For the last year, we've heard one commentator after another tell us that American democracy is in crisis. The source of that crisis, we are told, is a hard core of the Republican Party that believes the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump and that Joe Biden, therefore, is not a legitimate president.
Dear Doctors: Can you please talk about the omicron variant? I keep hearing different information about whether or not it's worse than the delta variant and how sick it's going to make you. Why has there been so much panic about this new variant?
DEAR HARRIETTE: My assistant has been doing a good job at work, so I offered her a promotion and a 20% raise. I was surprised and disappointed by her response. She said she thought the raise wasn't enough and that she deserves a lot more. I run a small business and do not have more to give her. I never know if all of my current contracts will last, so I have to keep sizable savings in order to pay for all of the expenses it takes to run the business. I know that many companies, including ones much larger than mine, don't even give cost of living increases on a regular basis, let alone a whopping 20%. I can't go higher, nor do I think she deserves it. But I also don't want a disgruntled employee. How should I handle this? – Disappointed
There is no better place for your donated dollars than your local food bank or other nutrition programs. The need for food is acute in many families as the damaging effects of the pandemic continue to ripple through the economy while inflation – the worst in 40 years – wrecks family budgets. As Bloomberg reports, "Hunger is rising with the U.S. Census Bureau estimating more than 21 million Americans didn't have enough to eat in December as pandemic relief payments run out and grocery prices rise."
New year, new start for Kamala Harris?
Dear Doctors: I've been hearing about something called "personalized nutrition." They're saying it can help with all sorts of stuff, like depression, losing weight and even migraines. Apparently it starts with a poop sample? What's this all about?
DEAR HARRIETTE: I work in an upscale restaurant. My friends come in often to visit me, but my new boss doesn't like them very much. My friends can be a little bit rowdy, and apparently my boss doesn't like so much noise in the dining room area. My old boss had no problem with my friends. I'm scared that their boisterousness will jeopardize my job. Should I ask them to stop coming in? – Rowdy Friends
“Be my Mommy!" the banner in the CVS window read, part of a display of surplus Baby Emma dolls. I noticed during Mass – shortly before I went to the drugstore to pick up prescriptions – that one of the petitions during the service was for those struggling to have a happy, peaceful Christmas. We prayed for the sick, the grieving, the lonely. We didn't pray for the orphans, though, I thought during Mass.
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.” This prayer for personal wisdom should also flow through Clinton, its citizens and leaders.
Dear Doctors: Is it true that we're being told to eat even less salt than before? I've been hearing that there are new rules about that, but I don't know what they are. How much salt is OK to eat? Why is it that this kind of advice keeps changing?