I'm not sure I can adequately describe how I feel this morning.  I feel shame for my federal government... I mean Benghazi, IRS, AP phone records all hitting full blown scandal levels and all it is in DC is CYA.  New e-mail releases are out today and show the State Department's move in message, so that one's not going away any time soon.  The 'acting' head of the IRS (How conveneint that they play that up now) has been relieved of duties and the president is expressing outrage.  And as far as the Associated Press phone records scandal goes, Attorney General Eric Holder is sidestepping accuations.  Doesn't it seem we have no real leaders right now?

I see it where I live everyday...  when it's time for a decision, no one steps up.  Really a bunch of passive aggressive BS and then most people just roll over and throw up their hands.  Eventhough a person has the title, when someone within their purview makes a mistake or commits an infraction on purpose, the 'leader' feigns ignorance or claims the action was of a rogue employee.  Whatever happened to stepping up and accepting blame?  I mena we're all human and that means mistakes are inherant in our DNA.  I doubt there's ever been a country in history that's so willing to forgive and foget... take for instance the re-election of Mark Sanford in the Carolinas... take for instance that Anthony Weiner is expected to run for mayor of NYC... I could go on and on, but this country is clearly willing to forgive past transgressions.  Given that, why do politicians play the game of redirect and deny?  I imagine citizens would be much more likely to trust our 'leaders' if they came clean when they made mistakes and promised to do better in the future.  I know the federal government is a huge operation, but doesn't the president have czars that run parts of it?  Keep tabs on them and they keep tabs on their staff and it should run smoother than it is right now. 

The problems start when people do things they know aren't right and then go into spin mode....  I hate spin mode.   

So... our sports director Matt McCoy (who says he's not a burn your bra kind of guy) is heading to DC this Friday to march for awareness for international adoption.  Certainly, adoption is an issue near and dear to central Ohio what with Dave Thomas making it one of his lifelong awareness issues.  Well, the situation in this country is that it's nearly or downright impossible to adopt a child form another country.  Matt is joining efforts with Craig Juntunen, who was on the show yesterday morning.  He produced a documentary called "Stuck" which details the situation.  His tour is hitting 72 cities in 60 days and came through Columbus a few weeks back. If you'd like to join the fight, you can sign the petition... and if you'd like to read a little about the kinds of kids and adults this issue affects, read right here.

Safe travels Matt...

photo courtesy of some schlub on the web

610 WTVN's Joel Riley talks with the man who helped to rescue the three missing women in Cleveland. Hear the full interview beginning at 7:15 Wednesday morning on 610 WTVN!

Incredible story from Cleveland...  three women who've been missing for a decade or more have been discovered, seemingly all healthy.  Charles Ramsey is the guy who found them...

 You have to wonder if McDonalds will get involved in any way...

The 911 call is pretty amazing. too.  God bless Charles Ramsey!

It's been fascinating to watch as the Carla Hale story has gained momentum from central Ohio, to statewide, and now to national conversation.  So many people want to complicate the story beyond it's simple basic facts.  Apparently 19 years ago, a younger Hale was interested in teaching physical education and applied at Bishop Watterson HS.  And apparently after going through a hiring process, she was offered a job.  Prior to acceptance of the job, she had to sign some paperwork in which she agreed to uphold a certain moral code.  Today, school administrators have deemed she did not live up to that part of her contract and have severed ties. 

I understand that this on top of losing her mother recently is quite a blow and that the proceedings being started by information within her mother's obituary is especially tough to take, but the heart of the story is breech of contract isn't it?  I guess I don't understand anyone who wants to be involved in a group that publicly states they aren't interested in having them as a member.  Some will argue that we should all be included and even point to the movie '42' and the Jackie Robinson story.  I can't imagine what it took for him to break the color barrier and to endure all the hazing and hate and ugliness, but he did and today people of color have as many opportunities as anyone else.  Is the gay issue the same thing?  It is argued that gay people are born that way and they deserve the same opportunities as anyone else.  The Catholic Church however takes a dim view of homosexuality, so you might ask why would Ms. Hale want to work for such an organization?  Was she tyrying to break that barrier?  If yes, she wasn't exactly openly warring over the issue.  She worked 19 years and was only outed (at least to the administrators of the school) by her mother's obit.  Is it fair, the treatment she received?  There's no word that she was treated any differently than any other staff member or instructor at Watterson.  But, when it came to light that she was living a life different from Catholic doctrine and one that is not what the church of school supports, she was terminated.  I guess we'll find out which entity has more clout... the church and it's beliefs or the state and it's rules.  The state says a hiring entity can not discriminate based on a host of criteria, including sexual orientation.  The Catholic Church does not view that as a valid active life style choice.  It seems increasingly that religion and religious beliefs are losing...

This Saturday evening, there's an event I'd love you to consider.  It's called 'Blues for a Cure' and it's in conjunction with my friends at Christmas to Cure Cancer.  Woodlands Backyard in Grnadview is the spot and it promises to be a fantastic evening.  My blues pal Sean Carney is bringing in quite a few internationally acclaimed blues performers and maybe the most impressive is a 14 year old named Quinn Sullivan.  Apparently, dude can wail... Rolling Stone recently wrote an article on the kid and it sounds like he's impressing blues masters wherever he plays.  I had the chance to chat with Sean and Mark Puskarich and here's what they have to say about the event...

Click these links for more info!