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Many Republicans Do Have A Sense Of Humor

An American politician can help herself politically by being able to believably use self-deprecating humor, which sends a clear message: “I am not pompously self-important or thin-skinned; I do not take myself completely seriously.” No one was better at self-deprecation than former President Ronald Reagan, whose robust sense of self-confidence enabled him to confound his political opponents by laughing at himself. Washington, sadly, can be a city where, because we do not grow corn or build cars, we sometimes measure input rather than output. I may not be able to tell you exactly ...

Believing All Women Can Lead To Evil

The hashtag #BelieveWomen stemmed from an era when women claiming to have been sexually assaulted were broadly dismissed. That is, if you ignore the history of white women falsely accusing black men of rape. Those women were largely believed and the accused often summarily tortured and hung by the neck from a tree. Ida Wells, an African American journalist, exposed the racial terrorism in her 1892 book “Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases.” She just received a Pulitzer Prize 89 years after her death. Between 1881 and 1968, 3,446 black men were killed by lynching, a ...

Do We Still Have A Constitution?

I have been taking some heat from friends and colleagues for my steadfast defense of personal liberties and my arguments that the Constitution — when interpreted in accordance with the plain meaning of its words, and informed by history — does not permit the government to infringe upon personal freedoms, no matter the emergency or pandemic. For those who agree with me, worry not. We will persevere. For those who trust the government, worry a lot. You are not in good hands. The purpose of the Constitution is to establish the government and to limit it. Some of the limitations are ...

What Are We Trying To Accomplish With Policy?

As Americans debate how to reopen our society in the wake of COVID-19, we seem to be breaking down into three groups: first, those who believe the virus isn’t particularly serious and desperately want to reopen everything as soon as possible (a small minority of Americans, by polling data); second, those who believe the virus is extraordinarily serious and want everything to remain closed as long as possible (a significant minority of Americans); and third, those who believe the virus is extraordinarily serious, that the economic damage brought about by COVID-19 is extraordinarily ...

Senior Life Matters: Medicare Is Excellent Insurance For Virus

Question: How does Medicare cover my recovery of COVID-19 if I get sick? Answer: Last month I addressed how Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) covered hospital stays and testing of COVID-19 related services. Your question also has been answered by CMS. Original Medicare gives you excellent Health Insurance all the time. When thinking about COVID-19, this coverage continues to be excellent and useful. As I said previously, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has worked hard to get in front of this situation. CMS has waived all deductibles and cost sharing ...

Big Google Is Watching Your Children

Schools remain shuttered across the country, 30 million Americans are out of work, and food banks are running low, but the edutech sector is booming. Silicon Valley companies are feasting on an exploding client base of quarantined students held hostage to “online learning.” Big Google is leading the way — and that is not OK. Unsuspecting parents cheering all the software and hardware donations during the pandemic shutdown have no idea the privacy price their children are paying. This isn’t charity. It’s big tech recruitment of vulnerable generations of future Google addicts. ...