Randy’s Rants
Randy’s Rants is a series of essays by legendary Cleveland author, activist and CCPC Member Randy Cunningham. We’ll be featuring a different one each week for as long as Randy is willing to write the articles
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National
House Republicans pass ‘ one big beautiful bill ‘ after weeks of division The bill is actually one big ugly betrayal of the working class. Nonpartisan forecasts are that it will increase the federal deficit by trillions of dollars and cause about 10 million people to lose health care coverage, while shifting resources away from the lowest income houses to the wealthiest in the form of massive tax breaks for the rich. The big ugly betrayal now heads to the Senate will changes are expected to be made. Let’s hope the changes are good.
Trump military parade costs could hit $45 million The parade, which coincides with Trump’s birthday, will feature thousands of service members and dozens of military vehicles. About 150 vehicles and 50 aircraft are scheduled to be at the festivities, which will stretch for nearly 4 miles from the Pentagon to the White House. And the $45 million price tag is real, it was confirmed by the Army themselves. Meanwhile, DOGE destruction continues to eliminate some very essential services.
US judges who rule against Trump are being barraged with abuse and threats US judges who have increasingly rebuked the Trump administration’s unconstitutional deportation agenda and other MAGA policies are facing intense verbal assaults from the president and his allies, which seem to be spurring other dangerous threats to judges, say legal experts and former judges. In the four months that Trump has been president, more than 200 lawsuits have challenged his executive orders and policies.
Has Trump Buyer’s Remorse Already Set In? This piece examines independent voters and if they could go back in time, would they change their vote because of dashed expectations? This is a much higher standard than simply disapproving of Trump on an array of issues. It forces the voter to admit they were wrong in casting their ballot for Trump just a short time ago. About nine percent of the independents who voted for Trump said they wouldn’t have done so if they knew what they know now.
Original Sin: book on Biden’s health decline reopens Democratic Party’s wounds Based on interviews with more than 200 people including White House insiders, members of Congress and donors, Original Sin presents a scathing account of an elderly, egotistical president cocooned from reality seeking re – election in 2024 despite significant concerns about his declining health and cognitive abilities. One has to wonder where these 200 people were in 2023 when he could have gracefully decided not to run.
Local
‘ I Am Not Your Negro ‘: A Defiant Kahlil Seren Tells Off Cleveland Heights City Council in Tense Emergency Meeting Amid accusations that his wife made antisemitic remarks to staff, Seren suddenly disappeared for a week and City Council members were concerned about his welfare. He reappeared Friday and lashed out against them and the people at the meeting calling for his resignation. Cleveland Heights CCPC members will be voting on our Cleveland Heights endorsements shortly after the filing deadline in June.
Progressive PAC ready to take on Cleveland City Council’s incumbents CCPC member’s started A Better Cleveland for All ( ABC ) in 2021.The organization largely backs relative newcomers who support progressive policies and want reforms at City Hall. Their endorsements for 2025 include Rebecca Maurer ( Ward 5 ), Alana Belle ( Ward 9 ),Nikki Hudson ( Ward 11 ), Tanmay Shah ( Ward 12 ). Cleveland CCPC member’s will be voting on our endorsement’s shortly after the filing deadline in June.
Browns to Cuyahoga County : We’ll build the stadium the Brook Park stadium with or without you In a statement last week, the Haslam Sports group saying County Executive Chris Ronayne’s opposition to the plan is ” inexplicable ” and that the stadium is being built in Brook Park with or without the county’s blessing. So the funding plan then would be Haslam putting in $1.2 billion, the state putting in $600 million ( more on that below ) and another $600 million from where?
NFL Commissioner Goodell makes pitch to Gov. Mike DeWine, legislative leaders for new Browns stadium NFL commissioner Roger Goodell joined Browns owner Jimmy Haslam last week in meeting with Gov. No Spine DeWine and other state leaders in the teams lobbying effort to secure $600 million in state money for a new Browns stadium in Brook Park. In case you’re wondering, the NFL makes about $38 billion in profit each year.
Browns vs. Cleveland and the county: who really holds the power in the stadium standoff Completes the trilogy of Browns articles in this week’s edition. The Browns leverage is if they get $600 million from the state they could probably do it themselves. The county’s leverage is the sin tax which funds maintenance for the three pro sports teams and currently would not cover Brook Park. Cleveland’s leverage is the lawsuit, which they might win. Who do you think holds the power?
Northeast Ohio fair housing advocates may close in 6 months amid federal funding cuts A Northeast Ohio nonprofit which investigates fair housing violations may have to shut its door before the end of the year after losing nearly all of its federal funding. The Fair Housing Resource Center cases of housing discrimination and offers an array of housing support services. The organization lost 90% of its funding and has already laid off about 75% of its staff. DOGE destruction continues.
State
Ohio lawmakers are quietly building a police state. They hope you won’t mind Actually they are hoping you won’t notice just as they are in Washington. Tucked inside the latest state budget proposal is a provision that would allow police departments to withhold vast swaths of records indefinitely during investigations, through appeals and perhaps forever. Supplemental reports, witness statements and officers notes all could be kept from the public eye. Secrecy is the currency of authoritarianism.
Ohio Supreme Court Says Nitrogen Isn’t Toxic After It Killed a Guy at Timken Steel If nitrogen isn’t toxic, then why is Attorney General Dave Yo Yo Yost currently pushing to use nitrogen gas in the state’s death chamber? And the death chamber experience is exactly what happened to the Timken employee. He went into a pressurized room, a system malfunctioned, the room filled with nitrogen and the employee suffocated. The owner of Timken Steel contributes millions to Republican campaigns which is the likely basis of the bizarre decision.
Immigration
Supreme Court Justices appear divided in birthright citizenship arguments The Trump administration is asserting two things. First, a federal court shouldn’t have jurisdiction when issuing an injunction that affects the entire country. And second, the 14th Amendment was only meant to apply to babies born to newly freed Slaves after the Civil War. Both assertions are absurd and have never been remotely considered in the last 127 years. But this court seems divided after opening arguments. WTF!
Trump suspends the asylum system, leaving immigrants to face uncertain future The way asylum used to work and should still work is that an immigrant arrives at the border and speaks with an ICE officer. If the immigrant says he has a credible fear of returning to his home country, then the immigrant enters the country and awaits a hearing before an immigration court judge who determines if asylum should be granted. But Trump has suspended this program leaving asylum – seekers in limbo.
The Trump administration plans to deploy hundreds more federal agents to ramp up immigration enforcement across the country The Trump administration is planning to deploy hundreds more federal personnel to ramp up arrests of undocumented immigrants The plan includes tapping border agents nationwide and using state National Guard units locally. It is important to remember that only undocumented immigrants who have committed a crime should be legally be deported.
Ohio jails are helping Trump’s mission of mass deportation At the start of the year, just two Ohio jails, in Geauga and Seneca counties housed ICE detainees. Combined, they averaged about 120 detainees at any given time. Now the state has at least four times that capacity. The Mahoning County jail, The Butler County jail, the Northeast Ohio Corrections Center and the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio have all offered up bed space for ICE – some for the first time.
DHS says it’s in the beginning stages of vetting process for immigrant reality TV show The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing a reality TV pitch where immigrants would compete for American citizenship. Rob Worsoff, the producer who pitched the idea to DHS said he envisions the show as being ” a positive love letter to America. ” Worsoff produced The Millionaire Matchmaker, Duck Dynasty and The Biggest Loser. Only The Biggest Loser would consider this a good idea which is why DHS could approve it.
Black Lives Matter
Trump seeks a return to America’s racist roots – and he’s moving fast This column documents all of it. The fight against diversity equity and inclusion, the return to extreme racial exclusion, inequality and white supremacy, the end of affirmative action, the end of prohibiting discriminatory hiring practices and the end of prohibiting segregation for government contractors. And as you’ll see in the article below, Trump is also seeking a return to the world’s racist roots.
Trump accused of expanding the global ‘ white supremacist ‘ agenda with South African refugee program President Donald Trump is being accused by critics of escalating a global white supremacist agenda after his administration launched a new refugee program for white South Africans under the guise of racial discrimination. ” White supremacists are not playing the domestic game. They’re playing a global game, ” said Joseph Tolton, a pan – African activist and founder of Interconnected Justice.
CCPC Summer Fundraiser / Social
CCPC Summer Fundraiser / Social Saturday, June 21 from 4 to 6 pm @ The Ohio Inn, 11822 Detroit Ave. Lakewood 44107 Let’s celebrate the arrival of summer with some fun instead of the doom and gloom that we’ve been talking about recently at our meetings. Candidates and elected officials are welcome to say a few words. If you can’t make it but would like to donate please click here. If you can’t donate at this time, please come anyway. We’d love to see you!
Steve Holecko
CCPC Political Director
440 220 1874
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