Opinion

Junk Fees Are Just Bureaucratic Junk Food

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Any parent will tell you that forcing children to eat their spinach is no way to win a household popularity contest. Children don’t care about the long-term benefits of eating healthy food when the alternative is the short-term thrill of sugary treats. Much to their children’s chagrin, parents impose rules, like limiting the quantity of treats and making their receipt contingent upon finishing a healthy meal. Good behavior must be encouraged with appropriate incentives.

Dear Annie

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Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for 42 years, and he has always had strong likes and dislikes. Four years ago, we moved closer to our son’s family. Until recently, I didn’t realize how much he dislikes our son’s mother-in-law (she lives nearby the family also).

Letter to the Editor

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National Debt History In only 220 years from George Washington to George W. Bush we accumulated 10 trillion dollars in national debt, to which Barack Obama said, “Bush was irresponsible, and unpatriotic.” Then Barack Obama became president and doubled to over $20 trillion in just eight years, to media silence.
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Everyday Cheapskate

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You Really Can Recover From Dumb Money Mistakes During the 13 years it took for my husband and me to get out the horrible debt mess of my creation, I learned how important it is to deal with mistakes as they happen so they don’t morph into major setbacks. No one is perfect.

Dear Annie

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Dear Annie: My younger brother “Chris” moved away and got married. He and his wife, “Julie,” have a baby girl and two golden retrievers. They recently came to visit for a week, and they brought their dogs. My mom lives with me, and she already has three dogs. My brother’s dogs are a total pain. I wish Chris had hired a dog sitter and left the dogs at home. I think it is selfish for them to bring their animals to a guest’s home. Should I ask my brother to leave his dogs at home the next time they visit? -- Too Many Dogs Dear Too Many Dogs: If it’s your home, then of course you have the right to ask Chris to leave the dogs behind next time. It might help if you explain to him why you feel that way -- for example, you are allergic or the dogs shed on your furniture -- so that he knows it’s not coming from a place of hostility.

‘Assault Weapon’ Bans Look More Legally Vulnerable Than Ever

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A Preliminary Injunction in Illinois May Signal the Demise of a Long-Running Public Policy Fraud Three days after Washington became the 10th state to enact an “assault weapon” ban, a federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of a similar law in Illinois. That decision, which was published last Friday, may signal the demise of a long-running public policy fraud that falsely depicts an arbitrarily defined category of semi-automatic rifles as good for nothing but mass murder.