Commentary
Ohio Republicans work to politicize our schools, destroy power of elected state school board
Last fall I voted for a serious candidate to be my levelheaded voice on the Ohio Board of Education. Like many voters, I was fed up with the far right craziness that had infiltrated the ed board at the expense of real issues roiling public education in the state — unconstitutional school funding, under-resourced schools, […]
Opinion: Recognizing progress and opportunities for our railroads during Rail Safety Week
By Jeff Buddle The writer is president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland. Every three hours in the United States a person or vehicle is hit by a train, and 60% of collisions occur at crossings that are equipped with lights and/or gates. More than 2,100 people across North America are injured or killed […]
Long Covid isolates sick people and their loved ones
My girlfriend’s idea felt brilliant to me: Put out a call on Facebook for Covid-cautious people in our area to rent a theater together. We could watch the Barbie movie while wearing high-quality masks to keep each other safe. The plan turned out to be quixotic. No one responded to Sarah’s request. She scrolled through […]
Vouchers awards public Ohio tax dollars to discriminatory private religious schools
Public financing of parochial school prejudice is the law in Ohio. Take a minute to process, I’ll wait. The state has opened its coffers to Catholic schools that discriminate. The overwhelming amount of Ohio’s voucher money — free taxpayer money to offset private and religious school tuition — goes to Catholic schools. The Catholic Diocese […]
Census Bureau releases new poverty numbers
On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report on the state of poverty in the United States. Every year, this is the biggest moment in poverty statistics as we get a snapshot of what poverty looked like in the previous year. While statewide information is forthcoming, with the national numbers we can come […]
We are facing a sustained, historic assault on democracy in Ohio and across America
The textbook definition of democratic decline includes the weakening of democratic institutions like the peaceful transition of power or free and fair elections, and the violation of rights that underpin democracy. Ohio is in the middle of a sustained, historic assault perpetuating just such a decline, and so is America. Due to events that have […]
Ohio Redistricting Commission descends into chaos and dysfunction on first day back
If Ohio politicians planned to show exactly why they deserve to be kicked out of the redistricting process entirely, they couldn’t have done a better job than the shameful display they put on Wednesday morning: They immediately descended into chaos and dysfunction after waiting more than 16 months to begin the process of drawing new […]
Trump’s trial will be televised. That transparency comes with a cost.
The first of the televised sessions in former President Donald Trump’s conspiracy trial in Georgia aired Sept. 5, and it was dull as a butter knife: Two of the 19 alleged conspirators arguing to have their cases separated from the mob and from each other. It was an inauspicious start to what is potentially the […]
Jim Jordan uses weaponization of government committee to weaponize government, persecute prosecutors
Bullies expect their targets to cower and comply. When the bullied show backbone their intimidators often buckle. That’s how it’s done. Last week it happened to Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, (R-Urbana). The MAGA Republican got owned by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for his outrageous abuse of power. She tore into the jacketless […]
What’s the matter with zoning?
Conversations in Columbus have been brewing for years about an overhaul of the city’s 70-year-old zoning code. City officials are now saying they will likely vote on a large reform package this spring. While zoning, or restriction of land for particular uses, feels as American as apple pie, the institution is only an invention of […]
The US committed but struggling to meet the UN’s sustainable development goals
In a Zen parable, a man sees a horse and rider galloping by. The man asks the rider where he’s going, and the rider responds, “I don’t know. Ask the horse!” It is easy to feel out of control and helpless in the face of the many problems Americans are now experiencing – unaffordable health […]
Ohio voters can expect to get hosed again by gerrymandering in upcoming redistricting charade
As Ohio gears up for another round of Statehouse redistricting, Republican politicians’ gerrymandering games never really ended — they were just intentionally paused to run out the clock on a full, fair, transparent, and good faith process. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has called for the Ohio Redistricting Commission to reconvene on Wednesday, Sept. 13. Ohio […]