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Prevention and safety is better than a cure

This week was my 5-year colonoscopy. The 5th in my life. Colonoscopies are the best way to prevent colon cancer. Fourteen years ago, my brother passed from colon cancer at age 57. He didn’t like doctors, checkups or colonoscopies. He finally went to the doctor when he was too weak to walk across a room. By then it was too late. He died two months later. It was sad. He would have been proud, if he had lived, to see the success of his children and would have enjoyed playing with his grandchildren. His grandchildren are fine young adults. We enjoy talking to them. A colonoscopy could ...

Freedom of Speech In America Must Go Both Ways

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Before freedom of the press, assembly or the petitioning of grievances, it is freedom of speech that is first guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Why? Because to be truly free, you must be free to think, and without the freedom to express what you think, ...

Honoring Our Veterans In Belmont County

As Veterans Day approaches, I want to pause to reflect on the courage, sacrifice, and unwavering service of the men and women who have defended our freedoms. This is a time not only for remembrance but also for gratitude of those who gave their all and those who continue to live among us as our everyday heroes. Belmont County’s patriotism runs deep. Each November, our communities come alive with displays of pride and remembrance — from flags and banners lining Main streets to ceremonies and museum exhibits honoring generations of service. These tributes remind us that the ...

Donald Trump’s tariffs find themselves on trial

In times of national emergency, should the Supreme Court dictate America’s grand strategy and international economic policies? This question confronts the justices in Learning Resources v. Trump, a case that puts the president’s tariff powers to the test. If President Donald Trump loses, the Treasury faces having to refund more than $100 billion in tariff revenue, and the president’s trade strategy will be thrown into chaos. Businesses that have already changed their operations because of the tariffs, drawing jobs and supply chains back to America, will be subject to grave ...

Bill Gates discovers he has been mugged by reality

You’ve probably heard by now the blockbuster news that Microsoft founder Bill Gates, one of the richest people to ever walk the planet, has had a change of heart on climate change. For several decades, Gates poured billions of dollars into the climate-industrial complex and was howling that the end is nigh unless we stop using fossil fuels, cars, air conditioning and general anesthesia. Now he says he rejects the “doomsday” predictions of the more extreme global warming prophets. Some conservatives have snuffed that Gates has shifted his position on climate change because he ...

There’s nothing wrong with the U.S. testing its nuclear weapons

Donald Trump has trampled on another taboo, and it’s a good thing. The president said in a Truth Social post that the United States will begin “immediately” testing our “Nuclear Weapons” on “an equal basis” with Russia and China. It’s not clear what this means exactly. Trump could be referring to the delivery systems that carry nuclear weapons or the weapons themselves. If it is the latter, as most news accounts assume, it will represent an advance for the U.S. nuclear deterrent and a victory of common sense over superstition. The United States conducted more ...