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Are Americans All-In For Virus War?

“It’s a war,” says President Donald Trump of his efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic, and likening his role to that of “wartime president.” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo welcomed the president’s claim to his commander in chief role in the crisis and his resolve: “The president and I agreed yesterday... we’re fighting the same war — and this is a war.” Some measures already taken do call to mind actions in wartime. Commercial airline flights have been reduced or canceled. Schools have been closed. Universities have shut their doors. Where Ford, ...

Let’s Preserve The November Election

We are facing one discrete problem in the mass of chaos surrounding this pandemic that we can and must address immediately — the security of November’s election. Voting in the traditional way requires us to do the very thing that epidemiologists and public health authorities have forbidden us to do — gather in large groups for prolonged periods. That’s inevitable when you must wait in long lines to vote. In Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine decided to postpone his state’s primary election citing the health emergency despite a judge ruling that he lacked the authority to do it. ...

Freedom In A Time Of Madness

“The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace, and covers with the shield of its protection all classes of men, at all times and under all circumstances.” — Ex parte Milligan, U.S. Supreme Court (1866) During the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln thought it expedient to silence those in the northern states who challenged his wartime decisions by incarcerating them in military prisons in the name of public safety, he was rebuked by a unanimous Supreme Court. The essence of the rebuke is that no matter the state of ...

If You Can Keep Your Head…

This virus has created The Season of Big IFs. IF we subdue and control the virus. IF we manage to keep infections and deaths to a minimum. IF we achieve much lower numbers than “experts” predict. Then, the administration will earn plaudits. Most of the nation will sing the praises of President Trump and his crisis team. And this president will become extremely hard to beat come November. He has already earned much praise for how he has handled the crisis on behalf of the nation. More praise than criticism, my impression. IF we emerge from the crisis with low numbers the praise ...

Before Buying Insurance, Examine Plans That Meet Your Needs

Question: Why is that my friend insures with the same health insurance company as I do, but she pays less, so how can I get that cheaper pricing? Answer: My friend, Amy and I both have Toyotas. We love our vehicles, but mine gets better gas mileage and my monthly payment is lower because I own a Corolla and she owns a Highlander. We have the same company, but different models. Your situation is similar. There are many different types of Medicare Health Insurance products - Medicare Supplement Plans (Medigaps), prescription drug plans (PDPs), and Medicare Advantage Plans. Those ...

Life Was Harder Then Than It Is Now

RYAN, Iowa — On a spring morning many decades ago, four children walked down the road to the neighbors’ house to be there while their mother gave birth to the family’s fifth child. The neighbors in this part of Hazel Green township are far apart. Between the houses are fields yielding such crops as corn, beans, and oats. By the time the children got to the neighbors’ house, they could turn around and go home, because their new sister had just arrived. Margaret Chrystal was named for one of her grandmothers, who was named for one of her grandmothers. Life in general was ...