Opinion

Dear Annie: I have an employee who is constantly overbearing and frequently steps out of line in regards to privacy and personal space. She mistakenly sent me a text where she was revealing to a family member who works at a medical office where I was obtaining medical services, and describing my car and what state my tags were from. This shook me, considering it’s my private medical treatment at stake, and I have no idea what else has been discussed without my knowledge.

Much of the banter surrounding the rise of China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry and the implication for the global economy is misleadingly alarmist. When our government gets involved in such narratives, it calls into question the sincerity of its insistence that EVs are essential to an existential battle against climate change. If China’s foray succeeds, the world gets cleaner cars and non-Chinese automakers are obliged to improve their own products.

© 2023 Creators Syndicate Danger Signs You’re Headed Into the Debt Trap Debt. It’s a four-letter word and certainly not ideal under any circumstances.

Dear Annie: We have elderly neighbors who have allowed their 62-year-old son and his wife of five years to move in with them while they look for a house. The son lost his job in California, which he used as an excuse to move here to Washington.

President George W. Bush delivered an address on Nov. 6, 2003, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy. In that speech, he expressed confidence that Afghanistan would become “a free and stable democracy.”

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell froze when speaking to the press again. That’s twice now in roughly a month. Once again, his frightening medical episode is being used for social media fodder.

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been in a relationship for nine years. In that time, we’ve had multiple circumstances that broke my trust with him. He would report to his Marine base once a month (as a reservist), get drunk at night and flirt with girls online constantly; he tried kissing a girl at a party we were both at (thankfully, she had a bit more respect for our relationship); he would secretly text and Snapchat other girls; and he even had the intentions of hooking up with my best friend at our house after our housewarming party after I went to sleep and everyone left (I woke up and interrupted them before anything actually happened, but he did get a handful of her rear). Each one of those instances was obviously devastating, but I worked hard on getting over them and forgiving him. However, the trust is, I think, lost and needs to be built back up on his end.

Although the HHSRecommended Change Would Benefit Researchers and the Cannabis Industry, It Would Not Resolve the Conflict Between State and Federal Marijuana Laws For half a century, reformers have been urging the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify marijuana, which since 1970 has been assigned to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the law’s most restrictive category. Although the DEA has always rejected that proposal, it could change course in light of a recent recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services.

When they engage with the national media, Republicans expect that the exchanges will be skeptical, if not openly hostile. The press works for the Other Party. Democrats expect the media to be the wind beneath their wings, and get upset when journalists don’t help them at every turn.

When in Doubt File a Claim Regular readers of this column know that one of the messages I preach is this: “You have every right to file a claim for any kind of Social Security benefit you think you might be eligible for.” Even though I deliver that message often, I sometimes worry that it falls on deaf ears. But two emails I got this week helped me to realize that at least some readers are paying attention.