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Editorial

Another kind of viral spread

There’s another worrisome, COVID-related healthcare scare infecting politically connected doctors who have a bullhorn and a bully pulpit. Unlike the coronavirus that emanated from China, or Omicron, just discovered in South Africa, this virus comes from the land of MAGA. “Here comes the MEV — the Midterm Election Variant! They NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election — but we’re not going to let them!” That’s Texas Republican U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson on Twitter, claiming that Omicron is just a ...

Political purity toxic to nation

From the dumb messaging of “defund the police” to fearmongering over critical race theory, extreme ideas and rhetoric from the left and right have become, for too many, litmus tests of loyalty. If one party is for it, everyone in that party must be for it; if the party is against it, everyone in the party must be against it. This rigid loyalty is obliterating the common ground where compromises achieve progress. Blind loyalty, amplified by partisan and social media, casts differing voices as the enemy. Socialists! Fascists! Woke mob! Racists! In just one of many examples, Rep. ...

COVID is a shifty, tireless opponent

While we may be done with COVID-19, it is not done with us. Just as the State of Hawaii and Maui County announce plans to ease COVID-19 restrictions on social gatherings and business capacities, a new highly transmissible variant named omicron has governments banning flights and imposing strict quarantines on travelers from nations in southern Africa. The delta variant is fueling surges across Europe. American cities like Buffalo have had to reissue mandates this week as hospitals fill to near capacity. And yet, in this pandemic-weary world, airline travelers are flying in numbers ...

Rittenhouse trial aftershock

What a seismic difference a trial has made to public and media perceptions of Kyle Rittenhouse. When he was charged at age 17 with shooting three men, two fatally, during racial unrest in Kenosha last year, various media accounts described him as a rifle-toting white supremacist who drove across the border to shoot Black Lives Matters protesters in the racial unrest that followed the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. But when Rittenhouse, now 18, faced his charges in court this month in a nice suit and tie, the “white supremacist” allegation died for lack of exposure. ...

Kamala Harris’ low approval

Vice President Kamala Harris’ approval rating has plummeted to 28 percent, according to a new Suffolk University/USA Today poll. That is lower than her four predecessors in their first years. It’s also lower than the approval rating for President Joe Biden, who sits at 38 percent, and former President Donald Trump as he was leaving office in January, when he was polling around 41 percent. Despite the best efforts of the Democratic political machine calling attention as much as possible to the demographically historic nature of her vice presidency, her year as Veep has been ...

Homelessness test of humanity

It has been two months since Maui County and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources cleared the homeless encampment at Amala Place in Kanaha. Called an “intervention,” the action forced about 60 residents of the camp to relocate. Some had lived downwind of the Kahului Wastewater Treatment Plant for years. Despite what the county insists was ample warning and a history of offering assistance, many residents lost their belongings in the sweep. Some 58 tons of solid waste and 54 derelict vehicles were reportedly removed. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit ...