Virgil Lovitt Tribute

Dear fellow tax hikers, by this time next week our dear close friends Simon Leis, Jean Schmidt and Virgil Lovitt will be out of office.  While many others will celebrate the New Year when the ball drops tomorrow night, we tax hikers will be huddled around together crying our eyes out at the loss of these great public servants. 

The first to leave office is our beloved 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year Virgil Lovitt, who leaves office tomorrow.  Virg is perhaps the finest local elected official we have and his departure is a huge loss for all of us.

This man has joyously raised Property Taxes, Earnings Taxes, Sales Taxes, Hotel/Motel Taxes, and has done so much more.  He endorsed Todd Portune's re-election while opposing our enemy Pat DeWine, endorsed Bob Taft's 3rd Frontier program so Ohio can fund its own Solyndras, and was one of Jean Schmidt's closest Hamilton County friends.

His contributions to the tax-and-spend movement have been immeasurable.  In honor of Virg, we dedicate this post to all the taxes he has raised and all the good things he has done for us.  This post will not be a funeral, but instead a tribute to a man who has earned it.

To honor Virg, we ask all you tax hikers to tell us your favorite Virgil Lovitt memories.

Winter Solstice Cheer

Dear fellow tax hikers, tonight we will begin our celebration of the Winter Solstice.  So that we may celebrate this joyous time together, we ask all you tax hikers to tell us your favorite Winter song!

Judge Winkler retaliates against critics

Dear fellow tax hikers, it seems that the Friends of Alex and Tracy (FAT) nepotism movement is growing by leaps and bounds!  Last week we reported on the last two Winkler nepotism hires, in which Tracy Winkler and His Honor Ralph "Ted" Winkler hired Vince and Deb Wallace to two taxpayer-funded positions after returning from vacation with them.  Obviously, the couple they last vacationed with just happened to be the two most qualified people on the planet for those jobs.  

Two Court Reporters commented on His Honor's use of taxpayer funds to reward his vacation pal.  And promptly, His Honor's brother Judge Robert Winkler promptly banned them from his Court Room!  Once again, the Winkler family is boldly demonstrating that they are proud to use taxpayer funds as a vehicle to reward friends and family rather than use them to serve taxpayers. 

For the Winkler family, it's not about public service, it's about self-service.  And that is why we love them so much.  Taxpayers are there to serve the privileged class and it's about time more people realize this. 

Judge Robert Winkler is highly qualified to be on the bench.  He possesses the following qualifications:

1) He's the son of Mama Cheryl Winkler
2) His Honor Ralph "Ted" Winkler is his brother
3) Tracy Winkler is his sister-in-law
4) He's a Friend of Alex Triantafilou (FAT)

Anyone with those qualifications is automatically qualified to be a Judge in Hamilton County.  We encourage the Winklers and Triantafilous to continue their putting their own families ahead of yours - especially when it involves taxpayer money. 

Chabot seeks to bar federal streetcar funding

Dear fellow tax hikers, Congressman Steve Chabot has offended us once again.  This time, his offense is to announce that he will continue his efforts to ban federal funding for the Cincinnati streetcar.  We will not tolerate this vile behavior anymore.  We call on a pro-streetcar Republican - perhaps our good friend Simon Leis or Sean Donovan - to take out Chabot in 2014.

Chabot said:  "With a national debt exceeding $16 trillion, we should not be wasting our scarce resources on a streetcar line which, despite an expected price tag in excess of $120 million, is not projected to significantly improve our community’s transportation problems."

We think spending $120 million on a streetcar line that does little to improve our transportation is a perfectly fine investment!  Our Urban Hipsters deserve this streetcar, and the rest of the country deserves to pay for it. 

What is wrong with Chabot?  The City of Cincinnati is jeopardizing its financial future to get this streetcar built.  The City of Blue Ash, led by superstar Councilperson Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan, put their own interests in jeopardy to help Cincinnati fund their streetcar.  We call on Congressman Steve Chabot to sacrifice the nation's best interests to give these privileged Urbanists something for themselves. 

Winkler Gangnam Style - nepotism and double-dipping

Dear fellow tax hikers, if there's one thing you've learned from our site it's that it pays to be a friend or relative of either Tracy Winkler or Alex Triantafilou.  Need a high-paying taxpayer funded job that you're completely unqualified to hold?  No problemo, just be sure you are one of the Friends of Alex and Tracy (FAT).

Now we can add two more names to this lucky club!  Please give your finest Republican for Higher Taxes welcome to our new friends Vince and Deb Wallace. 

Recently, Clerk of Courts Tracy Winkler and her husband, His Honor Judge Ralph "Ted" Winkler went on vacation with their close friends Mr. and Mrs. Wallace.  Upon return their return, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace cashed in big-time on the privileges of their FAT club membership.

Tracy hired Vince Wallace to the specially-created Chief Deputy of Operations where he'll pull down $68,585/year for his efforts.  Not to be outdone, His Honor hired Deb Wallace to be his Courthouse Reporter.  Even better, this hiring is a double-dipping deal.  Mrs. Wallace had recently retired to start collecting her pension, and with the cooperation of His Honor Judge Winkler she will collect a salary too.  She is now estimated to make over $98,000/year to be a glorified secretary.

Being a FAT has its rewards.  

This type of behavior is nothing new to the sexy Gangnam Style Winklers.  As everyone recalls, it was then-Green Township Trustee Tracy Winkler who hired Jennifer Triantafilou for a taxpayer-funded job that she was completely unqualified.  This was done to curry favor with beloved Chairman Alex Triantafilou, and she wasted no time cashing in.  Tracy was rewarded for this loyalty by being appointed Clerk of Courts. 

Moved like these are the #1 reason we proudly endorsed Tracy Winkler for higher office.  Not everyone can be a FAT, and membership has its benefits.  It's not about serving the public, it's about serving your friends - with taxpayer money. 

Virgil Lovitt to resign as Sharonville Mayor

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are devastated that our hero and role model Virgil Lovitt will be resigning as Sharonville Mayor on December 31st.  We learned this awful news last night, and we are still crying our eyes out.  Do you realize that one month from now our close friends Simon Leis, Jean Schmidt, AND Virgil Lovitt will all be out of office?  This is a catastrophe for our tax-and-spend movement. 

Four years ago we proudly named Virgil Lovitt our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year.  And while we have been enormously proud of each and every one of our Tax Hiker of the Year winners, we can honestly say that Virg is our favorite. 

Has anyone done more than our Virg to bring higher taxes his community?  The 2007 Hamilton County Sales Tax hike, numerous Property Tax hikes, a huge 50% Income Tax hike, Hotel/Motel Tax hike, Bob Taft's 3rd Frontier - Virg has supported them all.  Not just content to support higher taxes, Virg understands the need to support great tax hikers for office.  That's why he's been a strong backer of great candidates like Jean Schmidt, Michelle Schneider, Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan, and even Democrat Todd Portune.

Virg is not only our hero and role model, but he is one of the reasons this site became a huge success.  Many of you remember that Virg's 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year award was prominently featured in the ad wars for his State Representative race that year.  This level attention introduced thousands of people to our website and resulted in us adding many of the loyal readers still with us today.  Virg has been the gift that keeps on giving to our movement and our site.  We will miss him greatly.  We love you Virgil Lovitt!

With that, we sadly leave you with his resignation letter:

Dear Friends,

I am writing today to share that I am retiring as Sharonville Mayor effective the end of this year. I find it hard to believe that it’s been 16 years since I accepted this role. I hope that I have built upon the great reputation that Sharonville already had earned from Paul Kattelman and John Dowlin’s administrations.

I know, without a doubt, that Sharonville is much more than a city government. It is a community that thrives on the countless efforts of our volunteers and residents. It is a community that really cares about our neighbors, our businesses and our amenities. This is the core of what makes Sharonville special and allows our city to stand out.

Frequently I have been asked how I manage to do” everything” on my plate and I always reply with, “there are so many good people holding me up everywhere.” This is absolutely the truth. Our administrative team and employees are terrific. They take great pride in doing their utmost best to serve our residents and businesses. And, our civic and business groups give thousands of hours and lots of donations every year to make Sharonville a great place to live and work. These are all of the ingredients that make a community strong.

So, why am I retiring? Actually, it’s because our city is in a really good place right now. The city revenues are strong, our expenses are under control, and our reserves are solid. Many of our complicated projects are now complete and our departments are well managed and operating well. This is a good time for the city to have a transition.

For me personally, it is, also, a good time for a transition. I have enjoyed the honor of being Mayor for the last 16 years and a part of Council for 9 years before that. I am looking forward to more time and flexibility with my family. Also, my State Farm Agency has become so busy that I need to devote more time working with my clients. It has become difficult to do everything well, and this will allow me to focus on my family and family business.

I am not leaving this great community and I will stay involved in many ways. I appreciate this opportunity to serve and I thank this City and the Community of Sharonville for all of the support they have given to me.

Virgil Lovitt
2008 Tax Hiker of the Year

Hamilton County's new stadium tax

Dear fellow tax hikers, get ready to pay more taxes for the stadiums.  Our Hamilton County Commissioners are deciding which tax to raise to give more money to Mike Brown and the Bengals and we think that's fantastic!  Hamilton County's #1 priority is to enrich the Bengals and we will not allow our county government to put off that task anymore.  

Commissioner Todd Portune wants to raise the Sales Tax.  Commission President Greg Hartmann wants to raise your Property Taxes.  Republicans for Higher Taxes wholeheartedly endorses both a Property Tax increase and Sales Tax increase. 

Mike Brown needs that money.  You don't.  According to Forbes, the Cincinnati Bengals earned an operating income of only $44.7 million in 2011, and that's not enough.  You should be willing to pay more taxes to ensure our beloved Bengals earn a sufficient income, and after this Wednesday's Commission meeting you will. 

This stadium deal has been a rousing success for Hamilton County, just like Bob Bedinghaus, Stadium Dave Linnenberg, and Roxanne Qualls said it would.  It made Cincinnati a "major league city", led to great economic growth, made everyone richer, cured cancer, and grew the tax base.  That we need another stadium tax increase to bail out the first one is fine with us.  It's time to give Mike Brown and Bob Bedinghaus more of our money.  Raise those Sales Taxes and Property Taxes now.

Smitherman re-elected NAACP President

Dear fellow tax hikers, we know you were as dismayed as we were to learn that our enemy Christopher Smitherman was re-elected NAACP President.  We worked to defeat him because of his alliances with conservatives, which have often successfully rolled back our high-tax agenda. Smitherman's inclusiveness of different races and different ideologies is unacceptable and a scourge on the NAACP. 

His opponent Rob Richardson Sr. deserved to win.  Richardson wanted to return the Cincinnati NAACP to their proper role - which is to blindly obey the white people who run the Hamilton County Democratic Party. 

After this defeat, Rob Richardson Jr, a streetcar supporter and obedient Democratic loyalist himself, released the following statement:  "Although we did not win the election, we did confirm that members are demanding more accountability."  Junior should know all about accountability, given his prior leadership role with the urbanist group CincyPAC.

Yeah, Smitherman grew the NAACP from a few hundred members to a few thousand.  Yeah, he's led them from nearly broke to financial strength.  Yeah, he's led a coalition to pass several ballot issues that had widespread impact on our area.  But he still needed to be stopped!

You see, Smitherman doesn't obey.  Under his leadership, the NAACP has been an independent organization that fought for advancement of minorities and fairness for all regardless of whether the Democratic Party approved. 

Even worse, the ballot issues they've backed went against our big government agenda.  It was Smitherman and COAST that successfully overturned the $777 million Sales Tax increase that was backed by legendary tax hikers David Pepper, Todd Portune, Simon Leis, Sean Donovan, Leslie Ghiz, Virgil Lovitt, Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan, and The Great Marc Dann, among many others.  Smitherman and COAST also stopped Red Light Cameras, a Trash Tax, and the sale of Waterworks.  These actions directly violated the wishes of us and the Democratic Party!

With Smitherman in charge, the NAACP will remain an independent organization that won't blindly obey either political party.  But he better know we will be watching.

Jail Tax supporter's law license suspended

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are disgusted to learn that former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann's law license has been suspended for 6 months.  This unanimous decision by The Ohio Supreme Court followed Dann's criminal convictions for soliciting improper compensation and filing a false financial disclosure. 

We are big fans of Marc Dann.  When we were fighting to raise Hamilton County's Sales Tax in 2007, Dann was the highest-level elected official to endorse this plan.  Attorney General Dann stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other tax hikers such as Simon Leis, Sean Donovan, David Pepper, Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan, and Roxanne Qualls to urge the voters to support this excellent tax increase. 

So what if he's been convicted of some crimes?  So was the great Bob Taft.  And Jean Schmidt also filed false forms and illegally took over $500,000 in gifts from Turkish interests, and she didn't lose our support.  Mr. Dann is being targeted by The Man for his strong pro-tax views.  We believe the voters and the criminal justice system should stop worrying about the criminal behavior of Marc Dann, Bob Taft, and Jean Schmidt and instead respect all of the tax increases they have given us. 

HamCo GOP's GOTV collapse

Dear fellow tax hikers, we share with you some news regarding the local Romney campaign/Hamilton County Republican Party.  According to a Business Insider article, Romney's local Get Out The Vote (GOTV) effort "completely collapsed" in the final weeks of the campaign. 

Another Republican activist, an attorney in Hamilton County, Ohio who declined to be named for fear of "burning bridges," told Business Insider that the campaign's GOTV organization in that crucial swing county completely collapsed in the weeks leading up to the election.

The local GOTV effort was often referred to as Team 12, which was under the control of our friend Ashwin Corattiyil.  Just because Ashwin was a lifelong New York Democrat until a few months prior to working for the Hamilton County GOP, who spent the 2004 cycle working on the John Kerry for President campaign, doesn't mean that he sabotaged the Romney campaign in the last few weeks.

We know there were those who suspected all along that Ashwin was a Democratic mole who would blow up the campaign at a pivotal time.  The local campaign did in fact implode.  However we don't believe that Ashwin had anything to do with it and neither should you.

More from the article:

In an interview last week, the attorney, one of the "Lawyers for Romney" who volunteered to help the campaign's legal team by watching the polls on Election Day, described how the Romney campaign sent its legal volunteers the wrong training information, failed to provide volunteers with information about where they were supposed to be on Election Day, and stopped responding to phone calls and emails in the final two weeks of the campaign.

"It was basically a disaster," the attorney said.  "They never explained what we were supposed to be doing - where we were supposed to start, where we were supposed to end, what I was supposed to do at the end of the night - they didn't explain any of it.... A month before, you couldn't get a phone call or an email answered."

"Four out of eight of my polling places didn't have a poll observer," the attorney continued. "How you don't even get people credentialed properly is beyond my comprehension."

On the bright side, this sudden collapse helped Our Messiah Barack Obama get re-elected.  However it hurt our efforts to elect Sean Donovan, who was the finest candidate on the ballot.  His loss is a big setback for our GOP tax-hiking movement.  We must rebuild.  In the coming weeks we will sit down with our great friends Alex and Ashwin and figure out how to organize all the GOP's easy-to-lead followers in a manner more effective than this year's effort. Tax us more!

Hostess considers liquidating entire company

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are distraught over the news that iconic foodmaker Hostess may have to shut down their entire company.  As the unions continue their strike, Hostess will announce Friday morning whether to liquidate, and we are afraid they will have no other option.

This is a dark, dark day for the future of food consumption in America.  This bankruptcy will leave a hole in pantries across America.  How can our hearts ever be full when our stomachs will be so empty?

Hostess to close three plants

Can SuperFat save the day?.........No.

 
Dear fellow tax hikers, due to union strikes Hostess Brands Inc has announced it will be closing three plants, including one in Cincinnati.  This will result in 152 Cincinnati workers losing their jobs, as part of the 627 workers overall who will now be unemployed. The Obama recovery continues!

Hostess is the iconic company that makes delicious foods such as Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, Wonder bread, and our favorite the Hostess Cupcakes.  We are desperately concerned that these closures could lead to a shortage of these wonderful foods.

While we are concerned, we hear that Craig and Tabitha Hochscheid (the duo behind the bigoted CincyCapell persona) are in outright panic mode.  What would these two fat slobs do without an endless supply of their favorite food group?  Would they resume those oh-so-funny racial slurs they often made before being outed as CincyCapell?  How about those way-too-hilarious anti-Semitic quips we used to see so frequently from them? 

We stand behind these union strikers 100%.  They are striking for better pay.  They are striking for better benefits.  They are striking for better working conditions.  Of course, now that they're unemployed they'll have to find those better wages, benefits, and working conditions somewhere else.  But hey, they're making a point dammit!  We hope they at least get to munch on some good snacks as they protest while jobless.

We've got to run.  Writing this post has made us HUNGRY!

Donovan/Leis defeated

Dear fellow tax hikers, we enjoyed a drunken Election Night as we focused exclusively on celebrating the re-election of Our Messiah Barack Obama!  If you like high taxes, high unemployment, large deficits, and expansive government control of health care as much as we do, you haven't seen anything yet.  Forward. 

It wasn't until Wednesday morning - for us, more like afternoon - we got around to perusing the rest of the results.  You can only imagine the horror on our hung-over faces when we saw that our good friend Sean Donovan was defeated in his effort to become our next Sheriff.  It wasn't supposed to be this way.  Donovan was entitled to that position!  Si Leis himself bestowed it upon him. 

We are crushed by this unexpected defeat.  Donovan was the best candidate we had on the ballot.  Don't the voters know that Donovan wants higher taxes to build the Simon Leis Jr. Memorial Jail?  Don't they know he's one of the earliest streetcar supporters?  Don't they know he's the candidate of the double-dippers and isn't the candidate who wants to cut administrative staff? 

We are still distraught by this defeat.  My civil domestic partner and I have been spending our days shut in with the blinds drawn.  We pass the time listening to our favorite musical selections, which consist of alternating between our Justin Bieber and One Direction CD's. 

We are all hurting, but we must pull ourselves together and move on.  There are so many taxes to be raised, so many new streetcars to be built.  Through community, we can all join together and heal ourselves and each other.  We also wish our very best to Si Leis and Sean Donovan.  We appreciate everything they have done for us.  We dedicate this fitting song to our beloved outgoing Sheriff Simon Leis. 

2012 Endorsement Wrapup

Dear fellow tax hikers, the end of our journey to elect great tax-hikers like Barack Obama and Sean Donovan is in sight.  We have endorsed a fantastic team of big government advocates.  We will recap those endorsements and add a few more so that we can vote for the finest team of tax hikers we've ever seen.

Barack Obama for President.  It is vital to the future of our country to re-elect Our Messiah Barack Obama.  Obama has given us massive tax increases, vast government expansion into healthcare, four consecutive budget deficits of over $1 Trillion, Wall Street bailouts, and an additional $6 Trillion in debt that someday will require significant tax increases to pay off.

Sean Donovan for Sheriff.  Donovan is the finest Republican on the ballot.  His support for streetcars, higher taxes, double dippers, and a large Administrative staff makes him the class of the Republican Party.

Tracy Winkler for Clerk of Courts.  We endorsed Tracy a long time ago and reiterate that support.  We don't care whether the Clerk of Courts office is run well, Tracy doesn't care, and you shouldn't care either.  Tracy hired Jennifer Triantafilou to a Green Township job that she was completely unqualified for, and in return Alex Triantafilou rewarded her with the Clerk of Courts position.  The Clerks office isn't about serving your family, it's about serving the Winkler and Triantafilou families.  Vote Winkler! 

Some Guy Named Smith for Congress.  Brad Wenstrup defeated Jean Schmidt in March, and now he must pay!  We don't know anything about this Smith guy but we want him to win anyways.  Avenge Jean Schmidt!  Vote Smith.

Leslie Ghiz and Heather Russell for Judge.  This race features a choice between 4 lovely ladies competing for 2 spots.  Both Ghiz and Russell are great tax-hiking Republicans who stood with us when we supported Hamilton County's $777 Sales Tax Hike.  These are the kind of Republicans we must elect.

We also encourage you to support the following candidates:

Connie Pillich for State Representative.  We endorsed Pillich 2 years ago and she has done nothing but ratify our support.  Connie has been a great disciple of higher taxes, more spending, Section 8 housing in the suburbs, and taking donations from known racists.  If Connie loses, Racist State Representative Bob Hagan would have to find someone else to laugh at all his racial slurs. 

The candidates running against Lou Terhar and Pat DeWine.  We hate Pat DeWine.  We have never been shy about telling you how much we hate this guy.  This guy has opposed one tax increase after another and we find that completely unacceptable.  Lou Terhar is another bad guy who we want to see stopped.  We support their liberal opponents, though we don't find either of them relevant enough to merit their own individual paragraph. 

The Democratic candidate for Coroner.  We can't spell or pronounce her name, but we endorse her.  We love her call for a new $50 million crime lab.  Surely that would require a tax increase.  Her opponent, whose name we also can't spell or pronounce, opposes a new crime lab.  We just hope you can find her on the ballot.

Lou Blessing for State Representative.  Lou Blessing voted for Bob Taft's Sales Tax hikes.  Keep a good thing going.  Lou Blessing for State Representative.

Sean Donovan for Sheriff

Dear fellow tax hikers, we give our strongest possible endorsement to Sean Donovan for Sheriff.  Donovan is one of our closest friends and is by far the finest candidate on the ballot this year.  Consider the Sean Donovan record:

1) Stood with Marc Dann, Simon Leis, David Pepper, Todd Portune, Roxanne Qualls, and Tax Hikers of the Year Virgil Lovitt and Rick Bryan to support a huge 15 year, $777 million Sales Tax increase for Hamilton County.  Mr. Donovan continues to speak out in favor of such a plan, which means our taxes will go up if he gets his way.  

2) Supports our beloved Cincinnati Streetcar.  He has publicly and vocally supported this great idea for years - speaking out at County Commission meetings, giving pro-streetcar tv interviews, writing letters to the editor, spreading the word on the blogs, and campaigning against efforts to kill it.

3) Refuses to support a Performance Audit of the Sheriff's Department, as his opponent Jim Neil wants.  Donovan don't need no stinkin' audit to tell him where he's wasting money!

4) Openly operates a liquor license establishment downtown, in spite of Sheriff's Department rules that specifically prohibit employment at a liquor license establishment.

5) Does not support Neil's plan to consolidate the major functions of the Department and cut the ensuing amount of Administrator positions.  That would mean he'd have to release some overpaid double-dippers and we can't have that!  

Not only is Donovan the ideal Republican, his opponent Jim Neil is a horrific candidate!  Neil opposes a tax increase for a new jail.  Can you believe that someone would say no to higher taxes that would allow their department to spend more?  Even worse, Neil refuses to endorse the streetcar.  Neil wants the Ohio Auditor to execute a Performance Audit of the Sheriff's Department, and he wants to cut Administrative staff that is currently dominated by Si's aging double-dippers. 

- Do you crave higher Sales Taxes?  Then vote for Sean Donovan!
- Do you want to spend $150 million on a streetcar?  Vote Sean Donovan!
- Do you oppose an independent audit of a $57 million department?  Vote Sean Donovan!
- Do you want to get drunk at a Sheriff's liquor store?  Vote for Donovan!  (then drink)

We are so in love with Donovan that we are making this our target race for 2012.  We tax hikers must win this one.  In the name of higher taxes, we urge everyone to work day and night to elect Sean Donovan our next Sheriff. 

Leslie Ghiz and Heather Russell for Judge

Dear fellow tax hikers, tonight we direct your attention to a unique race on this year's ballot - Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge.  This is a field race to elect two Judges.  You get two votes.  The top two finishers both get elected and there are four beautiful women running for these two spots.  If only me and my civil domestic partner liked women we would get to enjoy this race even more than we do now. 

We are proud to endorse our good friends Leslie Ghiz and Heather Russell.  These lovely ladies understand the value of higher taxes and bigger government. 

Leslie Ghiz is one of our longest and best friends.  You can search through our archives to see all of our glowing articles about her.  Leslie proudly endorsed liberal Democrat David Pepper for County Commissioner.  She strongly backed the huge Pepper/Portune/Leis $777 million Sales Tax increase in 2007 that sadly did not pass.  As a City Councilman, Leslie cast a pivotal vote to start the Cincinnati streetcar project.  Our Ghizzy also voted to expand gay rights, which she did while criticizing those damn conservatives who held a different opinion.  As you can see, Leslie has been one of our strongest tax-and-spend allies.

We also know Heather Russell to be a woman of big government herself.  In 2007 when we worked day and night to pass that $777 Sales Tax increase, Heather was supportive of our efforts.  As a sitting Judge she could not endorse it, but we fondly remember all the times she showed up to local Republican clubs nodding like a Bobblehead doll at every argument being made by one of our pro-tax speakers, and backing all of our strong pro-tax arguments.  We remain angry to this day that the voters rejected our position and killed that important tax increase.

We feel good endorsing Ghiz and Russell.  These are the kind of Republicans who best represent our party.  With four beautiful women running for these two positions, we can't ask for anything more than a chance to elect two of our GOP allies.  Leslie Ghiz and Heather Russell for Judge!

Smith

Dear fellow tax hikers, some guy named Smith is running for Congress against our enemy Brad Wenstrup.  We have never seen Smith, we know nothing about him, we wouldn't know it was him if he bumped into us, and we have no idea what he thinks about anything. 

Therefore, we give our enthusiastic endorsement to William Smith for Congress.  Smith is running against the evil conservative military man Brad Wenstrup, and that is enough for us to endorse him. 

Col. Wenstrup had no right to run for Congress against our good friend Jean Schmidt.  He certainly had no right to win.  Wenstrup must be stopped.  Just because he served our country in Iraq doesn't mean he knows anything about service. 

We know you don't know anything about Smith.  We don't know anything about Smith.  In fact, Democratic leaders don't know anything about Smith.  But we expect you all to vote for him.  Some Guy Named Smith for Congress!

Jennifer Triantafilou for Ohio Supreme Court

Dear fellow tax hikers, there will soon be a vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court and our beloved Chairman Alex Triantafilou will be on the committee helping Governor John Kasich decide on the appointed replacement.  We already have our chosen candidate.

We endorse Jennifer Triantafilou to be the next Ohio Supreme Court Justice.  Mrs. Triantafilou is extremely well-qualified for this position.  We now present her qualifications:

- High School graduate. 
- Works as a secretary.....we mean administrative assistant.
- Married to Alex Triantafilou. <-------- Over here, it's this one!

Tracy Winkler saw these same attributes in her as we did when she chose Jennifer for a taxpayer-funded Green Township job where she did not meet minimum professional qualifications.  As Tracy herself knows, professional qualifications do not apply when you marry into the right family. 

If Mrs. Triantafilou does not get this appointment, we hope it goes to a member of the Russo or Dimora families in Cuyahoga County.  Even though many of them are in jail, or soon will be, they are one of the top royal families in this state and that entitles them to special considerations not available to the rest of us.  Governor Kasich can earn back some of the respect he has lost from us by appointing someone from a well-connected family rather than an individual with impressive professional qualifications. 

Re-Elect Barack Obama

 
Dear fellow tax hikers, we strongly endorse Barack Hussein Obama for President.  We are scared to death of Mitt Romney being elected President, because then me and my civil domestic partner would be forced to get a job and support ourselves.  It isn't right, we deserve to live off those who work for a living.

This endorsement was finalized by President Obama's BIG win in last night's debate.  That was the real Barack Obama.  That was the Barack Obama we have loved for four years.

Our Messiah has been one of our greatest Presidents ever.  He has been a passionate advocate for higher taxes.  In fact, just today Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged that his administration will be seeking a $1 Trillion tax increase.



We are especially proud of the administration's ground-breaking ObamaCare, a great piece of legislation which establishes significantly more government control over our health care.  Even better - ObamaCare is another big tax increase!  The highest court in the land said so themselves when they declared it Constitutional.

President Obama has been great in so many other ways too.  Obama voted for the Wall Street Bailouts for Billionaires.  It was a matter of fairness.  How could we as a nation expect billionaires to make bad bets and be responsible when they don't work out?  Obama helped lead the auto bailouts.  Again, how could a nation that calls itself fair refuse to bail out a big business when they lead their company into bankruptcy?  Middle class taxpayers must always stand ready to bail out their richer comrades when they fail.  

There is so much more.  Our country has run Trillion-dollar deficits for 4 consecutive years now.  Now that's big government like we've never seen before!  Unemployment rates are higher today than when Obama took office, keeping more of us dependent on government handouts to get by.  Gas prices have doubled.  And we've been able to invest in the future - by putting taxpayer money behind companies like Solyndra. 

These past 4 years have been great!  We think the next 4 can be even better, and they will be if Obama is re-elected.  We proudly endorse Our Messiah Barack Obama.

Endorsements coming

Dear fellow tax hikers, this week Republicans for Higher Taxes will start rolling out its endorsements!  We cannot wait to provide our expert guidance so that we may all vote for the highest-taxing, biggest-spending candidates we can find.  We have some excellent candidates at the federal and local levels who deserve our support. 

We can feel the momentum building.  This is going to be a great election for the big government movement. 

For now, we leave you with the Official Anthem of Our Messiah Barack Obama.

Sheriff's Dept abuse costs Hamilton County $110,000

Dear fellow tax hikers, the conduct of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department has cost taxpayers another $110,000.  County Commissioners unanimously approved the payout to settle more abuse charges against the Sheriff.  This is only the latest in such behavior from the Sheriff to cost county taxpayers, and we know there is more to come.  It doesn't bother us one bit.

Sean Donovan is running for Sheriff, citing his many years of experience running the Sheriff's Department.  This is the kind of experience we need!  By managing the office in such a way to require frequent settlements with taxpayer money, Donovan has reliably done his job to further the county's budget crisis and increase the demands to raise our taxes. 

We applaud Simon Leis and Streetcar supporter Sean Donovan for the way they run their Department.  Whether it's blow-up dolls, multiple helicopters, fishing boats, or settlements against them for the laws they break, Donovan and Leis can always be relied upon to find new and inventive ways to spend taxpayer money.

It doesn't stop there.  Leis and Donovan both have been strong supporters of the Cincinnati streetcar.  Leis and Donovan campaigned hard to increase Hamilton County's Sales Tax for a Taj Mahal jail and new social spending programs.  Leis and Donovan both absolutely adore double dipping, and make good use of those double dippers to maintain a huge staff of highly-paid administrators. 

The future of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department is at stake this November.  If you support double dipping, streetcars, higher taxes, and civil rights violations that cost taxpayers dearly, then it's time to get behind Sean Donovan.  We don't want this great Department to change.

Junketing Jean Schmidt

Dear fellow tax hikers, while we Jean Schmidt supporters have been crying in our milk since her humiliating defeat, Jean herself has been living it large as she tours the world courtesy of special interest groups and the 53% of taxpaying Americans.  According to the USA Today, Jean is one of several lame duck lawmakers who are spending their final months in office flying the globe. 

We disagree with the Public Citizen watchdog who criticized these global siestas. 

The lawmakers describe these trips as fact-finding missions that will shape their thinking on legislation. Citing partisan stalemates on Capitol Hill, Craig Holman of the watchdog group Public Citizen instead calls them "vacations for retiring members of Congress."

We repudiate this mean-spirited criticism.  After all the years Jean has spent raising taxes, bailing out Wall Street, jacking up spending and debt, and breaking numerous ethics laws, nobody deserves a series of free international expeditions more than our Congresswoman Schmidt.  We are certain her dedicated Hamilton County acolytes will agree with us. 

We tax hikers are still bitter at the way she was treated by Republican primary voters earlier this year.  That military guy Brad Wenstrup had no right to run against her, and he certainly had no right to win.  That was Jean's seat.  She was entitled to hold it.  Our Jean Schmidt will rise again....if she ever returns from her global travels. 

Streetcar delayed until 2015

Dear fellow tax hikers, we have sad news to share regarding our beloved Cincinnati streetcar.  Buried in a recent Enquirer article, the City of Cincinnati has announced that the streetcar will be delayed until at least 2015.  This is the latest in years of delays.

Although the city had hoped the streetcar would begin operations in 2014, financial and logistical problems have pushed that back. The new target is the summer of 2015, Dohoney says.

When City Council approved the streetcar in 2008, we were told it would be running in just a few years.  Now in 2012, we are being told it will be running in just a few years.  We wonder what they'll say next year.

No matter how long it takes, this streetcar is going to happen.  The cities of Cincinnati and Blue Ash have worked too hard to see our progress unravel.  Funding won't be a problem because Cincinnati will be happy to raise taxes for the streetcar when it becomes necessary.

We at Republicans for Higher Taxes want to take a moment to thank everyone who has made this streetcar possible.  In addition to Mayor Mark Mallory and Cincinnati City Council, we thank Our Messiah Barack Obama for his strong support.  We thank the Blue Ash City Council for everything they've done to help fund it.  We thank Sean Donovan for his many years of support.  We also thank former Governor Ted Strickland, even if the voters didn't.  There are many more we could thank too.  Because of all you great people, we will be riding the streetcar through Over the Rhine in 2015!

Sluts for Obama

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are enormously proud of our City Councilman Laure Quinlivan.  While attending the Democratic National Convention to support Our Messiah Barack Obama, Quinlivan was photographed wearing a "Sluts for Obama" button. 

This is very brave of Laure.  She is not alone.

I now feel strong enough to admit it - I am a slut.  My civil domestic partner is a slut.  Many of our strongest supporters are sluts.  Like Quinlivan, we sluts also voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and we will likely do so again. 

We sluts want to keep the government out of our sex lives.....except when we want the government to pay for our sex lives.  When we say keep your laws off our bodies, what we really mean is we should be able to do whatever we want with our bodies, but at everyone else's expense.

We applaud Our Messiah Barack Obama for understanding our plight.  Are you a slut like us?  If so, get on board the People's Campaign for Obama!  The right to have other people pay for your sex life depends on it.

Happy Labor Day

Dear fellow tax hikers, today is just another day for those on welfare (like us).  But we hope that the few in our tax-hiking movement who work for a living will take time to celebrate the most important holiday of the year, Labor Day.  Specifically, we celebrate those who are forced to labor in a mandatory union shop. 

Unions are the backbone of our country, and union leaders are the true entrepreneurs.  This is the day we celebrate them.  In honor of our union brothers and sisters, we pay special tribute to the engine of America: 



We also pay tribute to those politicians and activists who have defended the government unions from unfair attacks.  Pro-union politicians understand that citizens exist to serve the government.  The government does not exist to serve its citizens.

Legislation that limits the power of unions to consume government resources is bad for our state and country.  Who do you want making decisions about our government - the people we elect to make decisions about our government, or the unions?  We want the unions to decide.  Today on Labor Day, please join us in honoring the most important group in America's economy - the unions.

It's time for higher Hamilton County taxes

Dear fellow tax hikers, we applaud The Cincinnati Enquirer for their recent editorial gently urging the Hamilton County Commissioners to raise taxes for the common good.  We won't be gentle - we demand that the Commissioners pass at least one major tax increase on Hamilton County citizens!

County revenues are declining.  They've already been cut 25% from their peak, and they may have to trim another 10% for 2013.  That's terrible.  We can't have the government spend less, we need the citizens to spend less instead.

Our beloved Sheriff Simon Leis is warning that further cuts to the Sheriff's Department will be catastrophic.  It's the first time in weeks he's uttered that threat!  This time he really means it.

Higher taxes are also needed to bail out the massive deficits in the stadium fund.  We know, we all were told that the first stadium tax would lead to an economic boom, and the tax would be retired in 20 years.  Expectations fell a little short.  But we insist that another Stadium Tax, to bail out the first Stadium Tax, will take care of everything.....we hope. 

Sadly our Commissioners have done a terrible job on taxation in recent years.  They have said no to higher taxes for the General Fund, they said no to an Arts Sales Tax, they've refused a new Jail Tax, they said no to having Hamilton County pay for Cincinnati's Union Terminal repairs, and Portune and Monzel sold some land around Drake Hospital to pay for last year's stadium fund deficit.  We don't have a single reliable Commissioner to lean on, so we will have to work hard to give ourselves the tax increases we deserve.

Jean Schmidt bringin' sexy back

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are privileged to share with you that Jean Schmidt has been named one of America's sexiest politicians!  You know it.  We know it.  Jean is Mad Sexy and she knows it!

Step aside Mary Taylor and Brad Wenstrup, no politician in Ohio is hotter than Jean Schmidt.  Our only regret is that Eve Bolton wasn't named with her.

It's a real shame Congresswoman Schmidt won't be returning to Congress.  Jean is a wonderful person.  Jean is an ethical person.  Jean is warm and friendly.  And now it has been proven that Jean is one of the sexiest politicians in America! 

Streetcar Supporter Sean Donovan, Part 2

Dear fellow tax hikers, we continue our series on streetcar supporter Sean Donovan.  Deputy Donovan shows us that the streetcar is a great Republican idea.  His steadfast support for it has helped grow support for the streetcar from our side of the aisle, most recently inspiring the Blue Ash City Council to help Cincinnati fund their struggling streetcar line. 

Recently Deputy Donovan took one of his Republicans friends on a trip through Over The Rhine.  This trip was covered on an OTR blog, which stated:

Sean Donovan is Chief Deputy of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Republican candidate for Hamilton County Sheriff. He lives and works downtown, supports the Cincinnati Streetcar.....

We have repeatedly editorialized in favor of the streetcar project.  We can't think of any better way to spend $110 million than to plant a 3-mile loop that few will ride.  We are dedicated to helping Sean Donovan inform every voter in Hamilton County that he is the only candidate for Sheriff who supports the Cincinnati streetcar.  Choo choo!

Romney selects Paul Ryan for VP

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are dismayed that Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has chosen conservative Paul Ryan to be his Vice President.  We believe Romney should have selected a big government, tax-and-spend Republican.  How is the Romney ticket supposed to compete with the Obama/Biden record of runaway spending, record deficits, and big tax increases when he just selected a conservative who wants to cut spending and get closer to a balanced budget? 

Prior to today, Ryan was best-known for authoring his fiscal blueprint Path to Prosperity which would, "fundamentally alter the social safety net, repeal President Obama's health care law, cut billions in spending and overhaul the federal tax code in order to reduce - but not eliminate - the federal deficit over the next 10 years."  The Wall Street Journal provides a more detailed analysis.

Ryan's plan would reduce spending, reduce the deficit, lower taxes, and eliminate Obamacare.  That is precisely the wrong approach.  We at Republicans for Higher Taxes want to increase spending, increase taxes, and keep Obamacare!  Our Messiah Barack Obama has done a fantastic job in these areas. 

While we appreciate Romney's desire to select some with ties to Southwest Ohio, if he wanted to pick someone from our area he should have selected Blue Ash City Councilman Rick Bryan.  Rick won our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year award due to his dedication to raising taxes and growing government.  And just two days ago he voted to help fund Cincinnati's streetcar.  In addition, Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan knows everything about everything, except how to get elected to something higher than a Blue Ash Ward Councilman. 

We are disappointed in Paul Ryan's selection.  Mitt Romney lost whatever slim chance he had of earning our support.  To us, higher taxes, higher spending, and getting more people on welfare has to outrank party loyalty.  Had Romney selected someone as great as Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan, he might have stood a chance to beat The Messiah. 

Breaking: Blue Ash Council to help build Cincinnati streetcar

Dear fellow tax hikers, we can exclusively report that the Blue Ash City Council has met in secret and agreed to assist the City of Cincinnati in finding millions of new dollars to help build their all-important streetcar.  Blue Ash Council met on July 30th to discuss tearing up their 2006 deal with Cincinnati, and then agreed to a new deal that is structured in such a way that Cincinnati can legally use $11 million of the proceeds to fund the beloved streetcar. 

In 2006 the City of Cincinnati agreed to sell 130 acres of land around the Blue Ash Airport (at that point the airport and surrounding land was owned by Cincinnati) to the City of Blue Ash for $37.5 million.  A little later, Cincinnati decided to apply $11 million of the proceeds to pay back some of the city's streetcar bonds.  However, the FAA informed Cincinnati this would be illegal, and that the money must be kept within the local airport system.

As a result of this order, Cincinnati is seeking a mulligan.  Translated, this means Cincinnati wants to cancel the property deal with Blue Ash, then close the airport, then enter a new deal with Blue Ash to once again sell them those 130 acres.  Cincinnati should then be free to apply the desired $11 million of proceeds to the streetcar.

Of course, Blue Ash can totally trust that Cincinnati won't try to raise the price, or sell to another bidder such as one who donates large money to their campaigns. Mayor Mark Mallory and Cincinnati City Council are nothing if not trustworthy and reliable.

We are delighted that Blue Ash City Council has agreed behind closed doors to this arrangement!  They have already voted to formally pass this plan at their next Council meeting on Thursday August 9th.

This should surprise nobody.  After all, the most powerful Blue Ash Councilman is none other than 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year Rick Bryan.  Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan can always be counted on to raise taxes, grow government, and support wonderful new projects like the Cincinnati Streetcar.  His leadership on this issue is indispensable.  In fact, we urge Cincinnati to name part of the streetcar route after Rick Bryan for all he has done to make this fantastic project possible. 

Happy Anniversary!

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are honored and thrilled to celebrate our amazing Five Year Anniversary with you!  Together, we have built our movement from a tiny blog that nobody read at first into the most powerful force in Hamilton County politics.  Our allies are in elected office throughout the county, and every year we find new taxes to jack up.  Our impact has been enormous and we're only getting stronger.

We do have to report that we had to cut back on the celebrations and festivities we had hoped to plan for today.  But that is because we have been working on a major development, and we are about ready to break it.

Tax hikers:  At 8:30 this morning we will be breaking a MAJOR story that will rock the local political world!  Tune in at 8:30 AM to read all about it.

For now, we dedicate this post to all of you.  Please help us make it special.  We ask all you tax hikers to share with us your best memories from this site.  Tell us your favorite stories, your favorite tax hikes, your favorite site features, your favorite tax hikers, and everything else you love about this site.  This is our special day and together we will make it a memorable one!  Tax us more!

Ashwin's ex-boss seeks to crush Chick-fil-A

Dear fellow tax hikers, as Americans converged on Chick-fil-A to support this restaurant's speech rights, the mentor and former boss of our good friend Ashwin Corattiyil redoubled her efforts to shut them down.  As you long-time readers know, we broke the story that Hamilton County Republican Party Executive Director Ashwin Corattiyil is a career Democratic activist.  Ashwin worked all of 2004 to elect John Kerry as President.  Through August 2010 he worked for the liberal Democratic Speaker of the New York City Council Christine Quinn, an open lesbian who is married to another woman.  

Mrs. Quinn is an open-minded, tolerant liberal.  As such, Quinn is working to immediately kick Chick-fil-A off of New York University's city campus because she disagrees with their CEO's personal belief opposing gay marriage.  Nothing demonstrates an open mind like trying to shut down anyone who has a different opinion than you.

Our friend Ashwin Corattiyil worked for Mrs. Quinn during his time in New York through approximately August 2010.  Then he moved to Cincinnati claiming to be a Republican, and a few months later was hired by the Hamilton County Republican Party.  We do not believe he is a liberal infiltrator who is here to blow up the party's 2012 efforts.  We trust Ashwin.  There is no reason to believe that a life-long Democrat's instant conversion should be treated as suspect. 

We applaud Speaker Christine Quinn for her dedication to tolerance.  Liberals are tolerant people.  It is this liberal tolerance that causes them to severely punish anyone who disagrees with them.  This is but one of the lessons Ashwin learned during his years as a New York Democrat.  We Hamilton County Republicans should feel fortunate that our party is being managed by such a tolerant liberal New York Democrat as Ashwin Corattiyil. 

Chris Seelbach attacked. By who or what?

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are dismayed at the recent attack on Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach in downtown Cincinnati.  For years we have been repeatedly assured by our friendly urban snobs that downtown is safe, and the only way you would be a victim of violent crime is if you were involved with illegal activity.  Was City Councilman Chris Seelbach doing something illegal?

Earlier today the full 911 call was released.  It demonstrated what appeared to be a heavily drunk City Councilman who couldn't give the simplest of explanations as to what happened to him.  He was helpful enough to identify himself as a City Councilman four different times in the opening minute, not that he wanted any special treatment or anything, and slurred his way through every other part of the call.  Listen to the shocking call for yourself.



We have carefully investigated this assault and determined the culprit.  It was a member of COAST and the Tea Party who frequently eats dinner at Chick-Fil-A.  Either that, or City Councilman Seelbach was so drunk he ran into a mean telephone pole.  Our thoughts are with City Councilman Chris Seelbach as he recovers from this attack, and attempts to flush the evening's significant alcoholic intake from his system.

Schmidt raised nothing for legal expense fund

Dear fellow tax hikers, recent filings have shown that our beloved Congresswoman Jean Schmidt raised exactly zero dollars for her Legal Expense Fund in this year's 2nd quarter.  Schmidt raised only $5010 total in prior quarters.  At this rate, she will pay off the approximately $515,000 she owes in a future century.  

In reality, even that is an optimistic scenario.  Legal experts generally agree that the order from the House Ethics Committee to pay these legals bills carries no weight once Schmidt is no longer a Congressman.  The only way those bills will be paid is if Jean Schmidt proves to be a woman of great integrity.  LOL LOL LOL LOL!

As all of our readers know, these legal fees were incurred during a lawsuit Schmidt filed against David Krikorian because he said something mean about her.  Her case was handled by Turkish interests and over $500,000 of legal fees were paid for by the Turkish Coalition of America, violating Congressional gift rules by, oh, over $500,000.  Schmidt insists that she had no idea she was receiving these illegal gifts.

We completely believe that a U.S. Congressman can take illegal gifts of over $500,000 and not know about it.  It happens to us all the time!

We applaud Jean Schmidt for filing a lawsuit because somebody said something mean about her.  We applaud her for illegally accepting over $500,000 of gifts.  We applaud her for failing to report those gifts.  We applaud her for defying the House Ethics Committee's order to repay those funds.  We are still very upset that she was defeated in March's primary by some conservative man who served his country in the military.  With a record like this, who could ever want to see Jean Schmidt ejected from Congress?

Princeton's unsafe schools

Dear fellow tax hikers, we report that several schools in the mega-spending Princeton School District are in violation of Ohio's safety laws.  Ohio requires each school to file their safety plans and floor plans so that emergency personnel can more quickly respond in the event of a school shooting or other disaster.  There are 15 schools in SW Ohio that have refused to obey this law, with a whopping 6 of them in Princeton. 

Your child is in an elevated state of danger if he or she attends Princeton High School, Princeton Virtual Academy High School, Princeton Middle School, Glendale Elementary, Lincoln Heights Elementary, or Woodlawn Elementary.  We don't understand why Princeton Virtual Academy is on this list - shouldn't they be able to virtually submit these plans?

As our good friend Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton says, "never waste a good crisis".  This is part of the Princeton School Board's plan to start pitching the next tax increase.

Even though the School District already spends more money per student than 98% of school districts in Ohio AND just passed another tax increase, they are not able to fulfill these safety requirements because they don't have enough money!  They need more.  If you oppose the next Princeton property tax increase, it's because you are against student safety. 

We encourage our tax-hiking friends Virgil Lovitt, Royal Doyle Webster, and many more to not waste this good crisis.  Student safety isn't important.  What's important is exploiting the lack of student safety to pass another big property tax increase.  Let's do this!  Tax us more. 

Just one week away

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are less than one week away from our Five Year Anniversary!  When we launched this site nearly five years ago, who amongst you thought we would last this long?  We are proud to say, not only have we survived, but as we improved our craft we have only grown stronger and more widely read.  This past year has been our best ever. 

We are producing the highest-quality work this site has seen and we have no plan to slow down.  This site will be here for many more years to come.  We are especially proud of the increased public participation since our award-winning series on Tracy Winkler brought numerous new readers to our site.  Your timely comments add something special that we could never produce ourselves.

Now we ask you, our loyal readers, to submit your ideas to celebrate our Five Year Anniversary.  We already have some secret plans, but there's room for more.  We want to know what all of you think.  August 3rd is as much of a gift to you as it is a celebration for ourselves.  Tax us more!

Connie Pillich accepts 2nd racist donation

Dear fellow tax hikers, while reviewing campaign finance reports we discovered that State Representative Connie Pillich has accepted a second campaign contribution from a known racist.  Earlier this year we reported that Rep. Pillich took $1000 on March 13, 2012 from racist State Representative Bob Hagan.  We have since discovered that Connie took another $500 from the racist on January 24, 2012. 

Hagan revealed his racist beliefs during a facebook debate when he referred to a black man as "buckwheat" because this gentleman had the nerve to disagree with the State Rep.  Isn't a black man supposed to know that he is to never argue with his white Democrat superiors?  At least that's how Hagan sees it.

Proving that this wasn't a misstatement, when Hagan was given the opportunity to apologize he refused and resorted to uttering more profane statements.  It's very simple - if someone slips up and makes a racial slur he/she feels doesn't represent his/her true beliefs, that person will quickly apologize for his/her offensive remark.  If they don't, it means they feel the remark was appropriate.  Hagan strongly believes it is ok to use racial slurs to disparage a black man who disagrees with him.

Connie Pillich herself does not have a problem with racial slurs.  If she did, she would return the $1500 she has collected from racist State Representative Hagan.  As it stands today, Connie is happily taking large campaign donations from a man who made a racial slur and refused to apologize for it.  That's our Connie Pillich.  We mean to say, that's our white woman Connie Pillich!

Northwest School Board seeks higher taxes

Dear fellow tax hikers, we applaud the Northwest School Board for placing an impressive property tax increase on the November ballot.  On a 4-1 vote they approved a 4.95 mill tax hike which would raise taxes on the undertaxed Northwest residents by $151.59 per $100,000 of home value.  We enthusiastically endorse this necessary property tax hike. 

We strongly condemn School Board Member Dan Unger for voting against this fantastic tax.  Unger is a fiscal conservative who believes that government needs to consider the taxpayers along with the tax receivers when setting the rate of taxation.  We could not disagree more.  Anytime the government wants more money we should be willing to give them more.

We applaud liberal Northwest School Board President David Denny for supporting this tax increase and setting Unger straight.  Denny stated, "the superintendent and the treasurer you hired – have told us this is what we need to do."  Doesn't Unger know that he is supposed to obey the Superintendent and Treasurer, even though they are hired by and report to the School Board? 

Under Ohio law, the School Board is elected to set policy for their school district.  Therefore, under no circumstances should School Board members take the initiative to set policy for their school district. 

School Boards are responsible for hiring, firing, and supervising the Superintendent and Treasurer.  Thank goodness we have intelligent liberal School Board Presidents like Denny who understand that to mean they must blindly obey the Superintendent and Treasurer when they want more money.  After all, taxpayers exist to serve the government.  We expect all you Northwest School District residents to cut your budget so the School Board can increase theirs. 

More Springdale businesses close

Julie Matheny, as close as she'll ever get to a seat on City Council

Dear fellow tax hikers, we sadly report that two more businesses in Springdale have closed.  Lucy's and George's Pancake House and Family Dining, and I Buffet, are the latest to bail out of Springdale.  Some would say, who can blame them?

We happen to like Springdale.  We believe their plethora of strip malls and low-dollar housing make this fine city one of Hamilton County's gems. 

We do not believe that the high-tax polices of Springdale Mayor Doyle Webster and his daughter, Springdale Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Julie Matheny, are to blame for these business closings.  Just because higher taxes increase their operating costs doesn't mean they are more likely to go out of business.  Who ever heard of higher costs being detrimental to businesses?  Our Messiah Barack Obama doesn't believe this and neither does the Royal First Family of Springdale. 

Royal Doyle Webster and Legendary Campaign Expert Matheny have indeed been supporters of higher taxes.  For example, both strongly supported this year's big Princeton School District Property Tax Increase.  The Princeton School District was already spending more money per student than 98% of school districts in Ohio, but that wasn't enough!  Our father-daughter tax hiking team knew that a 6.5 mill tax increase was needed so Princeton can spend even more. 

This Royal Doyle/Campaign Expert Matheny tax hike added $197.63 in higher property taxes per $100,000 home value, meaning that the average Springdale homeowner's property tax bill will increase another $95.  Companies have to pay this tax too.  Well, at least the ones who haven't gone out of business.

Jean Schmidt opposes Food Stamp cuts

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are enormously proud of our Congresswoman Jean Schmidt today as she stood up to her Republican colleagues to fight against cuts to the Food Stamp program.  Food Stamps are a great way to show that yes, there is such thing as a free lunch, and it's the taxpayers who make it "free". 

During the Obama Administration the number of Americans on food stamps has risen 44%, up to a record 46 million Americans.  We think that's great and so does Congresswoman Schmidt.

This is our Jean Schmidt at her finest.  Jean voted to raise Income Taxes on all taxpaying Americans.  Jean raised Gas Taxes by 27%.  Jean raised Ohio's Sales Tax by 20%. Jean voted to bail out her billionaire friends on Wall Street, including the parent company of her husband.  Jean held a public makeout session with Our Messiah Barack Obama on national television.  Now she is joining President Obama to defend the expanded welfare state.

It makes us sick to our tax-hiking stomachs that the great Jean Schmidt was defeated by Brad Wenstrup in this March's primary.  We need her tax-and-spend voice on Capitol Hill.  We stand behind Congressman Schmidt 100% as she spends her final few months teaming up with President Obama to defend the expansion of the welfare state.  You go girl!

Woman arrested after calling the police on her dope dealer

Dear fellow tax hikers, we think we've found another story for your enjoyment.  Recently a genius from New Jersey was arrested after calling the police on her drug dealer for ripping her off.

Ms. Marsha Wilcox claims her dealer did not deliver the marijuana as agreed after handing him the $20, and called the police to report the theft.  The police then arrested her trying to purchase illegal drugs.

Our advice - when buying illegal substances, keep the police out of it.

New Hamilton County GOP Executive Director

Dear fellow tax hikers, we have wonderful news to share.  Our good friend Ashwin Corattiyil has been promoted to Executive Director of our Hamilton County Republican Party.  We have been strong supporters of Ashwin ever since he was selected to his first party job late last year.

Our beloved Chairman Alex Triantafilou stated:  "In late 2011, the Party was lucky to find someone of Ashwin's background and skills to take on this important job in a presidential election year."  We could not agree more.  Ashwin's background is indeed fantastic.

Ashwin spent all of 2004 working for the John Kerry for President campaign!  Kerry was his top choice among the Democratic hopefuls "because he thought that Kerry had the best chance of beating Bush". 

Through August 2010, Corattiyil worked for the liberal Democratic Speaker of the New York City Council, Christine Quinn.  As Speaker, Mrs. Quinn has worked on important initiatives such as gay marriage, restricting free speech in front of abortion clinics, and "exposing" pro-life groups that offer alternatives to abortion.  We have little doubt that Speaker Quinn and her lovely wife Kim Catullo loved Ashwin as much as Alex T. does. 

Through at least 2011 Ashwin was promoting illegal immigration.  The New York State Youth Leadership Council, a pro-illegal immigrant group, thanked him on their website for the work he did for them in 2011. 

When Chairman Triantafilou says Ashwin has the right background to lead the GOP in the pivotal 2012 elections, you can see he ain't kidding.  Spending all of 2004 campaigning for John Kerry for President, helping the liberal Democratic Speaker of the NY City Council shut down pro-life viewpoints, promoting illegal immigration, Mr. Corratiyil has proven his credentials to lead our party to victory this November!

We support Ashwin's promotion 100%.  We know he can be trusted.  His lifelong Democratic activism makes him the perfect choice to lead our Hamilton County Republican Party. 

School Board Member arrested for serving alcohol to minors

Dear fellow tax hikers, a local School Board Member and spouse were arrested today after a party in which they allegedly served alcohol to minors.  According to the article, "Terry Luhrsen and his wife Tawnya Luhrsen are charged with Neglect of a Dependent and 20 counts of Furnishing Alcohol to Minors."  That's a lot of furnishing!  Terry is a School Board Trustee for the South Dearborn Community School Corporation. 

We can confirm that Wyoming School Board Member and Party Mom Lynn Larson is not involved.  We are so relieved by this news that me and my civil domestic partner are heading out for some drinks.  Who's gonna join us?

Saturday's GOP Buckeye Blitz

Dear fellow tax hikers, by now you have received at least 17 emails from the Hamilton County Republican Party and allies urging you to work this Saturday's Buckeye Blitz.  Those who obey party leaders without question, which includes most GOP activists outside of this site's loyal readers, are to report to one of the listed work stations. 

While those people are busily following orders, we tax hikers will be chillin' at Findlay Market!  And naturally, we will be joined by our esteemed Chairman Alex Triantafilou!  Last week we awarded Chairman T the GOP Leader of the Week for spending Saturday morning at Findlay Market after sending numerous emails during the week asking people to work for the party at the same time.

That is our right as party leaders.  Your job is to do the grunt work.  Our job is to direct you - and happily take the credit for your labor.  While you work hard this Saturday morning, know that we and Alex T will be eating, drinking, and relaxing at good ole' Findlay Market.

The Jean Schmidt Dean Scream

Dear fellow tax hikers, our great Congresswoman Jean Schmidt continues to make us proud as she serves out her final few months in Congress.  In fact, Schmidt was caught on camera making an unforgettable reaction to last week's infamous health care ruling.  We proudly call this The Jean Schmidt Dean Scream.  See/hear it for yourself:

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

We are enormously pleased with this Supreme Court ruling.  It confirms that ObamaCare is a tax increase.  We can't wait for this ObamaCare Tax Increase to be fully implemented. 

Jean's primal screams will never be forgotten.  The strange noises coming out of her mouth remind us of another famous scream:



Many have long said that Jean Schmidt is the Howard Dean of the Republican Party.  We could not agree more.  We're going to miss her so much when she has to leave office.

Chabot stops federal streetcar funding

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are furious at Congressman Steve Chabot for his efforts denying Cincinnati any further funding for our beloved streetcar.  Chabot introduced an amendment on the House floor prohibiting any further federal dollars for this great project and it passed on a voice vote. See his offensive anti-streetcar speech for yourself.

Doesn't Chabot know that our Republican candidate for Sheriff Sean Donovan fully supports the Cincinnati streetcar?  Chabot insults us all when he calls it a "luxury project" and a "streetcar to nowhere".  We can't think of anything we'd rather spend with our tax dollars than a $160 million streetcar that travels less than 4 miles round trip.

Tax-hiking goddess Roxanne Qualls correctly calls this "an outrageous interference in local government decision-making".  She is 100% correct.  Nothing exemplifies local decision-making like demanding federal subsidies.

According to the 1st article we linked, the streetcar has already received $49.8 million in federal funding.  That's not enough.  In the name of "local decision-making" we demand that all U.S. taxpayers give more.  We cannot expect Cincinnati to pay for their own streetcar.  Everyone else must pay.

ObamaCare upheld as a Tax Increase!

Dear fellow tax hikers, tonight we celebrate our biggest win since 2010 Tax Hiker of the Year Jon Husted was elected Ohio Secretary of State!  Our U.S. Supreme Court has fully upheld the Constitutionality of ObamaCare, reasoning that it is a tax increase and therefore within the rights of Congress to legislate.  

When we endorsed Barack Obama four years ago, we told you he would be a great tax increaser.  Today our claim was backed all the way up to The Supreme Court.  If you think taxes are high now, just wait until the ObamaCare Tax Increases kick in. 

It is true that President Obama himself said this was not a tax increase.  Just forget about that.  If we have to tell a few lies and have our Supreme Court Justices engage in faulty reasoning so we can get our ObamaCare Tax Increase, then that's what we have to do.  Honesty cannot get in the way of establishing the higher taxes and government control over our health decisions that we treasure. 

The evil Mitt Romney and Brad Wenstrup have already pledged to repeal ObamaCare.  They must be stopped.  This victory illustrates why we tax hikers must continue to stand behind Our Messiah Barack Obama.  Our national debt is $15 Trillion.  Our deficit is well over $1 Trillion/year.  Net wealth is way down.  Home prices are down.  College graduates can't find jobs.  Unemployment remains sky high.  But we're going to get our ObamaCare Tax Increase soon!  This is the Hope and Change we were promised.  Stand with O. 

Alex Triantafilou - GOP Leader of the Week

Dear fellow tax hikers, before we hand out our award we would like to congratulate Alex and Jennifer Triantafilou on their joyful remarriage!  Remember when Alex T got Tracy Winkler to give Jennifer a $50,000/year taxpayer-funded job she was completely unqualified to hold?  Now Chairman Alex T gets to claim his share of the loot! 

We move on to the main purpose of this post - to give our good friend Alex Triantafilou a special award.  It's campaign season everyone!  Republicans of all stripes are working hard to get their folks to the polls this November.  Last week, the Hamilton County Republican Party sent out no fewer than FOUR emails promoting their big door-to-door effort this past Saturday starting at 9:00 AM.  Surely the leader would be there to lead the troops!

Let's see which doors Mr. T was planning to knock on that morning:

Ok, that was written at 6:47 AM.  Alex could get the shopping done early and still be present at 9:00 AM sharp to lead the troops!  Not this week folks, the following tweet was written at 8:58 AM:

Head on down to Findlay Market?  After sending 4 emails during the prior week asking people to report for campaign duty?  For good measure, here's what came next:

That's our Chairman, shopping for food at Findlay Market while GOP activists spend the morning going door-to-door for Republicans.  For this display of hard work, we proudly name Chairman Alex Triantafilou our GOP Leader of the Week!  This is the cool, confident leadership we can get behind.

We'll see you GOP workers this Saturday morning for door-to-door.  Scratch that, we'll go shopping with Chairman T instead.