2009 COAST Fundraiser

Support COAST and bring a friend!

Thursday
February 19, 2009
6:00 - 8:00pm
Montgomery Inn
9440 Montgomery Rd
Montgomery OH 45242

FEATURED SPEAKER
John Kasich is a popular public speaker, businessman, Fox News Channel commentator and frequent guest-host for the "O'Reilly Factor." John's ability to communicate powerfully and effectively means he is in high demand to speak to national organizations and corporations throughout the country.

Hard-working and aggressive, Kasich has been in politics most of his adult life. The son of a mail carrier who grew up in Pennsylvania, Kasich went to work after college as an administrative aide to Ohio State Senator Donald Lukens, a position he held from 1975 to 1977.

In 1978, at the age of 26, Kasich undertook a campaign of his own and won election as a Democratic state senator. In 1982, he ran for the House as a Republican and won.

In the House, Kasich was appointed to the Budget Committee, where he has built a reputation as an attacker of bloated government and a supporter of strong efforts to reduce the nation's deficit. National Journal once described him as "one of the most innovative and daring budget-meisters in Congress."

SPECIAL GUEST
State Auditor Mary Taylor is one of three women appointed to represent the United States as a delegate to the 52nd United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

She is currently a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) where she serves as a member-at-large for the AICPA Council (term ending 2010). She is also a member of the Ohio Society of CPAs, the Ohio Government Finance Officers Association and the Association of Government Accountants.

During Taylor's service in the state legislature, she received the Watchdog of the Treasury Award and the 2006 National Federation of Independent Business Guardian of Small Business Award. Taylor is a 2003 graduate of the Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development, a program offered by the Midwestern Office of The Council of State Governments. In addition, Taylor was an adjunct professor at Walsh University where she taught accounting.

We are honored to have The Honorable Mary Taylor as our Special Guest for this event. The solicitation for funds is being made only by COAST. In accordance with Ohio law, The Honorable Mary Taylor is not soliciting contributions from any person or business in conjunction with this event.

HOST COMMITTEE

Kimberly & Mark Ayer	Phil & Rebecca Heimlich
Donald Bock	Theodore & Peggy Hubbard
William & Joann Brayshaw	E. Paul Naberhaus
Thomas E. Brinkman, Jr.	Daniel & Kellie Peters
Piotr Chomczynski	John Rabenold
Christopher & Diane Finney	Daniel Regenold
Jason Gloyd	Durk Rorie
Hon. Robert Goering	Brian Shrive
Curt C. Hartman	Alex Triantafilou
Hon. Greg Hartmann	Michael Valentine
	Tom & Dianne Weidman

Buy Tickets Here

One Person $75.00Couple $100.00Additional Person $50.00

North COAST Membership Meeting is Tonight!

Third in a successful series -- please join us

After wildly successful east and west COAST meetings, tonight (Monday, February 2) COAST will hold its third and final regional membership recruiting meetings, this one at 6:30 PM at the Heritage Green Clubhouse in Deerfield Township, Old Village Drive, Loveland, Ohio 45140. Please join us if you can, and bring a friend along. Call Kim Grant (513) 479-8475) if you get lost or have questions. RSVP via email.

Cut Property Taxes - Seminars Added

Five MORE new dates added.

COAST attorneys have been holding a series of free property tax reduction seminars to train homeowners and commercial property owners how they can successfully challenge their property tax valuations reflected on their January 2009 bills from the County Treasurer. Those seminars were each completely "sold out," with more than 60 persons attending each class.

These new, free classes have been added, and they are filling up quickly as well.

North COAST Membership Meeting

Wednesday, February 4, 6 - 7:30 PM
Heritage Green Clubhouse
Old Village Drive in Deerfield Township
Loveland, Ohio 45140

The event is especially designed for our members in Butler and Warren Counties
Please join us for a raucous evening of tax fighting. Bring your pitchforks along. Call Kim Grant (513) 479-8475) if you get lost or have questions.Please RSVP via email

***This event will contain an abbreviated version of the tax reduction seminar***

Tuesday, February 3, 6 - 7:30 PM
Anderson Center
7850 Five Mile Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45230
More information is here or RSVP.

Wednesday, February 4, 6 - 7:30 PM
Home Builders Association
415 Glensprings Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45246
More information is here or RSVP.

Thursday, February 5, 6 - 7:30 PM
Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors
14 Knollcrest Drive
Reading, Ohio 45237
More information is here or RSVP.

Monday, February 9, 6 - 7:30 PM
HORAN Offices
4990 East Galbraith Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45236
More information is here or RSVP.

Steve Driehaus shows his hand:

Yet another big-spending Democrat

For years, Steve Driehaus has claimed to be a “conservative” democrat, and has campaigned telling his constituents that he has west-side, fiscally conservative values. Well, the new Congressman was tested with his first major vote – on the bloated $819 billion stimulus bill. He voted “yes.”

The Enquirer asked Driehaus about his inaugural vote and he cynically declared: "I take very seriously the notion that we should be balancing budgets," he said. "But when we are facing an economic crisis as bad as this, there is little choice but government intervention."

Um-hm, the big spenders always have a reason, don’t they. Expect more of the same from this traditional tax-and-spend democrat.

Cincinnati Requests $12.6 Million of Federal Stimulus Package For Trolley

Boondoggle railroaded on voters

Ignoring the WeDemandAVote.Com coalition’s petition drive to force a public vote on Council plan for a $400 million trolley system serving only three neighborhoods, Mayor Mark Mallory in January asked its Congressional delegation to support inclusion in the federal stimulus bill of $12.6 million for the nascent trolley plan. A copy of the City’s request is here.

The request is part of an overall request by the City of nearly $333 million in Stimulus funds. Read the entire request here. COAST supposes we should be happy there is no request for funds for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in there.

Cincinnati City Council first approved the trolley plan in April of last year. The Council resolution called for raising $32 million of the costs for the plan from private sources and charged the City Manager with doing the private fundraising. The April resolution called for the City Manager to report to Council quarterly on his fundraising results. To date, the City Manager has never issued such a report and no private funds have been donated.

The City did, however, extract $3 million from Duke Energy as part of a complex kick-back deal in which the City consented to a higher rate increase than Duke requested, and sold them 20,000 city-owned streetlights for $200 a piece. Cincinnati previously maintained the lights themselves to save money under a recommendation by the Smale Commission. The city sellout abandons that strategy to raise some quick cash.

The WeDemandAVote.Com coalition, which has placed three issues on the ballot in the past two years, has committed in 2009 to placing an issue on the ballot preventing the expenditure of major funds by the City for passenger rail transportation without first receiving the approval of voters. Call Mark Miller at 513-617-2263 for your copy of the petition and instruction sheet, or e-mail Treasurer@GoCOAST.Org.

Commission Spending Priority:

$400 million for The Banks Project

What happed to public safety?

Despite claiming that their top priority for our region is public safety, Hamilton County‘s liberal democrat Commissioners have submitted their wish list to the federal government and declared their priority to be a $400 million request for the Banks project. They requested nothing for a new jail that just a year and three months ago they claimed was their #1 priority for our region. In fact, they claimed it was such a “priority” that they imposed a ½ cent sales tax increase without a vote on the populace. Apparently their excuse to raise our taxes has now gone by the wayside. What a difference a year makes.

African-American Exhibits Bypass Freedom Center

Even developers of freedom-themed shows avoid NURFC

Subsidized with more than $65 million in tax dollars, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center has tried to position itself as a center for African American culture and study in the Cincinnati region. However, those who develop and fund exhibits with themes involving the history of slavery and the civil rights movement in America have consistently bypassed this institution bloated with tax dollars that it does not deserve.

Here is just a partial list of prestigious exhibits that have avoided the Freedom Center in favor of the Museum Center, less than two miles away.

• 2006- Celebrating 100 Years of Service: The Alpha Kappa Alpha Story: The story of the nation's first African American Greek sorority.


• 2007- National Geographic 'Real Pirates' Exhibition – The story of the Whydah, a real pirate ship that began as a slave ship, and the stories of the diverse people whose lives converged on the vessel.


• 2008- Freedom’s Sisters is the first and most comprehensive traveling exhibit on women in the Civil Rights movement. Produced by Cincinnati Museum Center and touring nationally by The Smithsonian.


• 2009-“America I Am: The African American Imprint” A commercial enterprise created by the noted African American television personality and author Tavis Smiley with Cincinnati Museum Center.


• 2009- RACE: Are We So Different? An award winning exhibit from the Science Museum of Minnesota. It explores races from a sociological and scientific basis.


• 2009-Inauguration coverage. Cincinnati Museum Center, with support from Radio One and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1099 (UFCW) presented a community viewing of the inauguration events. The NURFC tried to accomplish the same type of thing, but failed miserably.

It appears that even projects devoted to themes of slavery, African American freedom and civil rights avoid the Freedom Center like the plague. Why can’t our lawmakers figure this out?

The Museum Center, in contrast, appears to be an institution that has responsibly used its tax dollars and leveraged these and other tremendous exhibits that bring praise for our community. Some other CMC facts:

• The CMC combines the formerly independent boards of the Historical Society, Natural History Museum, Museum Center Foundation, and Children’s Museum into one entity.


• Instead of devouring public funds to construct a new building, they took over Union Terminal, a national historic landmark that Cincinnatians wanted to preserve, and gave the building a new purpose in our community.


• The CMC had 1.3 million visitors last year; more than the Art Museum, Contemporary Art Center, Taft Museum and Underground Railroad Freedom Center combined!

Today’s point is that CMC has been remarkable in their success and has developed a national reputation for the Museum, our city and amazingly exhibits on African American issues and history.

Others Catching On To Red Light Cameras

Following Cincinnati’s lead in ditching the hated devices

Cincinnati is ahead of the curve when it comes to learning of the intrusiveness of red light and speeding cameras. Last year, with the assistance of COAST, Cincinnati voters banned red light and speeding cameras.

Now, Pinal County Arizona has dumped the pernicious devices, and in Italy, red light cameras have been shut down across the country as a result of a massive fraud scandal involving 109 public officials and contractors.

In Ohio, Toledo already has launched its campaign for a Charter Amendment to ban the pernicious devices, and the cities of Warren, Pickerington, Northwood, Chillicothe have asked for COAST’s help in banning the devices there. Honolulu, Hawaii has even contacted us seeking assistance. (We are hoping they fund a winter trip there for training.)

Who says Cincinnati is behind the times?

COAST (finally) Re-launches Web Site

Comprehensive e-communications now implemented

COAST has finally re-launched its web site at http://www.gocoast.org/. Please check it out. This is the next major piece in COAST’s updated e-communications network that includes the web site, the COAST blog, these Constant Contact e-mails, Facebook, and Twitter. Join COAST on all these networks to stay plugged in to the latest in the movement for limited government.

If you have special gifts in creativity and e-technology, COAST wants to get you involved to assure its messages are as up-to-date as possible. It is hosting a technology and creativity conference on February 16. Read more and sign up here.

Toledo Red Light Camera Repeal Campaign Heats Up in the Cold Winter

The campaign to ban red light and speeding cameras in Toledo got an organizational boost this week with the announcement of two co-chairs of the campaign, and the launch of a web site where volunteers can get information and even download petitions in their home.

The Toledo campaign, known as WeDemandAVote.Com/Toledo, named as its campaign co-chairmen:

Atty Watkins
(419) 509-9171
Attyspatty@Yahoo.Com

Hans G. Schnapp
(419) 944-3067
HansGSchnapp@Hotmail.Com

The group also announced the launch of its web site: www.WeDemandAVote.Com/Toledo. There, red light camera information can be accessed, petitions and instruction sheets can be down-loaded and printed at home, and contact information can be found.

A further organizational meeting of the group will be held on Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 7 PM at Delaney’s Lounge, 309 West Alexis, Toledo, Ohio 43612. Call Bill Delaney at 419-654-4251 or e-mail him at Bar-Buddies@Juno.Com for more information on the meeting or to get your copies of petitions. Delaney’s Lounge is also the official pick-up and drop-off location for petitions.

The WeDemandAVote.Com/Toledo campaign has been formed to place on the fall ballot a Charter Amendment to effectively ban red light and speeding cameras in the City of Toledo. Currently, the City of Toledo splits revenues with the operator of the private camera company, RedFlex, and plans to extract more than $3.5 million in red light and speeding camera fines from already-beleaguered Toledo residents in 2009.

Is Wild Inflation On The Horizon?

Guest Editorial by Randy Kleine

Inflation, properly defined, is the rapid expansion of the money supply and/or credit. Higher prices at the pump and at the grocery store are not inflation--higher prices are the result of inflation. Inflation is the deliberate government policy of printing more money or extending more credit through its privately-owned agency, the Federal Reserve Bank (affectionately called "The Fed").

The latest example of inflationary policy is the $1 trillion "economic stimulus" bill passed by the House of Representatives on January 28. Since the government has not yet collected the money to support this spending through taxation, it will ask a compliant Fed to extend it credit. Then politicians will have "money" available to spend on whatever they dream up.

A look at the spending proposals in the "economic stimulus" bill quickly reveals a cornucopia of "pork-barrel" social-engineering projects and an increase in the size and power of government that would make any dictator's (or king's) heart go a-twitter. Dictator, you say?

A key principle of a republican form of government is the "consent of the governed," that is, the people are consulted when decisions affecting them are being made by that government. Dictators, on the other hand, need consult no one (although most dictators will surround themselves with a group of yes-men). The term "dictator" arose in ancient Rome to connote a magistrate with supreme power, appointed in times of emergency.

The numerous Bush "bail-outs" in 2008 and the Obama "economic stimulus" of 2009 are predicated on the allegation that the United States is in an economic emergency. The question is: do these guys think like dictators?

Hear President Bush's Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson as he used fear to force Congress into granting him unprecedented powers for a $700 billion bail-out of Wall Street. Language from his three-page proposal is telling: "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

That the government must go to the people (through their representatives) to request taxes to finance government projects (for example, a school levy or bond issue) is vital to liberty because the peoples' consent must be obtained. When a government can print and spend money at whim (through inflation by the Fed), the peoples' consent is no longer required.

What we have is the arrogance of several hundred people in the Federal government who think that they are more capable than 300 million Americans in making sound economic decisions. The politicians are running the economy instead the people. How is that different from Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, or Communist China?

Dear reader: even if you don't care about your liberty, do you care about your bank account or dollar-denominated investments?