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Taking Rights Seriously

“If the provisions of the Constitution be not upheld when they pinch as well as when they comfort, they may as well be abandoned.” — Justice George Sutherland (1862-1942) In his 2008 book “Taking Rights Seriously,” the late professor Ronald Dworkin explored the origins and governmental treatment of human liberty. He argued that Thomas Jefferson — who wrote the Declaration of Independence — and James Madison — the scrivener at the Constitutional Convention and the author of the Bill of Rights — were clear in their articulations that the premise of America at its birth ...

‘Tis The Age Of Weird We Are In

We will have to come up with a name for these times. I nominate “Weird”. The Age of Weird. Everywhere you turn you find weird. I wish we could print that name in crazy colors. Within a fringe of black, for mourning. I started on a novel a few years ago. But set it aside. Because the story was too implausible. By the middle of the tale, the plot had most of the people on earth fixated on one thing. It was a noise, a sort of buzz that everyone heard. Nah. Didn’t work. Because, well, it was too weird. It was chin-deep in science fiction. It was asking readers to believe something ...

Does Medicare Cover Me If I Get COVID-19?

Question: How does Medicare cover me if I get sick from COVID-19? Answer: COVID-19 has changed our daily lives so quickly in so many ways. It is my hope that you are isolating yourself from physical contact with people outside those that you live with. This does not mean being isolated completely. You can still call people on the phone. Talk to your neighbors while outside and standing apart from one another. Also using FaceTime, Skype and similar social media tools to see those you cannot see in person. Original Medicare gives you excellent Health Insurance all the time. Medicare ...

Question About ‘China First’ Shipment

A little less than two months ago, the U.S. State Department made a curious announcement that suggests President Trump’s “America First” administration put “China First” at a critical moment during the burgeoning Wuhan pandemic. I asked the State Department about the controversy this week — and the vague and nonresponsive responses I received on background from a Foggy Bottom spokesperson raise more questions than they answer. The Feb. 7, 2020 press statement attributed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headlined: “The United States Announces Assistance to Combat the ...

Coronavirus Shows That Mankind Needs God

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The immortal words of Charles Dickens have never rung truer than now, during the age of COVID-19 and the global pandemic. Horror and hope are intermingled daily, reminding all of us about the limits of our power, and the trust and faith that we must put in the Almighty. This global plague has taken the world by storm, forcing us to physically separate from one another in a fashion that would have been unfathomable just a few months ago. Our lives as we knew them, the daily grind, have been replaced with a new normal defined ...

Facts, Fears Behind COVID-19 Shutdown

President Donald Trump is extending the nation’s shutdown at least until the end of April. He’s largely basing his decision on predictions from the University of Washington that even if the nation sticks to the shutdown, 83,967 Americans will die of coronavirus by early August, including 15,788 in New York state. Deaths will likely soar over the next two weeks, with the daily toll peaking April 15, and then dropping off sharply by June. The graph of the coming death toll looks like a steep mountain peak we are just about to ascend. And that’s with the shutdown continuing. You ...