Breaking News

Opinion

Laughing off accountability

Columns

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. ...

Thompson vs Planned Parenthood

Letters to the editor

Maggie Waggoner Lewisburg Congressman Glenn Thompson sent another misleading e-mail to his constituents on April 10, attacking Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). His newsletter states that PPFA “received more taxpayer dollars than ever before, and continues to prioritize abortion over true health care services.” First, abortion care is part of full health care. Furthermore, the 2024-2025 PPFA Annual Report states: “Though Planned Parenthood Federation of America did everything we could to prevent it, in July 2025, the Trump administration and Congress forced ...

What has passed is not always what was best

Columns

Your memories will try to trick you. I thought about that as I was driving down a street near my house the other day, when I spotted a father walking down the sidewalk, his young daughter slung over his shoulder like a sack of coal he was hauling out of a mine. Her hair bounced along on his back and she looked thrilled. They had been out on a stroll, and she’d asked for a ride: That was the story the image told me. Adorable, I thought, for a second. But wait. What was that look of resignation on the dad’s face? Did I recognize that parental exhaustion myself, that feeling of ...

Dear Annie: When language rubs the wrong way

Columns

Dear Annie: I live in a 55-plus community and have met many people and made lots of friends since moving in here. I am not a prude, but I find it very disturbing how the F-bomb and swearing is so prevalent in this community. I’m in my 60s, a baby boomer, a Christian and not a sheltered person, but I’m extremely annoyed by this behavior, especially among some of my closest friends. I know I can’t control others, only myself. Do I just ignore this and continue to be appalled (especially when God’s name is used in vain), or do I say something? — A Baby Boomer Dear Baby Boomer: ...

Shingles occurs in vaccinated woman for the fourth time

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: Have you ever heard of a fully vaccinated 79-year-old woman getting a repeat case of shingles? This is actually my fourth time having it. My first occurrence of shingles was when I was 26 years old, and it was on my torso. The next two occurrences were on my forehead, and I got antiviral medication for them. They subsided rather quickly, although I was left with some neurological aftereffects. When the first vaccine came out several years ago, I received it. Then as soon as Shingrix was available, I got both of these shots. This time, I’m on antiviral medication ...

Don’t just plant trees, plant forests to restore biodiversity for the future

Columns

Around the world, people plan to plant more than 1 trillion trees this decade in an ambitious effort to slow climate change and reduce biodiversity loss. But if the past is prologue, many of those planted trees won’t survive. And if they do, they could end up as biological deserts that lack the richness and resilience of healthy forests. It doesn’t have to be this way. The United Nations declared 2021-2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to encourage efforts to repair degraded ecosystems. Tree planting has become a centerpiece of that effort, championed by initiatives such ...