#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…

[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.

[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.

[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

[leviathan-supersystem]

Mike DeWine, the Ohio governor, recently lamented the toll taken on the residents of East Palestine after the toxic train derailment there, saying “no other community should have to go through this”.

But such accidents are happening with striking regularity. A Guardian analysis of data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and by non-profit groups that track chemical accidents in the US shows that accidental releases – be they through train derailments, truck crashes, pipeline ruptures or industrial plant leaks and spills – are happening consistently across the country.

By one estimate these incidents are occurring, on average, every two days.

“These kinds of hidden disasters happen far too frequently,” Mathy Stanislaus, who served as assistant administrator of the EPA’s office of land and emergency management during the Obama administration, told the Guardian. Stanislaus led programs focused on the cleanup of contaminated hazardous waste sites, chemical plant safety, oil spill prevention and emergency response.

In the first seven weeks of 2023 alone, there were more than 30 incidents recorded by the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, roughly one every day and a half. Last year the coalition recorded 188, up from 177 in 2021. The group has tallied more than 470 incidents since it started counting in April 2020.

The incidents logged by the coalition range widely in severity but each involves the accidental release of chemicals deemed to pose potential threats to human and environmental health.

In September, for instance, nine people were hospitalized and 300 evacuated in California after a spill of caustic materials at a recycling facility. In October, officials ordered residents to shelter in place after an explosion and fire at a petrochemical plant in Louisiana. In November, more than 100 residents of Atchinson, Kansas, were treated for respiratory problems and schools were evacuated after an accident at a beverage manufacturing facility created a chemical cloud over the town.

Among multiple incidents in December, a large pipeline ruptured in rural northern Kansas, smothering the surrounding land and waterways in 588,000 gallons of diluted bitumen crude oil. Hundreds of workers are still trying to clean up the pipeline mess, at a cost pegged at around $488m.

The precise number of hazardous chemical incidents is hard to determine because the US has multiple agencies involved in response, but the EPA told the Guardian that over the past 10 years, the agency has “performed an average of 235 emergency response actions per year, including responses to discharges of hazardous chemicals or oil”. The agency said it employs roughly 250 people devoted to the EPA’s emergency response and removal program.

[...]

The EPA itself says that by several measurements, accidents at facilities are becoming worse: evacuations, sheltering and the average annual rate of people seeking medical treatment stemming from chemical accidents are on the rise. Total annual costs are approximately $477m, including costs related to injuries and deaths.

“Accidental releases remain a significant concern,” the EPA said.

In August, the EPA proposed several changes to the Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations that apply to plants dealing with hazardous chemicals. The rule changes reflect the recognition by EPA that many chemical facilities are located in areas that are vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, including power outages, flooding, hurricanes and other weather events.

The proposed changes include enhanced emergency preparedness, increased public access to information about hazardous chemicals risks communities face and new accident prevention requirements.

The US Chamber of Commerce has pushed back on stronger regulations, arguing that most facilities operate safely, accidents are declining and that the facilities impacted by any rule changes are supplying “essential products and services that help drive our economy and provide jobs in our communities”. Other opponents to strengthening safety rules include the American Chemistry Council, American Forest & Paper Association, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute.

The changes are “unnecessary” and will not improve safety, according to the American Chemistry Council.

Many worker and community advocates, such as the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, (UAW), which represents roughly a million laborers, say the proposed rule changes don’t go far enough.

[reality-detective]

BREAKING: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is deploying law enforcement and providing approximately $2.5 million in healthcare funding to support the city of Springfield in response to the surge of Haitian migrants. 🤔

[darkeagleruins]

Why is Springfield Ohio accepting 20,000 Haitian residents.

Why is Mike DeWine allowing this?

If this was Ron DeSantis, he would’ve booked all those people on planes and buses and shipped them out to a liberal sanctuary city.

The problem is that many Republicans are too weak and the only thing they know how to do is complain.

Put every last one of these 20,000 Haitians on a bus and send them to New York.

Why are Republican governors allowing this to happen in their states, send them all to Martha’s Vineyard, DC, Delaware��� NY and every other sanctuary city run by democrats.