Gay rights activist and former Toledo resident Lair Scott is attempting to use his take on the sexual orientation of “Sesame Street’s” Bert and Ernie as a platform to promote LGBTQ rights.
“It’s important, especially for children’s education, to understand and to learn that bullying people for being different is wrong,” Scott said. “It’s important for us to reach this generation of children so in the future we can live a more tolerant lifestyle around the world, not just for the gay and lesbian community but for communities all over.”
The petition “Let Bert & Ernie Get Married On Sesame Street” on Change.org started Aug. 4 and collected 9,000 signatures by Aug. 15. The Facebook page “Bert and Ernie Get Married” has more than 7,000 fans. Scott also started a “Sesame Street: Out Bert and Ernie as Gay” petition, but has decided he will cancel it and focus on the original petition.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to out Bert and Ernie as much that it’s extremely important for ‘Sesame Street’ to educate children and parents about toleration and about the new world,” Scott said. “Thousands of children that have two mommies or two daddies watch the program.

Lair Scott

“It’s important for them to know they aren’t any different from any other children having parents.”
The story has been picked up by international media, reported by such sources as The Huffington Post, the BBC, the U.K. Daily Mail, ABC News, The Village Voice, USA Today and The Washington Times.
In a statement released Aug. 11 on the “Sesame Street” Facebook page, Sesame Workshop said, “Bert and Ernie are best friends. They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves.
“Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics (as most ‘Sesame Street’ Muppets do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation.”
The statement did not convince Scott.
“I didn’t think they were gay; I knew they were gay,” he said. “When I was a little boy, I took for granted they were two men living in the same household.”
Scott said he was aware of his own bisexuality at a young age.
“I knew I was different when I was 5 years old,” Scott said. “Why can’t we introduce more characters that are diverse and include the gay and lesbian community? We’re working on different types of outlets for kids and teens to be introduced to LGBTQ characters.”
Scott’s petition has received mixed reactions from the LGBTQ community.
“I would say that a majority of them understand and get it,” Scott said. “There is a small minority that hasn’t read the petition clearly. They are outraged that I would pick on two iconic characters. They don’t understand how important it is to educate children before they become bullies against their own culture.”
Scott said he experienced bullying firsthand and speculated on the effect the movement could have had while he was growing up.
“I wouldn’t have been gay-bashed at Start High School,” Scott said. “I wouldn’t have been forced to leave Waite High School because of my activism at such an early age. I was 14 years old when I began my activism in Toledo. Others like me in Toledo could have benefited from seeing more diversity in ‘Sesame Street’ as a youngster.”
Scott thinks the petition will be a success, but not in the way most would expect.
“Bert and Ernie will never be married; that’s not going to happen,” he said. “If you were to ask me how I would introduce gay and lesbian characters on the show, I could answer that. There would be dozens upon dozens of alternatives and opportunities for that. One of them could be that a mommy and mommy or daddy and daddy couple with children move on Sesame Street.
“That would be the epitome for me, to have real characters and not Muppets portraying gay and lesbian characters. That would be the ultimate thing that should, could and probably will happen on ‘Sesame Street’ at some point.”

Just a few years ago, Brooklyn Beaver was a regular consumer of some pretty harsh cigarettes. Newport 100s, about a pack and a half a day. “I would try to quit, and it was unsuccessful. And I thought, well, I’m gonna be smoking for the rest of my life,” she said in an interview with Toledo Free Press Star.
“But then, I got one of these,” Beaver said as she held up the small device on the counter in front of her — a small, sleek cylinder with a cartridge on top for inhaling. One of the many models of electronic cigarettes offered at Revolver Electronic Cigarettes Vapor Lounge, a new store near the corner of Holland-Sylvania Road and Central Avenue, which specializes in the product.

Angie Fallon, an employee at Revolver.

“And I was like, well, I’ll smoke this and cigarettes. And I was fine with that,” Beaver stated. “But after I started using it, I just quit. I didn’t even mean to quit, it just happened. And then, one day my friend’s like, ‘Did you quit smoking?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I think I did!’”
It wasn’t a coincidence that Beaver received an electronic cigarette. Her father, Dennis Beaver, is a co-owner of the business with fellow Toledo native Matt Smith. The two men met on the Jeep assembly line, spending 12-hour work days together and fantasizing about starting their own venture.
“One day, my dad got an electronic cigarette and said, ‘You know, we should start a business.’ So they just talked about it, not really being serious, then they kinda looked into it. They started with $3,500, and it turned into this,” Beaver said, gesturing to the store she now works in.
Revolver started two years ago as an Internet startup and through word-of-mouth, rapidly grew a loyal customer base all around the country. The physical store opened in April, and has been steadily growing its own clientele.
“We get a lot of local people who have never heard of electronic cigarettes but are just coming to test it. They’re usually smokers, and a lot of them have quit from using our products,” Beaver said.
An electronic cigarette consists of a battery that powers an atomizer, creating vapor which the “smoker” breathes through a cartridge. There are no carcinogens involved, just nicotine, so the health concerns related to smoking are supposedly a non-issue. Fans of the product don’t even want to call it smoking — it’s “vaping.”
“A lot of it is that people really do just like the vapor. My sister got onto them. We do have zero nicotine [varieties], she uses them with no nicotine and she’s never smoked before. And she likes the flavors,” Beaver said.
The flavor options or the “eLiquids,” which create the vapor, really are staggering. Not only does Revolver offer varieties which emulate most every brand of cigarette under the sun, but unusual tastes like cherry, marshmallow, beer, butterscotch, Bavarian cream, hazelnut, “Energy Bull” (a Red Bull taste-alike), Cuban cigar, cappuccino and more.
Beyond helping them kick a deadly habit, money is another reason many are turning to Revolver. The initial cost is high, with a deluxe model of electronic cigarette running $70 to $80. But the eLiquid refills are a major savings in the long run for heavy smokers, Beaver said.
“For a large bottle, [the eLiquid] should last a pack-a-day smoker about a month,” she said. “So it’s about $70 initially, and then after that, it’s about $16 a month.” Compared to the $60 or so that a carton of cigarettes can run a smoker, the economic benefit of their product becomes clear.
The FDA has yet to sign off on electronic cigarettes as an effective aid to quit smoking, or on their long-term health risks.
“They are testing it right now,” Beaver said. “And doctors say that nicotine is about as bad for you as caffeine.” She also said that up to 80 percent of the people who try their product are able to successfully quit smoking.
As for Revolver, Beaver said the company has plans to expand in the coming months, including a store in Kansas.
“I hope that we can get a lot more people off smoking. We’ve hooked a lot of people so far, but I just want everyone to know that there is an alternative to cigarettes and chew.”

Beverly Fishman is continuing her artistic study of the human body and the pharmaceutical industry through a new medium with her exhibit “Pill Spill” at the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion.
The installation features 120 glass capsules representing pills, which are placed between the walls of the entrance. According to Fishman, this creates the analogy of the Glass Pavilion as a human body digesting the pills.
“I’ve had a long-standing relationship with my interest with the body, science, technology and the pharmaceutical industry,” Fishman said. “It’s been about an 11-year investigation and has taken on many iterations. I love the idea of something so incredibly old like glass blowing dealing with the contemporary condition. This gorgeous pill is like a placebo. If you see this large grouping of them, they might do something to the viewer. The viewer wouldn’t have to take a pill. They could just experience something.”

'Pill Spill' will be on display at TMA through September.

Fishman’s installation is part of the Guest Artist Pavilion Project (GAPP). She was named the 2010 GAPP artist-in-residence and worked on the project with staff from the Glass Pavilion.
“I had ideas I thought would work really well with glass,” Fishman said. “We started several projects, but ‘Pill Spill’ really snowballed and became the big project. Once this project started to really roll, we were in sync with each other. It just took on a life of its own.”
She worked mostly alongside Jeff Mack and Doug Patterson, with Mack handling all of the glass blowing duties.
“We had a lot of discussions about color, because it is a huge part of my work,” Fishman said. “When Doug and Jeff came to my studio, we started to get the ball rolling. My sense of color is very electric. There are qualities of color that normally are in glass, and I was asking for color that I would say was more futuristic.”
The project is Fishman’s first time working with glass, so she generated ideas and directed Mack and Patterson on the execution.
“I’d worked with resin and chrome, but I’d never worked with glass,” Fishman said. “Glass is like entering a new world. The beauty of it is so seductive. There’s issues of transparency and detail of pattern. Things I thought I was going to do, I let go of and moved through this process.”
Fishman plans to continue working with glass after this installation, but she has no intentions of learning how to blow glass.
“I’ve been seduced by the material and what it can do,” she said. “I’m going to attempt to keep working in glass, but it would take years to catch up to where the glass blowers are. I like working with the ideas in collaboration.”
The majority of Fishman’s artistic experience is with painting. She serves as head of the painting department at Michigan’s Cranbrook Academy of Art and has a painting in the permanent collection at the Toledo Museum of Art. The painting, “Night Kandyland” is part of her “Kandyland Series,” comparing pharmaceutical pills to candy. The top of the painting contains logos of legal and illegal drugs. The bottom half looks abstract, but contains EEG patterns to represent the body.
“I’m interested in how technology has imaged the body and keeps re-imaging our body,” Fishman said. “Technology continues to grow and change. I started out using the microscope and cells. Those images look incredibly romantic compared to MRIs today. MRIs look like Las Vegas signs. The images, the way technology represents us, has changed over the course of years. My intent is to keep up with that change in my work and comment on our existence today.”
“Pill Spill” is on display through September in the Glass Pavilion, located across the street from TMA at 2445 Monroe St. Fishman will discuss her work Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the GlasSalon. The event is free and open to the public.
“The Glass Pavilion gave me such a huge opportunity to think about the body,” Fishman said. “It is like seeing through the exterior into an interior. It read like a body, like the building itself was digesting the pills. The building is so powerful. The architecture is brilliant. The quality of light that comes through allows the glass piece to change over the time of the day. It is remarkable. Natural light is so beautiful. The building itself became such a big inspiration.”

I was reading an article on the Toledo Free Press website (and listening to discussion on WSPD) regarding a proposal to add new regulations for what apparently is a growing panhandling problem in the city of Toledo. Apparently, Councilman D. Michael Collins believes that a proposal like one recently passed in Cincinnati will solve the problem, though it’s likely that the issue of enforcement may prove a problem (Can you say texting law?). Now I can’t say that I’m much of a fan Council members attempting to jump on the ‘issue de jour’ with a legislative ‘me too’ in what’s usually little more than a sorry attempt at political self-aggrandizement.  There are already far too many unenforced or unenforceable laws on the books of most municipalities, including Toledo; and such an approach seems unnecessary when existing laws on vagrancy could likely be used as a method of constraint. I will grant however, that this pathetic effort at political grand-standing did stimulate further thinking on my part on the subject of panhandling.

It occurred to me that rather than simply take on the local issue, maybe it’s past time that we did something about panhandling at higher levels. Oh, not those people standing on corners with cardboard signs or squeegees, but the ones holding their hand out for charitable contributions in the form of a government check.

Before I go any further, please don’t write into Toledo Free Press to chastise me for my lack of heart or regale me with a story about how a government program was the only thing that saved you or your family’s lives. I’m more than willing to concede the necessity of such programs and applaud the good that they do as an obligation that society has to itself; nor am I asking here for the elimination of such programs. I would like some policing of the rampant waste currently in the system however, and some punishment for those perpetrating outright fraud through learning how to effectively game the system.

We all know the stories: the man on food stamps who won a couple of million in the lottery, the N.Y. Congressman making $175,000 per year who’s living in four rent-controlled apartments in the city, the guy on full disability who spends his now plentiful spare time playing basketball in the driveway when he’s not on the golf course and the single mom who seems unconcerned about the lack of support from the multiple sperm donors who fathered her children as long as she continues to get Welfare, rent and utility support, food stamps, the school lunch program and Aid to Dependent Children. These abuses are not only a drain on program budgets already overburdened by real need, but a slap in the face of every person who legitimately seeks aid.

But let’s not limit ourselves by simply going after these small-time operators. Let’s do something about the corporate beggars that get the serious money out there. It’s far past time that a conservative voice spoke up to say that we need to rid ourselves of oil drilling subsidies, protective tariffs and government contractors (defense or otherwise) who can’t build what they agreed to, even when running up cost overruns of 200 percent or more (And don’t even get me started on ‘too big to fail’ bailouts, Wall Street or otherwise.)

Before those from a more progressive point of view seek to applaud me for finally seeing the light of day on evil corporations, they should know that I also want to get rid of the panhandling done by farmers (mostly corporate anyway), ethanol providers and solar and wind alternative energy companies with their heads buried in the government trough.

While we’re castigating those with outstretched hands, let’s not forget the people in One Government Center who believe there’s a problem out there. Professional status may have allowed them to exchange the plastic cup for the trash fee, the water and sewer bill and the permanent ‘temporary’ tax; but they certainly seem to have no trouble seeking citizen contributions through aggressive begging, if not outright threat. And when the City isn’t panhandling for itself, there are plenty at the ready behind them looking for a levy to be passed.

As for Toledo’s apparent panhandling dilemma, a solution that might satisfy Council is as elemental as the problem itself. If those working the intersections of the city would simply organize themselves into a labor union, the city could negotiate directly with them for clearly defined work schedules, better working conditions and health and pension benefits commensurate with their labors. Such a union of ‘simple, hard-working Americans’ could then collect dues, some of which might subsequently be turned into ‘positive political activity,’ providing members of council with an alternative to begging for campaign contributions on street corners.

Fred Altvater

Tiger Woods was “TrunkSlammin” again at the 2011 PGA Championship in Hotlanta after shooting 77-73 for 10-over par for the week. He was never a factor in the last major of the year after a promising start in his first round on Thursday carding 3-under par through his first five holes. He found 20 bunkers in just 36 holes, had five double bogeys and was 3-over par on the only two par-5 holes at Atlanta Athletic Club in Friday’s second round, very un-Tiger-like. At times he looked a lot like “Joe Hacker,” hitting wayward shots into the trees, sand and water. His driver is totally MIA and his head appears to be completely dismembered from his body.

Tiger is currently 128th in the FedEx Cup point standings with only one event remaining to qualify and get inside the top 125. He is scheduled to have his children next week and has already announced that he will not enter the Wyndham Championship at Greensboro.  This means that 2011, just like 2010, is a total waste and he won’t play for the balance of the year. Yes, he has his Chevron World Championship, an invitational for a few select golfing buddies, if he has any left, in December, but that doesn’t really count for anything. He may play in the WGC-HSBC event held in China in early November, but we will not see Tiger in the FedEx Cup Playoffs or on Freddie Couples’ President’s Cup team in November 17^th-20^th at Royal Melbourne in Australia.

In Tiger’s mind, the next tournament of any consequence is the 2012 Masters in early April. He has said that he will spend the next six months staying at home in Jupiter working with his swing coach Sean Foley. Hasn’t he just been doing that for the last two years?  It doesn’t appear that Folly is working too well for him and I don’t think he is going to find his game in Jupiter or Mars for that matter.

His achy left leg has prevented him from intensive practice over the last four months, however, he does appear to be healthy now. Most of his problems seem to be related to a lack of competitive rounds. He doesn’t trust the swing changes and his mind will not let him execute the correct shot on the golf course. Trust in the swing is so important when you take a new swing process into competition. It is even more necessary when you are playing golf at its highest level on very difficult golf courses like the Atlanta Athletic Club. His decision to forego Greensboro and thus neglecting to even try to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs will give him a limited number of tournaments to build up to the Masters next year.

Tiger now only has 4^th place finishes in the 2010 and 2011 Masters Tournaments that have any effect on his two-year rolling average for the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). He has currently fallen to 30^th spot in the world and will undoubtedly fall even farther with his lackluster performance at the PGA Championship. He is projected to fall to number 58 by the end of the year, which would put his appearance in some of the WGC events in jeopardy in 2012.

Tiger is 35 and has another 10 years to capture the five titles he needs to pass Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major wins. Maybe paring his schedule even farther is good for him. I am not so sure. He has not played any substantial golf for over two years, is in the middle of swing changes, as well as family life changes, and does not have the competitive fire that we have seen from him in the past. He needs to get back in the game, get back on the horse and regain his form on the golf course. He cannot simulate tournament golf conditions by playing practice rounds at home. What I saw at the PGA Championship was a golfer who did not have confidence in his swing and was searching for an answer. As Ben Hogan said the answer is in the dirt. Tiger’s answer is playing more competitive golf and finding the trust and confidence to produce the majestic golf shots that have made him one of the greatest golf champions of all time.

Read more articles from Fred Altvater at Back 9 Blog:  http://toledoohiogolflessons.com/back-nine-blog/

Well, the things that reputable economists and business leaders like Warren Buffett warned us would happen are happening. The GOP is in full backpedaling mode, trying to blame it on the Democrats and Barack Obama, but rest assured, this is its mess.
By listening to the ignorant ideologues from the Tea Party, the GOP leadership and conservative Democrats, and to a large extent Obama, caved in. They went against the conventional wisdom and conspired to possibly throw us and the entire global economy into double-dip recession if not a full-blown depression. And now they would like you to believe that it is all Obama’s fault. John Boehner went on TV and gloated that he got 98 percent of what he wanted out of the debt deal. He seemed pretty proud of himself as he smugly said it. Unfortunately, neither of the world’s financial markets nor the Standard & Poor’s ratings agency seemed nearly as impressed.

The incredibly irresponsible stand that raising taxes, even though they are the lowest in 60 years, would not even be considered was reported by ABC News as one of the reasons Standard & Poor’s felt it necessary to downgrade the U.S. credit rating. Something like 95 percent of Republican legislators have signed Grover Norquist’s “no tax hikes under any circumstances” pledge, regardless of who gets hurt. I’m pretty sure that when these legislators were sworn in they swore they would uphold the Constitution and the interests of the United States, not Norquist’s. Perhaps if they were tried for treason or sedition for putting private citizens’ interests ahead of the public’s interest they would catch on. These so-called legislators obviously came in with an agenda that didn’t include governing. It was more important to try to discredit Obama and look out for the top 10 percent at the cost of the remaining 90 percernt of the population’s well-being.
We also have the Tea Party contingent which by and large doesn’t believe in science, math or government, period. They believe in the propaganda that the Big Money “astroturf organizations,” run by the likes of the Koch Brothers, Dick Armey, Rupert Murdoch and Norquist, peddle to protect their fortunes and interests. You can mix in the decidedly unChristian Christian Right, and we have a mix that has left us in a world of hurt with no end in sight and a country unable to govern itself.
Outside of government, we have the “job creators,” as the GOP likes to refer to millionaires and billionaires, who never seems to get around to actually creating jobs, even though it has made money hand over fist since it was bailed out by us, the taxpayers.
The most important thing is that we don’t take away tax breaks for their jets and yachts. We need to deeply cut all the services provided for the public, like education, police, fire, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to see if they will do their fair share and do something to create the jobs they are vaunted for in certain circles. Fat chance.
The real job creators are not the millionaires and billionaires, but the myriad small businesses that have been so hard-hit and ill-served by the current fiscal situation. The banksters we bailed out have tightened money access and are sitting on trillions of dollars, using it instead to buy and sell all or part of each other to strengthen their earnings at our expense. Multitudes of small businesses have gone out of business and laid off millions of workers because the only way they can stay in business is to have a demand for their goods or services, and that was lost with crippled consumer confidence. It’s a vicious circle, like the snake eating its tail, and the only ones coming out ahead are at the top. The middle class will soon be a thing of the past unless we wake up!
The conventional wisdom of the past can become the conventional wisdom of the future. We caught this act before in the ’20s and ’30s and got through it by addressing the root causes of the problems through competent regulations and programs that worked. That is what built the middle class in this country to begin with, and we can do it again. But the first step is to stop listening to the well-financed voices that continually try and often succeed to get us to vote against our interests and for their interests at our expense. And above all, we need to stop listening to the voices of ignorance the media seems so taken with these days. It doesn’t become us, but it might if we’re not careful.

Email Don Burnard at letters@toledofreepress.com.

Like most of Toledo, I was relieved when I heard that Jack Ford had left the hospital and was headed toward a full recovery. Not because I believe the public sector and school board were missing him, but because I was missing “Coffee with the Fords,” his weekly TV show with his wife Cynthia. It’s a 30-minute gem of television gold that was shown Sundays on 13abc.
Those who have only skimmed by “Coffee with the Fords” are truly missing a local treasure.  Not only do I love the 24 minutes of awkward tension, but I think 13abc is sitting on a potential Emmy and ratings generator if it makes it a full-fledge reality show. “Coffee with the Fords” has reportedly been taken off the air, but never has there been a completely contrasting duo caught in the new digital media. If Jack was honing his Jack Benny impression on purpose, he would be hailed as a comedic genius.
Jack’s 30-plus years of public service are known for his behind-the-scenes, get-it-done work ethic, not for his dynamic personality.  Let’s be honest — Jack makes Eeyore from “Winnie The Pooh” look like Jim Carrey in “The Mask.”
But deep inside his “Weekend At Bernie’s” personality, I see a true family man. Every week, Jack plays the straight man to his wife. Cynthia, who has a background in puppetry and is clearly the driven behind-the-scenes pusher/producer who influenced her husband to be involved in this project. Cynthia’s over-the-top zany/manic  personality makes the show a perfect train wreck of TV glory. Not since Patches and Pockets aired has there been such a local Dynamic Duo.
13abc, like all FCC-licensed stations, has to offer community affairs-type shows like “Coffee With The Fords,” but I would love to see more.  For the November sweeps I would like to see a reality show extended-version of  the Fords just living their lives here in Toledo. Think of them as our local Osbournes, where Jack is Ozzy, retired but supporting, and Cynthia is a less-British Sharon, working on her career. Let’s see the Fords get up and truly have coffee, maybe a grocery shopping trip or a night out at Tony Packo’s. The perfect team to assemble this with the right touch of sarcasm would be 13abc’s Tony Geftos and Todd Gaertner. Tony and Todd’s “Roadside Attractions” is the best local reoccuring video news piece.
I fully understand that Jack is recovering from some pretty serious health issues. I deeply respect a man who gives his life to public service as he has done. I will admit that when I first heard the news he was hospitalized, I thought maybe that was his way of trying to hide from the show.
When I watched “Coffee with the Fords,” I found myself admiring a man who would do anything for his family.  He worked 30-plus years, hearing every decision he made questioned by somebody. This is why I know it was not Jack who created and  brainstormed the concept of “Coffee with the Fords.” He did it for Cynthia. And as a formerly married man I understand … If Momma isn’t happy, then no one is.  Although you have not said anything to the contrary Jack, I hear you.
For past episodes of “Coffee with the Fords,” visit the website abclocal.go.com/wtvg/explore?tag=coffee-with-the-fords.

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

Just a few weeks ago for millions of Americans, it seemed like the economy was slowly heading in the right direction. The stock market had shown a few good years of gains. It appeared unemployment was starting to drop and more people were finding jobs even though they were still hard to come by. Some even started to gobble up rock bottom vacation homes and others got back to enjoying retirement. Yet behind the scenes, trouble has been brewing. Like a fire growing in the walls of your home, the problem was spreading fast and many never heard the alarms. And that is just what our political leaders wanted.
Our leaders have forgotten what their job really is. They have forgotten they work for us. They told us first it was the banks that were “too big to fail,” then they told us the same with the automotive companies as they handed out billions more of our money. They extended unemployment benefits, tore down and built new bridges, created universal health care for everyone and the list goes on and on.

Then, on Aug. 1, the debt was maxed out. In less than 10 years our national debt went from 59 percent of our Gross Domestic Product to now 98 percent, according to www.usdebtclock.org. Two months ago, many Americans did not know what the debt ceiling was and didn’t realize America has more than $14 trillion in debt.
Instead of stopping the spending spree, Congress just raised the debt limit with a promise to cut spending in the future. That in turn led Standard and Poor’s to downgrade the rating of the United States for the first time in our country’s history.
To top it off, the man with the credit card and no backup plan, U.S. Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner, gets to keep his job. We say fire them all. The Republicans are happy because this meltdown gives them a reason to blame Obama and fight for more power in the 2012 election. They don’t care about you or me, they just want more control. Obama is happy right now as well. The new economic meltdown will give him another opportunity to spread more of his progressive programs, telling Americans we can’t do it on our own; we need the government to step in and take care of us. The more the government “helps us” take care of ourselves, the more enslaved we all become to the government and the more that can be taken away from us in the future.
Don’t let them control you and your family’s future. Don’t panic and give in to your emotions. Look, we’ve screwed up many times in my life, and you probably have, too. Don’t let this moment in time be one of those points you look back at and feel you made a mistake. Use past failures to give you the wisdom not to panic. Instead remain calm and make educated and calculated decisions. Look at this moment as an opportunity, an opportunity for you and your family to truly gain personal financial freedom.
Take this time to shore up your  family’s personal finances. Hopefully, you already had an exit plan in place before the market caught on fire and you have run a few fire safety drills. If so, don’t make changes unless the objectives have changed. Let the plan run its course. If no safety nets were in place, be careful to not sell in a down market.
Depending upon current or future income needs review your plan for cash flow. Keep adequate cash reserves to cover current needs and look for ways to increase yields. Remember, buy low and sell high.
Stay away from debt, don’t take any “free” handouts and avoid the entitlement mentality. Throughout the years, we have heard a lot of people say they hope their last check bounces and plan to spend it all. Be careful, this can be very dangerous. Avoid debt and remember that your savings can go fast. You could live longer than expected and run out of money. Plus, if we allow the government to continue to trick us into an entitlement mentality, one day we are going to have to answer to our children and grandchildren and tell them whether it was worth giving up their freedom just to satisfy our immediate needs and wants. Look at what our grandparents did for us to preserve the freedoms we have today. We the people, must take back control of our government, yet until we do, take control of your personal financial situation. You can do it, you deserve victory.

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.

For years, a friend kept telling John Waite to work with Matchbox Twenty guitarist Kyle Cook.
“I had been burned working with people I didn’t know, and I just said I wasn’t going to do it anymore,” the songwriter said.
Then Waite heard Cook’s solo material — and liked it.
“We met cold in Nashville and hit it off immediately. We wrote something as we said hello, really,” Waite said.
The two penned four of the songs on Waite’s disc, “Rough and Tumble,” which was released in February.

john Waite.

“Working with Kyle Cook was pretty stimulating because he’s really fast on his feet, as I am,” said the former front man of The Babys and Bad English. “So it was like finding out you can run really fast again.”
They collaborated on the single, “If You Ever Get Lonely.” Waite’s manager found the ballad, but the singer wasn’t sold on it as written.
“The original was about some girl going to Hollywood and some guy more or less saying he’d wait until she got back,” Waite said. “I wouldn’t do that; I thought it was more interesting having sort of an emotional outburst and then trying to be cool.”
The rocker “Rough and Tumble” opens the disc.
“My manager was in the bathroom of the Russian Tea Room in New York City with Keith Richards, and Keith learned over and said, ‘All we’ve got to do is stick together.’ That was about the music business. And my manager told me that story and I was home thinking about that,” Waite said.
“And I thought how that thing about sticking together stuck in my mind and what life is, and how rough and tumble life is. And I thought that was a great title for what was happening in my life; I thought it was a cool title for the album.”
With those piercing eyes and that scowl, the native of Lancaster, England, helped define “cool” in the early days of the video age.
“The Babys got signed for making a video. We were the first band ever on the planet to do that; we haven’t gotten credit for it, but we were the first band ever to get signed for making a video,” Waite said.
From 1977 until its breakup in 1980, The Babys had a string of hits: “Isn’t It Time,” “Every Time I Think of You,” “Head First,” “Back on My Feet Again,” “Midnight Rendezvous” and “Turn and Walk Away.”
Waite’s solo career took off thanks to MTV. Some may remember him from the videos for “Change” when he played a reporter or for “Missing You” when he smashed that pay phone.
“When MTV came along, the two things were just made for each other: me and them,” he said. “It kicked in with ‘Change’ in heavy rotation; it was huge because they only had so many videos they could play. I think they only had 12, so I’m on six or seven times a day.
“By the time ‘Missing You’ got there a year and a half later, the song had as much punch as the video, which was great.”
The songwriter recorded a new version of “Missing You” with Alison Krauss for 2007’s “Downtown: Journey of a Heart.”
“I approached her, and I got a ‘yes’ in about 24 hours,” Waite said. “I’ve always loved country, and it was nice to meet a lot of the country greats through Alison and hang out backstage at the Ryman [Auditorium].”
Waite will be at the Ritz Theatre in Tiffin for a 7:30 p.m. show Aug. 20. Tickets range from $5 to $35.

If you asked the average person on the street to name three superheroes, what would they say? Superman? Batman? Spider-Man? Wolverine? Wonder Woman? Iron Man? Green Lantern? Captain America? Hell, go far enough down the depth chart and they might reach second-tier heroes like The Flash or Thor and their ilk. But one thing can almost be guaranteed: They probably won’t name any minorities, will they?
Let’s face it — comic books are hardly the most diverse segment of the pop culture landscape. If you look at the most popular superheroes, the ones who are expected to sell comics, get adapted into other media, carry a franchise and so forth, you find the disquieting trend that they’re almost all square-jawed white people.
The first African-American superhero most can name would probably be Storm of the X-Men, and she is clearly portrayed as a member of an ensemble rather than as a breakout hero in her own right (unlike, say, Wolverine). For the first minority Marvel hero who was given the chance to be a starring character, you have to look to Luke Cage, who debuted in 1972. Even then, the early years of the Cage character were clearly sired by the blaxploitation era and were pretty astoundingly insensitive in their own right.
My point is simply to point out what a racially lopsided world the upper-tier of superheroics is. At least, until Aug. 1, when Marvel announced that the recently deceased Peter Parker of the “Ultimate Spider-Man” series would be replaced by Miles Morales, a half-African, half-Hispanic teenager who would carry on the Spider-Man mantle.
The announcement was made on a Monday, well before any issue featuring the character would be released to newsstands. No one had read anything featuring Morales. No judgments based upon the quality of the writing or the portrayal of the individual could have been reached. Any responses would be knee-jerk reactions based upon one factor: The character’s race.
Here is a sample of the vitriol that followed in the hours after the announcement, culled from only one article on the subject on IGN.com (all presented with original formatting and misspellings intact).
“Say hello to the death of the Ultimate spider-man comics.”
“Thats like replacing superman with an asian guy and calling it a good idea. They even made him black and hispanic to knock out 2 birds with 1 stone. Even made sure his name reflected both cultures. Its almost so perfect its insulting lol”
“I’d go for a cloned version of Peter where he didn’t know he was a clone and would prefer it over this turd.”
“haha, when issue 1 comes out he probably will be gay too. they’ll shove every single minority down our throat because if we complain, then we are racist. the same thing the president did.”
“Also he should probably have Autism, but I guess sickle cell will do just fine. Hooray for ‘diversity’ i.e. relegating white people.”
Again, keep in mind: None of these comments had anything to do with the portrayal of the character. Readers hadn’t even met him yet. They all were reactions to one fact: The new “Ultimate Spider-Man” wasn’t white.
Oh, boo-hoo. First off, I don’t know if there’s ever been a superhero whose race is less of a factor than Spidey. He doesn’t have an inch of exposed skin when he’s in costume, anyway. They even did a story where Spidey stood up to a racist by noting the guy didn’t know what color he was under his garb.
More importantly, what does it say about comic fans when they are ready to make such sweeping judgments about the character’s value, and Marvel’s motivations in creating him, sight unseen? I have to say, reading the Internet venom (no pun intended) during the past few days has been supremely disquieting. Seeing such widespread anger over this move, done to what is an alternate reality version of a character anyway, reaffirms that we still have a lot of growing up to do as a society.
If Miles Morales sucks as a character, fine. But let him suck on his own merits. Read his stories and see what you think of his actions. Don’t pre-judge him, and his creators, based solely on the color of his skin. In real life, there’s a word for that. And I don’t think it’s out of line to apply that word to those who leap to such anger, simply because the upper echelon of superheroes isn’t exclusively Caucasian.

Email Jeff at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com.