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Only one revolution ended in liberty

Two hundred and fifty years ago, men in powdered hair did what no colony had ever done successfully. They broke away from the most powerful empire on earth. They were not bloodthirsty radicals. They had petitioned again and again to remain loyal subjects of the Crown. They fought for what was already theirs. Now look at the revolutions. Ours in 1776. France in 1789. Russia in 1917. China in 1949. Four attempts to tear down an old order and build something new. Only one ended in liberty. Only one. The French stormed the Bastille shouting about the rights of man, and within five years ...

HINTS FROM HELOISE: Drain water heater once yearly, local woman told

DEAR HELOISE: I just bought my first house, and I need to learn how to take care of it now. Do I still need to drain my water heater? The former owners said that the heater was 4 years old, and they never drained the sediment in all this time. — Ashly W., in New Castle, Pennsylvania Ashly, it’s a good idea to drain off the sediment and mineral deposits about once or twice a year. This helps protect the heating elements and efficiency of your water heater. By taking care of these things, you’ll also extend the life of your heater. — Heloise DEAR HELOISE: My lovely ...

Orchids & onions

ORCHID: To Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for his prompt and professional response to the devastating storms that walloped Mahoning County over the holiday weekend. DeWine signed the declaration less than 24 hours after an EF-1 tornado and 10-mile macroburst ripped through parts of Boardman, Canfield, Austintown, Poland and Youngstown last Sunday. He also toured the most impacted areas and promised all available state assistance would be forthcoming to deal with massive damage. The declaration allows state departments and agencies to expedite and deploy services, equipment, supplies, and ...

Slam the brakes on accelerating cycle crashes

Most of us no doubt in recent years have caught a glimpse of those conspicuously placed messages on bumper stickers and yard signs distributed by the Ohio Safety Council that sport bright yellow backgrounds and roar out these four simple emboldened words: “LOOK OUT FOR MOTORCYCLES.” Sadly, far too many of us fail to heed that crucial and potentially life-saving advice. Roadways across Ohio filled with smashed pieces of once-slick and shiny Harleys and Kawasakis as well as severely injured — many fatally — cyclists prove that point all too well. In fact, Ohio has witnessed ...

Mamdani’s twisted view of US

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered a Fourth of July message that sounded like America is on its death bed. Immigrant citizens standing on each side of him as he sat at a desk used by George Washington, were even more stoic. July Fourth is supposed to be a celebratory time. Not for Mamdani, who looked as if he had lost his best friend. After some obligatory praise for the nation to which he immigrated, Mamdani said that for “the powerful, America is an arena of supremacy, where only a select few are allowed freedom, where not all are created equal. America, if you ask ...

Are you chasing false gods?

My sadly departed friend, Frank, was a unicorn. He lived 89 years in the town he grew up in, a village on the Connecticut shore. A reporter at his local newspaper for over half a century, he had turned down offers to work for more glamorous publications, among them Sports Illustrated and The New York Times. Frank had considered the priesthood in his youth. He stopped going to church and claimed he wasn’t part of it anymore, but the church’s moral teachings clearly stayed put. Frank approached reporting as a kind of ministry, spending much time talking with his “flock.” His ...