Montgomery County’s corruption machine delivered its final blow: Foley’s felonies vanished, a quiet misdemeanor deal was cut, and the public never saw the evidence.

Karen Wick, beloved Dayton community leader, restaurateur at Coco’s Bistro, and Dayton School Board member, passed unexpectedly from sepsis. Known for her generosity, civic commitment, and dedication to making Dayton better, she leaves a lasting legacy of service, kindness, and intention. Funeral details will be shared when available.

Dayton activist David Esrati has filed a jurisdictional appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court, asking the justices to decide whether citizens have any enforceable way to remove public officials convicted of wrongdoing. The case stems from Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Mike Foley, who entered no-contest pleas in June but remained in office for months. Esrati argues Ohio’s Constitution requires removal, yet current law leaves no path for citizens when prosecutors decline to act. The Supreme Court will now determine whether to hear the appeal.

Mike Turner’s appearance on Face the Nation was another exercise in evasion and manufactured outrage. He rewrote the history of the Afghanistan withdrawal, downplayed Trump’s own role in the collapse, and framed falling crime in DC as a national security crisis to justify more militarization. When pressed on Trump’s envoy coaching a Putin advisor on how to influence Trump, Turner refused to criticize Trump and focused instead on the “orchestration.” He sidestepped questions about an alleged illegal killing ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and offered no real oversight. CBS never asked him about Senator Mark Kelley’s warning to service members about illegal orders, a test Turner would almost certainly fail. Turner showed loyalty to Trump, not to the Constitution, and Ohio deserves better.

In “Democracy Really Needs a Dating App,” David Esrati argues that America’s political system is built to exclude outsiders and waste billions on campaign theater. Drawing from his decades of firsthand experience running for office, Esrati exposes how “Boards of Elections” act as “Boards of Selections,” blocking reformers before voters ever have a choice. His solution, OKDemocracy, is a verified, open-source voter information system modeled after the logic of dating apps like OKCupid. Candidates and voters would both answer standardized questions, rank issues by importance, and see real-time transparency on donations, spending, and payroll. This system would replace the $15B election-industrial complex with a fair, data-driven infrastructure that restores trust, accountability, and access, turning democracy from performance into participation.