Is access to legal assistance for low-income Americans important? President Donald Trump doesn’t think so. His 2018 budget proposed eliminating the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), an independent nonprofit, established during the Nixon administration that provides civil legal aid to low-income Americans. Trump apparently forgot about his campaign theme—“to bring hope to every forgotten stretch of […]
State should support legal aid Read Post »
Imagine being in the foster care system for years and, suddenly, on your 18th birthday, you’re expected to fend for yourself. Get a job, find a place to live and make good of yourself. It’s a tall order for any 18-year-old, all the more so when you’ve suffered abuse or neglect or drug dependency has
Foster kids need help as they age out of system Read Post »
Running for the U.S. Senate are two men who have no business running for office. The first is Don Blankenship of West Virginia, and the other is Joe Arpaio, the former long-time sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. Blankenship was the CEO of Massey Energy when a coal mine it operated exploded in 2010, killing 29
Arrogant and shameless, they’re running for the U.S. Senate Read Post »
We’re seeing a widening gap between citizens and Republican leadership when it comes to gun violence. People are coming to grips with the fact that the status quo is unacceptable. Republican leadership, however, doesn’t get it or doesn’t want to get it. There are few exceptions, such as Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, who is promoting
Guns and the gap between voters and G.O.P. leadership Read Post »
President Donald Trump is beside himself with how well the economy is doing and boasts about the nation’s unemployment rate. Though the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us unemployment has been steadily declining since 2010 and was 4.6% in November 2016, Trump is taking sole credit for the current 4.1% unemployment figure. I’m not surprised.
So now the unemployment stats are legit? Read Post »
Just a few weeks before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law last December, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) announced it was time to reduce the deficit by cutting entitlements. On talk radio, he said, “We’re going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform … it’s the
Lawmakers give a pass to corporate welfare Read Post »
In my last post, I wrote about why it’s hard to debunk misinformation. Two examples of misinformation I cited came from the Trump administration. Some readers suggested I should have been more balanced. One wrote, “Too bad you didn’t offer a couple examples from the other side of the aisle, like the notorious Harry Reid
Are liberals purveyors of misinformation? Read Post »
Why is it hard to debunk misinformation? Why aren’t people willing to change their minds? Part of the problem lies within our own psyche, and part of the problem is with the news media. Ezra Klein of Vox interviewed Dartmouth University political scientist Brendan Nyhan about our reticence to accept proven facts. The underlying problem
Why it’s hard to debunk misinformation Read Post »
Two years ago, Kathryn Steinle was killed by Jose Garcia Zarate, an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times and had a history of drug convictions. On Nov. 30, Zarate was acquitted in Steinle’s murder trial. President Donald Trump called it “a disgraceful verdict.” It’s a shocking and a horrible result for Steinle’s family,
Trump wrong to criticize judge and jury Read Post »
If you’re struggling with the LGBTQ issue, here’s something to ponder, and it’s especially helpful if you’re trying to reconcile the LGBTQ issue with your religious beliefs—the words of Jen Hatmaker, a Texas pastor and mother of five. Here’s what she had to say in the Aug. 28, 2017, edition of Time magazine when asked
Life lessons from a Hatmaker Read Post »
Do campaign contributions affect how judges decide cases? Studies indicate the answer is yes. A recent effort by Cleveland attorney Subodh Chandra to disqualify a Summit County judge illustrates how money might drive the public’s thinking on a judge’s impartiality. First, some background about money and state supreme court elections. In 2009, the U.S. Supreme
Judges probably influenced by campaign contributions Read Post »
[This piece was published in the Columbus Dispatch on July 16, 2017, and is an update of a blog post published in August 2016] If you believe the court system always renders justice, you’re mistaken. Just ask Dale Johnston. After spending nearly seven years on Death Row for two murders he didn’t commit, Johnston has
Why has the state fought compensating Dale Johnston? Read Post »