Month: April 2020

Commentary: Harvard Magazine Is Wrong When it Called for a ‘Presumptive Ban’ on Homeschooling

Ohio Star Staff

As a Harvard alum, longtime donor, education researcher, and homeschooling mother of four children in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I was shocked to read the article, “The Risks of Homeschooling,” by Erin O’Donnell in Harvard Magazine’s new May-June 2020 issue. Aside from its biting, one-sided portrayal of homeschooling families that mischaracterizes the vast majority of today’s homeschoolers, it is filled with misinformation and incorrect data. Here are five key points that challenge the article’s primary claim that the alleged “risks for children—and society—in homeschooling” necessitate a “presumptive ban on the practice”:

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Commentary: The Big Red Fake News Machine

Ohio Star Staff

In the late 1990s, Latin America underwent a seismic shift away from its northern neighbor as a result of the domineering and interventionist policies of successive U.S. administrations dating back to the 19th century. This led to the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez Frias as president of Venezuela, and a chain reaction of similar governments of varying leftist ideological stringency coming to power in nations such as Nicaragua, Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil, and Ecuador. 

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State Rep. Vitale’s Facebook Campaign Account is Alive and Well, Despite Reports to the Contrary

Jason M. Reynolds

State Rep. Nino Vitale (R-Urbana) says reports of his Facebook campaign page’s demise are greatly exaggerated — it was down temporarily, but the social media giant was very cooperative in restoring it.

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Commentary: Rep. Thomas Massie Defends the Constitution Again

Ohio Star Staff

As the Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives finally came back into session to appropriate another tranche of $484 billion in coronavirus economic relief, one principled limited government constitutional conservative stood up to ensure their was a quorum of the House present to conduct business and to ask for a roll call vote – Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (KY-4).

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Steve Bannon Presents Part Three of Descent into Hell: Life of the Chinese under the CCP

Ohio Star Staff

An all new LIVE STREAM of Steve Bannon Presents Descent into Hell: Life of the Chinese under the CCP (Part Three) starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday. The Tennessee Star is the only Tennessee media outlet presenting this special two-hour program. You can watch the recorded version of this program here:

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Gov. DeWine Eases Restrictions on Elective Surgery Ban

Samantha Witwer

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine during his daily news briefing Wednesday, announced an easing up on the prohibition of elective surgeries during the coronavirus pandemic.

DeWine said that doctors can now review postponed procedures and surgeries with patients in terms of their current health situation and quality of life, after which doctors and patients can make a joint decision about whether to proceed. New or other chronic conditions that may have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life should also be evaluated.

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University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn Reynolds Says Lock Down Protesters Are Dismissed Like a ‘Basket of Deplorables’

Julie Carr

University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds joined Fox News host Brian Kilmeade Thursday morning to discuss the lockdown protests that are happening in states across America. Reynolds critiqued political lawmakers and big corporate media for not empathizing with the working people whose suffering has been arrogantly dismissed.

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Commentary: The Land of the ‘Free’ and the Home of Shelter-in-Place Orders

Ohio Star Staff

In mid-March, governors across the country began issuing broad shelter-in-place orders in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The orders contain sweeping restrictions on individuals’ freedom of movement and activity in every sphere of life. They preclude people from going to work, running their businesses, convening to worship, visiting their own properties, taking a drive, attending school, and visiting with family or friends.

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Ohio’s Urbana University Closing Its Doors for Good

Samantha Witwer

Urbana University, a branch campus of Franklin University, say they will close their campus at the end of the semester in May due to the combination of challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and years of low enrollment.

The school’s CEO Dr. Christopher Washington took to Facebook Monday to discuss the closure personally.

“I don’t think anyone seen this coming as fast as it did . The calamity of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is affecting our entire nation and in fact our whole world has caused tremendous disruption and uncertainty in higher education,” he said in a video he made in his home.

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Another 108,801 People File for Unemployment Claims in Ohio, Many Residents Still Waiting on Unemployment Checks

Zachery Schmidt

Ohio saw another 108,801 people file for unemployment claims last week, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).

Nationally, America saw 4.4 million people file for unemployment benefits as people continue to lose jobs due to state lockdown orders, the Department of Labor numbers show.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreck havoc on Ohio’s economy as 964,566 Ohioans have asked for government assistance over the last five weeks. During this same time period, more than 26 million people have filed for unemployment assistance, according to PBS.

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Lockdown Prevents Akron Barber with Stage 4 Cancer from Reaching Her Doctor at World-Renowned Johns Hopkins Medicine

Jason M. Reynolds

Ohio’s prolonged lockdown is literally a life-and-death matter for an Akron barber battling a rare form of cancer as she cannot reach world-renowned Johns Hopkins Medicine for treatment.

Peggy Reed is a barber with Stage 4 Squamous Cell cancer of the nasal cavity. Much of her medical story is told on her GoFundMe page here.

Reed missed her appointment at Johns Hopkins on March 26 to see a specialist. Ohio’s stay at home order means no out of state travel is allowed. Maryland also has a stay at home order.

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Commentary: Deflation Is Here, and It Is a Real Threat to Any Economic Recovery from the Virus

Ohio Star Staff

The price of a barrel of oil briefly fell below zero dollars this week, demonstrating clearly what happens when there is no longer demand for a product or commodity, as tens of millions of Americans are leaving cars in their driveways and airlines are largely grounded. All around the world, it’s much the same situation as the global economy has collapsed in the wake of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

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Commentary: The Privilege of Identity Politics

Ohio Star Staff

Last month, Melinda Gates announced that “we need to apply a gender lens to solving this [coronavirus] crisis.” She linked to a March 12 story in the New York Times reporting that with women making up to 70 percent of healthcare workers worldwide, women are at “disproportionate risk.” COVID-19 may very well end up “exacerbating gender, social and economic fault lines,” Gates claimed.

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California Highway Patrol Says No More Protests on State Property After Monday’s ‘Operation Gridlock’ Demonstration

Zachery Schmidt

  California Highway Patrol (CHP) will not issue any more event permits on any state properties after people on Monday protested the state’s lockdown measures, according to The Sacramento Bee. “Permits are issued to provide safe environments for demonstrators to express their views,” the CHP said in a statement to…

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Ohio State Controlling Board Splits $90 Million in Federal Funds: 10 Percent to Ohio Department of Health and 90 Percent to ‘Rural Transportation’

Samantha Witwer

The state Controlling Board voted to split $90 million of federal taxpayer money aimed to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic between the Ohio Health Department – which will receive $8.5 million – and rural transportation departments across the state, which will receive the balance of $81.5 million to “aid for rural transportation systems,” according to a statement released by Democrats Monday.

“We need to ensure health care workers and officials on the ground have the tools they need to detect, track and contain this virus before we begin to reopen our state. This funding is a step in the right direction to get us where we need to be, but we’re not there yet,” said Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron).

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With Less Than a Week Left, Only 22 Percent of Registered Voters in Ohio Have Requested an Absentee Ballot for the Ohio Primary

Zachery Schmidt

Registered Ohio voters have not taken advantage of the extended primary election deadline as numbers released Tuesday by Ohio Secretary of State (OSOS) Frank LaRose shows low turnout.

With less than a week until the primary election deadline, only 1,667,883 Ohioans have requested a vote-by-mail absentee ballot. Ohio has 7.7 million registered voters, according to The Columbus Dispatch. This means that less than 22 percent of registered Ohioans have requested an absentee ballot.

Gov. Mike DeWine pushed back Ohio’s original primary election date from March 17 to April 28 after declaring a health emergency due to the coronavirus. People are expected to vote by mail rather than in-person. Only certain situations will allow Ohioans to vote in-person.

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Ohio Creates Task Force to Address Coronavirus Racial Disparities, Continues to Ignore COVID-19’s Gender Discrepancies

Zachery Schmidt

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that he created the Minority Health Strike Force due to the coronavirus disproportionately impacting minority groups.

Ohio Department of Health (ODH) data shows that 22 percent of Ohioans who have tested positive for the Chinese virus in Ohio are black, which makes up 14 of the state’s population, according to the governor’s press release.

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80 Percent of Small Business Owners Are Waiting to Receive a Loan from the SBA, Survey Finds

Zachery Schmidt

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Center released a survey Tuesday that said 80 percent of small business owners are still waiting to receive a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

“Small businesses were prepared and ready to apply for these programs, the only financial support options for most, and it is very frustrating that the majority of these true small businesses haven’t received their loan yet,” Holly Wade, NFIB Director of Research & Policy Analysis, said. “Small businesses make up nearly half of the economy and it’s crucial that their doors stay open.”

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Ohio Schools To Remain Closed Through End of School Year, Governor Announces

Jordyn Pair

Ohio schools will stay closed through the rest of the school year, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Monday.

DeWine originally closed the schools starting at the end of March 16. He then extended the order, which was originally slated to end on April 3, to May 1. On Monday, he announced that schools would stay closed through the end of the school year.

“We’ve flattened the curve, but the virus remains. Also, to go back to school now with a relatively small amount of time left — many educators have expressed to me that this wouldn’t be a good idea even if the health situation was resolved,” DeWine said on Twitter. “We have to think about the risk to teachers, students, and our communities.”

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