Q: Is it true that Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed tried to silence the national gossip website Lipstickalley.com because women were gossiping about him?
—Cody Dopson, Atlanta
A: An attorney representing Reed in October 2012 sent a cease-and-desist letter that month to Lipstick Alley through its server host, demanding that anonymous comments about Reed's dating history be removed.
The mayor said the comments, found in posts from January, April and September 2012, contained false allegations about his social life.
The website’s host initially took down the message board, but Lipstick Alley changed servers that month to keep the comments online, the AJC reported at the time. Reed’s lawyer said the website cannot publish things that are untrue and that they had an obligation to remove the comments once they were notified of the mayor’s objections.
Reed, who was single at the time, married Sarah-Elizabeth Reed last year.
Q: Can you explain to me the significance of the statement: “A candidate for the presidency of the United States has never won without taking the state of Ohio?”
—Jim Williams, Mableton
A: Ohio is considered a vital state in presidential elections because it has 18 electoral votes and has been called "super swingy" by Politico.
No Republican has been elected president without taking Ohio, and CNN.com reported in 2012 that the winner of every presidential election since 1960 has won the state.
The Washington Post called Ohio “the most important state in the country” one month before the 2012 presidential election.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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