The announcement of record retail stores closing during the COVID pandemic is probably a distant memory, except for those whose favorite restaurant shuttered. The trend never really stopped and over 6,000 businesses are expected to close this year. High inflation rates and flat wages are behind the disturbing trend that neither presidential candidate offered a realistic solution to voters during their campaigns. We must make this an issue after the inauguration

After the disgusting and terrifying election of trump, former Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill conceded by saying that Trump “knows America better than we do.” This is the same candidate for U.S. Senate who also didn’t “know” Missouri in 2018 when the experienced politician lost to kid wanna-be trump Josh Hawley. The Democratic leadership has been stuck on stupid for several election cycles and our fragile democracy is already paying a hefty price.

This is our teachable moment to take a hard look at these practices and make meaningful changes. When a bombastic trump was on the campaign trail in 2016, he boasted he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not “lose any voters.

I really don’t know why there has been no concerted response. Maybe it’s because of the general chaos in this society that we don’t focus on the needs and concerns of children and youth. Maybe it’s because adults don’t really know how to respond. I refuse to believe it’s because we do not care. But when a student survivor of St. Louis’ first school shooting came to me for a platform to express her discounted pain, I wondered about us as a society.

We must build a formidable united front for justice and democracy. The motley picks for cabinet positions by trump mirrors his distorted view of governance and power. The main thing these cronies have in common is their unfettered and unconditional loyalty to trump. This is a required trait for a wanna-be dictator who is now more dangerous the second time around.

Wisconsin voters, you did a valiant job of not being swept into the sea of Republic redness during the presidential election. You lost to trump by a hair and Senator Tammy Baldwin held her ground. You still have Governor Tony E in place. You’re in an excellent position to move forward unlike other states who will have to dig themselves out of red holes on the local and statewide levels. The MAGA movement has gained new momentum, but it is not unstoppable.

The Left needs a sobering analysis of how trump got elected twice and lay out its plan to stop the hemorrhaging of democracy.

This country is at that “fateful fork” which requires serious intervention on the part of its citizens if we want to experience the unflinching progress we so desperately seek.

The drug is a driving force in the chemical warfare that plagues our communities. The recent news of drug overdose deaths seemed like a light at the end of a long and tortuous tunnel. For people like me who have lost a loved one to fentanyl, it offered a glimmer of hope for others.