Eye On the Statehouse Blogger "Outed": Blackwell's LoParo is Back
Submitted by Jerid on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 8:36am.
Well, I was digging around the GOP Institut- er, the Buckeye Institute's (BI) new blog "Eye on the Statehouse" when I came across this gem... All posts from the BI are under an author with the same name as the blog, Eye on the Statehouse. Who blogs from this account? Glad ya' asked...
Look closer...check out that address bar...
Bingo.
Carlo freakin' LoParo, former communications director/spokesman/all-around-hack (and former SoS employee) from Ken Blackwell's '06 GOP Gubernatorial campaign. After I deduced all this on my own I called the BI and their secretary confirmed Carlo works there now (and he also was "unavailable" for my call).
What's the big deal?
Carlo LoParo marks the third person from the former Blackwell campaign that's signed on board BI.
First Blackwell came on himself. Then Matt Naugle, former Blackwell online communificator, created the blog. Now the guy who ran Blackwell's communication's operation is a big part of the show at the Buckeye Institute. It's as if Blackwell '08 is setting up HQ at the Institute.
Jill and others have commented on how this new site and the BI could be a great asset for combating waste at the statehouse. As much as I'd like to catch the "kumbaya"-feel-good-bipartisan-vibe from this one, I just can't. Despite the Buckeye Institute's claim that it's "a nonpartisan research and educational institute", it's lookin' awfully suspect to me. Imagine we started up a "nonpartisan" group with President Bush, Karl Rove, and Tony Snow...how much would you trust that one to stay off the political fence? Just remember, the Buckeye Institutes's got the same type of political makeup as that hypothetical. Long story short, don't drink the Buckeye Institute's kool-aid too quick here.
Also, Carlo encourages readers to send in "wasteful spending tips" for the BI to pursue. I've got one...
When outgoing Secretary of State Ken Blackwell was doling out $80,000 worth of taxpayer-funded bonuses to his staff like lollipops last December, he gave one to Carlo for $1702...
(H/t Bradblog)
I wouldn't mind having those tax dollars back, Carlo.
Let's see
Submitted by redhorse on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 9:53am.
Since losing badly in November, the GOP has found stalwarts like Blackwell, Debbie Owens Fink, and now LoParo end up in the loving arms of the Buckeye Institute. As we all know, the BI is completely non-partisan with no axes to grind, they just tend to favor Ohio's GOP vanguard.
Who looks into the right for BI to list self as nonpartisan?
Submitted by Jill on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 1:16pm.
Dead serious. To whom could I file a complaint if I wanted to request that they remove the nonpartisan from their mission statement? Is it a 501c3? If so, it has to file a lot of papers to keep whichever status they've been granted. If they cannot demonstrate that they are in fact nonpartisan, and right now, I don't see how they can demonstrate that they ARE nonpartisan, someone needs to let the IRS or SOS or whichever entity it is know. I can't tell you the nuttiness I've been through for a parents' group that raises no money and helps kids in special ed classes. If I have to go through what I do for that group that does what the school should be doing, someone should be making sure that BI is nonpartisan, as it claims.
BI
Submitted by Jerid on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 1:19pm.
Jill...I mailed in a request for their tax documentation from the IRS yesterday. I'm trying to get a good hold on the issue so we can proceed appropriately. I think they've gotten the point we'll be watching - hopefully they act with prudence and caution because of that.
Love it when on same page
Submitted by Jill on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 1:31pm.
Great - let me know if I can assist.
I have to ask
Submitted by King on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 7:47am.
do you always whine? Or does it just come natural?
Jill, did I not see posts on RAG from you babbling to the troll Matt Naugahyde, telling him how great he is for making this site?
I wonder why you are always so bent on attacking the republicans, when you have democrats in your own backyard raping our county.
I see you are passionate about education. How come no posts about how the bloated school administrations and over paid, under performing teachers get millions of dollars and can't teach a kid 2+2=4?
I notice you are following the alleged rape by the lawyer from MI when he attended a YR event in Cleveland. Yet nothing about the sexual misconduct investigation into Cleveland Mayor's brother that was swept under the rug? This was the second accusation of sexual misconduct by the Mayor's brother who works in our schools.
How come nothing about the democrats running the sewer district that is raising rates 10% a year for the next five years, while they have a $100,000 waterfall built in the lobby of their building.
Frank Jackson's Triangle Development?
Unaware of tax abatements at Steelyard Commons?
Nothing about the corruption at the airport runway project being run by democrats?
Nothing about democrat Judge Matia's ruling against our First Amendment rights? The democrat defending ACLU even remarked about this one.
I guess that's what can be expected from a Cuyahoga County democrat.
KING
King, you've still failed to respond to my response to you here
Submitted by Jill on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 8:16am.
On this follow up I wrote to a similarly toned comment by you. Maybe you should address that first before continuing on? Especially since it almost looks like you cut and paste your comments since the one in this thread has so much similar content to the one in the other thread?
Matt provided a link to my first post about BI in his post about my post. You can reach it from there and if you still can't find it, I have a search box on the left sidebar of my blog and you can search on "buckeye institute" - that will bring up the post you're looking for.
When you're ready to ask non-rhetorical questions, I am, as I've always been, happy to respond.
If you want to hear my opinion on several of the issues you raise in your comment here, you can listen to any one of the four times I've been on WCPN's Sound of Ideas, talking about education, Steelyard Commons, Frank Jackson, Forgotten Triangle and tax abatements.
Jill, First to back up my
Submitted by King on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 7:08pm.
Jill,
First to back up my claim you are a hypocrit - this is from a comment on your own site about your - IRS definition of "nonpartisan" and prohibited activities of 501(c)(3)s --
It may or may not be hypocritical for you to point the finger toward right leaning 501(c)(3)'s when you are VERY active in a questionable one that is left leaning named ProgressOhio.org
Is it not true that your name is toward the top of the "Progress Points" for this group??
Is it not true that ProgressOhio.org planned an event named RootsCamp that was completely Democratic Party focussed??
Is it not true that Franklin University cancelled the use of their facilities for RootsCamp due to concerns regarding the partisan nature of ProgressOhio.org and RootsCamp.
Isn't it true that likely Democratic 15th U.S. Congressional candidate, Mary Jo Kilroy, was the featured speaker of the RootsCamp?
Is it not true that ProgressOhio .org continues to prop-up Mary Jo Kilroy ?
Do I need to provide the specific ProgressOhio.org and RootsCamp website links ?? I can easily provide them if you wish.
Isn't it true that Ohio Democratic Party officials such as Online Communication Director, Todd Hoffman, had a vital participatory role at ProgressOhio.org 's RootsCamp??
Jill, Jill, Jill...
...aren't you being a least a little bit like the pot calling the kettle black?
Will this comment make it through your "comment moderation" ... we'll see ... It's a little different when someone holds a mirror up to you, and groups you belong, rather than blindly pat you on the back like so many Democratic Party, Meet-the-Bloggers, Progress Ohio and Buckeye State Blog related bloggers obsessively perpetuate.
Can you help me find something similar to airline motion sickness bags to pass-out to people reading all this collaborative left-leaning back-patting self-rightousness ??
Don't just talk the talk Jill. Otherwise you'll get nowhere...
ProgressOhio.org is SUPPOSED to be issue centered... NOT ... candidate and Democratic Party centered.
This response could pretty much apply to your inept far reaching attack on Josh Mandel. Not to mention quote a few other posts.
Are the questions asked above rhetorical too Jill? Didn't see your answers, so I guess so.
I will continue in my next post --
KING
Deflection isn't distracting to me
Submitted by Jill on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 7:23pm.
So whenever you're ready to respond to the comment you made in a prior thread, which I inked to above, and respond to my response to your response here, I'll be reading.
As for "far reaching attack on Josh Mandel" - please reproduce that. I've never seen it.
You are not onlt a hypocrit,
Submitted by King on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 9:07pm.
You are not onlt a hypocrit, but you are a liar.
Jill
Submitted by King on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 10:10pm.
You are not only a hypocrit, but you are a liar.
Should I be suprised that deflection is not a distraction when you refuse to accept the truth?
Looking at your site, I see you took some of your attacks down. That was probably a smart thing to do on your part.
First more of your hypocrisy -
Regarding the Michigan YR rape case you said -
A blog like RAB would be all over it if the alleged was a Dem.
Here are your remarks about the sexual misconduct allegations on Mayor Jacksons brother (both democrats)-
........................................ NOTHING!
As for your attacks on Josh Mandell, you imply simply because he is a republican and is in the Young Republicans, he should know something about what happened and should straighten it out.
You stated in your first post-
For the record, I do not, under any circumstances, EVER expect my current rep to be involved in any kind of illegal or disgusting behavior as intimated by the above article. However, he is no stranger to the Young Republicans. Some of his campaign's supporters were involved with Young Republicans and I have to believe that some of these folks, who overlap with the Greater Cleveland Young Republicans and Mandel's campaign (as well as people Mandel has supported) had at the very least tangential participation, if not a lot more, in the National Convention of Young Republicans that was held here last summer.
You response to a comment about your attack on Josh -
What I did intend to insinuate but perhaps should just said flat out is that Josh has connections to many people who were there and I would PRAY that he gets to them good and fast and helps them clear it out of here, for everyone's sake.
Actually your trashy post on this speaks for itself.
Here you will find where more comments on BSB point out how you spin things to your benefit and are purposely misleading.
Jill you claim you are so rightous and act like the defender of humanity. So how you defend the Cuyahoga County Dems is by, minimizing their failures by purposefully ignoring them, yet criticizing republicans for the same thing.
The same as your mission about Buckeye Institute being partisan, yet you are a partisan hack for Progress Ohio.
Saying you disagree with Jimmy Dimora, is not standing up against the corruption and failures in Cuyahoga County. I like Jimmy, he is a hell of a guy.
You claim you speak out and against Jimmy on your blog. I searched his name on your site - found 12 posts. Ok so you did not agree on issue 3 and you like the Scene article. That's it?!?!?
Whatever
Submitted by Jill on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 11:08pm.
I think there's a song - you've got your reasons and I've got mine. I can barely make sense of what you've written King. But that doesn't mean that you don't have a right to make of what I've written whatever you want. And that you have done. One thing I am always saying when the MSM attack blogs for having no editors? I always say that we need to trust the readers. Go for it. They can decide what's what. They will anyway.
Last thing
Submitted by Jill on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 11:10pm.
I've never removed any attack related to anyone let alone Josh. But you know, he and I talk and correspond regularly and I'll be sure to check it out - maybe it's something he remembers though I don't know how much he reads blogs. If you can tell what it is I wrote that you believe is now missing, that would be helpful.
another member?
Submitted by J-Dog on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 2:35pm.
Jerid and Jill: To your knowledge, are Revs. Johnson and/or Parsley involved with BI? If so, we'll definitely know the fix is in!
I don't know
Submitted by Jill on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 8:18am.
But it's a good question. From the few names I've found attached to the effort, I don't see those. But from what I've found via the IRS, getting donors names may be difficult. Jerid's comments seem to indicate that he is pursuing all that.
irs info
Submitted by DanS on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 12:41pm.
Ahh, I was on the wrong thread, sorry.
Jill's right - donor names are confidential.
Jerid - to get the most recent form, go to guidestar.org and create a free account. Then do a search for "buckeye institute" and scroll down to the bottom of its page. You'll see the last couple years' worth of Form 990s there as PDFs. You can also get them directly from the nonprofit if you ask - they have to provide the last three years', charging only for copies and postage. Filing an IRS request for the forms can get you older ones, but it takes a good while.
Here 'tis
Submitted by Laurel on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 1:15pm.
The BI 990s. What is most significant is what's not there. Nonetheless, look at the statements that they are not political, not partisan and are advocating for market based approaches to public policy when much of what they do seems quite different as noticed in postings.
Go to: http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990s/990search/esearch.php
Type in "Buckeye Institute"
Dan/Laurel
Submitted by Jerid on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 6:25pm.
You folks rock. Hadn't heard of Guidestar before. Thanks for the tip.
I'll start poking around on this one tomorrow.
oh, no, they're legit!!!