A tie in the electoral college .. it couldn't happen .. could it?

I was playing with a very cool page on the LA Times website where you can click the swing states as red and blue and see what scenarios it takes for McCain or Obama to get 270 electoral votes and win. (By the way, where was this cool gadget in 2000 when Tim Russert was holding up his dry erase board on election night?)

Anyway ... I played it out and got the following result:

What the heck happens if this happens? Who/What/How do we decide a 269-269 tie in the electoral college?

Answer: The House of Representatives breaks the tie ... at least, that's what Google tells me. I know that we never learned this little trivia gem in history class because no one in history ever thought this could happen.

Of course, we never thought we'd see hanging chads in 2000 either ....

Thoughts?

Akron recruit says teacher was convincing as veteran

A local recruit weighs in on the man who wore an Army uniform and fooled her into thinking he was the real deal as a war hero.

Anyone who thought they knew Benjamin Terril is finding out there are few lines he wouldn't cross.

Here's a look at last night's followup story:




More to come .. trust me. Eric

Today Show interview tells a LOT about the mudslinging .. .

In case you missed it this morning, Nicole Wallace (McCain's camp) and Robert Gibbs (Obama's camp) squared off in what was supposed to be a discussion about the negative ads and what both sides are really trying to convey during the last weeks of the election.

For the most part, much of it became Palin-esque .. as each side ignored Meredith and just pushed whatever attacking agenda they felt like .. with Obama's guy throwing the first piece of sludge.

This is exactly what the 300 families that lost their jobs at Archway Cookies in Ashland Monday do NOT want to hear right now. And it's what turns off undecided voters.

If nothing else .. read Wallace's body language on the last series of questions from Meredith .. and see if you think that while her mouth was saying "yes" or "maybe" .. her head shaking is clearly saying "not a chance Meredith." Take a look and tell me if you read her that way too ...

Phony Veteran extends court case, upsets those who believed in him

Benjamin Terril was a no-show in court today.

The former Buchtel High science teacher, whom the government says masqueraded as a war hero, let his attorney do the talking. (See my posts below for the original stories)

Thanks to his legal representative, Terril's next court date is a suppression hearing set for Dec. 10. Defense attorneys plan to fight the seizure of drugs and other things that police took following Terril's Sept. 1 arrest for pointing a loaded gun at another man's head. He's facing several felony charges and serious jail time if convicted.

In the meantime, I'll let you in on a number of background stories that are now materializing:

• Many claims that Terril has been wearing a military uniform among real soldiers as recently as a few months ago to include presenting himself as a winner of two Silver Stars, the award just below the Medal of Honor.
• Multiple people tell me that Terril often spoke of dead or ailing relatives to gain sympathy -- relatives many now doubt ever existed.
• Stories from those who knew Terril 30 years ago and claim that he was playing make-believe with war stories and ghost relatives as far back as his college days.

I'll have an updated story on the air soon, but right now hardly a day goes by that I don't get a call or email from yet another person, including former Buchtel students, who knew Ben Terril and was completely fooled by his stories.

Clearly, this man has influenced a lot of local lives, and a great many of them -- young and old -- now feel let down.

Stay tuned ... Eric

McCain-Palin rally to expect masked protestors with a hint of Rocky Road ..

John McCain and Sarah Palin are due in Strongsville this afternoon for a campaign rally, and while we knew to expect big crowds, we're now getting word that a group donning grim reaper masks plans to protest across the street from the venue.

"Change to Win" claims to represent a number of major unions, including the Teamsters.

An email claims that about 100 members will be posted on Royalton Road in Strongsville, right across the street from the McCain-Palin rally. The notice claims the workers feel McCain is a "job killer" so they plan to wear the masks while protesting McCain's job plans.

The release also says:

"The groups will be joined by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream entrepreneurs, who will be unveiling their 'Hugger Mobile.' The Hugger is a Ford F150 van that features a life size statue of President Bush and Senator McCain locked in a warm embrace."

Since there are often threats of protests that don't materialize and since I'm not assigned to cover the event, I don't know how much validity there is here. Still, if the protest happens as scripted, I'm not sure how much coverage it will receive either .. but visually, it sounds like something that will draw video cameras.

I also wonder if any of the crowd will turn on the local news crews as was alleged to have happened at Palin's recent stop in Alabama.

Thoughts here?

P.S. If you're going .. and B&J are there, can you bring me back some ice cream? :)

The Paper trail

What do the Beacon Journal, Plain Dealer, and the Dow Jones all have in common?

They're all going down.

And that's the only joke I can make here .. because it's bad, bad, bad for all of us.

The ABJ's 20-20 cuts are about complete. Several weeks ago, the word came down that 20 more staffers needed to go from the newsroom. If 20 folks didn't voluntarily take the buyouts, then 20 would be let go.

Now comes word today that the PD is following suit .. cutting 48 jobs (about 15 percent of its newsroom) by Thanksgiving through buyouts or attrition .. or probably dirty looks if it comes to it (sarcasm).

Whatever it takes to clear out some desks, eh?

These are newsrooms that have already been making cuts .. lots of them .. over the last year+.

I'd like to wax poetic about the Beacon's slow, painful slide, but what good would it do any of us?

To lament the upcoming loss of Columnist David Giffels just a year after Sports-writing poet Terry Pluto. Or how tough it will be to replace the photo talents of Ken Love or Lew Stamp. To lose the talents of street writers Carl Chancellor, Elaine Gurgerian, Connie Bloom, and Tracy Wheeler. Talented Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst is saying goodbye to the ABJ too .. along with columnist Patrick McManaman. And Chip Bok. Chip Bok!

A great many real voices of not only the paper, but the community -- gone. I think that's what readers are feeling.

Now the PD is slicing and dicing too. When will it end?

I had coffee today with a former BJ manager who can't make heads or tails of it either. Between us, we chuckle at the cuts from a "our darn business is at it again" angle .. but the truth is, we both know how much a newspaper drives the news in a town.

I fear that those left behind -- either by choice or necessity -- will soon be banging their heads against their newsroom walls to keep from losing their sanity .. and probably to ask themselves "why am I staying when others are jumping ship?"

The broadcast side isn't faring much better in this economy. I know it very well.

I'm sitting here in an Akron newsroom that just a few years had 11 broadcast staffers .. now reduced by the tough economy to just two: one highly-talented videographer and me. I doubt this town will ever get a traditional evening newscast back.

I don't know that I can speak to the answer, but I know I can speak to the impact: Northeast Ohio isn't benefiting from putting our media in the spin cycle to see how small we can shrink it.

When Don Plusquellic says "Ellet" ...

An interesting thing happened at the Mayor's press conference today on the sewers-for-scholarships program .. but before I can tell you the story, here's a bit of insight into my 17+ years of covering Akron City Hall.

There are two unwritten laws when it comes to what Mayor Don Plusquellic tells the press:

A) Everything somehow comes back to water.

B) When Mayor Plusquellic says "Ellet", make sure your tape is recording.

If you've lived here long enough, you've heard the water stories. Whenever there's a financial squabble, DP will usually compare the debate to " ... now if you didn't pay your water bill, you get your water turned off ..." or something to that effect. The Cuyahoga River -- and Akron's ownership rights -- is another common theme. So you can see how our broadcast soundbites end up all wet.

Other reporters and even some members of the mayor's cabinet will back me up on this.

Second, when DP mentions the folks in Orangeman-ville ... it's usually because he's frustrated with them. Either they're not supporting an issue the mayor likes or someone in Southeast Akron has called a radio talk show and spoken out of turn in Don's eyes. The "Ellet bites" are often the best soundbites of the press conference because he's usually pretty wound up by that point.

(To be honest, the Mayor's praise and wrath seems equally spread across town, and he's praised Bob Otterman more times than I've driven on Route 91. Still, something happens when DP gets in front of a microphone .. and "Ellet" seems to be the community that's he mentions or attacks first.)

That's why I was nearly speechless when Plusquellic said this today:

"It's the hard working people, parents in Ellet, where the mother is a teacher, and the father is a fire fighter. Those are the people expected to spend all of the cost of a college education .. and they don't have 10 or 20 thousand dollars a year to pay out or shell out."

Did he really say Ellet in a positive manner? Wow!

I honestly came back to the office to replay the tape .. just to make sure I heard him right.

His point is well-placed and right on the money when it comes to our city. Wealthy Akron families have the funds to send their kids to college while some of the poorest will qualify for enough aid that they may not need the sewers $$.

It's the many families in the middle where both parents work and they struggle to make ends meet. The families that make too much money to qualify for reduced lunches, even though mom takes the bus to work because the family can only afford one car.

Those families are all over Ellet. And yeah, they're all over everywhere. All over town. North, East, South, West. Families all over Akron are struggling in that same way.

And those are families that are feeding their 529 savings plans and still know it won't be enough to get their kids to college. And they don't sleep well at night because of it.

And while the debate over Issue 8 is sure to play out from now until election day -- as it should with so much on the line -- the mayor's little slip of the tongue .. which some might even call his intentional play on words by saying "Ellet" ... I can tell you that the passion behind Plusquellic's drive here seems as high as I've ever seen it.