War can’t be sanitized no matter how we try

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The Israeli goal of eliminating Hamas raises the question, is the war’s resulting civilian Palestinian death toll proportional, as the International Committee of the Red Cross puts it, “in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated?” More than 35,000 Palestinians have died in the Gaza war, roughly two-thirds of whom are women and children.

I sometimes wonder if our efforts at putting limits on civilian casualties are ...

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19
JUL
2

Social Issues

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Ballot initiatives and walking the tightrope of politics and religion

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This post comes from my friend, Rev. Tim Ahrens, a strong advocate for social justice.

In 1912, it was just called “The Initiative.”

The Initiative represented the constitutional right of all Ohioans to shape fair and equitable laws through the ballot box of initiatives and referenda. The Ohio Progressive Republican League helped establish this constitutional right for all Ohioans in 1912. Under this constitutional ...

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9
JUL
3

Political Issues, Social Issues

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Bishop can’t speak the truth and is blind to reality

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Why is it Bishop Earl Fernandes cannot speak the truth? In the May 28 edition of the Dispatch, he again denied that he forced the Paulist priests to leave the Newman Center last year and repeated the fiction they “chose to leave.”

The Paulists left because Fernandes would allow them to stay—just two, not all four priests—only if they agreed to be relegated to the status of chaplain and report ...

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15
JUN
2

Social Issues

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Rapist case shows how court shouldn’t work

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Last December, the Ohio Supreme Court in Brandt v. Pompa changed its position on a 2005 statute, Senate Bill 80, that caps non-economic damages—think pain and suffering. More stunning is how the case brings to light the politics in judicial decisions.

Amanda Brandt had been sexually abused as a middle schooler by Roy Pompa, now serving a life sentence. Based on Senate Bill 80, part of her jury award was reduced by the trial judge.

Brandt appealed on grounds the ...

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23
MAR
1

Social Issues

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Bishop gave Paulists an offer they couldn’t accept

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In June 2021, when Catholic Archbishop José H. Gomez stated that President Joe Biden should not receive Communion because he is pro-choice, I wrote in an opinion piece, “Every day, someone in the Catholic Church’s hierarchy wakes up and says, ‘What can we do today to show how out of touch we are with our people and lose more of them?’”

Joining the sclerotic hierarchy is Bishop Earl Fernandes. ...

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23
AUG
4

Social Issues

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The problem with police investigative stops—police abuse or citizen non-compliance?

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What does the law say about a police officer’s obligations when stopping and questioning someone for possible criminal conduct? What does a police officer have to consider before making the stop? Does racial bias enter the equation? Are citizens required to comply? How is it that sometimes these stops end with violence, sometimes a shooting? Listen to our conversation with Robert Meader, a former career police officer and commander ...

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18
JUN
1

Social Issues

State board of education makes case for critical race theory

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If you don’t know what critical race theory (CRT) is, don’t feel bad. Neither do the folks in charge of K-12 education in Ohio.

Let’s go back to July 2020 when the Ohio State Board of Education passed “a resolution to condemn racism.” Acknowledging disparities in the education system for students of color and whites, the board required all Department of Education employees and contractors to undergo implicit bias ...

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23
FEB
6

Social Issues

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Critical race theory–a subject of controversy and misinformation

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Ohio State University Associate Professor Joni Acuff talks with us about what critical race theory actually is—as opposed to how it’s described by its critics—and gives examples of racial inequality being imbedded in society. The three of us discuss legislative efforts to ban critical race theory. Legislators say they want students to be presented with the facts ...

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17
OCT
1

Social Issues, Uncategorized

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Far too often, religious freedom an excuse for intolerance

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Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor has it right: “Human beings never behave more badly toward one another than when they believe they are protecting God.” A case in point is the religious right’s reaction to The Equality Act, which proposes to give the LGBTQ community the same rights that straight people enjoy.

According to evangelist Franklin Graham, “The Equality Act is a threat to life as we know ...

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24
AUG
3

Social Issues

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