Coincidence?

"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time is enemy action. - Ian Fleming" The Republicans have become a "good-old-boy" network of favors, campaign contributions, and secrecy. They are set on making themselves and their friends richer - and doing it with our money. I want to believe people are generally good. The actions of the Republican Party - nationally and in Ohio - make me wonder. As a recap: Tom Noe is being sued so we can find out where $50 million of our money has gone. The Republican-run state government "invested" our money in rare coins with Mr. Noe. Mr. Noe is a big-time Republican fundraiser. He and his partners have now made over $3 million from this deal. Coincidence? I think not. Over a hundred of these rare coins are now missing. The lawsuit is so we know what coins were invested in, and who sold them to Mr. Noe. It is a simple request. Ohioans deserve to know where their money went. Surprisingly, Mr. Noe and the state government are keeping where our money has gone a secret. The Bush administration also has a history of hiding things for no obvious reason. Now it seems that Ohio Republicans have the same patterns of behavior. Why would they keep these secrets - especially who the coins were bought from - unless there was something to hide? We turn to the courts to find a fair and just resolution. The case has come before the Ohio Supreme Court - also controlled by Republicans. Or it was - five of the six Republican justices cannot work on the case. They also took money from Mr. Noe. Despite attempts at secrecy, Coingate is involving more and more of the Republican "good-old-boy" network. I would rather have an "activist" judge who had principles than one who was bought and sold by campaign contributions. So once again, there is a pattern of behavior. Republicans are hiding what is happening with YOUR money – and making sure they take care of their friends. It's not a "few bad apples" - it's a whole rotten basket. I still want to believe that people are generally good. As Republicans make a habit of abusing our trust and money, it gets harder and harder to believe. But there's hope - Democratic State Senator Marc Dann and the Toledo Blade. They are the ones suing for information about our money - information that should never have been hidden from us. Take a moment to thank Sen. Dann and the Executive Editor of the Toledo Blade for looking out for Ohio and Ohioans, and not for "good old boy" special interests.