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Opinion

What other newspapers are saying: Waivers no factor in smoking rates

Other Commentaries

Chautauqua County officials want to push the remaining organizations that have indoor smoking waivers to go smokefree. Smoking indoors in public places became largely illegal in New York state with the passage of the Clean Indoor Air Act on July 24, 2003, banning smoking in most workplaces, restaurants, and bars. There are five remaining private organizations with waivers to allow indoor smoking – and those five clubs will begin paying more for the privilege: $300 annually to $650 in 2026, and to $1,000 in 2027. We can’t argue with the health benefits of going smokefree. There ...

Neighboring state’s gun control push too rushed for comfort

Editorials

Advocates for gun control have pushed more than a dozen separate bills through Virginia’s state legislature in less than two months. We must question if these proposals are truly being carefully deliberated upon. Some of these changes, such as bans on long-legal types of firearms, ...

Wake up

Letters

The Democratic Party is so full of self-created hatred for Trump they believe what they create in their minds. Democrats make no effort to listen to what he says or research what the truth is. Democrats won’t listen to facts and some mention the lies their own party spits out, not to the stupidity and disinformation from CNN, ABC, NBC, etc. The Democratic Party leaders lie at the expense of our country to win elections. Now their favorite saying is imminient threat. Democrats don’t care that more than 40,000 have been gunned down or tortured, more terror and death spred in the ...

AI’s risks come with more forewarning

Editorials

Twenty years ago, no one really knew where social media was going to go. Facebook had just dropped “The” from its name. It was not yet ubiquitous. It was only beginning to move beyond college campuses and into broader public use. By 2006, it opened the doors wide. There were just two requirements: have an email address and be at least 13. It was a revolution without a war. We can remember a time when we weren’t in years-long WhatsApp group chats or documenting every sandwich on Instagram. But the inch-by-inch way social media’s before and after bled together can obscure how ...

Selling national security

Letters

It’s no longer enough to say this administration blurs ethical lines. It’s erasing them. While ordinary Americans struggle with rising costs, those closest to power continue to profit. Consider Jared Kushner: while serving as a chief Middle East negotiator, he was also seeking to raise $5 billion for his private equity firm from governments in that region. That’s not a gray area. It’s a blatant conflict of interest—once unthinkable. And he’s not alone. From Don Jr. and Eric’s drone venture to Stephen Miller’s private prison investments, the pattern is clear: proximity ...

The Strait of Hormuz and the long chessboard

Other Commentaries

The crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is often framed as a regional military confrontation involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. In reality, it is far larger: it is a systemic challenge to the global economy, to international maritime law, and to the domestic political stability of major powers. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil moves through this narrow waterway. Any sustained disruption therefore becomes not merely a military event but a global economic shock. The immediate effects of such a disruption are well understood. Oil prices rise sharply, ...