With all the recent talk of “trusting the experts” it’s easy to forget that the best barometer of how things are faring is almost always ourselves. After all, we don’t need a federal jobs report to tell us our neighbor no longer has a small business; we don’t need to read a newspaper to tell us our parents are ill-protected in their nursing homes; and we sure don’t need mental health professionals to inform us that our children are psychologically breaking down.
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The inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the 46th president returns the United States to the direction from whence it came. For the tens of millions who voted for him, his ascendance to the White House means the nation is getting back on track. Those who did not dread the U-turn he has vowed to make.
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These days it is both common and unpleasant to hear espoused, especially by members of the elite, that the coronacrisis is helpfully accelerating the demise -- if not total destruction -- of sclerotic industries. One such industry, and everyone's favorite whipping boy, if we are being honest, is the media, particularly newspapers, which seem to have now regressed from a decade-long serious condition to one in need of critical attention.
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The wheels of justice may turn slowly, as dictum claims, but those who ignore the relentless grind risk a painful surprise. That is the lesson for mischief-makers who engaged in a cloak-and-dagger plot to depose President Trump. More than 1,200 days have passed since Mr. Trump arrived in the White House -- three times longer than it took to build the Empire State Building. It's long enough for justice to run -- or walk -- its course.
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Now, we discover that Americans are supposed to do without some meat products because what we need is being shipped to China so Chinese consumers won't have to do without.
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In as dramatic a turn of events as we've seen in our lifetimes, America went from virtual full employment to the highest level of unemployment in just about a blink of any eye. The economy is as flat on its back as it's been since any time since the worst parts of the Great Depression and, as yet, no one has come up with the way out.
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We haven't heard much lately from former Vice President Joe Biden who, practically everyone presumes, will be facing off against Donald J. Trump later this year. The coronavirus pandemic has allowed him to fly pretty much below the radar ever since he dispatched Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders from the race just about eight weeks ago.
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Nothing is stronger, more resilient or more beautiful than the American mother.
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Virus has compromised the FBI and Department of Justice. And like the rest of America, the law enforcement agencies are bedeviled by COVID-19 as well. It's a plague of dirty justice.
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Forget the age-old precept that there is nothing new under the sun. The coronavirus couldn't have startled humankind more than the sudden arrival of aliens from space.
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The biggest news to hit the sports world in decades was announced last week by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA): Student athletes will soon be free to earn money from endorsements.
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Whether the disease escaped from a lab or a meat market, there is little doubt it was a product of China, and that authorities were negligent in alerting world health officials until it was too late to halt its spread.
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The U.S. Postal Service has been sick for a long time. The coronavirus has put it on the critical list at the same time we're more dependent on it, especially for packages with essential supplies, medicine and even food because of the self-quarantine imposed on most all of us. What to do?
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Thanks to unwise policies crafted by public officials, thousands of seniors have lost their lives when forced into close proximity with infected cohabitants.
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During this era of sudden economic collapse and privation, it's tempting to conclude that we're all believers in entitlement now.
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As Democrats and Republicans prepare for a fight over whether the federal government should print even more money to bail out states running short of cash because of the coronavirus shutdown, some governors see an opportunity to blame the pandemic for long-standing financial problems.
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Last week, President Donald Trump made an announcement via Twitter just about no one saw coming: "In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!" By Wednesday the proclamation had been signed, and just like that, immigration into the United States, with some exceptions, was put on pause.
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If the asterisk didn't already exist, someone would need to invent it. The little starburst is destined to appear everywhere the details of pandemic-dominated 2020 are documented. Wherever it pops up, the asterisk will serve to remind future readers something happened that year which requires additional explanation to grasp. The billions living through the coronavirus contagion, though, will have their own disturbing flashbacks that recall a year like none in living memory.
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Earth Day has reached the ripe old age of 50. In all those years, the day of action on behalf of the planet has never produced the real-world impact of the current coronavirus contagion. Now that climate activists have witnessed what a genuine global emergency looks like, their passion for a repeat may prove irresistible. The segment of society that feeds, clothes, shelters and heals humanity -- that is, almost everyone -- should beware of efforts to hitch an environmental crisis to the ravages of a pestilence the world is already battling.
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For the first time since it was conceived, Earth Day will be, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, observed virtually. That's a big change for a 50-year-old cultural event celebrating the wonders of creation and the beauty of the big blue marble on which we all reside.
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There is a glimmer of reason to suspect the dreaded coronavirus has summited its American mountain of death and is poised to start a downward slide toward normalcy. The hope-filled development has prompted President Trump to ponder what he calls "the biggest decision I've ever had to make": When to reopen the economy. Whatever course of action the president chooses, one thing is certain: His critics will consider him a coronavirus quack.
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The coronavirus curve is finally flattening, but so is the U.S. economy. When a full month of dutiful adherence to stay-at-home advisories has passed, Americans rightly expect to see a loosening of restrictions. With thoughtful attention to proper balance between health and financial well-being, authorities will hinge their legacies on whether they choose wisely before hitting hit the "start" button.
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