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I just finished delivering my first State of the Union, and I wanted to send you a quick note.

We face big and difficult challenges. Change on the scale we seek does not come easily. But I will never accept second place for the United States of America.

That is why I called for a robust jobs bill without delay. It's why I proposed a small businesses tax credit, new investments in infrastructure, and pushed for climate legislation to create a clean energy economy.

It's why we're taking on big banks, reforming Wall Street, revitalizing our education system, increasing transparency -- and finishing the job on health insurance reform.

It's why I need your help -- because I am determined to fight to defend the middle class, and special interest lobbyists will go all out to fight us.

Help me show that the American people are ready to join this fight for the middle class -- add your name to a letter to Congress today:

http://my.barackobama.com/SOTU

We have finished a difficult year. We have come through a difficult decade. But we don't quit. I don't quit.

Let's seize this moment -- to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more.

President Barack Obama

SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY

The U.S. Supreme Court just decided to create a new "constitutional right" for corporations to pour unlimited funds into elections.

President Obama rightly took a few moments to address this misguided decision during his State of the Union address last night, saying, "the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests -- including foreign corporations -- to spend without limit in our elections."

This morning I took some time on the other side of the Capitol to address my Senate colleagues and the American people about the grave implications of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC.

Corporations have been barred from spending unlimited funds on political races for as long as you and I have lived. For good reason: The typical Fortune 500 company need only spend a small fraction of its profits on political ads to drown out the un-amplified voices of individual citizens.

This Supreme Court decision creates new rights for Wall Street at the expense of Main Street.

Corporations are not people. They do not have the same rights, morals, or ideals of individual citizens. Nor do they vote or participate in elections the same way individuals do.

But the conservative activist wing of the Supreme Court -- now large enough to comprise a majority on the bench -- sees things differently. That's why they decided to ignore well-established, commonsense precedent in deciding this case, as well as the wishes of Congress. I am disappointed that these Justices, who as nominees professed their commitment to judicial modesty and restraint, could so brazenly overstep their bounds and override the rule of law.

I was particularly alarmed by Justice Alito during last night's State of the Union address, blurting out "not true" as the President spoke of the decision. It was bad enough when a Congressman from South Carolina pulled that kind of a stunt during last year's address. It is completely and utterly inappropriate for a Supreme Court Justice -- who has sworn to apply the law impartially and rise above partisan politics -- to do the same.

If we are to begin this decade anew and recommit ourselves to achieving a new kind of politics, as President Obama so eloquently urged last night, we must come together -- Democrats and Republicans -- to restore the ability of every individual citizen to be heard and participate in our democracy.

As I work with the White House and my colleagues in Congress to mitigate the harm done by this decision, I hope you will join me in taking meaningful action to help right this terrible wrong.

Thank you for all that you do to defend our democracy.

Sincerely,

Patrick Leahy

U.S. Senator

CONGRESSMAN CHARLIE WILSON

Dear Friend,

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported today that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 5.7 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009. Much work needs to be done, but this is a good sign that we're on the road to recovery.

I want to commend President Obama for laying out a plan during his State of the Union address earlier this week to create jobs, cut the deficit, hold big banks accountable and make our economy work for the middle class again.

This past year we brought the economy back from the brink of a depression. And the President talked directly to the American people on Wednesday night about restoring security for middle class families. He renewed his commitment to a new long-term economic strategy for America that invests in a globally competitive workforce, energy jobs, health insurance reform and accountability for Wall Street.

In addition, the President called on Congress to pass a jobs bill to jumpstart private sector job creation with investments in small businesses, energy, and infrastructure. I look forward to working with my colleagues to come up with a common sense bill that achieves those goals.

And President Obama laid out a series of policy initiatives that will build on those achievements to improve our economy for middle class Americans. Most notably, his proposals will make it easier for students to pay off their loans, help families with soaring child care and elderly care costs, and give all workers more tools to save for their retirements.

Buoyed by today's good news and the President's focus, I am ready to get back to work and tackle the issues that matter to the people of my district. And I’m ready to do that work with anyone who is willing to stand up and contribute, regardless of party affiliation. It’s time to put our differences aside and work for the good of the American people. Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson

Member of Congress

Ohio's Sixth District

ELECTION RESULTS FOR GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 3, 2009

Steve Mowery has won the judgeship for Municipal Judge. 79 precincts reporting:

Steve Mowery 11291 votes

James Smith 7665

We can now say your Honor, Judge Steve Mowery. CONGRATULATIONS

Ohio Governor, Ted Strickland

Ohio Attorney General, Richard Cordray

Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner

Ohio Treasure, Kevin L. Boyc

Ohio 89th District State Representative, Todd Book

Ohio 6th Congressional Disttict, Charlie Wilson

Scioto County Commissioners, Mike Crabtree

Scioto County Commissioner, Tom Reiser

Scioto County Treasurer, Bill Ogg

Scioto County Recorder, Irene Ashley

Scioto County Auditor, David Green

Scioto County Engineer, Craig Opperman

DNC OFFICERS

TIM KAINE (former Gov. of Viginia)NEW DNC CHAIRMAN

DONNA BRAZILE, VICE CHAIR OF VOTER REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ, VICE CHAIR

LINDA CHAVEZ-THOMPSON, VICE CHAIR

REP. MIKE HONDA, VICE CHAIR

RAYMOND BUCKLEY, VICE CHAIR ASDC PRESIDENT

ANDREW TABIAS, TREASURER

ALICE TRAVIS GERMOND, SECRETARY

JANE STETSON, NATIONAL FINANCE CHAIR

SCIOTO COUNTY DEMOCRATIC WOMEN'S CLUB

Club meets every 4th Monday of the month at 5 PM.

Location of meeting will be announced

This is an open meeting so anyone can attend.

President Melanie OGG can be reached at 740-858-6140

Vice Pres.Kim Platzer can be reached at 740-259-5881

Secretary---------------Angela Opperman

Treasurer---------------Heather Davis

Come and check out the Dem Women Club, Membership

is only $5 per year.

Men are welcome to membership also.

McClatchy News Service

WASHINGTON- Telling a pregnant woman to eat for two is bad advice., especially if the mother-to-be is over-weight or obese, a blue-ribbon panel of health experts cautioned.

The number of seriously overweight women of childbearing age is increasing, panelists said, and excessive weight gain increases the likelihood of cesarean sections and retaining the weight added during pregnancy. It also increases the risk of premature, underweight or overweight babies.

To address those problems, the group recommends that obese women, when they're pregnant, gain no more than 20 pounds unless consultation with their physicians produces another target. Until now, there'd been no upper limit on weight gain for obese pregnant women in the influential Institute of Medicine guidelines on weight and pregnancy, since there were such a small part of the population.

Physicians, nutritionists and public health doctors assembled by the institute and National Research Council devised the new recommendatio. Most doctors consult the institute's recomendations for guidance on weight and pregnancy. The revision released is the institute's first update since 1990, and it reflects large increases in obesity.

Obesity and other body weight categoriesare determined by a ratio of height to weight called the body mass index. To compute yours, and find out whether your over- under- or normal weight, go to the National Institutes of Health online calculator at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.

The average U.S. weight gain today during prenancy is 30.5 pounds, according to the penel's chair, Kathleen M. Rasmussen, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

The recommended weight gain ranges in pregnancy are: *For underweight women 28-40 pounds. *For normal-weight women 25-35 pounds. *For overweight women 15-25 pounds. *For obese women 11-20 pounds.

"This is a pretty robust set of recommendations," Rasmussen said. "We have ample evidence that woman who gain within these guidelines do well."

She and other panelists urged women to cinsider whether they're at healthy weights before they become pregnant, when possible, and to discuss pregnancy-weight issues with their doctors.

"The mother's weight status affects both the mother and her child," Rasmussen said. " More women need to be in healthly BMI range before conceiving."

Panelists stressed that patients must take into account their own metabolisms and tendencies to gain weight.

"What has shown glimmers of success was to tailor weight-gain guidelinesn for the women," said Anna Maria Siega-Riz, a maternal- and child-health scientist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. " What happens frequently is women are given the guidelines without thought to their preference or personal needs."

NEWARK, N.J.-(AP)-A new low-cost airline will begin serving mid-sized U.S. cities that it thinks larger carriers have left behind.

Clearwater, Fla.-based JetAmerica said 34 non-stop passenger flights a week will start July 13th at Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Ind;Melbourne. Twenty eight flights start or end at Newark Liberty International Airport. The carrier will add six more fights- from Toledo to Minneapolis- starting Aug.14.

JetAmerica is Targeting small and midsize cities, which have seen declines- part of a national trend that has seen airfares increase at those airports as daily flights have decreased.

Robert Selig, head of the Capitol Region Airport Authority, said JetAmerica will give Lansing, Mich., business travelers direct access to New York City and carry leisure travelers to central Florida.

The Lansing, South Bend,Melbourne and Toledo airports are subsidizing JetAmerica with $1.4 million in grants in it's first year, along with about $867,000 in waived ariport fees and $1.1 million in marketing and advertising assistance.

Melbourne, South Bend and Toledo received their grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small Community Air Service Developement Program, which has awarded $104 million to 223 recipients since 2002 in an effort to restore lost service and bring air fares down.

Newark and Minneapolis; each of which serve more then 20 million passengers a year, are not offering assistance to JetAmerica.

John Weikle, chief executive of JetAmerica, said the subsidies will help insulate the new carrier from spikes in jet fuel prices. Surging fuel prices helped bankrupt ultra-discounter Skybus Inc. last year> Weike founded that Columbus, Ohio-based airline known for its $10 fares. The bankruptcy cost 450 employees their jobs.

JetAmerica's pricing scheme will share some Skybus characteristics.

Prices will start at $9 a seat and top out at $199. The $9 price will apply to the first nine to 19 seats on each plane. Passengers will pay $15 to check a bag. Food, drinks and in-flight TV will also come at a cost.

*airlines

AMERICA GOES 'CASHLESS'

American Airlines will go "cashless" Monday onboard flights within the continental United States, as well as flights to and from Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada.

American will accept only major debit and credit cards for inflight purchases such as headsets, meals, snacks and alcoholic beverages.

Flight attendants will use a hand-held Onboard Sales Recorder to charge credit and debit cards and receipts will be provided upon request.

Cashless cabins will not be implemented onboard American Eagle and American Connection flights. Only cash will be accepted just as it is now.

*Energy

OIL RISES ABOVE $65

Oil prices closed above $65 per barrel for the first time in six months as OPEC maintained crude production levels as expected and a pair of reports suggesting a slightly brighter economic picture.

Benchmark crude for July delivery added $1.63 to settle at $65.08 a barrel on the New York mercantile Exchange.

U.S. retail gas prices have shadowed oil prices, ticking higher evry day this month. In Miami, gas is up to 31 cents per gallon from last month, but still $1.57 cheaper than a year ago, according to AAA. In Broward, the price is up 35 cents this month.

*Courts

COLOMBIANS SUE COAL FIRM

Relatives of dozens of slain Colombians have sued a U.S. based coal company in federal court in Alabama, accusing the firm of making millions of dollars in payments to a paramilitary group, that sowed terror in the South American country.

The suit said 67 victims of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, also known as AUC, included labor activists, farmworkers and others. It claimed the rightwing group received payments from operatives for Drummond Co. to assassinate top union leaders and protect the company's coal mine and railroad in Colombia.

A similar lawsuit ended in 2007 with a verdict for Drummond, which has repeatedly denied and connection with the Colombian violence.

*The internet

TIME WARNER DROPS AOL

Time warner is dumping AOL after spending nearly a decade trying to build a new-age media empire only to wind up weaker than before the marriage began.

The divorce will spin out AOL as a seperate company run by former Google advertising executive Tim Armstrong. He was hired in March to try to restore the luster to a brand once known as America Online.