Trump should cooperate for inauguration day

December 10, 2020

What if you built an expensive, elaborate reviewing stand for a parade and on the big day, it overlooked an empty street? That is the question both President-elect Joe Biden and incumbent President Donald Trump must answer within just a few weeks. Inauguration day for American presidents has been a really big deal in the past. Hundreds of thousands of people pack the area at the U.S. Capitol where the new chief executive is being sworn in. About 1,600 dignitaries are on the platform with him. Then follows an enormous parade through Washington and finally, a round of inaugural ...

New relief bill is sorely needed

December 9, 2020

A second round of federal COVID-19 relief money, more than $900 billion, may be on its way to Americans soon. Thank a group of U.S. senators and representatives who have grown sick of the partisan bickering that has delayed a new relief bill for months. They are unlike many politicians, both Democrat and Republican, who seem to have forgotten that the people want results, not rhetoric. Fiery, emotional appeals to “the base” may work during election campaigns, but they divide rather than uniting. For months, tens of millions of Americans have been engaged in a futile wait for ...

Lack of resources will aggravate hospitals

December 8, 2020

Many U.S. hospitals are under siege because of COVID-19. Both in personnel and other resources, they need all the help they can get. Earlier this year, when most people thought the epidemic would peak by this fall, Congress acted wisely by including in the CARES Act a provision suspending part of a 2011 law. That statute reduces Medicare payments to hospitals by 2%, through something called the Medicare “sequester.” Whether that ever was wise is questionable. It certainly makes no sense now — but the CARES Act suspension expires on Dec. 31. U.S. Reps. David McKinley, R-W.Va., ...

Even potential fraud needs investigating

December 7, 2020

President Donald Trump’s insistence that the November election was plagued by vote fraud are being dismissed by many. They should not be ignored — or forgotten. President-elect Joe Biden’s victory seems sound. His vote margins in critical states were wide enough that it is difficult to believe fraud occurred widely enough to reverse the verdict. Biden will take office in January. Still, insisting there was no vote fraud is absurd for a very good reason. Even if it did not occur frequently enough to affect the presidential election, fraud is unacceptable at any level. A few ...

Et Cetera

December 5, 2020

States plan for vaccines As several states drafted plans this week for COVID-19 vaccines, governors and state officials were weighing concerns about the order in which shots will be dispensed. While each of them faces decisions specific to their states, Healthcare providers, teachers, and first responders should be at the top of the list. That seems to be the case, which is a good thing. Healthcare workers are overburdened across the country, and many schools are facing a shortage of available teachers. The sooner vaccinations are given out, the sooner we can look forward to some ...

Minorities need effective safeguards

December 4, 2020

Racial minorities have been hit far harder than white Americans by COVID-19. Throughout the epidemic, that has been a constant. But why? Theories abound. One is that African-Americans, whose incomes in general are lower than those for whites, do not benefit from as high a quality of health care as their lighter-skinned neighbors. Obviously, that speculation needs to be explored — but it is not satisfactory as a stand-alone explanation for the disparity. Blacks and Native Americans have suffered much more than whites. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ...