The talking heads have been attempting to hammer home what they hope will be the defining image of Sarah Palin as "reformer" and someone who has "taken on the oil industry." Of course, as someone who favors drilling in ANWAR and who doesn't admit climate change is man-made, it's hard to understand just how she is differentiating herself from the interests of those oil companies, despite apparently successfully pushing their corporate taxes upwards. Read more and add a comment
The goal of regionalization is to draw population back to the core. Cities, not suburbs, are best equipped to support masses of people. Look at a map; see the urban core from which satellite suburbs branching out. The very etymology of suburb from seventeenth-century London suggested detached areas of "inferior, debased, and licentious habits or life." Read more and add a comment
I'll be among the first to laud GM's Lordstown investment and any other that makes its way into the Valley. But the baby steps are what will get my attention, because those will lead to something sustained and substantial. Read more and add a comment
I watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony with awe Friday night, as a stadium full of drummers tattooed a rhythmic unison awesome in its precision and stunning in its visual impact. Some of China's contributions to society were interwoven in brilliant display: fireworks shot off from around the stadium while electronic paper unrolled below and sinuous dancers acted as ancient writing utensils upon it, creating ancient characters and nature-scapes. Read more and add a comment
We've got a war going on today. It's not in Iraq or Afghanistan; it's right here in America. It's not the War on Drugs or the War on Poverty. It's a war on North Americans, working in restaurants and factories around the corner and across the country. Read more and add a comment
We are not ignorant of the severe economic and unemployment situations that exacerbate the problem of crime. No reasonable person expects the police to be everywhere at all times, protecting everyone.
The very least we can expect, however, is that city employees perform their jobs honorably and are present and engaged while they are on duty. Read more and add a comment
We tend to treat politics as a game, as if the people living and dying by the policies set by those in power are less important than the stories generated by colorful characters like Hanni and his frequent combatant Traficant. The media, at power lunches and black-tie journalist dinners, raises a glass and says "well played." Read more and add a comment
The End of the Hanni Machine: A Commentary by Robert Fitzer appeared in the April 1994 Speed of Sound magazine, published by Holly J. Burnett. (Reprinted with permission) Read more and add a comment
Why are the corporations the only ones who matter to the nation's economy? Why are the taxpayers being told they must fend for themselves while footing the bill for the failures of the corporations? Read more and add a comment
I know we have this don't-ask-don't-tell policy in place with the fireworks around here, but enough is enough. I kept quiet through the weekend while you had your fun disrupting my evenings. But can't we call a truce? Read more and add a comment
Throughout the planning, invasion and occupation, we've been assured the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was solely for reasons of national security. Oil had nothing to do with it. Despite these persistent denials, news this week brings back the old conspiracy theories. Read more and add a comment
A fuller picture is emerging of Lou Frangos's profile as litigant, thanks to reporting in the Business Journal today about his tax history in Cuyahoga County. In addition to his more than $100,000 in Mahoning County property taxes due, an October 2007 case in Cuyahoga County involved almost ... Read more and add a comment
A newspaper's editorial column has a distinguished place in a community for trumpeting a most important issue and taking a firm and unequivocal stand on it. A local paper with a tradition such as the Vindicator need look no farther than downtown Youngstown, two blocks from its own headquarters, for ... Read more and add a comment
Imagine that you're Kelly Pavlik's trainer. In the big fight, between rounds, he's got a hangnail. What do you do to ensure his safety? You'd cut off his hand, right?
This is essentially the argument made by the Frangos Group in the removal of at least one hundred windows from ... Read more and add a comment
Apparently the biggest insult in modern politics is to be called a Liberal. The Right-Wing media machine, from Sean Hannity (Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism) and Bill O'Reilly on Fox News to Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage (Liberalism is a Mental Disorder) on talk radio to ... Read more and add a comment
Old North Church in Canfield is blaming New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina. Not for the reasons you might expect, like for building a city below sea level, but for wickedness—a la Sodom and Gomorrah.
You typically read and hear that liberals "blame America first," but this is just an ad ... Read more and add a comment
I went to work out this week at the Jewish Community Center ("The J") on Gypsy Lane on Youngstown's North Side. It's just a couple of blocks from our house, so it's convenient for us to have a membership, and my wife works out there frequently. I, alas, am there ... Read more and add a comment
I've been reading through the investigation report of the attorney general's office. I have tried to avoid paying attention to the whole affair, but a friend forwarded me a PDF of the report, and I finally broke down and read through it. I was hoping the Animal House ... Read more and add a comment
You often hear that we are a "Christian nation." While the majority of the population polled may self-identify as Christians by religion, the fact remains—and here I draw from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph J. Ellis—that the United States is "the first wholly secular state." In his new book American Creation, ... Read more and add a comment
Looking to do something good for Mother Nature this Earth Day or any day? Let your Congressperson know you're opposed to building new coal-based power plants. The more than 50 percent of the electricity the United States derives from coal is responsible for over 83 percent of the power sector's ... Read more and add a comment
During this long campaign season, the GOP has been grudgingly warming up to their candidate. Meanwhile they've quite naturally salivated at every misstep as a chance to poke holes in the competition.
One such chance came recently at a fund-raiser in San Francisco. The event was supposed to go under ... Read more and add a comment
It's astonishing to still hear people posit that there's some victory scenario on the other side of additional time spent in Iraq. The only legacy for the American misadventures in Iraq, sadly, is a dishonestly brokered and manipulated invasion of a sovereign country. There is no victory anymore, if there ... Read more and add a comment
It brings me no pleasure to point out that in this blog's second post, I argued that the city could not win by hiring Carmen Conglose as part-time traffic coordinator. I argued that he had not demonstrated the skills, had not made a compelling financial case that the ... Read more and add a comment
This week, Barack Obama found himself facing a critical moment in his once seemingly unstoppable Presidential campaign. Though his 150-delegate buffer remains improbably surmountable by most mathematical estimates for the duration of the run-up to the convention, his perceived momentum has been pulled back, and the media scrutiny has increased ... Read more and add a comment
This week Geraldine Ferraro, former congresswoman and vice-presidential candidate and fundraiser with Senator Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign's finance committee, acquiesced to pressure to step down from Clinton's campaign after she shared her opinions on Senator Barack Obama's success.
On the national election scene yesterday, Hillary Clinton held on to the lead she had for several weeks, despite hopes or fears—depending on your perspective—that Barack Obama would come from behind and overtake her. In the end, her ability to connect with Ohio voters over the economy and with Texas ... Read more and add a comment
Illinois Senator Barack Obama is certainly not waiting his turn. Indeed, that is a principle issue that seems to be roiling the Democratic establishment. Hillary Clinton, one of their own, with all the right connections, DLC leanings, not to mention the historic trappings of being the first woman nominee is poised for the White House, and this young upstart thinks he can come along and take it from her?! It is this same presumption that has doomed the Clinton campaign and would cause it to falter in the general election, though it is unlikely now to make it that far. It's a good thing, too. Read more and add a comment
You've been hearing about a youth movement in Youngstown specifically and the Valley at large. Looking across the country during this election, it's obvious there's a movement at hand. Where did it come from, where is it going, and who is carrying it aloft? Read more and add a comment
Carmen Conglose's handling of the traffic coordinator vacancy has created a no-win situation for the city, and everyone involved should back away and let this mess go away. Read more and add a comment
A letter to the editor Friday by Ida Callan of Girard took on a Vindicator editorial commemorating the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. The reader may remember that the Roe v. Wade decision centered on the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause and one's constitutional right to privacy in its ... Read more and add a comment
Our founding generation was a remarkable group at an auspicious time. Men like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton were faced with extraordinary decisions and demonstrated remarkable judgment and foresight.
As we debate the issues of our present day, we often reference the founders' ... Read more and add a comment
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Posted by tylersclark on September 1, 2008
The talking heads have been attempting to hammer home what they hope will be the defining image of Sarah Palin as "reformer" and someone who has "taken on the oil industry." Of course, as someone who favors drilling in ANWAR and who doesn't admit climate change is man-made, it's hard to understand just how she is differentiating herself from the interests of those oil companies, despite apparently successfully pushing their corporate taxes upwards.
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on August 25, 2008
The goal of regionalization is to draw population back to the core. Cities, not suburbs, are best equipped to support masses of people. Look at a map; see the urban core from which satellite suburbs branching out. The very etymology of suburb from seventeenth-century London suggested detached areas of "inferior, debased, and licentious habits or life."
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on August 18, 2008
I'll be among the first to laud GM's Lordstown investment and any other that makes its way into the Valley. But the baby steps are what will get my attention, because those will lead to something sustained and substantial.
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on August 11, 2008
I watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony with awe Friday night, as a stadium full of drummers tattooed a rhythmic unison awesome in its precision and stunning in its visual impact. Some of China's contributions to society were interwoven in brilliant display: fireworks shot off from around the stadium while electronic paper unrolled below and sinuous dancers acted as ancient writing utensils upon it, creating ancient characters and nature-scapes.
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on August 4, 2008
We've got a war going on today. It's not in Iraq or Afghanistan; it's right here in America. It's not the War on Drugs or the War on Poverty. It's a war on North Americans, working in restaurants and factories around the corner and across the country.
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on July 28, 2008
We are not ignorant of the severe economic and unemployment situations that exacerbate the problem of crime. No reasonable person expects the police to be everywhere at all times, protecting everyone. The very least we can expect, however, is that city employees perform their jobs honorably and are present and engaged while they are on duty.
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on July 21, 2008
We tend to treat politics as a game, as if the people living and dying by the policies set by those in power are less important than the stories generated by colorful characters like Hanni and his frequent combatant Traficant. The media, at power lunches and black-tie journalist dinners, raises a glass and says "well played."
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on July 21, 2008
The End of the Hanni Machine: A Commentary by Robert Fitzer appeared in the April 1994 Speed of Sound magazine, published by Holly J. Burnett. (Reprinted with permission)
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on July 13, 2008
Why are the corporations the only ones who matter to the nation's economy? Why are the taxpayers being told they must fend for themselves while footing the bill for the failures of the corporations?
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on July 8, 2008
I know we have this don't-ask-don't-tell policy in place with the fireworks around here, but enough is enough. I kept quiet through the weekend while you had your fun disrupting my evenings. But can't we call a truce?
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on July 1, 2008
Throughout the planning, invasion and occupation, we've been assured the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was solely for reasons of national security. Oil had nothing to do with it. Despite these persistent denials, news this week brings back the old conspiracy theories.
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on June 24, 2008
How do we connect with our neighbors? Here is a challenge to reach out, make more connections and explore your community.
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on June 14, 2008
A fuller picture is emerging of Lou Frangos's profile as litigant, thanks to reporting in the Business Journal today about his tax history in Cuyahoga County. In addition to his more than $100,000 in Mahoning County property taxes due, an October 2007 case in Cuyahoga County involved almost ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on June 13, 2008
A newspaper's editorial column has a distinguished place in a community for trumpeting a most important issue and taking a firm and unequivocal stand on it. A local paper with a tradition such as the Vindicator need look no farther than downtown Youngstown, two blocks from its own headquarters, for ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on June 10, 2008
Imagine that you're Kelly Pavlik's trainer. In the big fight, between rounds, he's got a hangnail. What do you do to ensure his safety? You'd cut off his hand, right?
This is essentially the argument made by the Frangos Group in the removal of at least one hundred windows from ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on June 6, 2008
Apparently the biggest insult in modern politics is to be called a Liberal. The Right-Wing media machine, from Sean Hannity (Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism) and Bill O'Reilly on Fox News to Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage (Liberalism is a Mental Disorder) on talk radio to ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on May 30, 2008
Old North Church in Canfield is blaming New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina. Not for the reasons you might expect, like for building a city below sea level, but for wickedness—a la Sodom and Gomorrah.
You typically read and hear that liberals "blame America first," but this is just an ad ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on May 15, 2008
I went to work out this week at the Jewish Community Center ("The J") on Gypsy Lane on Youngstown's North Side. It's just a couple of blocks from our house, so it's convenient for us to have a membership, and my wife works out there frequently. I, alas, am there ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on May 10, 2008
I've been reading through the investigation report of the attorney general's office. I have tried to avoid paying attention to the whole affair, but a friend forwarded me a PDF of the report, and I finally broke down and read through it. I was hoping the Animal House ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on April 30, 2008
You often hear that we are a "Christian nation." While the majority of the population polled may self-identify as Christians by religion, the fact remains—and here I draw from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph J. Ellis—that the United States is "the first wholly secular state." In his new book American Creation, ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on April 25, 2008
Looking to do something good for Mother Nature this Earth Day or any day? Let your Congressperson know you're opposed to building new coal-based power plants. The more than 50 percent of the electricity the United States derives from coal is responsible for over 83 percent of the power sector's ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on April 18, 2008
During this long campaign season, the GOP has been grudgingly warming up to their candidate. Meanwhile they've quite naturally salivated at every misstep as a chance to poke holes in the competition.
One such chance came recently at a fund-raiser in San Francisco. The event was supposed to go under ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on April 10, 2008
It's astonishing to still hear people posit that there's some victory scenario on the other side of additional time spent in Iraq. The only legacy for the American misadventures in Iraq, sadly, is a dishonestly brokered and manipulated invasion of a sovereign country. There is no victory anymore, if there ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on March 31, 2008
Youngstown needs to rethink its recently mobilized plans to permanently alter West Federal Street—downtown Youngstown's crown jewel and only bona fide success story—before it does irreparable harm. The architects of the plan have since retired. The budget, though seventy-percent state funded, still amounts to $142,405 that could be ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on March 27, 2008
It brings me no pleasure to point out that in this blog's second post, I argued that the city could not win by hiring Carmen Conglose as part-time traffic coordinator. I argued that he had not demonstrated the skills, had not made a compelling financial case that the ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on March 20, 2008
This week, Barack Obama found himself facing a critical moment in his once seemingly unstoppable Presidential campaign. Though his 150-delegate buffer remains improbably surmountable by most mathematical estimates for the duration of the run-up to the convention, his perceived momentum has been pulled back, and the media scrutiny has increased ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on March 14, 2008
This week Geraldine Ferraro, former congresswoman and vice-presidential candidate and fundraiser with Senator Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign's finance committee, acquiesced to pressure to step down from Clinton's campaign after she shared her opinions on Senator Barack Obama's success.
Here's what she said, in an interview with the Torrance, California Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on March 5, 2008
On the national election scene yesterday, Hillary Clinton held on to the lead she had for several weeks, despite hopes or fears—depending on your perspective—that Barack Obama would come from behind and overtake her. In the end, her ability to connect with Ohio voters over the economy and with Texas ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on February 29, 2008
Illinois Senator Barack Obama is certainly not waiting his turn. Indeed, that is a principle issue that seems to be roiling the Democratic establishment. Hillary Clinton, one of their own, with all the right connections, DLC leanings, not to mention the historic trappings of being the first woman nominee is poised for the White House, and this young upstart thinks he can come along and take it from her?! It is this same presumption that has doomed the Clinton campaign and would cause it to falter in the general election, though it is unlikely now to make it that far. It's a good thing, too.
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on February 12, 2008
You've been hearing about a youth movement in Youngstown specifically and the Valley at large. Looking across the country during this election, it's obvious there's a movement at hand. Where did it come from, where is it going, and who is carrying it aloft?
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on February 6, 2008
Carmen Conglose's handling of the traffic coordinator vacancy has created a no-win situation for the city, and everyone involved should back away and let this mess go away.
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on February 4, 2008
A letter to the editor Friday by Ida Callan of Girard took on a Vindicator editorial commemorating the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. The reader may remember that the Roe v. Wade decision centered on the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause and one's constitutional right to privacy in its ...
Read more and add a comment
Posted by tylersclark on February 2, 2008
Our founding generation was a remarkable group at an auspicious time. Men like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton were faced with extraordinary decisions and demonstrated remarkable judgment and foresight.
As we debate the issues of our present day, we often reference the founders' ...
Read more and add a comment