Afew days have passed since the Justice Department informed former President Donald Trump that he had been indicted. Some of the main issues involved, both legal and political, are becoming clearer than they were in the first frenzied hours after the news broke.
Hello, dear readers, and welcome to the monthly letters column. We've had a bumper crop of mail and will have some bonus letters columns in the months to come.
DEAR HARRIETTE: A guy that I used to date — and remained good friends with — recently told me about his plans to propose to his girlfriend. He was asking for advice. We have remained friends after our breakup, but I never expected him to seek my input on such an intimate matter. To be honest, it hurt my feelings more than I thought it would. I understand that he values my opinion and trusts me, but I cannot help feeling a bit upset. I do not want to let my discomfort be too obvious by pulling back.
Scientists at the International Association of Human Behavior say that not all Swedes are taciturn, Italians are not universally excitable, and not every Frenchman looks down his nose at you.
When it comes to grass clippings, dead leaves and other yard waste, never let it near storm drains, ditches or waterways like creeks, streams or a river. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, when this material decays, it uses up oxygen in the water, which in turn hurts the aquatic inhabitants. The best thing is to run a lawn mower over yard waste and let it naturally decompose into the lawn, or pile it up in a compost bin to transform it into beneficial mulch.
DEAR HARRIETTE: Recently, I took the step of completely purging my social media accounts of people I don't feel particularly close to anymore. Most of these people are not friends of mine, and I don't think it makes sense for us to continue following each other on social media.
In the evening, from the rooftops, the Acropolis shimmers in the failing light. It was, to be sure, once a place of worship. But it also stands as a symbol of the glory that was Greece in the years when its democracy was founded — the ancients' great contribution to governance and an inspiration to our founders, whose 1787 Constitution was inspired by what the Athenians created in 508 B.C.
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DEAR HARRIETTE: My friend had a baby with someone who clearly expressed that he did not want to have children. My friend went ahead with the pregnancy anyway, and now her partner is absent in the child's life, leaving her to care for the baby on her own.
After negotiating a deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avoid a catastrophic default on America's debt, President Biden observed: 'Now, this agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets what they want. That's the responsibility of governing.'