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Are you chasing false gods?

My sadly departed friend, Frank, was a unicorn. He lived 89 years in the town he grew up in, a village on the Connecticut shore. A reporter at his local newspaper for over half a century, he had turned down offers to work for more glamorous publications, among them Sports Illustrated and The New York Times. Frank had considered the priesthood in his youth. He stopped going to church and claimed he wasn’t part of it anymore, but the church’s moral teachings clearly stayed put. Frank approached reporting as a kind of ministry, spending much time talking with his “flock.” His ...

Mamdani’s twisted view of America

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered a Fourth of July message that sounded like America is on its death bed. Immigrant citizens standing on each side of him as he sat at a desk used by George Washington, were even more stoic. July Fourth is supposed to be a celebratory time. Not for Mamdani who looked as if he had lost his best friend. After some obligatory praise for the nation to which he immigrated, Mamdani said that for “the powerful, America is an arena of supremacy, where only a select few are allowed freedom, where not all are created equal. America, if you ask them, ...

Why is Trump playing the Communist card?

Trump has run out of cards to play in the midterm elections, which is why he’s now talking about the “communist menace.” He can’t talk about the economy, because prices continue to rise faster than wages, which means most Americans are getting poorer. He can’t talk about foreign policy, because his war in Iran has been a debacle, his tariffs are an utter failure and he obviously hasn’t settled the war in Ukraine on “Day 1.” He can’t talk about immigration, because his raids and mass deportations have become so unpopular. So, facing the midterm elections, what’s ...

Dear Annie: When social media likes define self-worth

Dear Annie: My 14-year-old daughter spends far too much time on social media, and I am beginning to see it affect her mood, confidence and sleep. She checks her phone the moment she wakes up and often stays online long after she is supposed to be asleep. If a friend posts a picture without her, she becomes upset. If one of her own posts does not get enough likes, she worries that people are mad at her or no longer think she is popular. Recently, I took her phone away for the weekend after discovering she had been awake past midnight scrolling through videos. She cried and told me I ...

Itchy skin tags appear after switching a medication’s dosage

DEAR DR. ROACH: About four months ago, my doctor switched me from a combination of 5 mg of amlodipine and 100 mg of Losartan daily (which I’d been taking for several years) to 10 mg of amlodipine only. Things went just fine until very recently, when I started developing some annoying skin problems. I’ve noticed wart-like growths and itchy, small white things that look like skin tags. They bleed when I scratch them, and my whole torso and neck are itchy. I don’t tolerate antihistamines, so I’m using hydrocortisone cream, which is helpful. Would switching back to my old dosage of ...

Dear Annie: My friend’s joy highlights my own pain

Dear Annie: I am embarrassed to admit this, but I am jealous of my best friend. “Claire” and I have been close for more than 20 years. We met in college, stood in each other’s weddings and raised our children alongside one another. She has always been the person I could tell anything to. Over the past year, though, everything in her life seems to have fallen into place. Her husband received a big promotion, they bought a beautiful new house and her daughter was accepted into her first-choice college. Meanwhile, my husband was laid off, we are worried about money and my son is ...