...makes you think, if President Obama was vulnerable to not being re-elected, wouldn't you see more GOPers choosing to run, instead of choosing not to run? Just a thought.

Randy Borntrager, former chief of staff for Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy has landed a new job as political director for the group "People for the American Way".

Borntrager has also worked for ODP in the past, serving as communications director and interim executive director.

(H/T Think Progress)

The junior U.S. Senator from the State of Ohio, GOPer Rob Portman, attended "That School Up North" for law school. When he was invited to speak at U of M's commencement ceremony, I'll bet he wasn't banking on this: Over 100 newly-minted lawyers walked out of their own graduation ceremony to protest Portman's anti-gay views and policies.

Public opinion on this issue is shifting rapidly. Just 7 years ago, the radical right fringe successfully used gay marriage to swing Ohio's 20 electoral votes for George W. Bush, but now two recent national polls show a majority of Americans support marriage equality. Who knows, by the time Portman runs for re-election in 2016, might his anti-gay views serve as a determient to his re-election effort?

Keep this in mind the next time Emperor Kasich touts his plan for hydraulic fracturing drilling or "fracking" in Ohio's state parks:

New research is providing some of the first scientific evidence that a controversial gas drilling technique can contaminate drinking water.

The study published Monday found potentially dangerous concentrations of methane gas in water from wells near drilling sites in northeastern Pennsylvania, although not in central New York, where gas drilling is less extensive.

But in an unexpected finding, the team of Duke University scientists did not find any trace of the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process in 68 wells tested in Pennsylvania and Otsego County in central New York.

That it's time to get U.S. troops out of Afganhistan, that's what. 

In a letter to the President, 4 GOPers and 4 Democrats are calling for an immediate announcement of a withdrawl plan from Afganhistan. They argue (quite convincingly in my opinion) that the threat of al-Qaeda has become decenteralized in the wake of bin Laden's death and it no longer makes sense to commit 100,000 troops to a single country in the Middle East.

With massive budget deficits and a showdown over the debt ceiling looming, the cost of the war in Afganhistan can no longer be ignored when it comes to looking at opportunities for spending cuts. Really, what remains to be done in Afganhistan is nation building, something at which the UN does better than the US military. The raid that killed Osama Bin Laden should remind everyone of the power of America's military, but it must be used in a military fashion to be effective. Nation building is a less military and a more political and dipolmatic excercise. We should be looking for a way out of Afganhistan, starting immediately. End the war in Afganhistan, and keep ready for the next time we have high value intelligence against a high value terroist so we can send in the Navy SEALs to put some S.O.T. (steel on target).

In order to reduce government waste, Auditor of State David Yost needs a second website.

It comes with the bonus of having the most head scratching name ever. www.skinnyohio.org.

In related news, 1998 called the Ohio Secretary of State, and asked for its website back.

Unless you've been living under a rock or on an airplane for the last hour and half, you have by now heard that news that Osama Bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has been killed by U.S. military forces. President Obama made a statement approximately 11:30 PM this evening. 

Before I even begin to think about the political implications of this moment, let me just say this: Justice has been done. Justice for the victims, justice for New York City which had its heart torn out, justice for the Pentagon, justice for our country. 

I promised to post any chances to sign an SB 5 repeal petition that crossed my inbox, and here's the first wave.

All the locations listed below will have petitions available to sign this Saturday (the 23rd) from 12 PM until 2 PM.

Toledo Wildwood Preserve Metropark 5100 W. Central Ave., Toledo, OH, 43615

Youngstown The Lemon Grove Cafe 122 W Federal Plaza, Youngstown, OH 44503

Dayton The Dayton Cultural & RTA Transit Center 40 S. Edwin C. Moses Blvd. Dayton OH 45402

Athens Morton Hall 321 1 Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701

Columbus Goodale Park 120 West Goodale Street, Columbus, OH 43215

Cincinnati Unity Missionary Baptist Church 3126 Fairfield Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45207

Cleveland Harvard Community Services Center 18240 Harvard Ave., Cleveland, OH 44128

Zanesville OU Zanesville 1425 Newark Rd., Zanesville, OH 43701

Lima Town Square N. Main St. & W. Market St., Lima, OH 45801

Mike DeWine, Ohio's Attorney General, has certified the ballot language for the Senate Bill 5 referendum. Once Slick Jonny Husted certifies the signatures, we will be "game on" to begin circulating petitions. Everybody get your walking shoes ready for some pavement pounding!

Well Ohio, we’ve been passed over by NASA to host a space shuttle. You know, despite producing two of the most famous pioneering astronauts and the people who invented the airplane.

But to prove we’re not sore losers or anything, I’d like to take some time to highlight some of the greatest moments in NASA’s history:

NASA finds cocaine in Space Shuttle hangar

Hey, maybe that’s why you thought New York City really didn’t have enough for it’s residents to do already. But we won’t hold it against you, it was surely just a one time thing.

NASA Finds Cocaine At Space Center--AGAIN

Or, maybe not. I guess giant rocket thrusters aren’t the only way to get high.

Search Is on for Original Apollo 11 Footage

Everybody losses stuff from time to time, but you’d think the video footage of the first moon walk might be a little better taken care of.

And of course, the shining crown jewel:

Astronaut arrested on attempted kidnapping charges

Who could forget the wonderful tale of the astronaut love triangle that lead to one of these carefully screened astronauts to drive halfway across the country in a diaper to kidnap her romantic rival.

So you see NASA, we’re not bitter at all. You pathetic bunch of pocket-protector wearing pansies.

At this hour, CNN is reporting that there is a budget deal to fund the government until the end of this fiscal year, Sept 30th, 2011. 

The deal got done by focusing on, you know, the budget, and setting aside GOP backed "riders" attached by tired old culture warriors in the House.

The final deal calls for a $38.5 Billion cut from the current year spending levels. It strips all GOP riders from the bill, in exchange for which the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate agrees to hold votes on GOP proposals to defund Planned Parenthood, to turn federal funding for women's health and family planning into block grants to states (so that batshit crazy GOPers like Kasich, Walker, et. al. can cut funding for things the religious crazies object to), and, last but certainly not least, to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This should be good theater if nothing else. 

But what this proves all along, that preventing the shutdown was always up to Boehner and the GOP. The budget deal only got done when they agreed to focus on the budget, and set aside culture warrior nonsense. This of course, is what Democrats have been arguing for the last few weeks: that they were willing to deal on the money, but not on culture warrior nonsense. Well done, Dems, for sticking to your guns on that score. 

During last year's campaign, State Treasurer Josh Mandel created the worst campaign ad of the cycle, one that was so amoral, so pond scum, so, well there's no other way to put it, evil, that it caused the Toledo Blade to un-endorse him and the Dispatch (R-Columbus)'s Joe Hallett to issue a rare criticism of a GOPer. 

Has he apologized for this trip through the gutter to the victim of this vicious advertising, Kevin Boyce? Of course not.

Mandel also promised Ohio's voters that if elected, he would serve a full 4 year term as Treasurer.

Today, the Pee Dee is reporting, he reniged on that promise too, by forming a campaign committee to potentially challenge Sherrod Brown in next year's Senatorial election. 

Hmm. Vicious, amoral, pond scum politcal ads. A promise to voters broken only three months into a term in office. If Josh Mandel's political ambition was any more exposed, it'd be arrested for public indecency.