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This is not the time to judge

Democratic Party leaders in the House of Representatives are preparing to launch a formal investigation into how President Donald Trump’s administration has handled the COVID-19 crisis, it has been reported. At some point, such an examination needs to be conducted — but not as an exercise in political point-scoring. Has the White House made mistakes during the coronavirus pandemic? Of course. Has the Trump administration scored small victories? Again, yes. More important, have we as a people, working through both Democrat and Republican administrations and congresses done ...

Scammers are after your federal CARES check

Where most of us see tragedy, a few scum see opportunity. Their newest crime is preying on people who expect federal payments to help them get through the COVID-19 outbreak. Needless to say, senior citizens are the preferred targets. Some are receiving calls offering to help them register for the $1,200 per-person checks the government plans to distribute. Just provide some personal information such as bank account numbers, and all will be well, victims are told. Don’t fall for it. The Internal Revenue Service is handling distribution of the money — and no registration is ...

Federal stockpile of medical supplies needs to be maintained

Nearly 6,000 of the protective masks sent to Alabama from the federal stockpile of medical supplies were supposed to have been thrown away a decade ago. Materials in them had sustained dry rot and were unusable, according to The Associated Press. Meanwhile, more than 150 ventilators sent to Los Angeles from the federal stockpile did not operate properly. They had to be repaired. Any more questions about whethe the federal government was prepared adequately for the COVID-19 outbreak? Similar stories of unprepareness have been uncovered in some states and big cities. They are not ...

Is a flu shot in your future?

It is estimated that at least 24,000 Americans have been killed by the viruses, thus far this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At its peak, the illness was claiming about 500 lives a week. Though the outbreak is trailing off, it may kill another 300 or more people this week. COVID-19? Of course not. Deaths outlined above were from common influenza. Two strains appear to have done the most damage this season. Yet a vaccine against the most common varieties of flu has been available widely for months. COVID-19 has virtually paralyzed some large ...

There will be a day of reckoning

Millions of dollars in stock transactions on behalf of five U.S. senators have raised serious questions about their ethics — and whether they broke laws against insider trading. Clearly, the matter needs to be investigated, but not as a witch hunt with the preconceived notion that someone must be guilty of wrongdoing. If the senators did what they are being accused by some of doing — using information about COVID-19 they received because of their positions to profit or avoid stock market losses — the very minimum punishment ought to be removal from office. Much preferred ...

Punish the vicious and greedy COVID-19 profiteers

Evil never allows a good crisis to go to waste. So it is with the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak. Already, U.S. Customs agents have seized a shipment of counterfeit COVID-19 test kits, shipped to Los Angeles International Airport from the United Kingdom. Someone decided to make a killing — both financially and literally — on the disease. The culprit(s) were willing to put people in peril in order to reap a few ill-gotten gains. Let us hope those behind the fake test kits are apprehended and punished. Unfortunately, there will be others eager to capitalize on human misery to make ...