RH Jones on several topics

Subject: Lottery profits for schools? Think again!
June 27, 2007

To all:

The Beacon today; "State has a balanced budget" " It took finagling but lawmakers and Strickland aides find some extra funds." ..." and will transfer $16.6 millions in lottery profits to the general fund.

Need I say more? It seems to me this finagling of lottery profits shortchanges the intention ot the voters and the politicians who created the lottery to fund schools. That's my opinion.

RHJones, proud member of CORE

Subject: Retired Akron Super Conrad Ott's comments on HB 151
June 29, 2007

To Retired Akron Superintendent Conrad Ott and all:

Mr. Ott, thank you for your supportive comments. Coming from a man who for over 25-years did so much for Akron's children and their school district, I am extremely humbled. During your tenure as "Super", I remember one of many successful school levy campaigns that we used the expression: "SOS, Save Our Schools." We did just that for Akron, and now we need to do it again; This time on the state level! Note: Out of genuine respect for you, as one of the 2,000, or more, teachers on your staff during those 25-years, I would still like to refer to you as Mr. Ott. However, I retired before I had the privilege of working under the tenure of another Akron "Super" Superintendent, Brian Williams, now retired as well and is presently an Ohio Legislator. I do think of him, and a retired Akron Guidance Councilor, Bob Otterman, also now an Ohio Legislator, as friends. I hope that this friendship is not strained by either of them taking a position of voting for any of these "...sickening bills.". As Democrats, I do not think they should, or will.

Yes, concerning HB 151, Mr. Ott, as you say: "...and other sickening bits of possible legislation.", we do need to keep the pressure in all 88 counties. I agree, it will make a difference. I can tell you that CORE is indeed keeping the pressure on in all of Ohio's counties through the internet and the media. As a group, they are leading the state in this battle. There is no one person that can lead this awesome task. It takes all CORE members and all other interested citizens in working together nationally and locally to defeat these harmful issues to our nation, our state, and our local school districts. Working together cooperatively with those of us that wish to Save Our Schools is the most effective way for us to "make noise" in a "last gasp" campaign to defeat these sickening legislations: HB151,152 and SB161.

Ohio STRS Retired Member, Dennis Leone, and the Ohio STRS CEO, Damon Asbury, have lead the STRS members in exposing the fallacies of these hurtful Ohio legislations. Dr. Asbury has been aware of the national movement going on to push the false patriotism exemplified by Ohio's HB151 in particular. My opinion is that it is Un-American to single out only a few companies that do business with terrorist nations when all the international companies are selling to them. The motivation for these "...sickening bits of possible legislations." is to divert our pension funds into the coffers of companies friendly to the sponsoring legislators. They are doing this as a power move; just as certain now as it was with the exploitation of religious beliefs to gain office. The American people will not be fooled by this false-patriotism grasp for power. The present GOP should take the advice of Republican Abraham Lincoln who once said: "You can fool the people some-of-the-time, but you cannot fool them all of the time." Mr. Ott, these unscrupulous modern politicians are not fooling us." We are informed as to what they are up to. I believe the public must be informed as well. Unfortunately, that responsibility, sir, has fallen onto us. We are teachers of children until our last gasp of breath. God Bless!

Respectfully,

Robert Hudson Jones, a proud member of CORE

Subject: Re: Husted & Jordan..."My conservative friends are totally wrong on the issue of education."
June 30, 2007

John,

Concerning Duane E. Tron's message of 06/09/07:" My conservative friends are totally wrong on the issue." I do agree with him on that point; however, I have a disagreement concerning his statement of praising the deceased President Ronald Reagan as: "...understanding the meaning of compromise, compassion, empathy, sacrifice and doing without." Reagan was none of these when it came to teachers. Everyone should remember that it was he who initiated the Social Security (SS) "take away" from those of us who paid into both SS and public pension systems. Personally, it has cost me $450 + compounded SS COLAs ever since it passed! It was Un-American in that it punished those of us who worked hard, at sometimes as many as four jobs at a time. We labored for this money; we earned it, and we deserve it in our old age. And, I was fool enough to vote for Reagan. Shame on me. I was too busy working to get the proper facts. However, I will admit that his acting ability was excellent in more ways than in the movies.

As for myself, born into poverty, I started working at age 12. For several years, riding my bike 15-miles round trip, I had to work at farm labor, bent over in a farm field for 8-hrs. daily --- by the way, illegally employed farm laborers get their SS --- I mopped floors and cleaned toilets; I worked in a dairy store; and I worked at worst place on earth: the Akron Firestone Rubber Cement House --- Fumes were so volatile that they had to blow steam into the factory to keep it from exploding. All this was done before and while I was teaching. In the 1960's, my wife, an RN, & I had combined income so low that we were in the US Government category as being in poverty for a 2-person household!

I know other educators, forced by low wages, who had to double and triple dip. They have even worse stories to tell. No, my readers, Reagan did not compromise, show compassion, empathy or sacrifice when it came to us public educators that did, and still do, without our earned SS allowance. This is my individual opinion of Reagan .

RHJones, proud to be a CORE member