Opinion

Ohio's smoking ban, approved by 58 percent of Ohio voters in November 2006, has prompted much debate about whether some 1,500 private clubs -- such as VFWs and fraternal organizations -- are exempt from the new law. Opponents say Ohio voters didn't know...  Read Story.

The message of my last book, White Ghetto, is that the social chaos in inner city black communities is symptomatic of the cultural pathology gripping the nation as a whole. Inner city black American life is a leading indicator of American culture and a...  Read Story.

The 21st century has many problems, but a shortage of information is not one of them. Trying to avoid being endlessly barraged with facts is like trying to stay dry in a hurricane. But no matter. One government body after another has the idea that some...  Read Story.

Alzheimer group is valuable I am the daughter and caregiver of an Alzheimer's-afflicted parent. My mom resides in a local nursing home where she is well cared for by skilled nurses and staff. This quiets my worries over her safety, and sometimes quiets...  Read Story.

Two of Thursday's Supreme Court rulings -- both decided 5-4, and with the same alignment of justices -- concerned the Constitution's first two amendments. One ruling benefits Barack Obama by not reviving the dormant debate about gun control. The other...  Read Story.

On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to take up the appeal lodged by environmental groups that focused on a two-mile stretch of border fence in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area near Naco, Ariz. The fence, which has been built since the...  Read Story.

Friends, neighbors banded together On Friday, June 6, our family barn on Standley Road burned to the ground with a total loss to the building and contents. We are very fortunate to have our local volunteer fire departments -- South Richland, with the...  Read Story.

Editorial Some complaints have been surfacing about the condition of streets in Defiance's Northfield Addition, primarily because residents say promises to fix them have gone unfulfilled. The subdivision is located north of the Maumee River, between...  Read Story.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Fifty years ago, Jack Kilby, who grew up in Great Bend, Kan., took the electrical engineering knowledge he acquired as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois and a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin to Dallas, to...  Read Story.

Some years back on the campaign trail, the reporters traveling with the candidates divided themselves into two tribes, the Big Feet and the Little Feet. The Big Feet were the anchors, bureau chiefs and big-name columnists who would drop in on the...  Read Story.

MEMO TO: Barack Obama. RE: Campaign Financing -- Candor Fudged, Opportunity Blown. This is one of those times when a candidate needs to be on the receiving end, instead of the dispensing end, of some straight talk. You have just jeopardized the excellent...  Read Story.

There is a reason progress in Iraq is not receiving more attention. It isn't that Americans are "bored" or "tired" or have "moved on" or "don't care" or "have already made up their minds that the war was a colossal mistake." All of these are variations...  Read Story.

One of the ancient axioms of chemistry is, "The dose makes the poison." What may be beneficial in small doses can be harmful in large ones. A couple of aspirin can cure a headache, but a couple hundred will kill the patient. That insight applies in...  Read Story.

Mention most highways and it will evoke nothing more than a few thoughts about a boring stretch of road. But with U.S. 24 things are usually much different. For many, U.S. 24 may remind us of a familiar route to a favorite shopping destination, but it...  Read Story.

Energy is too important to be left to businessmen and markets, right? We need people who we really can trust to get things under control. Like politicians. I'm looking at Carpe Diem, the blog of Dr Mark J. Perry, an economics professor at the University...  Read Story.

Only with Tim Russert's sudden death at the age of 58 has his true stature as a landmark journalist become as widely recognized as it has long deserved to be. To ask who will replace him as host of "Meet the Press" is to confront the reality that there...  Read Story.

Pets shouldn't be dumped I would like to take a moment to address some people who take animals to a rural location and drop them off. Two weeks ago someone dumped a little white dog with brown spots. He had obviously been dumped from a vehicle as his...  Read Story. (2 comments)

COLUMBUS -- It must be a presidential election year, because my electronic in-box is filling up with purportedly legitimate poll data quicker than newspaper reporters at a free buffet. A quick Google search identified 16,000-plus news stories on these...  Read Story. (1 comment)

Listening to political talk requires a third ear that hears what is not said. Today's near silence about crime probably is evidence of social improvement. For many reasons, including better policing and more incarceration, Americans feel, and are,...  Read Story.

As gigs go in this troubled economy, it's not so bad being a profoundly unpopular lame-duck president. As President Bush demonstrates, it's liberating to lack influence. Stuck with rock-bottom job-approval ratings, the president can say and do whatever...  Read Story. (1 comment)