Opinion

With one year since the Dobbs decision, in which the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, how should we be thinking, as a nation, about this crucial issue? Commentary in the press is conveying that Dobbs was an unpopular decision and that it has strengthened sentiment in the country for legal abortion.

Maybe Social Security Is Just Another Tax We Pay I’ve received a lot of emails recently from readers trying to calculate how much they paid in Social Security taxes over the years and then wanting to compare that to what they will get out of the system in return. More often than not, they are trying to prove that Social Security is a rotten deal.

Dear Annie: I have had a friend for many years, a person who got me through some pretty rough times many years ago. Now she is the one going through a rough time. Ten months ago, she lost a grandson to a fentanyl overdose. We live about three hours apart. At the beginning, she just let everyone know that her grandson had died and gave no details. I felt it was intrusive to ask how he had died since she didn’t offer. I figured she’d share the details when she was ready. I sent sympathy cards and notes of encouragement. When I tried calling, however, I would leave messages and get no return call. Finally, about a month ago, she answered when I called. And I was able to get the details of her grandson’s death.

Samuel Huntington got Ukraine wrong. That’s what a casual reader of “The Clash of Civilizations?” -- published in Foreign Affairs 30 years ago this summer -- might think.

It’s no secret that American political discourse has been dogpaddling in a sea of irrelevance. Now and then, a story of great importance takes over if it involves drama and colorful personalities. The almost-coup in Russia would be an example.

Today is the 179th day of 2023 and the eighth day of summer. TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1914, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist, sparking World War I.

Dear Annie: I’m 42 and, due to having epilepsy, have never been able to live on my own, without my parents. I haven’t had any kind of social life for the past 13 years. My illness began the year after I graduated high school, and it gradually got worse with time. I have lived with my mom through childhood, and from my senior year of high school until I was 38, I lived with my dad. Now I’m back living with my mom.

I’ve always felt that my husband was my greatest fan and biggest cheerleader. He has supported me while I chased my dreams. Through chronic illness and little-tono income, he’s had my back. My marriage is the foundation from which many of my ambitions were launched. It is my solid rock bed of support for chasing career aspirations.

Dear Editor, At the State Department of Education, there is a big push to get rid of “Social emotional learning” programs in schools. SEL is a program for mid-high students to help pre-teens to learn accountability for their behavior and to modulate their pubescent emotions.