Herman Cain And The Hooters Girl: His Lobbying Group Backed Effort to Gut Nation's Sexual Harassment Laws

Cain Camp Sweating Out Sexual Harassment Charges

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Herman Cain's presidential campaign is scrambling to stay on point amid a flurry of sexual harassment claims that include today's allegation of groping a woman under her dress.  Also daunting:  Evidence that he supported legal maneuvers to circumvent laws to protect females from workplace predators.  Cain was CEO of the National Restaurant Association when it intervened in a landmark lawsuit defending Hooters' system of arbitrating sexual harassment claims.  But the Hooters system was so rigged against women that a board member of the American Arbitration Association likened it to a kangaroo court, and judges ruled it was warped.  Lewis Maltby, the AAA board member, said in court testimony, "This is without a doubt the most unfair arbitration program I have ever encountered."  A federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., agreed and ruled that Hooters had "set up a dispute resolution system process utterly lacking in the rudiments of even-handedness . . ."  Yet Cain was chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association when it filed a friend of the court brief supporting Hooters.  Apparently, it saw nothing wrong with trampling womens' rights.

The lawsuit started in the mid-1990s when Annette R. Phillips, a bartender at a Hooters in Myrtle Beach, quit and complained the brother of the owner grabbed her ass and slapped her buttocks.  News reports at the time also said a  manager had exposed himself to her.  She was told to forget about it. Eventually, it escalated to a federal Title VII lawsuit over sex harassment and whether the restaurant chain discriminated, retaliated, or did Phillips wrong. Hooters said she had twice signed a deal consenting to arbitrate any claims -- employees had to sign to be eligible for raises, transfers and promotions. A federal appeals court said the predispute agreement was basically a joke.

Cincinnati's Pension Fund Invested In Firm Building Iran's Steel Industry: Ohio Divested, But City $$$$ Helped the Mullahs

Iran Tie In Pension Report

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- With Iran "very close" to having nuclear weapons -- and U.S, officials actively tightening a trade embargo on the mullah-controlled nation -- it now seems time for the City of Cincinnati's $2.13 billion pension fund to divest itself of all investments that involve the Islamic Republic. In fact, move is long overdue.  Ohio's pension funds for public employees have already taken such action.  Four years ago, OPERS cut investments to companies with ties to Iran and Sudan, both breeding grounds for international terrorism.  At the time, Ohio  leaders were worried about "management of potentially unique risks posed by certain public stock and bond investments in companies with ties to Iran and Sudan."   State Treasurer Josh Mandel, then a Republican state rep from suburban Cleveland, led the divestment push.  Cincinnati didn't follow the state's lead, and the books show it has invested in a Finnish company called Outukumpu, which manufactures stainless steel and other products for making metals.  The city's investment is small and is a minor chunk of its international and emerging market portfolio.  But there should be no room at all for companies doing business with Iran.

The Daily Bellwether found a couple of news releases from Outokumpu about some of its Irananian activities:  "Outokumpu Technology has been awarded a contract by Gol-E-Gohar Iron Ore Company for a new pelletizing plant to be built in Gol-E-Gohar in the province of Kerman, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The total value of the project is about EUR 140 million, of which Outokumpu’s scope of technology supply is about EUR 50 million. . .

Does Cincinnati Enquirer Opinion Editor Have Explaining To Do? Court Records Show Liens For Unpaid Ohio Taxes

An Ohio Tax Lien Against An Enquirer Editor

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The newspaper that has been preaching and demanding fiscal responsibility in state and local government on its editorial pages seems to have a tax deadbeat in charge of its political endorsements.  Oh, the irony.  This week, the Enquirer said Democratic City Councilman Cecil Thomas deserved to be voted out of office Tuesday because he didn't have a grasp of Cincinnati's financial condition.  Thomas pays his bills.  Courthouse records show that the editor didn't in prior years.  So take the editorial advice with a grain of salt.  The Enquirer also has told Ohioans to vote yes on State Issue 2, meaning it supports the ballot measure that eliminates collective bargaining by public employees.  The newspaper has portrayed government workers as benefiting from contracts "laced with lucrative provisions."  But the opinion editor clearly had a bit of trouble with his own finances -- there were garnishments levied against his paycheck at the newspaper, including one that seems to be from a payday lender.  Even though he's a high level employee of the newspaper, maybe the Enquirer doesn't pay him enough money to cover his bills.  And the guidance being dished out on the Enquirer's editorial pages -- that Thomas doesn't understand city budgeting -- appears to be coming from someone who has a history of problems managing his own personal finances.

Hamilton County court records list several debt-related lawsuits filed against Ray Cooklis, the Enquirer's deputy editor who is in charge of its editorial pages.  There are at least two state liens for unpaid Ohio taxes totaling nearly $19,000.  Those taxes help pay for law enforcment, economic development, schools -- hard to believe a deadbeat has been responsible for editorials about government finances and Issue 2.  But Cooklis either writes or supervises the writing of endorsements and helps set the paper's policies.  He doesns't seem to have been very forthcoming about his own financial condition, so we'll see what happens now that the liens are public knowledge.  By the way, anybody can look them up by visiting Hamilton County Clerk of Court Tracy Winkler's website and doing a simple search of the public records there.  Just look under the editor's name.
[UPDATE 10:19 a.m. -- The Bellwether's e-mail to Enquirer editor-in-chief Carolyn Washburn has been answered by a robo reply that she is out of the office today.  So it is not likely there will be anything added from the newspaper's top echelon immediately.  Perhaps later?]


[UPDATE 12:18 p.m. -- There are records of federal tax liens being filed against the editor in the Hamilton County Recorder's Office, including this one for $37,990 that dates back to November 1995.  Some of the liens have been released, indicating they have been paid off or settled.   A link to the data is available here.]


[UPDATE 4:51 p.m. -- An e-mailer has sent The Bellwether bankkruptcy court records showing the editor filed a Chapter 7 petition in June 2003.  It was assigned Case No. 1:03-bk-14902 and Ramon Arthur Cooklis acted as his own attorney.  Judge Jeffrey Hopkins granted a motion of dismissal on Dec. 22, 2003.  From the filings, here are the creditors who were owed money:
ALLIANCEONE INC,   4797 RUFFNER ST,   SAN DIEGO CA  92111-1519
ALLIED INTERSTATE,   3000 CORP EXCHANGE DR,   COLUMBUS OH  43231
ARROW FINANCIAL SERV LLC,   21031 NETWORK PLACE,   CHICAGO IL  60673-1210
ASSET ACCEEPTANCE LLC,   PO BOX 2036,   WARREN MI  48090-2036
CAPITAL ONE FINAN CORP,   PO BOX 85015,   RICHMOND VA  23285-5015
CINERGY CG AND E,   3300 CENTRAL PARKWAY,   CINCINNATI OH 45225-2307
CITIBANK,   100 CITIBANK DRIVE,   SAN ANTONIO TX  78245-3202
FNCB INC,   3631 WARREN WAY,   RENO NV  89509
LAZARUS FED FACS GROUP,   9111 DUKE BLVD,   MASON OH  45040
MIDLAND CREIDT MANAGEMENT,   PO BOX 939019,   SAN DIEGO CA  92193-9019
NAFS INC,   165 LAWRENCE BELL DR,   SUITE 100,   WILLIAMSVILLE NY 14221-7896
PNC FINANCIAL SERV GROUP,   USX TOWER 600 GRANT ST,   PITTSBURGH PA  15219
PROVIDIAN NATIONAL BANK,   201 MISSION ST,   SAN FRANCISCO CA  94105
SEARS ROEBUCK AND CO,   3333 BEVERLY ROAD,   HOFFMAN ESTATES IL  60179] 


[UPDATE 11/07/ 9:40 a.m. -- Tom Blumer at Bizzyblog links to The Daily Bellwether today and notes that the Enquirer still hasn't said anything publicly about its Washington correspondent Malia Rulon's apparent political donation to America Coming Together, a liberal PAC.  He reported earlier this year that she is the only person who can explain what seems to be a conflict of interest.  The reporter's name appears in a Federal Election Commission report.]