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Editorials

Melania: The movie, the bribe, the shame

I haven’t seen it. I hope you don’t, either. This, from one of the kinder reviews: “Across some 104 minutes, the first lady delivers these blatantly scripted and meaningless narrations with all the conviction of someone who just woke up from a two-hour nap and can’t remember what day it is.” Manohla Dargis of The New York Times sees a “glossy, curiously impersonal” portrait of a woman who “rarely drops her Sphinxlike deadpan.” Nick Hilton of The Independent calls the first lady a “scowling void of pure nothingness in this ghastly bit of propaganda.” ...

SB 348 addresses dangers of potential date-rape drugs

Worried parents often warn their children — of any age — to be wary when they go out to bars and restaurants. Generations of bar patrons have received these admonitions from friends and family: “Keep your eye on your drink! Be careful!” Despite those warnings, too many continue to fall victim to drugged drinks each year. According to a report by WTVG, state Sens. Louis Blessing III, R-Colerain Township, and Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, cited data that 1 in 13 college-aged people suspect they have been drugged at some point. They brought up the numbers as part of their introduction ...

HB 524 warns of dangers of AI and self-harm

(This item discusses suicide and self-harm. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988.) Ohio House Bill 524 aims to address a problem few could have imagined a decade or two ago: Artificial intelligence chatbots encouraging people to harm themselves or others. State Rep. Christine Cockley, D-Columbus, is lead sponsor on the bipartisan bill, which would allow for imposing penalties for AI models suggesting harming self or others. It now sits in the House Technology and Innovation Committee. Testimony earlier ...

Americans vote with their feet

It may seem that it’s impossible to get anything done in Washington these days. Nevertheless, the free spirit of Americans cannot be suppressed. Americans are voting with their feet. Per the Census Bureau’s just released annual report on population growth and migration in the U.S., Americans are packing up and moving from anti-growth blue states to pro-growth red states. Top five in population growth from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025: South Carolina, Idaho, North Carolina, Delaware, Tennessee. Top five in population loss: New York, Hawaii, Alaska, District of Columbia, ...

Trump steals pride and joy of Washington

You can’t just shut down a city’s beating heart for the arts for two years, especially in times of turmoil. People should hear a Brahms symphony, played live in a concert hall, to feel alive again. Make that a capital city’s shimmering marble center by the riverside, with a terrace. It packs a punch of red-carpet glamour with vibrant shows scheduled every day. It’s named to honor a beloved and slain president’s memory, deeply mourned the decade he died, in the 1960s. Everything changed in a fatal instant that autumn day, when the country went from exhilaration and grace to ...

Stephen Miller’s mass deportation plan backfires on GOP

How does a Republican lose by 14 points in a safe conservative Texas state Senate seat that President Trump carried by 17 points in 2024? Answer: When there’s a voter backlash against the Trump administration, notably its mass deportation debacles. That’s what happened Saturday in a special election to fill a GOP seat in Tarrant County in the Fort Worth area. Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a labor union leader and veteran, romped over Republican Leigh Wambsganss, who had a Truth Social endorsement from Trump and vastly outspent Rehmet. The election timing was awful for Republicans in ...