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Yes, Virginia, there are differences between boys, girls

Am I sexist? I think there are differences between men and women -- traits beyond obvious physical ones. But when I was young, feminist leaders said there were no differences. The only reason men ran most things was sexism. There was plenty of that. One example people forget: Until 1974, women couldn’t get a credit card without their husband’s permission. A women’s movement was long overdue. I believed the new “experts” who said, if we raise children in gender-neutral ways, men and women will behave similarly. Then I had kids. Now I understand that boys and girls ...

Orchids & onions

ORCHID: To Margie Petrunia of Cortland for her exemplary service over more than three decades as a library aide in the Lakeview Local School District. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce rightfully recognized that stellar service last week by awarding Petrunia its 2026 Recognizing Inspirational School Employee of the Year award. The award, established by an act of the U.S. Congress, honors classified school employees who provide exemplary service to their school communities. Lakeview Schools Superintendent Ashley Handrych nominated Petrunia for the prestigious award. “Margie ...

Give Ohio townships viable opportunities to evolve as cities

In coming weeks and months, leaders of the 15 townships with 5,000 people or more in Mahoning and Trumbull counties likely will keep their eyeballs squarely peeled on the evolution of state House Bill 592. That’s because that legislation, sponsored by state Rep. David Thomas, R-Jefferson, would open long-locked doors to those townships’ potential to evolve into much stronger local governments. For decades, informal whispered talk of transforming weak township governments into much stronger city governments have been floated, particularly among such larger and urbanized ...

Tax the dog (walker)

At first it seemed like something from the satirical website Babylon Bee. The new governor of Virginia, the “moderate” Democrat Abigail Spanberger, has proposed a tax hike on services such as dog walking and grooming. Additional proposed tax hikes include levies on guns and ammunition, storage facilities, dry cleaning, home repairs, food delivery services, package deliveries and a new personal property tax on electric leaf blowers (but not gas-powered blowers?) and electric landscaping equipment. There is no economic reason for raising taxes in Virginia. When his single term ...

Selling U.S. security: A Trump family business

The U.S. makes artificial intelligence chips so special, so advanced, that the Biden administration limited their export for national security reasons. They didn’t want them to get into the hands of China or Russia. But days before Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term, go-betweens for an Abu Dhabi royal signed a secret deal that delivered $187 million into Trump family ventures. So far, as far as we know. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan — nickname, the “spy sheik” — had long been frustrated in his campaign to obtain this highly sensitive AI technology. The fear ...

American Gestapo/American Psycho

Two weeks ago, a half-dozen masked and unidentifiable Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents killed a 37-year-old federal employee, a nurse, by spraying pepper spray into his eyes, pushing him to the ground, stealing his lawfully owned and carried handgun, and then shooting him nine times in the back. The thugs from ICE whom the federal government has sent to Minneapolis have produced murder and mayhem on a scale far more violent, disruptive and disturbing to human life than have the immigrants residing there without papers. Under the Constitution, immigration — who can ...