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Columns/Opinion

Texture key element of handmade goods

Last week, Kevin Zorn and I chatted over coffee — I expected to learn about his hobby and art: Spoon carving. While we did discuss his process, materials and other general info about spoons, our conversation also gave me lots of food for thought. Kevin often creates unconventional coffee spoons — handles bent or twisted, showcasing knots in the wood, and sometimes triangular or oval scoops. The quirkiness of the spoons led me to reach out to Kevin. We quickly delved into the texture of his spoons. As he explained, among the worldwide spoon carving community, there is a ...

To all you privately disgusted Republicans

This is an open letter to all of you privately disgusted Republicans. It’s prompted by the fact that in the last few days, two of your colleagues have come forward to share with us your angst. One was actually an ex-colleague, former GOP Rep. Charlie Dent. He told CNN that you continue to support Donald Trump because pressure from the base — the almighty base — forces you to. “But there’s no question,” he added, “having spoken to many of them privately, they’re absolutely disgusted and exhausted by the president’s behavior.” Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks seconded ...

One death row case indicts the entire system

The American criminal justice system has never been as good about ferreting out truth and justice as most people would like to think. The system relies on the memories and judgments of human beings, which makes it fallible and, worse, subject to manipulation. A new in-depth look at the career of a single jailhouse informant brings the system’s failings into sharp relief and stands as an irrefutable indictment of capital punishment and the criminal justice system itself. The article, by investigative reporter Pamela Colloff follows the life of a two-bit grifter named Paul Skalnik who ...

Trump could be unpardonable

Not even overwhelming evidence that Donald Trump sought to bribe a foreign power to dig up dirt on his leading political opponent in 2020 — and did so with American taxpayer dollars while compromising American foreign policy — will cause Trump to be removed from office. That’s because there’s zero chance that 20 Republican senators — the number needed to convict Trump, if every Democratic senator votes to do so — have enough integrity to do what the Constitution requires them to do. Republican senators will put their jobs and their political party ahead of the Constitution ...

In the ‘nicest place in America,’ community thrives

COLUMBIANA, Ohio The thing about a city earning a title such as the “nicest place in America” is that outsiders often assume the people who live there don’t have to work at being nice. Well, anyone in this lovely city that straddles both the Mahoning and Columbiana counties would say you do have to work at it. But like anything worthwhile (including warmth, generosity, common courtesy and the selfless notion of paying it forward), it starts to come more easily with time. It also helps that Columbiana has a deep sense of community, which means it is committed to its success. ...

Sen. Warren’s problems go beyond health care

Elizabeth Warren had great momentum for a while. Then her poll numbers leveled and fell. The standard explanation is that the Democrat’s “Medicare for All” plan comes across as too radical — both the price and the part that would force over 150 million Americans off their employers’ private coverage. But other negatives subtract from Warren’s appeal as a presidential candidate. One is that she grates on us, another way of saying not likable. The other is she’s not totally honest. I asked one of Warren’s ardent admirers about the political risks in her health plan. ...