Anyone take offense of this morning’s Plain Dealer editorial cartoon. I did.

It shows some “birds” perched on a branch - possible enlarged parrots but with that vulture look.

President Barack Obama is one of them.

It puts President Obama in communion with Castro, Chavez and Ortega. The three have a communist emblem emblazoned on their chests. Hint. Hint. Obama doesn’t. But the implication is there. Very clever.

They are all singing, “AAWWWWCK! RESTORE THE DICTATOR IN HONDURAS.”

If you haven’t guessed by now, it’s the work of Kevin O’Brien, second in command of the PD’s editorial pages. What a shame. O’Brien, I mean.

Now you see what havoc “furloughs” mean to the newspaper.

O’Brien’s boss, Betsy Sullivan, is furloughed for the week.

When the cats away the mice must play.

So we get a right-wing, though Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, Michael Ramirez, and his zest for attacking Democrats.

“On one level, ya gotta admire how Michael Ramirez goes for broke with his smears,” says the web site “Blue Herald – Right-Wing Cartoon Watch.”

Just O’Brien’s kinda guy.

Governor Disappointment should get off his ass and start working for the people who put him in the State House.

Gov. Ted Strickland apparently feels that if he proposes a tax that everyone with even a half mind knows is necessary for Ohio he’ll get voted out of office.

That isn’t the worse thing in the world.

That’s the only reason I can come up with to explain his reluctance to stop all the nonsense in Columbus – from cutting libraries, to say nothing of people’s dire needs - to proposing slots. My God man, don’t you have any real values?

Even losing office would be a cheap price to pay for getting Ohio moving. And it’s more likely that people will recognize political courage when they see it and reward it.

I quote from Zach Schiller’s fine piece in the Plain Dealer:

“Four years ago, the Ohio General Assembly approved the biggest overhaul of Ohio’ tax system in a generation. The income tax and business taxes were slashed in overall tax cuts worth more than $2 billion a year. The idea was to spur investment and jobs. (Me: Ha). As legislators meet in Columbus to decide how to balance the state budget, it’s a good time to ask: Has reform worked?

The tax burden in Cuyahoga County keeps mounting, recession or depression notwithstanding.

I mentioned recently that the City of Cleveland paid an annual $452,724 in property taxes for the Browns Stadium. County figures show that taxpayers also contributed $54,218,411 more in taxes to help the billionaire Lerner family. All regressive taxes, naturally.

The latest figures on the sin tax – originally assessed in 1990 for Gateway – show the $54-million now collected for Browns stadium. That’s in addition to the more than $220-million collected for Gateway.

Voters when they thought they might lose the Browns (horrors!) extended the sin tax to help pay for a new football stadium.

In June, Cuyahoga County taxpayers added $1.27 million to the kitty. Since August, 2005, the sin tax has produced $54.2 million, all distributed to pay for the football stadium.

Thus far $12.6-million has come from smokers, $19.3-million from alcohol drinkers, $17.7-million from beer drinkers and $4.3-million from wine drinkers.

Smokers have also contributed $46.8 million to the Arts & Culture kitty of Cuyahoga County.

I mentioned earlier that the increased quarter-percent sales tax for the Medical Mart & Convention Center cost county taxpayers $61.8 million so far. This tax started in January 2008.

The last time The Fray came to Cleveland I didn't go to the show. For some reason I was convinced that they would not be a good band to see live. Last night I found out how wrong my assumption was. The Fray exceeded all expectations I had of them. It was an amazing show. I definitely didn't give them the credit they deserve.

Jack's Manequin performed before The Fray last night. I'm so glad we made it to the venue in time to see their entire set. What an energetic performance. Before going to the show I was a fan of the band but now I'm an even bigger fan. I'm not sure I've ever witnessed a man with so much energy as Andrew McMahon (lead vocals). He was jumping on the piano, jumping off the piano, jumping on the drums, he was all over the stage. They played a great set and ended with a cover from Tom Petty.

The Fray took the stage a little before 9:30. After a musical intro of "Happiness" they dramatically started playing "Over my Head". The backdrop was full of small changing lights that lit up the stage. I immediately knew this concert was going to be much better than I anticipated.

A legendary Cleveland rock n roll venue is facing some difficult times. The Cleveland Agora has been dark all summer and will not be hosting any shows until fall. Agora owner Hank LoConti made the announcement to the Cleveland Plain Dealer last month saying:

"I'm closing for three months -- June, July and August. I'm still renting the place for shows that other promoters are doing, but I'm not booking shows until September."

Scene Magazine delved farther into the hiatus in a piece out in print now. The Scene reports that Akron band The Black Keys are in the process of suing the venue for failure to pay a $50,000 booking fee from their show their last winter. All of the staff have been let go from the facility. The owner of the venue conceded in the piece:

"All I can say it is a messy situation. I'm moving very slow but I am going to keep The Agora alive. I feel bad about having to let everyone go"

Just moments ago Ohio Governor Ted Strickland held a press conference with updates on the state budget. Currently the budget is at a statement with each branch of Governement offering different ideas on how to balance the 2 year budget that was suppose to be in place at the beginning of the month. Here is what Strickland had to say regarding the process:

J. Kevin Kelley, a former employee of the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office, pleaded guilty to eleven corruption charges on Wednesday, including bribery, mail fraud, theft, conspiracy and tax fraud. On Thursday, two more people under federal investigation for corruption in Cuyahoga County also pleaded guilty. His former co-worker at the engineer's office, Kevin Payne, also pleaded guilty on Wednesday. On Thursday, Daniel Gallagher, also a former employee of the engineer's office, entered guilty pleas to various conspiracy, theft, bribery and tax evasion charges under a plea agreement. Businessman Brian Schuman of Bedford also pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Thursday.

No sentencing dates have yet been set for Schuman or Gallagher.

On Wednesday, J. Kevin Kelley, a former employee of the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office, admitted his role in the corruption in Cuyahoga County government. He became the first to admit guilt, pleading guilty to eleven corruption charges including bribery, mail fraud, theft, conspiracy and tax fraud.

Other local officials who have been under the watchful eye of Uncle Sam include County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and County Auditor Frank Russo. Fellow engineer's office employee Kevin Payne also pleaded guilty on Wednesday.

Kelley and Payne will now work with the feds to build their case against other key players in the scandal in hopes of cutting down the amount of time they'll spend in prison. Kelley could be facing up to ten years in jail, but if he gives federal authorities the help they are looking for it could be reduced down to six.

Jim Trakas, a member of the Republican Party's central committee said:

Looking to catch a traditional fireworks display on our nation's birthday this year? Check out this 2009 guide to fireworks in Northeast Ohio, organized alphabetically by city.

If you have any additions to the list, please let us know in the comments.

Cleveland:
July 4th at 9:45pm - The Flats, Waterfront

Akron:
July 4th at 9:45pm - Lock 3 Rib, White & Blue Festival

Alliance:
July 4th at dusk - Silver Park

Ashtabula:
July 11th at 10 p.m - Walnut Beach

Avon:
July 4th at dusk - The stadium (on State Route 611 and Miller Road)

Bainbridge Township:
July 5th at dusk - Independence Day Celebration

Barberton:
July 4th starting at 6pm - Wolf Creek (6 different shows around the Barberton reservoir)

Bay Village:
July 4th at dusk - Cahoon Park

Berea:
July 4th at dusk - Coe Lake

Bratenahl:
July 3th at dusk - Bratenahl Village Park

Brook Park:
July 12th at dusk - City Hall

Conneaut:
July 5th at 10pm - Conneaut Lakeview Park

Eastlake:
July 4th at 10pm - Classic Park Stadium

East Sparta:
July 2nd 10pm - East Sparta Homecoming Festival

Garfield Heights:
July 4th at dusk - Across from City View Center

Independence:
July 3rd at dusk - Elmwood Park (rain date July 5th)

Kent:
July 4th at dusk - Downtown Kent

Lakewood:
July 4th 9:45pm - Lakewood Park