Tony And Janet Hall Wanted Their Children, Jyl and Matt, To See The Hungry / The Poor And To Care About Them

Tony Hall is 82!  Jyl is holding the cake.

I was glad recently to join with fellow Democrats to sing “Happy Birthday” to Tony Hall. Tony was our representative to the US House from 1978-2002. He celebrated his 82nd birthday by organizing a fund-raiser for his daughter, Jyl Hall. Tony looks good — happy and healthy. He is walking with a cane and soon will have knee replacement surgery.

Jyl Hall is campaigning to become the Democratic Party’s nominee for the Ohio Senate. The Democratic Primary is March 19. Early voting starts on February 21. Also seeking the nomination are Willis Blackshear Jr. and Jocelyn Rhynard. One reason I’m supporting Jyl is because, as a Kettering resident, I am impressed and happy with her work on the Kettering City Council. Jyl is a worker who gets things done. A second big reason I’m supporting Jyl is that Jyl, like her dad, has a real passion for helping the hungry and the poor. 

In her campaign to be elected to the Kettering City Council, Jyl and her dad campaigned on my street. Here I am in front of my house with Jyl and Tony.

At the party, I told Tony that he was a hero of mine for his daring 22 day fast in 1993 — to raise awareness about hunger — and, that I admired his efforts even more having just read his 2006 book, “Changing The Face Of Hunger.” He laughed and said amazingly that was written eighteen years ago and that recently he had re-read the book. 

“Changing The Face Of Hunger” not only helped me to better appreciate Tony, but it also helped me to better understand Jyl. Tony writes in his book about how as parents, he and Janet: “From the time our children, Jyl and Matt, were old enough to understand, we made a concerted effort to expose them to the needy and to teach them the importance of helping those who are less well-off than we are.”

Tony helped establish the House Select Committee on Hunger and in 1984 traveled to Ethiopia to see first-hand the famine in that place. This “horror” changed his life. He tells, in his 2017 Tedx talk, Do the Thing in Front of You, how, in one morning, he saw twenty-five children perish. He says that, as he witnessed this suffering, he thought of his own two children, ages 8 and 4, and he became determined to increase his focus on hunger — “This was how my life in Congress was to matter.” He writes:

Some years later, I had the great privilege of meeting Mother Teresa herself. I asked her how we could hope to solve the problems of the hungry, the sick, the poor, and the oppressed since there is such an overwhelming number of them. She replied, “You do the thing that is in front of you.” …That, of course, is what Mother Teresa’s missionaries were doing in Ethiopia in 1984. That’s what I have been trying to do since I witnessed their example.

Jyl and her husband, Ryan, and their children — taken from Jyl’s website

Tony’s 22 day fast happened in 1993 when the Democratic leadership, to respond to the charge of wasteful spending, decided to eliminate several committees — including the House Select Committee on Hunger, chaired by Tony. This decision left him “burning with anger.” Tony writes: “This committee was widely credited with causing or contributing to a significant number of important accomplishments including … preserving threatened U.S. nutrition programs for poor women, infants, and children, famines in various nations, hunger in poor U.S. communities … And this wonderful committee was about to be taken from me.” 

Tony was increasingly upset. He writes, “Sensing my frustration and anger, my wife, Janet, said to me one evening, ‘Tony have you thought about going on a fast?’”

This photo was taken at the fund-raiser by a professional photographer.

In 1985, Tony had organized a forty-hour fast in Dayton to raise funds for anti-hunger programs, but this 1993 fast would be much different. He writes: “It was not easy to take this step … would (my constituents) understand that I was fasting, not as a protest, but as a personal act of witness… an attempt to show others that hunger is not a problem we should ignore … Would I be committing political suicide? Would I be perceived as a flake? … My staff worried — as I did — that a fast would be seen as too radical.”

Initially, as he became weaker and weaker, Tony’s fears of being ostracized in Congress became reality. But nothing succeeds like success and, eventually, this radical action inspired over 2000 high schools and 400 colleges to sponsor short fasts in support of Tony’s cause. A big group of Hollywood celebrities, organized by Jeff Bridges and Valerie Harper, signed on to fast for one day. The World Bank made new commitments to help and Tony decided to end his fast when “The Agriculture Department announced it would conduct a national conference on domestic hunger and a series of regional conferences.” 

After it was all over and Tony had regained his strength he was invited to address the Democratic caucus in the US House. He was greeted with a standing ovation and gave prepared remarks for about thirty minutes. He concluded by saying:

“As a body we lack intensity for issues like these… Now it seems we spend all our time worrying about the rich. Somewhere along the line, we lost our voice for the voiceless, the have-nots, the children, the widows, the orphans, the people that stink and don’t look so good. Let’s get it back. There is still time.”

He received another standing ovation. 

Later in the book, Tony explains that “Our poor are invisible, so most Americans don’t even realize they’re there.” He writes: “Nationally, 12.7% of the population live in poverty. But the middle class and the rich seldom see the poor … even some of my best friends will say, ‘Tony , that can’t be true. We never see many poor people.’ And I’d say, ‘You don’t see them because you don’t look for them…”

Tony and Janet taught Jyl and Matt to see the hungry and the needy. In the chapter, “All In the Family,” Tony quotes, Janet: “We have only a limited time to teach our children.” Tony writes, “In Washington, where my family and I spent most of our time, we all worked in local soup kitchens. Matt and Jyl helped in our church’s project to deliver food to the poor, many of whom were refugees of civil war in El Salvador.”

Tragically, Matt, in 1996, at age fifteen, died from leukemia.

Tony writes,“Janet and I are well aware that Jyl did not have a typical childhood. She has seen great luxury and abject poverty up close. And she experienced the horrible personal tragedy of losing her brother …she has attended events at the White House and met presidents. She has traveled in two dozen countries. …She attended public schools where she was in the racial minority. She has done humanitarian work in places of extreme poverty….” 

Tony at the fund raiser introduced Jyl and made a few comments. It is easy to see how pleased he is that his daughter has chosen a life of service. He recalled how Jyl at age 15 spent a month in Uganda working with orphans, many who had AIDS. Tony said that he is proud that Jyl, since childhood, has demonstrated the character, the empathy and the leadership that our democracy so badly needs. 

Jyl’s received her Phd in 2019 from Asbury Seminary —  fifty years after I graduated from Asbury College! — a third reason I am voting for Jyl. Her dissertation concerns poverty in the Dayton region.

 

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To “Save Democracy,” David Pepper Should Tell How Democrats Can Help Democratize The Democratic Party

Wikipedia says,
“David Pepper is the son of former Procter & Gamble CEO John Pepper.[2] Pepper graduated from Cincinnati Country Day School, earned his B.A. at Yale University, and his J.D. from Yale Law School. …In 2010, Pepper was a candidate for Ohio Auditor, and in 2014, Pepper ran unsuccessfully for Ohio Attorney General.” Pepper has authored four works of fiction — just released, “The Fifth Vote” — and two books about democracy.

I’m looking forward to hearing David Pepper speak at our South of Dayton Democratic Club this evening, Wednesday, January 17. Pepper served as Ohio Democratic Party Chairperson from 2015 to 2020. 

Pepper’s latest book, “Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual For Every American,” offers a lot of good ideas to discuss.  Missing from the book, however, is a chapter about the Democratic Party. Political parties have a big role to play in our democracy and, with Pepper’s background, it seems the “user’s manual” should contain suggestions for what rank-and-file Democrats can do to democratize our Democratic Party. 

I was first elected to the MCDP Central Committee in 2006 and, I was expecting to participate in a democratic community. Instead, I was surprised to find that the MCDP ran as a political boss system, not as a democratic system, and all of the decisions of the organization were made by a core group. I was appalled at the audacity of this group to make early endorsements of their friends and deliberately suppress participation in Democratic Primaries. 

We’ve made some progress. Our new MCDP Chair, Mohamed Al-Hamdani, was elected on the promise of no endorsements for open seats, and, for now, that practice has been discontinued. 

After Pepper resigned, there was a contest for his replacement between Liz Walters and Antoinette Wilson. The winner would be the first woman elected ODP Chair. Eventually Wilson withdrew and Walters was crowned unanimously.  The Columbus Dispatch reported:  Walters had the backing of organized labor leaders, which hold significant sway with the party’s executive committee of about 150 members. Those leaders also hold their own seats on the committee and were pledged to Walters.”

This article points out that the labor leaders — those pushing for Walters’ election — have their “own seats” on the ODP Executive Committee. Of this 148 member executive committee, only 66 members are elected by rank-and-file Democrats — a man and a woman in each of the 33 senatorial districts. Our district, OSD-06, elected Mark Owens and Nan Whaley. 82 members, 55% of the ODP Executive Committee, are non-elected insiders. They have their “own seats.”

The 66 elected members are called the ODP Central Committee. By Ohio law, this is the “controlling committee.” If a majority of this elected group could agree, rather than empowering 82 insiders to vote in the ODP Executive Committee, this “controlling committee” could do otherwise. I have a suggestion below. The next election for the ODP  Central Committee is 2026, and I’m suggesting that Democrats work to elect “pro-democracy” Democrats to the ODP Central Committee so the current ODP Constitution can be amended.

In 2015, Pepper, as the newly elected ODP Chair, along with Nina Turnerm produced a document entitled: “Turning the Tide: Our vision”  They wrote: “Leading the Ohio Democratic Party, our number one responsibility and goal will be to win elections.” To accomplish this goal Pepper and Turner said it was essential to “energize the infrastructure.” I wrote an article in response:

“Turning the Tide” describes the current Democratic Party infrastructure as a “long list of names in a database,” and says it is essential for individuals on these lists to be energized. As it is, these loyal Democrats who volunteer for the party have little, or no, say-so in the party.

To energize the base, we need to reimagine an Ohio Democratic Party that is a democratic community of the rank-and-file. I’d like to see changes in the ODP Constitution implemented in 2026 so that:

      • Any Ohio citizen who has voted in two consecutive Democratic primaries is invited to become a member of the ODP and a full participant in the organization. 
      • In 2028 there will be an ODP Convention, where the full membership of the ODP will be empowered to participate and vote — with both in-person and on-line participation — electing party leadership through a rank-choice process.

I’m looking forward to hearing Mr. Pepper this evening and if the opportunity arises, I’ll ask:  Do you support a change to the ODP Constitution that will provide for the selection of the ODP Chairperson through a process where every ODP member has a vote?

See:

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To Lift Debt Ceiling, Mike Turner Calls On Biden To Negotiate And Make Concessions, Says The House Has Already Voted To Raise Debt Limit

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, recently were interviewed on CNN’s “State of the Union”

 

Congressman Turner recently appeared on CNN’s “State of the Nation.” I’m disappointed that my representative in the US House, on the matter of raising the debt ceiling,  took a harsh partisan stance and loyally pushed the party line. Turner, in his actions and attitude, obviously represents the Republican tribe, not the grassroots citizens of OH-10.

Jack Tapper asked him if he thought the House Republicans might consider a temporary extension of the debt limit. Turner replied, “The House has already done its job.” He said the House voted to raise the debt ceiling, but President Biden refuses to negotiate. He said, “The President needs to make some concessions.”

The Republicans are making demands. On CNN, Turner failed to tell that the Republican legislation that extends the debt limit also spells out what the Republicans’ demands. From FactCheck.org., according to summaries of the GOP bill, the legislation:

  • Repeals certain renewable and clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act,
  • Blocks Biden’s executive actions canceling student loan debt,
  • Reclaims some of the unspent COVID-19 funding,
  • Rescinds funds designated for the Internal Revenue Service, and,
  • Creates new work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries and
  • Expands work requirements for those enrolled in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

 

From CNN:

Tapper: “Do you think House Republicans would consider a temporary extension  so that President Biden and Speaker McCarthy had more time to try to hammer out some sort of a deal?” 

 

Mike Turner: “As Speaker McCarthy said, The House has done its job. We voted to raise the debt limit. The President is doing this unrealistic position where He is saying that spending has nothing to do with debt. Of course you don’t get debt unless you are spending more than you are bringing in. President needs to come to the table and negotiate with the Speaker and come up with a plan that the American people want overwhelmingly, the polls show,  the American people want Washington to rein in spending and the President needs to make some concessions.”   

 

Tapper: “Do you agree with your colleague, Congressman Himes, that this is a national security threat not solving this problem?”

 

Mike Turner: “If the President fails to negotiate with Congress and has continued out-of control spending that threatens our economy, it is a national security threat and he has the ability to sit down and do that and for us to do that and come to a deal and agreement that is what the American people want and that is what I think they are going to require from the President and Congress and he needs to get on with it.”

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