The “Speak up” comments on the Dayton Daily News editorial page are the spewings of gutless wonders. However, not all that call, or write in are selected for print. Nope, that’s the job of the Editorial page staff: Editor Kevin Reiley, Editorial page editor Ellen Belcher and “writers” Martin Gottlieb and Scott Elliot. These four people are the ones who write endorsements of candidates- like the one they wrote for deposed Mayor Rhine McLin.

Today’s Speak Up had four gems (I have to retype them instead of link, because they can’t manage to automate their processes to post content online)

Re online Story, “Former Qbase VP sues company,” Dec 4; Here goes the tax dollars. Thanks, David Esrati, keep exposing them.

David Esrati loves attention. His good ideas are swallowed up by his immaturity, petty gossip and his “Hey, look at me” syndrome.

David Esrati has zero credibility and is proven yet again to be nothing more than a punchline to a joke that was never funny in the first place.

Money our new mayor spent getting elected: $1,500 (sic) Money the outgoing mayor spent trying to get elected for another term; $175,000; Knowing David Esrati didn’t even get his own vote: Priceless. Friends don’t let friends vote for Esrati.

For those of you unfamiliar with the QBase story- I first wrote about their ponzi-scheme funding based on taxpayers footing the bill back in Feb 09, the Dayton Daily News is still in denial I not only scooped them, but was the first to break the news that Qbase forced employees to donate to political campaigns. Search this site on Qbase to get more of the story.

Since the election, I scooped them on the Qbase lawsuit as well- and the story on the redistricting, was the first to post the actual campaign finance reports- the list goes on. Please note, I’m not paid to do their job, or the job that should be done by the Board of Elections.

The reality is, these comments could all be called in by one or two people. It could be people from Qbase, or from the Montgomery County Democratic Party.

I’ve tried to do my part to keep people informed- from videotaping candidates’ nights and posting them on YouTube, to digging up documents and posting the behind-the-scenes look at how the money moves in Dayton (see the Michael Greitzer post, for a recent example).

One reader has suggested that I ask for payment via the “Rational Street Performer Protocol:”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_pledge_system I would prefer that some of you take the time to weigh in with signed letters to the editor- [email protected] not to defend me, but to question the value of the “unsigned comments” and the comment system on their site that has run amok. (You can post what you send in here- so we can see original vs. published- remember, 200 words or less).

While my psyche can handle this crap (it’s amazing what Special Forces school prepares you for)- it’s this kind of public bashing that stops good people from stepping forward to challenge the status quo.

My view of how Dayton could be, is much different than of those in power. I don’t believe in no-bid contracts, behind closed doors public meetings and the public funding of private business. No matter what the Dayton Daily News says, I’m not going to stop.

And to tip-the-hat to P.T. Barnum- thank you, Editorial board for at least spelling my name right, it’s about the only thing you get right when you publish anything about me.