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Ed Puskas

Boom goes the ‘quarter-stick of dynamite’

By the time you read this, America’s 249th birthday will have passed, but — depending on where you live — the fireworks are likely to continue until the neighborhood supply is exhausted. Look, I love America as much as anyone — and probably more than a lot of people these days — and I still enjoy a fireworks show. Some of the best memories we have as kids probably involve Fourth of July fireworks shows. I’m too old for that stuff now. I’m more than happy to sit out the explosions and leave them to others. But I’ll always have the memories. As a kid, watching fireworks ...

Political violence: We’re better than that, right?

Hours before approximately 2,000 people gathered for “No Kings” rallies in Warren and Youngstown — and many more across Ohio and the United States did the same — a lone gunman dressed up like a police officer and murdered a Minnesota legislator and her husband. In the immediate aftermath, reaction was swift and — in some cases — misguided. Partisan hacks on both sides of America’s deeply divided political spectrum couldn’t wait to blame it on their opponents. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the slaying of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman “a politically ...

All should compete, but don’t undermine female athletes

We’re nearing the 40th anniversary of an impressive athletic feat only a few people know about. In fact, I might be the only person involved who remembers it. And when I say “involved,” I don’t mean that the above-mentioned feat was mine, nor my partner in crime’s that day. Even though, at 18 or 19 back then, we both were considered at the peak of whatever extremely limited athletic abilities we might have had. So, sadly, our involvement meant that we were the Washington Generals — or worse — to the Harlem Globetrotters-like performance of two women’s college ...

What to do about hate and terrorists

I’ve never understood haters. People who make it their life’s work to demonize and hate others because they look different, speak a different language and have their own belief system always go out of their way to be miserable. It just makes no sense to me on any level. And let’s not make the mistake of believing that hate only comes from one group of people or a single political party or entity. A few clicks on your phone or a computer will show all the examples of atrocities committed by all kinds of people against a variety of other people for all kinds of reasons. But how ...

What’s on the tube? Lots and lots of cop shows

I’m told there is something wrong with my television. According to someone who knows (read: thinks they know), my TV’s scope is limited. It apparently only gets baseball, basketball, football, cop shows with serial killers and “Gutfield.” This “fact” was presented to me the other day. My response, as I flipped back and forth between a Cleveland Guardians game and an episode of “Criminal Minds: Evolution” was this: “You say that like it’s a problem. What else does anyone need?” Wrong answer. I know that now. The correct answer, apparently, is a never-ending ...

Sick or not, it’s fair to examine Joe Biden’s presidency

I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. I’ve been in front of the camera a handful of times, but because I have the perfect face for radio, only a tiny, unlucky subset of the American people have ever experienced the misfortune of turning on the idiot box and seeing my unkempt look and awkward — but notably surly — demeanor in their living rooms. So I am not a medical expert, unless you count a couple of extended hospital stays, a couple of broken bones, witnessing a cesarean section and meeting my daughter moments later and watching some TV medical dramas. None of ...