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It’s OK to embrace compliments

Editorials

Most times when I’m invited to speak at a conference, someone introduces me by reading the short bio provided. But this past week at the Southeastern Writers’ Association Conference, my friend, the Georgia judge and novelist Lori Duff, introduced me. She started off by warning she might embarrass me, then proceeded with the most generous and warm introduction I’ve ever received. What a gift to hear how your friend sees you. Not that long ago, I would have struggled to listen. I would have made self-deprecating jokes to not appear arrogant or uppity. Self-worth is something I’m ...

Why drinking alcohol is well worth the small risks

Editorials

Is a glass of wine with dinner going to increase your chance of getting cancer or another serious illness? For the past few years, we’ve been deluged with studies and news accounts suggesting that the answer is yes. This week, the USDA reinstated a caution in its dietary guidelines about limiting alcohol. Note: This is the Trump administration. No sane person seeking guidance on a health matter would look to its science-trashing witch doctors. At the moment, they appear to be whipsawed by industry interests and other constituencies. But who cares? They forfeited credibility the ...

Lawmakers wise to take another look at HB 795

Editorials

A group of lawmakers appears to have listened to advocacy groups and ordinary Ohioans, as they have stepped away from sections of state House Bill 795 that would have banned family members from serving as paid caregivers in the state. The anti-fraud effort is understandable, but as is often the case in Columbus, lawmakers took it a step too far. “How dare you come in my house and tell me who can care for my child! I’m not standing here telling you thank you,” Marlana Kendrick said last week, according to Statehouse News Bureau. “I drove two and a half hours from Cleveland ...

A toast to Yost for success at ‘Doing Big Good’

Editorials

“Do Big Good.” That short but snappy commandment served as a fitting motto that Dave Yost lived by to characterize his mission as chief legal officer of Ohio. Though prissy grammar purists might take issue with his phrasing, few would deny that former state Attorney General Yost succeeded in fulfilling that promise to state residents. As he left office this week for a new job in the private sector, he also leaves behind a legacy of large-scale achievements to benefit Ohioans for the better for years to come. Yost on Monday ended a 25-year stint in public service as Delaware County ...

The coming revival of America

Editorials

I detest him and everything he does or says. Ditto his despicable aides and Cabinet members, his unprincipled sycophants and suck-ups. But it’s possible that someday we’ll look back on this horrendous era and say we needed Trump. We needed to see how horrible it could get before America was able to revive its ideals. Please hear me out. Even before Trump, we were barreling down the wrong road. Inequalities of income, wealth and opportunity were worsening. Legalized bribery was soaring in the form of mounting campaign contributions from big corporations and the wealthy. ...

Loneliness: People do need people

Editorials

Ashley, North Dakota, is a small farming town where the local diet leans hard on sausage, deep-fried chicken and strudel. It has something of a medical center, but the nearest trauma hospital able to handle the most serious injuries is almost four hours away in Fargo. Yet the elders in McIntosh County, with Ashley as its county seat, frequently live into their 90s, and sometimes beyond. It had the highest proportion of people 85 and older in the country. Doesn’t make sense until you see why it does. Stress levels are low. The farmers pursue a lifetime of physical exercise. When ...