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What no one will tell you about the national debt — but I will

Editorials

The U.S. national debt just crossed a once-unthinkable threshold on the way toward breaking the record set in the wake of World War II: It now exceeds 100% of America’s gross domestic product. As of March 31, our publicly held debt was $31.27 trillion, while America’s GDP in 2025 was $31.22 trillion. This puts the ratio at 100.2%, compared with 99.5% when the last fiscal year ended Sept. 30. That 100.2% figure will likely climb, because the federal government is running historically large annual deficits of nearly 6% of GDP, which add to the debt. The final tally will depend on ...

Show love and reject bitterness

Editorials

May 7 marked our nation’s 75th annual National Day of Prayer. This milestone year of reverence to the Lord carried the theme “Glorify God Among the Nations — Seeking Him in All Generations.” For many, this theme holds special significance, as we will be celebrating America’s 250th anniversary in July. The prayer that was posted on the NDP website was written by Task Force President Kathy Branzell, and in it, she praises God for guarding and guiding our country since its inception. The beginning of the prayer is an earnest statement of confession, where Branzell writes, ...

On the Comey indictment and free speech

Editorials

In 200-plus years of interpreting the free speech clause of the First Amendment, the courts have narrowed and expanded its scope. The Supreme Court employed a particularly narrow approach during much of the last century, through two world wars and then the Red Scare in the 1950s. Thankfully, in the 1960s, the Warren Court began a remarkable and thus far unimpeded march toward compelling the government to tolerate open, wide, caustic and even threatening speech. When crafting the First Amendment with its iconic speech clause — “Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom ...

Summer fun just around the corner

Editorials

State officials celebrated Tourism Day at the Ohio Statehouse earlier this week. As they did so, they highlighted many of the destinations and experiences that make the Buckeye State the heart of it all. Surely, there are Ohio destinations that are known all over the country — maybe even around the world — such as the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland or Cedar Point in Sandusky. But our lesser known gems are what really makes Ohio worth the trip. “Summer in Ohio means county fairs, lake trips, family road trips, baseball games, ...

Could President Trump care less about you and me?

Editorials

WASHINGTON — Camelot, it’s not. King Arthur, not even close. Donald Trump is a pretender president who doesn’t even pretend to do right by the people. In all candor, this city, graced by garden squares, memorials and museums, feels like a crime scene, with his fingerprints everywhere on it. Places we held dear are demolished (the White House East Wing) or closed (the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts). But who knows what’s in the knave’s heart? Trump also dumped toxic debris from the East Wing site onto a popular public golf course. His visage scowls from windows at ...

Perspectives on DeWine’s fast decision on attorney general

David Skolnick

Everything happened so fast. Two days after the primary, Attorney General Dave Yost announced May 7 that he was resigning, effective June 7, to take a leadership position with a Christian conservative legal advocacy group. Four days after that, Gov. Mike DeWine said he was appointing Andy Wilson, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety and a member of his administration for more than seven years, as Yost’s successor. DeWine, a former attorney general, said: “It was very important for me to make this decision quickly. The new attorney general, frankly, has to start ...