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Unity, and careful messaging, will be key to Dem resurgence

Here’s an easy lesson for rising political hopefuls to draw from Francesca Hong’s failed bid to be Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee: Don’t demonize Thanksgiving. Hong, a chef, state legislator and democratic socialist, was the clear front-runner in the Democratic primary race until a social media comment she posted six years ago, now deleted, turned up, in the way that old tweets often do to embarrass political candidates. You didn’t have to be a right-winger to slap your forehead, shake your head and condemn cheap shots at a holiday long cherished by countless ...

Dear Annie: Toddler

Dear Annie: My granddaughter, “Melanie,” thinks that she has a half-sister 24 years younger. Melanie believes that her father, long divorced from her mother, was asked by his former unattached girlfriend with whom he remained friendly, to “help” her have a child before it becomes biologically too late. Now, my granddaughter has become very attached to the 2 and 1/2 year old and visits her at least once a week. She finds a lot of physical resemblance to herself when she was that age. She sees her father participate lovingly in the little girl’s activities. She has asked him ...

Woman with back pain inquires about strengthening devices

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 77-year-old woman with degenerative disc disease. I had an L4 microdiscectomy surgery in 2020, but I still have chronic pain in my lower back. Although I do core strengthening exercises with physical therapy (which helps), I’m still in daily pain. I’ve been seeing advertisements for multifidus muscle-strengthening devices, such as NeuroMD and ReliveX. What’s your opinion on this type of exercise device? — C.K. ANSWER: I think that better non-pharmacologic therapies are needed for back pain, and the theory of electrical stimulation to strengthen the back ...

No masculine or feminine ideals needed — just human ones

Men in the U.S. are stuck — stuck in dissatisfaction, stuck in judgement and stuck in a culture that increasingly tells them that they aren’t strong enough, attractive enough or mean enough to matter. In a perhaps related development, American sailors appear to be trying to escape the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East for almost nine months, by the only means available to them: jumping off it into the ocean. “There have been widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, ...

The endless horizon: Why generations of landlocked Appalachians keep coming back to Erie

Long before the furthest-left corner of the Commonwealth began welcoming millions of sunbathers, Presque Isle State Park served as a critical shield for a young nation. During the War of 1812, the peninsula’s natural, 5.8-square-mile harbor provided the perfect sanctuary. Master mariner Daniel Dobbins recognized that a shallow sandbar across the bay’s entrance would protect American shipbuilders from deep-draft British warships. Under the cover of Presque Isle’s dense forests, Commander Oliver Hazard Perry constructed a formidable naval squadron. In September 1813, Perry sailed ...

Dear Annie: Dispirited Da Vinci

Dear Annie: I recently turned 27 and feel as if life is just passing me by. I try so many different things to find career opportunities and to meet other people but nothing leads to anything, and I am always stuck back at square one. It seems like nobody ever gives me a chance (social and economic). Is there a way to move on in life without sacrificing your identity? Right now, I’m terribly alone. Outside of a few family members, I have no social life, no love life and no career opportunities. It wouldn’t be so bad if I could just have one of those pillars. I’m stuck in a small ...