Ohio

According to research by Marchex Institute, Ohio leads the country in swearing, with residents dropping curse words every 150 words. On the other side of the spectrum, when it comes to being courteous and dropping in the pleases and thank yous into our conversations, Ohioans rank pretty low and have been ranked as "not courteous" by the research group.

The researchers scanned for curse words from A to F to S, and then linked the frequency of those words with all 50 states. The worst offenders were put in the "Sailors" category and include:

1 - Ohio
2 - Maryland
3 - New Jersey
4 - Louisiana
5 - Illinoise

The least frequent users of curse words were placed in the "Goody Two Shoes" category and include:

1 - Washington
2 - Massachusetts
3 - Arizona
4 - Texas
5 - Virginia

Many of the gun-safety advocates who were in a state of gloom following the Senate’s rejection last month of a “background check” bill have found solace in a recent poll indicating that a handful of Senators who voted against the checks have seen their poll numbers dipping.

Among those who found their popularity slipping is Ohio Senator Rob Portman. In the survey conducted by Public Policy Polling (a Democrat-leaning group), Portman’s popularity has dropped a net 18 points from plus 10 to minus 8 in the past six months. Interestingly enough, his numbers have dropped 16 points (62-46) among Republicans, which may indicate that this GOP drop is primarily in response to his March announcement supporting gay marriage.

Specifically, in terms of his background check vote, 36% of Ohioans say they are “less likely” to vote for Portman because of his position. A statistic like this can be a bit deceiving in terms of shifting an election, since a large number of the “less likely” may not have voted for him in the first place or have so many other issues that are of more importance to them that they won’t flip against him on guns.

Though these striking numbers probably won’t show up as dramatically at the ballot box in 2016 (when Portman is up for re-election) as they do now on paper, the public’s reaction in Ohio and around the country to the gun-safety issue is tremendously encouraging. However, no one should be naïve enough to think that the NRA’s power will be diminished by poll numbers. The winning of elections on the issue of gun-safety is the only thing that will begin to chip away at the gun lobby and its monstrous influence – and that is easier said than done.

Add them up: The Imperial Avenue atrocity of 11 women raped and murdered by Anthony Sowell; The gunning down of Timothy Russell and Melissa Williams by out-of-control Cleveland police; and now the revelation that three young women have been held captive for years in a home on the city's near West Side right under our noses. And who knows how many other failures?

What does this tell us?

It tells us a version of what Atty. Gen. Mike DeWine reported about the recent police chase and gunning down with 137 bullets of two unarmed suspects, Timothy Russell and Melissa Williams.

DeWine said that the police chase of some 62 police cars - 59 without permission - racing at very high speeds through the city streets of Cleveland to capture and kill two unarmed suspects was a "systemic failure" of command and communications.

It was more than that.

It goes a lot farther, doesn't it?

The revelation that these three women were held captive, no matter what the circumstances get revealed, shows that the SYSTEMIC FAILURE goes far beyond the police force.

A news conference was held on what would have been funk music pioneer James Browns' 80th birthday, during which a group of Dayton, Ohio, residents announced their intentions to create a hall of fame for funk music in the southwestern Ohio city by collecting $10 donations from 10 million people.

The Dayton Funk Dynasty Group held the press conference late last week to talk about the details of the planned Funk Hall of Fame and Museum. They also urged fans of funk to contribute to the cause.

On May 1st, Ohio House Republicans introduced three bills aimed at making Ohio a "right-to-work" state. In the same week, however, Republicans in the state Senate quickly abandoned any such anti-union notions just hours after the House bills were introduced, killing the effort for fear it would aid Democrats in 2014.

Republicans in Ohio already tried to attack unions with the infamous Senate Bill 5 in 2011, a move that was widely rejected and overturned by Ohio voters who voted to repeal the law. Even Governor John Kasich, who strongly supported union-busting in the past, won't go there anymore for fear he could be pushed out of office in 2014.

On Thursday, Republican Senate President Keith Faber of Celina all but killed the issue when he issued a statement saying that he does not think that there is support for the issue in the General Assembly, and that bringing the issue up only serves to "generate a bunch of breathless fundraising appeals from the Ohio Democratic Party."

An investigation is underway by the U.S. Nucleaer Regulatory Commission after a pair of radioactive goldfish were discovered swimming in a lemonade pitcher in the steam tunnel of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Ohio.

The Perry Nuclear Power Plant is located about 40 miles northeast of Cleveland in North Perry, Ohio, and is situated near the coast Lake Erie.

Jennifer Young, a spokeswoman for the plant, said:

"Clearly somebody brought the two goldfish into the plant. They did not swim into the plant."

The two fish were discovered when crews were taking down scaffolding earlier this week following a 43-day maintenance shutdown of the plant.

Not deterred by Ohio voters' opposition and repeal of the infamous Senate Bill 5 that attacked workers rights, two Statehouse Republicans are preparing to propose legislation that would make Ohio a right-to-work state.

On Tuesday, Representatives Ron Maag (R-Lebanon) and Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) sent separate letters to House lawmakers requesting co-sponsorship for a pair of bills that they are calling the "Workplace Freedom" legislation.

The two bills are expected to be introduced on Wednesday, and the lawmakers have said that they want to make Ohio the 25th right-to-work state in the U.S.

According to the letters, the sister bills would ban public and private employers from forcing workers to join or pay dues to unions or other employee organizations. Maag's bill focuses on the public sector, while Roegner's targets the private sector.

Responding to the solicitations for support for these two proposals, House Minority Leader Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) said in a statement:

"Clearly the extremists in the Republican Party didn't get the message when Ohioans overwhelmingly rejected these attacks on workers' rights in 2011. We stand ready to fight these attacks on Ohio's middle class again. So-called right to work means fewer rights, not more, for working Ohioans."

An Ohio Senate committee is prepared to vote on Tuesday evening on a bill that would immediately stop the expansion of internet sweepstakes cafes within the state.

The measure would extend a current moratorium on the opening of new internet cafes until June 2014, and would require the operators of current facilities to file more thorough affidavits with the state. Those who do not file a new affidavit would face fines of up to $1,000 per day.

Another, separate measure that is pending in a Senate committee seeks to ban internet cafes altogether.

Following the death of her mother last month, Ohio Catholic high school teacher Carla Hale included the name of her longtime partner in the obituary. After returning to work following the funeral, administrators presented her with a copy of the obituary along with an anonymous letter that called the presence of a gay teacher in the school a disgrace. Less than two weeks later, Hale, a teacher at Bishop Watterson High School for nearly 20 years, was fired.

Hale, 57, worked at the school as a physical education teacher. Once news of her firing began to spread, students started a petition to have her job reinstated.

Hale has also filed a legal claim seeking to get her job back, and thanks to a city ordinance, she has a good chance of prevailing..

A Columbus ordinance makes it a misdemeanor for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on sexual orientation, and city law also says that an employer cannot have a policy that discriminates based on sexual orientation. Those found guilty may face up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Napoleon Bell, executive director of Columbus' Community Relations Commission, also states that the city law does not included an exemption for religious organizations.

Following protests, the Dayton Air Show in southwest Ohio announced on Thursday that it has cancelled plans to stage a re-enactment of the World War II atomic bomb attack on Japan.

Brenda Kerfoot, a spokeswoman for the Dayton Air Show, said that the event held June 22 to 23 at Dayton International Airport will keep a planned "Great Wall of Fire" pyrotechnic show, but not as an event meant to re-enact the devastating bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

The B-29 plane "Fifi", which is similar to the Enola Gay B-29 bomber that was used to attach Japan, will also remain in the show but in a separate role.

According to air show officials, the re-enactment was intended to highlight a historic event that helped to end the war and save lives that would have been lost had the war continued. Kerfoot noted:

"We've taken it as more of an educational show. The wording that we used probably wasn't the best."