In Thursday's ABJ article, "Brown Hits Husted on Iran War, Gas Prices," Brown continues to complain about all things Republican. I don't recall him griping at the much higher gas prices and inflation that we had under Biden, without even a war going on. I don't recall him griping about a Democrat president bombing the heck out of Libya, or of the incompetence of the Biden administration and the Afghanistan debacle, getting 13 people killed for nothing.
Brown is now complaining that Washington is the problem. He spent three decades in the Senate giving away money, money that we had to borrow, thus running up our enormous national debt. This man IS Washington! Please keep him retired.
We are all on the edge of paying significantly higher property tax bills. I am more concerned about this since I have retired.
On Aug. 9, I wrote to our Summit County executive concerning this issue after reading an interview with her. The interview was with Ilene Shapiro about National Senior Citizen's Day, and she stated that "older adults are an important part of our community." I responded by explaining the squeeze retirees are feeling is getting to a tipping point, where many older folks may find themselves being taxed out of their homes. Ilene Shapiro's response: none.
After 10 days with no response, I decided to write to Jeff Wilhite, my Summit County Council representative. I provided a brief introduction and forwarded the note I sent to our Summit County executive. Jeff Wilhite's response: none, since Aug. 19.
For context, on Dec. 6, 2021, I spoke personally with Gloria Rodgers, who was my representative back then. She told me the issue was "on the table" at the state level, and that I should contact my state representatives. Since that conversation five years ago, any meaningful relief in the property tax burden for senior citizens: none.
Recently, I spoke with a guy with a single letter name "J" at the Summit County appraisers office. He reiterated the "law" (law enacted by our elected officials in Columbus) that this must be done, but he seemed indifferent to my request for a re-evaluation. I left the call wondering if he would even file my request.
So, what are seniors (and those who care about us) to do?
Seniors, as a percentage of the population in Ohio, is a little over 20%. Those under 18 are about 20% also. The math means seniors are 25% of potential voters in Ohio. If organized, we can make a meaningful difference.
We Boomers are familiar with a good protest. Should we have a Tea Party?
Dennis Moncrief, Cuyahoga Falls
For generations, schoolkids were instructed to memorize the names of the five Great Lakes by remembering the acronym "HOMES." Now, these students, thanks to a petulant American president, are left only with "SHAME."
Twenty-fifth Amendment, please.
Joseph A. Mosyjowski, Hartville
Ohio voters legalized marijuana in 2023 with 57% of the vote. Last December, the legislature rewrote parts of it. Ohio voters passed reproductive rights that same night with 57%. House Republicans have since advanced a 24-hour waiting period for abortion care.
That is the pattern. We vote. They revise.
Republicans understand something Democrats refuse to learn. They do not have to like their candidate or agree with them. They fill in the oval next to the R and go home. Mike DeWine passed over Vivek Ramaswamy for the Senate seat, then endorsed him for governor. To Republicans, that is not a scandal. That is Tuesday.
Democrats conduct an audit. We find the issues where our candidate is wrong, decide the whole thing is compromised, and leave the line blank.
Here is what a blank line actually does. It does not add to their total. It lowers the number the Republican needs to win. They do not have to persuade you. They only need you discouraged, and that is cheaper.
Look at the upcoming ballot. Every statewide executive office is open at once, because every current officeholder is term limited. Two Ohio Supreme Court seats, and that court decides how much of our abortion amendment survives. A U.S. Senate seat, Sherrod Brown against Jon Husted. Every seat in the Ohio House. And December's property tax bills have superintendents warning they will be back asking us for levies.
Jennifer Brunner's seat on the Supreme Court is the only statewide office a Democrat holds in Ohio. One seat. That is the entire margin. The last time a Democrat won a statewide executive office here was 2006.
I disagree with Amy Acton about Issue 3. I'll say so out loud. Then vote for her anyway.
Register by Monday, Oct. 5. Vote Tuesday, Nov. 3. Vote the whole ballot, Democrat, top to bottom, including the judicial races everyone skips.
When the ship is sinking, you grab a bucket. There's one job. Save the ship.
We can argue about the rest on Nov. 4, from the winning side.
I'm so incredibly frustrated watching how our legal system works. If a jury is deadlocked, a judge can use something called an "Allen charge"—basically forcing them back into the room to keep deliberating until they all agree.
The system claims this isn't "coercion," but let's be real about what happens in that room. It's flat-out bullying. Think about the position this puts people in.
Jurors get paid a joke of an allowance (sometimes as low as $5 to $40 a day). While they are stuck in that room, they are actively losing the money they need for rent, bills and groceries. The longer people are forced to stay, the more the holdout becomes the "enemy" keeping everyone else from their kids, their jobs and their lives.
Eventually, people are going to change their votes just to escape the room. They aren't changing their minds because of the evidence — they're doing it because they literally cannot afford to be held hostage anymore.
Holding a jury hostage just to avoid a mistrial isn't justice. It's just wearing regular people down until they break. It is unfair, it's wrong and it's a total broken piece of our system that needs fixed.
Lori J. Karasek, Cuyahoga Falls
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Sherrod Brown can't complain about Washington—he IS Washington | Letters