The Weepies have whipped together a confectionary delight, “Be My Thrill.” Released in August, the duo’s fourth disc teems with upbeat, bubbly songs.

And the married couple had fun making the sweet pop-folk record, their first as parents.

“Our studio is kind of this converted garage in this lovely, little backyard that we have,” said Deb Talan. “It’s like a little Eden back there. There’s a pomegranate tree and a lemon tree, our kids’ toys everywhere, rose bushes — and it just felt like making this record at a time in our life in this creative mess but in a really good, fun way.”

The Weepies

“We posted Twiteos — videos on Twitter — of making the record and put them up, and you can see the kids running back and forth, people coming and going, and it was a laugh,” said Steve Tannen. “It was awesome and a really beautiful time too.”

The singer-songwriters sounded as happy during a call from their Los Angeles home as they do on “Be My Thrill.” Hard to believe the title track was inspired by a spat.

“We had a fight, and I went out to Hollywood Boulevard, and I wrote the chorus,” Tannen said. “I was a little bit mad, but you know I love my wife; what are you being so difficult for?”

They laughed.

“It’s a love song, but it’s sort of an angry love song,” Talan said.

The song has that dark humor associated with The Weepies: “I miss all of the joy you kill/ But I love you still,” they sing in the chorus.

Outright optimism shines through on “Hope Tomorrow”: “We hold hands while we work and play/ And hope tomorrow is a sunny day.”

“We’re normal people; we’re happy and we’re miserable,” Talan said.

“I like to think we have a pretty good time,” Tannen said.

“Yeah, me too, we do. We’re very lucky,” she said.

“We’re tired a lot,” he said.

“Well, we’re parents, so we’re tired,” Talan said.

The couple’s first son was born in 2008, and they opted not to tour to support “Hideway.” But their music was everywhere: “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Sex and the City,” holiday commercials for national stores, Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

This time, they’ll bring their sons, Theo, and Alexander, 6 months, on tour.

“The last time we went on the road four years ago, it was the beginning of about a year and a half of touring. We started out in our at that point new Matrix packed to the gills with CDs, guitars and our clothes,” Talan said. “This time around, it’s us with our kids and a tour manager and a bus.”

“And a guitar tech who tunes our guitars! It’s incredible,” Tannen added.

The Weepies will bring their band to the Ark in Ann Arbor for a sold-out show Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. The Chapin Sisters will open.

In its second, slightly updated revival, the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, “A Chorus Line,” will perform at the Stranahan Theater in Toledo Oct. 28 to 31.
The Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning musical kicked off its tour Oct. 1.
The iconic show follows a group of Broadway dancers auditioning for a spot on a chorus line in a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of being a professional dancer. With less glitz and glam than other musicals, cast member Kieron Cindric, of Findlay, Ohio, said the heart of the show is in the story rather than the spectacle.
“It’s really scaled down in that essentially the dancers are on a bare stage,” Cindric said. “You have a backdrop of mirrors and you have dancers in their dance wear … Yes, there is great dancing in it. Yes, there is this beautiful, gold, sparkling number at the end of the show, but what I think resonates with audience members is the different dancer’s stories.”
Originally conceived, choreographed and directed by Michael Bennett, “A Chorus Line” debuted in 1975 and played until 1990. The celebrated musical won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It even received a special Tony Award in 1984 when it became the longest-running show in Broadway history.
“A Chorus Line” reopened in 2006 under the direction of original cast member Baayork Lee. The revival closed in 2008. For the newest production, Lee is directing and restaging choreography.
Cindric, who plays Swing, said learning the original steps of “A Chorus Line” from Lee is an honor beyond his wildest dreams.
“She would share stories with us about the evolution of the show, about the origins of different musical numbers, whose story that had been,” Cindric said. “Because for the most part the people were playing themselves, the stories they were telling were their own stories.”
Other than slight alterations to the costumes, staging and script, Cindric said the musical remains just as it was 40 years ago.
“For the most part, it’s the show you would’ve seen in the ’70s, but with contemporary actors,” Cindric said. “Even though, yes, it has its references to the ’70s … the idea of sort of being behind the scenes, witnessing the struggle that these people go through, is timeless and it’s still exciting to see and it still has a lot of resonance even for people today.”
When Cindric first saw “A Chorus Line” in middle school, he said, he fell in love with the music and choreography and begged his mom to get him the cast recording.
“I would dance around the living room to some of the songs and make my neighbors watch me,” Cindric said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be involved in ‘A Chorus Line.’”
Cindric said the show’s message will hit home for anyone who has gone through an audition or interview process. The behind-the-scenes feel of “A Chorus Line” has a new relevance to today’s audience, Cindric said, in light of popular TV shows like “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars.”
“It’s fascinating to see what goes into that process and what the struggle is,” Cindric said. “I feel like as long as people have to audition or interview for any type of position it will still have a very relevant message.”
Cindric grew up watching plays at the Stranahan Theater.
“It’s definitely going to feel like I’m coming home,” he said.
The musical will perform in Toledo on Oct. 28 and 29 at 8 p.m., Oct. 30 at 2 and 8 p.m. and Oct. 31 at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets start at $23 and are available through Ticketmaster, the Stranahan Theater box office, at www.theaterleague.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

Recent news included the deaths of actors Barbara Billingsley and Tom Bosley, both best known for portraying iconic parental figures who helped to encapsulate a generation of American family life. The subtle irony of mourning two such figures as we continue to contemplate the likely impending death of the American family unit as we have known it is not passing without notice.
Memories of Bosley and Billingsley’s most well-loved characters seem to range from too-perfect depictions of a time that never really was to lamentations of a bygone era that will likely never be again. Somewhere in the middle is an admittance by just about everyone that the June Cleavers and the Howard Cunninghams are an elusive breed in today’s world, if they even exist at all. In fact, even the idea of an original, intact family unit that follows the path from love to marriage to a baby carriage is steeply rising as an antiquated notion. Still, we have yet to come up with a better way than family to micromanage our civilized society.
One reminiscing writer hesitated to even admit that she had a soft spot for Barbara Billingsley’s fictional super mom, stated, “And now, at the risk of embarrassing myself, I’ll say that I liked June Cleaver.” Since when did appreciation for a loving mother figure become an embarrassment of sorts? Is an idealized mother who awaits her children’s return from school with snacks, a glass of milk and sage advice each and every day really a person worthy of anyone’s contempt?
As the nuclear family continues to show signs of melting down, I question our willingness to let go of its most useful features. The dual world perspectives under an umbrella of accord offered up by a two-parent partnership, the comforts of living a single, stable home life and the family unit’s constant demand for tolerance and understanding within a group of diverse individuals seem like too much of a good thing to just give up on. The microcosm that is a family used to be our primary source for knowing how to get along in the world when it was our turn to make our way in it.
The mass amounts of time, money, emotion and energy we now expend on the devastation, separation and reorganization of our families is incalculable. The confidence, security and sense of unity we once gained from living a family life is being undermined by lack of trust, court battles and Wednesday night kid-swapping. The home that was once an assumed sanctuary for most of our little ones just starting their lives is now too often split between at least two dwellings, two family lives and two people attempting to start over themselves.
Is it no wonder that so many lines are being drawn straight down the middle of America? We struggle to keep a few people, meant to serve and protect one another for the duration of a lifetime, happily under one roof for more than a few years. How are we supposed to garner the willingness and the capacity and the wisdom to get along and find places of agreement on a much larger scale?
I am especially beginning to find a certain absurdity to the battle over gay marriage, one of our new favorite squabbles. Considering the current state of marriage and family, trying to join the club at this point is like trying to buy fare onto the Titanic after it encountered the iceberg. Those of us already onboard should probably just be welcoming the new passengers and asking if any of them happen to know how to fix an 882-foot sinking ship.
Family has become something that is dismantled with such frequency that we are questioning whether it should even be built in the first place. Yet, we are still torn between scoffing at the idealized family portrayed in our past TV life and longing for it. As much as we like to claim that life and its relationships are just too difficult and complex to maintain cohesiveness for an extended period of time, perhaps recollecting our once-revered healthy images of family life, fictional or not, will renew our drive to cultivate our own. Otherwise, refusing to nurse our family situations back to a healthy state will continue to have ill effects on our world at large.

Shannon and her husband Michael are raising three children in Sylvania. E-mail her at letters@toledofreepress.com.

When I arrived at the Huntington Center for the Oct. 19 preseason matchup between the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards, a grin flashed across my face.
As I entered the floor level of the arena, it was clear that this facility has the perfect setup for basketball. The floor, which had been last used by the now defunct Toledo Ice, had been repainted and finished for the basketball game.
The facility really did shine, and I wasn’t the only one who thought so either.
“This arena is a great venue,” Pistons head coach John Kuester said after the team’s 98-92 preseason win against the Wizards. “It really is a beautiful place, and I think that Toledo has a lot to be proud of.”
Kuester wasn’t the only one singing the new arena’s praises. Several of the Pistons were impressed.
“I felt real comfortable out there tonight,” said point guard Rodney Stuckey said after scoring 34 points in the win. “It is really nice here, and it has been first-class since we got here this afternoon.”
Center Ben Wallace was seen interacting with fans near the Pistons bench, handing out Juicy Fruit gum to the crowd.
“I am a gentle giant by nature,” Wallace said with a smile. “But these great fans really got behind us. This was a great crowd here tonight.”
Starting guard Richard “Rip” Hamilton was impressed with the facility amenities, despite the Huntington Center not hosting a basketball game in its one year of existence.
“We play in many different places during the preseason, and not every place has the same quality,” Hamilton said.
I am not suggesting that an NBA team set up shop in the Glass City. I am not insane, but I do think an NBA Developmental League (NBDL) franchise is maybe more up Toledo’s alley. The attendance was more than 6,000 fans on Oct. 19, and while it was not a sellout, when you take into account the ticket prices the number is more than justified. Tickets ranged from $20 to $200, which would be considerably less with a NBDL team. Imagine what kind of attendance a franchise would draw with tickets around the $15 mark, much like Walleye tickets.
An NBDL team normally is affiliated with either two or three NBA teams, and with an NBA an hour to the north and another two hours east, Toledo’s location sets up beautifully for both teams to check in on their prospective players. Fort Wayne, Ind., has a NBDL franchise of their own, and the Mad Ants have been a success in the city. We have similar population sizes, industry and values. The same could happen here.
But Toledo’s real “ace-in-the-hole” is Toledo Arena Sports Inc. The parent company to the Toledo Mud Hens and the Toledo Walleye has done a fantastic job putting together two minor league franchises and making them a success.
I think it is realistic to think that they could make another minor league franchise a success, especially with the Toledo Bullfrogs, a proposed arena football team, still an unknown. The ownership of the three franchises has been able to have the teams transcend from just being sports to being family-friendly events. This group could do the same with basketball in Toledo.

Chris Schmidbauer is sports editor for Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at cschmidbauer@toledofreepress.com. He is also the co-host of the “Odd Couple Sports Show” on Fox Sports Radio 1230 WCWA and can be heard every weekday from 10 a.m. to noon. He can also be seen weekly on the “Friday Night Frenzy Tailgate Show” on NBC 24.

When the Detroit Pistons made the roughly hour-and-a-half trip down I-75 for the Oct. 19 98-92 preseason victory against the Washington Wizards in front of a crowd of 6,424 at the Huntington Center, it marked the first time in 21 years nearly to the day since the last time the team from the Motor City made a pit stop in Toledo.
The Pistons last came to T-Town on Oct. 23, 1989, for its preseason game against the New York Knicks at Savage Hall, where the players were victorious 105-92 in front of a crowd of 8,379 for a contest that benefited the local arthritis foundation. Detroit was fresh off its’ first championship in franchise history on that trip back in ’89, and then-guard Joe Dumars was fresh off his NBA Finals MVP performance and scored 17 points.
This time around, the Pistons came into Toledo after missing the playoffs for the first time in eight years, a team trying to return to the form it had last decade when it went to six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals and won the 2004 NBA Championship. And Dumars, who retired in 1999 after 14 seasons with Detroit and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, saw this week’s game a few rows back from the bench as the team’s President of Basketball Operations, a position he’s had since 2000.
“Playing preseason games in neutral arenas is always a good experience because you are playing in front of a new group of fans that don’t have the opportunity to see an NBA game on a regular basis,” Dumars said via e-mail. “I remember it [Savage Hall] being a good experience and we got a nice reception from the fans.
“The experience of playing in smaller markets is fun because you normally have good, energetic crowds in sold-out arenas. With the arena size smaller, the larger crowds make for a good atmosphere.”
Despite not having played a game in Toledo in more than two decades, the Pistons have made a few trips to Northwest Ohio the past couple of years for various team and charitable functions. In 2008, a customized tour bus filled with several Detroit team and media members visited Toledo as part of the team’s 2008 Tipoff Tour. Last month, the Pistons’ Year Round Hoops Squad, Vice President of Basketball Operations Scott Perry and first round draft pick Greg Monroe visited Birmingham Elementary for a “Homework Before Hoops” assembly to reward the school’s students for academic progress.
“We always try to stay connected to the Toledo market because we think it is a viable fan base for us,” Dumars said. “The drive is not long, and if we can create some new Pistons fans in that region, it’s good for our team and our organization.”
Fourth-year Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey, who had a game-high 34 points Oct. 19 and was part of that 2008 Tipoff Tour that came to Toledo, enjoyed the experience of playing in a smaller market.
“We have a big fan base, so it’s good to just get out and just show our fans our appreciation for them,” Stuckey said. “I know it’s hard for people to drive over to Auburn Hills and watch a lot of games, so it’s good for us to just come over here and play a preseason game.”
Fellow Pistons guard Rip Hamilton, who is in his ninth season with Detroit and one of three players remaining from the 2004 championship team, also had fun playing at the Huntington Center.
“It was fun,” Hamilton said. “It was exciting. The fans don’t always get an opportunity to come see us in Detroit, so it’s a great opportunity for them to come out, and we had a good time with it.”
Stuckey, Hamilton and their Detroit teammates did a good job of keeping 2010 No. 1 overall pick John Wall in check on Oct. 19, forcing the speedy Wizards guard into six turnovers while the rookie notched 13 points and seven assists.
“He got a couple, but as for the whole game, I think we defended him pretty well,” Stuckey said. “He’s going to be a good player.”
As for whether the Pistons are planning on playing future preseason games in the Huntington Center as they have done at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., nothing is set in stone. However, Dumars said it is something the organization will evaluate.
“It is something that we’ll continue to look at and take into consideration,” Dumars said.
After the turnout at the Huntington Center, it’s safe to say that Joe D. and company will be back in Toledo before another 21 years pass.

E-mail Mike Bauman at letters@toledofreepress.com.

Looking back at my short 34 years, several moments in time stand out that I can remember like they were yesterday. Most of those memories are wonderful experiences that I often think about. Just this week, I came across a video my wife took of my oldest son rolling over for the first time. My grandfather sent me a newspaper clipping this week from when I was a child at the fair and won a bunch of Scooby Doo stuffed animals. Other times there are negative memories that come to mind. One memory in particular was the October stock market crash of 1987, known as Black Monday.
On that Monday morning, I was riding with my dad in our blue Chevy Astro van heading to Defiance. My dad had always been a fan of talk radio and that day he was glued to the AM dial. It wasn’t until a year later that Dad sat me down and started teaching me about investing in the stock market, so I was just annoyed I couldn’t play my new Bon Jovi cassette tape. I remember seeing the concern on my dad’s face as he listened to the stock market collapse By the end of the day, the Dow Jones had dropped 22.61 percent, its biggest one-day percentage decline in history. To my dad, that day seemed like a financial disaster.
Twenty-three years later, looking back at that moment, I should have just pushed in the cassette tape and Bon Jovi’s song “Livin’ on a Prayer” might have made him relax a bit. As the Retirement Guys, we realize the impact losing money can have on retirees. It could mean outliving their income and potentially running out of money.  We meet with people all of the time, some are worried about the stock market and others are focused on what’s really important to them.  If you are concerned about the stock market and the economy, we’d like to share a couple of simple steps with you so when the next crash happens, you too can just turn up the music and get back to enjoying the ride.
Step one: Have a certain amount of safe money.  Not only does it make sense for investors to be safer when they get older, it can also buy them time, time not to panic. If investors have an account not exposed to stock market risk, they can take withdrawals from the safe account while the stock market is down, giving the stock market accounts time to recover. For many investors who pulled their money out of the stock market after the 87 crash, they missed out on the gains in the stock market in the next decade to come.   Once the crash happens, it could be too late to become safe.
Step two: Don’t follow the crowd.  Driving to an appointment this week, I went past a clothing store that had a sign in the window that said, “We Buy Gold.” For me, that is a pretty clear sign that now isn’t the time for us to advise our clients to buy a bunch of gold investments. History has shown time and time again, the stock market and the economy can be very punishing to people who chase the hot trends.  Remember technology stocks? How about how easy it was to make money in real estate? Just the same, allowing emotions to get in the way and selling out after a large loss may not make sense either.  Instead, ignore everyone else and make decisions only after reviewing a well thought out plan of action.
Step three: Put money to work when something is super cheap. If investors take steps while things are going good to increase safe accounts, they can buy opportunities when things are bad.  Look for companies that are leaders in their industry and ones that stand out above the crowd. Believe in America and buy quality investments that should be able to weather the storm.
Taking these three steps may not make you the next Warren Buffett, but many of these principles are ones he follows. If you feel that you are not in control of your investments, but are happy to see your account statements have gone back up, then now might  be a good time, while prices are much higher than they were a few years ago, to get back in control before the next Black Monday occurs. Remember it is when, not if. Don’t take a backseat to financial planning when everything seems to be going well.

For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysradio.com. Securities are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC.  NEXT Financial Group Inc. nor its representatives provide tax advice.  The Retirement Guys are not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group. The office is at 1700 Woodlands Drive, Suite 100, Maumee, OH 43537.

John Augustine, chief investment strategist for Fifth Third Bank, addressed investment issues under the current economic conditions for a group of the bank’s investment clients Oct. 19 at the Toledo Club.
Augustine’s presentation titled “Looking Out the Front Window,” encourages people to look forward despite reports that 81 percent of Americans don’t believe the recession ended in June 2009 as many economists believe.
“We’re far enough away from the recession, people need to keep looking forward out the front window and not in the rearview mirror at the past,” Augustine said. “My best advice is to turn off the national media every evening because they’re too busy looking in that rearview mirror.”
Augustine advised investors to focus on markets and investment strategies that are moving forward with the U.S. economy and its expected 2-percent growth. Fifth Third looks at the markets with a CHEC3 formula for analyzing the factors affecting it.
C and H represent “Cars” and “Homes,” which drive the economy in the Midwest and are trying to gain ground after hitting bottom and stabilizing. They’re not going down anymore, but there is a lot of capacity to fill back up, Augustine said.
E represents “Exports,” which are rising with the highest numbers in two years as the U.S. and other countries are exporting goods that are not selling in the U.S., also called excess capacity.
C stands for Construction which is still under stress especially in the private sector with housing starts and commercial building down.
C also represents “Corporate Profits,” which have recovered sharply. Productivity went up during the recession but came at the great cost of 10 percent unemployment. Corporations need to release some of that money back into the economy, Augustine said.
The final C represents “Consumer Spending,” which is recovering but spending is shifting more to services rather than manufactured goods.
“One game changer is where do we go to get income? We go back to the stock market since stocks are now yielding more than bonds, which hasn’t happened in 52 years. The markets are reacting positively, a very unusual situation, so we need to diversify our investments,” Augustine said.
Standard & Poors is expected to close the year around 1200 but remain very volatile. Interest rates must remain lower longer to produce a yield range of 2 to 4 percent.
Augustine said time is needed for U.S. issues to settle and for demand to grow into the capacity to build more cars, houses and products.
The message to policymakers should be to keep costs low and opportunities high. Going into the November elections, there is a perceived anti-business sentiment in Washington, Augustine said.
The outcome of the election could provide some relief and will likely be pivotal for stock performance later in the year, he added.
The economy needs consumers to manage their debt, and the government needs its debt, too.
Looking at the investment portfolio, principal preservation should cover the inflation rate of 1.2 percent. Be income-focused with an expected yield of 3 percent for lower risk to 6 percent for higher risk investments.
“Know where you are against your investment goal. Investors need to be patient for the next two to three years as the economy sorts it all out,” said Augustine, who expects energy and transportation to be two growth areas in Ohio.
“One piece of advice for investors is to take a look at the investment policy statement. The investment environment has changed and proper investigation into your investment profile is necessary,” said Steve Sherline, director of the Investment Advisors Division at Fifth Third.
Fifth Third Bank has $25.5 billion in assets under management for investment clients with
$2 billion of that in Northwest Ohio, according to its results released Sept. 30.

Several months ago, in the pages of this publication, former Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon predicted horrific violence for county residents now that he was no longer at the helm of the department (“Former dog warden warns:  watch out for the pit bulls,” May 23).
Alarmingly, Skeldon stated that “this spring, summer, fall, here in Toledo, there will be a number of people mauled, maimed, disfigured and there may be somebody killed by a pit bull.”
Never one to shy away from hyperbole, Skeldon ominously pronounced that “the word is out in Toledo — the dog warden [Julie Lyle] is no longer enforcing the laws and we can do what we want.”
Thankfully, and not surprisingly, Skeldon’s doomsday scenario failed to materialize. In fact, quite the opposite actually occurred.
Under new leadership at the pound, dog attacks in Lucas County have declined in the past four months when compared to the average of the last four years under Skeldon. From June to September of this year, under new warden Julie Lyle, there were 173 reported dog attacks. During the same four-month period in 2006-09 under Skeldon, there was an average of 176 attacks. Although the decrease in violence under Lyle is slight, as any attack is certainly one too many for the victim, the data shows that Skeldon’s fear mongering was unwarranted.
While, according to the data, public safety has improved under the new leadership at the pound, the greatest gains have come in the area of adoptions.
Tragically, under the Skeldon regime, 183 healthy, “non-pit bull” puppies were killed by the warden between 2007 and 2009.
My colleague, Commissioner Pete Gerken, whom Skeldon called the only person that “stood up” for him, has repeatedly stated that adoptions were not Skeldon’s “charge.” This out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude, from the top down in county government, directly led to the deaths of thousands of innocent dogs, including hundreds of puppies. Thankfully, the new dog warden has shown that public safety and humane treatment of animals are not mutually exclusive. In September, for example, Lyle adopted out 57 dogs as compared to an average of 19 in the same month during the last four years of the Skeldon era.
Lyle has doubled the live-release rate at the dog pound as well, by increasing the transfer of dogs to area rescue groups and the Toledo Area Humane Society.
The department also has a fledgling program that reunites owners with their pets in the field rather than automatically taking a loose dog into the pound.
Long term, the dog warden is looking at large-scale efforts to promote spay and neuter programs — probably the most important piece in the puzzle of lowering euthanasia rates.
These innovations and others, many of them championed by the capable and steadfast Dog Warden Advisory Committee, are getting real results that will continue to make dog lovers and our entire county proud.
But the old guard did not go down without a fight. When a committed group of dog lovers, known as 4 Lucas County Pets, began its quest to change the dog warden, it met immense resistance. In fact, my natural inclination was to side with the status quo when I first heard complaints about Skeldon’s tactics.
Thankfully, the citizen group didn’t give up when I was not as helpful as I ought to have been, and it kept plugging away.
The group’s case was driven by data, logic and compassion. Eventually, it won me over, and together we accomplished something positive.
I believe this process can serve as a good model for reforming other aspects of the community. There is no shortage of areas of local government that are ripe for reform. The intertwining issues of job creation, poverty reduction and education — and the corresponding governmental entities that are tasked with addressing these issues — are at the top of my list. But little will be done to tackle these challenges unless there is systemic change led by involved citizens and backed by elected officials who aren’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers.
The marked improvements in the dog warden’s department show that change in our community is possible. The fear mongering of the status quo can be overcome. We can see tangible improvement, in a relatively small amount of time, if we are willing to forge ahead, despite the formidable obstacles of entrenched interests circling their wagons and preaching doomsday scenarios. And we probably don’t have any other choice but to forge ahead.

Ben Konop is a Lucas County Commissioner.

After reading Michael S. Miller’s  Oct. 17 editorial “Iott should exit, stage reich,” I had to say I was more than a little disappointed, not to mention irritated.
As the editor of The Best Weekly Newspaper in Ohio (for two straight years), how dare he insult the intelligence of his readers, as he did in his article? Does he really believe that we can’t separate a person’s acting from his or her true character? I suppose that Tom Cruise is also a Nazi, since he played one in “Valkyrie”; George Clooney is an expert thief (“Ocean’s 11”); and through some kind of movie-picture magic Ray Romano is really a woolly mammoth, since his voice was used for one in the children’s movie “Ice Age.”
The typical Toledo Free Press reader is more intelligent than that, and we would hope that the typical voter is smarter than that.
One of the greatest presidents in the history of our country was a professional actor. And yet leftists seem to conveniently forget that longtime U.S. Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Va.) was not only a member of the Ku Klux Klan, but a recruiter and leader on the local level.
Furthermore, while we may not be the closest of friends, I think I know Miller well enough to say with relative certainty that he is not clairvoyant, and he does not know Mr. Iott’s inner thoughts. Only God knows man’s inner thoughts, so he seem to be holding himself in very high esteem.
I wish someone would tell me just what has happened to this country. How is it that a bona fide war hero who was tortured for years (only to be made fun of for it while campaigning) loses a presidential election to a community organizer who has no credentials and has admitted to using cocaine?
And now Miller would rather see the voters of this district re-elect a corrupt career politician over a smart businessman with a love for history? For shame!
In the interest of fair, unbiased journalism, I would ask that Toledo Free Press run an article showing pictures of other reenactments in which Mr. Iott has taken part, as well as some of his other accomplishments and contributions to the community. For the press to publish and dwell on just one controversial photo, rather than tell the whole story, is exactly the type of thing Toledo Free Press has stood against in the past, and it should again now.
Dock D. Treece is president of Treece Investment Advisory Corp.

Michael S. Miller’s Oct. 17 editorial, “Iott should exit, stage reich,” calling for Rich Iott to bow out of the District 9 U.S. House Race, caught me by surprise. He is the editor in chief of the only local paper I can stand to read. It made me think, “Is Iott that toxic from one photo and some less-than-stellar media performances? Can a picture make that much difference?”
The answer is, yes it can. Think about Dukakis and the tank, Gary Hart and Donna Rice. Is Rich Iott toxic now? Yes and No.
Yes he is, to the main stream media and those who get their news and opinion from the likes of CNN, Keith Olbermann, The New York Times and The Blade. Nothing is sexier to the mainstream media than a conservative they can call a Nazi; they will run it and keep running it until they find another conservative to stick a knife into. So yes, to the media elites and those who live on the coasts, Iott is toxic.
But so what? Do Anderson Cooper, The Atlantic, CNN and Olbermann really care about what happens in District 9? Does it impact their lives? Their jobs? Their taxes? No. All they care about is that they can call a conservative a Nazi and plaster the picture everywhere. Rush Limbaugh calls them the “drive by media,” and this is why. They come in, fire the shots and then drive off to the next story. To hell with the collateral damage.
No, Iott is not toxic to those who care about things other than what the media thinks of us. We are conservatives and we are used to the media calling us names. Those who live in Northwest Ohio understand that what really brings shame and embarrassment to us is Marcy Kaptur.
Some of Ms. Kaptur’s greatest hits:
1. On the earmark ban to for-profit companies, “The ban struck a balance between retaining a role for the legislative branch in funding while eliminating any potential for abuse.” Then the next day she encourages her donors to set up “nonprofits” so that she can funnel earmarks their way.
2. There was the time she compared Osama bin Laden to America’s Founding Fathers.
3. Her cameo role in Michael Moore’s anti-capitalist  film, “Capitalism: A Love Story.”
4. Her vote for the Cap and Trade Bill that will destroy Ohio’s economy.
5. Her “Yea” vote for government takeover of health care.
6. She votes for the auto bailout but against TARP. Either you favor bailouts or you don’t; which is it? What are Kaptur’s principles? Or do her principles depend on who contributes to her? See, Ms. Kaptur is bought and paid for by the unions. So, is that why she voted for the auto bailout as opposed to others? Principles matter and hers stink of pay-for-play politics.
Ms. Kaptur is a much bigger embarrassment to Northwest Ohio than 100 pictures of Iott dressing up as a Nazi. That being said, I don’t think that the Iott campaign has handled the media scrutiny very well; for goodness sake, what was that interview with Anderson Cooper? Iott comes off as appearing to be defending these butchers!
We have a choice to make. Do we accept the status quo or do we change the paradigm? Do we cower in the corner as the drive-by media comes in or do we stand up and say no more to CNN, Olbermann, The Blade. They don’t have to live here and suffer the consequence of Ms. Kaptur.
They expect us to cower and go away, because that is what we have always done. It is gut-check time! So do we stand up for conservative ideas or do we fold at the first sign of the drive-bys? The choice is yours to make, but understand the choice you make will affect your children, grandchildren and all of Northwest Ohio.
I respect Miller and the work Toledo Free Press does, but I disagree that Iott could embarrass NW Ohio even half as much as Ms. Kaptur has for 28 years. The media storm will pass, and once the drive-bys move on we will be left to assess the collateral damage, and that damage could be to the Constitution and our liberties.
Scott Allegrini is co-founder of The Children of Liberty.