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Letters to the Editor

Why call DOD the Department of War?

DEAR EDITOR: As one who served at the Pentagon during 9/11, I was proud to serve under the auspices that I was a defender of our homeland rather than being thought of as one who wages war. By issuing an executive order to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War, it portrays us as a warmongering nation rather than one that is peace loving. We need to be a role model among nations as one that advocates peace rather than one that stands ready to wage war. Our President should emulate that which President Kennedy said in a speech at American University in 1963, ...

Sound off!

It’s great to note the healthy growth of student enrollment at YSU. The good things happening at Youngstown State seem to have started around the time President Bill Johnson took the helm. Looks like he’s making good on his promise to make our university the envy of higher education in the great state of Ohio. Thanks to the Board of Trustees for its wisdom in bringing this determined leader to YSU. — Poland Bill Johnson’s guest column was the height of hypocrisy, while his president and Republican Party threaten American universities with lawsuits and funding cuts because ...

What about Trump’s hateful rhetoric?

DEAR EDITOR: Republicans believe that Charlie Kirk’s death is another act of political violence caused by the malicious, hateful rhetoric from the radical left, and they may be partially correct in that assessment. VP Vance has made it clear that he believes any person who promotes, condones or incites any political violence, whether on social media, or in person to family or friends, is an accomplice to murder and should be prosecuted accordingly. Ashli Babbitt, Rosanne Boyland, Kevin Greeson, Benjamin Phillips, Brian Sicknick, Howard Liebengood, Jeffrey Smith, Gunther Hashida and ...

Trump doesn’t want free speech for you

DEAR EDITOR: I recall news reports of Recep Erdogan, the Turkish autocrat Donald Trump admires, jailing people who critiqued his haircut. Incredible! Now, it seems, we are Turkey as Trump destroys free speech and tells lies as transparent as his phantasm of a comb over to cover his bare-faced wrongdoing. Trump has abused the powers of presidency, weaponizing them to silence anyone poking his all too thin narcissists’ skin with any truth he has not declared to be true. He has cowed enough universities, law firms and media into shocking financial settlements that I think may enable him ...

Kudos to Boulevard Park Block Watch

DEAR EDITOR: I want to give a huge shout-out to the Boulevard Park Block Watch on the South Side of Youngstown. This group has been instrumental in transforming an empty lot into a beautiful pocket park, complete with swings, picnic tables, and a blueberry patch for the neighborhood. The new park is called Peace Park, and its atmosphere is just like its name — peaceful. This past week, the group hosted a neighborhood picnic featuring food, games, and prizes. I commend them for all their hard work in fostering a sense of community and neighborhood spirit. May we always remember ...

There is a mobster in the White House

DEAR EDITOR: Say you owned a family restaurant. One day a mobster comes in and says, “It’d be a shame if your restaurant burned down one night. I can protect your investment for $500 a month, payable to me.” Trump is doing that right now by filing frivolous lawsuits for billions of dollars against CBS, ABC and the Wall Street Journal. He has no chance of winning but because he’s president these huge companies pay him $10 million or more to settle. The money goes to him personally, not the U.S. government. Why do the companies settle Trump’s frivolous lawsuits and pay ...