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The public health emergency is over — now what?

As announced in March, the United States ended the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11th. The World Health Organization declared its public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) over on May 5th. “The end to the PHEIC, to be clear, isn’t a declaration that COVID is over—or even that the pandemic is. Both a PHEIC and a pandemic tend to involve the rapid and international spread of a dangerous disease, and the two typically do go hand in hand. But no set-in-stone rules delineate when either starts or ends.” K. J. Wu, PhD (The Atlantic, May 5.) In this “new ...

Sexism wrong from either side

Here we go again. A strong, prominent woman in the political arena comes under attack for being too strong, too ambitious, having too big a role in her spouse’s campaign. Sound familiar? Painfully so. Sexist? No question. Only this time, the target is not Hillary Clinton, although the treatment is the same. This time, the target is not a self-described feminist, but the wife of a hardcore right winger, Casey DeSantis. It doesn’t matter. Sexism comes in many colors, red as well as blue. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is married to a former television anchor and breast cancer ...

Treatment courts a powerful tool

For three decades, there has been a growing movement to transform the way the justice system responds to substance use and mental health disorders. Rather than continuing the revolving door of addiction and related crime, treatment courts break the cycle by holding individuals accountable while connecting them with the treatment and support needed to change their lives. This approach is no longer an experiment; more than 4,000 treatment courts across the nation have proven to be the most successful justice intervention in our nation’s history. May is National Treatment Court Month and ...

Is there an answer to violence our polarized society can achieve?

I went to a large high school in Pittsburgh. The same high school that LaVar Arrington attended. It was a city/suburban school. I never saw (or heard of) any weapons being used among the students. It was a long time ago. I graduated in 1960. I was bullied, but I never, ever, considered using a gun to fight back…and I did fight back. How many of you had those kinds of experiences? Probably quite a few back in those days. Even when I was in dire need of help and very angry about being bullied, I never dreamed of shooting the bully or anyone else. It just wasn’t a choice I considered. ...

The differences between Joe Biden and Donald Trump

The biggest difference between Donald Trump and Joe Biden are things Trump supporters freely admit, things like: Donald Trump says he still believes that he won the 2020 election. The violent attack on the Capitol by his insurrectionist supporters was not a threat to anyone including Vice President Pence. The Capitol attackers hugged and kissed the police and are Patriots deserving pardons. Putin, an internationally charged war criminal, was “savvy and a genius” to invade Ukraine. Classified documents belonged to Trump when he left office. As President, Trump could do whatever he ...

Union leadership lacks accountability

In a stunning admission of incompetence, Jerry Jordan, the boss of Pennsylvania’s largest teachers’ union, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, admitted he only recently started requesting paid family leave for his members. Meanwhile, Philly teachers are left struggling to cobble together time off for maternity leave. If I were a Philly teacher having money siphoned off my paycheck to fund Jordan’s salary, I would be livid and demand more control over my union leaders. Alas, this is not what teachers and other government sector union employees are going to get if Pennsylvania ...