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Feeling a little bit of nostalgia for a bad habit

I miss smoking. There. I’ve said it. Now, I don’t miss it enough to go out and buy a $17 pack of cigarettes — which is apparently the lunatic price these days — and sit down and smoke them, but I certainly miss it enough to hope that if I’m ever on a plane that’s about to go down in a fiery ball the Bermuda Triangle, some kind soul on board will have, and agree to bum me, a square. God help me if the only combustible on offer is a vape, which won’t precisely do the trick. I don’t blame anyone who’s trying to preserve their health, however dubious the method, ...

Strive to behave as ‘Easter People’ throughout year

For Christians, Sunday is the holiest day of the year — Easter. It is a day of celebration, commemorating the resurrection of the Son. For millennia, this season also has been a time to celebrate the return of the sun, when our minds are on a kind of rebirth and living again in the light. Easter brings us joy, yes. It also teaches us about sacrifice and love; and gives us a brightly colored reminder that we are supposed to love one another, too. For many, it is a day of dressing up, perhaps attending church, having a meal with family and then giving in to modern traditions ...

Thanking Ohio National Guard members for their continued service

Ohio’s National Guard is made up of 35,000 active and reserve Buckeye State residents who sign on to be available for their state and country when duty calls. If help is needed — whether that be responding to a flood-stricken community or defending our country’s interests halfway around the globe — they stand up. Ohioans got a startling reminder of just how diverse the Ohio National Guard’s membership is when Secretary of State Frank LaRose was activated last week for deployment. According to a report by The Columbus Dispatch, his deployment location will not be disclosed, ...

The government doesn’t own you

Politicians tax what we earn, regulate what we build and often decide what we can do with our bodies and our money. I like to think I own myself. But politicians increasingly act as if they do. “People should not have power over other people’s lives,” says Timothy Sandefur, author of the book “You Don’t Own Me.” In my latest video, Sandefur challenges the attitude that “freedom belongs to the government and it can parcel it out to us.” He starts with building permits. “A building permit really says, you’re not allowed to build on your own property until ...

What is ‘Transgender Awareness Day’ actually about?

It’s finally springtime, which can only mean one thing. Not Easter, or Passover or Ramadan. No, March 31 was International Transgender Awareness Day, an annual day dedicated to transgender awareness. Taking to social media, the Democratic Party announced that “Trans rights are human rights.” So “This Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the resilience of transgender and nonbinary Americans and celebrate their incredible courage,” they added. “To our trans neighbors on this trans day of visibility: I see you, I cherish you, and I stand with you in the face of the ...

Ohio, W.Va. have plenty of work ahead

Residents of this region pride themselves on a pioneering spirit that has spread across generations of those who helped fuel and build this country. But these days, we’re falling behind as others have picked up the torch. In fact, according to WalletHub’s “Most and Least Innovative States (2026),” Ohio ranks 40th in the country, and West Virginia ranks a predictable 49th. According to the study, the most innovative places are Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and California. Those measures are based on data points such as the share of STEM professionals, research and ...