreds of thousands in return for tax breaks. He denies everything, of course, as he always does. The man is slick, secretive and smart: but still a crook. From the article:

“Subsidiaries of a company that’s helped sustain Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s political career and contribute to his personal bank account have received tax breaks worth more than $619,000 brokered by the new job creation board he appoints.

Longstanding and extensive financial ties between Kasich and Worthington Industries, a Fortune 500 steel processor in central Ohio, are raising new ethics questions in the era of JobsOhio, a semi-private panel of business leaders appointed by the governor and largely shielded from Ohio ethics and public records laws.”

There is a lot more at the above link, and it is suggested you click and read it. In brief: The Kasich set up a secret agency, packed it with his buddies, stole our tax money to fund it, and is pocketing cash from the deals JobsOhio has been quietly cutting. Why does he get away with this crap?

He gets away with it because Ohio isn’t just controlled by “Republicans”; it is controlled by Kasich “Republicans”. So the only people in a position to challenge his unethical and illegal activities are people loyal to him, which means, yup, no one in Ohio government will call him to account.

One-party rule ALWAYS leads to corruption and the ripping-off of the citizenry. Ohio is such a stupid state, it has handed over its collective wallets to a load of thieves. And Kasich The Krooked is gleefully extracting cash from our billfolds and stuffing it into his own, just like he did on Wall Street.

Eh, oh, way to go, Ohio.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Little Johnnie Kasich’s JobsOhio Scam is Finally Getting Scrutiny

Here is an article talking about the theft and cronyism at JobsOhio that was recently revealed by the Dayton news media. Short version: The Kasich set up a secretive, un-auditable private company to replace a state agency, staffed it with his Kronies, and used it to shovel taxpayer money into the pockets of himself and said Kasich Kronies.

Fortunately, even though the “Republican” party controls the entire state with no Democratic input, there are still a few organizations that are willing to go to court in order to fight the corruption, theft, and secrecy that is stinking up the state.

Memo to all Ohioans: when you elect someone who made his millions from the Bush Economic Crash, you shouldn’t be surprised when he continues to try to make money for himself and his millionaire buddies in the sly after he’s in office.Kasich and his Korrupt Kronies are doing what they know how to do: line their own pockets at our expense, and never mind those silly regulations and laws.

Bless the reporters and attorneys who are trying to clean up the cesspool that has been created in Columbus since the last election.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Kasich and his Corrupt Cronies Caught Stealing

Now we know why JobsOhio has fought to keep itself secret. Turns out that most of its board members were on the take. The Dayton Daily News lays it all out: people taking taxpayer money, hiding it, and then pushing it into their own pockets.

You might remember all the times Little Johnnie tried to make things secret: his own inauguration, his staffs’ resumes, and many more. But he has fought hardest to keep JobsOhio under wraps.

You see, Kasich and Ko. destroyed a state agency and created a secret private company to steal our tax dollars “do its job more efficiently”. And when the state auditor tried to find out where our tax dollars had gone, his cronies in the legislature made it illegal to audit JobsOhio.

When someone keeps secrets, we always wonder what they are hiding. Now we know what these Ohio “Republicans” were trying to cover up: corruption, theft, and lies.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

The Bulls*** That is Ohio (yes, the asterisks are back)

This is life in a state that is completely controlled by one of our parasitic political parties: the “Republicans” can do anything they want, to anyone they want, whenever they want. And they do, oh yes they do.

Adding to this is our Wall Street Millionaire Guv with a severe transparency allergy, John The Kasich. In the next few days, he will sign a bill that will, at minimum;

Number A: cut taxes for the rich and raise taxes on the rest of us,

Letter 2: steal more of our money to give to unaccountable charter schools,

Thirdly: erect a legal wall around the money that The Kasich has been stealing for his cronies at Jobs Ohio,

And may also include various unconstitutional laws and measures into the bargain.

That, you’ll agree, is a lot of bulls***.

You know what’s worse? We elected these partisan thieves. That, friends, is an enormously large and fetid pile of bulls***.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky