#Governor Mike DeWine

[mrfogmaxpro]

Train Derailment in Ohio Leads to Evacuation Due to Dangerous Chemical Release

Train Derailment in Ohio Leads to Evacuation Due to Dangerous Chemical Release #TrainDerailment #OhioEvacuation #DangerousChemicalRelease #VinylChloride #GraveDanger #MikeDeWine #EastPalestine

Train Derailment in Ohio Leads to Evacuation Due to Dangerous Chemical Release The Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, has issued a warning of a “grave danger of death” in a two-state area around a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The reason for the warning is the presence of five train cars carrying the hazardous chemical vinyl chloride. A “controlled release” of the chemical is planned for…

[mrfog1013]

Train Derailment in Ohio Leads to Evacuation Due to Dangerous Chemical Release

Train Derailment in Ohio Leads to Evacuation Due to Dangerous Chemical Release #TrainDerailment #OhioEvacuation #DangerousChemicalRelease #VinylChloride #GraveDanger #MikeDeWine #EastPalestine

Train Derailment in Ohio Leads to Evacuation Due to Dangerous Chemical Release The Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, has issued a warning of a “grave danger of death” in a two-state area around a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The reason for the warning is the presence of five train cars carrying the hazardous chemical vinyl chloride. A “controlled release” of the chemical is planned for…

[thenewdemocratus]

The Washington Examiner: Donald Trump Pushing Vivek Ramaswamy to Fill JD Vance’s Senate Seat in Ohio

Source:The New Democrat “Sources told the Washington Examiner, President-elect Donald Trump is quietly pushing entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. Ramaswamy took himself out of the running for the position last year after Trump and Vance won the November election, instead accepting a position from the president-elect to co-lead the…

[emperornorton47]

When Biden offered disaster relief, the stupid governor turned him down. Red states elect the least compassionate officials.

[filosofablogger]

Just How Low Will We Go?

I thought I was done snarking at least for a few days when I finished my Snarky Snippets post yesterday, but … then today happened and the steam began building again.  I tell you, my friends, the U.S. is beginning to look like something from a dystopian novel! See this picture?  The man on the right is running for the governor of Missouri, and although the Missouri Republican Party tried to have…

[elgallinero]

Practice English

apple.news/AQTkD-gWaQpiEiSOo5zHtCg

[yesornopolls]

Did you know Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law banning transgender students from using school bathrooms and locker rooms that match up with their gender identity? This applies to Kindergarten through university at both public and private schools, and it also bans students from sharing overnight accommodations with people of the opposite sex at K-12 schools.

[gracekrik]

Nine months after the "poison train" accident in the United States, residents of the neighborhood are still feeling uneasy

Hundreds of residents were evacuated after a freight train carrying dangerous goods derailed in Kentucky Friday afternoon, triggering a fire and releasing toxic fumes. In fact, since the beginning of this year, there have been many derailments of trains carrying dangerous goods in the United States. In early February, a train derailed in Ohio, releasing a large amount of toxic chemicals. More than nine months after the accident, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently visited the East Palestine town where the accident occurred. But residents say the town is still unsafe, and Leslie Pesci, an investigator with the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit group in the United States, questioned the Ohio governor's visit as a "show."

With this trip, Mr. Dwane hopes to regain the trust of local residents. However, residents say people in their community are still plagued by a variety of health problems. There are still kids with rashes, there are still kids or people in the community with nosebleeds for no reason, and everything is not okay here.

The derailment and the "controlled release" of toxic chemicals into the air, water and soil created an environmental crisis. The town's residents are still suffering from the health and environmental consequences of the accident.

[vague-humanoid]

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a controversial bill into law that could charge the public hundreds of dollars for footage from law enforcement agencies, including body cameras.

At 11 p.m. Thursday, DeWine announced signings and line-item vetoes on bills. The governor is able to make line-item vetos on provisions in bills that contain appropriations, meaning he has the ability to pick and choose which policies within a larger piece of legislation get to stay or must go.

H.B. 315

Around 2 a.m. during the 17-hour marathon lame duck session, lawmakers passed H.B. 315, a massive, roughly 450-page omnibus bill.

In it was a provision that could cost people money to get access to video from police and jails. Law enforcement could charge people for the “estimated cost” of processing the video — and you would have to pay before the footage is released. Governments could charge up to $75 an hour, with a fee cap of $750 per request.

Legal experts say this could affect access to video from dash and body cameras, as well as surveillance video from inside jails — which are public records in Ohio.

The policy was not public, nor did it have any public hearings, prior to being snuck into the legislation.

[yami5765]

Nine months after the "poison train" accident in the United States, residents of the neighborhood are still feeling uneasy

Hundreds of residents were evacuated after a freight train carrying dangerous goods derailed in Kentucky Friday afternoon, triggering a fire and releasing toxic fumes. In fact, since the beginning of this year, there have been many derailments of trains carrying dangerous goods in the United States. In early February, a train derailed in Ohio, releasing a large amount of toxic chemicals. More than nine months after the accident, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently visited the East Palestine town where the accident occurred. But residents say the town is still unsafe, and Leslie Pesci, an investigator with the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit group in the United States, questioned the Ohio governor's visit as a "show."

With this trip, Mr. Dwane hopes to regain the trust of local residents. However, residents say people in their community are still plagued by a variety of health problems. There are still kids with rashes, there are still kids or people in the community with nosebleeds for no reason, and everything is not okay here.

The derailment and the "controlled release" of toxic chemicals into the air, water and soil created an environmental crisis. The town's residents are still suffering from the health and environmental consequences of the accident.

[joyeeparker]

Nine months after the "poison train" accident in the United States, residents of the neighborhood are still feeling uneasy

Hundreds of residents were evacuated after a freight train carrying dangerous goods derailed in Kentucky Friday afternoon, triggering a fire and releasing toxic fumes. In fact, since the beginning of this year, there have been many derailments of trains carrying dangerous goods in the United States. In early February, a train derailed in Ohio, releasing a large amount of toxic chemicals. More than nine months after the accident, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently visited the East Palestine town where the accident occurred. But residents say the town is still unsafe, and Leslie Pesci, an investigator with the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit group in the United States, questioned the Ohio governor's visit as a "show."

With this trip, Mr. Dwane hopes to regain the trust of local residents. However, residents say people in their community are still plagued by a variety of health problems. There are still kids with rashes, there are still kids or people in the community with nosebleeds for no reason, and everything is not okay here.

The derailment and the "controlled release" of toxic chemicals into the air, water and soil created an environmental crisis. The town's residents are still suffering from the health and environmental consequences of the accident.

[transformationsproject]

Trans right are still under attack (shocker, I know)

Trans rights are still under attack in the United States. Please visit our website linked below to learn about your state and contact your reps. Here's a thread of today's updates:

Bathroom bills deny access to public restrooms by gender or trans identity. 

They increase danger without making anyone any safer and have even prompted attacks on cis and trans people alike. Many national health and anti-sexual assault organizations oppose these bills.

Michigan introduced SB0009 this week. This bill targets school bathrooms, banning all trans people from using the proper bathrooms in schools. It is currently in the Senate Government Operations Committee.

Kentucky introduced HB163 yesterday. It also targets school bathrooms, banning all trans people from using the proper bathrooms in schools. It is currently in the brilliantly named House Committee On Committees Committee.

Healthcare bills go against professional and scientific consensus that gender-affirming care saves lives. Denying access will cause harm.

Providers are faced with criminal charges, parents are threatened with child abuse charges, and intersex children are typically exempted.

Virginia introduced HB2405 this week. It is an under-18 healthcare ban that would detransition all trans minors in the state.

New Hampshire introduced HB377 this week. It is currently in the House Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs Committee. It is a very bare-bones under-18 healthcare ban.

Missouri introduced HJR47, a proposed constitutional amendment that would be placed on the ballot next election. It is designed to subvert the amendment passed last election in order to expressly ban trans-affirming care.

Illinois introduced HB1214 yesterday. This bill would ban trans affirming care for minors within the state.

Kentucky introduced HB154 yesterday. This bill targets trans care for adults by banning doctors from accepting payment for transition services, effectively banning care for all in the state. It is currently in the brilliantly named House Committee On Committees Committee.

Educational Censorship and Student Suppression bills force schools to misgender or deadname students, ban instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, and make schools alert parents if they suspect a child is trans.

They remove life-saving affirmation and support for trans youth. 

Indiana introduced SB0235 this week. It would ban and restrict diversity initiatives within the state for all organizations that receive public funding. It is currently in the Senate Education and Career Development Committee.

In tragic news, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed HB8 into law. This bill targets trans and questioning youth by requiring schools to out students to their parents, something that places vulnerable members of our community at incredible risk.

Trans Erasure bills create legal definitions of terms like “sex” designed to exclude or erase trans identity and insert them into various laws. This can have many different effects, depending on what laws are affected.

They can force a male or female designation based on sex assigned at birth.

Some target anti-discrimination statutes, legally empowering trans discrimination 

Arizona has prefiled HB2062 this week. This bill adds a carveout in the state discrimination laws to allow discrimination against trans people in places like bathrooms and crisis centers. 

North Dakota introduced HB1181 this week. This bill also adds a carveout in the state discrimination laws to allow discrimination against trans people in places like bathrooms and crisis centers. It currently sits in the House Human Services Committee. 

Illinois introduced HB1209 yesterday. Like the above, this bill adds a carveout in the state discrimination laws to allow discrimination against trans people in places like bathrooms and crisis centers.

Most sports bills force schools to designate teams by their sex assigned at birth. 

They are often one-sided and ban trans girls from playing on teams consistent with their gender identity.

Some egregious bills even force invasive genital examinations on student athletes.

Illinois introduced three separate sports bills this week, HB1117, HB1204, and HB1216. Each of these bills target trans girls, banning them from participating in high school sports, and will require all students to have a written statement asserting they are not trans before allowing them to play.

In other bills that either fit multiple categories or stand on their own, we have:

Virginia introduced HB2182 this week. This bill would redefine child abuse to explicitly protect parents who willfully misgender and deadname their child.

It's not too late to stop these and other hateful anti-trans bills from passing into law. YOU can go to http://transformationsproject.org/ to learn more and contact your representatives!

[contemplatingoutlander]

Ohio governor vetoes ban on gender-affirming care for minors

This is a really important development. Gov. DeWine is a Republican, yet he listened to the common sense of advocates FOR quality gender-affirming healthcare for youth. Here are some excerpts from the article:

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine struck down a bill that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors, breaking from fellow Republican governors’ precedent and preserving such care for residents beyond his state as well, because families of transgender youths who live in states with bans have been traveling to Ohio for treatment. [...] “This bill would impact a very small number of Ohio’s children. But for those children who face gender dysphoria, the consequences of this bill could not be more profound. Ultimately I believe this is about protecting human life,” DeWine said Friday during a news conference announcing the decision. “Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived, would be dead today, if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio’s children’s hospitals.” “These are gut-wrenching decisions that should be made by parents and should be informed by teams of doctors who are advising them,” DeWine continued. “Were I to sign House Bill 68, or were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government knows better what is medically best for a child than the two people who love that child the most: The parents.” [...] Hundreds of people testified in hearings on the legislation this year, with 87 people testifying during a state Senate committee hearing in early December that stretched past 11 p.m. A majority of them testified against the bill, and many of those who supported the ban flew in from out of state to testify. [color emphasis added]

A different but related WaPo article is also worth reading.

Her story fueled anti-trans bills. Now, she’s fighting them.

This article is about a detransitioner, Carey Callahan, who at one time opposed gender affirming care for youth but now realizes she was wrong. Callahan and 19 other detransitioners were among the people who testified against the bill and in support of gender-affirming healthcare.

Here is an excerpt from Callahan's testimony:

“The proponents of this bill have not produced a patient who detransitioned or felt regretful about the treatment they received who attended one of our six pediatric programs,” Callahan said. “Quality health care prevents detransition — not a lack of health care. The rigor of Ohio’s six programs prevents detransition, which is why you have not heard of even one detransitioner who received pediatric gender-affirming care in Ohio.” [color emphasis added]

[darkmaga-returns]

President Donald Trump’s epic re-election victory on Tuesday night saw him expand his popularity in the former swing state of Ohio.

In addition, Ohio Republicans flipped a Senate seat and stormed the state’s Supreme Court.

The GOP won all three state Supreme Court races, handing them 6-1 control starting in January.

The bench is currently split 4-3.

Republican Justice Joseph Deters left his own Supreme Court seat to run for a full term against Democrat Melody Stewart – and won.

Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine had appointed Deters, a former Hamilton County prosecutor, to fill a vacancy in 2023.

Another Republican, Judge Dan Hawkins defeated Democratic Judge Lisa Forbes to serve the remaining two years in Deters’ open seat.

Republican Megan Shanahan defeated Democrat Michael Donnelly to round out the GOP’s sweep of the top court.

The expanded control will presumably give Republicans leverage on contentious issues such as abortion and election integrity.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich:: GOP strategy in its totality

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 18, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Sep 19, 2024

Today, at a White House reception in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, President Joe Biden said: "We don't demonize immigrants. We don't single them out for attacks. We don't believe they're poisoning the blood of the country. We're a nation of immigrants, and that's why we're so damn strong."

Biden’s celebration of the country’s heritage might have doubled as a celebration of the success of his approach to piloting the economy out of the ravages of the pandemic. Today the Fed cut interest rates a half a point, a dramatic cut indicating that it considers inflation to be under control. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has maintained that it would be possible to slow inflation without causing a recession—a so-called soft landing—and she appears to have been vindicated.

Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said: “The labor market is in solid condition, and our intention with our policy move today is to keep it there. You can say that about the whole economy: The US economy is in good shape. It’s growing at a solid pace, inflation is coming down. The labor market is at a strong pace. We want to keep it there. That’s what we’re doing.”

Powell, whom Trump first appointed to his position, said, “We do our work to serve all Americans. We’re not serving any politician, any political figure, any cause, any issue, nothing. It’s just maximum employment and price stability on behalf of all Americans.”

Powell was anticipating accusations from Trump that his cutting of rates was an attempt to benefit Harris before the election. Indeed, Jeff Stein of the Washington Post reported that Trump advisor Steven Moore called the move “jaw-dropping. There's no reason they couldn't do 25 now and 25 right after the election. Why not wait till then?” Moore added, "I'm not saying [the] reduction isn't justified—it may well be and they have more data than I do. But i just think, 'why now?’” Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville called the cut “shamelessly political.” 

The New Yorker’s Philip Gourevitch noted that “Trump has been begging officials worldwide not to do the right thing for years to help rig the election for him—no deal in Gaza, no defense of Ukraine, no Kremlin hostages release, no border deal, no continuing resolution, no interest rate cuts etc—just sabotage & subterfuge.”

That impulse to focus on regaining power rather than serving the country was at least part of what was behind Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance’s lie about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. That story has gotten even darker as it turns out Vance and Trump received definitive assurances on September 9 that the rumor was false, but Trump ran with it in the presidential debate of September 10 anyway. Now, although it has been made very clear—including by Republican Ohio governor Mike DeWine—that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield are there legally, Vance told a reporter today that he personally considers the programs under which they came illegal, so he is still “going to call [a Haitian migrant] an illegal alien.”

The lies about those immigrants have so derailed the Springfield community with bomb threats and public safety concerns that when the Trump campaign suggested Trump was planning a visit there, the city’s Republican mayor, Rob Rue, backed by DeWine, threw cold water on the idea. “It would be an extreme strain on our resources. So it’d be fine with me if they decided not to make that visit,” Rue said. Nonetheless, tonight, Trump told a crowd in Long Island, New York, that he will go to Springfield within the next two weeks. 

The false allegation against Haitian immigrants has sparked outrage, but it has accomplished one thing for the campaign, anyway: it has gotten Trump at least to speak about immigration—which was the issue they planned to campaign on—rather than Hannibal Lecter, electric boats, and sharks, although he continues to insist that “everyone is agreeing that I won the Debate with Kamala.” Trump, Vance, and Republican lawmakers are now talking more about policies.

In the presidential debate of September 10, Trump admitted that after nine years of promising he would release a new and better healthcare plan than the Affordable Care Act in just a few weeks, all he really had were “concepts of a plan.” Vance has begun to explain to audiences that he intends to separate people into different insurance pools according to their health conditions and risk levels. That business model meant that insurers could refuse to insure people with pre-existing conditions, and overturning it was a key driver of the ACA.

Senate and House Republicans told Peter Sullivan of Axios that if they regain control of the government, they will work to get rid of the provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that permits the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies over drug prices. Negotiations on the first ten drugs, completed in August, will lower the cost of those drugs enough to save taxpayers $6 billion a year, while those enrolled in Medicare will save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses. 

Yesterday Trump promised New Yorkers that he would restore the state and local tax deduction (SALT) that he himself capped at $10,000 in his 2017 tax cuts. In part, the cap was designed to punish Democratic states that had high taxes and higher government services, but now he wants to appeal to voters in those same states. On CNBC, host Joe Kernan pointed out that this would blow up the deficit, but House speaker Mike Johnson said that the party would nonetheless consider such a measure because it would continue to stand behind less regulation and lower taxes.

In a conversation with Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his former press secretary, Trump delivered another stream of consciousness commentary in which he appeared to suggest that he would lower food prices by cutting imports. Economics professor Justin Wolfers noted: “I'm exhausted even saying it, but blocking supply won't reduce prices, and it's not even close.” Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark added, “Tell me more about why you have to vote for Trump because of his ‘policies.’”

Trump has said he supports in vitro fertilization, or IVF, as have a number of Republican lawmakers, but today, 44 Republican senators once again blocked the Senate from passing a measure protecting it. The procedure is in danger from state laws establishing “fetal personhood,” which give a fertilized egg all the rights of a human being as established by the Fourteenth Amendment. That concept is in the 2024 Republican Party platform.

Trump has also demanded that Republicans in Congress shut down the government unless a continuing resolution to fund the government contains the so-called SAVE Act requiring people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Speaker Johnson continues to suggest that undocumented immigrants vote in elections, but it is illegal for even documented noncitizens to do so, and Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the nonprofit American Immigration Council notes that even the right-wing Heritage Foundation has found only 12 cases of such illegal voting in the past 40 years.

Johnson brought the continuing resolution bill with the SAVE Act up for a vote today. It failed by a vote of 202 to 220. If the House and then the Senate don’t pass a funding bill, the government will shut down on October 1.

Republican endorsements of the Harris-Walz ticket continue to pile up. On Monday, six-term representative Bob Inglis (R-SC) told the Charleston City Paper that “Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the republic” and said he would vote for Harris. “If Donald Trump loses, that would be a good thing for the Republican Party,” Inglis said. “Because then we could have a Republican rethink and get a correction.” 

George W. Bush’s attorney general Alberto Gonzales, conservative columnist George Will, more than 230 former officials for presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, and 17 former staff members for Ronald Reagan have all recently added their names to the list of those supporting Harris. Today more than 100 Republican former members of Congress and national security officials who served in Republican administrations endorsed Harris, saying they “firmly oppose the election of Donald Trump.” They cited his chaotic governance, his praising of enemies and undermining allies, his politicizing the military and disparaging veterans, his susceptibility to manipulation by Russian president Vladimir Putin, and his attempt to overthrow democracy. They praised Harris for her consistent championing of “the rule of law, democracy, and our constitutional principles.” 

Yesterday, singer-songwriters Billie Eilish, who has 119 million followers on Instagram, and Finneas, who has 4.2 million, asked people to register and to vote for Harris and Walz. “Vote like your life depends on it,” Eilish said, “because it does.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON