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Trump, Pope Leo XIV and the gospel of ‘Pulp Fiction’

Editorials

It is hardly surprising that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s explicitly Christian monthly worship services monthly in the Pentagon have raised alarm in some quarters about the separation of church and state. But who expected to find him quoting lines of alleged scripture that were lifted from Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 cult classic “Pulp Fiction”? The flap begins with a prayer. At an April 15 worship service, Hegseth recited a prayer he said was sent to him by the lead mission planner of “Sandy One,” of the Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission in Iran that saved a ...

What are politicians thinking?

Editorials

Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Tony Gonzales were both accused of sexual misconduct involving staffers. Californian Swalwell said he’d resign from his House seat after giving up on his run for governor. Texan Gonzales said he was withdrawing from the 2026 reelection race. Back in the day, male politicians cavorted with their female staffers and got away with it. But that was way back and many days ago. An official cheating on his wife with a woman picked up at a rally doesn’t seem to bother voters the way it once did. Donald Trump has numbed the electorate to that level ...

Stacy A. Marling should be GOP candidate for Trumbull auditor

Editorials

The Republican race for Trumbull County auditor is one of the most interesting in the May 5 primary. Incumbent Martha Yoder is bidding for a second term against GOP challengers Stacy A. Marling, the current deputy auditor in Mahoning County — who also serves as Bazetta Township’s fiscal officer — and former state Rep. Mike Loychik. In Yoder’s first campaign, she emphasized increased accessibility, transparency and fiscal responsibility. “We made a lot of progress,” Yoder said. “We revamped our website to make information more accessible by moving those things that ...

A sickness in our society is spreading

Editorials

After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, podcaster Candace Owens turned her wrath on Mr. Kirk’s widow, Erika. Owens began perpetuating conspiracy theories about Mrs. Kirk with a heavy implication that Mrs. Kirk was somehow tied to Israel, which itself was tied to Mr. Kirk’s assassination. Meanwhile, in Utah, Tyler Robinson is standing trial for Mr. Kirk’s murder. His parents and his partner will be witnesses for the prosecution. Robinson left a trail of evidence and confessions behind. He had been radicalized into transgender politics and wanted to kill Mr. Kirk because of his ...

Hoping for a solution to the Poland public library quandary

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: Recently, someone asked me about the “Save Our Library” signs in Poland. This person wondered if the Poland library was closing. I explained that the signs were about the building that currently houses the library. The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County board is considering moving the library because the upkeep is expensive, and even if they were to repair it where needed, it would continue to be an expensive building to run. The Poland Library is not closing, although one option is to relocate it to a better-suited building. Being here only 16 ...

Why the personal injury settlement fails East Palestine

Letters to the Editor

DEAR EDITOR: As the final personal injury checks from the $600 million East Palestine settlement begin to show up in mailboxes, it would seem this would provide a sense of closure. But for those of us who experienced the 2023 derailment, this isn’t justice. The personal injury component is a painful example of how our legal and environmental justice systems don’t work. While the base payout was touted at $25,000, many residents are receiving far less due to an incomprehensible formula of multipliers and pretend math that feels more like a game of craps than an actual medical ...