David Swanson

In Seymour Hersh’s new account of his career, Reporter: A Memoir, he recalls that Martin Luther King Jr. told him upon the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that he planned to register 900,000 Negroes to vote. King would go on to oppose war and organize poor people across racial lines before being killed.

This is a music story that begins, oddly enough, in a courtroom at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, Ohio. Around a month ago, I happened to be present when arguments were being made in the case of PGP, LLC vs. TPII, LLC, et al. PGP is a corporation owned by a Nashville talent manager named Herbert Graham. TPII is the corporate face of Keith Burns and Hattie Newfield, two of the three founding members of the pop-country band Trick Pony.

Trick Pony is godawful. I’m not sure if their songs “Pour Me” and “On a Night Like This” were the absolute nadir of late 2000’s pop-country dumbassery, but if they weren’t it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying. Every cheap trick (sorry) in the book, from exaggerated accents to American flag themed guitars. Their website even features an adorable listing of the band members likes and dislikes. For the record, Newfield dislikes mean people and blue cheese and Burns is a fan of cold beer.

Did you know that according to the 2010 Census, 1.2 million people in the U.S. are Pacific Islander heritage? With 286,145 Polynesians, Micronesians and Melanesians residing in California - which of course is located on the Pacific Coast - the Golden State is second only to the Aloha State in terms of Pacific Islander residents. As of 2010 Hawaii had 355,816 people of Pacific Island heritage, including about 200,000 Hawaiians, who are defined as individuals tracing at least part of their ancestry to the original Polynesian inhabitants of Hawaii prior to the 18th century arrival of the English explorer Captain Cook. (Simply living in Hawaii does not make one a Hawaiian the way residing in, say, New York, makes one a New Yorker.)

As summer starts to take over the Midwestern air, we’re approaching what is easily one of the best times in Ohio -- festival season. From the recent Nelsonville Music Festival to the Columbus Arts Festival on June 8-10 and the beloved ComFest on June 22-24, there really is something for everyone as Ohioans find themselves getting into the summer season spirit.

Growing up in Columbus allowed me to experience most of these festivals firsthand and appreciate them more and more every year. As a student at Ohio University, I saw how the entire Hocking Hills region would flock to the Nelsonville Music Festival, even during its humble beginnings. This year it was obvious that it appeals to people from all over the state and elsewhere as the concerts and musical acts have only gotten bigger and better. The economic benefits are proving to be invaluable to the Nelsonville area as well, as it’s become a tradition for performers and audience goers alike.

It felt like last football season we weathered the President's attempts to use racism to make himself appear patriotic.

In 1985, our president (pre-presidency) tried to move the USFL into direct competition with the NFL. After winning a lawsuit regarding monopoly laws his method of conflict ran the USFL into the ground.

Is it weirder that the guy is using racial divisiveness during football season instead of caring about American citizens, or that the NFL wouldn't sell this guy a team 30 years ago so he ran another league into the ground out of spite?

One of the people who seemingly led the victory over the president's divisiveness is Lebron James, who showed complete class in uniting sport fans. In 2018, my guess is whoever the MVP of this month's NBA finals will not be visiting the White House.

In Columbus, Ohio, you can't think Lebron James without thinking about his support of local Hip Hop group Fly Union. Jay Swifa of Fly Union just released his first solo album called Enigma.