Feb 17, 2017 4 min read

Editorial voices from newspapers around the United States:

When President Donald Trump recently offered to “ruin the career” of the Texas lawmaker pushing civil forfeiture reform, the ensuing political maelstrom made headlines for days. But far more important than the president’s remarks, which seemed to have been offered at least half in jest, is the question of whether the laws need changing in the first place.

Boy, do they. Civil forfeiture as practiced in Texas and many other states is an affront to even the most basic notions of due process and of presumed innocence. It’s also a direct assault of property rights.

In Texas, the government routinely seizes cash, cars, homes and other valuables for people suspected of certain crimes, especially those related to drugs. A suspected drug dealer may have a satchel of cash seized. Or a parent whose adult child is accused of dealing drugs in the home may even have the house seized.

The scandal is that the government often gets to keep the money even if the suspects are never convicted or, as in many cases, never even charged.

This system ought to offend anyone, liberal or conservative, who values property rights, respects due process or values simple fairness.

Civil forfeiture is a national scandal, and reforms are needed by Congress too. But Texas lawmakers have the chance to clean up our house first, and they should do so while the current Legislature meets.

One silver lining for those who oppose the Trump presidency is that his election has stirred up the pot so much it has caused an explosion of anger, sort of a mini revolution that has gotten passive citizens to get off their butts, stand up and let their voices be heard.

The massive protest for women’s rights in Washington, D.C., and other major American cities was followed up by demonstrations at airports decrying the president’s executive order temporarily banning migrants, refugees and foreign nationals from seven majority Muslim countries. It’s especially gratifying that people of all races, religions and economic backgrounds have stood alongside our Muslim brothers and sisters, speaking out against a ban many believe defies America values.

We wish it were the case, but apathy is far from dead.

Too many people continue to complain but do nothing. Too many people see the government as their master instead of the other way around. Too many people fail to take advantage of a basic American right, the right to vote.

In general, it’s debatable whether protests bring about social change. That question aside, Democrats, Republicans and those of all political stripes, should applaud a citizenry that is not sheepish.

Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a multibillion-dollar, interstate pipeline project that will allow 3.25 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day to be shipped from the Utica and Marcellus shales to markets in the Great Lakes, Midwest and Gulf Coast regions and to Canada. The entire $4.2 billion project is expected to be complete in November.

That’s good news for the local, regional and state economy. Such infrastructure is a critical connection for oil and gas producers in the Appalachian Basin. They will be able to move natural gas from processing facilities in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania and West Virginia to a hub in Defiance, Ohio, then to interconnecting pipelines in Michigan and Ontario.

The benefits come in many forms, from the temporary construction jobs that will be created to build the pipeline to the businesses that will supply the materials, like pipes and fittings. As many as 10,000 construction jobs will be created for the project, including between 4,500 and 6,500 in Ohio. An estimated 76 percent of the materials that will be used for the pipeline will be made in the United States.