Hits and Misses
MISS: When a house goes on the market, most real estate agents urge homeowners to remove personal items from the property, if only to allow potential buyers to imagine what the home would look like if they lived in it. One homeowner in Michigan clearly did not get the message. Charles Anderson, a 48-year-old member of the Muskegon, Mich., police force, ended up losing his job after an African American couple toured his home last year and found Confederate flags and related memorabilia, along with a 1920s Ku Klux Klan application mounted on a wall. Anderson claims he collects antiques and is a fan of the old “Dukes of Hazzard” television series. Anderson reached a separation agreement with the police department, undoubtedly wiser in the ways of selling a home.
MISS: On Monday, President Trump issued a tweet stating that “the great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom and they are fully aware of what that entails,” and accused Democratic governors of moving too slowly “for political purposes.” But it’s curious that Trump is so eager for Americans to rub shoulders with one another when he apparently became frightened after members of the White House staff tested positive for the coronavirus. According to The New York Times, “a senior administration official said the president was spooked that his valet, who is among those who serve him food, had not been wearing a mask.” The Times story also said Trump “had been growing irritated when people got too close to him.” The Trump supporters who wanted everyone to “man up” and be “warriors” when confronted with the virus should tell that to the president.
HIT: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and, more recently, a pinata for those who want to toss aside the recommendations of public health experts and reopen the country, has a champion in U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming and the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney. While figures like Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson are deriding Fauci as “the chief buffoon,” Cheney came to Fauci’s defense, tweeting that he is “one of the finest public servants we have ever had. He is not a partisan. His only interest is saving lives. We need his expertise and judgment to defeat the virus. All Americans should be thanking him. Every day.” More Americans should be echoing these sentiments.
HIT: Roger Wulf, a truck driver from Fort Wayne, Ind., was traveling on Interstate 79 in Greene County on April 17 when he was in an accident that resulted in him having to undergo surgery for a fractured vertebra a couple of days later. In the course of things, he lost track of his two traveling companions, cats named Ollie and Buddy. Wulf was, naturally, concerned about what became of his feline friends in the wake of the accident. Thanks to Toni Ferencak and Derek Forman of the Catnip Acres cat rescue in Franklin Township, Ollie and Buddy were found – they had been hiding inside the tractor-trailer for two weeks. According to Wulf, “I was happy. I started crying. I look at these two cats as my kids.” Given how dire things have been lately, this is the type of good news we all could use.