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Sickened by sister’s sexual assault

Dear Annie: Over the summer, my sister was raped. She chose not to report it. She was at a house party when it happened. She doesn’t know who did it. She confided in me the morning after, and I urged her to report so that the person who did it could be prosecuted and, hopefully, kept from harming more people. But I also saw that it was ultimately her decision and she needed to do what was best for her psyche. I’m still in a very dark place about all this, but I can’t talk to her about it. First of all, I’m sure talking about it would trigger her, make her more anxious than she ...

For the Democratic candidates, winnowing is already at work

WASHINGTON — “We’re cutting out some of this ear hair that you get when you get older,” said the 46-year-old manchild who is auditioning to be Skateboarder-in-Chief. Live-streaming his visit to an El Paso barbershop, Beto O’Rourke continued: “It grows out of your ears, and if you don’t get it cut, it can be nasty.” You might respond to this, as you perhaps did to O’Rourke’s prior live-streaming of his dental-cleaning appointment, by thinking: TMI. This is, however, not too much information. It is exactly the sort of information we need about the Democrats seeking ...

College admissions scandal, part 2

Dear Readers: We were overwhelmed with letters about the college admissions scandal, and this is a continuation of yesterday’s column, filled with questions, criticism and praise from my many talented and brilliant readers. Dear Annie: I usually feel quite comfortable letting other people have their own opinions. But you were terribly off in your assessment of the college admissions scandal. Those parents harmed everyone in their behavior. Simply requiring that they pay more money to right their wrongs would be no punishment or deterrent. Money was part of why they believed ...

Trump is fighting the good fight in trade war with China

PARIS — U.S. President Donald Trump boosted tariffs on Chinese goods this month, with the increases affecting nearly 6,000 products. “Trade war” talk abounds (along with the death-and-destruction language that goes with it), all because the cost of things like “Beach, Please” T-shirts at your local Walmart might go up a few cents. We thought globalization had made nations such as China and the U.S. so interdependent that there was no realistic way back to a sense of self-preservation. Previous administrations had facilitated the outsourcing of jobs to China in exchange for ...

Notes on college admissions scandal, part 1

Dear Readers: Many of you have strong opinions about the college admissions scandal, and because there were so many thoughtful replies, I am devoting a few columns to reprinting some of the feedback to my proposed solution of fining the parents to pay for scholarships: Dear Annie: Loved your answer to “Friends in Disagreement.” But there was one point that wasn’t mentioned by you or “Friends” that I think is very important and not being taught enough. As parents, one of our biggest jobs is to teach our children that they need to work for, and earn, what they want. Give them ...

A cap on interest rates charged consumers? Yes

The Loan Shark Protection Act would limit the interest charged on credit cards to 15 percent. A 15 percent cap would be too low — naively too low. Too bad the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, weren’t more careful, because their clumsy approach hands ammo to foes of those reining in truly abusive forms of consumer credit, the most obscene example being the payday loan. As the name implies, a payday loan is a quick infusion of cash to tide the borrower over until the next paycheck arrives, when it’s paid off. But that’s not what usually ...