Colleague is always late to events

DEAR HARRIETTE: My colleague has a tendency to be unapologetically late, and I can’t stand it! We’ve traveled together in the past for work, and I have seen firsthand how careless he can be with his time – even for work functions.

The facts have always been the facts

Nearly four years ago, on Jan. 18, 2022, I wrote about a frenzy that was sweeping the anti-Trump world. It had to do with a novel theory of the 2020 presidential election dispute: Here’s the short version: Trump supporters in a few states – Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, and New Mexico – were so brazen that in the days before Dec. 14, 2020, when the Electoral College voted to confirm (former President) Joe Biden’s victory, they actually forged documents falsely purporting to be Electoral College results for (President Donald) Trump and sent them to the appropriate authorities in Washington and in their home states. They then planned to use the forgeries to steal the election on Jan. 6, 2021. All the while, they hoped no one would notice.

Dog park behavior stresses out dog owner

DEAR HARRIETTE: I go to a dog park weekly, and there’s one dog owner who keeps letting their dog jump all over me and my dog, even though I’ve repeatedly tried to set boundaries. I’ve politely asked them to control their dog, and I’ve even stepped in front of my dog to block the other dog when it gets too rough, but nothing seems to stick. Every time it happens, the dog owner laughs it off and says, “Oh, he’s just excited!” or “He doesn’t mean anything by it,” but I feel disrespected, and my dog seems stressed by the repeated interactions. What makes it worse is that the other regulars at the park also laugh it off, so I start to feel like I’m the one overreacting. I love going to the dog park, and I enjoy socializing, but this situation has made it stressful, and I’m starting to dread attending.

Elizabeth Ko, M.D.

Dear Doctors: This weird thing keeps happening where it feels like the sock in my left shoe has gotten wadded up underneath the ball of my foot. Every time I check, nothing is wrong. Is something wrong? My health insurance isn’t very good, so deciding to see a doctor is a big deal.

As parties entrench, an impasse grows

MARBLEHEAD, Mass. – He helped supply the Continental Army during the early days of the American Revolution. He signed the Declaration of Independence. He shaped the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He was a member of the House of Representatives, a governor of Massachusetts and vice president. He lent his name – perhaps the most mispronounced name in American history, even more so than Kamala – to the creative shaping of a congressional district we now call “gerrymandering.”

Friend doesn’t want to plan every gathering

DEAR HARRIETTE: My friend expects me to handle every single detail whenever we hang out: choosing the activity, making the reservations, checking hours and figuring out travel time. The moment we decide to do something, she defaults to, “You pick!” or “Just tell me where to go!”

Elizabeth Ko, M.D.

Dear Doctors: I know therapists use music to get through to people with Alzheimer’s disease who don’t really connect with anything else anymore.

Stranger’s mix-up causes reflection on health

DEAR HARRIETTE: I was coming up out of the subway the other day when a man spoke to me from behind. He complimented me on my outfit and then looked at me. He remarked that he had thought I was someone else – a prominent woman in our city.

Trump is making America poor again

Fox News host Laura Ingraham recently told President Trump that America didn’t need to import foreign workers because “we have plenty of talented people here.” The president then gave an astounding retort. “No, you don’t,” he said. “You don’t have certain talents.”

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