Column

My son’s longtime girlfriend (her students call her “Miss”) teaches physics in an inner-city charter high school. She is, happily, back in school; doing labs online with students, slowly sipping coffee outside at McDonald’s as their internet connections come and go, makes teaching law on Zoom look like a snap.

But wait. That’s physics. Yesterday, during her “free” period that is never free, she had a chemistry class.

Note my choice of language: She didn’t teach a chemistry class; she had one.

In a happy coincidence, “Miss” is credentialled to actually teach chemistry, but it doesn’t matter. She wasn’t teaching it. The students in the room — not the class, the room — were taking chemistry online. There was no actual class or teacher. They were all at different points in the software. Miss wasn’t in a position to jump into a course she had not designed, with students she was meeting for the first time, all of them at different points in the course, and she was there only because of the schedule changes for teacher conference week. Otherwise, she might be standing in front of a room full of students taking American history, which she isn’t credentialled to teach; or Spanish, which she doesn’t even speak.

As every parent has learned in the last almost two years, planting a child in front of a computer — even at a well-lit desk, in a quiet place, with reliable Wi-Fi, healthy snacks and no one crying — is not the same as sending them to school with a real live teacher who actually knows them. Sees them. Listens to them. Is teaching them something he knows something about. Knows how to teach the subject.

That’s the little secret about teaching. It’s not enough to know what you’re talking about. That, in truth, is the easy part.

It’s knowing HOW to talk about it. How to teach. It’s a lot easier to teach things you don’t know — you actually can learn along with your students — than to try to talk about things you know about but don’t know how to teach. In college, students are expected to wade through what it takes to get to the kernel of genius. In a word, it’s their job to find it. But even there, the great teachers stand out.

And in high school? It’s actually much tougher. You really do need to teach. And if you don’t? Or can’t?

By and large, independent learning is independent. It is not, by any measure, at the high school level or below.

And what the people at the front of the room are doing is not, by any measure, teaching. It is proctoring. Sit still. Look down. Do not consult other sites. If you can even limit that kind of cruising. Otherwise, the students at the desks are on their own.

I used to spend long days in court sitting through a fairly endless trade-secret trial. I shopped. I expect many of my students date during my lectures. Every once in a while, I would get a text from the general counsel, who sat behind me: “Buy the Mac,” he would say. “I’m paying for it,” and he was. Sit for an hour, buy the entry level.

There are certain things you can do while staring at a computer screen and pretending to do something else. Shopping, for instance.

But let’s not pretend at our children’s expense. Learning isn’t one of them. If this is what it will take for us to start respecting teachers more, then that may be the only lesson to be had here.

To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Going back to the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, the party of first-term presidents gained seats in House midterm congressional elections only twice.

Karl Rove reminded readers a few months ago in his Wall Street Journal column that, since World War II, the average loss of House seats of the party of each first-term president in congressional midterms is 28.

The largest loss was 63 in the first midterm elections in Barack Obama’s first term. This was after Democrats rammed through the Affordable Care Act without a single Republican vote.

Given that Republicans need to pick up only five seats in 2022 to regain control of the House, Democrats who retain any sense of reality are concerned by the political atmospherics being created by their $3.5 trillion welfare state/Green New Deal spending blowout.

But the very idea that there is something called “reality” is now politically incorrect in today’s woke-dominated Democratic Party. 

The sway of Democrat “moderates” — that is, those who have not detached entirely from reality, such as Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema and Rep. Josh Gottheimer — is in question now that the on-again, off-again vote on the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill, independent of the $3.5 trillion welfare state blowout, is now off-again.

The infrastructure bill, $1 trillion of spending on public works projects like roads, bridges and trains, is something of more conventional pedigree in Washington, which we normally expect from our elected officials.

The strategy of crazy left-wing House Democrats, pushing the $3.5 trillion welfare state/Green New Deal spending, has been to link this to their support of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. If you want roads and bridges, sign off on the $3.5 trillion socialist dream.

It had appeared that sobriety would have its day in Washington as the Senate passed, with Democrat and Republican votes, the infrastructure bill, with understanding that the House would vote on it and Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushing back on the far left’s condition of linking this to the welfare state trillions.

But lo and behold, the speaker backed off on scheduling the vote, and we’re back to the “roads and bridges on condition of the socialist dream” deal.

One notable factor pushing things in this direction was a visit by President Joe Biden to Capitol Hill, indicating his support of the House far-lefties to link infrastructure to socialism.

This could well do for the president’s ratings on domestic policy what his horribly botched exit from Afghanistan did for his ratings on foreign policy.

Let’s recall that initially the Democratic presidential nomination was heading to the far-left Sens. Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren wing of the party.

Things turned around for Biden when House Majority Whip James Clyburn endorsed him, delivering for him the South Carolina primary.

Clyburn’s endorsement was essentially an “establishment” endorsement of the Democratic Party. Clyburn cautioned against the far-left campaign rhetoric on issues like defunding the police.

Now Biden has put his presidential seal on that far-left wing of the party, and this will cost him.

New Gallup polling shows record-low trust in government.

Trust in federal government handling of international problems now stands at 39%, compared with an average from 1997-2021 of 59%. Trust in federal government handling of domestic problems stands at 39%, compared with an average of 53% from 1997-2021.

Earlier this year, Gallup polling showed satisfaction with the country plunging to 39%, compared with 53% in 2020. Satisfaction with overall quality of life was 67%, down from 84% in 2020; with opportunity to get ahead with hard work at 58%, down from 72%; with size and power of government at 31%, down from 38%; with our system of government and how well it works at 27%, down from 43%; and the moral and ethical climate at 18%, down from 32%.

Given how Democrats are running our government, 2022 should be a big year for Republicans.

Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.” To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.c

Jim Caruso, CEO of Flying Dog Brewery, calls his business a “First Amendment brewery.” That’s because he keeps going to court to defend beer labels.

It started in 1995, when Colorado’s Liquor Commission objected to the label, “Good Beer, No S—.”

Bureaucrats told him, “Pull the beer from the market, or we suspend your license,” he says in my new video. That could have put him out of business.

I tell Caruso, “I’m glad we get to say ‘s—‘ in this interview, but I can see why the regulators didn’t want the word.”

“Want free speech?” Caruso responds, “you have to respect that in others.”

After four years of litigation, Colorado’s Supreme Court overruled the liquor commission, ruling that “no s—” is free speech.

Then Michigan’s liquor commission banned another Caruso beer, “Raging B—-” (remember, it’s “Flying (SET ITAL)Dog(END ITAL)” brewery).

The bureaucrats said the label was “detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the general public.” They told Caruso, “Oprah doesn’t use the word on her show.”

Oprah?

Michigan police ordered him to pull Raging B—- from the shelves, or they’d confiscate it.

Caruso went to court again.

“Do you really want to live in a country where government bureaucrats, based on whim and personal preference, can censor whatever they don’t like?” asks Caruso. “Movies, books, music lyrics, news stories?”

“No,” I respond. “But I wouldn’t want to fight over a beer name. What do you care? Change the name of the beer.”

“All of these battles are fought at the margin. That’s where everything controversial is,” responds Caruso. “By the time you’re defending something mainstream, it’s too late.”

After six more years in court, he won again. The court said, “Banning a label for vulgarity violates the First Amendment.”

You’d think the bureaucrats would have known that, since the federal government already approved Caruso’s beers. In fact, every brewer in America must first submit every label to a federal bureaucracy called the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

Which makes me wonder: Why does every state need separate regulation? 

I suspect the answer is: Bureaucrats want jobs, and politicians are eager to waste our money.

On top of the feds’ hundreds of pages of rules, Caruso complains: “Every state has its own regulations. I think Maryland is 300-some pages, single-spaced. … The cost and time for compliance is onerous.”

This year, North Carolina’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission rejected another Caruso beer, “Freezin’ Season.”

The label depicts a cartoon figure in front of a fire. It might be a naked man … or not. If you squint at it, one tiny line might represent a penis.

Oh, no! Who will save us? North Carolina’s BEEReaucrats! 

They told Caruso it is “inappropriate” to expose children to that image and cited: “Rule 15b 1003-3(2),” which prohibits labels that are “undignified, immodest or in bad tase.” 

Bureaucrats love writing lines like “Rule 15b 1003-3(2).” North Carolina had already rejected more than 300 other beer labels — such as “Polygamy Porter,” “Beergasm” and “Hedonism.”

Most rejected breweries then usually just sell their banned beers in other states, but Caruso sues. Good for him for spending his own money to defend a principle.

Days before his first court hearing, North Carolina suddenly approved his beer, saying their change of heart “rendered the case moot.”

But Caruso pursued his litigation anyway, saying: “It’s not about one beer label. It’s about striking down an unconstitutional law!”

He also pointed out, “If it was to protect the children before, and now they’ve lifted the ban, they’re either sacrificing children at the altar of evading a preliminary hearing, or they’re just full of s—.”

North Carolina’s liquor commission wouldn’t agree to an interview.

John Stossel is author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.” For other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.

There is almost nothing Democrats can do to damage America, or Israel, that would change most American Jews’ political leanings.

The latest example took place just last week. A college student speaking to the vice president of the United States, a Democrat, condemned America for supporting Israel, and charged Israel with committing “ethnic genocide” against Palestinians.

Harris’s response?

“Your voice, your perspective, your experience, your truth cannot be suppressed, and it must be heard.”

It was indeed the student’s truth — which means it was a lie. “Your truth” always means “a lie.” When a person says something that is true, people don’t say, “that is your truth.” They say, “that’s true.”

And indeed, what the girl said to the vice president was a complete lie. Not a partial lie, a complete lie. As a rule — except on the Left with regard to Israel — groups that are victims of genocide decrease in number. Yet the Palestinians have had one of the highest population growth rates in the world. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 1991, there were 2,783,084 Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. In 2021, there were 5,227,193. This number does not include another 2 million Palestinians who are citizens of Israel. How many other national or ethnic groups have doubled in size in the last 30 years?

Yet, despite this revealing incident, it is hard to imagine that one American Jew will in any way rethink his or her commitment to Biden-Harris.

One reason is that few Jewish Democrats even know it occurred. I Googled “new york times kamala harris george mason university” and the following results came up (in this order): New York Post, Politico, Times of Israel, JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency). Next came the New York Times — an article from 2020: “Kamala Harris Makes History as First Woman and Woman of Color as Vice President.”

I could find nothing about the incident in the news sections of the Washington Post or Los Angeles Times either.

Some of the most powerful forces in the Democratic Party (the reason for the $3.5 trillion spending bill) are indistinguishable in their hatred for Israel from Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime. Does this disturb American Jewish Democrats?

Not nearly as much as Donald Trump disturbed them. Most American Jews loathed Trump despite the facts that he was the most pro-Israel president since Harry Truman; that his daughter and grandchildren are religious Jews; and that he engineered the Abraham Accords, a peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and Israel, which was followed by normalization of relations between Sudan and Israel and between Morocco and Israel.

Most American Jews believe the Democratic Party is a good and moral party and that the Republican Party is immoral and perhaps even evil.

This view is entirely emotional, which is why it is difficult to imagine it changing.

Most American Jews identify Republicans with the right and they assume “the right” means “fascist” or even “Nazi.”

Most American Jews identify Republicans with the rich and powerful and the Democratic Party with the poor and downtrodden, even though the rich and powerful are overwhelmingly Democrats.

Most American Jews identify the Democratic Party with secularism and the Republican Party with religion (religious Christians and Orthodox Jews). And they are as committed to secularism as Christians are to Christ.

Most American Jews have signed on to just about every secular substitute for Judeo-Christian religions: feminism, environmentalism, “anti-racism,” humanism, socialism. Jews, I have often noted, may well be the most religious people in the world — but for the great majority of them, Judaism is not their religion. And the Democratic Party is the party of all these secular religions.

This is all a great tragedy — not just for America but especially for American Jews.

America has always been the best country Jews have ever lived in outside of Israel. That is why a Jew wrote “God Bless America” (and did so at a time when antisemitism was much more prevalent and accepted in American society than it is today). That is why the most influential religious Jew of the 20th century, the Chabad leader, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, described America as a (SET ITAL) medina shel chesed (END ITAL), a “country of kindness.” Coming from Europe, he did not compare America to Utopia but to all the other countries Jews lived in.

Yet, something happened to American Jews after World War II. They veered more and more left — becoming able to support America-hating movements (like the Black Panthers, for whom Leonard Bernstein and other prominent Jews in music and Broadway threw an infamous fundraiser).

And why did that happen? Because Jews became less and less committed to Judaism, substituted the New York Times for the Torah and went to college in greater proportions than any other ethnic or religious group in America. Colleges corrupt most students’ values. Jews are no exception.

That helps explain why a Democratic vice president could praise a student who just told her that Israel commits ethnic genocide — and have it mean nothing to most American Jews.

Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His latest book, published by Regnery in May 2019, is “The Rational Bible,” a commentary on the book of Genesis. His film, “No Safe Spaces,” was released to home entertainment nationwide on September 15, 2020. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com.

I Have My First Boyfriend

Dear DR. WALLACE: I’m 16 years old and an only child, and recently I got my first boyfriend. I don’t really have any experience when dealing with boyfriends, relationships and so forth.

One day last week it was my birthday and my boyfriend got me a bottle of perfume as a birthday present. I don’t wear perfume, and don’t want to wear perfume at this time in my life. I acted like I enjoyed the gift, but I really didn’t want it too much. Do I need to tell him that I don’t like his gift, or should I just continue to thank him and move on to other topics of discussion? — A New Girlfriend, via email

A NEW GIRLFRIEND: I feel it’s fine that you did the polite thing and thanked him for his thoughtful gift. It was certainly nice of him to remember your birthday and to commemorate it with a gift. It was also nice that you showed appreciation for his efforts.

As for the perfume, you can “regift” it to someone else that you think might like it, preferably a female family member like an aunt or even your mother. You don’t want to hurt your boyfriend’s feelings over his thoughtful gesture.

In the future, when you have this boyfriend (or any other one!) It might be wise to drop a few hints about items you like or enjoy well in advance of your birthday or any significant anniversary.

WHAT’S THE POINT OF SCHOOL?

Dear DR. WALLACE: I’m a boy who is 15 years old and I feel like I’ve been going to school my whole life already! I feel that all I’ve done is take classes and listen to teachers who yammer on and on about subjects that won’t matter much to my life 10 years from now. I’d really like to get more life experience out of all this time I have to be in school.

I know from reading your previous articles that you worked for years in public education and were both an administrator and a varsity coach at different high schools. So, for you, it’s going to be no big shocker that I don’t like school and I don’t like the teachers who teach it! I’ll bet you met many kids in your time that felt like I do, and I don’t just mean the kids who constantly get into trouble for stealing, skipping school or using drugs.

What I am referring to are kids like me that don’t see the point of it all! So much useless information is reviewed over and over and over again. Sheesh!

After I graduate high school, I will probably just be on government assistance and unemployment programs because I don’t want to work at a fast-food place for minimum wage these days. Even though minimum wage is more than it used to be, it’s nowhere near enough money to live on properly. What’s the point of school if I’ll end up on unemployment benefits anyway? — Don’t See the Point of So Much School, via email

DON’T SEE THE POINT OF SO MUCH SCHOOL: School should help you learn to be a part of society and thrive. At this particular point, your life is in a transition from being a child to becoming a young adult. The good news is that the way you feel today will not be the exact way you feel in a year, in two, in three and so forth. The purpose of school is to promote learning, successful socialization and to find fields of interest that can potentially be interesting enough to seek a career path toward over time.

I have faith that your mind will grow and develop over time, young man. You’ll have many interesting opportunities and possibilities to consider as you grow older. You might be a candidate for a vocational school at some point so that you can learn skills that will make you a well-paid professional in a valuable service trade, for example.

My advice is to not project yourself and your life too far into the future, especially at age 15. Take your school time to think about subjects, interests or potential careers you feel you’d enjoy. If you end up finding and succeeding at a career you enjoy, your school years will then be viewed as a tremendous success. I trust the 21-year-old version of you will think much differently from the 15-year-old version who wrote this letter here.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com.

Dr. Robert Wallace graduated from Knox College with a bachelor of arts degree, from Northern Illinois University with a master’s degree in education and from Western Colorado University with a doctorate in Educational Philosophy.

He was a teacher at Hiawatha High School in Kirkland, Ill., Phoenix Union High School in Phoenix, Ariz., and La Quinta High School in Garden Grove, Calif. At all three schools he taught English and was the varsity basketball coach. He served as an assistant principal at Pacifica High School and principal at Garden Grove High School, both in southern California.

Wallace is a member of the National Education Association and the National Association of High School Administrators. He has served on the Board of Trustees at Knox College, the Orange County (Calif.) YMCA Board of Directors, The Galesburg (Ill.) Youth Athletic Association, and as a youth counselor at a psychiatric hospital in California.

The Stuttering Foundation of America selected him Print Journalist of the Year in 1997.

Frugality. It’s a word that for many people screams deprivation; poverty. I get letters from readers who say they’ve had it with trying to live below their means and never having anything they love. “What’s the point if all of this deprivation if it just makes me feel even more miserable?” was the way one woman closed her letter.

Look, I can’t know your particular situation. But I do know this: If you adjust your attitude, get a plan and then let nothing stop you from reaching it, you can have the things you love.

Frugality isn’t just about cutting costs. There has to be a specific reason involved. And it can’t be something nebulous like “Because I want to be rich.”

Frugality is about scrimping and cutting costs like crazy on the things you really don’t care about so that you can spend on the things you love. It’s a matter of deciding what’s really important and what’s not — and I mean on a daily basis and as a way of life. You have to get out of your “spending coma” and into conscious spending, where every expenditure counts and every dollar matters.

I could give you all kinds of examples of how this might work, but let’s take something as simple as paper towels. A couple of rolls tucked in with the weekly groceries may not seem like such a big deal. And they are convenient. But do you really love paper towels? Enough to sacrifice things that you really do love in order to have that roll of paper always at the ready? I sure don’t. I find that a collection of “bar mops,” which are small terrycloth towels available in the automotive aisle at Costco or any number of places online, last forever and handle all of the tasks we believe require paper towels.

Experts say the average household uses 1.5 to 2 rolls of paper towels per week. At a going rate of about two bucks a roll that’s more than $200 a year. Since I don’t love paper towels, that’s $200 I can divert to something that I do love or cannot live without. Now multiply this principle across paper napkins, paper plates, paper cups and plastic utensils and we’re talking a lot of money I choose to not spend on these things that I neither love nor need.

Set a goal. No matter how frivolous, you need a goal that is going to make your trade-offs worthwhile. Giving up paper towels might be a pain for a while, but if your goal is so much more glorious, it won’t be difficult because you will know that you are working toward something specific — something you love.

Create a savings account. This is mandatory. I suggest setting up an online savings account at your bank, credit union or online (SmartyPig.com is a great option) because that just makes saving money brainlessly easy. Now you can transfer any amount anytime into your goal account.

Saving with a goal puts all of your decisions into perspective. It makes cutting costs mercilessly on things that don’t matter worth the effort because in so doing, you’re affirming and moving toward having the things you love.

Mary invites you to visit her at EverydayCheapskate.com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services. Mary invites questions and comments at https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/contact/, “Ask Mary.” Tips can be submitted at tips.everydaycheapskate.com/. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of EverydayCheapskate.com, a frugal living blog, and the author of the book “Debt-Proof Living.”

https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/contact/,” “tips.everydaycheapskate.com/”

What does the Mini Cooper have that the VW Beetle lacked?

The question arises because the Mini is still here while the Beetle isn’t. The resurrected icon was initially very popular when VW brought it back in the late ’90s but became less so after it was significantly restyled in 2010 — made to look sleeker and more aggressive.

VW cancelled it in 2019.  Lesson: Don’t fix what isn’t broken. Mini didn’t make that mistake, which probably explains why it’s still around.

What It Is

The BMW Mini Cooper is the resurrected, modernized version of the iconic British Mini Cooper of the ’60s. Like its ancestor, it is small and pugnacious while managing to maintain a friendly, approachable demeanor.

Almost everyone seems to like them.

It is also currently the smallest new car you can buy. The hardtop coupe is only 152.2 inches long end to end. For some sense of scale, a subcompact sedan such as the Hyundai Accent is 172.6 inches long. It also has the smallest standard engine put into a new car — just three cylinders and 1.5 liters. And it is also one of the very small handful of new cars still available with a manual transmission.

The standard two-door hardtop stickers for $22,900 to start; it comes with the above-mentioned 1.5-liter engine and a six-speed manual transmission.

An S trim, which comes with a more powerful 2.0-liter engine, is also paired with the six-speed manual — stickers for $26,900.

At the pinnacle of power and performance is the John Cooper Works version, which has the same size 2.0-liter engine but with modifications that amp up the power from 192 (in the S) to 231, plus a complementary host of performance and visual upgrades. It stickers for $32,900 to start with the six-speed manual transmission.

There are also four-door versions of the same thing and convertible versions of the same thing, topping out at $44,900 for a JCW convertible with an eight-speed automatic and the Iconic trim package.

Plus, an electric version– the Cooper SE. It stickers for $29,900.

What’s New

All Minis get a subtle exterior and interior refresh, the most obvious change being inside, where a new tablet-style flatscreen main gauge cluster is perched on the steering column, replacing traditional gauges built into the dash.

What’s Good

It’s as iconic as ever.

An upright posture and roofline gives this small car big car headroom – including in the back seat.

There’s two or four doors; hard or soft top; manual or automatic transmission.

What’s Not So Good

 All engines want premium unleaded fuel.

 Convertible JCW is automatic-only.

 Convertible top costs cargo space, which is reduced to almost none.

 Under the Hood

The Mini comes standard with a turbocharged 1.5-liter, three cylinder engine that makes 136 horsepower and is available with your pick of two versions of a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine (also turbocharged). The first — in the S — makes 192 horsepower.

The second – in the JCW – makes 231.

All three of these engines are available with a six-speed manual transmission or (optionally) an eight-speed automatic unless you want a convertible JCW, in which case the automatic is standard.

There is also the option to skip the engine — and transmission — altogether. The Mini SE has a battery-powered 184 hp electric motor that drives the wheels directly.

On The Road

Being tiny has its advantages, especially when almost everything else is huge. The Mini can Frogger in between the lumbering behemoths, taking advantage of briefly opening gaps in traffic closed to the super-sized SUVs and crossovers that populate the landscape.

You’ll have room in your garage for more than just your car, too.

The short wheel-based ride can, however, be a little choppy (it’s more noticeably so in the S and JCW versions, which have firmer suspensions and more aggressive, shorter-sidewall tires, which enhance the effect) and being tiny amid a herd of behemoths means it’s more likely one of them may not see you.

Be careful not to get trampled.

At The Curb

You can go two or four doors. Metal or cloth top.

And you might be surprised to discover how big the Mini is inside. Even the two-door version, which has 30.8 inches of backseat legroom and an almost unbelievable 34 cubic feet of cargo capacity.

The Mini’s available convertible top is another hard-to-find-feature in new cars generally. Particularly in relatively practical cars such as the Mini with usable rear seats (sports cars such as the Mazda Miata have soft tops that don’t have back seats at all, and you can’t get a four-door Mustang or Camaro convertible).

The Rest

The ’21 gets a few minor stylistic tweaks, such as a slightly different grille shape, but the iconic face and shape remain the same as ever. As cute as ever, without crossing over into (SET ITAL) too (END ITAL) cute or (SET ITAL) too (END ITAL) butch. That is the secret recipe here.

The Mini is a car that a young woman or a middle-aged man can drive and not feel or look mismatched driving.

The Bottom Line

Never fix what isn’t broken.

Eric’s latest book, “Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong” will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Eric Peters has been writing a column about cars since the ‘90s — and working on them since he was a kid. He’s the author of “Automotive Atrocities: The Cars We Love to Hate” and “Road Hogs.”

He has written for the Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, Investor’s Business Daily, Celebrated Living and the American Airlines in-flight magazine, as well as online platforms. He is a regular guest on various radio programs around the country.

In addition to test-driving the latest cars, Eric writes about classic cars and motorcycles. He owns a bright-orange ’76 Pontiac Trans Am that has outlasted his marriage, and a number of weird old bikes, including a ’75 Kawasaki S1 250, the smallest three-cylinder two-stroke motorcycle ever mass-produced, which he restored himself.

He’s a member of the International Motor Press Association and the Washington Automotive Press Association. He graduated from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and currently lives in the woods of rural southwestern Virginia, not far from Roanoke.

As reported by Reuters News Agency, a trial involving four large pharmacy chains was to begin last Monday as the Ohio counties of Lake and Trumbull seek to convince jurors of the pharmacy chains’ responsibility for flooding their communities with addictive pain pills and thus contributing to the current deadly U.S. opioid epidemic. To date, more than 3,300 cases have been brought primarily by state and local governments to hold the companies responsible for their role in this destructive public health problem.

These actions can be seen as merely a preview of the finger pointing that is sure to follow as we try to understand what has led us to a drug and alcohol epidemic-within-an-epidemic. A tragic development that has taken more than 93,000 lives from drug overdoses in 2020 alone. In a world where, according to an American Psychological Association poll, nearly one in four adults report drinking unhealthy amounts of alcohol to cope with their stress. Excessive alcohol consumption was already the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is responsible for more than 95,000 deaths a year.

Keep in mind, precise data on current drug or alcohol related deaths is hard to come by. It can take months for medical providers to provide toxicology reports for overdose incidents. As to alcohol, it is even more complicated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of June 2020, 13% of Americans had reported starting or increasing some form of substance use as a way of coping.

As William Stoops, professor of Behavioral Science, Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Kentucky Institute, explains in an American Medical Association report, “People are more stressed and isolated, so they make unhealthy decisions, including drinking more and taking drugs.”

“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, a growing number of older Americans were misusing alcohol and prescription drugs. Add social isolation to the mix, and fears about contracting a deadly virus, and substance use among seniors is at an all-time high,” says Bulat. She further reports that substance use disorder among senior citizens is often overlooked, especially if they have medical or behavioral conditions such as depression or dementia that may be masking the signs of addiction. Polypharmacy, the practice of taking many medications at the same time, which is common in older adults, also increases the risk of overdose.

“People often think of addiction as a disease that strikes younger people, but it can happen to anyone at any time during their life,” she stresses. “During our senior years, a number of factors converge that increase the risk of substance abuse issues.”

Speaking of young people, the impact of the pandemic on our younger generations is maybe even more troubling. According to a study from the University of Surrey recently published in the journal Psychiatry Research, the pandemic has severely impacted the mental health of young people, generating increased levels of clinical depression.

Says Dr. Simon Evans, Lecturer in Neuroscience at the University of Surrey: “For many years there has been a rise in the number of young people experiencing problems with their mental health, and it is concerning to find that this has been significantly exacerbated due to COVID-19. Supporting the mental health of young people and ensuring they can access the support they need is vital to ensure their overall wellbeing … it is crucial that we take steps to protect their mental health.”

As one reader commented on last week’s column, discussion of the impact on substance abuse among young people was missing from my piece. Let me address it now.

According to a recent U.S. News report, a study published March 29 in JAMA Pediatrics highlights young people’s vulnerability to addiction, with adolescents (aged 12 to 17) seeming to be more inclined to develop addiction to substances faster than young adults (aged 18 to 25).

“Rates of past-year cannabis use disorder were greater among teens than young adults at all the time points since first use of the drug,” writes U.S. News. “For example, within 12 months since first cannabis use, nearly 11% of adolescents had the disorder, compared with just over 6% of young adults.”

According to Emily Einstein, chief of U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse Science Policy Branch and co-author of the study, “Research has shown that brain development continues into a person’s 20s, and that age of drug initiation is a very important risk factor for developing addiction … Offering timely treatment and support to young people who need it must be a public health priority.”

As noted in a separate U.S. News report, substantive evidence exists that marijuana increases the risk of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. The report goes on to say that there is evidence of a toxic relationship between marijuana and depression. “A study published in the journal Addiction found that teenagers who suffered chronic depression were more likely to develop marijuana-use disorder later in life,” they write.

Not all experts concur, admitting that there remains a lot to learn about whether marijuana use may lead to mental health problems in young people. Medical organizations remain conflicted as to the nature of the relationship between marijuana and mental health. At the same time, the social stigma attached to addiction, seeing it as a moral failing on the part of the individual, continues to impede needed progress in addressing the problem.

Write to Chuck Norris (info@creators.com) with your questions about health and fitness. Follow Chuck Norris through his official social media sites, on Twitter @chucknorris and Facebook’s “Official Chuck Norris Page.” He blogs at http://chucknorrisnews.blogspot.com. To find out more about Chuck Norris and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

Forget singing mermaids and talking sponges: When it comes to unusual creatures under the sea, sea squirts deserve a special mention. Sea squirts are filter feeders, sucking in water through a body opening (called a siphon), straining out plankton and other edibles, and then expelling the water through a second siphon. Resembling tadpoles at birth, they swim around looking for a rock to call home. When they find one, they latch on and begin to absorb their own internal organs, turning themselves into beautiful, passive, literally brainless creatures.

Squirt and Ting are sodas with what fruit flavor?

A) Grapefruit

B) Lemon

C) Mango

D) Papaya

Leslie Elman is a freelance writer and editor specializing in travel, art and generalist subjects. A professional trivia and quiz writer, she contributes questions for pub quiz nights around the U.S. as well as for the annual World Quizzing Championship. Her books include “The Ladies’ Room Reader Quiz Book” and “Weird But True: 200 Astounding, Outrageous and Totally Off the Wall Facts.”

Q. Last year, we had a problem with raccoons as they tore up the lawn to feast on the grubs. I want to discourage the raccoons early on this year. Is there an easy way to tell if the lawn grubs have returned?

A. Grubs are immature beetles found in the ground and are usually and white. As the grubs mature, they begin to feed on the grassroots, killing the lawn patches in the process. The damage is visible from late summer through the fall. The damage starts typically next to cement or a hot concrete edge and quickly spreads outwards toward the lawn’s center. The dead grass easily peels off the soil surface, exposing the grubs. Grubs can still be present in undamaged grass; hence the raccoons return. There is a simple test for the presence of grubs using detergent and water. With stakes and string, mark off two by two-foot squares. Mix two tablespoons of liquid soap or detergent in a bucket of water and evenly pour the solution over the areas. I’d set up several test sites. The sites can be in any area where the turf has turn brown and a normal area. Keep a close eye on the surface for the next ten to fifteen minutes. The detergent agitates the grubs forcing them to the soil surface. Typically, more than five grub per quarter-square foot warrants treatment. The organic solution for grubs is to apply Beneficial Nematodes. Beneficial Nematodes kill all the soil insects except earthworms. They’re applied with a tank sprayer. Beneficial Nematodes done early on will rid the area of all the soil insects and force the raccoons to look elsewhere for a food source. Another solution is Bayer Season Long Grub Control. It can be applied as early as May or June and provides grub control over an extended period. These products do not provide immediate results, as they take seven to ten days or longer to be effective.

Unfortunately, the raccoons continue to be destructive, so be proactive and start your controls early.

Q. Why does my lawn have a brown cast to it after it’s mowed. It was a newly sodded lawn last fall.  

A. There is a simple solution to this problem; raise the mowing height on your lawnmower. When mowing grass, you only want to remove one-third of the grass’s blade to keep it green. There are two parts to a grass leaf. The upper part is called the blade, and the lower part, is called the sheath. The sheath is not green but a light tan or beige color. Hence when you mow the blade off, you get this off-color look.

The following website will give you much more detailed information, https://www.thelawninstitute.org/pages/education/grass-plant-physiology/plant-physiology Now, you probably installed a type of tall Fescue as it’s the predominant variety used in today’s sod lawns. Tall Fescue is mowed high around three inches. If you cut it short, it has an unattractive appearance.

Q. My daughter planted some zucchini seeds a couple of months ago, and I bought four regular zucchini plants and one “eight ball” zucchini from our local hardware store. While the store-purchased plants flowered over a month ago, there have been no zucchini produced. The seeded plants have been flowering the past fortnight but also have produced no zucchini. A few small bees are buzzing around the lawn clover, and none seem to be interested in the vegetables. For the past six weeks or so, I have fastidiously been trying to fertilize them using a small paintbrush but no luck. What else should I be doing?

A. This is a head-scratcher. It sure sounds like pollination, not a fertilization problem. There could be other reasons no fruit set like water stress, Blossom End Rot, Mildew, and nutrient deficiencies. But, I’m assuming that the plants are growing and having no other issues. Zucchini and other squash plants are monoecious, meaning they produce separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Be sure you are moving the pollen from a male flower to a female flower. Earlier, the plants produce an abundance of male flowers. Now it’s more females. Only the female plants’ bare fruit. The best time of the day to pollinate is in the morning. I try to be more selective with the flowers you pollinate.     

Q. I recently bought several blooming Vinca plants. On the containers, it said they grow in full sun and don’t overwater. However, when I looked it up in my gardening book, I got a conflicting story. Here it says they do best in the shade and like moisture. I’m now baffled; can you help me figure this out? 

A. There are several different types of plants called Vinca. You purchased the summer annual, known as Vinca rosea. It like the sun and a minimal amount of water. Its botanical name is Catharanthus roseus. The other Vinca is Vinca major or minor, also known as Periwinkle. It’s a perennial ground cover planted in moist semi-shady areas.