Breaking News

Opinion

Letters to the editor

Letters to the Editor

A reminder about how Social Security began DEAR EDITOR: Being born in 1935, I’ve had a lifetime to learn what made Social Security work from the beginning and why it isn’t working now. Social Security was not a government program; it was a group of people who realized in order to survive, they had to work together and pay their dues, each generation paying their dues for the next one. The Baby Boomers are the last generation with that work ethic. With automation and isolation, and Star Parker’s “I prefer to take care of myself” attitude, that is what is killing ...

One boy overcame loneliness and brought a neighborhood together

Editorials

Many people across the nation were touched by the heartwarming story of Roman Butzlaff, a 4-year-old boy in Concord, North Carolina, who befriended several of his elderly neighbors and became their adopted grandson. When the CBS Evening News aired its July 10 “On the Road” feature on Roman, I was amazed at his genuine desire to connect with individuals decades older. I’m sure others found this odd at first, as Roman was spending his mornings saying “hey” to everyone walking by his home instead of being immersed in a video game. Many children his age would have ignored the ...

Is it possible to be loyal to Trump and preserve integrity?

Editorials

There’s been a lot of discussion this past week about the meaning of integrity. You didn’t hear the word used directly; it was alluded to indirectly — in wondering whether Lindsey Graham was an immoral opportunist or clever pragmatist; in suspecting Todd Blanche of being more loyal to Trump than to the nation; in distrusting Erica Schwartz, Trump’s latest pick to lead the CDC, when she said she’ll never compromise on the science; in doubting that Jay Clayton, his pick for director of national intelligence, will tell Trump anything he doesn’t want to hear. The word ...

Can Trump sue himself?

Editorials

The question recently asked by a federal judge in Miami — can the president sue an entity in the executive branch of the federal government and benefit from the resolution of that lawsuit? — seems to beg the question. How could anyone sue an entity he controls and derive a benefit from the amicable resolution of such a lawsuit at the expense of others who are not parties to the lawsuit? Here is the backstory. During President Donald Trump’s first term in office, an IRS employee unlawfully released the tax returns of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers, among which was ...

What the latest wave of neo-Nazis says about us

Editorials

On July 4, the nation’s 250th anniversary, a mysterious group of young men in khaki pants, navy blue shirts, logoed baseball caps and white face masks surfaced in the capital, marching out of a downtown Metro subway station and into the news. By now they look oddly familiar, part of the menagerie of uniformed street brawlers and torch-carriers that emerged in the tumultuous first term of President Donald Trump. And there are unsavory historical echoes as well. Though smaller in number, the neo-Nazis in the capital brought to mind the 1925 parade down Pennsylvania Avenue by ...

Resolve all challenges for successful merger of high schools in city

Editorials

A new and exciting era is about to dawn on the Youngstown City Schools. In a little more than one month, the urban school system that once boasted 24,000 students and six traditional high schools will be reduced to just one unified high school. Considering the district has witnessed a nearly six-fold decline in enrollment over the past five decades to about 4,500 students today, the major merger decision made 14 months ago makes eminently good sense on both academic and financial fronts. Nonetheless, this approaching consolidation brings with it a fair share of gnawing challenges. ...