DEAR ABBY: A few months ago, my daughter told me she was with her boyfriend at the local bowling alley and they were kissing and hugging. When she went to use the ladies’ room, she was followed by an older woman who proceeded to “advise” my daughter about the local family planning clinic, as well as offer her opinion that teenagers need to be very careful in their sex lives so they don’t end up as young parents and derail their futures.
For many people, the hot summer days are often spent swimming at a lake or pool. But before you help your child suit up, it’s important to consider some safety tips.
Even the most casual observer of current events has to admit there is much to be gloomy about. From public health (monkeypox and COVID-19 variants) to mass shootings (Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, among others) to the inability of opinion leaders to agree on basic facts (see the events of Jan. 6, 2021), there is a certain deficit of optimism of late. Throw in some election-year fearmongering on inflation, the stock markets and gasoline prices, and it does seem like the best way to cheer up might be to disconnect from all electronic devices.
When the Jan. 6 committee hearings began Thursday night, one cable “news” station — Fox News — was not broadcasting the proceedings. The network stayed with Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, all of whom have denounced the committee’s investigation as illegitimate and a witch hunt.
For the United States to have any hope of restoring itself as a global beacon of democracy, the Biden administration must take a firm and consistent stand when dealing with dictators. If other nations’ leaders can’t embrace the fundamentals of democracy, they don’t deserve to be welcomed on these shores. President Joe Biden faced some precarious choices this week in hosting the Summit of the Americas and scheduling a July trip to Saudi Arabia, a notorious human rights abuser.
My dad was a simple man. He loved simple food, like the cornbread his mother baked every day. Simple people, who never tried to put on airs. And simple pleasures, like hunting and fishing and being with me.
One aspect of the war in Ukraine demands much closer attention — the failure of the U.S. and its rich-country friends to build strong partnerships with the developing world. Many governments in Africa, Latin America and Asia have distanced themselves from the allies’ response to Russia’s aggression. This is helping Moscow and does nothing to discourage other regimes with expansionist ambitions. The neglect that allowed it to happen was a serious error, and putting it right should be a high priority.
I usually tune out criticisms of the modern mess of humanity that come with phrases such as “late-stage capitalism.” That’s a gussied-up way implying that everyone knows the game is over, the plutocrats are making a killing while they can, and when the rubble is cleared away, we’ll find ourselves in a gentle and just Age of Aquarius.
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are in our 40s. Last year, we decided to make a very big change in our lives. We decided to seek out a second wife (sister wife) for my husband. I was completely on board with it at first. He reached out to a woman he knew years ago and asked if she would consider joining our family. However, I started getting this feeling that she wasn’t the right woman to bring into our family. She ignored many of my in-depth questions about why she wanted to live this type of life.
Dear Doctors: My father passed away due to unexplained liver problems that we only now know was fatty liver disease. It’s 20 years later, and a CT scan shows some fat in my own liver. My liver readings are normal, but I’m the same age as my father was when his issues began. Should I be concerned?