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The 25th Amendment: Replacing the U.S. President

When President William Henry Harrison died in office in 1841, the Constitution was vague on the matter of succession, leading to a constitutional crisis. Before 1841, no president had died in office. Article II stated that “the Powers and Duties of the said Office” would devolve upon the vice president, leaving it open to interpretation whether this meant the vice president became president or merely “acting president.” When Harrison died just one month into his term, some in his cabinet and party saw an opportunity to limit the authority of his successor, John Tyler. Tyler took ...

Correcting misinformation on injection wells

The sleight of hand is worthy of a Vegas magic act. Buckeye Environmental Network and its radical allies, like Marietta Council President Susan Vessels, hope to yell and threaten their way to killing Ohio’s robust oil and gas industry by focusing first on injection wells. They’re clawing for any toehold they can find, but make no mistake – an outright ban on fracking is their goal. So, let’s address some of their more egregious claims: They say that injection wells are an environmental danger. They’re not. There are 740,000 injection wells in the United States, ...

Lessons to remember in the new year

By Kiki Angelos As it gets closer to saying goodbye to the year 2025, this is the perfect time to teach our children some new things to follow in 2026. Build their confidence. Teach problem-solving skills. Teach them emotional intelligence. Show them kindness and empathy. Also ...

Concerns about safe drinking water in Marietta, Washington County

By Dee Wells Arnold If you want to know if we should be worried about safe drinking water in Washington County, let me share some information: 1. Volume of waste being injected There is no oil/gas fracking taking place in Washington County; rather, due to the onslaught of Class II injection wells, we are becoming a dumping ground for toxic, radioactive waste. We are ranked second in the state for the most waste being brought into a county. Washington County has 17 active Class ll waste injection wells, with two more recently permitted but not yet drilled. To gain context, Ohio ...

Christmas Past

It’s two weeks to Christmas. My wife’s phone displays two notifications about gift orders from Amazon. It reminds me how different Christmas and gift giving is from decades past. Amazon, the second largest retailer in the world, is more well known than its namesake, the largest river in ...

COP 30: Not all the news was bad

If you paid any attention at all to COP 30, the United Nations Climate Change Conference held last month in Belem, Brazil, you probably know about what didn’t happen: the United States refused to send an official delegation, petro-states led by Saudi Arabia and Russia fought to protect their fossil fuel interests, and the final set of recommendations issued by the conference failed to include a roadmap for the elimination of fossil fuels. But COP 30 was not the total failure some in the media have claimed. True, we are not where we need to be, and the government and business ...