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End massive tax breaks for data centers in Ohio

The explosive growth of data centers in Ohio in recent years has been matched only by an equally explosive growth in heated opposition to the high-tech facilities for housing, storing, processing and distributing massive amounts of critical data and digital applications. A plethora of communities in the Mahoning Valley and throughout the state understandably have enacted moratoriums on their construction. A statewide referendum campaign has gained steam toward banning construction of most new, large-scale hyperscale data centers altogether. Environmental and consumer advocates decry ...

Hey, America: Stop complaining

Whatever the outcome of the “deal, or no deal” scenario with Iran, the public attitude toward the war has been disturbing. Despite President Trump’s constant admonition that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon, a majority of those polled oppose the intervention. A side effect of the war has been complaints about higher gas prices. That grumbling caused me to do some reminiscing about a different America and different Americans. Over Memorial Day weekend we again heard about “The Greatest Generation,” but do we take the time to consider what made them great? While ...

Children are running our big cities

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani earned national attention in a not-good way when he recorded himself in front of Ken Griffin’s Manhattan home revealing the billionaire’s address. He tapped the lens in a threatening manner and said guys like Griffin are going to pay more taxes. Griffin is the founder and CEO of Citadel, a giant hedge fund. The wisdom of raising taxes on expensive second homes can be debated, but doxxing Griffin in that nasty, personal way was flat stupid. Griffin accurately described Mamdani’s stunt as “creepy and weird,” in addition to showing a ...

Churches aid young adults

We are nearing the end of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, and one of the main focuses this year has been urging people to seek help when needed, as more efforts are being made to reduce the stigma around struggling with emotional wellness. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “(M)ore than 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental illness (59.3 million in 2022; 23.1% of the U.S. adult population).” The NIMH classifies mental health conditions into two categories: Any Mental Illness and Serious Mental Illness. AMI includes “mental, behavioral, or emotional ...

Do we still have a Constitution?

Last week, President Donald Trump announced that he plans to give away tax dollars without congressional or judicial authorization to his friends and allies whom he believes were mistreated by the Biden administration. Can he legally do that? Here is the backstory. During the last year of his first term in office, Trump’s tax returns were stolen along with those of 425,000 others by an IRS employee who leaked Trump’s to media outlets. The acts of stealing and leaking were, of course, criminal, and the now-former IRS employee who pleaded guilty to theft of government documents ...

Is this a PTSD Nation?

I was born just after the end of World War II. The first half of the 20th century marked a particularly difficult, violent era. But the 21st century so far has been, well, one trauma after another. It started with 9/11, followed by the grim wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then the Wall Street crisis of 2008 and subsequent Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and its own economic crisis. The attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Then, beginning in 2024, President Donald Trump’s full-scale attack on democratic institutions, followed by his war on Iran and soaring prices. ...