Martin Gottlieb: Are ‘the American people’ really against health care plan?

By Martin Gottlieb | Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 10:17 AM

It is by now official — whether true or not — that “the American people” oppose the pending health care plan.

Republican House leader John Boehner, of West Chester, says it all the time. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, says it all the time. Likewise for conservative voices in the media. Everybody says it.

Not only do they say it: they start there. It seems to be the most important point to them. Ask almost any public opponent of the plan for a brief statement and you get references to polls.

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Editorial: Health care reform partly in Ohio’s hands

By the Dayton Daily News | Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 03:57 PM

“Ohio gets full court press,” was one headline on Politico.com for much of the day Tuesday, March 16.

It was in reference to the fact that President Barack Obama is pushing wavering Ohio Democratic members of Congress hard to vote for health care reform.

There’s no hope of any Republicans voting for the bill, so it all comes down to the Democrats. Specifically, 216 “yes” votes are needed for a majority (after vacancies are accounted for).

A dozen or so members have been on the fence, with possibly as many as four of those reps from Ohio.

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Editorial: Lehner move could help patients save

By the Dayton Daily News | Monday, March 15, 2010, 04:45 AM

You’ve heard a lot about new approaches to medical care that are designed to save money for taxpayers and purchasers of insurance: paying doctors a flat salary, rather than for every procedure; getting more people to buy health insurance, so as to spread out the cost; getting all medical records onto computers.

Some ideas along these lines are in the health reform measure pending in Congress. It’s big on pilot projects. (That’s one reason the bill has more than 2,000 pages.)

One idea in the bill is the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). Don’t picture a home, though. And don’t picture a doctor making home calls.

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Editorial: Crowds are not the enemy at the Fraze

By the Dayton Daily News | Sunday, March 14, 2010, 05:47 AM

The people who own the businesses that surround the Fraze Pavilion want to prevent blankets or folding chairs from popping up on their lawns for a few hours on summer nights.

Commonly, people who don’t have tickets to concerts or who don’t want to pay gather outside the Fraze to listen to the music rolling out from the amphitheater. The crowds are there to soak up the fun with their neighbors and enjoy the park.

That atmosphere is about to change.

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Editorial: Huber court video cheats defendants

By the Dayton Daily News | Saturday, March 13, 2010, 06:00 AM

Ohio’s 2nd District Court of Appeals is sending a loud message to Judge James A. Hensley Jr.: the Constitution applies in his Huber Heights courtroom.

Safeguarding the rights of people in court is a judge’s prime responsibility. Judge Hensley’s failure to do so led the appeals court to overturn convictions in six of his cases. The appeals court said he failed to ensure that those defendants were informed enough to know what they were doing when they gave up their right to consult with an attorney.

Instead of questioning defendants about whether they wanted a lawyer, Judge Hensley had them watch a generic video tutorial about their right to one. The cases in question were minor crimes, such as driving without a valid license, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft. But the charges were still serious enough that the accused could be sent to jail. Any defendant who could end up in jail needs legal advice, or the judge needs to be personally convinced that the person understands what he’s giving up.

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Scott Elliott: State’s school report cards should list poverty rates

By the Dayton Daily News | Saturday, March 13, 2010, 05:49 AM

Researchers have told us for decades that wealth and school performance are strongly connected, but it’s still pretty amazing when you look at the numbers.

For all the pressure on teachers and schools to raise test scores, the fact is the impact of formal education is strongly overshadowed by factors outside of school.

For this reason, Ohio ought to acknowledge poverty rates on state report cards, which are intended to represent how well schools did educating kids. As reported now, test scores alone do not give a complete picture.

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Guest column:Ohioans could pay more for worse phone service

By the Dayton Daily News | Friday, March 12, 2010, 06:01 PM

This commentary was written by Ellis Jacobs, a senior attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality in Dayton who often represents clients in telecommunications matters.

As if households in Ohio aren’t under enough financial stress, now the Ohio House and Senate are considering legislation that could make it harder to pay monthly home telephone bills.

If passed, the legislation would deregulate Ohio’s land-line telephone companies, allow residential rates to increase and weaken consumer protections and service quality.

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