Trump Will Never Concede the Election: "A Vote Like No Other"

 

“Let us not hedge about one thing. Donald Trump may win or lose, but he will never concede. Not under any circumstance. Not during the Interregnum (the interval between two periods of office) and not afterward. If compelled in the end to vacate his office, Trump will insist from exile, as long as he draws breath, that the contest was rigged.

-- Barton Gellman, staff writer at The Atlantic

Many Trump supporters believe incorrect or evidence-free claims made by the president recently, such as that ballots are going out that omit just Trump’s name, or being sold, or being dumped in a river.

At packed outdoor rallies Trump has said the polls that show him trailing the Democratic nominee Joe Biden are “fake,” drawing boos from the crowd and raising their expectations of victory. He also said he feared voter fraud, which studies have repeatedly found to be extremely rare, and in most cases nonexistent.

“The biggest problem we have is if they cheat with the ballots. That's my biggest problem,” he told supporters at the Phoenix Goodyear Airport this week. “That's my only thing – that's the only thing I worry about.”

Trump has lied about voter fraud in the past as well, insisting even after he won in 2016 that he would have also won the popular vote if millions of votes hadn’t been cast illegally. The truth is that voting fraud is exceedingly rare, and widespread voting fraud of the kind that can sway an election is even rarer.

And, remember, Trump has also off-handedly mused on a handful of occasions about getting more than the constitutionally permitted eight years in office because of the time in his first term “stolen” from him due to former special counsel Robert Muller’s investigation – comments that also raised concerns about Trump’s commitment to the limits of presidential terms.

As Trump continues to lie to his crowds, he has also refused to say he’d accept the results of the election in the event that he loses. And long vote counts and potential fights over rejected mail ballots in the states most likely to decide the election – Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – increase the chance of chaos.

If we are lucky, this dysfunctional election cycle will reach a conventional stopping point in time to meet crucial deadlines in December and January. That is, if the contest is decided with sufficient authority that the losing candidate will be forced to yield.

A lot of people, including Joe Biden frame any threat of Trump refusing to vacate the White House as a concern, but entirely unthinkable They generally conclude, as Biden has, that in that event of any refusal, the proper authorities “will escort Trump from the White House with great dispatch.”

Barton Gellman writes …

“The worst case, however, is not that Trump rejects the election outcome. The worst case is that he uses his power to prevent a decisive outcome against him. If Trump sheds all restraint, and if his Republican allies play the parts he assigns them, he could obstruct the emergence of a legally unambiguous victory for Biden in the Electoral College and then in Congress. He could prevent the formation of consensus about whether there is any outcome at all. He could seize on that uncertainty to hold onto power.”

(Barton Gellman. “The Election That Could Break America.” The Atlantic. November 2020.)

We know that Trump’s state and national legal teams are already laying the groundwork for postelection maneuvers that would circumvent the results of the vote count in battleground states. He has spent months attacking the integrity of the election and lying about mail voting.

Gellman speculates …

“Ambiguities in the Constitution and logic bombs in the Electoral Count Act make it possible to extend the dispute all the way to Inauguration Day, which would bring the nation to a precipice. The Twentieth Amendment is crystal clear that the president’s term in office 'shall end' at noon on January 20, but two men could show up to be sworn in. One of them would arrive with all the tools and power of the presidency already in hand.”

Some scholars conclude that if such a scenario were to take place, few people have “actual answers to what happens.” If the election is close and contested, it could test American democracy more than any race in a century.

What We Do Know

Cameron Joseph, Senior Political Reporter for Vice, shares these perspectives;

• Trump has no power to unilaterally hold onto power or cancel the election. Even if he holes up in the White House, his current term will end on January 20.

• A number of crucial battleground states will likely take days or even weeks to tally up their votes because of the major spike in mail voting expected due to the coronavirus. That won’t be pretty, but it isn’t a full-blown crisis

• Court fights over ballots also happen in nearly every political cycle, and state court battles are almost guaranteed if this is a close race.

• The real problem comes if a partisan state supreme court – say, Wisconsin’s GOP-allied majority, or Pennsylvania’s Democratic court – twists the law to find a favorable ruling for their side that could decide the election that then gets appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Republicans rammed through a replacement for Justice Ginsburg, giving them a 6-3 ideological edge. An unfavorable decision from the court might not be accepted by Democrats.

(Cameron Joseph. “What Happens Next If President Trump Refuses to Concede?” Vice. September 21, 2020.)

According to a new poll by Baldwin Wallace University, more than half of likely Ohio voters believe that President Donald Trump won’t concede or accept next month’s general election results even if certified vote totals show that he lost.

The poll found more than 78% of likely Democratic voters in Ohio, as well as 31% of GOP voters, said they think Trump wouldn’t accept an unfavorable election result, according to the poll.

Fifty-seven percent of independent likely voters in Ohio believe Trump wouldn’t concede, compared to just 18% who think he would.

Poll results from three other battleground states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, showed even more skepticism that Trump would peacefully transfer power. Between 57-58% of likely voters in each of those other states said they don’t think Trump will concede even after the vote count is certified.

(The Baldwin Wallace University Great Lakes Poll: In partnership with Oakland University and Ohio Northern University. Conducted between 9/30/20 and 10/8/20. Published

October 9, 2020.)

If the past is precedent, Trump will reject next year’s presidential elections results. Over the past several months he has relentlessly sought to undermine the credibility of the presidential poll, calling it the “greatest rigged election in history”.

Trump claims that US elections are riddled by fraud which allows Democrats to steal victory. The accusation has become a favorite of Republicans in recent years, despite having been conclusively debunked.

The Republican party has amassed a $20m war chest to spend on litigation in what has the potential to be a toxic post-election period. Trump has also commandeered the support of the US attorney general, William Barr.

Testifying before Congress this summer Barr pointedly declined to give assurances that he will keep the DoJ out of any contested election count in November.

(Ed Pilkington. “'Our democracy is deeply imperiled': how democratic norms are under threat ahead of the US election.” The Guardian. September 09, 2020.)

The damage Trump has done to America’s democratic institutions will be lasting. The 2020 election is indicative of that damage. His voters and his conservative media enablers have shown that when it is coming from him, they are not too concerned about assaults on America's constitutional norms and the institutions that hold presidents to account.

Trump's wild lies about election fraud are another example of how he prioritizes his personal advantage ahead of national interests and the health of the political system.

Professor Michael Klarman, Kirkland & Ellis Professor at Harvard Law School, where he teaches Constitutional Law and Constitutional History, says there are ten “basic democratic norms that Trump fails to comply with or outright repudiates:

1. Respect for an independent judiciary,

2. Support for a free and independent press,

3. More generally, the importance of independent actors within government, as opposed to actors who simply owe loyalty to the president;

4. A commitment to the peaceful resolution of political disputes rather than encouraging violence;

5. Respect for the legitimacy of elections;

6. Not using the legal system to attack political opponents;

7. Not expressing admiration for foreign autocrats;

8. Preserving transparency within government;

9. The maintenance of a sharp separation between the private interests of public servants and the public good;

(10) At least a minimual commitment to truth telling.

(Michael Klarman. “Trump and the Threat to Democracy.” Take Care. December 10, 2019.)

Pink Bus For Trump: The Color of Disempowerment For Women

 

“The pink bus (“Women for Trump” bus tour) is an auxiliary to the flag-streaming Trumpist pickup trucks sometimes observed revving in menacing formation in American towns and cities to own the libs. It's one half of the two-part strategy to try to keep enough white women on Trump's side to keep him in the Oval Office …

“But no amount of empowerment word salad can hide the fact that Trump has disempowered women in American politics and policy.”

– Nina Burleigh, author of The Trump Women: Part of the Deal

Trump's two-part strategy?

1. Messages from Trump himself aimed at “suburban housewives,” those who Burleigh says are “presumed to be huddled in fear in their kitchens watching Fox News re-roll video of looters in the cities.” Only President Donald Trump can keep them safe.

2. The empowered: “the Ivankas and the Lara Trumps – those in the Trump circle who have hijacked the United Nations patois (dialect) word 'empowerment' and attached it to a movement that has actively disempowered women from the start.”

(Nina Burleigh. “Women for Trump's final 2020 push has rendered 'empowerment' meaningless.” NBC News. October 29, 2020.)

The Trump administration employs fewer women in the U.S. Cabinet (21.1%) than those of recent presidents like Bill Clinton (40.9%), George W. Bush (23.8%), and Barack Obama (34.8%).

(“Percentage of people in the U.S. cabinet who were women from Johnson to Trump:1969 to 2017. ” Statistica.)

And the pay gap between men and women in the Trump administrations is greater than the national average. An analysis of the 2020 median salaries in the Trump White House (as of September 19, 2020) found a $33,300 chasm between the salary for male staffers ($106,000) and the salary for female staffers ($72,700).

Women make nearly 69 cents on the male $1 – worse than the national gender pay gap of 82 cents on the dollar.

(Chabeli Carrazana. “Women in President Donald Trump’s White House earn 69 cents for every $1 paid to male staffers.” USA Today. September 23, 2020.)

Women haven't advanced in the party caucuses, either. Republicans lag far behind the Democrats in numbers of elected women.

In 2019 Republican women only made up:

32% of women serving in the U.S. Senate

13% of women serving in the U.S. House

33% of women serving as governors

31% of women state legislators

(“By the Numbers.” Represent Women. Parity For Women in Politics.)

But what about women in the U.S. workforce? During a women’s event at the White House in January 2018, Trump said he is “very proud” that “on my watch” there are “more women in the workforce today than ever before.”

It’s true that 863,000 women joined the workforce during the president’s first 11 months in office, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But that’s 34 percent less than the number of women workers that were added over the same period, from January to December, in each of the last two years.

In fact, it’s the smallest increase since 2012 and below the historical norm for the past 54 years, dating to 1964.

(Eugene Kiely. “Video: Women Employment Under Trump.” Factcheck.org. January 27, 2018.)

And, of course, the effect of COVID-19 on the number of women in the workforce are staggering. According to “Women in the Workplace,” the largest study on the state of women in corporate America, more than one in four women are contemplating what many would have considered unthinkable just six months ago: downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce completely.

This is an emergency for corporate America. Companies risk losing women in leadership – and future women leaders – and unwinding years of painstaking progress toward gender diversity.

(Ali Bohrer, Jenna Bott, Kelen Caldwell, Gina Cardazone, Marianne Cooper, Chloe Hart, Ryan Hutson, Allison Koblick, Madison Long, Sonia Mahajan, Jordan Miller-Surratt, Mary Noble-Tolla, Megan Rooney, Raena Saddler, Rachel Thomas, Kate Urban, Kirsten Tidswell, Katie Wullert. “Women in the Workplace 2020. McKinsey and Company.)

Empowering Women

First daughter Ivanka Trump wants to help 50 million women around the world "realize their economic potential" by 2025. No matter how misogynistic Donald Trump is – many women have accused him of sexual misconduct and abuse; he has repeatedly denigrated women like Elizabeth Warren, Carly Fiorina, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi; and he has silenced women through isolation, threats, and nondisclosure agreements – Ivanka campaigns that her father favors empowerment and equality

“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”

– Trump after Megyn Kelly moderated the Republican debate (CNN)

Some buy the sincerity of the pink bus campaign despite evidence to the contrary. Donald Trump's infamous boast that, by virtue of his wealth and celebrity, he could sexually assault women and roam the dressing rooms of teenage beauty pageant participants is met with giggles of admiration by his supporters, many of whom have daughters of their own. The hypocrisy is there for all to see and judge.

“Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?”

– Trump comments to a Rolling Stone reporter about Carly Fiorina's appearance on TV (Rolling Stone)

“Empowerment” is defined as “the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.” Trump has hobbled the empowerment of women, The damage he has done is incalculable. Promoting hundreds of anti-choice judges, encouraging toxic masculinity in his supporters, pushing anti-woman policies – Trump views women as commodities and “deal enhancers” while he requires loyalty and discretion from females in his circle.

"You know, it doesn't really matter what [the media] write as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass."

– Donald Trump, 1991 Esquire interview

Empowerment? Trump relishes his own control and power, and he frequently attacks tenacious, intelligent women who think for themselves. He wants to harness women, not free them to find success. Ivanka and Melania are political figures with no integrity in the movement. For Trump's female surrogates to exalt the idea of the self-made, entrepreneurial woman but crave protection from a strongman leader who spouts toxic masculinity is unbelievable. Nina Burleigh says …

“The women around him (Trump) are accessories to his brand.”

Donald Trump's long history of misogyny matters very little to his female supporters. But now, he is trying to broaden his appeal to the “Suburban Housewives of America.”

Trump is desperate. An NPR-PBS Newshour-Marist poll released last July showed Trump’s disapproval rating among suburban women at 66 percent, with 58 percent saying they “strongly” disapproved of the job he’s doing.

In the 2018 midterm election, suburban women, independent women, and women of color came together to vote in record numbers and fuel the blue wave that delivered the House of Representatives to the Democrats.

The 2020 election may very well hinge on whether the suburban women, women of color, and women under 30 in key states such as Wisconsin and Michigan turn out in large enough numbers to outweigh the voting by Trump’s female base in those critical electoral states.

Pink buses on the Trump campaign certainly catch the eye, but the intention of strengthening women's empowerment may be an illusion – especially misleading from a conservative white nationalist perspective.

Researchers on the preference for the color pink found a 1918 trade publication for infant clothing that read “the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl,” since pink was seen as more “decided and stronger” and blue more “delicate and dainty.”

Jo B. Paoletti, Ph.D., a textiles historian and author of Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys from the Girls in America, says that before the 1920s, all kids in America wore white because bleach was the only name in the kid-laundry game. When their clothing started to be gussied up with colorful ribbons, Paoletti argues, in many places blue was the girl color and pink was the boy color. Things change don't they? Or, do they? From the view of history – recent and ancient – many things are not exactly what they seem.

Trump Uses and Abuses Musicians' Songs At His Rallies: Cease and Desist

 

“I’ve been covering this beat for probably 20 years, and this is probably as stark a division I’ve seen as far as artists not wanting a politician to use their songs. The choice is so stark for a lot of voters, and it is for musicians too.”

– Billboard contributor Gil Kaufman

Donald Trump's campaign rallies have been filled with classic songs whose authors and their heirs loudly reject him and his politics – including notables like Neil Young, John Fogerty, Phil Collins, Panic! At The Disco, and the estates of Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty and Prince.

Andrew Dalton, AP entertainment writer said …

“Campaigns have been turning popular songs into theme songs for more than a century, and American artists have been objecting at least since 1984, when Bruce Springsteen denied the use of 'Born in the U.S.A.' to the Ronald Reagan reelection campaign.

“But this year, the issue has reached an unprecedented saturation point, indicative of a wide cultural divide between the president and his supporters, and overwhelmingly left-leaning musicians, who virtually never make the same demands of Democratic candidates.”

(Andrew Dalton. “Stop the music! Chorus of artists tell Trump to turn it down.” ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/stop-music-chorus-artists-trump-turn-73856326?cid=clicksource_4380645_15_comic_strip_sq_hed. October 27, 2020.)

To object, Neil Young has filed a lawsuit over the repeated use of his songs by Trump.

“Imagine what it feels like to hear ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ after this President speaks, like it is his theme song,” Young wrote on his website in July. “I did not write it for that.”

Rolling Stone reports that countless artists have condemned politicians for using their music without their permission, but often there is little an artist can actually do to stop them. Campaigns can procure special licenses with publishing giants BMI and ASCAP, which authorizes the public performance of millions of songs at campaign events.

Artists, however, can work with BMI and ASCAP to remove their songs from beneath this umbrella, as the Rolling Stones did recently after Trump played the Rolling Stones' “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at the Tulsa rally.

(Jon Blistein. “Neil Young Files Lawsuit Against Trump Campaign Over Song Usage.” Rolling Stone. August 04, 2020.)

Both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards signed an open letter to both the Republican and Democratic parties asking them to specifically "pledge that all candidates you support will seek consent from featured recording artists and songwriters before using their music in campaign and political settings."

Other artists have been more befuddled than angry about the playing of songs whose themes are the exact opposite of the messages Trump is sending.

John Fogerty said he was baffled by Trump’s use of “Fortunate Son,” his 1969 hit with Creedence Clearwater Revival, whose condemnation of privileged children of rich men who did not serve in Vietnam sounds like a tailor-made slam of Trump.

Announcing a cease-and-desist order, Fogerty said in an interview on Facebook …

“I find it confusing that the president has chosen to use my song for his political rallies, when in fact it seems like he is probably the fortunate son. He is using my words and my voice to portray a message that I do not endorse.”

(Andrew Dalton. “Stop the music! Chorus of artists tell Trump to turn it down.” ABC News. October 27, 2020.)

Tom Petty’s widow and daughters, who had been fighting in court over his estate, united in their demand in June that Trump stop using his song, “I Won't Back Down." In as statement, they affirmed Petty and his family “firmly stand against racism and discrimination of any kind,” calling the Trump campaign a “campaign of hate” and issuing a cease-and-desist notice.

Leonard Cohen's estate attorneys vehemently objected to the prominent use of “Hallelujah" during the final-night fireworks at the Republican National Convention in August, saying in a statement it was an attempt to “politicize and exploit” a song they had specifically told the RNC not to use.

There is a long history of such objections to Trump using artists' music for his campaign. For example, back in 2016, the estate of the late Beatles singer George Harrison stated: “The unauthorized use of ‘Here Comes the Sun’ at the RNC is offensive & against the wishes of the George Harrison estate,” joking that they may have approved the use of Harrison's “Beware of Darkness.”

(Andrew Solender. “All The Artists Who Have Told Trump To Stop Using Their Songs At His Rallies.” Forbes. Updated July 04, 2020.)

Not only musical artists but also their fans have joined the drive to affirm their distaste for Trump and any benefit from these songs. Protest songs are making a comeback thanks to the president.

In February 2017, Rolling Stone featured an article citing “a new wave of protest songs” against Trump. The protest songs include the Carole King classic “One Small Voice,” Billy Bragg's "The Times They Are A-Changing Back," Loudon Wainwright III's "I Had a Dream," Fiona Apple's “Tiny Hands,” and MILCK with GW Sirens and Capital Blend's "Quiet."

( Jon Lolan, Hank Shteamer, and Suzy Exposito. “13 Great Anti-Trump Protest Songs.” Rolling Stone. February 21, 2017.)

Why Trump continues to use songs whose composers object to the exploitation is puzzling. And, more perplexing to many artists is why he uses lyrics that do not relate to his policies or his beliefs. Chris Willman, features editor at Variety, reported …

“If 'The Princess Bride’s' Inigo Montoya were to ever attend a Donald Trump rally or watch his campaign’s videos, it’s clear what he’d say: “You keep using that song. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

(Chris Willman. “Trump’s Bizarre Music Picks: How Linkin Park’s ‘In the End’ and Other Campaign Songs Send a Strangely Defeatist Message.” Variety. July 19, 2020.)

In 2020, Trump continually uses the Village People's “YMCA” at his re-election rallies. Victor Willis of the group – who also holds 50 percent of the copyright to the song – says Trump is welcome to continue using “YMCA. Willis just wants to see the commander in chief do the iconic dance. Willis told Bloomberg news …

“’YMCA’ is everybody’s anthem and go-to song for fun. As for the president’s use, I have not granted permission for use at his rallies because permission is not required … If I were a Trump hater maybe I’d sue him simply out of spite. I am not, and I’m not going to have my lawyers sue the president. But he should at least do the ‘YMCA’ dance while he’s at it.”

(Steven Nelson. “‘YMCA’ writer OK with Trump using song — but he wants to see him dance.” The New York Post. September 11, 2020.)

“YMCA”? Village People? Trump dancing? The horror. Yet, the bizarre gyrations at Trump's political rallies during the COVID-19 pandemic are somehow apropos. These health-defiant events feature large crowds comprised of unmasked attendees refusing to social distance.

“Young man, there's a place you can go
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time”

If the Trump crowd's idea of a “good time” is attending these superspreading events to support a leader whose flimflam, hokey, reality-show presidency divides the nation, then these Trump rallies are indeed “a place they can go” to revel in conscienceless idolatry.

Tomi Ahonen, “The Bigly Bus Boy Of Nebraska,” @tomiahonen gave his own “YMCA” lyrics a shot. The amusing but revealing words project Tomi's view of Trump's association with the song:

“Trump man

There's a need to feel down

I said, Trump man

Find yourself on the ground

I said, Trump man

Cause you're soon out of town

There's a need to be unhappy

“It's fun to take all that Dexamethasone

It's fun to take all that Dexamethasone”

The Cancers of Greed and Power in Scioto County

 

I feel something must be understood. So many of us love our county; however, we are all complicit in the deterioration of our once-valued simple way of life. For whatever reason, we let our guard down and voluntarily stepped onto the slippery slope leading to an eventual fall. No brush-aside

The declining state of our health and state of living in Scioto County can be largely attributed to greed and to the desire for the attainment of wealth, power, and pleasure. The moneygrubbing owners and doctors of the pill mills, the covetous participants in human trafficking and sexual exploitation, the criminals employed in the deadly enterprise of heroin distribution – all are driven by their insatiable desires for more: more money … more power … more control … more self-gratification. We all see the existence of these mercenaries in our midst, and even the most ethical of us failed to stop them with due haste.

This cancer of excess and indulgence spread from the top down in a vicious cycle that crippled not only players but also innocents who happened to be “in the way.” This perversion became an ever-growing, self-feeding infirmity in our once-trusted systems of enforcement and justice. Over the years, we, the populace, became accustomed to the plight of our depressed environment, and many of us became indifferent to the point of voluntary submission.

The mills, the sex trafficking, and the drugs created untold collateral damage, feeding both addiction and crime as they seized the county. Dependence pushed joblessness. Robbery, dealing, and prostitution became means of fighting dope sickness and paying the bills. And, sadly the number of children born addicted to drugs skyrocketed.

The inescapable result – Scioto County achieved the rank of 88 out of 88 Ohio counties in terms of overall health in the 2020 County Health Rankings, a study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Using measures such as quality of life, social and economic factors, and health behaviors, the county received marks consistently worse than Ohio’s averages.

Perhaps most striking was the study’s measure of premature death. Defined as years of potential life lost before the age of 75 per 100,000, Scioto County lost 13,100 years between 2016 and 2018. (Also tied with Pike County, the rate is in stark contrast to Delaware County whose 4,100 years lost was the fewest in the state.)

Low-points for the county in the health rankings were predictable – mental health, obesity, and physical inactivity. All of these correlate with Scioto's distinction of being the original epicenter for opioid problems.

By 2010-2012 illegitimate pain clinics had operated in Scioto County in a “family tree” fashion. Between 2002-2011 the county was home to a leading prescriber of oxycodone in the nation-three different times. And, in 2010, Scioto County saw 9.7M pain pills dispensed (123 pills/person) – the highest in Ohio.

The opioid epidemic found Scioto with the highest fatal OD rate in state, the highest opioid addiction rate in Ohio, the highest rate of NAS – neonatal abstinence syndrome, the highest rate of drug incarcerations in Ohio, and a huge increase in Hepatitis C rates – again, the highest in Ohio.

Since the pill mill days, Scioto County has been waging a war against the “devil” – drug abuse and all the factors contributing to its deadly hold. There is a wonderful grassroots response to drug abuse in this rural county. 

Still, citizens must never ignore the obvious: evolving conditions sustained over a long period created a high degree of vulnerability to substance abuse, trafficking, and criminal profiteering. In 2009, 10 Pain Clinics were operating in Scioto County (50% owned by convicted Felons). Scioto County became home to an entire sub-economy based on “pill dealing” as 65% fatal Rx overdose victims died from illegal “street sales.”

The community remains frustrated and desensitized by the greed and avarice of those who profited (and still profit) from power and manipulation. People here have little desire or reason to trust officials and institutions in their unhealthy environment. Politics here are divisive and exceedingly self-serving. Courts are suspect in the eyes of many.

Once, proud Appalachian folks pulled themselves out of poverty and unhealthy conditions. Being highly independent, they showed dogged resilience as they used their remarkable ingenuity to remain self-reliant and free. Resisting any yoke of weighty control, these people prized their education and strong family values. Their values guided their decisions.

Then came the temptation of easy money that possessed the profiteers of domination. Through hook and crook, these extortionists took control of people and resources as they spun the myth of the need for instant gratification. They held drugs, sex, and pleasure before the populace as acceptable escapes to ease the pains of poverty and despair.

The result was a dark sellout to baseless desires. It was our sellout – all of the so-called “good, bad and indifferent.” We in Scioto County refused to demand the right to our basic and good concepts of life, liberty, and happiness. Many of us fell victim to to the greed and desire, but many others chose capitulation to an enemy they refused to comprehend fully. This led to a general devaluation of others and to our “acceptable” depression.

In Scioto County, treading troubled waters has become a way of life for most. Until people come to terms openly with the county's mercenary disease and they admit their undeniable indifference to change, essential atonement and cleansing cannot occur. Dirty hands in powerful positions grip the reins of inequality that restrain justice. Given the chance to remain in power and in control, they will continue to degrade our homeland.

“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.”

– Erich Fromm (1900-1980), sociologist and humanistic philosopher

Scioto County Grows Modern-Day Slavery in Ohio, a Hotbed of Human Trafficking:

 

“Ohio ranks 14th in the United States in 2019 for the number of active criminal human trafficking cases making their way through federal courts. The state had 12 active cases. Federal prosecutors charged four new criminal cases, ranking Ohio 9th in the United States for the number of new criminal human trafficking cases.”

– The Human Trafficking Institute, “Ohio State Summary”

In recent years, Ohio has ranked as high as fourth in the nation when it comes to the number of trafficked people. Between 2014 and 2016, more than 1,000 victims were identified in the Buckeye State by a University of Cincinnati study, though Attorney General Dave Yost said the actual number of trafficking victims is “probably underreported by an order of magnitude.”

Ohio is a hotbed of human trafficking because of its significant transient and immigrant population, a steady demand for sex workers and farm labor, and because it’s connected to other large states and Canada by several major Interstate highways.

Yost said. “The truth of what’s going on is there’s almost always a guy with a baseball bat or a fix of heroin or a knife out in the parking lot or in the next room.”

He continued: “And you’ve got no way to tell, when she says ‘yes,’ whether she means yes or she’s meaning yes because that guy’s going to cut me if I don’t say yes.”

In January, Yost held the inaugural Human Trafficking Summit at the Greater Columbus Convention Center – a summit so that all these groups battling human trafficking independently can communicate and collaborate on better solutions to the problem.

Hundreds attended the event. Before they headed to a day of educational workshops, attendees were told by Yost that he hoped the summit would help identify “gaps” in the work being done to stop human trafficking.”

(Jeremy Pelzer. “Ohio AG Dave Yost launches human trafficking summit to build ‘freeway to freedom’ for victims.” Cleveland.com. January 09, 2020.)

Now, in October 2020, Yost joined federal, state and local law enforcement partners to announce the success of a statewide anti-human trafficking operation.

Operation Autumn Hope, coordinated through AG Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, encompassed more than 50 law enforcement agencies and non-government partners to break the cycle that fuels sex trafficking across the state.

The broad-based effort, carried out in various parts of the state simultaneously, identified four priorities:

• Rescuing victims of human trafficking and referring them to social services

• Recovering missing and exploited children

• Apprehending those seeking to have sex with a minor

• Arresting male johns seeking to buy sex

“The success of Operation Autumn Hope is measured not only in the number of arrests but in the lives that were rescued from this evil,” Yost said. “Every agency on this team looks for the day when no person is bought and sold in Ohio. Don’t buy sex in Ohio!”

During the operation, the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Trask Force, Columbus PACT Unit and the Cuyahoga County Human Trafficking Task Force rescued 109 human trafficking victims and referred them to social services.

Across southern Ohio, 76 missing and exploited children cases were cleared, including 45 by physical recovery by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Among those missing included a 15-year-old girl missing from Cleveland whose recovery linked her and other possible victims to an individual in Columbus suspected of human trafficking; a 15-year-old male with two warrants who is a suspect in multiple shootings and a homicide; and a 14-year-old girl who was reported missing by the Lancaster Police Department who was recovered in Columbus within six hours of being reported missing.

“My thanks to all personnel who have stepped up for this operation,” said Peter C. Tobin, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio. “These are the same personnel who hunt down violent fugitives every day. I’m incredibly proud of them and pleased that they were able to apply those same skills to finding missing children. I know Operation Autumn Hope has made a difference in a lot of young lives.”

“These predators shamelessly target the most innocent and defenseless members of our community,” said Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin. “Operation Autumn Hope is sending a loud and clear message: We are watching, we will catch you, and we will protect our children.”

(“Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost Announces Success of Statewide Anti-Human Trafficking Operation - Operation Autumn Hope Provides Hope to Victims of Sex Trafficking.” News Release, Ohio Attorney General. October 26, 2020.)

Scioto County Trafficking

Three Women

In March 2020, The Scioto County Sheriff's Office arrested three women who are accused of sexually molesting several children between the ages of 3 to 13-years-old. Investigators obtained evidence that multiple children had been taken to a house in the Wheelersburg area, where they were traded for drugs and money, according to the press release.

Captain John W. Murphy said videos and photos were taken of children who were sexually assaulted by several people.

Arrested was Magan R Richmond, age 32, Lindeman Rd. Portsmouth Ohio; Tasha Stringer, age 37, of 220 Germany Hollow Road Wheelersburg Ohio; and Kathryn McMullen, age 36, of 422 Brushy Fork Road South Webster Ohio. All three women have been charged with 1 count of rape a felony of the 1st degree and are currently being held in the Scioto County jail on a $100,000 bond and will appear in Portsmouth Municipal Court on Monday, March 23.

(Falycia Campbell. “Three women in Scioto County accused of molesting several children.” ABC 6, Columbus. March 22 2020.)

All three women were indicted in August on eight counts, outlined as follows:

• McMullen: four counts of rape, all first-degree felonies; engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony; two counts of obstructing justice, both second-degree felonies; and compelling prostitution, a second-degree felony.

• Stringer: four counts of rape, all first-degree felonies; engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony; two counts of obstructing justice, both second-degree felonies; and compelling prostitution, a second-degree felony.

• Richmond: two counts of rape, both first-degree felonies; engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony; two counts of obstructing justice, both second-degree felonies; compelling prostitution, a second-degree felony; and two counts of gross sexual imposition, both third-degree felonies.

Larry Dean Porter

In June, 2020, nine people from Scioto County, including some family members, were indicted on federal charges connected to a child sex trafficking operation.

Investigators say Larry Dean Porter, 69, of Wheelersburg, Ohio, allegedly exchanged drugs he got in Columbus and elsewhere “for sexual access to the children of drug-addicted mothers.” They say the investigation into Porter and the alleged activity began in April 2019.

Porter was arrested the previous March on local charges during a human trafficking sting conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office that involved a victim as young as 7 years old.

Investigators said Porter would sexually abuse children and documented the abuse on flash drives. According to information from the U.S. Attorney, “He would give illegal narcotics to drug-addicted parents in exchange for sexual access to the minor victims. It is alleged he often instructed the parents to sexually abuse their own children and recorded it to use as blackmail.”

Porter also allegedly tried to get family members and associates to lie under oath and convince witnesses to lie to law enforcement.

Porter was charged in a 13-count indictment with conspiring to sex traffic children (15 years up to life in prison), attempting to sex traffic children (15 years up to life), producing child pornography (15 to 30 years), possessing child pornography (up to 10 years), conspiring to obstruct a child sex trafficking investigation (up to 25 years) and conspiring to witness tamper (up to 20 years).

The following also were named in the indictments:

Denna Sue Porter, 32, of Wheelersburg, and Crystal D. Porter, 39, of Columbus. Investigators say both women were seen digging holes in the ground of property to conceal evidence, including a memory card containing images of child pornography allegedly taken in Larry Porter’s bedroom.

Joshua David Aldridge, 36, of South Webster, Ohio, was charged with conspiring to sex traffic children and sex trafficking children. He alleged Aldrige transported minor victims to Porter’s home and received drugs in return.

Charity Ann Rawlins, 41, of South Webster, Ohio, and Ronnie L. Rawlins, 47, of Oak Hill, Ohio, are also charged with conspiring to sex traffic children and sex trafficking children. Court documents say the couple allegedly took a seven-year-old child to Porter’s home to traffic the child sexually in exchange for pills on a regular basis. This alleged abuse occurred a few times per week for up to five years.

(“9 in Scioto County indicted on federal charges connected to child sex trafficking.” News Channel 3. Huntington. June 24, 2020.)

Portsmouth's Dark Secret

A team of investigate journalists and photographers from The Cincinnati Enquirer, guided by investigative editors from USA Today, spoke with over 100 people regarding Portsmouth’s “open secret.” Alongside arrest records, court documents, and threats of legal action from the Enquirer’s counsel – against Scioto County to access public information and hearings – the team revealed the framework of a sex trafficking scheme that spanned the Midwest.

The article released by both news publications in late March focuses on the alleged ringleader, Michael Mearan, 73, a criminal defense attorney who lives and works across the street from the Scioto County Courthouse. It links the lawyer to 27 women over twenty years who claim to have acted as prostitutes under Mearan’s direction. They reported being given drugs and money to feed their addiction for each sexual encounter set up by Mearan.

“The conditions are ripe for human trafficking. You have drug addiction rampant. You have unemployment. You have poverty. You have a built-in group of folks who are desperate, maybe hopeless, that could be preyed upon.”

-- Shane Tieman, Scioto County Prosecutor

In three years, the Portsmouth City Health Department reported 120 drug-related overdoses; the county’s overdose death rate is twice that of the state.

Michael Mearan

On October 23, 2020, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Scioto County Prosecutor Shane Tieman announced the indictment of Portsmouth attorney Michael Mearan on 18 felony counts related to human trafficking spanning 15 years.

Mearan, 74, faces more than 70 years in prison if convicted.

The charges stem from criminal activity in southern Ohio that occurred from 2003 to 2018 and involved six victims. They include:

• One count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1)

• Three counts of trafficking in persons (F1)

• Five counts of compelling prostitution (F3)

• Nine counts of promoting prostitution (F4)

Dozens of women reported that Mearan, a former city councilman, lured them into a world of prostitution as a way to support their drug habits, and that he would send them to several locations across the country.

Yost said …

‘We started notifying them one by one today of the indictment. There were a lot of tears. I have done plenty of sex cases and testifying in front of a room full of strangers in public is just an incredibly difficult thing to do. But every one of these survivors recognized that coming forward that’s a piece of it and I’m convinced that as hard as it’s going to be, they’ve got the courage to step forward and tell their stories.”

The case was investigated by a human trafficking task force as part of AG Yost’s Organized Crime Investigations Commission. The task force consisted of representatives from the Portsmouth Police Department, Department of Public Safety’s Intelligence Unit and Ohio Investigative Unit, and the Attorney General’s Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted as part of AG Yost’s Human Trafficking Initiative and Special Prosecutions Section.

An affidavit – filed back in August 2015 by a senior special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration – casts Mearan as a central figure in a drug and sex trafficking ring operating throughout the Midwest.

The agent linked to Mearan 27 women who worked for him as prostitutes, including one who has been missing since 2013 and another found dead of “multiple traumas” the same year.

The agent added that Mearan has been “known to law enforcement” in Portsmouth since the 1970s and has been indirectly tied to multiple prior FBI investigations into human trafficking, extortion, violent gangs and “White Slave Trafficking.”

Besides Mearan, the women who spoke with The Cincinnati Enquirer collectively named several well-known individuals from the Portsmouth area who they alleged had paid to have sex with them. The list includes former police officers, lawyers, a medical professional, a former high school football star, businessmen and probation officers.

(James Pilcher, Liz Dufour, Kate Murphy. “Trapped and trafficked: One town's dark secret." The Cincinnati Enquirer. Updated October 23, 2020.)

Ten women previously told The Enquirer they had worked as prostitutes for Mearan, with several of the women saying they had traveled to numerous states to have sex at his behest over the last two decades. Records show that Mearan had represented six of the women facing drug charges. The women also told The Enquirer that Mearan’s operation included some of the most powerful men in Scioto County as customers and participants.

One said she had slept with a former police chief for money.

Four women said that a now-retired Scioto County Common Pleas Court Judge, William T. Marshall, was associated Mearan.

(A report investigated claims in a Drug Enforcement Agency affidavit that Mearan has for years pressured women into prostitution by telling them he could get lenient sentences from friendly judges. The affidavit also refers to a Portsmouth judge “in collusion” with Mearan, alleging that Mearan provided the judge women, according to information “obtained through numerous interviews, including interviews with former prostitutes.”)

“Are you serious? I would never do anything like that,” Marshall told The Enquirer.

(Keith Griffith. “More than 2,700 cases to be reviewed after former judge in Ohio 'turned up to work drunk and was possibly involved in prostitution ring.'” Daily Mail. UK. June 27, 2020.)

As far as his association with Marshall, Mearan said: “The judge had an alcohol abuse problem. I took him to Columbus. That’s what a person who cares about someone does. Forget about his job. I saved his life.”

Marshall retired suddenly in 2018 after a 16-year career as a common pleas court judge as well as running the Scioto County Drug Court through his courtroom. He left the bench just before being suspended from practicing law for six months by the state’s legal watchdog agency on an unrelated case – an ethics probe by the state’s Board of Professional Conduct into a traffic ticket that he tried to fix for his teenage daughter in 2017.

The complaint states Marshall began to put pressure on state police in his courtroom. When attorneys worked out a plea agreement in a case set for a suppression hearing, Marshall stated he wouldn’t accept it and forced them to go forward with the hearing, on the basis that it was investigated by Ohio Highway Patrol.

Ex-judge Marshall said, “Everyone who meets Mearan likes him. He is always supporting anything in downtown Portsmouth and he devoted a lot of times on drug court cases, including some he was not paid for and ones no other attorneys wanted.”

Marshall said he wants to prove the rumors and allegations are lies. “Everybody in my town thinks I am some kind of sexaholic. I think the only connection they can make between Mike and me is drug court. Mike wanted to give his time. I am not the kind of guy who is going to pay out a criminal defendant."

Marshall continued …

“He (Mearan) hangs around with young girls. I’ve seen him with two young girls. He just likes to be seen with pretty girls, I guess. I don’t know anything or if he paid them. If I had asked him, if he had done anything like that, I would have turned him in. A judge is supposed to turn someone in and Mike’s never told me anything like that. If I know an attorney is breaking the law in any way I have to contact the disciplinary council."

Marshall said he never thought sex trafficking was going on in his county.

“I think it’s awful. What happens to these girls, they get these little girls or little boys, that’s what really gets me, and they take them and start giving them drugs, get them hooked, and take them when they are 16 when they are still pretty and then they are done with them and most of them just die. They disappear from the face of the earth.”

The Enquirer published another report outlining other possible sex trafficking and sexual misconduct by two brothers who worked in the Portsmouth City Probation Office. The paper ran another story reporting state investigators were taking a more active role in the sex trafficking case with Portsmouth police.

(Jennifer Edwards Baker. “‘None of it is true’: Portsmouth attorney under state investigation speaks out.” Fox 19 Now. April 05, 2020.)

Mearan sat on William Marshall's drug court – a specialized docket to address persistent criminal behaviors. Very interesting, indeed. This drug court was perhaps much more specialized in purpose than meets the eye.

And, if you go to Michael Mearan's Facebook page, he has a post he made defending himself where a hundred residents of the city posted their love for him and his kindness as a public servant.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Yost said this about Mearan on October 23:

"If Dante were around, he'd invent an eighth circle of hell for this guy.”

White House Gives Up Fighting COVID-19: Trump Administration and Unconscionable Herd Immunity

 

Mark Meadows working the crowd

"We are not going to control the pandemic.” (Why?) "Because it is a contagious virus just like the flu.”

– White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, October 25, 2020

A stunning White House claim that the US cannot control the fast-worsening pandemic is overshadowing President Donald Trump's frantic last-ditch bid to turn around his reelection race with Democrat Joe Biden. Mark Meadows told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" Sunday, “We are not going to control the pandemic,” arguing that "proper mitigation factors" like therapies and vaccines should be the priority.

The issue with Mark Meadows's comments is that a vaccine, even if it is approved by regulators in the coming months, is unlikely to be available to all Americans by well into next year. He is essentially admitting the Trump administration has given up on even trying to control the pandemic thus shirking their basic duty to protect the American people. Even the administration's public briefings by top government scientists have disappeared.

Public health officials like Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the CDC, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID, have said masks are one of the most powerful weapons to fight the virus. Alarmed medical experts who argue that letting the coronavirus rage unchecked is akin to a policy of herd immunity that will cost many thousands of lives.

But with daily new infections hitting record levels, Trump spent the weekend in a campaign blitz in which he openly flouted steps like masking and social distancing that could slow the spread of the disease and moaned that all the media talks about is "Covid, Covid, Covid."

Trump has downplayed the threat from the virus all along. He has mocked mask wearing, turned the practices of masking and social distancing into a culture war issue, and pressured Republican governors to open their states before the virus was under control. His behavior in recent days signals there will be no change to the White House's approach to the pandemic if he wins the election and no matter how bad the virus gets.

The U.S. reported its second-highest day of new cases on Saturday, with nearly 84,000 Americans contracting the deadly virus. The US average of new daily infections is now at its highest point of the pandemic, with 481,372 cases reported in a week. As of Sunday, there were at least 8,575,000 total cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 224,800 Americans have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Giving Up

Trump continues to deny and deflect COVID-19.

“There’s no nation in the world that’s recovered like we’ve recovered,” Mr Trump told a rally in New Hampshire.

“We are coming around, we’re rounding the turn, we have the vaccines, we have everything. Even without the vaccines, we’re rounding the turn,” Trump told cheering supporters. “It’s going to be over. And you know who got it? I did. Can you believe it?”

“Turn on television, ‘COVID-19, COVID-19, COVID-19, COVID-19, COVID-19, COVID-19.’ A plane goes down, 500 people dead, they don’t talk about it,” Trump said at a rally on the weekend “By the way, on November 4th, you won’t hear about it anymore. It’s true.

Trump practices the dark psychological trick that large numbers can play on our minds: "If only one man dies ... that is a tragedy. If millions die, that's only statistics." He continues to put his political aims ahead of the public health crisis, contributing to projections that show the US death toll from coronavirus could exceed 315,000 by December 2020.

Abdul El-Sayed – physician, epidemiologist and former health director for the city of Detroit – says …

“Trump has done something worse than give up; he's prioritized electoral politics above public health – and at the potential expense of American lives. Meanwhile, as his administration has forced its political agenda upon apolitical agencies that are supposed to be leading with science, Trump himself seems to be doing everything he can to divert attention away from the pandemic …

“What initially appeared to be the Trump administration's ineptitude when it came to responding to the country's worst public health crisis in a century has since morphed into something far more sinister — a seemingly purposeful effort to turn the Covid-19 pandemic into white noise as Trump amplifies the clatter of his own fearmongering with unfounded or distorted claims about crime and lawlessness.”

(Abdul El-Sayed. “Trump's response to Covid-19 is worse than giving up.” CNN. September 05, 2020.)

It’s our civic duty to ensure we’re all making the smartest decisions about COVID-19. We all have a role to play. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. Health officials have asked us to wash our hands, to cover our mouth and nose with a mask and to social distance when we are around others. Also, we must not spread rumors or falsehoods, or anything else that could make a public-health response harder for those around us.

Above all, we must not give up. That directive now includes a responsibility to fight naysayers and nonbelievers by voting them out of office. Those who downplay the destruction of the pandemic are willing – officially and unofficially – to let millions die for some notion of herd immunity. No one even really knows how immunity to the virus works yet – whether it lasts a few months or a few years. Millions could die without communities ever reaching the goal of high levels of immunity.

Trump, the Trump administration, and those who reject following simple health directives during the pandemic contribute to the widespread death and destruction that continue to paralyze the country. Just “like the flu”? Who in the hell would believe this irresponsible statement from a chief of staff who quits instead of standing up and fighting a formidable enemy?

Megan Lancaster -- Happy Birthday, Still Missing You

 

Today, October 24, is Megan Lancaster's 33^rd birthday. She likely won't be attending a local celebration. She won't be meeting family and friends. In truth, she cannot.

I never knew Megan Lancaster. In fact, I never even met her.

I found out about Megan when Kadie Lancaster, Megan's sister-in-law, came to the SOLACE office, where I was helping fight the opioid epidemic, one day in 2013 and told us of her disappearance. I was so affected by Kadie's words that I made a promise to Kadie and her brother Jeremy Lancaster. I told them I would never give up helping search for the missing woman. It is a promise that haunts me to this day.

Since I met Kadie, I have participated in many events to raise awareness of Megan's plight and numerous searches to bring Megan home. Through blog entries and Facebook posts, I have tried to inform the public about developments. Every time I drive through New Boston and see the signs begging the public to report any pertinent information, I can't help but feeling sad. I have not given up on Megan, but now, over seven years later, I don't think I have done enough. I struggle to find new ways to help find Megan.

Megan Lancaster's family vowed never to stop their relenting search for Megan. Their monumental, tireless efforts continue today. And, they have actually opened their arms to help in searches for other missing locals. The family has been very active in raising awareness of human trafficking and local corruption – problems journalists have labeled Portsmouth's “little secret.”

(James Pilcher, Liz Dufour, Kate Murphy. “Trapped and trafficked: One town's dark secretRumors about sex trafficking and local corruption have been something of an open secret in Portsmouth for years.” Cincinnati Enquirer. Updated October 23, 2020.)

Megan Lancaster has been missing – her disappearance an integral part of the obscure secrets of Scioto County – since April 3, 2013. Consider her family and all the hundreds of false hopes that have arisen during that time. They have endured countless "ups and downs" of elation and depression. In 2015, they were part of a scam by a so-called “Jenna McLain" and a male associate.

"And then out of nowhere, he pops up," Kadie Lancaster told ABC's "20/20." "He says I know where Megan is. And I can get her back. [He] tells me how she was tortured and that she was in sex trafficking. And he told me that they kept her on chains in a room."

Then, the situation became even more ominous. The family received a nearly identical, highly bizarre proposition: Each missing woman could be brought home alive, but it would take money – lots of it. The emailer told Kadie Lancaster to bring $25,000 dollars in cash to a Vancouver, Washington, McDonald's and deliver it to a man named "Marcus," who would be wearing a red hat.

"The exchange was that if I would come to Washington [that] I could have Megan and we could just leave and go on our way," said Kadie Lancaster.

(Gerry Wagschal, Joseph Rhee, Miguel Sancho, and Eric Johnson. “Megan Lancaster and Kelsie Schelling's families were asked for thousands.” ABC News. May 13, 2016.)

Kadie agreed to work with "20/20" to set up a sting operation that yielded little, if any, positive results.

All of this would be enough for most people to say, "We just have to move on and let the past be." Not the Lancasters. They persevere.

Finding Megan Lancaster is so vital – not only for her loved ones, her son, and her many friends – but for us all. You see, all of us desire and deserve the truth. For a young woman to go missing and never to be found is inexcusable. We should never let this pass as just another tragic story in the sex-for-drugs trade. Our outrage should compel every citizen to dig so deep into the corruption that we expose answers … and, discover the precious truth.

Fear, corruption, collusion – all of these factors point toward reasons new evidence about Megan has not surfaced. Other victims of abuse exist as do other people who know more about the details of Megan's disappearance. People know more about her than they are willing to share.

Kadie Lancaster, said she understands why women in Portsmouth are afraid to talk.

“You could be the next Megan Lancaster if they think that you know something that you could tell,” she said.

Kadie continues to dig into what happened to Megan. She keeps one of Megan’s bras in the freezer, just in case it has DNA evidence, and she compiled a 5-inch thick binder filled with documents that she considers potential clues.

Speculation, theory, conjecture – it's time for all of this supposition to end and time for real, dogged investigation to begin. An all-out search for the truth by seasoned professionals should be initiated immediately. Whether state or national investigators are employed, the search must find answers and bring Megan home. In doing so, I believe many other discoveries made by these detectives will benefit our community.

Ivy Potter of the Portsmouth Daily Times wrote in April 2019 …

“Behind every image of those who have been murdered or have disappeared from Scioto County, stands family members and friends that are still searching for answers; some even after decades.

“Individuals who have often been written off by members of their own community for their struggles with addiction, and some for venturing into the dark world of selling sex, have taken with them irreplaceable pieces of those that call them daughter, sister, mother, and friend.”

(Ivy Potter. “Still searching: Families of Megan Lancaster, and Scioto County’s other missing women speak out.” Portsmouth Daily Times. April 16, 2019.)

I, for one, believe drugs, prostitution, and human trafficking are married in Scioto County, in Ohio, and in the nation in a large, coordinated system fueled by financial interests and by personal gratification. The perfect feeder component of the system includes officers and employees of enforcement and court communities. I do not mean to make false accusations against these trusted institutions; however, I strongly believe existing evidence is sufficient for strong internal investigation.

Megan Lancaster – a beautiful young woman who graduated Votech with honors, adored her son, and was in daily contact with her relatives prior to her disappearance – is still missing. Sex, drugs, personal contact lists, informants: all of these things may be clues to Megan's whereabouts.

Solving the case will give much needed closure to a wonderful local family. Solving the case may also reveal connections that threaten the future of our own closest loved ones. And, solving the case may save countless lives of those currently trapped in a corrupt system of use and abuse. Megan is not just "somebody's daughter." She is my daughter. She is your daughter. The strong relationship is evident. 

God, please help us all to better know Megan. I never knew her before she vanished; however, I now feel as if she is a confidant. I feel as if I hear her begging me to help uncover the truth. I only hope I can assist and keep my promise to her and to her family.