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Be wary, but good news for Ohio may soon be on the way

It’s easy to understand why Honda was reluctant to confirm reports out of Japan that it is planning to build a $2.5 billion hybrid vehicle plant in Ohio. Though the Nikkei Business Daily said the company is in final preparations to expand its manufacturing footprint in the Buckeye State, a Honda spokesman told Reuters “No decisions have been made at this stage regarding a new plant in the U.S.” At the same time, SK hynix is reportedly in talks with Intel about making memory chips in the U.S. for the first time with what MarketBeat called Intel’s “long-delayed ‘Ohio One’ ...

Republicans may not be hit as hard in Nov. as some think

The macroeconomic numbers are good. America is near full employment. The stock market is doing well. Inflation is high, but down from where it was with former President Joe Biden. Americans do not care. They hate both parties. Republican operatives on the ground in state after state tell me the same story. Voters are enraged at the GOP. Diehard Republican cheerleaders do not get it. They insist the economy is good in the same way Democrats did when Biden was in office. In fact, both Biden and Trump had a similar macroeconomic picture with a strong stock market, inflation receding by ...

A president of personal revenge: Pray, people, to restore our nation

Atone, America. The high holiday Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, just passed us by at sundown on Sept. 21. Our country, thanks to Donald Trump, has become the scourge of the world. Nowhere was that clearer than in the United Nations General Assembly where Trump asked world leaders if he should “annihilate” Iran. Yes, he really said that. “Disgrace” is too good a word for Trump. And to vote for him a third time, as millions did after we saw his true ugly nature, has brought us to this terrible fate. All of America should pray and atone for the dismal state of our ...

Orchids & onions

ORCHID: To Phantom Fireworks owner Bruce Zoldan and Pamela Benger, co-chairs of Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music Crescendo Campaign, for their eye-poppingly generous donation of $5 million to the laudable drive at its launch last week. The $20 million campaign is designed to enhance and update the prestigious school’s resources and to attract new students. It will also further the longstanding legacy of Dana as one of the oldest and most celebrated institutions for musical excellence and academic preparation in the United States. To donate to the campaign, contact ...

Go orange, act to ease Valley hunger

Come Tuesday, color your world orange. On that day, bright orange lights will radiate brilliantly through Dave Grohl Alley in downtown Warren and in Huntington Bank Community Alley in downtown Youngstown. No, the accent on orange is not some kind of September spoof to the spooky Halloween season. Rather, orange will shine attention on a more serious, more ongoing and more pressing communitywide social issue: Hunger. Tuesday will be observed nationwide as Hunger Action Day, the climax of Hunger Action Month. On that day, compassionate and able Americans are urged to act to reduce the ...

AI: A substitute for real intelligence

I have a theory about the artificial intelligence craze that is delighting some and scaring others. It is that we are losing natural intelligence and thus risk seduction by something that can do the thinking for us. Never mind acquiring wisdom, which is defined as “the ability to use your knowledge, experience, and deep understanding to make sound decisions, good judgments, and insightful choices.” Why bother with any of this when you can have AI take the place of your brain? Except that AI only responds to what you ask it to do— such as write an essay on a topic. It makes no ...