A week or so ago, I read an op-ed piece about voting by columnist David Harsanyi. He was writing in response to the current dispute about whether states should make it easier for people to vote. Harsanyi believes that voting should be a difficult task. His point of view is based, at least in part, on how little so many know about our government. He cited a Pew Research Center survey that found that little more than a third of ...
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Ohio has found it harder and harder to execute its death row inmates, and so the answer has been to make the process secretive. The problem began when the pharmaceutical companies, whose drugs were being used for executions, decided they didn’t like their drugs being administered on death row, so they stopped the supply line.
That left states like Ohio scrambling to come up with alternative drugs, which, in turn, led to a series of botched executions, including one in Ohio. ...
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The news about a man jumping the fence and gaining access to the White House was alarming. How can this sort of thing happen? He had a knife. He could have had a bomb. That was scary, but it’s not what grabbed my attention. What followed is what bothers me.
One would think the incident would have been the subject of serious investigation, where meaningful questions were asked and security procedures were examined. Instead, what followed was political theater when the ...
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Just over a week ago, I wrote about how the facts have been overshadowed by bad information in the Common Core debate. I knew something was wrong with this picture, but I couldn’t point to the exact problem. Sure, it had to do with politics, but what exactly was going on?
I did a little digging and found an article in the August 24, 2014, edition of The Columbus Dispatch. I remember reading the article before, but it didn’t have as ...
Continue Reading →Have you been listening to the recent debate about the Common Core standards? If so, you should have noticed two things. First, the objections focus on things other than the standards that comprise Common Core: Common Core is being forced upon the states by the federal government. Common Core mandates teaching methods for the states. In essence, Common Core is a horrible overreach by big government.
The problem is, none of this is true. Reliable news sources have reported that Common ...
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If we don’t find a better way of dealing with non-violent drug offenders, we may find ourselves building more prisons. That’s the concern of Gary C. Mohr, Director of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. We’re good at putting drug offenders in jail, but we’re not doing so well helping them with their addictions, which means they’re likely to be repeat visitors at state prisons. That means more expense for the state and a loss of productivity in the economy.
This ...
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Have you noticed all the fighting that goes on at the statehouse and in the Capitol? It’s hardly a secret—lawmakers regularly tell us they are fighting for us. Think about how often you hear the phrase.
Are our legislators really fighting, or do they actually mean they are advocating a position? Should we care about the language they use? Am I just being too particular about what some might characterize as a figure of speech?
Maybe not. Let’s put this in context ...
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When’s the last time you walked three miles to get the water you need for your family? Probably never, right? Much of the world is not so lucky. Millions of people travel long distances every day to get water, often using containers that once carried chemicals. Take a look. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an8Da5e4vk8 PackH2O, led by ...
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Two weeks ago, the Ohio Supreme Court decided in Ohio Neighborhood Finance, Inc., v. Scott that lenders are not obligated to make payday loans under the Short-Term Loan Act, which restricted fees, and instead may lend under the Small Loan and Second Mortgage Acts, which permit significantly higher fees. The Short-Term Loan Act was passed for the supposed purpose of controlling payday loans, but not one loan has been made under the 2008 law.
The problem is, as the court concluded, ...
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Two years ago, in response to questions about lack of uniformity in carrying out the death penalty, Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor formed a task force to assess whether Ohio’s death penalty is being administered fairly. The task force recently announced its recommendations, and though it was a balanced group, some members criticized the task force for being “strongly influenced by a pro-defense majority bent on an agenda of abolition, not fairness.” The Dispatch criticized the task force ...
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