Ocassional Thoughts of an Independent Progressive Atheistic Humanist
A local TV station makes the case that news is over rated and it is better to watch talk shows instead. They go a bit too far by using the tag line “No News is good…” Actually, people avoiding the news is why this country is in the trouble it is in.
To be a complete citizen one should keep informed from the local news.
State Rep. Cliff Hite (R-76th District) was in the news today for a couple of state issues. While I didn’t agree with his overall comments I do give the man credit for acknowledging that alternatives for the budget issues facing Ohio would not be painless.
In an interview on WFIN’s morning show Hite said that the Republicans had ideas to help fill in the approx $900 million budget gap after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that allowing video slot machines had to be voted on by the public. He said that one was restructuring state government by reducing the number of departments. The example he gave was eliminating the Department of Agriculture and absorbing the work into multiple departments. Such a change would lead to the loss of many state worker jobs.
Another suggestion was reducing Medicaid benefits which would hurt those who get those benefits.
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has said he wants to postpone the 4.2% tax reduction scheduled to take place in 2009 for two years. Some Republicans are against the delay because they feel the tax cut was meant to make “Ohio more competitive for jobs.” Hite is also against a delay.
I will credit Rep. Hite, that unlike the previous guy to hold his seat, he at least acknowledges the Republican alternatives aren’t perfect.
I disagree with Hite’s view on postponing the tax cut and changing state government.
It makes no sense, when one is losing revenue, to cut your revenue further. Ohio has made massive spending cuts in the past so any more cuts will be hitting bone.
The fact is that Ohio isn’t even in the top 10 for personal income tax and the corporate tax rate is only 5.1% for those that actually pay it. The argument that our taxes are too high is not supported by the evidence. The tax cut that Strickland wants to delay was passed in 2005 before the economy tanked and was to be phased in 4% a year with this year being the last of the 21% cut.
It is good to know that Hite isn’t a plain Jane Republican ideologue. Picture Robbie the Robot waving arms and saying “Must cut spending must cut spending must cut spending must cut spending…” and ignoring reality like Mike Gilb and Lynn Wachtmann use to do.
In an article in The Findlay Courier Rep. Hite said he favored State Issue 2 which supposedly creates yet another state board to prevent groups like the Humane Society from getting laws passed in the state to protect farm animals from cruel treatment.
So smaller government is good for business unless you can use it to protect business, then it needs to be larger.
It doesn’t make sense to me either.
I guess I am too caught up in the 24 hour news cycle where I expect either breaking news or at least new stories to show up on my local TV station websites on the day the news breaks. It seems that the WBNS 10TV website takes the weekend off unless the news is significant.
On Saturday some ticket holders for an event at the Palace Theater showed up hours after the event had happened. The time had been changed but some people didn’t hear about it. The story was on 10TV’s 11 PM newscast but still wasn’t posted on their website at that time. The story was on the website for Channel 4 the NBC station.
The only story posted on the website from Saturday was a robbery suspect who was shot in South Columbus in the morning and they had the scores from the Indians and Reds games that afternoon.
10TV sister company, The Columbus Dispatch had 3 more Saturday story links on its front page.
The problem is that on Saturday and Sunday, there are times when the evening newscasts aren’t seen due to sports or other programing. Basically I wouldn’t know any local updates until 11 PM or later if network programing runs over.
Back on July 12th I had a blog post stating that a Columbus Firefighter shouldn’t lose his job because he had shot his dogs so he wouldn’t have to pay for boarding them while on vacation. My point was that the crime really had nothing to do with his job and was just another way people seem to want to draw and quarter anyone who does something they find abhorrent. Today it was announced the man was fired but shooting his dogs wasn’t the only reason for the termination.
It seems the idiot sent text messages about the incident and in one message seemed to threaten a police officer:
[Mitchell] Brown said that a major factor behind his decision was that investigators found text messages that were sent from Santuomo’s phone that detailed killing the dogs, including shooting one of them eight times before it died.
[David] Santuomo also had suspicions that a female Columbus police officer tipped off humane society agents, Kocot reported.
One of the text messages allegedly threatened the officer, Kocot reported.
“(You) realize (sic.) that there is a funeral in (Columbus Police department’s) future,” a text message read.
In another message he texted that he had done 3 stupid things – shooting the dogs, telling people about it, and not burying the dogs in the ground.
Add a fourth stupid thing – threatening the police.
I strongly believe in the right to privacy. What people do at home on their own time – as long as nothing is being harmed – is none of my business. Those actions also shouldn’t affect ones job either unless the action was part of the job. That’s why I don’t agree that a firefighter who shot his dogs so he wouldn’t have to pay a boarding fee should be fired from his job.
The thousands of people who e-mailed and called about a firefighter who shot his two dogs got the attention of Chief Ned Pettus Jr. Yesterday, Pettus recommended that Firefighter David Santuomo be fired.
Santuomo appeared in his dress uniform on Wednesday for a 30-minute meeting with Pettus at Fire Division headquarters, said Battalion Chief David Whiting, a division spokesman. A union representative was present to make sure Santuomo was treated fairly per the firefighters’ contract.
Pettus issued a one-page memo to Safety Director Mitchell Brown yesterday, recommending that Santuomo be fired.
Santuomo, a 13-year veteran of the Fire Division, had pleaded guilty to three criminal misdemeanors — two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possessing a criminal tool — in June for the killing of the dogs.
I agree that the guy is a nut job and should be called out for his actions – and he did answer the charges – but unless the crime involved his job I don’t think he should lose his job.
I get tired of people wanting to draw and quarter anyone who does a despicable thing. It just doesn’t seem enough for the justice system to do its thing and some people want to return to the days of the public stocks and scarlet letters.