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Strengthening our democracy, not abandoning it

Today, Americans from all political perspectives are frustrated with our democracy. Many believe that corporate money and entrenched power have hollowed out our system, leaving politicians disconnected from the people they’re meant to serve. I can’t say I disagree—moneyed interests wield far too much influence, and our government often seems more responsive to donors than to voters. But if we’re going to fix these problems, we need to strengthen our democratic institutions, not abandon them. The danger of throwing out our system is real. As Umberto Eco warned in his essay ...

Finding peace in family conflict

Dear Annie: I have a daughter who hasn’t spoken to me for almost 20 years, though she still maintains contact with her father. My husband and I have been married for 40 years, but our relationship has been extremely difficult for me. I’ve felt trapped in the marriage because I worked as an aide in a classroom, earning about $20,000 a year, and all of our financial accounts are in both of our names. I tried to leave, but I don’t have the courage to go through with it. Over the years, my husband has continued to give our shared money to our daughter, despite the fact that we ...

Compiling a list of contacts

Dear Heloise: Being a senior who is responsible for my family’s help, I compiled a list of my contacts -- utilities, libraries, credit card companies, banks, medical offices, subscriptions, organizations, insurance companies, Medicare, pension, hairdressers, attorneys, computer apps that I pay for, etc. I include the ID number, address, phone number, and special instructions for some so that they can easily be contacted or cancelled. I was amazed at the total amount of contacts I had! -- Annie, in Houston AN ONION SANDWICH LOVE STORY Dear Heloise: I enjoyed reading about ...

We don’t get it

On one of the routes from here to the Cities is a unique sign. You might have seen it. It’s been there for a few years. On a curve is a quaint country church. Out front is an admonition to “Love thy neighbor.” A quarter mile past that, on the bed of an old pickup truck is an 8 by 4 brightly painted sign that says, “TRUMP 2024 F--- YOUR FEELINGS.” The “F” word is fully spelled out on the sign. It rhymes with duck. I thought about writing about that for a while. The sign doesn’t need a thousand-word exposition. It says a lot by itself. The juxtaposition with the ...

The Electoral College: Has the time come to end it?

More than 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers created a special system for electing presidents, one that aimed to distribute power evenly among the states. They created the Electoral College, under which electors meet after the election to officially cast votes for each state. Whoever wins a majority in each state wins all of its electors. It makes the presidential race a contest in each individual state. It doesn’t matter if someone wins with 50.1 percent or by a wide margin. The result is still the same. For many years the Electoral College has raised questions about fairness. ...

Is it meant to be? Navigating red flags with an old flame

Dear Annie: When I was 17 years old, I met a lovely guy here in Canada. We met through a mutual acquaintance. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we went our separate ways. Then, in 1992, I moved to Portugal. I was 20 years old. He was 25. He was in Portugal on vacation in 1993 and looked me up. He was living in Germany at the time. We dated for two years but again went our separate ways due to a misunderstanding. I returned to Canada in 1996, and he returned to Germany. His native country is Portugal. Last year, I found him on Facebook. We connected and noted our ...