In a few minutes, I'll be on Cinci's @wvxu.org ("Cincinnati Edition") discussing local govt & law enforcement use of surveillance technologies. A regular reminder - this tech is increasingly widespread throughout Ohio & with almost no local or state laws regulating its use.

MASS INCARCERATION FAILURE The majority of people in this jail are there pre-trial. Many/most are legally free to go if their bond is paid. But they can't afford it. We keep people in cages, at great cost(s), simply because they have no money. #bailreform www.ideastream.org/law-justice/...

Following up on mention the other day of ICE-related bills at the Ohio Statehouse. Here is more about HB 26, HB 200 & SB 172. Among other provisions, these are all bills that would force local & state law enforcement to cooperate with ICE to enforce immigration law.

FYI - There are currently 3 GOP bills in Ohio to force cities & counties to cooperate w/ICE - HB 26, HB 200 & SB 172. The latter two include requirements to hold some immigrants in jail for ICE...even after they are otherwise legally free to go.

Easily the #1 reason - for the past 11-12 years - a person lands in an Ohio prison is for Drug Possession. Our prison system has been over capacity for DECADES. Yet, state legislators keep passing more & more bills to pack our prisons even fuller. www.daytondailynews.com/local/ohio-p...

The other 364 days, the majority of Ohio politicians at the Statehouse undermine & stomp all over MLK’s vision. Today, they will shamelessly celebrate his life & accomplishments while deliberately burying MLK’s spicier takes.

Missing from this coverage is any mention of the First Amendment. Its protections wisely protect public school students from being compelled, via state law, school policy, etc., to recite the Pledge. Because forced “patriotism” is the opposite of freedom. www.dispatch.com/story/news/e...

The same Ohio GOP legislators who catch the vapors if you dare suggest the state does not do enough re: addiction, ODs, etc. will offer zero private or public pushback on this latest of deliberately cruel developments. Prepare to pay for more pri$on$. www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...

FYI - A back door way the Statehouse is GOP is screwing with legal cannabis in Ohio. Via HB 88, if you possess ANY amount of cannabis & do not know it is mixed with ANY amount of fentanyl, you will be prosecuted under MUCH harsher fentanyl penalties, also increased via HB 88.

The same politicians who buried their heads in the sand re: actual scandals (FirstEnergy, etc) have instead turned their attention towards local daycares because of baseless allegations stoked by conspiratorial social media personalities. #anotherdayinOH www.dispatch.com/story/news/l...

HB 338, a bill to increase penalties for assaults vs prison staff, also includes various provisions to unwisely end or limit rehabilitative efforts for many serving time. Legislators forget (or don't care) almost all who go to prison eventually leave. www.daytondailynews.com/local/hundre...

While I generally agree with the goals of HB 609 regarding local govt public meetings, it's quite telling the General Assembly is NOT included in these mandates. Especially with so many recent & ongoing examples of deliberately shutting out the public. www.cleveland.com/open/2025/12...

Many legislators love to cite other states doing things worse than Ohio as a reason we should change our own laws to make things worse here. Funny how that same logic *never* emerges re: making things better when other states do things better. #ThatDogDontHunt

SB 293, the controversial bill requiring absentee ballots to be returned no later than Election Day night, has been quickly scheduled Tuesday for its first House committee hearing - with a planned vote that SAME HEARING! The significance = 1/3

Today, I'm testifying vs HB 338, a bill responding to the killing of a prison guard last year. However, it contains many provisions eliminating rehabilitative efforts in Ohio prisons. Per usual, data, discussion, etc. on these changes is MIA among legislators considering HB 338.

After being passed by committee this morning, SB 293 is on the Senate floor today for a vote. Floor speeches will be supporters gaslighting about statistically non-existent voter fraud & how a single court decision not binding on Ohio makes SB 293 necessary.

Fresh off Election Day, the Statehouse GOP is hearing SB 293, a bill slashing early voting via mail, popular among all voters. This is the 2026 (& beyond) playbook. Politicians in power are deliberately making it harder for you to vote, for 100% political reasons.

Today, I will be testifying as “interested party” on HB 251, a bill to regulate govt use of drones. My point will be the bill contains some positive things, some negative provisions & that it needs improvement to truly & meaningfully regulate govt use & prevent mass surveillance.

The Ohio House just approved SB 56, the post-Issue 2/legal cannabis bill, at 4:25pm, missing a total opportunity by 5 minutes.

Today, I will testify vs. HB 486, a thoroughly unnecessary bill. On its face, the legislation simply clarifies Ohio's K-12 schools + universities can teach about religion w/o violating the First Amendment. But the real goal appears to be indoctrination of our students. 1/9

I hope to see you at the No Kings rally later today in Columbus. Looks I’ll be sayin’ a few words, too. #NoKings #RejectFascism

A yearly reminder Columbus never set foot in the future United States, or North America, and discovered nothing.

This week I testified in support of the bipartisan "Ban the Box" bill, SB 143. This legislation delays inquiries about one's criminal record when a person in that situation is at the start of the employment/recruitment process. The idea is to reduce discrimination. 1/5

Multiple things competing for my time kept me from testifying in person today on SB 55. But, I was able to submit written testimony. SB 55 is a positive bill from Sen. Manning(R) to help modernize Ohio's DUI/OVI laws re: cannabis. This change is long overdue & much needed. 1/7

If you’re in Columbus & want to know more about a police shooting and/or death, other use of force incident, or numerous other important info, it’s now hidden behind a paywall, courtesy of politicians at the Statehouse who loath govt transparency. www.wosu.org/politics-gov...

Nothin' to see here. Just one of the most corrupt legislatures in the US torching public records laws so you can't see what they do behind closed doors via a change to state law they jammed into a budget bill at the last minute, after hearings were over. www.cleveland.com/news/2025/09...

Furthering the ongoing contempt for Ohio voters & our state constitution, next week is the first hearing for HB 347, an "informed consent" anti-abortion bill. HB 347 requires a bunch of unnecessary and duplicative actions before abortions can be performed. #StatehouseTheocracy

Cincinnati is poised to spend an additional almost $1 million on various surveillance technologies with ZERO city laws (the Statehouse remains asleep at the wheel) governing their use & preventing widespread, non-stop surveillance now or in the future. www.wvxu.org/local-news/2...

As baby boomers age, death with dignity is understandably reemerging as a public policy & civil liberties issue. As before, politicians think they know better & rob people of the ability to end their lives on their own terms w/o unnecessary suffering & pain. www.dispatch.com/story/opinio...

133 Ohio state legislators remain unbothered enough by serious privacy & government surveillance concerns to introduce (let alone pass) commonsense legislation regulating law enforcement use of drones & similar technology. Ohio is the wild west re: this. www.dispatch.com/story/news/l...

Deliberately lying about current events to normalize military troops occupying cities to enforce local & state laws, especially with zero training in domestic law enforcement & no knowledge of those laws, is the exact opposite of civil liberties. www.cincinnati.com/story/news/p...

Ohio does not have a sentencing database because too many Ohio judges hate transparency & are frightened of accountability. The fact Ohioans are so in the dark about what our courts/judges do should absolutely be a campaign issue no matter who proposes it. signalcleveland.org/vivek-ramasw...

Two things The Man loathes the most & seeks to avoid almost 100% of the time: 1) Transparency 2) Accountability

That Ohio's legal cannabis market is struggling relative to some other states is no surprise. Ohio officials & legislators have been deliberate roadblocks to a robust, affordable market place. Yet they do everything in their power for legal gambling. www.wosu.org/2025-08-06/1...

Your occasional reminder Ohio legislators could pass statewide, common sense regulations to protect us against this ever growing & prevalent use of invasive technology by law enforcement & government....but they 100% refuse to do anything helpful re: it. woub.org/2025/07/31/p...

Unable & unwilling to address actual & serious problems facing Ohioans & Ohio, the Statehouse supermajority will not rest until everyone is pushed back into the closet, key thrown away. Their agenda is not help, it is hate. www.nbc4i.com/news/politic...

Today, I am testifying (virtually) before the Ohio Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights re: antisemitism in Ohio. My remarks will be limited to ongoing state government attempts to further adopt a sweeping definition of "antisemitism" impacting free speech. 1/2

In a state notorious for corruption in & at the Statehouse, legislators are now poised, via the latest version of the budget bill, to torch public access to key legislative documents. This is how a legislature with things to hide from the public & media shamefully operates. 1/6

Ohio voters enshrined abortion protections into the state constitution. But the radical theocracy still needs something for fundraising. www.news5cleveland.com/news/politic...

HB 96, the budget bill, has now passed the House & Senate. Now a conference committee will iron out any disagreements before final passage. This also is when they will ID divisive issues to add to the bill, now that hearings are over and Ohioans have no chance to testify. #OGA101

Cities in Ohio are doing this with ZERO statewide laws regulating the use of this tech. While those legislators who crow they are against the "Deep State" & skeptical of big government do absolutely nothing. www.daytondailynews.com/local/dayton...

Today, I will testify vs SB 172. This is a bill sold as preventing judges from shielding undocumented immigrants from ICE enforcement actions. No surprise, SB 172 is written in a way it does much more, including local & state police enforcing federal immigration laws. 1/7

1) A 22-year-old 2) with ZERO national security experience. Once again, from the same crowd that continues to target & dismantle any/all DEI efforts in govt & the private sector because they think DEI = hiring unqualified people. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Ohio legislators still plan on numerous changes to cannabis laws before they leave for summer break at the end of June. Many of those changes thwart & ignore what voters approved when they overwhelmingly passed Issue 2. More ahead + who to contact. 1/10

Today, I will testify vs. SB 88, Ohio's version of the Alien Land Laws that came about 100+ years ago & lasted for decades. Like those laws, SB 88 prohibits ownership of land across Ohio when someone is foreign born & from a country the U.S. considers an adversary. 1/10

It's heartening to see the number of immigrants testifying today vs HB 1, a ridiculous bill to ban citizens of countries deemed foreign adversaries from buying homes & other property across Ohio. HB 1 = shameful discrimination framed as national security.

Today, I will testify vs HB 75, a bill to allow Thin Blue Line displays in/on HOA properties, condos, etc. The expansion of speech even in places not controlled/managed by govt is positive. But, HB 75 only allows pro-police speech. The OGA should keep its fingers off the scale.

Tomorrow, I will testify vs HB 160, a GOP bill to dismantle key parts of Issue 2 which legalized cannabis in Ohio. I will focus on the hostile criminal penalties, like those outlawing sharing a joint, gifting someone cannabis & driving it back to Ohio from other states.

A few years ago, advocates worked to get bipartisan bail reform passed in Ohio. Instead, that bill was diluted down to creation of a task force to study the issue, but that task force never actually happened. The budget bill now eliminates it. Ohio's expensive jails remain packed full.

55 years ago, Ohio National Guard troops indiscriminately fired into a crowd of Kent State students, killing 4 & injuring 9 others. Don’t believe for a second it cannot happen again. Indeed, out current govt is itching to unleash the military on its people once again.