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‘Once Upon a Time’ is a place we can find again

“Where is the good news?” my son asked the other day, the kind of simple question that can only come from a child. Obvious, sensical, trusting. He still believes in our essential goodness and still wants to know about humanity’s small kindnesses and large achievements. We had been talking about doomscrolling on the way to school, our very modern addiction to pain and suffering. “People want to know what’s happening in the world — sometimes,” I had explained, unable to stop myself from adding the caveat, admitting my repulsion at current events. My children wanted ...

Food deserts have become urban, rural Ohio problem

Food insecurity may seem to many of us like a problem for someone else, somewhere else. For others, it is an urgent and very personal worry. A map produced by the Institute for Local Self Reliance shows there are food deserts in every state. In Ohio, they are growing. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, the institute defines an urban food desert as a low-income census tract with at least 500 people or 33% of the population living a mile or more from the nearest supermarket, large grocery or supercenter; rural food deserts have the same parameters with the exception of ...

Midterms are Dems to lose

Democrats are buzzing over the surprise victory of Taylor Rehmet in a Texas state Senate race. Rehmet won by 14 points in a district Donald Trump carried by 17 points in 2024. That outcome inspired a piece by Republican strategist Karl Rove titled “Midterms Are Dems’ to Lose — and They May.” Rove doesn’t gloss over Republicans’ weak spots — the president’s dismal approval ratings, falling consumer confidence and the daily churn of Trump-fueled chaos. But he also notes the Democrats’ penchant for nominating far-left activists in moderate districts, candidates who ...

Virginia’s clownish redistricting scheme

Virginia is the new Illinois. The practice of drawing partisan districts is named after Elbridge Gerry, the 19th century Massachusetts governor. Even he might blush at the extreme gerrymander that Democrats in the commonwealth are pushing. They want to go from a congressional delegation with six Democrats and five Republicans — broadly representing the partisan makeup of the state — to a 10-1 Democratic advantage. In other words, purplish Virginia would have a congressional delegation that, in percentage terms, would be more Democratic than that of Illinois; Virginia’s ...

Ohio’s Safe Haven about more than just Baby Boxes

We don’t hear about them often — because the decision to give up a child is an excruciating one, and does not often result in their use — but another Safe Haven Baby Box HAS been used to legally surrender a baby in Ohio. This one was at the Delhi Township Fire Department, where firefighters responded in less than a minute to deliver care to the infant, according to the Safe Haven organization. Founder Monica Kelsey took to social media to make the announcement, saying “We’ve had another baby surrendered legally in one of our Safe Haven Baby Boxes. This time down in the ...

Downsizing MAGA to reality

As we survey the wreckage of Trump’s second term, it is often said that half the country voted for this, or worse, half the country is fine with this. That isn’t true. MAGA is a bit of a moving target, but a recent Economist/YouGov poll found that only 27% of all voters described themselves as “MAGA supporters” and a perhaps surprisingly low 54% of Trump voters so identified. In other words, a minority of the voting public and only a little over half of the GOP is Trump’s loyal base. A new survey from More in Common, an international pro-democracy organization (I sit on ...