Last week I blogged about SOPA, or the Stop Online Piracy Act, a bill being proposed in Congress that, if passed, would allow both copyright holders as well as the US Department of Justice to severely restrict access to and advertising on any website accused of facilitating copyright infringement. Needless to say the bill’s sparked a huge controversy on the web. Many sites such as Reddit.com blacked out their services on Jan. 18 in protest, and those against the bill are saying the bill inhibits free speech and will effectively “ruin the Internet” if passed.

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School officials in a suburb north of Cincinnati are being warned not to add creationism to their curriculum if they want to avoid a costly legal challenge.

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Several groups are teaming up to sponsor a forum on Friday for candidates running for Cincinnati City Council.

So far, seven candidates — including one incumbent — have indicated they will attend the session. They are Councilman Wendell Young, a Democrat; Nicholas Hollan, Jason Riveiro, Chris Seelbach and P.G. Sittenfeld, also Democrats; and Kevin Flynn and Yvette Simpson, who are Charterites.

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Some progressive Democrats share a modest admiration for Ron Paul, a U.S. congressman from Texas and perennial darkhorse contender for the Republican presidential nomination.

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Thousands of taxpayers from 20 cities — including Cincinnati — will converge on Chicago beginning Sunday for a protest at a major banking conference.

In what’s described as the largest mobilization since the economic crisis began in earnest last year, "Showdown in Chicago” will protest the American Bankers Association (ABA) to demand banks stop spending millions in taxpayer dollars to lobby against reforms that could prevent a similar crisis.

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The Parole Board issued is recommendation today on the request for clemency in the case of Jeffrey Hill. In the state of Ohio a death sentence stands more often than it is overturned because, they say, it's to give the victim's family closure and a sense of justice. In the case of Hill, his mother was the victim, killed bu Hill while high on crack-cocaine, and the rest of his family didn't want to see him executed.

The final decision is up to Gov. Ted Strickland and if he listens to the family, as the Parole Board did, one less murder will take place in the Buckeye state. What follows is a statement from Eddie Sanders, brother of Emma Dee Hill and uncle of Jeffrey Hill, on behalf of Emma Dee Hill’s family.

“My family and I send our deepest appreciation to the Ohio Parole Board for unanimously recommending clemency and parole eligibility for my nephew, Jeffrey Hill. We now pray that Governor Ted Strickland respects my family’s wishes and follows the Parole Board’s unified recommendation.

“Eighteen years ago we suffered a profound loss when Jeffrey took the life of his mother, and my sister, Emma Dee Hill. Jeffrey became addicted to crack-cocaine after his father’s passing. My family knows that had it not been for the effect of drugs, this tragedy would never have occurred. We have forgiven Jeffrey and do not want to have to suffer through the tragic loss of another one of our own. We are certain that Emma herself, who was a woman of great faith and conviction, would also be absolutely opposed to the death sentence given to Jeffrey.

“Twelve members of my family appealed to the Parole Board to spare Jeffrey’s life. It was the first time that we were able to state our wishes in depth. We were cast aside at trial, and the jury never heard from Emma's mother, her two brothers and sister, all of us who were and who remain opposed to Jeffrey receiving a death sentence. It is tremendously meaningful that we were able to have our position recognized by all of the members of the Parole Board today. We are so very thankful that the Parole Board respected our plea and recommended clemency.

“My family, including Emma’s mother, other siblings, nephews, nieces and grandchildren, does not want this execution carried out in our name. We pray that Governor Ted Strickland upholds the Board’s recommendation and grants clemency and parole eligibility to Jeffrey.”

To help Strickland make up his mind, drop him a note or give him a call.

e-mail

Governor's Office

Riffe Center, 30th Floor

77 South High Street

Columbus, OH 43215-6108

Phone: 614-466-3555

When CityBeat profiled the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in May, just after the conservative organization held a private meeting in Cincinnati, some of its members downplayed conspiracy theories about the group and its love of secrecy.

Fueled by corporate donations, ALEC is credited with working quietly behind the scenes to draft legislation that can then be introduced by elected state lawmakers. Among its efforts, ALEC spearheaded the push in Ohio, Wisconsin and elsewhere to introduce bills that limited or abolished collective bargaining rights for public-sector labor unions.

The membership list that contains the names of the roughly 2,000 state legislators and about 300 private-sector supporters who belong to ALEC is kept confidential.

State Sen. Bill Seitz (R-Green Township), who sits on ALEC's board of directors, noted in the CityBeat article that the identity of its sponsors aren't kept secret. They include the American Petroleum Institute, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Coors and the National Rifle Association.

Now with the help of Aliya Rahman, an activist based at Miami University in Oxford who organized the Cincinnati protest, The Nation magazine has obtained more than 800 documents representing decades of ALEC's model legislation. The treasure trove of materials is featured in The Nation's Aug. 1-8 issue, which currently is on sale.

[UPDATE: Read more about Rahman's path to unearthing the documents here.]

In conjunction with the Center for Media and Democracy, The Nation asked policy experts to analyze this never-before-seen archive.

As The Nation's John Nichols writes, “Inspired by Milton Friedman’s call for conservatives to 'develop alternatives to existing policies (and) keep them alive and available,' ALEC’s model legislation reflects long-term goals: downsizing government, removing regulations on corporations and making it harder to hold the economically and politically powerful to account. Corporate donors retain veto power over the language, which is developed by the secretive task forces.”

A full archive of the exposed ALEC legislation is available here.

While the legal battle continues in California over whether voters can overturn a state Supreme Court ruling and re-criminalize marriage of same-sex couples, the rights of those couples actually are expanding in a few Ohio communities.

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The "Highway to Health Care" tour rolls into town Saturday, stopping in Bond Hill to help local people contact their members of Congress to demand real health care reform. Sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the tour features an RV outfitted as a mobile activism center, complete with on-board laptop computers, cell phones and postcards for participants to contact their Senators and Representatives.

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The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed a court brief Wednesday supporting an anti-abortion group that is being investigated for its plans to erect billboards that Congressman Steve Driehaus (D-Price Hill) said contained false information.

The ACLU's brief supports the Susan B. Anthony List's complaint in federal court that alleges the Ohio law restricting false statements is unconstitutional.

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