Mister Wonderful
We have a Republican nominee for president who is the oldest ever nominated for that office by the Republican party. If elected, it is quite possible he may not live to complete his term with the result that J. D. Vance would be president. Vance not long ago compared Trump to Adolph Hitler. Now he thinks Trump is mister wonderful.
Can we really believe anything this opportunist says? He continues to spout off comments about Hattians eating people’s pets although there is zero evidence of this.
Can we really believe anything this opportunist says? He wrote a book, “Hillbilly Elegy” that gives the impression he grew up in Appalachia and pulled himself up by his bootstraps and went to Yale and became wealthy.
He grew up in Middletown, Ohio. I thought Appalachia was in or near the Appalachian Mountains.
After searching a map, I discovered Middletown is between Dayton and Cincinnati. Is that Appalachia? Was or is that a community of poverty? My impression it is and was one of the more prosperous areas of Ohio. A major steel mill was going gang busters there when he grew up and that mill is still there pumping out steel.
Can we really believe anything Vance writes or says?
Time to stop believing lies and electing liars to office.
John G. Augustine
Parkman Township
Editor’s Note: J.D. Vance was raised by his grandparents in Middletown, in southwestern Ohio, while his mother battled an addiction. He spent a significant amount of time traveling to Jackson, Ky., a city in the Appalachian region, with his grandparents to visit extended family. In his book, he drew cultural similarities between the two cities because many of his Middletown neighbors were Appalachian transplants. Vance grew up in a middle-class household.
Experience Matters
Experience Matters. This election, we have a choice between someone who has practical and valuable experience as an elected judge versus someone who has none.
The election for Geauga County Common Pleas Judge is non-partisan, which means you are not voting for a Republican or Democrat but the person who is best for us, the local citizens.
Mary Jane Trapp and Matt Rambo are both attorneys; but after that, the comparisons cease to exist.
Mary Jane Trapp has 12 years as a judge at the Court of Appeals and has served multiple terms as its chief judge. She has served as a visiting judge on the Ohio Supreme Court. She has held many positions in the Ohio Bar Association, up to and including president. She serves on many judicial committees statewide and nationally and has been tasked by the Ohio Judicial College to teach new and experienced judges how to be good judges. Mary Jane will not have a learning curve and will be ready from day one.
Why does experience matter in this election more than any other common pleas election? The commissioners are putting a $20,000,000 addition on the back of the present courthouse. The judges will be moving, other county offices will be moving, and it is going to be a logistics nightmare with a lot of kinks to work out.
Mary Jane Trapp’s experience in many different courtrooms definitely will help avoid and straighten out those kinks. The business of the court must still go on and an orderly docket must be maintained. Experience will help make that happen.
In the classroom for new judges, do you want the teacher or the student? Please join me in voting for my neighbor, Mary Jane Trapp for Geauga County Common Pleas Court Judge on Nov. 5.
David Komocki
Russell Township
Descendants of Immigrants
I’ve been dismayed and appalled by the vicious lies that so-called political leaders in this nation have perpetuated about immigrants to this country.
In a small effort to debunk those lies, I offer a perspective on a local immigrant population, largely from Mexico, which may be instructive for those who may not know members of this community.
Having retired recently, I volunteered to teach English as a second language to Spanish-speaking immigrant adults at HOLA, a nonprofit organization in Painesville that runs a wide array of programs to help the large Hispanic population in the Painesville area.
When we put out a call to the Hispanic community to sign up for the course, the response was overwhelming. About 130 people registered, from which we created a class of about 60 students.
We’re only into our third week, but already I’ve been impressed by the students’ hunger to learn English. Many already have jobs, others are looking for employment, and still others want to learn English simply to communicate better with their children.
But all of them are decent, eager, hardworking people who understand the value of good English-language skills not only to improve their own lives but also to contribute more productively as workers to the local economy and more effectively as citizens to their city, state and country.
Although they revere their Hispanic roots, they are also loyal, patriotic Americans who want to reap the rewards and enjoy the rights that all U.S. citizens strive to possess. They are not murderers, rapists and drug-traffickers, as they are so often portrayed by politicians and in the media. Most are American citizens, no different in their essential values and aspirations from non-Hispanic, non-minority citizens in this country.
For this reason, they deserve to be treated with respect and, given the discrimination to which they are too often exposed, with humble admiration for what they bring economically and culturally to our diverse nation. They remind us that we are all (aside from Native Americans) the descendants of immigrants and that we are all the richer for that fact.
John McBratney
Munson Township
NO on Ohio Issue One
Issue One was supposed to stop gerrymandering, but the ballot reads: “Establish a new taxpayer-funded commission of appointees required to gerrymander…”
Not only will gerrymandering continue, but it will also now cost taxpayers unlimited dollars.
Since 1812, gerrymandering has been free. The ballot states: “Impose new taxpayer-funded costs on the State of Ohio to pay the commission members, their staff, appointed special masters, professionals, and private consultants the commission is required to hire; and an unlimited amount for legal expenses…”
I cannot imagine giving any commission an open check book for unlimited legal expenses.
Issue One prevents the removal of commissioners for gross misconduct and other vile behaviors except by fellow members. Worse, citizens are prohibited from suing the commission and from communicating with them regarding certain matters. Why should I vote for Issue One fi it takes away my right to free speech? How egregious.
By petitioning to make Issue One an amendment instead of a law, the backers can enshrine their power in the Ohio Constitution. There are no provisions for unintended consequences. For example, what fi one of the two major political parties splits into two minor parties? That could create a one-party monopoly.
If supporters of Issue One really wanted to stop gerrymandering, they could draw a map of Ohio and make contiguous circles to incorporate the number of constituents required for every representative. Why should we have to pay commissioners to continue taking their pens to wiggle, jiggle and gerrymander districts to look like amoebas?
Never vote away a right you cannot get back. Vote NO on Issue One.
Eileen Marie
Russell Township
Outrageous Deception
I saw a political add for Sherrod Brown on TV and I feel I must speak out. The level of deception is outrageous.
Surgical removal of an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion. The embryo involved would never develop to term in the fallopian tube. The tube would rupture killing the embryo and possibly the mother due to rapid blood loss. Therefore, removal is to save the life of the mother — self-defense in any book of the law.
Doctors are not at risk of being prosecuted for performing surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. It is another attempt from the pro-abortion crowd to create fear among women.
However, an abortion is a deliberate act to end the life of an unborn child. Instead of killing the baby because the mother (for whatever reason) does not want to continue the pregnancy, the mother should be given all the support and encouragement she would need to carry the baby to term and make a positive outcome. The baby would live and she could make a childless couple happy to have a baby.
Can’t our system of government come up with a way to give the support needed during a pregnancy to a woman or young lady considering abortion so we end this abomination of abortion?
Every unborn child is as much a human being as you and I. It is being human and is the most defenseless among us to defend itself against the abortionist’s plot to end its life.
For any woman scarred by abortion, there is forgiveness in our loving Savior. No deed is unforgivable that the blood of Jesus can’t cover. Trust Him.
Carol Brockway
Claridon Township
Crazy Little Thing
Bernie Moreno was recently caught saying it’s “a little crazy” for women to care about abortion rights, especially “women that are like past 50.” This is unbelievably insulting. There is nothing crazy about wanting to protect our reproductive rights.
This isn’t the first time that Moreno has disrespected us and disregarded the will of Ohioans. Moreno would support a national abortion ban if elected to the Senate, despite the 57% of Ohioans who voted to protect abortion rights last November. Now, he’s insulting those of us who want to keep women’s personal health care decisions out of the hands of politicians.
We need a Senator who will fight to protect our fundamental rights, not call us crazy while only looking out for himself. This November, we’ll show Bernie Moreno that he can’t get away with insulting Ohioans. On Nov. 5, vote for Sherrod Brown.
Rebecca Gorski
Chester Township
