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Trump’s stupidest Cabinet member is hard call but has clear winner

At a press briefing on Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth complained about a CNN report that the Trump administration had underestimated Iran’s ability to disrupt global oil traffic by closing the Strait of Hormuz. “Patently ridiculous,” Hegseth told reporters, adding — even as the strait’s blockage was proving to be Iran’s most powerful leverage in the war — we “don’t need to worry about it.” He also denied that the U.S. bombed the school where some 175 children were killed. Hegseth added that, as to CNN, “the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the ...

Bernard LaFayette Jr. was a leader guided by love

When I read about civil rights activist and minister Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr. passing away earlier this month, I thought about how almost all the heralded foot soldiers of the civil rights movement who were momentous leaders during my youth have left us. LaFayette’s passing comes in the wake of the death of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a much more well-known figure, although LaFayette also worked on social justice initiatives in Latin America and South Africa. He was one who tirelessly labored behind the scenes, organizing voter registration drives in Selma, Alabama, which helped ...

Vivek might need a bit of education on Ohio colleges

Social media platforms can tempt politicians into hyperbole that doesn’t always match reality. It can tempt anyone to do that. So, Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy can perhaps be forgiven for wondering on Threads whether it is possible to eliminate the state income tax (the real question is, if we do, how do we pay for everything?), and suggesting the Buckeye State’s colleges and universities should be consolidated. “Look at the number of universities in our state. I love universities in Ohio. I want us to have the best universities,” Ramaswamy said, ...

Avery’s Law targets lousy dog owners

Ohio dog owners, take note. Avery’s Law is now on the books and dog owners who are negligent could be on the hook for their pets’ behavior. Avery’s Law is named for Avery Russell, of Reynoldsburg, who was 11 years old when she was severely injured in an attack by two vicious dogs in June 2024. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 247 in December and Avery’s Law took effect on Wednesday. The bill is designed to help prevent similar attacks. Avery’s Law: • Imposes criminal penalties on a dog owner if he or she negligently fails to keep their dog from committing, ...

America’s freedom is not free

At the height of the energy crisis in the 1970s, when oil prices more than sextupled, The Economist magazine showed a map of the Persian Gulf on its cover with the headline, “What’s a Nice Thing Like Oil Doing in a Place Like This?” The Iranian miscreants, with whom we are now at war, understand that, although they could care less what their own citizens think, in free countries public opinion and support is vital to a president’s ability to wage war. By impeding the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil supplies pass, they ...

A scary rhyme across time

I’d give anything not to write this column. But the comparisons are clear when history rhymes. President Donald Trump’s America is a foghorn call across time — to Germany in the 1930s, when Adolf Hitler rose to power legally. Note, I do not mean the 1940s, when the Holocaust became the greatest crime in human history. Hitler built grandiose architecture in Berlin to mark his chapter in history, the Third Reich. He had his own architect, Albert Speer, to follow his ideas. Trump has his own master ideas for buildings in the nation’s capital and acts upon them without much ...