Mar. 15, 2017—State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) issued the following statement after the first hearing on House Bill (HB) 41, a bill that targets Ohio’s in-person early voters with a more difficult ID requirement but leaves mail voters’ ID requirements unchanged: “When a bill like this shows up on the committee schedule, it can look harmless. But…
A Pro-life Christian explains why she marched on January 22nd in support of Women’s Rights
Below is Facebook post by Meryl Angelicola Lee, who describes herself as a “pro-life Christian” who supported the women’s march in Washington. Her personal essay is heartfelt and poignant. We are sharing the viral post as it exemplifies our goal to educate and find common ground with our family and friends on the right. Give it a read. It has…
Intelligence expert Malcolm Nance on Trump scandal: “As close to Benedict Arnold as we’re ever going to get” (Salon)
On an almost daily basis there are new revelations about the questionable and perhaps illegal connections between President Donald Trump’s administration (and before that his campaign) and the Russian espionage apparatus under the control of Vladimir Putin. It is no longer appears to be a question of whether the Russian government actively worked to undermine or…
Twenty-Four Million Reasons the GOP Health-Care Bill Is No Good (The New Yorker)
For days, the political world had been waiting nervously for the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment of the House Republicans’ Trump-endorsed proposal to replace Obamacare. On Monday afternoon, when the numbers-heavy report finally appeared, one figure it contained dominated all the others: twenty-four million. This was the C.B.O.’s estimate of how many fewer people would have health insurance…
GOP scrambles after scorching health bill appraisal (Politico)
House Republican leaders plunged into damage control mode Monday after a brutal budgetary assessment of their Obamacare replacement threatened to upend Senate GOP support and armed their critics on the left. Speaker Paul Ryan’s team quickly pinpointed rosier elements of the report by the Congressional Budget Office, from cost savings to lower premiums. But the…
Trump Could Learn a Thing or Two from Islam
A Washington Post article recently caught my eye: “What Islam Could Teach Donald Trump about Democracy and Freedom.” Professor David Decosimo writes that when the prophet Muhammad died, Abu Bakr became the next leader of the Muslim community. In his first speech, Bakr said something like this to his followers: “I’m no better than any…
Obama ’17? Oui, on peut
The French will vote for a new president in April amid political disarray—the Brexit vote in the UK, the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, and the rise of nationalism throughout Europe and the United States. Five candidates are running for the office, including Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front, France’s far…
“Reach out to your Jewish brothers and sisters and stand together against the bigotry”
The Southern Poverty Law Center calls it “a national outbreak of hate.” The 10 days following the presidential election saw 867 reports of harassment and intimidation across the country, with the actual number of incidents likely to be much higher. Victims have been harassed at schools, in their homes, at work, in public transportation, in…
Akron’s Immigrant Population Creates Jobs, Wealth
Last month, CNN reported that immigrants to Akron, Ohio, are doing nothing less than helping save that city’s economy. Between 2007 and 2013, the Rubber City’s immigrant population increased by more than 30%, helping to stem what could have been a devastating population decline. “We were losing people like most Midwestern cities,” said Akron’s…
Being a Responsible Consumer of Media
I’ve been spending a lot of time online these days. First thing every morning, I check out the headlines of the Washington Post and the New York Times. Then I move on to Politico and maybe the Huffington Post—whatever grabs my attention. Since the election, I’ve spent a lot more time sifting through the news….