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Columns/Opinion

Perception of socialism shifting

“Let me be very clear,” Sen. Bernie Sanders often shouts in what for him is his inside voice. Frankly, I wish he were more clear. And I wish that the Democratic Party were more clear, too. Why is a socialist now a leading contender to be the Democratic Party’s candidate to challenge the incumbent president in the fall? If anything is evident in this wacky world of national politics, it is that party identities can be fluid. The Republicans of today are largely the old Dixiecrat Democrats of yore — the ones President Lyndon Johnson predicted would be lost for at least a ...

Trevor Donovan brings anti-bullying message to Pa.

The anti-bullying message that Hollywood actor Trevor Donovan delivered at Deer Lakes Middle School in a rural industrial patch of Western Pennsylvania resonated with the 2,400-plus students who attended the program. It had earlier caught the attention of Hallmark, where Donovan has enjoyed a robust and loyal fan base for his appearances in several of the Hallmark Channel’s popular seasonal movie productions. Recognizing the powerful impact of Donovan’s candid retelling of his experiences and the empathy he projected to the children, Hallmark put its brand behind his effort and ...

Watering plants isn’t hard and it’s good for you

I know this is an outlier story. It’s about Brooklyn brownstone couples who pay over $2,000 for professionals to choose and care for their houseplants. Houseplant designing is actually a service being offered to the urban and suburban gentry. One such “Plant Doctor & Stylist” charges an hourly rate between $125 and $175. Those are psychotherapy prices. What I see, sadly, are busy careerists outsourcing basic acts of living. It’s one thing to pay for child care. But indoor-plant care? Is carrying a glass of water to the ficus on the windowsill such a time-wasting, big deal? ...

Rush to defeat greyhound bill a sad occasion

By Mary Ann McDonald The board members of the Federation of Humane Organizations of West Virginia (FOHOWV), a grassroots animal welfare organization, are saddened at the recent defeat of SB 285, which would have ended the subsidies to the greyhound racing industry in West Virginia. We appreciate the support of Senate President Mitch Carmichael, who was the lead sponsor on this bill. He cited the treatment of the dogs as one reason to end greyhound racing, since the dogs suffer injuries and die. He said that death of the industry is inevitable and noted that across America, this ...

When it comes to coronavirus, we’re all in this together

There is a disease going around, and I’m not talking only about the coronavirus. It’s a political disease, and it seems to be spreading, especially among certain politicians who are looking for another way to expel President Trump from office. Last week on the ABC program “The View,” co-host Meghan McCain responded to applause from the audience after another co-host, Sunny Hostin, suggested that Vice President Mike Pence is being set up by President Trump to be the “fall guy” should the response to the coronavirus turn out to be inadequate. McCain responded: “I ...

Does Sanders relish a feel-good defeat?

Even with the no-longer flailing Joe Biden finally coming back in South Carolina’s primary, wise Democrats are looking warily ahead to the uncertainties of next week’s 14 state Super Tuesday primaries. And what they are seeing frightens them. They see that Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont still remains best-positioned, in terms of contributions and a robust campaign organization, to score significant gains in the coast-to-coast contests. Biden is severely understaffed and underfunded in many major contests. Mike Bloomberg must hope voters have paid attention to his massive blanket of ...