Imagine a wonderful warm summer night, a night where you and your loved one are taking a nice cruise in the Caribbean, relaxing outdoors, getting ready to enjoy a beautiful sunset. You are on vacation and can’t help but be the typical tourist with a floral pattern shirt on, walking around with flip-flops and the camera hanging around your neck, sipping on a tropical smoothie. Heck, this is your moment to live it up, might as well enjoy the moment and dream of the fun that is coming up over the next few days. Put your arms out, feel the breeze and take a deep breath of the ocean air. That would be a great moment on the cruise ship.
Then imagine in that moment you look over the side of the boat and see the captain and first mate rowing away from the ship in a small boat. As they row as fast as they can away from the ship, what would go through your mind? If you are like most people, it would be “what the heck do they know that we don’t and how fast can we get off this ship?” If you were on a cruise, wouldn’t you want to know this information?

Did you know that when it comes to owning public stocks, that type of information is available? Investors can find out if the corporate insiders, such as directors, officers and key employees are buying or selling their company stock; it’s called “insider trading.” Although that term is often associated with illegal activity in the news and in movies, usually it is perfectly legal as long as “insiders” properly disclose it, which then becomes available for investors to review. Knowing if “insiders” are buying or selling can be helpful to investors in making an informed decision.
Insiders trading on nonpublic information can be illegal, as we saw with Martha Stewart and with Enron, where many people were put in jail for illegal insider trading. This is illegal because the failure to disclose insider trading can damage investors’ confidence and give an insider an obvious advantage, knowing information that the general public is unaware of. This is why trading is almost always disclosed by insiders and has become one of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s top priorities.
It is important to review insider trading on companies an investor is considering buying or selling, but it is not the whole story. Don’t make a decision based solely on “insider trades,” as additional research should always be done before buying or selling any investment.  We share this information with investors as a service and insight. It is important to know, but it doesn’t mean the stock an investor is buying or selling will go up or down just because of what the insiders are doing. Yet, wouldn’t you agree it is important to know what they are doing?
Finding out details on “insider trading” is really pretty easy. Most major financial websites have a link that an investor can review to see what insiders are doing.
For investors who own individual securities or who are considering buying or selling stocks, we suggest reviewing what insiders are doing.
So what are corporate insiders doing right now? According to Vickers Weekly Insider, insider buying compared to sales is currently at the highest point since 1998. There has been a “16-fold jump during the last three weeks” in buying according to its research.
Right now is one of the rare times that buying is outnumbering selling. That, in our opinion, is a good sign that many corporate insiders believe in their companies right now.

For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysnetwork.com. Securities and Investment Advisory Services 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. (419) 842-0550. Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/44161947

It’s happening again. The public school system is poised to rip another one of my babies away from me six and a half hours a day, five days a week, nine months a year for the next 13 years. OK, OK, I kind of volunteered my children for the gig, but accepting some responsibility in the matter only makes the transition that much harder on my psyche. I know that it’s in my job description to teach my little birds to fly at some point, but it still leaves a pit in my stomach each time I send one of them off on a solo excursion.
The first kid is supposed to be the hardest when it comes to letting go, but I’m finding that it’s as hard, if not harder, with my second child. Jack, my oldest, started out life as our most challenging offspring. Even his sister’s preemie status, resultant breastfeeding struggles and attached heart-monitoring system were no match for Jack’s colicky infancy. By the time he entered kindergarten, however, the turbulent disposition he once displayed had faded into a friendly, secure, rule-following, mild-mannered disposition that gave me confidence in his ability to make it in a sometimes cruel world.
And then there’s my Laney.

Elaine, my second child, is socially anxious, somewhat insecure, follows rules only up to the point she agrees with them and has a manner which, well, could not exactly be described as mild the majority of the time. Somehow our once-easy child, the only one we were able to convince to sleep in a crib, eat a healthy array of foods and actually sit down for more than 10 minutes in a row, has grown into the most challenging one to deal with on a daily basis, hands down. Subsequently, my confidence in her making as smooth a transition to the next level of childhood as Jack did is lacking a bit.
My doubt is not in Elaine’s skills to lead a successful independent life, as she has proven time and time again just how clever, conscientious and self-sufficient she can be within the confines of our home. Rather, it is her reluctance to express these outstanding qualities to the outside world that keeps me up at night. She isn’t so sure that she wants anything to do with the outside world, which makes it hurt all the more to have to nudge her into it.
As I struggle to mother my middle child into kindergarten, my husband keeps reminding me that she likely needs the confidence building, intellectual stimulation and, most of all, social practice even more than our first did. For some reason, though, the things we know deep down that our loved ones need the most are often the hardest to push them toward. It is a battle royal between wanting to give them what makes them happy right this moment and wanting to give them what you know, from your own experience, will allow them to be happiest down the road.
Still, I can’t blame all of my parenting struggle on Elaine’s most challenging characteristics. In all honesty, a big part of the reason that it’s so difficult to let go is that I’m just going to miss her every day. As my preemie, she’s the one I had to leave at the hospital, and it breaks my heart to have to start separating from her again. As challenging as she is day after day, and as much as she’s made it her full-time occupation to methodically push all of my buttons, somewhere in my mind she’s still a fragile premature baby who I feel guilty detaching from, even for a few hours.
Obviously, the separation might just do me a bit of good, too. I’m ready to accept that my once-tiny-and-helpless daughter is more than capable of being the confident and secure kindergartner I know she can be. I also need as much practice transitioning as possible. The letting go just isn’t getting any easier and my number three is preparing for takeoff sooner than I’d care to think about.

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

Nate Brahier’s last hours played out on Facebook when he began posting at 8:30 a.m. March 29. “First flight in the company plane :)” he wrote on his page when he checked into Monroe Custer Airport.
Ed Beczynski, owner of The Blarney Irish Pub and Nate’s friend, clicked “like.”
At 8:31 a.m., Nate posted a picture of the plane his CEO would be flying. He called it “Pretty.”
Friends began to post underneath the photo throughout the day.

Nate Brahier

Tony Rusch said, “Wow that is nice! They let you sit right seat?” Clemens Szymanowski posted, “Mirage? Nice rig.”
At 10:03 a.m., Nate posted a picture of the control panels and said “to answer tony’s question.”
The banter continued.
At 2:25 p.m., Nate wrote, “it’s a Piper Malibu Mirage.”
At 2:41 p.m., Nate wrote under the plane photo, “Yep. Full glass cockpit as well.”
That would be Nate’s last post.
At 5:21 p.m., Lori Lorentz posted, “I am hoping you are back from the airport and safe!!!! Please let me know!”
At 5:54 p.m., Charlie Mac posted, “nate sean small plane crash at custer airport lil concerned the plan kinda looks like pic u posted today …”
At 6:25 p.m., Stephen Vasquez wrote, “Post something or call us back buddy lots of people are worried.”
At 6:40 p.m., David Volk posted, “Nate we love you man.”
At 6:42 p.m., Sean Peters said, “Please post something bro.”
At 7:08 p.m., Patricia Parajon wrote, “I have been calling you for over an hour, please answer your phone! I am worried!”
At 7:09 p.m., Stephen Vasquez said, “Cead slan.”
At 7:12 p.m., Katie Peters wrote, “Anything.”
At 7:22 p.m., Kris Standering posted, “nothing new yet, Nate we are thinking about you and hope this isn’t so …”
But it was.
Nate had been killed when the single-engine aircraft crashed into Munson Park in Monroe County. Rick Howell, the pilot, was returning to Custer Airport after making a business trip with his employees to Pennsylvania. Howell was also killed, as was Jeremy Tate.
Nate’s high school friend from Fremont Ross, Andrew Behrens, was the first to post the news at 7:29 p.m.
“Very sorry to tell everyone but Nate was in the plane crash today. Info on arrangements will be posted. We’ll miss you Nate.”
With that post, lives changed.
His mother, Pat Moon, lost her only child. His girlfriend, Halsey Heinselman, lost her beloved
boyfriend. His friends lost their
best pal, their drinking buddy and their daredevil.
“He hung out with a lot of different people,” Andrew said. “He had the kind of personality to hang out with athletes to the drama club to the farmers and get along with all of them. He wasn’t any one of them. Nobody would say he was a farmer or an athlete or anything of those labels. Even after high school, he always wanted to blend his friends together.”
True to his range of friends, an eclectic group will raise money for a scholarship in Nate’s honor during a sold-out golf tournament Aug. 29 at the Belmont Country Club.  His alma mater Terra Community College started a scholarship in his honor. His family also launched a private scholarship.
“The scholarship is not so much in honor of Nate as it is to give people the same opportunities that he had,” Pat said. “When faced with deciding on a memorial, we wanted to do something to extend his life.”
Life undone
Nate died on a day marked by yet another opportunity. As a student pilot, he was excited to be in the Piper Malibu Mirage.
Pat wasn’t worried about Nate on March 29. Compared to his usual ways, taking a one-day company business trip was nothing that could hurt her 30-year-old son. Nate was a mechanical design engineer at Conforming Matrix Corporation.
“From a young boy, he was jumping curbs with his bike and ending up with a bloody face,” she said.
His adventurous spirit would evolve from little-kid bikes to motocross to wakeboarding to go-karts. He broke bones, tore skin and ended up dating an ER doctor, which eased his mother’s mind.
Pat hadn’t even thought about anything being wrong until Tony called to ask if she had heard from Nate. She hadn’t, so she sent him a message.
“I texted him and said, ‘Hey what’s up babe?’ He obviously never responded. I still have that text.”
Since Andrew is a pilot, Tony called and asked him to check on Nate’s plane. At first, he tracked the plane and found that it had landed; however, it actually had crashed near the airport. There were no survivors.
A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) spokesman said Aug. 23 it could be 12 to 18 months before a final report on the accident is filed, but a preliminary report stated that “examination of the main wreckage revealed that the landing gear was in the retracted position and the flaps were in the retracted position.”
The report also stated: “A witness reported that the airplane was unusually low and still flying at a high rate of speed with its landing gear retracted when it flew over Stewart Road. The airplane continued at a high rate of speed as it crossed over the trees.”
“I don’t know if we will ever know what happened,” Andrew said.
Love of his life

Nate Brahier’s mother, Pat Moon, in front of a framed memorial at the Blarney.

Halsey was at work as an emergency room doctor at St. Luke’s when she got a call from Tony.
At first she was annoyed. Nate and his friends liked to call her for medical advice. She almost wanted to say to Tony, “Guys, what the heck, I am working. Can’t you wait till I am home?”
Instead he told her to sit down.
She started crying, and her colleagues drove her to Nate’s mom’s house in Fremont.
When she walked in the door, Pat said, “Did I tell him I loved him?” She had.
“Pat has been amazing,” Halsey said. “We call each other and just talk about how we made it through the day, what good things happened. If she talked to a pastor, we go over what they discussed and what helped.
“I see her always being a part of my life. Nate would want that,” she said. “He was always looking out for his mom. He was her only son. I love her dearly. I told her that I would follow her to Florida.”
Florida is significant for Halsey and Pat.
The Saturday before Nate died he and Halsey dined with Pat and announced they would be moving in together. They eventually wanted to relocate to Florida when Halsey finished her residency. This pleased Pat because she also wanted to move to Florida. Nate knew this, and just said, “I know.”
“We were close. He was not a mama’s boy; he knew he couldn’t get away with anything,” Pat said. “We liked talking, going out to dinner, going to The Blarney.”
Pat also liked Halsey.
“We had only been together for four months when he passed,” Halsey said. “Everything just clicked, you just know. We were looking forward to a future together.”
She got him on a snowboard this past winter. He wanted to teach her how to wakeboard this summer. She wanted to teach him to scuba dive. He wanted to take her up in a plane.
On the day of the crash, she got off work at 3 a.m. He called her before she went to bed, but she missed his call.
Later, they exchanged a few texts about apartment hunting. The last text Halsey received was a message about him landing safely in Pennsylvania.
She later sent a text asking when he might be home. She also left him a voicemail expressing her love and calling him her best friend.
She doesn’t believe he ever got that voicemail.
Letters to Nate
Pat said life without Nate isn’t complete. She keeps a journal. She tells him how she feels; she tells him what is going on with her life.
“I wish I could see him walk down the aisle, have children, have all the ailments of getting old. Maybe he is lucky, though. He was spared all that,” she said.
But she doesn’t think he was lucky. She worries he suffered. The NTSB said he died on impact, but she knows there was a fire.
“That is the worst thing for a mother to have to identify a child by dental records. There was nothing left of him. No body.”
She misses everything about him. His voice, his laugh, his phone calls.
“Nate was the kind of guy who always had a charisma about him. He always had a smile,” Pat said.
Of course, he went through some teenage angst, but as he got older, they got closer, Pat said. After Pat went through her second divorce, Nate rallied around her.
Halsey said Nate would want his mom to be happy again.
“He was such a happy person, a positive person, and he would never want to see anyone that he cared for to be sad or not happy,” Halsey said. “Whenever I start to get down, I think that is not what Nate wants us to do. He made the best out of every situation.
“He wouldn’t want us to be moping around. He would want us to get back on the bike.”
To donate to Nate Brahier’s scholarship funds, visit http://www.facebook.com/nate.brahier and message his mother, Pat Moon, through the account.

Archie Donald

The Rockets have a large hole to fill at will linebacker after the graduation of Archie Donald, who led the team in tackles each of the past three seasons. Donald signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on Aug. 2.

“Whenever you lose your leading tackler, it’s pretty tough,” Beckman said. “Those are big shoes to fill, there’s no question about it. I’ve heard Archie is playing pretty good in Cleveland. I’m very proud of Archie. His leadership is hard to replace. He wasn’t a big loud guy; he just led by example. He did a fabulous job changing this program around.”

Donald is the only player to ever lead Toledo in tackling for three straight seasons. He ranked sixth in the nation last season with 146 tackles and finished his career with 424 tackles, five sacks and five interceptions.

“I learned to be patient watching him,” redshirt freshman linebacker Ray Bush said. “He was a real patient player even though he played with a lot of passion and fire. I learned to be slow to the ball and then attack.”

Donald is one of five undrafted rookie linebackers competing for two roster spots with the Browns. He leads the group with seven solo tackles through three preseason games.

“He is a very hard worker,” junior linebacker Robert Bell said. “He showed me how to not quit on any plays. He was always the one to finish a play, and he always made plays.”

Robert Bell

Beckman said Bell has improved the most at will linebacker this offseason. Bell was rewarded with the starting job ahead of Bush and fellow redshirt freshman James Gordon on a depth chart released Aug. 24.

“Robert Bell has had a very good camp,” Beckman said. “I’m very proud of the way he has responded to that position. Robert has had the biggest increase. He’s done a fabulous job. He’s played longer. He’s been in the program longer. He played as a true freshman. He’s a good football player, there’s no question. Bush and Gordon are having some of those redshirt freshman type problems, but they continue to get better every day.”

Bell played as a backup at both the mike and will linebacker positions last season. He made 10 tackles in eight games. As a freshman, Bell had 12 tackles in nine games and returned an interception 67 yards against Eastern Michigan.

“I bring versatility because I can play both mike and will linebacker,” Bell said. “Learning from Archie how to play fast, how to be physical and play through injury, you learn to get through everything and not just get through it just to get by today. You have to go full speed all the time. I can bring full speed every play.”

“He is a playmaker with a knack for the ball,” Donald said. “He flies around looking for the ball. He just makes plays. He’s a great football player and leader.”

Bush and Gordon will look to get experience at backup linebacker like Bell did the past two seasons behind Donald.

“They’ve got a lot of young guys there with a lot of talent,” Donald said. “I expect them to get the job done. They’ll lead the defense as much as possible and go out there and make plays.”

Bush was named Toledo City League and district defensive player of the year in his senior season at Rogers High School. He recorded 90 tackles and five sacks as the team went 9-2. Bush played will linebacker at Rogers, but he has had a lot to learn since it was a different defensive scheme.

Ray Bush

“It’s a lot different, because we ran with three defensive linemen,” Bush said. “In high school, I didn’t have to shed blockers so much. I always just shot to the gaps and I was always bigger, stronger and faster than most of them. The edge between playing with people who are just as fast as me and linemen who are even stronger than me has been a little tough to get the hang of. I think I have the hang of it now.”

“He’s just a hard worker,” Donald said. “He’ll go out there and give 110 percent and fly around for the ball. He gives a great effort on every down. I respect him for that.”

Gordon was ranked the No. 80 outside linebacker by ESPN.com coming out of Glenville High School, where he was coached by Ted Ginn. He had 97 tackles, including 17 for loss, in a senior season cut short by injury as Glenville reached the Ohio Division I state title game. Gordon was Valedictorian at Glenville.

“The best thing for any football player is game experience, and those guys don’t have game experience right now,” Beckman said. “You are going to progressively get better. It’s a continuation of becoming a better linebacker by getting in games and seeing how you respond in games.”

Bush acknowledges his lack of game experience and is prepared to see action this season.

“I bring passion and emotion,” Bush said. “I don’t bring the game experience, but I will bring emotion. I like running sideline to sideline and using what I have, which is speed. I like using my attributes. Being out in space is what I do best.”

The Rockets open the season Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. at home against New Hampshire. Bell has a firm grasp on the starting spot at will linebacker, but he encourages the competition from Bush and Gordon.

“Everyone is out here trying to get on the field whether you’re a freshman, a fifth-year senior or a sophomore,” Bell said. “You can’t have a day off, even in practice. If you have a day off and lag, you’re going to see it on the film, because the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. If you loaf around and aren’t making plays, someone is always behind you and ready. The competition is always turning. Whoever is behind you makes and pushes you so you can go and play the best you can play every play.”

Toledo attorney Robert Scott told Toledo Free Press he is resigning as campaign manager of Citizens for Davis one day after being suspended for two years by the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Scott is an old friend of judicial candidate Mark Davis. His resignation letter simply read, “Mr. Davis, I resign as Campaign Manager of the Davis for Judge campaign. Sincerely, Robert Scott.” Attempts to reach Davis for comment were unsuccessful.

Scott was suspended for “multiple acts of professional misconduct” during representation in 2007 of Lawrence Jameson on an aggravated murder charge. The two-year suspension includes a stayed second year, during which Scott’s practice must be monitored by an attorney chosen by the Toledo Bar Association. Scott must also complete continuing education course work in law office management before he can be reinstated.

The court voted 7-0 to adopt findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline. These findings showed Scott obtained his client’s power of attorney, ATM card and PIN, made multiple withdraws from his client’s bank account and transferred more than $24,000 into his business account from his client’s 401(k). Scott also had his secretary falsely notarize his client’s signature to sign over to Scott the titles of two cars. After Jameson filed a grievance with the Toledo Bar Association, Scott fabricated hourly bills, including 22 hours with his client in jail that were not in the jail’s visitor registration log.

Jameson’s trial was Scott’s first time trying a murder case. Jameson pled guilty in March 2008 and was sentenced to life in prison.

Scott declined to comment on what he will do during his suspension.

“I don’t have any plans I want to share with the Toledo Free Press,” he said.

As MTV is always looking for ways to exploit its hit show “The Jersey Shore,” I wanted to invite the producers here for a potential spinoff — “The Toledo Shore.”  With more than 9 million people tuning in every Thursday night, what better way to showcase the many things Toledo has to offer while also highlighting the crazy that is our political scene.
Since this could be the first spin- off of the show, casting would need to be perfect. So, we are going to have to go big when trying to fill the role of The Situation. Look no further than the mayor himself, Mike Bell. Mayor Bell knows how to have a good time;  just stop by Six Pack on the occasional Friday night and look for the 6-foot-2 cowboy on the dance floor being the life of the party. The Situation is always wearing tight shirts and showing his six-pack of abs. If you want to see tight, Mayor Bell still likes to don his UT football varsity jacket from the early ’70s.
Snooki may be tricky; she’s a shorter woman who loves to party and cause drama. Hmmm … drama, short and loud? I wonder how former Councilwoman Betty Shultz spends her days. First, Snooki is orange like an oompa-loompa and Shultz has/had reddish hair. They both like to enjoy the spirits — Snooki at a club, Betty at the occasional festival. Both ladies are not  afraid to remove an earring before throwing a punch or political jab.
DJ Pauly D, with his well-coifed mane, could only be filled by Councilman Joe McNamara. McNamara appears to spend a quality amount of time working on his “blowout” and was recently quoted  to say “awesome” when asked about Jeep’s expansion. DJ Joey Mac only needs to “fist pump” to techno music while nodding at Lindsay Webb from across City Council chambers.
Everyone who watches “The Shore” knows about the drama of Ronnie and Sammi. We could go many different ways here with Pete and Polly Gerken. I have no idea if there is any crazy there, but dealing with Pete on a daily basis can not be easy. Or you could go the on-again off-again angle with media mogul JRB — who shall remain in initials — and his colleague, leader of the local GOP, Jon Stainbrook.  They are Toledo’s C. Montgomery Burns and Waylon Smithers (no relationship overtones implied). Their political bromance would make excellent TV and with new CGI technology you could barely see any strings attached to Stainbrook’s arms and shoulders.
The role of Vinny is a tossup between two very smooth individuals. “Toledo Shore” could easily cast Greek Councilman George Sarantou or the West Side’s Councilman Tom Waniewski. Vinny, like these two men, often plays the role of peacekeeper. Behind closed doors, all three men know how to handle business — Vinny just does it in a different way.
Imagine our “Toledo Shore” crew hanging out at Cousino’s Navy Bistro … oops, a location may be an issue. But for the sake of this piece, imagine we had a great thriving nightclub where the “Toledo Shore” could fist pump the night away. The potential hookups, smushing and grenade-watching would be epic.
“Toledo Shore” could be how the Marina Project gets completed. The “Jersey Shore” cast is forced to live together and it’s normally a pretty lavish condo by some water. Where else were some pretty lavish condos supposed to have been built … by the shore? I love it when a good spinoff comes together!
Finally, the cast of “Jersey Shore” is always worried about getting the GTL (gym, tanning, laundry) done. “Toledo Shore” would be concerned about PBD — plotting, bickering and dogs. It seems that those three letters best describe “Toledo Shore’s” daily routine, even though the letters should be JOB, as in, how to get new ones to come here. Trust me, I am not drinking the Hater-ade, I am craving some Economic-ade!
Follow-Up: Sadly, all 53 signs advertising where the “Toledo Shore” auditions were to take place were sliced in half and destroyed.

Jeremy Baumhower is a media expert who writes and produces for morning radio shows across the country. Follow him on Twitter @jeremytheproduc.

NOTE: The original version of this column was published Aug. 10, 2008. It is more relevant now than then.

As we are all too often reminded, it’s not a perfect world. Sometimes the bad guys get away, the good guys make bad choices and innocent people catch the shrapnel.
The instability is constant because unpredictability is an intrinsic human trait. A more cynical view would replace “unpredictability” with “unreliability.”
Karma usually has the last word, and while there’s no empirical evidence of cosmic justice in the afterlife, it’s human nature to believe the big wheel of consequence transports good people to their destination while crushing bad people along the way. My guess is, that’s about 80 percent accurate.
What happens to those who betray confidence and intentionally abandon friends and family? What happens to those who steal and lie and intimidate people? Perhaps this dirty dozen of historical and fictional examples will offer some solace to the aggrieved.
1. Judas Iscariot: For 30 pieces of silver, Judas betrayed Jesus Christ and set the Crucifixion in motion. Depending on the source material, Judas hanged himself, was stoned to death or had his bowels spilled in a field, none of which is a happy ending.

2. Benedict Arnold: Feeling unappreciated and slighted, the George Washington-appointed commandant of Philadelphia took more than 10,000 British pounds, a pension and some land in Canada for working with John Andre to give West Point secrets to the British. Upon capture, Andre was executed. Arnold escaped and eventually fled to London, where he died of gout, dropsy and delirium.
3. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in “Hamlet”: Shakespeare makes the ultimate case for killing the messengers for the message: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are longtime friends with Hamlet, but serve as spies for the evil and murderous King Claudius. They are sent on a mission to see Hamlet killed, but the downbeat prince turns the tables and the two betrayers are sent to their deaths.
4. Scar: More regicidal hijinks. In “The Lion King,” jealous Scar arranges the death of his brother, King Mufasa, in a wildebeest stampede. Scar lives the high life for a while, but eventually his greed and disregard for friends and family lead to his being torn apart by the very hyenas he once partnered with. Are you noticing a trend here?
5. Brutus: Betrayed Julius Caesar, leading the 44 B.C. plot to assassinate the Roman leader. Brutus committed suicide after a military defeat, less than two years after his traitorous act.
6. John Walker Lindh: An American who pleaded guilty to being a member of the Taliban, Lindh received a far-too-easy 20-year prison sentence. He got off light. Charges against him included conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens and conspiracy to provide material support and resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations. In January 2003, Lindh was locked away at the United States Penitentiary, a high-security prison in Victorville, Calif., northeast of Los Angeles.
7. Fredo Corleone: Fredo, the weakest of Don Corleone’s sons, betrayed the family off-screen in “The Godfather” and paid for it with his life in “The Godfather II.” As played by John Cazale, Fredo was a whiny loser who let delusions of grandeur jeopardize his family and their business. Fredo is shot and dumped in a lake when his brother Michael exacts the inevitable revenge.
8. Iago: Shakespeare’s greatest villain is one of the ultimate traitors. Iago pretends to be General Othello’s trusted adviser, but systematically destroys Othello’s life though scheming and lying. Wez do not see Iago’s execution, but it is implied. There was certainly no sequel or spinoff featuring the dastardly traitor.
9. Aldrich Ames: Ames gave the Russians the identities of American spies and other intelligence information. He reportedly jeopardized more than 100 American intelligence efforts. His traitorous actions earned him a reported $4.5 million, blood money for the 10 Americans who were executed as a result of his betrayal. The CIA believes he eventually gave away every U.S. agent who was working against the USSR. He is serving life in prison.
10. Salieri: Salieri, in stage and film incarnations, is jealous of Mozart’s talent. He pretends to befriend Amadeus but all the while plots to thwart his career. Eventually, Salieri plots to trick Mozart into writing his own requiem. The stress contributes to Mozart’s pauper death. Salieri lives long enough to see his own work forgotten and Mozart’s increasingly celebrated.
11. Peter Pettigrew: The entire “Harry Potter” saga spins the way it does because Harry’s parents trusted Pettigrew, who betrayed them to ultimate baddie Lord Voldemort. For his reward, Pettigrew spends years as the rat Scabbers, earns the cheery nickname Wormtail, loses a hand and is eventually strangled by the magical prosthetic hand that replaces his filthy, weak natural one.
12. Your name here.

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at mmiller@
toledofreepress.com.

Few public maneuvers are as unsavory as a political power grab. A desperate attempt to retain power at all costs is usually unflattering to those involved and often undermines confidence in the electoral process.
District 6 Toledo City Councilwoman Lindsay Webb’s fight to remain on the Sept. 13 primary ballot despite a clear case of noncompliance with the city charter is a textbook case for such chicanery.
Postmarked evidence proving that her original story of mailing an envelope on time from Ann Arbor was not accurate underlines the sentiment that the credibility-damaged Webb should take a higher road and remove herself from the race and consider stepping down from her council seat now.
On Aug. 24, an appeals court canceled a scheduled Lucas County Board of Elections meeting that was meant to decide whether Webb would be on the ballot. Opponent Doug DeCamp said she should be ineligible because she missed a deadline to file a document accepting her candidacy.

Ironically, when DeCamp faced a late June complaint for a minor noncompliance issue, Lucas County Democratic Party Chairman Ron Rothenbuhler told Toledo Free Press, ?In my experience on the Board of Elections I?ve been to two conferences and they beat the rules into your head ? I would think we all live up to the same rules, which really since everybody is really careful about rules in the Board of Elections, and everything I?ve seen lately is that whatever the rules say you should or shouldn?t do I would hope that those same rules apply to everybody.? Webb added, ?It is critical that these laws be followed, they were created to ensure fair play in our election process.?
Of course, they?re singing a different tune now.
Webb?s mistake is a relatively minor one, but the issue at stake is an established and recognized part of the city charter election process (the other 19 candidates on the primary ballot got it right). At what point should the law and election rules be bent, broken or avoided? What message does it send to allow exceptions and adapt the rules to suit a candidate who made a mistake?
I have heard the argument that the BOE hasn?t always enforced the deadline, but that?s a weak argument. That?s like arguing you should avoid a ticket for running a red light because so many other motorists get away with it.
How much court time is to be spent on Webb?s quest? How much time will an already suspect Lucas County BOE spend on this? How much public time and money will be spent on the effort?
The discussion needs to be free of party affiliation and candidate enthusiasm. You may support Webb or rebuff Webb, but that should not impact a basic stance of support for recognized and accepted procedure. It?s unfortunate for Webb and her many supporters, but it seems clear she made a mistake that should cost her the slot on the ballot. Either we want people in office who will maintain the integrity of the process, or we allow people to hold on to power at the cost of that integrity.
It?s a clear choice for those who respect election law.

Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second installment of a weekly series in which Staff Writer Mike Bauman will profile sixth-year Toledo senior cornerback Desmond Marrow for the 2011 season.

Ever since they played in the Volney Rogers Youth Football League back home in Youngstown, Desmond Marrow and close friends Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Kevin “KT” Moses have dreamed of making plays on the gridiron.
Now, the trio is making plays off the field with M.P.O.D., Inc. While all three hope their athletic apparel company — which stands for “Make Plays Or Die” — becomes a household name like Nike and Under Armour, they also want the brand to inspire kids and people to strive to succeed.
“We stand for hard work,” said Johnson-Koulianos, who serves as M.P.O.D. co-CEO with Marrow. “We stand for dedication. It’s kind of a representation of Youngstown, who we are.”
M.P.O.D. spawned from Marrow and Johnson-Koulianos’ motivation to fulfill their football dreams; they often said, “Make plays or die” to one another while playing at Cardinal Mooney.
“Our motto on the field was ‘We need to make plays or die,’” Johnson-Koulianos said. “Basically, if we don’t do our job and make plays, we’re not going to win. Losing was dying to us.”
Marrow started saying “M.P.O.D.” at Toledo, and the slogan caught on with his teammates. After promoting the movement online last year, PRYD Clothing contacted Marrow via Facebook and has been printing M.P.O.D. shirts ever since. The shirts, which Marrow distributed for free last season, became so popular that M.P.O.D. recently launched a website to keep up with the demand.
The website — mpod.bigcartel.com — is operated by Moses, who said that it frequently gets shut down because of the traffic.
“Basically, all the money that we make is just going toward making shirts, so nobody is really leaving with money in their pocket,” said Moses, a business marketing major at Marian University in Indianapolis. “All the money that we’re making is going to keep the movement in cycle, to keep it going.”

M.P.O.D. is also developing a large following on Twitter. The account @MPODinc has more than 700 followers, while an additional Twitter account for updates on M.P.O.D. events (@MPODevents) has more than 160.
“It’s basically a life motto just saying that you get out what you put in,” Moses said. “So it’s not just a sports thing. It’s a life thing.”
When Marrow started pushing M.P.O.D. last year, he went to Toledo head coach Tim Beckman to ask for permission.
“We just, again, checked it out with [Toledo Associate Athletic Director for Compliance] Brian Lutz and made sure that he was doing everything that was under the regulations of the NCAA,” Beckman said. “And the NCAA isn’t against anything of that nature as long as he’s doing what he abides by, NCAA rules-wise.”
NCAA Bylaw 12.4.4 states that “A student-athlete may establish his or her own business, provided the student-athlete’s name, photograph, appearance or athletics reputation are not used to promote the business.” Marrow’s name does not appear on any M.P.O.D. merchandise, and he does not receive any money the company makes from sales.
“I’m kind of taking the reins right now as far as getting all of the legal work done,” said Johnson-Koulianos, who finished his football career at Iowa in 2010 and is currently not enrolled at the university. “Any income that’s being made from M.P.O.D. is solely in my possession of course until Desmond is done, seeing that he’s under NCAA rulings and such.
“We just took a business approach to it and we’re doing things the right way because we feel like a lot of people can be motivated and benefit from M.P.O.D.”
Marrow said he believes one group that can benefit from M.P.O.D.’s message is children. He went to the Boys & Girls Club every Thursday during the 2011 spring semester.
“It was cool because I grew up going to the Boys & Girls Club, and then just to go back there and just see the kids in the same place that I was, it was kind of cool,” Marrow said. “Just to go that route with the kids, to give them activities and things to do. Especially back home in Youngstown, just to give kids more opportunities besides sports and to let them know there’s more things to life than just sports.”
M.P.O.D. has recently drawn interest from a few small colleges as well as UT football outfitter Under Armour. Under Armour Sales Director Sean Sullivan recently attended one of Toledo’s practices, and Marrow sent him his résumé.
“I think my creativity and M.P.O.D. thing just came from I want to be successful, but I don’t want to be focused on just football and trying to make it to the NFL because that’s not promised to me,” Marrow said. “So I just try to come up with other ways to just be a successful person in life, on and off the field.”

The Ohio Players have a reputation for cool horn-powered jams, soulful R&B, smoldering funk and steamy album covers.
“Music is one thing, and then we thought about the packaging thereof. We’re just some old rusty-looking guys; nobody would look at us for nothing, especially guys,” said drummer and vocalist James “Diamond” Williams. “We thought we could get guys to look at our album cover by putting a nice-looking, attractive woman on there.
“Now the young ladies know that the Ohio Players are guys and we’re singing to the women,” he said. “So we mixed the two — the album cover and the music. We made a nice sandwich that could be packaged and sold, and it’s done pretty well. We’ve probably sold as many album covers as we have singles, but who’s counting?”
The band sold a lot of records in the 1970s thanks to a string of hits: “Fire,” “Love Rollercoaster,” “Skin Tight,” “Funky Worm,” “Sweet Sticky Thing,” “Who’d She Coo.”

“To get out on the road and hear in various cities that you go to your music being played was absolutely phenomenal,” said Williams, who joined the group in 1972. “And to hear your music on a plane 35 years ago was unbelievable for a band, a black band, in particular.”
He recalled a memorable moment: “Elton John was No. 1 on the pop charts, and we were at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, and we had just topped him (with the 1974 “Fire” album) to take No. 1 on the pop charts and on the R&B charts overseas.”
“Fire” rages on as the theme song for the TV show, “Hell’s Kitchen.”
“As a writer, you always want to write a song like ‘White Christmas,’ you know, one of those songs that plays every year or when you think about a title, you immediately think about a song,” Williams said. “When you think about the concept of fire, very thankfully, people think about our song.”
During a phone interview from his home in Dayton, the songwriter talked about what makes a tune great.
“Being a drummer, I’d have to say it’s the beat. I used to listen to Dick Clark as a kid growing up — this will be part of my book — and when they would play songs and ask kids what they liked about the song, when it was a hit, most kids said, ‘I like the beat.’ That got me right then; I thought I’m going to control the beat. I think the beat controls the vibe of the song.”
In addition to writing an autobiography, Williams is busy with the band working on a disc that should be finished next year. Fans can go to loverollercoaster.com, give their email address and receive a free download of the new single, “This Is Your Night.”
It’ll be the Ohio Players’ night at the University of Toledo’s Music Fest at 7:45 p.m. Aug. 31.
Taking the stage with Williams will be rhythm guitarist and vocalist Clarence “Chet” Willis, keyboardists Ronald Nooks and Odeen Mays, bassist and vocalist Darwin Dortch, percussionist Robert “Kumba” Jones, trombonist Johnny Cotton, trumpeter Ken Anderson and saxophonist Michael Turner.
“We’re at a stage in our career where we’re trying to give back; we’ve already received more than we could ever believe in our lifetime,” Williams said. “We’re doing this because we love it, and we love the fact that we’ve been able to create music that brings back good memories for people, and good memories are always things to be cherished.”

University of Toledo Music Fest

Aug. 31, Free, mall area across from Memorial Field House on main campus
Schedule:
• 2:45 p.m. Abigail Stauffer
• 4:15 p.m. Glen Templeton
• 5:30 p.m. Pep rally for the UT football team
• 6 p.m. Alexander Zonjic and Friends
• 7:45 p.m. Ohio Players
• 9:30 p.m. Cartel
• 10:45 p.m. Fireworks