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Brenda J. Linert

Be sensible when you hit the seven seas

Syndicated columnist Diane Dimond last week wrote her entire column about crime on the seven seas. Dimond, whose typical columns, published on Thursday’s Tribune Chronicle opinion page, deal with crime and punishment — often sexual assaults — last week was talking about crime on cruise ships. Now, that’s not a topic I particularly wanted to read, since later this year my family and I will be heading out to sea for respite, sunshine and sightseeing in the Caribbean. But, in my business, I know the importance of reading and being educated on even upsetting information. And ...

Don’t be stupid when using social media

The Trumbull County Board of Elections last week adopted an employee “Social Media Policy” supporting the “free exchange and camaraderie” that social media brings, but warning workers about serious repercussions of overstepping on the internet — whether on or off duty. (Read it here) That could include things like revealing confidential information about the county or its employees, engaging in posts of inappropriate material, sharing content that is, among other things, vulgar or obscene, threatening, intimidating, discriminatory, harassing or hostile, according to the ...

Anonymity should be a rarity in news stories

CNN this week said it was safety concerns that led to its decision to withhold the identity of the man behind a doctored anti-CNN video shared last week by President Donald Trump. The video, originally posted by an unidentified man on Reddit, a social media web site, showed an old WWE wrestling match of Trump "roughing up" a pro wrestling promoter, with the CNN logo superimposed over his face. Trump last week tweeted a link to the outrageous video, and it has become the president's most-shared social media post, according to Twitter. CNN apparently used its investigative prowess to ...

Fair, not crude, public criticism will help keep America great

I had hoped the barrage of crude attacks directed by candidate Donald Trump at the national media was going to slow when President Donald Trump took office. This week, however, Trump took to Twitter again, this time to ridicule the intelligence, appearance and temperament of cable television anchors Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, co-hosts of MSNBC's show "Morning Joe." "I heard poorly rated @Morning Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came … to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted ...

Keep fighting to shed light on government

We recently published several stories and opinion pieces dealing with attempts by local public bodies to keep their constituents in the dark. Among those, we reported on a series of “round-robin” meetings involving individual members of Warren City Council and a private business hoping to gain licensing to operate a marijuana cultivation center here. The meetings, obvious attempts to circumvent Ohio sunshine laws, were followed by a council meeting where council unanimously supported the business plan in an “emergency” vote, thereby limiting response from any constituent ...

Hatred kills what makes our nation great

The man accused of shooting House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and several others during baseball practice last week just outside Washington, D.C., belonged to an anti-Republican group called, “Terminate the Republican Party.” James T. Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Ill., was killed during gunfire exchanged with congressional security workers during practice for what typically is a good-natured congressional baseball game pitting Democrats against Republicans. Scalise, grievously wounded, and the others who also were injured, Matt Mika, a former congressional staff ...