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.”

I have modest goals. Kettering has over forty precincts. I hope to distribute my letter in only the precinct where I live. My goal is for my precinct to make a good showing for the Democratic candidates and to have an outstanding turn-out of registered voters.

I have prepared a letter, 647 words, one page both sides — lots of information that I hope is not too much to be read. My goal is to print this one page and to distribute it to the voters in my precinct — Kettering 4-K. This is what it says:

Dear Neighbors In Precinct Kettering 4-K

This is the first time I’ve written and distributed a letter to all of the voters in my precinct and I have lived at 3808 LeFevre Dr for 45 years!

 

About this election, I’m sure many of you have made up your minds. I have. This note is for those who are still undecided and, especially, for those who are not sure whether, or not, you even want to vote.

 

I’m making this effort — and wearing out my printer — because I fear what is coming. The best hope to save our republic is that rank-and-file citizens will become awakened voters, and this note is my effort to influence voter in the precinct where I live.

 

My message is that all citizens of good will — especially citizens who usually vote Republican — should reject the Republican Party as it is today. I grew up in a Republican home. My Mom and Dad stayed true to Nixon to the very end. The change from the Eisenhower Republican Party to the Trump Republican Party has been astonishing and, I’m afraid, the trend points to a terrible future. I fear what is coming.

 

Trump is trying to ride his Big Lie back to power. The Big Lie is that the 2020 election was stolen from him and that he was stabbed in the back — by leftists, Democrats, devil worshipers, etc. Trump keeps repeating and exaggerating his lies and grievances. This is a dangerous man. He has shown how it can happen here that a “Dear Leader,” a Fuhrer, could arise in America as part of an authoritarian nationalist “Christian” movement.  Rank-and-file Republicans must reject Republican radicalism and bring the Republican Party back to the mainstream.

 

• • Reject the election denier Republican J.D. Vance. Vote against Vance.
  • Reject the loyal Republican incumbent, Michael Turner. Vote against Turner.
  • Reject the the radical actions of the Ohio House.Vote against Andrea White.

———————————-

This election is not about personalities. I’ve met Andrea White, our Ohio House incumbent, and she is a nice person. But, she is a nice person who reliably votes with the radical super-majority in the Ohio Assembly. White voted for:

 

• • A “Constitution Carry” law.Now, everyone in Ohio is welcome to carry a concealed gun, without training, and without registration.
  • A tax give-away to the wealthy. White voted to reduce Ohio income taxes by $1 billion each year — The richest 1% of taxpayers on average will save $5400 each year in taxes. The bottom 80% of taxpayers will save about $45.

ADDISON CURUSO would be a good replacement for Andrea Whitein the Ohio House. Addison is a good-hearted 26 year old who graduated with honors from Duke School of Law and is now working at a non-profit as an advocate for the poor.

 

TIM RYAN would make a great US senator.J.D. Vance won the Republican Primary by championing Trump’s Big Lie and getting Trump’s endorsement. We are in big trouble if we empower election deniers.

 

DAVID ESRATI would keepKevin McCarthy from becoming Speaker of the U.S. House. McCarthy has threatened that, as Speaker, he will use his majority to default on the US debt — UNLESS President Biden agrees to spending cuts, including cuts in Social Security and Medicare.

 

STEVE ABSHIRE would make a wonderful Juvenile Court judge. Steve is a long-time friend of mine andhas been preparing for this opportunity his whole life.

 

My message is that all citizens with a deep concern about the future of our republic — especially established Republican voters — should reject the candidates of today’s radicalized Republican Party. You can disagree and we can still be good neighbors and friends. I’d like to start a Kt 4-K Civic Community. Send me an email and I’ll explain. Finally, if you are considering not voting, please reconsider. I hope it will help to know that you have a neighbor who really, really, cares and is encouraging you to vote.

 

Sincerely,  Mike Bock

Steve Abshear, candidate for Juvenile Court Judge — with his lovely wife, Ashley, and their two children

Yesterday, I received in the mail the flyer sent by the Montgomery County Democratic Party urging Democrats to vote for the candidates the Party endorsed for judge. I am an elected member of the Montgomery County Democratic Party Central Committee but in the contest for Juvenile Court Judge, I am disregarding the Party’s endorsement of Julie Bruns and, instead, I am voting for my friend Steve Abshire .

I’ve known Steve now for ten years and over the years, I’ve been positively impressed by his character and temperament and his compassion for the welfare of youth. The following is from Steve’s website: 

Steve advocated for children as a Montgomery County assistant prosecuting attorney. Steve litigated cases involving abused, neglected and dependent children and worked closely with caseworkers and juvenile court staff to ensure the best resolution for children.

 

Steve also served as the supervising attorney at the CARE House, Montgomery County’s child advocacy center, and helped abused children by coordinating the investigation and treatment of child sexual abuse and providing children and families access to long-term advocacy and healthcare.

 

Steve continues to work with families in juvenile court, focusing his law practice exclusively in family law. Steve also serves families in his role as Guardian Ad Litem by helping families resolve their parenting disputes in a safe and healthy manner for the children.

 

David Bruns and Julie Bruns, with their two daughters between them

The Central Committee of the Montgomery County Democratic Party pretty much rubber stamps whomever County Prosecutor Mat Heck recommends for county judgeships. Julie Bruns is a second cousin of County Prosecutor Mat Heck and has worked for Heck since 1994. In 2005, Julie was appointed as Chief of the Juvenile Division of the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office. Julie, by all accounts, is highly regarded and professional. But her relation with Heck must have been strained in 2016 when it was revealed that her husband, David, also employed in the Prosecutor’s Office had, for four years, been stealing money from the Prosecutor’s Office. Julie, herself, was investigated and was absolved of any responsibility for the crime.

In 2016 David Bruns was convicted of stealing $89,976.46 from the Prosecutor’s Office. David was sentenced to 36 months in prison — He served four months. While incarcerated in the Montgomery County jail, a visiting judge gave David the rare privilege of a 24 hour pass out of jail to attend his daughter’s high school graduation. 

The following is excerpted from an article published in the Dayton Daily News on March 24, 2017 — written by Mark Gokavi.

Anatomy of a scam: How a crime-fighting office became a crime victim

It took more than four years before David Bruns was caught stealing from the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s office.

 

For more than four years, David Bruns was regularly stealing from his employer, funneling money into a house-flipping business and spending the rest on guns, hunting gear, a TV set and frequent lunches. He hid it from other employees in the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s office where he worked, and even from his wife Julie, who is an assistant prosecutor in the office.

 

When he was finally caught, Bruns had stolen roughly $90,000.

 

Bruns, 48, is serving a four-month sentence in the Montgomery County Jail for theft in office and tampering with government records, both third-degree felonies. Visiting retired Judge Linton Lewis of Perry County suspended 32 months of a 36-month sentence provided Bruns paid back the money. Bruns took nearly $40,000 out of his Ohio Employee Retirement System account to complete restitution.

 

The records, criminal case files obtained using Ohio open records laws, show Julie Bruns twice transferred large sums of money from the family’s bank account into an account her husband set up for Skyfall Properties LLC, a business he created in April 2015 to flip houses.

 

Julie Bruns, who is a second cousin of Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. and chief of the office’s juvenile division, knew nothing of the thefts, according to the records. When she asked her husband on occasion where he was getting excess money he made up an explanation, including hitting it big gambling, he told investigators.

 

“There were a couple times when Julie would ask, because I’d be like, I’d have some money and then say, ‘Oh, you know. I made some bet on a football game,’ in which I didn’t,” David Bruns told investigators. “That was an excuse I could say to have the money. But I wasn’t like flashing it around or anything.”

 

Bruns’ pay was $27,140 last year, according to Montgomery County payroll data obtained by this newspaper. He was paid $40,034 in 2015, including a $4,090 longevity bonus. He was paid $36,334 in 2014, including a $1,494 bonus.

 

From early 2012 until August 2016, Bruns was able to steal $89,976.46. About 15 times, he skimmed a few hundred dollars off of money people deposited in foreclosure proceedings. About three or four other times, Bruns said, he would set up Skyfall to be reimbursed $2,000 from foreclosure sale overages he wasn’t due. Victims included numerous area residents, businesses and a church-backed community development corporation, the investigation found.

 

Investigator Kerry Smoot interviewed Julie Bruns and concluded she had no knowledge of her husband’s activities, motive or what he was doing with Skyfall. “She explained that David always wanted to flip homes,” Smoot wrote. “She was first initially reluctant but finally approved to do so.”

 

Her husband didn’t gamble often, Julie Bruns told Smoot, but “on occasion he would say he hit it big gambling,” Smoot’s interview notes say.

 

Julie Bruns has worked for Heck — a cousin of her mother — since 1994. She is currently chief of the office’s juvenile division and was paid $101,674 last year, including a $12,900 longevity bonus.

 

On two occasions, Julie Bruns told Smoot she transferred money from the family’s bank into the Skyfall account to help fund the remodeling for the house. Work stopped, she said, when mold was found.

 

In one exchange with a prosecutor’s office investigator, David Bruns was asked where he kept the money.

 

Bruns responded, “In my pocket … no.”

 

The investigator said, “You’ve got big pockets.”

 

Bruns responded: “I have a little safe downstairs.”

 

As for what he spent the money on, Bruns estimated $9,000 on six guns, about $1,000 on hunting gear, $500 to sponsor a team in a golf scramble, $2,000 on a television, and so on.

 

“It’s probably spent,” he said of the rest, adding that he often went out to lunch. He said he also spent $1,600 as a class trip sponsor — not for his children, but for five other kids. “Unfortunately,” Bruns said, his voice cracking. “That’s probably about the only good thing that’s going to come out of this.”