2011 Cane and Coal Awards Announced

From John Curry, December 12, 2011

[See criteria for nominations in post below this one. Items below were submitted by readers.]

2011 Cane and Coal Awards

Cane to all the Ohio policemen (and women) and firemen (and women) who really put some "zing" in a movement to repeal a 200+ page bill (SB 5/Issue 2) that was far more than just a "corrective measure."

Coal to Senator Shannon Jones (R) for being the sole sponsor (but certainly not the author) of Senate Bill 5.

Coal to ORTA for not caring about retirees.

Coal to Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips (aka Teabagger Tim), the Koch brothers close friend, for coming to Ohio from his home in Virginia to pass out pro SB 5 T-shirts on the steps of the Ohio Statehouse.

Coal to Keith Faber (R) for being the "mouthpiece" for Issue 2.

Coal to Matt Huffman (R) for introducing HB 136 (the vouchers bill)

The entire coal yard to Gov. Kasich for the hostile environment that he has created in Ohio.

Cane: John Curry and Kathie Bracy for unprecedented service to retirees.

Cane to Kalida Local Schools Superintendent Horstman for exposing the inequities of Rep. Matt Huffman’s House Bill 136 and Representative Wachtmann’s attempts to sell it!

Coal to former Representative Bob Mecklenborg [R] who discovered that Viagra, strippers, booze and Lawrenceburg, IN just don’t mix well together. Bob also supported SB 5…now he and SB 5 are both history.

Coal to Senate Majority Whip Shannon Jones [R] (sole author of SB 5) whose anti public servant bill was destroyed at the polls and whose husband couldn’t even win a township trustee race in Warren County this election cycle.

Coal to the Ohio chapter of the Chamber of Commerce for backing the Shannon Jones’ SB 5.

Coal to Republican Representative Lynn Wachtmann who said that Ohio public servants should have their Final Average Salaries (FAS) figured by averaging ALL of their service years instead of the best 3.

Cane to Columbus City Schools educator (and Plunderbund article contributor) Greg Mild who has repeatedly exposed John Kasich’s desire to punish public schools and reward charter schools in this state.

Coal to Ohio School Board President Debe Terhar for being a Teabagger and close friend of Governor Kasich.

Cane to CORE’s Kathie Bracy for tending to her excellent education blog that has the courage (unlike the “other” retired teacher organization that begins with an “O” and ends with an “A”) to put controversial education issues before the public and take a stand on them.

Coal to former STRS Board Member and former friend of CORE, John Lazares, who said that STRS’s offering healthcare (in 1974) to STRS retirees was a “mistake.”

Coal to some non-progressive county ORTA chapters who refuse to educate their constituents as to what is happening with SB 5 and how SB 5 will have a detrimental effect on STRS funding.

Cane to those progressive county ORTA chapters who, in fact, did inform their constituents as to the negative effects of SB 5 upon STRS funding.

Coal to Governor Kasich for giving Bob Evans $8 million of Ohio taxpayers' moneys to move their headquarters from Columbus, Ohio to New Albany, Ohio….a move of less than 10 miles!

Coal to Governor Kasich who wants to give Sears $400 million of Ohio taxpayers’ moneys to move from Illinois to Ohio.

Coal to Wisconsin Governor Walker for attempting to destroy collective bargaining for Wisconsin’s public servants.

Cane to Dave Parshall, President of Core, Mary Ellen Angeletti and the entire CORE Board as they have continued to fight for retirees when others have not stepped forward.

Coal to Representative Matt Huffman for putting lipstick on his pig (the voucher bill) and for trying to resell it to the public since it failed the first time ‘round.

My nomination for CANDY CANES is Kathie Bracy and John Curry!

Coal to BASA for catering to the Teabaggers

Cane to Kalida Local Schools Superintendent Don Horstman and Findlay Schools Treasurer Mike Barnhart for standing up and speaking out against Rep. Matt Huffman’s “Catholic Schools Stimulus Bill” (aka the vouchers bill).

[Thanks to those who sent our names in. Hey, this is what we do.

: ) Kathie & John]