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Letters to the Editor

Trump’s post depicting himself as Jesus was blasphemy, no doubt about it. His explanation that he thought it was supposed to be a doctor is so unbelievable it can’t even be argued. So, MAGA, is your adulation of Trump so strong that you’ll still defend him as JD Vance did? The abandonment of ethical principles among this group is frightening. God have mercy on us. — Youngstown I believe Trump feels that $90 a barrel oil and a 1,300 uptick in stocks was worth his soul because he thinks his leadership starting a war was perfect to drive both numbers. It was not. He lost lives ...

Too many rules ruin child-care goals

Editorials

Child care got expensive — more than $13,000 per child, per year. So many people want government to pay for it. My state just agreed. New York will fund free child care. Yay! But wait, what government does isn’t free. Taxpayers pay. And taxpayers pay more because “government rules have unintended consequences,” says Carrie Lukas of Independent Women’s Forum. Washington, D.C., day care teachers must have a degree in early childhood education. That can take two years and cost $22,000. “Of course you’re going to have to pay a lot more,” says Lukas in my new ...

Don’t count on any fast move of Mahoning elections board

David Skolnick

For the past two years, Mahoning County Board of Elections officials have vocally complained about the conditions at its offices at Oakhill Renaissance Place. There’s been a lot of talk. There’s even been singing as board Chairman David Betras performed in front of the county commissioners. Could action finally be forthcoming? That’s difficult to determine, but things have progressed more in the last six weeks than they have at any other time during the past two years. All involved parties agree on one thing: Getting the board of elections and other county offices out of ...

Joyce, O’Neill in 14th District congressional primary races

Editorials

The Republican primary for Ohio’s 14th congressional representative is a choice between a seven-term incumbent and self-described “workhorse” and a self-described “political outsider” who was most recently a one-term Trumbull County commissioner. Dave Joyce, of Bainbridge, has the endorsement of President Donald Trump and a huge edge over his opponents — both Republican and Democrat — in campaign war chests. His GOP opponent in the May 5 primary is Niki Frenchko, who lost reelection for her commissioner seat in 2024 after a tumultuous four years in office. The ...

Radical Islamists mean what they say

Editorials

In the Western world, there’s a weird naivety festering throughout our society, rooted in the notion that evil simply doesn’t exist. Thanks to multiculturalism, intersectionality, equity and any other combination of leftist buzzwords, we have the bizarre impression that the world is full of people just like us, who think just like us, who respect the same values we do. For anyone who lives in reality, of course, it’s clear that’s not true. It’s important to acknowledge that the West made massive progress in the realm of equality when it comes to immutable characteristics. ...

A Republican governor in California?

Editorials

Here’s a scenario from California that would be hard for even a Hollywood screenwriter to come up with. This is a state generally seen to lean heavily to the political left. Its congressional delegation — the largest in the country — stands at 52 House members, of whom 46 are Democrats, and two senators, both Democrats. The state Legislature is decisively controlled by Democrats. Yet there seems a reasonable likelihood that in November’s election for governor of California, we’ll see two Republicans running against each other. How so? California is an open ...