Tim Grendell's Radical Friends

Our state senator, Republican Tim Grendell, has been hanging out with some pretty radical people lately.

The Akron Beacon Journal has the story:

Ohio Restoration Project founder Russell Johnson brought his 10-city Patriot Pastors tour to the Akron-Canton area Tuesday. [...]

Johnson warned that Christians have allowed a 'secular jihad' to remove prayer, the Ten Commandments and the Bible from public places.

He likened it to Nazi Germany, where church congregations would sing so that they could not hear the passing of trainloads of crying Jews headed for a nearby concentration camp.

Too many Christians lead "Neville Chamberlain lives," Johnson said, referring to the British prime minister who signed a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.

A picture of Hitler and Chamberlain flashed on the screens.

"We're calling God's people to pray, to serve, to shine and to be salt and light," he said. [...]

These radicals, who compared the absence of government-sponsored religion in school to the Holocaust, were joined by our very own Tim Grendell who "delivered the closing prayer".

Senator Grendell, why are you catering to these wackos?

Mary Jane Trapp Announces for Judge

From MaryJaneTrapp.com:

I am excited to announce that I will seek the Democratic nomination for the open seat on the 11th District Court of Appeals. Judge Ford must retire at the end of his term due to mandatory age limitations imposed upon judges, and I would be honored to follow in his distinguished footsteps.

In my travels around the state as President of the Ohio State Bar Association I heard so often that people want to have confidence again in their courts. They want an open and equal justice system in which to resolve disputes and protect their rights.

The public wants judges who will follow the law, not the dictates of special interests. The public wants an impartial judge, not a politican on the bench.

Appeals courts consider cases from all areas of the law-not just criminal appeals but civil cases including personal injury, divorce, child custody, juvenile, zoning, contract disputes and probate. I have prepared myself for this position over 24 years of practice and by serving for 6 years on the Supreme Court Rules Advisory Committee, which studies and writes rules for all courts below the Supreme Court. I served on subcommittee that writes rules for the court of appeals.

Moreover, my practice has taken me to all levels of the justice system all across the state. I have a broad general practice including, domestic relations, probate, juvenile, real estate and complex civil litigation. I am proud of my work advocating for children, the elderly, and the mentally ill. The most satisfying cases for me have been cases involving the kids that I have represented, especially those in which the court has appointed me to represent the child in their parents’ divorces.

I will continue to follow my deep commitment to improving administration of justice and legal reform in order to assure access to an independent judicial system in which the public has faith and confidence.

I welcome your questions or comments. Please send them to feedback@maryjanetrapp.com.

• The Plain Dealer, 10/17/04 - "Trapp is precisely the kind of level-headed, thoughtful, experienced lawyer who ought to be on the appellate bench."