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Culbreath: ‘First Four’ games are lame start to March Madness

By
Toledo Free Press
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We’re full swing into the NCAA Tournament right now, and if your luck is anything like mine, your office pool bracket hasn’t fallen to pieces … yet. No, that’ll likely happen on Sunday, when a team you had going to the Elite Eight suddenly comes up cold.

You know when your bracket doesn’t fall apart, though? On Tuesday or Wednesday, in the “First Four” games. In fact, those four games matter so little that they don’t even count in most bracket pools. They’re throwaways. So why does the NCAA insist on pretending they matter?

It started back in 2001 with the play-in game, a matchup between two teams who would then get the No. 16 seed and play the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. To the outside world, it looked like an opportunity to spotlight some teams and act as a soft open for the tourney.

It felt like the NCAA was using the extra space to shuffle off some automatic qualifying teams so that they could get more teams from spotlight conferences in the tournament proper. But nobody complained about it too hard, until the NCAA discussed expanding the tournament to 96 teams. The massive pushback on that idea caused the Association to dial it down to adding a few more teams.

The good part about the expansion was that the four games weren’t all for 16 seeds. In fact, they’ll mix it up with a 12 or even an 11. South Florida took out Cal in 2012 for an 11 seed, and used that to beat Temple in the next round (a win I called, thank you very much). They would eventually fall to the Ohio Bobcats.

The problem I have with these games is that nobody’s really watching, and those who do don’t get to see great basketball. This year, Tuesday’s game between North Carolina A&T and Liberty University was beaten in the ratings by an NIT game.

Granted, it was tournament-snubbed Kentucky getting beaten by Robert Morris, and it was on ESPN (with the First Four game being played on truTV, which goes to show you what CBS thinks of these games). Wednesday’s games were overshadowed by the Miami Heat overcoming a 27-point deficit in Cleveland to beat the Cavaliers by 3. The new program director at 1370 WSPD, Scott Sands, spent some time down in Dayton, and he tells me that the games aren’t even a big deal in the Gem City.

The NCAA Tournament proper features two types of games in the first four days: David versus Goliath (and we all root for David), or a great game between two really good teams looking to prove themselves as a contender. When the smoke clears, we’re usually looking at a few strong teams, one middle-of-the-road team from a power conference that worked its way through a weak region and a mid-major that wins the hearts and minds of the country (only to be dashed in the next week).

The First Four games, meanwhile, seem to be a clearinghouse of teams that played their way in by way of a conference tournament title, while not doing a whole lot during the regular season. They’re in because, well, they have to be. I wouldn’t take that away from them, but putting them in the First Four means they’re usually going to end up as someone else’s sacrificial lamb.

On a purely personal front, I don’t like that the First Four has ultimately changed the name of the rest of the tournament’s rounds, making the first round suddenly the second, and the second round the third. March Madness doesn’t begin until you have basketball games starting at noon and ending at 10 p.m., and forcing the second round nomenclature down our throats reminds us of the snoozefests earlier in the week. We don’t like to think about those games, much like we don’t like to think about the CIT or the CBI.

We all love the tournament. Even people who really don’t like basketball watch the first four days. Heck, I actually took this Thursday and Friday off so I could watch the games from my couch in glorious high definition. But the First Four simply isn’t catching anyone’s attention. The NCAA needs to shut it down, kick out the middle-of-the-road schools in major conferences, and allow the teams that earned their way into the tournament a chance to play in the tournament proper.



Matt “Shaggy” Culbreath is sports director at 1370 WSPD. Email him at [email protected].

Download our up-to-date bracket.

Download our up-to-date bracket.

Retirement Guys: Will the stock market rally continue?

By
Mark Clair & Nolan Baker
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Did your parents ever tell you that a good education can set you free? We believe in that statement wholeheartedly and that educating others on the essentials of building a retirement plan is a vital part of our job. In fact, we spend a good portion of our time speaking at educational events both locally and nationally. Most of our talks focus on how to better manage your money, protect your hard-earned assets and efficiently plan your estate.

I, Nolan, find that most of my talks lately are discussing the current state of the economy.  One question I normally ask the audience is “What do you think the stock market is going to do first — go up another 30 percent or down 30 percent from where we are at right now?” So take a minute and think about how you would answer that question. From where we are at right now, with the stock market at or close to all-time record highs, do you think the market is likely to go up another 30 percent or are we headed for a correction and the market will go down 30 percent first?

Notice that I use the word “first.” The United States has major issues it needs to address, like massive debt problems, huge unfunded liabilities and an out-of-control government. Yet, as a former Marine, I hold firm in my belief that the United States of America is still, by far, the best place to call home. So over the long run, I believe our country will get through the problems it faces and the stock market will continue to go up. Most importantly though, what do you think is going to happen first?

Now that you have your answer locked in, let me share with you what I think will happen. In the short term, it’s anyone’s guess. I say that because the stock market is beyond any one individual’s control. Political and economic uncertainty can change the stock market in a hurry, for the positive or negative. This may not be the answer you wanted, but it’s a cold, hard fact. If we’ve learned anything over the years, it is that we can’t change what is out of our control. Instead, we would like to suggest entertaining the two options below.

1. Capture opportunities for the long term and ignore short-term market predictions.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 bottomed at 677 on March 9, 2009, the end of a 17-month bear market in which the stock index fell 57 percent. A weekly survey of stock investors indicated 70 percent of them were bearish as of March 4, 2009, the highest bearish measurement ever recorded by this study (source: BTN Research and American Association of Individual Investors).

Had the average investor made investment decisions based upon what most other stock investors thought, that investor could have missed out on huge stock market gains during the past several years. Investors should not make decisions based on what others are saying and doing. Avoid the urge to just buy and sell investments based on what your poker buddy says or on the market predictions that can be found almost everywhere. Although those predictions are often made with the goal of trying to help investors, they are often wrong, as we pointed out in our recent column “2013 Stock Market Predictions.” Instead, focus on your own individual goals and objectives and make decisions on what is right for you and your family.

2. Pay attention to where we are in the economic cycle.

The current bull market for the S&P 500 reached four years in length on March 9, 2013. Of the 10 other bull markets that have occurred since 1950, the shortest duration was 2.1 years. The average duration of all 11 bull markets since 1950 (i.e., the current bull market is the 11th) is 4.7 years. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the stock market (source: BTN Research).

For investors who need current income or investors with gains in their accounts, now could be a great time to look at strategies to protect gains. Some ideas that investors could benefit from are rebalancing while times are good, putting safety nets in place with stocks by using what we call “circuit breakers” on the account or locking in gains and moving the money to other income-producing accounts. To find out what strategy is right for you, talk with a licensed financial professional.

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. does not provide tax or legal 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.

Rabbi: Passover represents redemption for entire world

By
David Yonke
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The Jewish holiday of Passover, which begins at sundown Monday March 26, is all about redemption — not just the redemption of Jews, but of the entire world, according to Rabbi
Sam Weinstein.

In leading the 10th annual Interfaith Passover Seder at his Sylvania synagogue, the Temple-Congregation Shomer Emunim, Weinstein pointed out the wealth of symbolism in the Passover Seder. Parts of the actual text used in the March 13 interfaith Seder have been observed by Jews for 2,600 years, since the Israelites were freed from bondage in
Egypt, he said.

The Passover Seder is not a re-enactment, Weinstein emphasized, but a ritual bridging the past with the present and future.

“We make history. That is a fundamental and cardinal principle of Judaism,” he said. “And so the question is: What kind of history are we making? What kind of history are we making right now? I don’t have the answer for that. This world is a scary place. … We have a lot of work to do before we reach the goals of redemption.”

In Judaism, the rabbi said, salvation is not a personal goal.

“When will salvation come? It’s not individual in Judaism. We’re not here to save our souls individually. That is not a Jewish concept,” Weinstein said. “For us, salvation, simply put, is when humanity will finally get its act together and start living at peace with each other.”

For the two-hour interfaith Seder, Weinstein led 80 people from diverse religious traditions through rituals detailed in the New Union Passover Haggadah, a step-by-step guide to the Passover Seder published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

The Passover Seder is typically held in a home, with the ceremony centered on a full meal with family. Passover Seders are always held at night to express “our hope that light
will come” and “our optimism of a better tomorrow,” the rabbi added.

Between much prayer and singing, Seder participants drank four cups of grape juice (in place of the wine normally consumed in a Seder). Wine is used not for religious symbolism, but because it “anticipates joy” and “breaks down our boundaries,” Weinstein said.

One of the many Seder rituals involves dipping a sprig of parsley into a cup of salt water. The green sprouts represent spring and rebirth, while the salt water represents “the tears shed by the people of Israel in slavery,” he said.

Matzo, an unleavened bread, represents purity and is baked quickly to symbolize the Israelites’ hurried escape from Egypt. At one point, participants spread bitter horseradish between two pieces of the flat bread to make a “Hillel sandwich.”

“In essence we are saying that bitterness is contained,” Weinstein said. “The bitterness is finite. The bitterness of slavery will end and ultimately human beings will reach redemption.”

To symbolize the 10 plagues the Lord inflicted upon the Egyptians, participants dip a finger or spoon into their juice 10 times, sprinkling the drops onto a plate. Removing wine from the cup “depletes the joy” and serves as a reminder that freedom came at the expense of human life —the Egyptian soldiers who drowned in the Red Sea.

David Yonke is the editor and community manager of Toledo Faith & Values
(ToledoFAVS.com), a website that provides in-depth, nonsectarian news coverage of religion, faith and spirituality in the Toledo area.

Church of the Cross to stage Easter drama at Stranahan

By
David Yonke
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A small church in South Toledo is taking a leap of faith by staging a drama at the Stranahan Theater on Easter Sunday (March 31).

“We’re like Peter — we’re stepping out on the water,” said Jane Raab, director of adult ministries and missions coordinator for the Church of the Cross United Methodist Church.

The production, “The Thorn,” uses music and dialogue to tell the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Church of the Cross, which has between 250 and 300 members, is hoping to fill the main floor of the Stranahan, which seats more than 1,000. If more people show up for the 11 a.m. program — for which tickets are not required — they can open up the balcony, boosting the capacity to around 2,500.

Raab said renting the major-event theater on Heatherdowns Boulevard is costing the church “thousands of dollars,” but did not have a precise figure. The production of “The Thorn,” which was written by John and Sarah Bolin of New Life Church in Colorado, fits the Church of the Cross’ renewed vision of reaching its neighbors in South Toledo.

The church is going through a “consultation process” within the United Methodist Church, in which its ministries and programs are evaluated. One of the local district’s recommendations was for the church to hold more community-oriented programs.

Last fall, the Church of the Cross held a “Fun Fest” on its grounds at Cass and Eastgate roads that attracted about 700 people. It will hold another festival this fall but in the meantime its members were inspired to plan big for Easter.

Marge Sudheimer, the church’s drama director, said she has always set high standards for the church’s dramas. “We don’t want it to be like a bathrobe and kitchen towels on their heads. We want real costumes and choreography.”

“We thought, why not rent the Stranahan Theater and put forth the Easter celebration?” Raab added. “Those who are not connected to a church might hesitate to come into a
church building, but they might not hesitate to come into the Stranahan.”

The music in the church’s production of “The Thorn” is “very eclectic,” Sudheimer said.
“It’s not just the contemporary music that you hear in a lot of churches now. There’s going to be country gospel, and there’s going to be an older praise team,” she said. “And then more modern stuff that the young guys have chosen. And then we’ll have brass and
we’ll have bells. So everybody’s musical taste will be touched.”

Raab said the music, acting and video are “intertwined with the message” throughout the fast-paced, hour-long production.

Kyle Metz, who will lead worship during the Easter program, said his goal is to use music to enhance the play’s biblical message.

“My heart, even on a regular Sunday morning, is trying to find songs that go along with the
sermon,” Metz said. “If we can use the music to connect with that, and help them focus with the words that go along with the message that Christ is risen, then that’s what we’re
trying to do.”

Sudheimer has been coaching the two main actors in the play — Vicki Scribner as Mary Magdalene and Ray Sudheimer as Peter. The Church of the Cross’ pastor, the Rev. Steve Judson, also will be on stage to give an “invitation” to the audience.

“I’m working with the pastor because it’s all got to flow — the whole kit and caboodle,” Sudheimer said.

She said Scribner has “an absolutely gorgeous voice” and, as an added bonus for one playing Mary Magdalene, did not grow up being active in a church. That could prove
helpful when cast members greet the audience after the curtain closes.

“If someone after the service would come up and say, ‘Your monologue just touched me,’ then she could relate to them,” Sudheimer said.

Metz, who graduated from Ohio State University last June, said the Easter drama meshes perfectly with the Church of the Cross’ new emphasis on outreach and evangelism.

“The timing is perfect. We’re in this process of really getting back to the basics of the faith, which is to make disciples and see the transformation of the world,” he said. “To
go to the Stranahan and to rent it out, not knowing what to expect, is really exciting because it fits our vision of making new disciples. And we can’t do that by sitting on our
hands in the pews.”

David Yonke is the editor and community manager of Toledo Faith & Values
(ToledoFAVS.com), a website that provides in-depth, nonsectarian news coverage of religion, faith and spirituality in the Toledo area.

Letters to the Editor, Mar. 17, 2013

By
Dock David Treece
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Fact-checking Don Burnard

To the editor,

Emotional tirades work well with the uninformed but are poor excuses for literate journalism. I would like to “fact check” many of your statements (“Economic chicken,”
March 10) because sadly, your political views completely cloud objective journalism, which makes you laughable.

Unless you were hidden in a cave the two weeks prior to sequestration going into effect, the blame game was in full force. However, contrary to your opinion, sequestration was beloved by the White House along with the GOP and the Dems. As quoted from The Wall Street Journal: “A 2012 book written by legendary newspaperman Bob Woodward of The Washington Post claimed the idea of sequestration originated with the Obama White House,
but that congressional Republicans signed on to the idea eventually. Woodward, writing in the newspaper in 2013, said: ‘… the automatic spending cuts were initiated by the White House and were the brainchild of Jack Lew and White House congressional relations chief Rob Nabors — probably the foremost experts on budget issues in the senior ranks of the federal government.’

“Obama personally approved of the plan for Lew and Nabors to propose the sequester to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). They did so at 2:30 p.m. July 27, 2011, according to interviews with two senior White House aides who were directly involved.

“No matter. The week before the sequestration cuts were set to begin in 2013, public opinion polls showed nearly half of Americans were blaming congressional Republicans for failing to reach a deal on deficit reduction. Fewer than a third, 31 percent, were blaming Obama.”

Check your sources, Mr. Burnard — there weren’t just a few “Blue Dog Dems” who wanted sequestration; the majority of them did. And contrary to your entire article,
the biggest Blue Dog Dem of all wanted it.

In all fairness, both sides did nothing but blame each other but the fact remains, sequestration originated from your messiah.

You wrote, “The GOP has obstructed Obama since “Day One.” Hmmm. In the last two years of the Bush administration and the first two years of Obama, the Dems controlled both houses. That is in fact why $2 trillion of added debt went on the books. The midterm elections corrected the open checkbook policy, with even your beloved Nancy Pelosi being taken aback on the number of seats lost. Poor lady, she lost her seat at the head of the table. To say that the GOP were blocking Obama since Day One is laughable. All they could do for the first two years was thumb their noses at him.

Fact checking your fuzzy math, I love this one. If the “deficit has gone down ….” and “Spending under Obama is the lowest ….” statements were absolute, then please explain why our national debt in 2008 was $10 trillion.

In 2012, our debt was $16 trillion and according to the Congressional Budget Office (bipartisan, by the way) in 2016 our national debt will be $20 trillion. That’s quite a trick for a president who isn’t spending. And the coupnd’etat is that Obamacare was quoted as adding “zero” to the national debt. That too has now been re-evaluated by
the Congressional Budget Office. Obamacare will add a minimum of $6 trillion in the next 60 years. Not bad for a president who isn’t spending. And that is just an estimate!

You can blame John Boehner all you want with emotional tirades, but the “fact” remains that Obama already got his tax increase on the rich on Jan. 1, as part of concessions from the GOP. Sadly, Obama has come back to the table for more tax increases on the rich, to solve the sequester. Want to guess what his next original idea will be for the next fiscal cliff? Hmmm, I know — “higher taxes” on the rich.

I am an independent, as much as our country allows. The only “facts” that are in truth are that both houses are crooks and regardless of how you feel, “the buck” stops on Obama’s desk. His job is to get both houses to agree and to negotiate to get this
country going. Being the “Great Blamer” hasn’t helped anyone yet.

—Tony Iannucci, Toledo

Homosexuality is a moral issue

To the editor,

I recently read Michael S. Miller’s Feb. 24 column “Same Love,” on the hotly debated issue of homosexuality, which he strongly supports. The intent of this letter is to
highlight an opposing view.

Homosexuality is a moral issue. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness … ” (New American Standard Bible, NASB)

Some opposers do not fight against the homosexuals themselves, rather their immoral lifestyle. We have records that homosexuality is mentioned in the Old Testament. Please note the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. God destroyed these cities with fire and brimstone because of their practice of homosexuality.

So why does God hate the sin of homosexuality?

It is because this lifestyle was not set up by God. In Genesis 2:18-24, God makes Adam a “helper suitable for him,” out of his flesh. Adam called her “Woman,”
and says, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (verse 24 NASB). In addition to the above, God will not “draw his arms shut” to homosexuals if they are willing to repent. Although 1st Corinthians 6 verses 8-10 states that those who continually and habitually commit certain sins, including homosexuality, will not inherit the kingdom of God, verse 11 says
that those who repent (turn away from) and “are washed,
sanctified, and justified through the Lord Jesus Christ” (NASB) can inherit God’s kingdom.

According to Romans 6 verses 1 and 2, there must be a discontinuation of these sins.

As you can see, gay marriage is not “inevitable.” It came about in the Old Testament times when man began to fall away from God. God did not establish the gay social standard for mankind. If it were not relevant to condemn them, then God would not have condemned this lifestyle in His Word. So to those who practice and support homosexual marriage, I pray that you will see and know that the goodness of God leads to repentance (Romans 2:4, KJV).

—Kaylynn Joyce Smitt, Toledo

Baumhower: Next year, close Conant Street for Project iAm

By
Jeremy Baumhower
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Northwest Ohio is known for its signature events: The Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, Susan G.
Komen Race for the Cure, Mud Hens Opening Day, and after what I experienced on
March 10, Project iAm’s Acoustics for Autism.

The all-day music festival happened in Uptown Maumee at The Village Idiot and Buster
Brown’s and the thousands who attended, bore witness to its evolution from the vision of a charitable woman with a big heart and a guitar to an event that will give lifetime memories
and change lives.

Nicole Khoury, the face and founder of Project iAm, has created a signature event in a small Northwest Ohio town, not from greed but from love.

Project iAm’s concept is simple; it’s a local charity that raises awareness and money for families with children who fall under the spectrum of autism — families like mine. The
money raised creates scholarships for early intervention programs, which are key to young children with autism. The never-mentioned larger quality of Project iAm is that it creates a
support group and network for those families dealing with children, who are not “normal,”
but in the most beautiful of ways.

This was the sixth annual Acoustics for Autism and from the start, the vibe was different. The family-friendly event featured three stages, highlighting more than 30 local musicians and included a kids’ workshop tent.

Calen Savidge, who opened the main stage inside The Village Idiot, began playing at 12:30
p.m. and by 1 p.m. the place was packed. I was amazed at how busy it got, but more importantly by how much earlier the crowd came and stayed. During the previous five
years, people did not start filing in until 4 p.m. and slowly started exiting a little after 8 p.m. — but this year was different.

The feeling and vibe inside The Village Idiot was one of the best I have ever felt, not just in Northwest Ohio, but anywhere. Imagine the crowd from OB’s on St. Patrick’s Day, crossed with the fellowship of any church festival’s chicken dinner on Sunday and an all-day music festival. That is how it felt in Maumee that day. It wasn’t just a charity event — it felt like the wedding reception for your favorite couple.

The 35-minute set times for the local musicians created the perfect soundtrack. Each artist played his or her greatest hits and crowd pleasers to near perfection. At times, the packed
crowd sang louder than the PA system, and at others made the building shake with their dancing.

As near perfect as this event was, next year it can be bigger. More than $25,000 was raised on a single block, on a Sunday in Maumee. Thousands
of people experienced the beauty that town offers while only seeing the insides of a couple of businesses. The City of Maumee should recognize the success of Project iAm, and take
measures to make it bigger. Next year, if you close down the 300 block of Conant Street, this event becomes a festival. Establishments like Dale’s and the Maumee Theatre give even more options for planning such an event.

Autism affects one in 100 and that number is changing daily. The closing of Conant Street for an event or holiday is not without precedent. Every year, Opening Day for Maumee Little League features a parade through Uptown. This event celebrates children and
America’s pastime, but not every child can play baseball. Let’s shu it down for one more day, and really make a difference, not just in Maumee, but regionally.

The highlight of the day came from the stage inside The Idiot. Joe Woods’ cover of “Man in the Mirror” perfectly captured the moment. Michael Jackson’s words challenged us to make a difference … the very difference Khoury’s vision was making.

To find out more about Project iAm, visit www.projectiam.com.

Blues stars to slide into Toledo

By
Vicki Kroll
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Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials will play at basin St. Grille on March 24. Photo by Paul Natkin.

Lil’ Ed Williams gets requests all the time — even at home.

“My wife had asked me to do something, my mother-in-law had asked me to do something, my daughter had asked me to do something. One was musical — making a tape for my
mother-in-law. One was mechanical because I was working on my daughter’s car. And then my wife asked me to do some electrical work,” the blues singer and slide guitarist said.

“And my daughter came in and said, ‘You know what? You’re musical, mechanical, electrical.’ And I said, ‘Hey, that’s kind of cool; let’s write a song about that!’ I really like ‘Musical Mechanical Electrical Man.’”

That track is from Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials’ disc “Jump Start,” named the No. 2 blues album of 2012 by Living Blues magazine. No telling if Williams was wearing one of his trademark fezzes or if he did some backbends and toe walks while working. Odds are he had fun.

“I remember when I first started recording with Bruce [Iglauer, president of Alligator Records], the first time we recorded [in 1986], we did 30 songs in three hours and that was real fun,” Williams said during a call from his Chicago home where he was plucking his guitar.

“I think we might have done one overtake on [‘Jump Start’], maybe two at the most. It was great.”

Williams and The Blues Imperials — bassist James “Pookie” Young, guitarist Mike Garrett and drummer Kelly Littleton — are known for highoctane concerts showcasing Chicago
shuffles, slide-guitar boogies and a rockin’ good time.

Seems it runs in the family. Williams and his half-brother Young learned from blues great J.B. Hutto, a slide guitarist from the Windy City.

“Uncle J.B. was a real good teacher. He taught me rhythm [guitar], and I pretty much picked up the lead from the rhythm,” Williams said. “He gave me words on how to treat
my fans: Always treat your fans good because they’re the ones making your paycheck. He told me to always respect my band members.”

And Hutto taught by example.

“I used to watch Uncle J.B. walk into the crowd and squat down and walk. He would do a few backbends and that excited me because it excited the people.

“So when I started to play, I was doing stuff before I actually even knew what I was doing because the music carried me. Next thing I know I was walking on my toes.

“And the music moved me in a way where I’d start doing backbends, jumping off stages, and people like that; they like to see me have a good time and I want to see them have a
good time. So that’s why you see me act the fool so much on stage,” Williams said with a laugh.

Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials will play at 6 p.m. March 24 at Basin St. Grille in Toledo. Tickets are $18 for the public and $16 for Black Swamp Blues Society members. Doors open at 5 p.m.

“I know the younger generation is still getting into the blues because they come up to me and say, ‘Hey man, that stuff is great!’ And it’s not just all Jimi Hendrix, it’s not all Stevie
Ray Vaughan, it’s blues, man. It’s the heart, it’s the feeling, it’s problemsolving, it’s happiness. That’s why it’s there because it’s all these things wrapped into one.”

Activist for victims Russ Simpson dies March 12

By
Brigitta Burks
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Russ Simpson, founder of the local chapter of the Parents of Murdered Children group, died after a March 12 heart attack.

Simpson, 78, was instrumental in starting the Lucas County Victim/Witness Assistance program and was a facilitator for the Office of Victim Services with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

He and his wife, Pat, lost two children, Stacy and Scott Simpson, to separate
murders that were years apart. The former bus driver is survived by Pat, daughter Linda Lou Simpson, son David Simpson and four grandchildren.

“He had more compassion and sympathy for people than anybody you know,” Pat said of her late husband. “He was a strong, caring, giving man.”

The couple would have been married 55 years on March 29. They met at
Libbey High School.

Lynn Carder, executive director of Lucas County Victim/Witness Assistance, said Simpson was always there for murder victims’ families.

“He wanted to make sure they were OK. He’d cry with them; he’d laugh with them,” Carder said.

Carder said Simpson was working on helping a victim’s family get information they needed when he died.

“He was becoming more of an activist. He was looking at things from a legislative standpoint,” Carder said. “He had seen families be put out of the
court systems and the justice system doesn’t always work the way you want.”

In 2006, Simpson told his story to Toledo Free Press. He said, “I went to Scott’s grave one day and made a promise that every day, I would make at least one person laugh or smile or feel good, because that person I make smile this afternoon may not be alive tomorrow. Making that promise is how I survived.”

Visitation hours are 3-8 p.m. March 16 and 2-8 p.m. March 17 at the Newcomer Funeral Home’s Northwest Toledo Chapel, 4150 W. Laskey Road, Toledo. The service is 10:30 a.m. March 18, also at Newcomer.

‘Bachelor’ concert benefits Food for Thought

By
Toledo Free Press
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Bob Guiney and Scott Grimes will play a Free From Hunger benefit concert at Forrester’s on the river on March 23. Photo courtesy Nopac Talent.

It’s a chance to rub elbows with celebrities and enjoy an intimate concert, all while raising money for an important Lucas County charity.

On March 23, Bob Guiney, one of the most popular bachelors from the ABC show “The Bachelor,” and Scott Grimes, an actor from NBC’s “ER,” will take the stage in Toledo. The concert benefits Food for Thought, a social justice organization dedicated to feeding the hungry with a mobile food program.

“We are really hopeful people will come out,” Guiney said. “They are trying to raise as much money as they can for Food for Thought and hopefully people will see the value of that and come and hang out with us.”

Guiney and Grimes teamed up about a year ago. They tour together and play a many charity shows.

“We are doing it for causes that we believe in and causes that we think the money is really
going to go to a really good place,” Guiney said. “Plus, it’s an advantage because he is my best buddy and we get to hang out and play music together and all the while we are doing something good for someone else.”


Guiney and Grimes met after playing in Band From TV, a group of actors that has a passion for music and charity. They tour together and all the money raised at their shows goes to the actors’ favorite charities.

“It’s been the most rewarding thing because we do it all for charity,” Guiney said. “We have raised $3 million for charity during the past seven years.”

But with so many actors’ conflicting schedules, it’s hard to tour often, so Guiney and Grimes started their own band.

“What actually ended up happening is Bob and I were itching all the time to keep performing,” Grimes said. “So we said, ‘While we are on break, let’s do a very scaled down version of Band From TV,’ which ended up being something more original than Band From TV, because we don’t just do cover songs. We do our own stuff.”

Guiney added, “We were itching to play more and were anxious to put our creative minds together more and write some more real songs.

Because Band From TV is more about playing cover songs, and we love that, but we both had the desire to get up there and play our own stuff too.”

Guiney’s TV career began when he was an eligible bachelor not chosen by Trista Rehn (Sutter) on the 2003 season of “The Bachelorette,” before taking the lead on “The Bachelor.” He has hosted several TV shows, including HGTV’s “Showhouse Showdown,” as well as contributing to “Today.”

“My whole life, before I was on ‘The Bachelor’ or anything, I signed a record deal and I was a musician,” Guiney said. “I played Toledo several times. I was in a band called Fat Amy,
which we started back in 1991 and started touring with bands like The
Verve Pipe, Matchbox Twenty and The Smoking Popes.”

Grimes was also a songwriter and solo artist before his acting career took off in movies like “Robin Hood” and TV shows such as “Party of Five,” “Band of Brothers,” “ER” and his voice
work on “American Dad” and “Family Guy.” Both have a collection of original work they play at their concerts.

“We play our own original music that we played before we met,” Grimes said. “But we’ve noticed that accidentally we’ve changed our own stuff to combine what he loves and I love. The music that I’ve written before I met Bob is kind of changing as we sing together and has changed into the music that him and I sing together.”

Both men said the show will have people dancing to the music.

“We are a couple of guys with guitars who bang out a bunch of fun songs,” Guiney said. “There are a bunch of songs you will recognize, there are some songs you might recognize from back in the day that got a lot of radio play like my song ‘Girlfriend’ and Scott’s song ‘Sunset Boulevard.’ We like to mix songs that we like to play and the crowd likes and keep things moving and have some fun with it.”

Grimes added, “There is no pretentiousness about it; it’s nothing but fun. People are welcome onstage anytime. It’s a good old-fashioned pub show even if we are playing at a giant place. It’s really intimate and anything goes.”

The event is part of Free From Hunger 2013, a yearlong initiative spearheaded by Columbia Gas of Ohio, Toledo Free Press, WNWOTV and Moms on the Go and supported by Hollywood Casino Toledo, Wells Fargo Advisors and WSPD. All the money raised at the Guiney and Grimes concert will benefit Food for Thought, a social justice organization
dedicated to feeding the hungry with a mobile food program. The concert
will be at 7 p.m. March 23 at Forrester’s on the River in The Docks. Tickets are available online at http://store.feedtoledo.org and are $40 each.

“What we are doing for Food for Thought and Moms in Heels and these events in Toledo is awesome because instead of just sending a check from a show from a thousand miles away and hoping it helps, we are actually raising awareness,” Guiney said.

In addition to raising awareness, this concert is a homecoming for Guiney. He is a Detroit native who worked in Toledo years ago, for a phone book company.

“I love Toledo. There were some great restaurants and I even worked
in Bowling Green for a while,” Guiney said. “We are very excited. I’m excited
to introduce Scott to some people in the Midwest. We will give them a
great show and shake hands and meet people and have a lot of fun.”

Allegrini: Stand with Rand

By
Scott Allegrini
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0

On March 6 there was a shift in this country, but most people did not notice.

A defense of freedom, liberty and the Bill of Rights was on display in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Rand Paul stood up in the well of the Senate and spoke for more than 13 hours.

The media will tell you the purpose of the filibuster was to block CIA nominee John Brennan, but the truth is even more significant.

Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul that said, “In an emergency, the federal government could execute a drone strike on U.S. soil.”

While Holder added the caveat “in an emergency,” the answer was yes, the executive branch of the U.S. government could serve as judge, jury and executioner, in an emergency.

Who determines what constitutes an emergency? Why of course the executive branch does. According to the top U.S. attorney the executive branch, headed by a sitting president, can declare an emergency, thereby having the authority to execute a drone strike.

Paul stood up with 14 other senators and demanded the executive branch answer the question: Can American citizens have their fourth, fifth and sixth amendment rights denied by a president?

Can a president, with a drone strike, take away an American citizen’s right to “be secure in
their person,” “be indicted by a grand jury,” “not be deprived of life, liberty and property
without due process of law” or to the “right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury”?

This is why this moment was so important. The Bill of Rights has been under attack for decades, but the past 12 years have seen an unprecedented attack: the Patriot Act, warrantless wiretaps, surveillance of emails, monitoring of cellphones and social media, attacks on religious freedom and the curtailing of free speech. Yet during this attack on the Bill of Rights, few in power stood up and took on the executive branch.

Paul and those that supported the filibuster did just that; they stood up and demanded that the president tell them if he had the power to ignore the Constitution.

These few rebels shook the earth in Washington, D.C., evidenced by the reactions of those in power during the next few days.

The “old guard” of the GOP took to the Senate floor and called Paul everything from “dangerous,” “Wacko Bird” and the “leader of the code pink Republicans.” Those in Washington, D.C., who believe in party over principle understood what had happened
and it scared them.

If the American people begin to understand that what is happening in Washington, D.C., is just a game of Republicans versus Democrats, the ruling class’ power would disappear.

As long as they keep us fighting each other, we will not notice the government overstepping its bounds and taking away our rights.

Paul lifted the veil just a little and an amazing thing happened. The people’s media, Twitter, Facebook, Internet news sites and citizen journalists covered the filibuster with astounding
success. The news that someone was standing for freedom and the Bill of Rights spread across the Internet, from C-SPAN to the Twitter hashtag #standwithrand trending to No. 1.

Even today if you Google “Stand with Rand” there are hundreds of blogs and new media stories, many of them left-leaning news sources. Even the progressive site Mother Jones questioned the use of drone strikes. Raha Wala, an attorney with Human Rights First said, “Any use of drone strikes or other premeditated lethal force inside the United States would raise grave legal and ethical concerns.”

If we can stand together on the issue of liberty and freedom, we can stop this attack on our basic freedoms and present a united front to remind those in government that the only
power they have is what the people grant them.

The ground has shifted, the veil lifted and the game has been exposed. We are purposely being pitted against each other to keep us distracted. We need to stop fighting each other and unite to defend our rights against a government that thinks it is OK to be judge, jury and executioner, as long as there is an “emergency,” which is defined by that very same government.

Scott Allegrini is a co-founder of the Children of Liberty. Email him at [email protected].

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