Barr, bullies, dark money, 5G cell poll enigmas: last week’s news
Which Attorney General William Barr is for real? The one who undercut and misrepresented the Mueller report; gave a creepy Notre Dame speech warning of “organized destruction” of religion by secularists; supports President Donald Trump’s outrageous claims on unchecked executive power? Or the one who suddenly made sense last week by criticizing Trump’s flood of tweets blasting the Justice Department? The nation needs the latter, but we fear we’re stuck with the former.
Why do self-righteous people go out of their way to bully others into canceling activities intended to foster understanding and empathy for diverse populations such as LGBTQ people? Sadly, that’s what happened with an age-appropriate Drag Queen Story Hour that organizers had to nix at Clintonville Elementary School for safety concerns. Would opponents rather see children taught to mock and taunt those who are different?
Good for Ohio first lady Fran Dewine to promote statewide adoption of the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library, initiated by country music singer Dolly Parton, to provide free books to children through age 5 regardless of family income. Instilling a love of reading with preschoolers by enrolling them at ohioimaginationlibrary.com can only lead to good things.
Other Ohio First Family news was troubling as more questions than answers surround reports of daughter Alice Dewine getting help from a dark-money federal super-pac in her Republican primary race for Greene County prosecutor, the same office that launched her father’s political career. Voters shouldn’t have to wonder who is investing more than $104,000 in a low-level crime-fighting office.
Last week’s revelation about the new 5G cell poles popping up around town just increased our unease. First there is a scary sticker on a new E. Broad Street pole warning of radio frequency fields that “may exceed FCC limits for the general public.” Then a reporter got no response using the contact info on the pole. Are we sure 5G cell service is a good idea?
Include us as shameless cheerleaders for putting Virgin Hyperloop One’s test track in central Ohio. A Midwest connector from Chicago to Pittsburgh through Columbus is already a top-10 finalist for Virgin’s tube transport technology, so they might as well tap into this region’s Transportation Research Center and Smart Columbus expertise and enthusiasm. The track is to be sited by year’s end.
We admire the ingenuity and caring that drive Tizzie Nuss of Hilliard to launch The Backpack Project to produce bulletproof shields to go in kids’ backpacks and provide some protection from a school shooting. The fact that such a product is on anyone’s radar, however, is a deeply sad testament to the gun violence on our society.
Sesame Street and the Children’s Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) started more than 50 years ago to create a TV show that could help poor kids with fewer educational resources at home be better prepared for school. How cool that the mission continues with a new Arabic-language version just for hundreds of thousands of refugee children in Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.