Two months ago, as Americans began their summer vacations, the political landscape looked bleak for Joe Biden and his Democrats. Inflation was soaring; the president’s popularity was sinking.
Health officials are forecasting a fall COVID-19 surge, but one with fewer fatalities than past coronavirus spikes. The good news: A variant-specific booster has just been authorized to cope with the expected rise in cases.
Marvin Sands, Independence To the editor: Recently Governor Mike Parson announced he is calling the state legislature into special session this month to formulate an income tax cut for all Missourians. Except the tax cut doesn’t include all Missourians but does include the governor’s influential and richest buddies.
Quick, somebody repair the slippery floors and close all the open hospital windows in Moscow. One was obviously responsible for the freak-accident death of Ravil Maganov, the chairman of Russia’s second-largest oil producer, Lukoil. Maganov must have tripped, perhaps on his IV line, before plummeting to his death on Thursday.
So Kevin McCarthy doesn’t like it when he gets called a nasty name. Tough.
A dear friend of mine, Dapper Dave, informed me the other day that he’s been invited to his 63rd class reunion. Oh, how I’d love to be a fly on the wall.
Niel Johnson, Independence To the editor: In the present day of political division and friction, it is well to remind ourselves of the crisis of the Great Depression of the 1930s and how our president and Congress dealt with its tensions and temptations toward dictatorship. With optimism and hope, President Roosevelt told Americans that our Constitution is so “simple and practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary need by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form.”
The end of the end of the 20th century Some would say the 20th century ended at Y2K — midnight on Jan. 1, 2000. Others would say that, as a historical phenomenon, it extended until the shock of Sept. 11, 2001. And others still might cite the Great Recession or even the election of Donald Trump as the real end of the long 20th century.
Ellen Wentz, Kirkwood, Mo. To the editor: Whatever your age, occupation or religion, you have to agree our children are Missouri’s future.
It is time to give President Joe Biden his due. While Biden’s approval rating doesn’t reflect it, Uncle Joe is on a roll. After some bumpy months, gas prices are dropping, unemployment is at record lows, the job market is booming, incomes are rising, a top al-Qaida leader was taken out, the first Black female Supreme Court justice was seated, NATO has expanded, and Biden unified European support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.