Presidential Puppetry and Revolt in Ashtabula County

by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

None of the twenty-five activists for the Ashtabula County Charter Initiative, designed to move power back into the hands of Americans on how their county is governed, had read, or even heard of the newly released book, “PresidentialPuppetry,” by Andrew Kreig.

They had come together in the tiny meeting room of the Board of Elections in Jefferson, Ohio, to let their voices be heard as the Board considered whether or not to honor the opinion issued by County Prosecutor Thomas Sartini, which cast doubt on the fate of a measure which has brought together people from every political viewpoint.

As they coalesced around returning power to the people they became another point of action in a country which is rejecting partisan politics and moving toward a civic model which echoes the vision which still lives in the minds and hearts of people around the world. Kreig's book provides the reasons why Americans must move past the politics of parties, embracing the power to locally determine how their government will work – for them.

The four members of the Board of Elections for Ashtabula County listened to, and came to agree the will of the people could not be extinguished. The impassioned arguments advanced by the Charter activists, they saw, should not be sidelined because one sentence, printed in all CAPS, was not also bolded.

The County Prosecutor Thomas Sardini had left stopping the Initiative as his recommendation before leaving for another vacation in Florida on July 3^rd, setting the meeting for the day after Independence Day, July 5^th.

“WHOEVER COMMITS ELECTION FALSIFICATION IS GUILTY OF A FELONY OF THE FIFTH” This appears directly above where the circulators sign, under penalty of 'election falsification.' The reader can not easily miss the text.

If passed, the new form of government would cut back staff positions and lowers the compensation paid to the individual elected to fill the office of Prosecutor. It was pointed out by several individuals that, perhaps, Sartini should have recused himself. Sartini had, actually made pointed remarks on his facebook denouncing the Initiative, reposting these to other pages.

The Charter Initiative is, in the experience of local people, the only shred of hope they have had in years for a county government which works for them.

In Ashtabula, children are going hungry. Disabled people are being abandoned, without bus services to return to their homes. Costs for providing services, which fail to provide for those in need are spiraling out of control and no one will account for these increases in cost.

The attitudes of corruption, entirely controlling both major parties, have seeped down into local government across the country. Here too, partisan politics is used to divide and control.

In Ashtabula, the people are putting their hands to the wheel to enact change. Kreig's book holds promise as a way for people to come together, past the divide of politics by providing understanding of how this happened. The facts kill illusions on both sides of the aisle.

Andrew Kreig, an attorney, activist, and journalist, wrote his first book, “Spiked: How Chain Management Corrupted America's Oldest Newspaper,” published, Oct 1987, documenting the corporate take over of America's formerly independent media. Subsequent insights awakened him to the driving need for Americans to realize the presence of master illusionists, such as Karl Rove, and the transfer of power from even federal government to the murky faces which today pull the strings at the White House and around the world.

Hope, says Kreig, must come with understanding if it is to lead us to happiness.

“Presidential Puppetry,” by Andrew Kreig, is now available at Amazon. Reading it is dangerous to illusions but essential for reclaiming our freedom.