You can go to sleep for a year, maybe more. Or cancel your newspaper subscriptions. You may as well terminate your cable service – unless, of course, you want to binge on college basketball. And as for social media blasts, you can live without them.
ASK THE DOCTORS
DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a friend who is a know-it-all. As we are talking and catching up, she regularly interrupts me to explain that she knows whatever the subject is already and gives an example. Rarely do I get a whole sentence out before she jumps in to put her personal stamp all over it. This is irritating, to say the least. I know she is smart and busy in her life. She has had tons of experiences. I don't understand why she feels she needs to negate mine or not even give me space to talk. How can I get her to make room for me? — My Turn DEAR MY TURN: You are going to have to speak up and jump right back into the conversation. When your friend interrupts you with a story, stop her. Literally. Interrupt her back and say that you were trying to tell her something or make a point. Ask her to wait to tell her story until after you have shared your own. If she pushes back and says some version of 'I just have this one little thing to say that's related to what you just mentioned,' stop her and say, 'That's fine. Let me tell you my story, and you can share yours after.' If she still won't shut up, confront her. Tell her you are tired of being talked over by her. You have had enough. You see that she thrives on a oneway conversation. You do not. Ask her to listen better. If, over time, she won't try to be more inclusive of you in your conversations, stop talking to her.
Twitter and Facebook acted correctly in restoring Donald Trump’s right to use their platforms. He has not done so yet, mainly because he has contractual obligations to employ Truth Social, the third-rate outlet he created after his exile. But both Twitter and Facebook have been critical weapons in his political arsenal, and they should be available to him again as he seeks another term in the White House.
My husband, Peter, does not believe in Valentine's Day. I mean, he knows it is a thing. It's just a thing he prefers to ignore.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently heard about a different way to consider Feb. 14 beyond the traditional practice of celebrating Valentine's Day. Apparently there is a global movement to protect the rights of women and girls around the world, called V-Day, that is gaining traction. Do you know about this? How can I get involved? — A Meaningful Option DEAR A MEANINGFUL OPTION: The creator of the popular production 'The Vagina Monologues' founded VDay some years back as a way to draw awareness to the plight of women and girls globally. V, formerly Eve Ensler, has devoted her life to liberating women from oppression, and this taking back of the commercial holiday is one way she is doing it. V-Day is described on her website as 'a global activist movement to end violence against all women (cisgender, transgender and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender-based violence), girls and the planet.' If you are interested in learning more, go to vday.org.
CLINTON DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL
30 YEARS AGO
ST. LOUIS (AP) — For decades, Missouri executions played out in similar fashion: An inmate was strapped to a gurney in a drab room, alone except for the eyes of witnesses staring through thick, soundproof glass as unidentified executioners administered the lethal chemical from behind a cinderblock wall.
Growing up in West Virginia, Rev. Michael Clary always wondered about some of the archaic language his elders used, words like “yonder” and “reckon.”