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Who gets a say?

Local Editorials

It was surprising when the city of Fairmont called a special meeting to discuss the hiring of a liquor store manager. The city council in recent years has had special meetings to discuss the hiring of a city administrator, which makes sense, given the importance of the role and the fact that the city administrator, along with the city attorney, are the only two positions the council oversees. I’m not saying the liquor store manager role isn’t important, but the city is currently looking for a full-time lineman and it’s also been looking for a community development director for the ...

Cornell case is a moral failure

Columns

If you have been following the news from Cornell University, you'll know that a former student —identified only as "Jane Doe”— is claiming that she was gang-raped at a Chi Phi fraternity party in 2024 and that seven men were involved. As horrific as that accusation is, the story gets ...

Stop the hysteria over flock cameras

Columns

In the bad old crime days of New York City, I spent a Christmas Eve waiting outside an emergency room. Our foursome had been violently robbed in a subway station, and I was eager for the doctor's report on one member who'd suffered a concussion fighting off a mugger. Because someone got ...

How death penalty opponents share the blame for botched executions

Columns

"Botched" is a perfectly fine word for golf, cooking, or home repair. It seems inadequate for the taking of a life, even the life of Christa Pike, a heinous murderer. In 1996, a jury found Pike guilty of the torture and murder of her Jobs Corps classmate, Colleen Slemmer. Pike was sentenced ...

Trillionaires

Columns

How much money should any one person have? When Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire, people got mad. "He will own everything!" claims a popular YouTuber. "He will own your house ... your country ... your government." Comedian Bill Maher, lately a voice of reason, asked, "Would it be crazy to have a law that said, 'You can't go above 1% of gross domestic product?!'" Actually, yes. My new video explains why it would be crazy. People who hate the very rich tend to assume that there's a finite amount of wealth. So if Musk has a trillion dollars, everyone else must ...

For Gen Z, the American dream comes with new challenges

Columns

I shared the September PBS NewsHour report "Is the American Dream still achievable for younger generations?" with my English composition students this week as we begin our Gen Z and the Workplace theme for their second research essay. I found this report, which is part of PBS senior ...