Women Don't Oppress Other Women

And with this conviction may that argument die.

The former Rwandan Women's Minister, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, has been sentences to life in prison for her participation in the genocide and systematic rape of Tutsi women and girls. Congratulations Pauline on being the first and only woman convicted by the UN for the Rwandan genocide.

She and her son were found guilty along with four other officials. Nyiramasuhuko is accused of ordering and assisting in the genocide specifically in her home district of Butare in southern Rwanda. Butare was the home of a large mix of Hutu and Tutsi people, and there was a strong resistance to performing the massacres.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has accused her of participating in the government decision to create militias throughout the country with the mission to eliminate the Tutsi population as quickly as possible.

She and her son, Arsene Shalom Ntahoball, were also accused of organizing the kidnapping and rape of women and girls. Both Nyiramasuhuko and Ntahoball were sentenced to life; the other four officials received sentences of between 25 years to life in prison.

Nyiramasuhuko was found guilty of 7 of the 11 charges against her, but she claims her innocence. Her trial started in 2001, making it the longest trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Other military officials were convicted after 9 year trials. The Rwandan Government has complained about the slow pass of the trials in Tanzania. Nyiramasuhuko was the only woman on trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, but there have been other women convicted of genocide by Rwandan courts. She fled to he Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) after the genocide.

The article on Race Matters is particularly interesting and frightening alleging that Nyiramasuhuko had Tutsi heritage, which of course was denied by her husband and family. But it humanizes the conflict and genocide. Unlike the genocides we are familiar with because of lecture and history courses, the Rwandan genocide has a much darker feel. The people perpetrating these horrific acts were fathers, bothers, sons, and even mothers. They acted out of fear, which of course doesn't absolve them of their actions. It does however separate these acts from acts committed entirely by military forces. Ordinary people committing horrific acts. I don't know what to do with that intellectually.

800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered during the 1994 genocide.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13507474

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/25/world/africa/25rwanda.html

http://www.racematters.org/nyiramasuhuko.htm

Target workers don't need union protections

They're just going to walk it off. Workers at a Target in New York voted down putting in a union in a 137 to 85 vote. This happened last Friday and hurts the pro-union campaigns currently underway.

According to the UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers' Union), this was a result from the illegal intimidation by Target management that made the workers too frightened to vote in favor regardless of their feelings on unions. UFCW is calling on the National Labor Relations Board to investigate Target and maybe mandate a new election.

This was the first attempt to unionize inside Target in two decades. No Target has a union representative.

It is alleged that Target's victory came through intimidation methods such as pamphlets, video, and public states; these all pretty much reiterated the same anti-union sentiments we've heard before. The union comes in takes your money and you get nothing.

One of the women interviewed in the article on HuffPo discussed her pay being around $20,000 and that she receives food stamps, but her pay is fine. Additionally, she can look out for herself. Unions not necessary.

The organizers claim the problem stems from not being able to get their message out on store property, which of course the company can (thanks Supreme Court). The organizers rely on home visits.

Seriously, I've tried to overlook some things because Target is awesome. But between the anti-gay political donations and now the blatant union busting, I will no longer go near a Target. Essentially, Target is Wal-Mart for hipsters, and no more I say. I'll buy sweatshop made clothes somewhere else. Jesus, why did I ever shop here?

SB 5 Referendum On for November

According to the Toledo Blade on Friday, the Ohio Senate Bill 5 referendum will be on the ballot in November. On Friday, the signature count is 714,137; that is three times more than required to get the referendum on the ballot, 231,149.

The organizers received a large number of signatures rapidly in Lucas and Wood counties. The article implies that the signature count isn't in for Cuyahoga and Franklin counties yet...yeah wrap your mind around that number without Cuyahoga County.

Republican State Senators expected the response and have planned accordingly. They have a politically action committee and a non-profit, Building a Better Ohio, but the campaign is expected to get underway around Labor Day (irony). The Republicans are claiming a strong grassroots movement...I don't think they know what grassroots means.

My favorite quote from Sen Shannon Jones (R., Springboro):

“We can either continue to do things the way we’ve been doing the way [them], or we can do things better so that we don’t return to more increased taxes or job losses and return to prosperity in this state,’’

Yep, continue doing them the current way or destroy unions, which and I don't know if you know this, the word union means destroyer of America also they eat babies. Look it up. Thank god these people are saving us from teachers, commie bastards.

Additionally, a brief summary Ohio SB 5 again:

• Prohibits public employees from striking
• Limits negotiations
• Prohibits local government from paying any portion of an employee's share of his pension benefits
• Requires employees pay at least 15% of their health care premiums
• Prohibits the automatic deduction of "fair share" fees from public workers who refuse to join a union.

Planned Parenthood, who needs it?

Not Indiana, Kansas, or North Carolina.

Yep, we're up to three states that have decided the Planned Parenthood is no longer needed. Hopefully, this means that these states will cease all procreation. Tennessee is fighting over it as well. So I'm sure there will be more coming.

The Planned Parenthood in North Carolina is saying without state funding they will have to cut teen pregnancy prevention programs, adolescent parenting programs, and force poor people to pay for services. Yeah, teens and poor people will suffer, well, not like they vote anyway.

The Hyde Amendment prevents state and federal funds from being used for abortions anyway so cutting the state funding will impact everything but abortion...I'm glad these conservative tools are getting what they wanted. Fortunately, the North Carolina Planned Parenthood will still be able to serve Medicaid members, unlike Indiana's Planned Parenthood. Indiana's Planned Parenthood received $116,000 from around the world to allow them to continue serving Medicaid patients for more than a month so time will tell if North Carolina's Planned Parenthood feels the love. Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed the bill, but it was overridden in the House and is expected to be overridden in the state Senate today.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/15/north-carolina-planned-parenthood_n_877462.html

When the Heat quits...

I love that the Heat failed in game 6. For several reasons including, but not limited to Lebron James still doesn't have a ring, but on a deeper level I'm a sucker the "broken man" character in novels. And people sympathetic to this archetype will never cheer for a team of Supermen. So when you head into the lab and make a super team of Bosh, Wade, and James. I (and I expect most Heat fans) demanded results.

And we did receive some: fail. In the end Lebron James did what those of us from Cleveland knew he would: fall apart when the heat is on. James once again lost a championship and this time he can't blame anyone else. He does love to pass the buck.

Perhaps what makes this sweeter is that it was to the Mavericks. Lebron on his fellow teammates ran their mouths about the Mavericks. And like what happened when the Cavs played the Celtics during the championship, we had talent and a decent team, but in the end the Celtics played a better game together. The Mavericks played better than the Heat. The Heat are not the Avengers.

Welcome to Cleveland, Heat fans. This is what it is like when you figure out that King James can't handle pressure. The man's been playing in the NBA for like 8 seasons now and no championship. And it's always been someone else's fault. And part of that was our fault, the fans, the owners, and the NBA let him blame everyone else.

Well karma's a bitch, and when you believe you are a basketball god you should probably be able to stand up to that claim.

Women Writers Suck

At least according to VS Naipaul. Of course this needs to be put in context. VS Naipaul is the best writer in the world ever at least in his own mind. He also has superpowers that allows him to discern female writers from male writers within two paragraphs. Women are overly sentimental and can't overcome it.

"I read a piece of writing and within a paragraph or two I know whether it is by a woman or not. I think [it is] unequal to me." Asked to elaborate, he said this was due to their "sentimentality, the narrow view of the world".

Poor women, but even more so the poor readers who have to read works with a narrow world view. I mean men never come across as narrow minded. In face more writers should be white men; we need to know more about the world from their points of view.

He added: "And inevitably for a woman, she is not a complete master of a house, so that comes over in her writing too.

This I can see, but I would argue that art comes from adversity and my even be more awesome than that coming from privilege. Silly me. But one of the things I love is when Naipaul explains how women can work in the business, but not as writers.

"My publisher, who was so good as a taster and editor, when she became a writer, lo and behold it was all this feminine tosh. I don't mean this in any unkind way."

How does one not mean that in an unkind way? Better yet, what woman publisher/editor is going to touch this man. Not that really matters because Naipaul is the best writer ever [sarcasm], but he is a well know writer for those of you aren't familiar with literature. He goes on to flat out agree that women can't hold a candle to him.

Speaking to Evening Standard editor Geordie Greig, Naipaul was asked if he considered any women writers his equal. He replied: "I don't think so."

Additionally, Naipaul thinks Jane Austen saw the world as sentimental, which is a horrible thing. I wasn't clear about that before, but sentiment is something should all strive to overcome.

During a 90-minute talk covering all aspects of his literary career, Naipaul slated the work of Jane Austen, and said he "couldn't possibly share her sentimental ambitions, her sentimental sense of the world".

Finally, as a woman, who occasionally writes, and even more occasionally writes fiction, I suck. I mean I have a complex about my inability to write fiction, but now thankfully I know. I can't write because I'm a woman. It all makes sense.

Writers like Naipaul, as far as I'm concerned, are the worst. These kind of writers force women out by these kinds sentiments. This is the same as saying women aren't funny (and as you can tell we're real funny). It is a stupid ploy to build yourself at best and at worst you just hate women.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23955458-women-writers-are-different-i-can-tell-they-are-unequal-to-me.do

Business that are Pro-Repeal Ohio Senate Bill 5

Proud Ohio Workers aims to ensure small businesses across Ohio can remain open. They draw connections between small businesses suffering and the attack on public workers rights. Essentially, cutting pay, benefits, etc of public employees will cut the profits of small businesses. They are asking businesses that support Ohio workers to place a sticker in their window.

So they organized, on their site you can look up businesses in your city that support Ohio workers. A few of my favorites: Mac-Back's books and Hot Sauce Williams. Both of these are as awesome as they sound. Mac-Back's on Coventry Road next to Tommy's (who is curiously missing from this list). They're pretty rad. Hot Sauce Williams is a colorful place (seriously blue and hot pink) on Carnegie Road. I went there once, but couldn't eat because I was vegan at the time, and I'm pretty sure everything had an animal product. Also, you needed a police escort to the bathroom, which makes me feel special. Regardless they rock pretty hard there.

A list of partners can be found here. Also below you can see a map of where all these businesses are. All that blue makes me proud.

Health Care as a Human Right at least in Vermont

Those commies. Vermont's health care unions and activists were able to celebrate last week when Vermont governor signed the first bill authorizing health care as a human right for all residents. Vermont is kind of shiney with their universal public education and health care.

The legislation sets up a panel to figure out how to pay for the system. The panel will likely create public funds to pay for all health care bills instead of relying on private insurers. The businesses would pay into a common fund, and health care wouldn't be tied to employment. The idea is to lower health care costs and produce healthier populations.

I read this story over at Labor Notes.

Book Review: An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

Okay, I had no idea what to expect from this book when I found it except that I love Steve Martin and I thought maybe it would be good. I saw the movie for Shopgirl, which I really liked, so I thought I would give this book a try.

A few things. First, Lacey Yeager is one of the best female characters written by a man in a while. Hm. That may be unfair, but she was definitely a breath of fresh air compared to Franzen's vapid Patty from Freedom. I hated Patty so much that I still can't muster a review for that book. Anyway, Lacey is smart and conniving and witty and I think I've fallen under her spell as well.

Second, any book where I can tell the writer did his/her homework is a good one. This book goes into such incredible detail about the art community in New York that I felt like I was there. I don't know a whole lot about great art, but I did know a lot of the names dropped in this book (Picasso, Warhol, etc.) and was very interested in the ones I was unfamiliar with. I can't even begin to imagine how many years he had to research just to write this book. I am totally blown away by this, and perhaps he is just an art fan and didn't have to do much at all beyond putting artists' names with their famous pieces, but it was incredible either way.

Finally, I love when books are narrated like this one was. The narrator was only kind of a main character and we hear the entire story through his perspective, but with first person information from Lacey. There were some parts where I wondered "How the heck would he know that?" since Lacey is really the main character, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless.

Anyway, I don't want to say much more than this and risk giving anything away. I will say one final thing and that is that the ending of this book was perfect.

5/5

Wisconsin anti-union law is void

For now anyway.

Judge Maryann Sumi, Dane County, voided the law because she claims Republican lawmakers violated the state's open meetings law by rushing through during massive protests at the state Capitol (you remember the one's where citizens occupied the Capitol building). The one Scott Walker was trying to make a name for himself by getting passed. [Aside apparently, Walker is begging Republicans to help him because he is so afraid of the recalls.]

Of course the law eliminates all collective bargaining rights for public sector unions except for pay, which is useless if they can't bargain about anything else. The law has been in limbo while the case was heard. Sumi was appointed by former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson (immature giggles). Sumi ruled against the law and said legislators had the opportunity to correct their violation without admitting error, but they choose not to.

The legislators were understandably frustrated by the stalemate existing on March 9, but that does not justify jettisoning compliance with the open meetings law in an attempt to move the budget repair bill to final action," Sumi wrote.

"Moreover, if there is any doubt as to the committee's awareness of its violation, one need only read the short transcript of the committee's March 9 proceedings.

Finally

Dear Steve Martin,

Thank you for putting a strong female main character who isn't bitchy, whiny, vapid, or unfunny in your book. I applaud your ability to write a female character with some actual depth.

Love,
Cari

P.S. You're the greatest... Just, you know, all the time.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Arab Nations Embraced Revolution, but not their domestic laborers

I came across this article from earlier this year, and thought it was worth a look. Written by Simba Russeau, the article rehashes the many horrors domestic laborers can suffer despite the uprising sweeping the Arab world. The domestic laborers are not benefiting from these uprisings. Like domestic workers stateside many invisible to most people. They suffer abuses like confinement and rape.

The article continues to discuss how many of the workers run away from their employers and head to their embassies, but because of lack of funds the embassies frequently can not send the workers back to their country of origin.

According to an article in the Saudi magazine Sayidaty:

A survey by the Saudi magazine Sayidaty titled ‘Maids Rights’ reveals that more than three million maids in the Arab world are subjected to conditions akin to slavery.

The survey found that across several countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, an absence of laws regulating the relationship between domestic workers and their employers allows abuse to run rampant.

Many of the stories in the article focused on rape and slavery. Pointing out often the domestic laborers have to pay their employers for room and board, which consumes most if not all of her check. The article points out the domestic laborers are recruited by the same means many women are into the sex trade by a promise of a good job that results in something entirely different once out of their country of origin. They are leaving places of great poverty for work aboard. A number of things influence the increase and demand for domestic laborers in the Arab world. One of which is the increasing number of Arab women entering the workforce.

Another startling figure:

According to a study by the Centre for Women and Gender Studies, nearly 85 percent of the United Arab Emirates population of four million is migrant workers. In Bahrain and Saudi Arabia 65 percent of the workforce are expats. In Kuwait it is 82 percent, and in Qatar almost 90 percent.

None of this information is new to those would are aware of domestic laborer issues. Nor are these issues limited to the Arab world. They can be seen everywhere including the West.

I'm growing more concerned about the rhetoric being employed to frame the narrative of domestic laborer the same way I dislike the rhetoric around sex work. There appears to be infantilization in and the foundations for a rescue industry to grow around it.

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54665

Beyonce's Bill of Goods.

This rocks my world. I'm not a Beyonce fan. I've never heard this song. But I do like some old school gangster rap. And I know I have 99 problems, and you can finish that.

Yeah, women are equal now Beyonce said so...

Where was the rapture?

Alright, on any given day I'm an atheist, on a particularly optimistic day I'm an agnostic. But even so, I was really excited about the rapture. Two main reasons come to mind immediately.

1. Zombie Jesus, King of the Zombies

2. Fewer believers.

The whole point of the rapture is Jesus takes a whole bunch of people with him leaving the rest of us behind. Sign me up for that; take them. The fewer of these people in my immediate vicinity the better. And as many of you know, I'm well prepared for the zombie apocalypse. So all and all I was pretty sad this didn't go down.

Finally, my brother in law and sister were in this weekend, not for the rapture, but they were interviewed about it by local DC news. Frank was also a little sad this didn't go down. Of course, we didn't really know when this was supposed to go down. I figure these "believers" are so US-centric that rapture ground zero would have had to be in the US. But nothing.

I give this rapture a 0.5 out of 5.

Ohio vs. Women

This is absolutely insane. Ohio representing how awesomely ridiculous we can be. So this video of Rachel Maddow interviewing Connie Schultz, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Senator Sherrod Brown's wife, discussing specifically Ohio's Heartbeat bill. I won't ruin the video for you. Schultz and Maddow kick ass and take names while Ohio Republicans look like fools.

Schultz expresses complete shock that Ohio is leading the nation in anti-women legislation and the dangerous trend that has been ushered in by newly elected officials, specifically officials who campaigned on creating jobs and cutting spending.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Vampire Apocalypse: Averted

As many of you know I'm very afraid of a vampire apocalypse. Not because I fear the undead (who has two thumbs and is totes ready for a zombie apocalypse? This girl), but rather I fear Edward Cullen. I like my monsters ready to kill and feed on me, not creepy stalkers that manipulate you into violent relationships.

Regardless, there has been a discovery of a specific bacteria that prevents the spreading malaria. So this bacteria kills off any mosquitoes infected preventing the mosquito from infecting people. So a break down: the Anopheles Gambiae is the malaria carrying mosquito. This mosquito has been killing people for a very long time (and as John Stewart pointed out mosquito net money probably was used as bail money for former leader of the IMF, Strauss-Kahn). According to io9.com, researchers are operating with two plans to combat malaria:

1. Malaria proof mosquitoes
2. Shooting mosquitoes with lasers (sure its a joke, but what about when the Skrulls descend? I think we should keep working on this)

So a little more about this magical bacteria that kills malaria carrying mosquitoes?

Wolbachia is a bacteria that preys on insects. It is not carried by the type of mosquito that carries the malaria parasite. Scientists guessed that it might be fatal to this type of mosquito, and infected them with two different strains of Wolbachia, hoping for a way to kill off the carriers to stop the spread of the disease. The bacteria spread quickly, and even seemed to manipulate the mosquitos' immune systems to give itself the run of the insect's body. What's more, it inhibited the growth of malaria in the insects. But they didn't seem to die. They sucked down the sugar that the scientists provided them quite happily, and lived quite healthily. Then they were fed blood, and died in a day.

Not only does this bacteria seem like a good way or reducing the amount of mosquitos that feed on blood, it actively prevents a mosquito from dining on infected blood, and then moving on and infecting another person. This could be a good way to keep the spread of malaria under control.

So as far as I'm concerned this is great, and no not because of all the lives it will save, but because now we have a solution against vampires. Now back to looking for a cure for werewolves.

Congress vs. Women: H.R. 3 Passes the House

H.R. 3, No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion, or Super Hyde has passed in the House. So let's break down the how this bill passed and what it would do.

The bill passed at 251 to 175 with 6 representatives not voting. How does that break down by states that I'm affiliated with?

Ohio
Aye	OH-1	Chabot, Steven [R]
Aye	OH-2	Schmidt, Jean [R]
Aye	OH-3	Turner, Michael [R]
Aye	OH-4	Jordan, Jim [R]
Aye	OH-5	Latta, Robert [R]
Aye	OH-6	Johnson, Bill [R]
Aye	OH-7	Austria, Steve [R]
Aye	OH-9	Kaptur, Marcy [D]
No	OH-10	Kucinich, Dennis [D]
No	OH-11	Fudge, Marcia [D]
Aye	OH-12	Tiberi, Patrick [R]
No	OH-13	Sutton, Betty [D]
Aye	OH-14	LaTourette, Steven [R]
Aye	OH-15	Stivers, Steve [R]
Aye	OH-16	Renacci, Jim [R]
No	OH-17	Ryan, Timothy [D]
Aye	OH-18	Gibbs, Bob [R]

Maryland
Aye	MD-1	Harris, Andy [R]
No	MD-2	Ruppersberger, C.A. [D]
No	MD-3	Sarbanes, John [D]
No	MD-4	Edwards, Donna [D]
No	MD-5	Hoyer, Steny [D]
Aye	MD-6	Bartlett, Roscoe [R]
No	MD-7	Cummings, Elijah [D]
No	MD-8	Van Hollen, Christopher [D]

Virginia
Aye	VA-1	Wittman, Rob [R]
Aye	VA-2	Rigell, E. [R]
No	VA-3	Scott, Robert [D]
Aye	VA-4	Forbes, J. [R]
Aye	VA-5	Hurt, Robert [R]
Aye	VA-6	Goodlatte, Robert [R]
Aye	VA-7	Cantor, Eric [R]
No	VA-8	Moran, James [D]
Aye	VA-9	Griffith, H. [R]
Aye	VA-10	Wolf, Frank [R]
No	VA-11	Connolly, Gerald [D]

Anyone in Marcy Kaptur's district? Time for her to lose her seat.

So what does this bill say?

It codifies the Hyde Amendment, which has never been made permanent law. But it is so much worse.

• Codifies the Hyde Amendment concept into federal law;
• Extends the ban to any health care plan that accepts federal funds, regardless of whether those particular funds are being used to provide abortions;
• Includes tax exemptions and other benefits in the definition of “federal funds”. This is a dramatic expansion of scope that will raise costs for customers of the 87% of all private insurance plans that currently do cover abortion.

Private health care plans would more than likely drop abortion coverage because of the denial of tax benefits. And again we're talking about "forcible rape" opposed to rape. I'm really concerned about what the tax aspects of this bill. Additionally, this just demonstrates how much conservatives do not care about women's health and prioritize it so low.

President Obama says he will veto the bill if it passes the Senate, but I don't think it will. However, this is still worth talking about because it is one Boehner can put in his win column and indicative of how women's health is going to be continued to be employed as an easy target.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/22/948252/-S02E04:-HR-3-Compared-to-Hyde

Osama Bin Laden is Dead

The celebratory nature of the media, friends, and family is particularly concerning to me. Bin Laden was a very bad man, but I'm not interested in statements of evil. He had a family, and he was a person. Doesn't that mean anything? Sadly, no.

Perhaps my feelings stem from my stance on the death penalty. I do not feel closure at Bin Laden's death, and I most definitely do not feel safer. Now, a new leader of Al Qaeda will be named, and he'll have to assert his dominance. Nor do I believe his death will lead an end to the many wars we are involved in.

I'm watching Obama's statement on Bin Laden's death. I guess the positive is that US citizens will feel some kind of closure, but that does not mean we should be playing beach ball outside the White House in celebration. I suppose I'll get some negative feedback for this, but I hope Bin Laden finds peace in death. Peace he denied so many when he was alive, and peace I'm sure he's never felt while he was alive.

OH-Senate Bill 5: Game On!

Attorney General Mike Dewine has certified the first of two referendums to repeal OH-Senate Bill 5. Now it goes over to the Secretary of State. This is happening. All Ohio people should work on this and get it repealed. It is nothing but union busting and war on the middle class by the Republicans.

Attorney General Issues Certification of Senate Bill 5 Referendum Summary Language

4/15/2011

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today issued certification of the summary language for one of the two referenda seeking the repeal of Senate Bill 5. The certification was issued today in a letter delivered to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted.

On April 4th, 2011 two petitions were filed with the Attorney General's Office and the Secretary of State. The proposals submitted were informally titled "Short" and "Long." After reviewing the summaries, Attorney General DeWine issued two separate letters certifying the Short Version Summary and rejecting the Long Version Summary.

"The Office's explicit statutory duty is to determine whether the submitted summary 'is a fair and truthful statement of the measure to be referred,'" DeWine stated in his letter certifying the Short Version Summary language. "Without passing upon the advisability of the approval or rejection of the measure to be referred…I hereby certify that the summary is a fair and truthful statement of the proposed referendum concerning Am. Sub. S.B. 5 of the 129th General Assembly."

In rejecting the Long Version Summary language, Attorney General DeWine stated, "The summary, though greatly condensed at 28 pages, is still far too lengthy and detailed to be considered a short and concise summing up of the matter to be referred. For this reason, I am unable to certify the proposed Long Version Summary of the Petition."

In order for the certified referendum to proceed, the petitioners must collect signatures from registered voters in 44 of Ohio's 88 counties, equal to 3 percent of the total vote cast in the county for the office of governor at the last gubernatorial election. Total signatures collected statewide must also equal 6 percent of the total vote cast for the office of governor at the last gubernatorial election. The petition, containing at least the minimum number of signatures, must be filed with the Secretary of State not later than the effective date of the legislation, which is 90 days after it was enrolled with the Secretary.

The full text of today's letters and of the initiative petitions submitted can be found atwww.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/BallotInitiatives.

Homelessness in the Greater DC area is up 9.5% from 2007

Seriously, and it is mostly families. This comes out of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government's annual survey of homelessness.

One snowy night in January, surveyors went out to parks, campsites, shelters and winter hypothermia rooms for their annual “point-in-time” survey, finding 11,988 homeless people, up from 11,774 last year. Nearly a third were children and 5,315 were in families, an increase from 4,995 last year.

This is being attributed to the rise of unemployment and the number of foreclosures during the recession. Finally, the article in the Post references the lack of affordable housing in the DC area.

So what does it look like by area break down?

Alexandria was one of four jurisdictions where homelessness increased last year — by 16 percent. The increase was 38 percent in Prince William County, 2 percent in Prince George’s County and 6 percent in Montgomery County. The numbers held steady in Fairfax County and the District and fell in Arlington, Frederick and Loudoun counties.

What about single homeless people? Well, the news is slightly good there:

The population of single homeless people showed an improvement over last year — surveyors tallied 6,673, down from 6,779.

Finally, some seem to believe that with Government funding the numbers will hold (because funds for poor people won't be cut). Or the numbers will rise because of the crappy housing situation in the DC area.