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The mixed messages or dog whistles from Trump

When President Donald Trump says he “may do” something, it also means he “may not” do something. He covers all his bases so no one can be surprised. Trump realizes that people will believe what they want to believe. Because of that fact, Trump gives messages that some people can embrace and others can dislike. He taps into people’s worst and best inclinations. His magic is that he never apologizes for either action, leaving people to embrace what they want to embrace in Trump’s often dualist messages. Then, when things go wrong (as they often do), Trump offers a ...

Dear Annie: Standing firm with family

Dear Annie: My husband has three children from his first marriage. For the first 20 years of us being married, everything was great. But the last 15 years have been hell with two of the children. They became super religious and political to the point they are always pushing their way of life on us. We told them to stop, that we have our own religious and political beliefs and to please accept us for who we are, and we will be respectful of what they think. It’s been 14 years since and we’ve had no contact with them. A few weeks ago, they popped up in a horrible way. I won’t ...

Antique rustic furniture can hide many surprises

Think of wooden furniture, and most of us picture defined shapes, even lines and symmetry. Of course, that isn’t always the case. Historically, wood was left with uneven live edges when furniture was made quickly out of necessity, not as a design choice. While raw edges, twig construction ...

Keep artificial intelligence out of American classrooms

Norway is, by almost any metric, a profoundly successful nation. It’s rich, democratic and relatively corruption-free. It’s not a socialist country, but fans of a robust welfare state and high taxes see much to admire in the very progressive Norwegian model. It also benefits from having the biggest and arguably best-run sovereign wealth fund in the world. And yet, Norway nearly ruined its children. In 2016, flush with cash and progressive values, Norway gave every child in the country, starting at the age of 5, their own iPad or similar digital device. A decade later, young ...

Laughing off accountability

Dear Annie: My brother-in-law is constantly making offensive and over-the-top jokes. Whenever I call him out, he tells me I’m “too sensitive.” To me, that’s the same as saying, “I don’t care about your feelings and I’m going to blame this conflict entirely on you!” I always point this out, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. This is gaslighting of the worst kind. How can I respond in the future to make him take some actual accountability? — Oversensitive Dear Oversensitive: Your brother-in-law’s trick is to shift the spotlight from his joke to your reaction. ...

Using a vagus nerve stimulation device for rheumatoid arthritis

DEAR DR. ROACH: I want to know what you think about vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), both the surgically implanted type as well as the external noninvasive device for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other indications. What kind of doctor does this? Just reading about it gives me hope that less drugs are being used to treat these conditions. — L.L. ANSWER: VNS uses electrical impulses to trigger some of the many actions of the vagus nerve. VNS is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for some types of drug-resistant epilepsy, headache disorders, and drug-resistant depression. For ...