Hits and Misses
Late last year, the California Board of Parole caused a stir when it recommended that Sirhan Sirhan, the 77-year-old assassin of U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy, be eligible for parole. This raised quite a few eyebrows, considering Sirhan’s notoriety and the cold-blooded nature of his crime. The final decision rested with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and he sensibly vetoed the parole board’s decision last week, noting that Kennedy’s murder “robbed the world of a promising young leader” and that Sirhan “has not developed the accountability and insight required to support his safe release into the community.” And even setting aside the life he took and the immeasurable pain he caused, how would a septuagenarian who has been behind bars since the 1960s possibly function in the 2020s? It’s best that he stays where he is.
While January is typically the time when people try out new exercise equipment or diets, some area residents are taking a stab at self-improvement by participating in Dry January. It’s an international effort where participants abstain from alcohol throughout the month, and doing so can confer concrete benefits, a story in the Monday edition of the Observer-Reporter pointed out. People who have stayed sober report sleeping better, having more energy and better moods, and their cholesterol and glucose levels have dropped. Though the occasional drink shouldn’t pose a problem for most people, Dry January could be a gateway for people who have a less healthy relationship with alcohol to scale back their consumption or quit entirely.
“Reading appears to be in decline as a favorite way for Americans to spend their free time.” That’s the verdict of the polling organization Gallup, after a survey it conducted late last year found that Americans are reading fewer books per year than they once did. On average, they read three fewer books per year than they did five years before. The decline is greatest, according to Gallup, among the groups most prone to reading – college graduates, women and older adults. Perhaps Americans have less and less time to read books, or are not able to focus the way they once might have before iPhones and hundreds of television channels and streaming services became options. Still, we hope this is a temporary blip and not the start of a larger trend.
The motto “rules for thee, but not for me” has been adopted by all too many political figures who have flouted pandemic restrictions they either implemented or supported throughout the pandemic. The most prominent case right now is Boris Johnson, Britain’s prime minister. His premiership is hanging by a slender thread over “Partygate” – revelations that parties happened at 10 Downing Street while his fellow countrymen were told to sequester themselves and limit contact with others in order to halt the spread of COVID-19. One of the parties even happened on the eve of Prince Phillip’s funeral last April. In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Johnson was told by a member of his own Conservative Party, “In the name of God, go!” If Johnson does in fact step down, it’s hard to imagine many other parties being more consequential.