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Explaining America’s health care free speech movement

Why should you join America’s health care free speech movement? You may have already enlisted if you’ve had the gnawing feeling that the well-known patterns of health care debate conceal some as yet unrevealed primal reality that block important issues from being joined. You’d be right. There may be a few thousand people nationwide who are occasional health care free speechers, although they don’t call themselves that. Among them are a few lawyers, some academics, a handful of medical doctors, and independent theoreticians and citizen-dissenters. Consider this: historians ...

Can the U.S. still equip its military in time of war?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is approaching its fourth year. And as it drags on, Washington is learning just how vulnerable our nation could be in a similar conflict. The glaring problem we now encounter is the erosion of our defense industrial base. The once vaunted arsenal of democracy that led America to victory in World War II is long gone. Simply put, we no longer produce the weapons and munitions needed for high-intensity, industrialized conflict. Consider our startling inability to meet Ukraine’s need for 155-millimeter artillery rounds. It’s a key piece of weaponry in ...

Individuals reminded to get ‘gold star’ driver’s license

It seems like a lifetime ago — back in 2005, as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Congress passed the Real ID Act. At the time, the idea was to have the program implemented by 2008, but opposition and other delays pushed the timeline. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic extended more than once the deadline for individuals getting identification documents that satisfy Real ID Act standards. But now, the agreed-upon deadline is approaching rapidly. It is a mere three months away. Across the country, states are urging residents who have not already done so to collect the ...

Individuals reminded to get ‘gold star’ driver’s license

It seems like a lifetime ago — back in 2005, as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Congress passed the Real ID Act. At the time, the idea was to have the program implemented by 2008, but opposition and other delays pushed the timeline. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic extended more than once the deadline for individuals getting identification documents that satisfy Real ID Act standards. But now, the agreed-upon deadline is approaching rapidly. It is a mere three months away. Across the country, states are urging residents who have not already done so to collect the ...

GOP candidates for 2026 races coming into focus

The Republican candidates for next year’s statewide races are starting to come into focus. U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, the former lieutenant governor appointed to Congress’ upper chamber by Gov. Mike DeWine, will seek election to the seat next year. Husted will have to run again in 2028 for a full six-year term should he win in 2026. Husted likely won’t get a serious challenge in next year’s Republican primary. Husted had planned to run for governor in 2026. He wasn’t scaring off any opponents and at least three viable Republicans plan to run for governor. Attorney General Dave ...

Husted just couldn’t pass up the Senate opportunity

Hardly anyone, including Jon Husted, pictured him as a U.S. senator. But the Republican, who has eyed the Ohio governor’s seat for many years, just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Husted, lieutenant governor for the past six years, gave the vice-presidential nominating speech for J.D. Vance on July 17 at the Republican National Convention. When he got the appointment last week from Gov. Mike DeWine to succeed Vance in the Senate, Husted harkened back to that day at the RNC and said someone asked him at the time about filling that potential vacancy. “That seems so ...