Loveland Magazine

LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor

Since 2004

Tag: guest column

  • Strengthening Our Schools Through Collaboration: Reflections from the Community Advisory Team

    Strengthening Our Schools Through Collaboration: Reflections from the Community Advisory Team

    by Brad Goldie

    Dear Loveland Community,

    It has been my honor to work with Community Advisory Team (CAT) this year and to represent them as I have presented their feedback to the local school board. Working alongside a group of passionate and dedicated community members to support the continued success of our students and schools. This team, which includes numerous volunteers from throughout the community, has been a cornerstone of the district’s commitment to authentic community engagement, and our discussions have brought fresh perspectives to key issues facing our schools.

    Our first meeting focused on the well-being and academic success of our students. The CAT was given the opportunity to learn about district efforts to address student mental health, and various intervention programs for both gifted students and students facing various challenges including students for whom English is not their primary language. One of the most significant pieces of feedback shared by our group was the growing concern about student fatigue. I presented this feedback to the school board, emphasizing the need for changes to better support students’ mental health. I was heartened to see their thoughtful consideration of our input. As a result, the district is planning to implement a later high school start time beginning with the 2025-26 school year, a decision rooted in research on the benefits of better sleep for teenagers.

    In our second meeting, we turned our attention to school finance. Treasurer John Espy provided an in-depth look at the district’s finances, sparking engaging conversations about how to make this information clearer and more accessible to the public. The creation of the “Finance Fridays” video series is a direct response to the input from our team, offering a new way for the community to better understand the district’s funding and expenditures.

    Looking ahead, our team will tackle discussions on the Loveland Tiger Pathways program and district facilities. I am confident these conversations will yield actionable ideas to further strengthen our schools and ensure we are meeting the needs of all students.

    Throughout this process, I have been consistently impressed by the district leadership’s openness and responsiveness. Superintendent Mike Broadwater and the school board have not only welcomed our input but acted on it, demonstrating their commitment to fostering a true partnership with the community. This collaborative approach underscores the spirit of the #beLOVEland initiative and highlights why our district continues to excel on so many levels.

    I would like to encourage everyone in our community to get involved in whatever way you can—whether by attending Town Halls, completing district surveys, or even joining the CAT in the future. Your voice matters, and together we can ensure that Loveland schools remain a source of pride and opportunity for our entire community.

    On behalf of the Community Advisory Team, I want to thank Superintendent Broadwater, the school board, and all of the district staff for their hard work and dedication to our students. Together, we are creating a district that listens, grows, and continues to thrive.

    Sincerely,
    Brad Goldie
    Community Advisory Team Member

    Brad Goldie lives in the Symmes Creek neighborhood in Symmes Township. He is a professor at Miami University.

  • A Call for Transparency in Loveland City Government

    A Call for Transparency in Loveland City Government

    Dear Editor,

    I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the recent decision by Loveland City to deny the validity of case #2024-03: 200 Railroad Avenue HPPC Appeal based upon a 3rd party filing by a concerned Loveland resident. (Demolition of home in Loveland Historic District causing uproar)

    Ironically, as we debate the future of historic buildings and the little yellow house on Railroad Avenue, a ten year anniversary of the groundbreaking on Loveland Station Apartments approaches (November 12, 2014).

    Just barely a decade ago, Loveland residents woke up to a massive three-story apartment complex near the train crossing in our historic two-story whistle stop town, constructed even at the expense of losing our iconic train whistle. Transparency was nowhere to be found, and residents were left angered and baffled how it happened. Some even called to tear the buildings down.

    As elected officials, Loveland City Council members are entrusted with the responsibility of representing the interests of all Loveland residents, especially when they show up at public meetings. We vote for them; at the very least, we expect transparent processes.

    However, in the instance of the Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting on October 30th, we left silenced and frustrated, feeling fooled by the process. (BZA dismisses appeal making way for demolition of historic home)

    We asked only for an appeal to a zoning decision to demolish this historic house in question. Yet the City, under solicitor Joe Braun, denied several concerned citizens at the scheduled public appeal meeting an opportunity to contribute factual evidence as to the historic value of the home. From our perspective, the process failed.

    It is crucial that our elected officials remain responsive to the concerns of their constituents. By actively listening to the community and considering their input on historical and architectural significance of buildings to the city, the City Council can make informed decisions that benefit both present and future generations. But they didn’t listen at all.

    The City’s decision to allow the appeal to precede so far as to set a specific date for the appeal review and then, at that meeting, subsequently invalidate the appeal on technical grounds was not only unfair but suggests strategic timing to obstruct an open process.

    This action effectively limited the opportunity for other residents to submit further appeals prior to the deadline, undermining the very essence of a transparent and democratic processes.

    Residents showed up prepared because they believe the 200 Railroad Avenue building is a significant piece of Loveland’s history. Indeed, it was acknowledged by Council Member Neal Oury at the October 22nd Loveland City Council meeting that the original brick structure remains standing and sound.

    In fact, it is the only remaining brick structure just a few yards from the Little Miami Railroad tracks on Railroad Avenue.

    Residents who showed up to the appeal meeting wanted to know what we’re demolishing of our remaining history as a whistle stop town. They want thoughtful deliberation as part of a transparent process. Instead, the City appeared non-responsive.

    It is essential that the City conducts public meetings in a fair and impartial manner. By disregarding the concerns of residents and limiting public participation in a zoning appeal process, the City has once more set itself up for hard questions reminiscent of seven years past.

    This public doubt stems from the Loveland Station Apartments development followed by the era of Mayor Mark Fitzgerald and the attempt to replace the current Loveland City Hall with a FOUR story, multipurpose building in a public-private deal, as much as we would like to forget. Residents were angry, yes, and the city hall project was kicked aside—for now.

    The maneuver to deny the appeal on October 30th, while deft, was strangely reminiscent of 2017 when failure of transparent process went so far that (then) resident Neal Oury called for a public recall of mayor Fitzgerald before announcing his own candidacy for a Loveland City Council seat. But it didn’t stop there. Transparent process failed so miserably that in 2017, a resident filed a sunshine lawsuit against the City of Loveland.

    How can we take a step back?

    A better way forward than denying the appeal process would have included 1) any council members with longterm friendship with the owner or developer recuse himself from votes on the question of demolition, and 2) residents given an actual opportunity to present their research findings at a newly scheduled Zoning Appeals Meeting.

    Why not slow down and get it right? I urge the City Council to not dig in but instead to reverse its decision to deny the appeal on October 30th before razing the historic house.

    Moving forward, I hope this latest pubic disappointment serves as a reminder to Council to prioritize transparency and open communication with residents, especially when making special zoning decisions that involve any plans for multi-unit buildings. (Six, three-story apartments proposed adjacent to Nisbet Park on Loveland Bike Trail)

    By fostering a more inclusive and participatory decision-making process, Loveland City Council can better ensure that residents remain mutually supportive of their many hours of earnest public service.

    Sincerely,

    Halie Rebeccaschild

  • Ohio Business Competes: Yesterday was beyond disheartening

    Ohio Business Competes: Yesterday was beyond disheartening

    Dear Business Leaders,

    Yesterday was beyond disheartening as legislators put politics over the safety of some of our most vulnerable children. The Senate passed an amended HB 68, and the House concurred. We applaud that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle voted no, but it was not enough to prevent passage.

    We still have hope to block this from becoming law, but we have to act NOW.

    Please email Gov. DeWine now and tell him that HB 68 is bad public policy. It’s bad for children, for our families, and for our ability to attract and retain talent in our state. We have a choice about who we want to be as a state; HB 68 does not align with our values.

    Here is a sample text to personalize for your email to the Governor:

    I am a business leader, and I urge you to veto HB 68, which would ban clinical best practices by prohibiting affirming healthcare to transgender youth and would ban transgender athletes from participating in sports. This bill harms Ohio’s youth and families—people who make up our workforce and whom we are trying to attract and retain as part of our workforce. 

    We are already seeing an exodus of LGBTQ+ and ally young adults who are seeking a more welcoming place to call home. Families of school-age children are making plans to leave Ohio in order to access essential medical care. HB68 is modeled after laws passed in other states — five of which have injunctions against their implementation. Legislation like HB68 will put Ohio in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons, further harming employee recruitment and retention.

    Additionally, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) has been regulating transgender individuals playing sports for years without incident or issue. This is government overreach at its worst; let all kids play sports via the existing OHSAA guidelines, which are working.

    HB 68 will harm Ohio’s families, perception, and bottom line. Please use your power to stop this harmful bill from becoming law. Please VETO HB 68 and support Ohio’s families and a thriving economic workforce.

    We know these bills are bad for business. It’s not too late to stop this.

    Business voices matter. After you email, please call Gov. DeWine’s office at (614) 466-3555 or (614) 644-4357 to voice your opposition to this bill. You can also release an independent public statement condemning this bill, or have meetings and conversations directly with lawmakers.

    If your business, organization, or association would like to make a statement condemning this legislation, please contact Policy@equalityohio.org for more information.

    Thank you for being with us. We need your voice now more than ever.

    Alana Jochum, Esq.

    Board of Directors, Ohio Business Competes

    Executive Director, Equality Ohio

    _______________

    (EDITOR’S NOTE: Loveland Magazine is a member of Ohio Business Competes.)

  • JCRC Condemns West Chester Tea Party’s Antisemitic Rhetoric

    JCRC Condemns West Chester Tea Party’s Antisemitic Rhetoric

    Recently, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Jewish Community Relations Council learned that on September 5 the West Chester Tea Party hosted a speaker who disseminated numerous extreme antisemitic conspiracy theories. The West Chester Tea Party subsequently repeated many of these ideas in an email sent to their membership on September 9.

    Since this came to our attention, we have discovered that the West Chester Tea Party has a long history of sharing vitriolic antisemitic rhetoric through its Facebook page and Gab account. A non-exhaustive list of conspiracy theories propagated by the group include that Jews: control the media, finance, and politicians; manipulate African Americans; are imposters who have replaced the “real Jews”; engage in child sacrifice; and are disloyal to the United States.

    We are keenly aware of how antisemitism is on the rise in our country. The normalization of antisemitism by an active, local political organization makes this worse and is absolutely unacceptable.

    We are grateful for the Republican elected officials who have voiced their support to the Jewish community, making clear that they do not condone this group’s behavior. Likewise, given that this speaker was hosted at St. Gertrude the Great Catholic Church, we thank the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for helping us confirm that the church that hosted this event is not formally affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. The Archdiocese has affirmed that they would not allow such behavior within one of their facilities. The Cincinnati Jewish community is lucky to have leaders in the Republican and Catholic communities who will stand up to hate such as this, which is purportedly committed in their names.

    Until such a time as the West Chester Tea Party has not just deleted this material, but demonstrates a commitment to opposing antisemitism, we call on those who consider themselves allies to the Jewish community not to seek their endorsement, appear at their programs, or work with them. Doing anything less normalizes this behavior and makes our community less safe.

    About the Jewish Community Relations Council

    The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is the non-partisan public affairs arm of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. Its mission is to protect Jewish security, recognizing that Jewish security depends on a just society for all. To achieve this mission, it advocates for the local Jewish community through Israel education; fighting antisemitism, discrimination, and racism; and building understanding with other ethnic, religious, and civic organizations. For more information, please visit jewishcincinnati.org/jcrc

  • Wow, this is going to be handy for me

    Wow, this is going to be handy for me

    by CeeCee Collins

    Have you seen the technology on AI? This month’s article is on AI and Chat GPT. It seems suddenly, I keep hearing more messages about AI. I am familiar with Artificial Intelligence and have read some about the technology, however, I was not aware of chat GPT until recently.

    At first, I couldn’t decipher how it was different than google. You simply have a question or topic and throw it into a search. Chat GPT takes the topic and search way further. The difference, it’s original content. This blew my mind! Not only did I think, wow, this is going to be handy for me, but my mind went to so many industries and careers that this will alter. Education will look different. What’s to stop a student from writing an entire dissertation by having Chat CPT create the content. Teaching our students and how they resource information is going to look very different. I have been told, beware, it’s not perfect. If you plan to do your next power point presentation, be sure to review, for some reason chat can’t perfect hands-on people. Kind of an odd flaw but I’m sure it will get worked out. With technology like this it will take some time to discover what all it can do and not do for our lives.

    Chat GPT offers intel from recipes to financial analysis. The technology uses artificial intelligence with software such as chatbot you get Chat GPT. There are other platforms however Chat GPT seems to be the most advanced and popular currently. The platform even does social media. Simply put a topic in the search such as, “create a post for social media on the 2023 Chamber’s Food Truck Rally on May 13.” and Chat GPT creates this:

    Attention foodies! 🍔🍟🍦

    Join us at Little Miami River Chamber Alliance’s 2023 Food Truck Rally on May 13th! 🎉

    Bring your appetite and indulge in delicious eats from a variety of food trucks serving up everything from BBQ to tacos, pizza to ice cream. 🍕🌮🍦

    This is a family-friendly event with plenty of activities for all ages, including live music, games, and more. 🎶🎲

    Don’t miss out on this tasty and fun-filled event! Mark your calendars and invite your friends and family. See you there! 🍴😋 #LMRCARally2023 #FoodTruckFrenzy #EatLocal

    All this information is correct fortunately, but you must review the information. I love the emoji’s and that it feels like there is excitement behind the post. Pretty cool!

    The link to try this out is https://chat.openai.com/ I simply created a trial. I hope you enjoy the new technology, it’s amazing.

    Stay tuned for a Lunch and Learn from our chamber later in the year on the topic. We can’t wait to share all that Chat GPT, and other platforms can offer to help your business.

    ______________________

    CeeCee Collins is President of the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance.

    She was born and raised in Beavercreek, Ohio, CeeCee Collins attended Carroll High School and has been a swimmer her entire life. She received her undergraduate degree at Xavier University where she also participated on the swim team for four years. She graduated from college in 1989 and began working at USA Today Newspaper as a Regional Marketing Manager. After marrying James Collins IV, they moved to Tampa, FL where she worked for the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA for 6 years as an Executive Director.

    CeeCee and her family moved back to the tri-state area after her second child’s birth. She continued to work for the Greater Cincinnati YMCA for 10 years part-time. CeeCee then pursued full-time work and became the Development Director at Ohio Valley Voices for 6 years. Throughout her years at the YMCA and Ohio Valley Voices she was active in the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance (formerly the Loveland Area Chamber of Commerce). She became the President of the Chamber in 2013.

    CeeCee continues to enjoy working at the chamber and keeping up with her three children.  She and Jim live in Miami Township.

  • Urgent! Loveland Community Needs School Levy Passed

    Urgent! Loveland Community Needs School Levy Passed

    Ellen Main, is a stay-at-home mom of two boys in Loveland Schools: one kindergartener and one first grader. Her family lives in the Belle Meade subdivision.

    by Ellen Main

    Loveland City School District has an operating levy on the May 2 ballot this year. Because Loveland has not passed a school levy in nine years, they are in desperate need of these funds to maintain their current high quality of education. If the levy is not passed, they will move towards State minimum services. Our students and future students deserve better than this. As a mom of two young Loveland students, I am witness to the outstanding and dedicated faculty, staff, and administration in our community. My experience at a recent school event illustrates this perfectly.

    Waiting anxiously for the show to begin, I looked around at all the other parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members sitting in the Loveland Primary School gym and thought how grateful I am to live in this community. After the heartwarming show, during which the look of pride on my son’s face almost made me tear up, we walked through a gallery of children’s art—vibrant paintings, oil pastel drawings, and construction paper weavings covered the hallways from floor to ceiling. My son showed such confidence in finding his art on the walls and explaining it to his family. Then, he led us to his classroom (Ms. Miller, Room 9), where he showed us two beautiful books, one created by him (about koalas) and one created by his classmate, a biography about what makes my son special (my son created one about his classmate too). He proudly showed us all his work, which had an Australian theme (each class had a different country). All of this thanks to the hard work, energy and creativity of Lauren Alten (music teacher) and Kayla McClary (art teacher) as well as the classroom teachers, custodians, administration—too many people to mention.

    The “Around the World” Showcase is an example of what makes Loveland Schools such a special place to be. Music, theatre, art, athletics, physical education, robotics and so many other programs we may take for granted won’t be possible much longer if we don’t pass a school levy. Think about the most memorable and important moments of your elementary and secondary education—most likely they were made possible because of school levies being passed.

    I was lucky enough to have some extraordinary teachers in the Perrysburg School District in Northwest Ohio. My most memorable experiences had to do with music and theatre, which would not have been available without teachers having the freedom to use their creativity to benefit students both in the classroom and through extracurricular activities. Maybe yours have to do with sports, science club, art, student government, none of which would be possible without our talented educators, who would slowly be cut due to lack of funds. We cannot deny future generations these experiences.

    Right now, the employees at Loveland Schools are doing amazing work despite not having the money—92 percent of all Ohio school districts receive more money per student yet we are in the top 2 percent in the state on the Ohio Department of Education scorecard. We cannot keep the talented and hard-working people we have in Loveland Schools now if they feel stressed that they may lose their jobs or if the class sizes are so big they are spending all of their time managing student behavior rather than teaching.

    With the passing of the levy on May 2, we can keep not only our schools strong but our community as well. Voting yes for Loveland Schools on May 2 is a vote for our students and future students and also for the well-being of our entire community.

    _________________________

  • I want others with disabilities to have opportunities like I had

    I want others with disabilities to have opportunities like I had

    by Courtney Hineman

    March is Developmental Disabilities (DD) Awareness Month which makes it the perfect time to share how my community created opportunities for me and partly because of that, I’ve been able to flourish. As someone who lives with a developmental disability, I want others with disabilities to have similar opportunities for employment, leadership, and friendship.

    When I was younger, I got to be a part of a summer work program through the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities (BCBDD). My first job was cleaning toilets and tables at Barn N Bunk, and I cleaned at Camp Campbell Gard as well. Later, I worked at the East Butler YMCA at the customer service desk.

    I really enjoyed getting to interact with people and learn new things. For many people with disabilities, building friendships or gaining leadership skills can be difficult. For me, these work experiences helped create opportunities for both leadership and friendship. I feel my past work  experiences lead me to the job I have now because I was able to learn how to interact with customers and show others that I’m a hard worker.

    Sometimes, it can be hard for people with disabilities to develop friendships. For me, Best Buddies helped bridge that gap. Best Buddies is an international organization that matches people with and without disabilities for friendship. Through Best Buddies I have learned how to grow in a relationship with a friend, I’ve been able to try new things, and I’ve learned leadership skills. One of my favorite experiences through Best Buddies was painting pumpkins with my new friend.

    Through Best Buddies, I have attended leadership trainings which helped me in my role as Community Outreach Advocate at BCBDD. At those leadership trainings we learned how to share our story. We learned how to write a speech and how to present in front of others. This has given me confidence not only at work but also in my personal life. I now know that I can speak up for myself and that sharing my experience can help others with disabilities and their families.

    These opportunities helped me tremendously. You can create that for someone in your community. I hope that you take the time this month and every month to give someone with a disability an opportunity to grow in their skills and help them live the best life they can live.

  • I’m really seeing where the next phase of employment is headed

    I’m really seeing where the next phase of employment is headed

    by CeeCee Collins

    As I’ve had some time to spend with my 20-something-year-old children over the summer. I’m really seeing where the next phase of employment is headed firsthand. Very different from my generation (mid 50’s), we and our parents were taught to find a job in the town we were in, get up each day and go into the office and grind. If it was the 80’s it was a “who could put in the most hours,” contest each and every day. 

    I know we’ve all been reading and hearing about the latest way our children are working, but to see it in action has been…interesting. Perhaps, I’m a tad jealous, but mostly I’m happy for them. I kind of keep waiting for the fallout of their choices. What I’m referring to is their ability to FIRST pick the city, state, or country they wish to work (live) in and THEN find employment. No way would my dad have allowed that, nor would I have jumped into that risky venture years ago. 

    It’s cool, I’m seeing kids head south (I probably would have gone that route as I love the water), or head to Colorado (not my scene but I would have done the skiing). I often say, I don’t have a lot of regrets in life, but I do wish I would have taken time between college and real life to go on an adventure. Thrown caution to the wind! Live simply, waited tables, and hoped I had enough money for rent and food. I took a job that really was not the best fit for me after college but it paid my bills.

    Workers today don’t even have to go that extreme. Yea, I’m a tad jealous. It has been great to hear where they all land. My son has a large friend group from high school and college. They truly all picked different cities to work in. They go visit each other often and have a place to stay. By the way, he is in Nashville. My friends and I say, could you have imagined doing this?!? Ha, ha!

    I get it technology has advanced, etc. I’m just saying it would have made stepping into the workforce a little less painful after college if I could choose where I lived. If you read this and have thoughts or opinions, I’d love to hear them on our Facebook page

    Hope you are having a great July and stay safe!

  • Ohio Republicans’ attempted erasure of a 10-year-old rape victim is incredibly sick and disturbed

    Ohio Republicans’ attempted erasure of a 10-year-old rape victim is incredibly sick and disturbed

     Left to right: Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, and Republican U.S. Congressman Jim Jordan. Official photos.
    Ohio Capital Journal Editor-in-Chief David DeWitt

    A Guest Column by David Dewitt

    The first and most important thing to recognize right now is that a heinous, violent crime was committed on a 10-year-old Ohio child, and thankfully justice has now found the alleged perpetrator.

    A Columbus man was indicted Wednesday in a case that made national and international headlines about 10-year-old girl who had to travel to Indiana for an abortion after Ohio’s abortion ban went into effect following the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

    The story is horrifying and tragic. She has experienced enormous trauma. My heart breaks for her, and I’m very grateful to all the hard-working professionals out there providing her and her family assistance in what must be a truly awful time.

    Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and his spokesman responded to the story by ignoring questions about whether children should be forced to have their rapists’ babies. Then DeWine allies contacted members of the press, asking how sure they were that the case of the pregnant 10-year-old even happened.

    The Washington Post, the conservative Daily Caller and other media outlets published stories saying that the case was unverified. The Wall Street Journal Editorial page suggested the story was a “fanciful tale.” The National Review’s Michael Brendan Dougherty referred to the case as “a fictive abortion and a fictive rape.”

    Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost went on Fox News Monday to raise further doubts. He said he works closely with law enforcement authorities and he’d gotten “not a whisper” about the case.

    Hamilton County Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou on Twitter called the case, “A garbage lie that a simple google search confirms is debunked.”

    State Rep. Brian Stewart tweeted the Washington Post story saying he “wouldn’t trust an abortionist to tell me whether the sky is blue.”

    Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted, “Another lie. Anyone surprised?”

    None of them had the patience to verify for themselves with certainty the truth of the matter before going public on a massive, self-serving scale.

    The propaganda erasing this 10-year-old’s existence was so swift it spread out over right-wing social media like a blanket. Those advocating the truth of her story — privately already confirmed for some of us, and crushing to hear about — were subjected to wild-eyed mockery and ridicule.

    It’s incredibly disturbing that the default position of so many sick and twisted people — including Ohio’s most prominent Republican elected officials — is to very vocally and very publicly question whether the rape and impregnation of a 10-year-old child ever happened.

    DeWine, Yost, and other Ohio Republicans hurt a traumatized child once by forcing her to flee the state in order to receive health care; then they hurt her again by peddling propaganda erasing her; now they’re hurting her a third time by refusing to acknowledge and apologize for their actions.

    This case was never implausible. In 2020, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 52 girls aged 14 and younger had abortions in Ohio, according to the state department of health. A review of just the city of Columbus’ police log since March 15 uncovered 59 reports of sexual assaults of girls 15 and younger that, based on the information available, could have resulted in pregnancy.

    Nevertheless, the wheels and integrity of local journalism spun and uncovered the truth, with the Columbus Dispatch breaking the news of confirmation of the case.

    But after the confirmation broke Wednesday, DeWine’s spokesman, Dan Tierney, again refused to comment on whether child rape victims should be forced to carry their pregnancies to term.

    Ten-year-olds who become pregnant are by definition rape victims. But Ohio’s abortion law signed by DeWine doesn’t make exceptions for rape and incest.

    Yost’s office didn’t respond Wednesday when asked whether he believes child rape victims should be forced to carry pregnancies, nor whether it was important to believe stories about sexual violence. Instead he put out a statement applauding the arrest.

    Yost offered no correction, no apology, and showed no contrition for going on national television to try to erase the lived experience of a child rape victim.

    They behave on a base level so repugnant and removed from the general good-heartedness of most Ohioans it’s almost unfathomable.

    “Apologize for what? Questioning a newspaper story?” Yost, Ohio’s top law enforcement officer, said about a case in his own county.

    DeWine, Yost, and other Ohio Republicans hurt a traumatized child once by forcing her to flee the state in order to receive health care; then they hurt her again by peddling propaganda erasing her; now they’re hurting her a third time by refusing to acknowledge and apologize for their actions.

    These powerful Ohio Republican politicians have thoroughly and completely shed themselves of any sense of shame or conscience.

    They’re disgusting and disgraceful; callous, careless and cruel.

    This is a matter of basic human decency, good faith and sensitivity on the most fundamental level of society.

    If they are willing to try to erase the traumatic story of a 10-year-old rape victim, whose pain and suffering will they not try to ignore and erase?

    They behave on a base level so repugnant and removed from the general good-heartedness of most Ohioans it’s almost unfathomable.

    I honestly don’t know how they sleep at night, or look at themselves in the mirror in the morning.

  • GOP believes John Wilkes Booth was participating in “legitimate political discourse”?

    GOP believes John Wilkes Booth was participating in “legitimate political discourse”?

    by Mark P. Painter

    As of February 2022, it is now official and incontrovertible: the Republican Party is the party of sedition.

    The official governing board, the Republican National Committee declared that January 6, 2021, rioters who attacked the Capitol were “ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”  So the rebels and thugs breaking into our Capitol, by hitting, choking, and smashing police officers in the head with fire extinguishers, shouting “Hang Mike Pence,” were engaging in the same activities as a high-school debate club.

    These “ordinary citizens” had just been whipped into insurrection by the Big Lie—by Donald Trump, the execrable Jim Jordan, and others who wanted the mob to forcibly stop congress from doing its duty to certify the results of an election that Trump’s own Department of Homeland Security called “the most secure in American history.” 

    We have since learned that the insurrection was planned.  Not a “demonstration” that went too far, but an attempted coup. The plan was to intimidate Mike Pence to refuse to certify the duly elected electors, have the Republican House pick bogus electors from states that voted for Biden, and keep Trump in office.  

    Fortunately, this scheme was devised by idiots like Rudy Giuliani, Jim Jordan, and Sidney Powell.

    But even that brain trust came closer than it should have.  Mike Pence, knowing that he had no power to do what Trump insisted, held firm.  After four years of groveling at Trump’s feet, treason was a bridge too far—he followed the law.  But later in the day, the sedition caucus of 147 Republicans in Congress, sadly including our own Steve Chabot, voted to overturn a free and fair election.

    Most sane Republicans were shocked.  

    But in the year since the insurrection, when even more proof of the plot has come out, the Republican leadership has continued to insist, against all evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen—Big Lie One. 

    Now we have Big Lie Two—that the rioters’ coup attempt was just a bunch of Rotarians visiting the Capitol.

    Surely, most Republican office holders are not so stupid as to believe either lie themselves.  But they still parrot it to the gullible.  Because these people know better, they are both liars and hypocrites.  

    The GOP I proudly was a part of for over four decades has become not the party of Lincoln, freedom and civil rights—but of voter suppression and outright racism; not of Teddy Roosevelt, national parks and trustbusting—but of slashing taxes on billionaires; not of William Howard Taft, Robert A. Taft, and principled conservatism—but of worship of an authoritarian sociopath of no beliefs except in his own rantings of the day; not of Dwight Eisenhower, Stan Aronoff, John Rhodes, and effective bipartisanship—but of hate and disruption; and the party of sane and measured foreign policy has become I know not what.  

    Until about last week, some of us thought that possibly, just possibly, the GOP could be saved.  Perhaps when Trump and his ilk were gone, sanity could be restored.  But when Mitch McConnell said of the GOP Big Lies, “We saw it happen. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was,” he was not praised and honored for defending truth.  He was excoriated by most other Republicans for contradicting the Big Lies.

    If there was a time when the GOP breathed its last dying breath, this was it.  The Republican Party became the Big Lies Sedition Party, mandating that its members believe the obvious lies.  (I would term it Treason Party, meaning the common definition, but someone will counter that the Constitution has a specific definition.) 

    There is no hope for resurrection.  Everyone associated with the present GOP who has supported what the party has become must be driven from office.  A new party must be formed, based on some of principles above.  Trump may comment from prison for countless felonies.

    GOP delenda est.  What’s to be done with the ashes I must leave to others.