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National crisis line needs federal funding

For all the convulsive court decisions, congressional hearings, price increases, invasions, mass killings and social media takeovers, 2022 should also be remembered as the year of 988 — the nationwide crisis line that went live in July. If the states and the federal government do their work, the number could become far more than just an easier-to-remember suicide prevention resource. It could be the foundation of a vastly improved mental health and emergency response system and an essential tool to defuse needless police violence. Turnaround time was short, in government terms, ...

No time for taking chances this holiday

The horrible weather predictions we have been gettingthis week couldn’t come at a worse time, with families getting ready to gather for the Christmas holidays. The National Weather Service is predicting several inches of snow over the next few days, whipped by strong wind that will not only created large drifts but dangerous wind chill temperatures. The Minnesota State Patrol and MnDOT are anticipating closing highways due to the weather conditions, and those who venture out in the blizzard may find help cannot reac them. This is no time to take chances. If you don’t have to ...

Kansas needs restitution for Keystone pipeline disaster

The recent Keystone pipeline leak near Washington, Kansas, is deeply disturbing. Pictures of the calamity have circulated across the nation, showing nearby farmland slathered in a sludgy oil, with a smaller trail of inky petroleum running downhill into nearby Mill Creek. Crews have spent the week trying to contain the damage. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 300 people were on the scene of the disaster, reinforcing dams to prevent more oil from oozing into the water, or the water draining away. The Environmental Protection Agency said workers had recovered roughly 2,100 barrels of ...

Fed must restore public trust

The Federal Reserve’s greatest resource is its credibility. People have to believe the central bank will get inflation under control — or else inflationary psychology becomes entrenched and causes years of pain. Likewise, people need to trust that Fed leaders will prioritize what’s best for the nation over any personal gain — otherwise the central bank won’t survive. This year has tested both aspects of Fed credibility. On inflation, there were early mistakes, but the central bank has largely restored trust that it will get the job done. It’s a different story on the ethics ...

U.S. President Joe Biden’s Teamsters bailout

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky this week pleaded with Congress for more money for COVID. How about asking the Teamsters to share some of their $36 billion pension bailout that President Biden announced Thursday? Democrats sold their $1.9 trillion spending bill in 2021 as Covid “relief,” but it included some $86 billion to shore up more than 200 ailing union multi-employer pension plans. The $36 billion for the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund is the largest tranche awarded so far, but Mr. Biden assured his labor friends on Thursday ...

End gridlock over American Data Privacy and Protection Act

With Republicans poised to take over the House next year, a divided Congress looms. The result could be two years of partisan strife and gridlock. But between the GOP investigations and other legislative fireworks to come, there might be room to get a few things done — if lawmakers are willing to accept success. Members of Congress have spent years devising a federal tech privacy law that finally seemed close to passage this session, when Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), as well as Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), presented a bipartisan compromise. ...