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Housing construction comeback good news for builders

Among the brightest bits of news linked to the COVID-19 epidemic was the report last week that home sales are booming in the United States. The pace of home purchases jumped by a record-high 24.7% last month, according to the National Association of Realtors. Analysts credited low mortgage interest rates and a limited supply of houses for the boom. Think back a few years to the so-called Great Recession. You may recall it was sparked by a crash involving sub-prime mortgages, or home-buying loans granted to people who could not make the monthly payments. When that house of cards ...

If guilty, Steve Bannon deserves severe punishment

The power to profit greatly from their misdeeds and to be shielded from punishment is something of which all criminals dream. Occasionally, often through politics, some think they have achieved that. If federal authorities are correct, former White House aide Steve Bannon is among them. Bannon and three other men have been charged with various offenses in an online crowd-funding scheme. They set up an initiative they called “We Build the Wall” and sought donations from supporters of President Donald Trump’s plan to improve security on the U.S.-Mexico border. ...

Illegal eavesdropping by FBI deserves harsh punishment

It is more than unfortunate that virtually everything seems to be colored by politics these days. It also may be hazardous to our freedoms. More and more, it is becoming apparent that a few powerful people in the government broke the law in spying on a candidate for president in 2016. Just for a moment, put aside the fact that candidate was Donald J. Trump. What happened to his campaign could just as easily be done to a Democrat instead of a Republican — or to a private citizen instead of a prominent politician. Last week, a former FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, pleaded guilty ...

Postal Service needs to use epidemic dollars

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. So goes the United States Postal Service’s motto. No one said anything about lack of funding. Despite his denials, President Donald Trump is being accused by some of withholding funds available to the USPS, allegedly in order to limit the agency’s ability to handle tens of millions of mailed-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election. If indeed anyone is failing to use resources available to the Postal Service, changes are in order. Billions of dollars in ...

Long-term care facilities still need to be extra cautious

It was understandable, if not prudent, that when COVID-19 seemed to be on the run earlier this summer, many Americans decided it was time to go back to what was normal early this year. We are paying the price for that foolhardiness now. Unfortunately, those paying the grimmest toll had little if anything to say about the matter. They are residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. During stage one of the epidemic, nursing homes were hit hard by COVID-19. We learned their residents, older people, often with underlying medical conditions, were the most vulnerable ...

Close watch needed on college students

Fall classes already have begun at some colleges and universities. During the next few weeks, hundreds more will attempt to do so. COVID-19 is enough of a threat in many states that some institutions of higher learning will not be allowing in-person classes, at least at first. Students will have to get by with online learning. Other colleges and universities are attempting to begin the semester in something approaching normal — but with extensie adaptations such social distancing in classrooms and laboratories. Some plan to hold classes for only the first part of the semester, ...