Spectrum

Since the successful vote putting Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court of the United States, President Trump has been characterizing the events surrounding that confirmation to fire the fears of his political base, according to Philip Elliott, a Washington correspondent for Time, Inc. Trump has been using the protests of various citizen groups and the challenges by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to characterize the Democrats as an “angry mob” out to still “get” Justice Kavanaugh and Trump, himself – says Elliott. This line of rhetoric is designed specifically by Trump to gin-up the fears of Republicans going into the November 2018 midterm elections and to spark them to go to the polls to protect Trump, Elliott notes. Elliott also characterizes, in the same way, Trump’s statement to “60 Minutes” that Kavanaugh would not have won confirmation if Trump had not attacked and mocked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and her testimony. Trump calculates that his attack on the “Me Too” movement also amps

“New York Times” columnist and PBS NewsHour and NPR commentator David Brooks is searching for the heart, soul and future of America by traveling to smaller communities examining how they are successfully addressing issues. In March 2018, Brooks was appointed Executive Director of “Weave: The Social Fabric Project” sponsored by the Aspen Institute. The project is searching for local initiatives that build trust, connection and relationships among local groups with sometimes disparate backgrounds and political leanings. Recently, he spent a day in Appalachian Ohio and talked with local residents about their success in building the local economy and sense of community. Brooks feels that nationally we are in a period of heightened distrust, extreme partisanship and a blurring of truth and facts. He fears that this angst keeps getting worse and he does not seeing it turn around on the federal level. “We are lost in a valley of our hostilities and resentments,” he says. However, on many local levels across the cou

Higher education still has value either in preparing someone for a career or enhancing his/her worldview through general studies. So says Dr. Robert Glidden, President Emeritus at Ohio University and California Polytechnic State University. He has had a career of over four decades in higher education administration. Despite the rising costs of a university education, Dr. Glidden feels that a college education pays off for the student both through enhanced career opportunities and broader knowledge of the world. He argues that a good “liberal arts education” is still valued in our society. Dr. Glidden concedes that the costs of higher education have escalated at an alarming rate and he is concerned about the amount of debt that most students have upon graduation. However, he cautions that online and electronic education courses and degrees do not necessarily save money for colleges and universities. He is a strong believer in expanding ways to deliver higher education to a broader swath of the population but

Artificial intelligence may be on the brink of revolutionizing worldwide healthcare says digital strategist and award winning journalist Randy Rieland. Data being analyzed by artificial intelligence have allowed improved diagnostics and more targeted treatments for many types of diseases, including cancer. Artificial intelligence also has markedly improved medical record keeping and advanced radiological procedures, Rieland says. In addition to improved diagnostics, record keeping and radiological techniques, artificial intelligence is being used as a predictor of certain health risks for individuals. It also is being used to predict future conditions in some patients based upon huge data sets of others with similar circumstances. Although not foolproof yet, Rieland believes that the accuracy and reliability of artificial intelligence in healthcare far exceeds manual and other more traditional methods of data analysis. Artificial intelligence also is being used to predict the threats of worldwide infections a

Some 70 environmental regulations have been rolled back by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since the beginning of the Trump Administration. And, Dr. Michele Morrone, professor of Environmental Health Science at Ohio University finds this to be “really alarming.” She claims that these rollbacks are exposing citizens, especially in Appalachia and other poverty stricken areas to increased environmental health risks – including danger to the purity of drinking water. Anxiety and other mental health issues also may be associated with environmental health Dr. Morrone claims the EPA is putting the promise of some jobs before concerns over people’s health. She cites the easing of regulations on coal burning power plants as an example. The easing of these regulations will cause between 350 and 1,500 deaths nationally, according to the EPA’s own study. The northern two-thirds of West Virginia and Pennsylvania will be hit the hardest, according to a recent Associated Press story. In addition, the EPA

Long-time Democratic activist and author Thomas B. Reston says the Democratic Party has lost its way and lost its soul over the past generation or more. In his book, “Soul of a Democrat: Seven Core Ideals that Made our Party and Our Country – Great,” Reston claims that the party has lost its focus and it has jettisoned old philosophies that historically sparked the electorate. He cites the Presidential Election of 2016 as an example. He gives reasons for the party’s lackluster recent performances and outlines suggestions on how it can right itself. Reston claims that Democrats spend too much time running against and attacking Donald Trump and not enough time and effort crafting a messages that would resonate with voters. Instead of developing a unifying message that would appeal to the whole electorate, he claims Democrats also spend too much time and effort targeting specific blocs of voters and tailoring a number of messages to appeal to those individual blocs. He asserts that President Trump, as a candid

David Crane has dedicated his professional life to intelligence and security issues both nationally and internationally. He has a long history of service and has risked his life for his country. But, at this point, he is extremely concerned about how President Trump in handling intelligence and security issues. Crane says that Trump ignores or refuses to hear security briefings and he goes into major foreign policy events (like the meetings with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un) grossly unprepared. In fact, Crane says Trump treats the meetings more like “reality television” instead of diplomatic summits. As a result of the President’s negative views on “intelligence,” Crane paints a rather dismal picture of where the United States is in world politics. According to Crane, America is withdrawing from the world stage and relinquishing its role as a world power. America is at its weakest point since its war for independence, Crane notes. Crane also in the podcast explains the rights of federal employees not to be

The incessant drumbeat of news media criticism by President Donald J. Trump is causing some major concerns among the press and First Amendment advocates, according to veteran, award-winning journalist Andrew Alexander. Alexander is a former Washington Post ombudsman, a former Washington Bureau chief for Cox Newspapers and an award winning veteran journalist with more than four decades of experience. He says that the characterization of news media as “enemies of the people” has both domestic and global ramifications. In this podcast, Alexander spells out some of the dangers this President poses to the First Amendment and how Trump differs—in that regard from past Presidents. Alexander notes that the phrase “enemies of the people” is one that Vladimir Lenin used to characterized the news media during the communist takeover of the former Soviet Union. Reporters who were so named were often imprisoned to silence their voices. Under the subsequent Joseph Stalin regime, alleged “dissident” reporters were often

While White House reporters often are given releases and official statements by the President or his staff, it is more important than ever to vet the facts and go through a rather thorough fact checking process before publishing the material, says Toluse Olorunnipa, one of Bloomberg News’ six White House correspondents. In the competitive White House journalism environment, Olorunnipa says it is important to be first with a story and beat other news organizations but it is more important to be accurate. Bloomberg often will quote what the President says and then also note the facts as determined from other official sources. Many of his media colleagues often quote unidentified sources or anonymous sources as a result of leaks. However, at Bloomberg, Olorunnipa is not permitted to quote an unidentified source. Therefore, all of his material that is quoted must be “on the record” comments from officials. A similar policy is in place at the Associated Press but not so at the Washington Post or the New York T

By the year 2020, it is estimated that we will have over 6 million workers in nanotechnology industries, says Dr. Amir Farnoud, an Assistant Professor of Chemical, Biomolecular and Biomedical Engineering at the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University. The development of nanoscience is exploding at such a rate, it is difficult to predict with any accuracy how much and how fast the field will grow in an extremely short period of time, Dr. Farnoud adds. Nanotechnology is the science of examining extremely small things such as atoms and molecules and adjusting them to have certain beneficial characteristics. To give you an example of the tiny nature of a nanometer, if a nanometer was a marble then one meter would be the size of the Earth, Dr. Farnoud noted. Scientific journals also cite that there are 25.4 million nanometers to an inch. Nanoparticles are now used in many products from sunscreens and carpet stain protection to devices delivery lifesaving medications. Nanoparticles are bei

Robert Scott is the Regional Administrator of the Great Lakes Region of the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) and he is on a mission. Scott recently toured some of the areas of his region facing some of the greatest economic stagnation to spread the word about some of the benefits of the Small Business Administration. He is responsible for the rustbelt in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. He oversees the delivery of the agency’s financial assistance, technical assistance and government contracting activities. He met with groups to explain the services that are offered by the SBA and how the average small business owner can benefit from them. Scott says that too often people think the SBA only provides loans but he quickly adds that the SBA can help a fledgling business in all types of technical assistance and consultation. The SBA also attempts to match small businesses with potential government contracts, if possible. Scott is a lawyer from the Dayton area and also serves

Covering this White House and this President is a 24 hour job, says Gregory Korte, award-winning Washington correspondent for USA Today. He says that this President is more complicated in many ways from any other President in history. In part, Korte claims, because most traditional ways of handling issues and procedures are turned on their head. This President often eschews the analytical approach to problem solving but instead governs “from his gut.” He often bypasses staff to make decisions based upon instinct. Korte adds that we should not be surprised since President Trump is exactly the same person and personality as candidate Trump. However, he notes that as President, despite the turmoil and rancor, that Trump is slowly, one by one, keeping his campaign promises. However, Korte expresses some concern that our news coverage of the President is giving the average person news overload. Instead of concentrating on issues, news coverage too often is focused on Trump as the individual. He notes that in the

Russia is trying to elevate its power in Europe and on the world stage and Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin is manipulating the United States and other countries in the process, according to professor, author and expert on Russia Dr. Steven Miner. To gain prestige and power, Putin is wanting to split the NATO alliance as well as disrupt and denigrate European and American politics and democracies, says Dr. Miner. Disruption plays into Putin’s plans. President Donald Trump gave the appearance of aiding that cause by his recent “bullying tactics” at the NATO Summit in Brussels, supporting an opponent of British Prime Minister Theresa May, and not supporting his own intelligence agencies during a press conference in Helsinki. All of these factors, notes Dr. Miner, assists Putin and his strategy. He describes Putin as a master manipulator of people and situations for Russia’s own ends. This is what appears to have happened at the Helsinki Summit and with Russia’s interference with the 2016 U.S. Presidential elect

Last year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spent nearly $5.5 billion dollars on contracts related to small businesses. Some $2.7 billion or 16.5 percent of total procurements involved direct contracts between small businesses and NASA. Another $2.8 of contracts were subcontracts with small businesses -- contracts between small business and large prime contractors servicing NASA. Even though those numbers are impressive, NASA wants to expand its small business contracting even more. NASA officials are traveling across the country to various big and small cities sponsoring programs called “Reaching High – Aerospace Business Matchmaker.” The conferences aim to stimulate regional economic growth by trying to match small businesses with either NASA directly or prime contractors doing business with NASA. Glenn Delgado, Associate Administrator of the Office of Small Business Programs at NASA helps coordinate these conferences. He says the conferences give NASA and other groups the opportu

In November 2017, Errin Whack was appointed to be the Race and Ethnicity Writer for the Associated Press. She works closely with the Race and Ethnicity team dedicated to covering “race, culture and politics” in a changing and volatile America. The Associated Press says it has developed a team that can focus on the complicated issues of race and provide rapid responses to racial issues developing across the country. “America is currently hyper-racial,” Whack says. She thinks, therefore, that stories about race are more important now than ever. “The election of President Obama caused a huge racial backlash that people didn’t pay enough attention to at the time,” Whack adds. Some people felt threatened by the racial progress of having a black President and it was those feelings of fear and unrest that President Trump tapped into during his 2016 election, according to Whack. Trump fanned the flames of fear during his “Birther Movement” under President Obama and those fears continued and were magnified during t

A producer works behind-the-scenes and in the control room helping to write and direct the way the news is presented by the talent. It is an important and vital role to the delivery of broadcast news but it’s a role that is little understood. A producer helps gathers the news, write it and sits in the control room advising the talent during the news delivery. A producer and the news anchor must have a symbiotic relationship. It is like an intense plutonic professional relationship, according to Katie Hinman, an executive producer of special programming at CNN. She says that they often share the same world view but they sometimes bicker like an “old married couple.” If the chemistry is right then there is a closeness that develops – a trusting relationship. The producer can be the voice in the news anchors ear to steer him/her in the right direction or to avoid misstatements or inaccuracies. Before her new assignment, Hinman had that close professional relationship with Jake Tapper of CNN. Both had worked

Editorial cartoonists, in the heyday of newspapers, were plentiful. Now the group is down to only 50 nationwide and that number is being threatened by slow extinction. One of the survivors, however, is prize winning cartoonist, columnist, editor and author Jack Ohman of the “Sacramento Bee. “ Currently, his cartoons are syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group. Previously, his work appeared in 200 newspapers through Tribune Content Agency, and he was, at age 19, the youngest editorial cartoonist ever nationally syndicated. Ohman also worked for “The Columbus Dispatch,” the “Detroit Free Press” and “The Oregonian.” He won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2012 for the “Oregonian” in Portland. Jack talks about the creative process of being a political cartoonist, some of the restrictions and some of the dangers of his profession. Over his long professional career, he has complete about 13,000 finished cartoons – not counting the thousands of sketches and ide

Since 2014, the faculty and staff of the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine have been developing a new medical school curriculum called the “Pathways to Health and Wellness Curriculum.” Its design is revolutionary and may lead the way for other medical schools to follow. Come August, gone will be the big auditorium lectures. Instead, greater emphasis will be placed on individual and independent studies through the use of a “flipped classroom approach.” “Students will learn interactively through working collaboratively on 16 weeklong patient cases per semester. Students will work in teams along with appropriate faculty,” says Dr. Kenneth Johnson, the executive dean of the Heritage College and the chief medical affairs officer for Ohio University. Students will prepare for classroom learning sessions through self-directed study including access to recorded mini-lecture and modules,” explains Dr. Jody Gerome, the new associate dean of curriculum. “The different aspects of medicine, clinica

The meeting in Singapore between President Donald Trump and N. Korean leader Kim Jong Un was most assuredly historic. It was the first time that a N. Korean leader had met face-to-face with a sitting U.S. President. But, was the meeting substantive and did it produce any lasting results? That is the question politicians, journalists, and analysts are asking as President Trump wings his way back to Washington. The first reviews are tepid, according to TIME Washington correspondent Philip Elliott, and the President might not get the fanfare that he wants and expects. The wait-and-see attitude is even pervasive with some members of Trump’s own party like Sen. Lindsey Graham. He said that this is a start but a long way from any “agreement” with North Korea to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, according to the veteran Senator. Elliott in a conversation with the Spectrum podcast also discusses the optics of the summit and its political viability in the mid-term elections in November. He contrasted the praise giv

As we feel racial tension from the White House and hear immigration horror stories from President Donald Trump’s Administration, it is refreshing to have a true scholar publish a book that is well researched and has an optimistic slant on the same issues. That is what Dr. Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute and former executive vice-president of the Wilson Center has done in his new book: “Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together.” Dr. Selee concludes that our two cultures have entwined together as well as our economies and that both countries rely on trade agreements such as NAFTA for mutual growth and dependencies. We are involved in a number of manufacturing projects together as well as agricultural trade. He says tariffs and potential trade wars will only blow-up the progress that has been made. He notes that Mexican immigration to the United States is down but that other Central and South American countries are funneling people to the USA through