Hits and Misses
Associated Press
Mehmet Oz, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, speaks at a forum in Newtown, Pa.
WPTV via Associated Press
In this still image from video by WPTV shows emergency personnel surrounding a Cessna plane at Palm Beach International Airport Tuesday in West Palm Beach, Fla. A passenger with no flying experience was able to land the plane safely with help of air traffic controllers after the pilot was too sick to handle the controls.
The benefits of the $1 trillion infrastructure package Congress approved last year will mostly take years to become evident, but one slice of it will confer immediate benefits to millions of Americans in the form of lower-cost internet service. On Monday, the White House announced that 20 internet providers, including heavy-hitters like Comcast and Verizon, will be offering high-speed service to low-income households that qualify. None of those households will have to pay more than $30 per month. This will help many Americans expand their educational or job opportunities. As President Biden put it, “High-speed internet is not a luxury any longer. It’s a necessity.”
Jury duty is a vital civic obligation, but can be a burden for older people. While some enjoy robust health and are as mentally alert as they were when they were in their 20s, others must contend with limitations due to chronic conditions or mobility problems. Older folks living in rural communities also have to deal with traveling long distances to serve on juries. Right now, seniors in Pennsylvania can be permanently exempted from serving on a jury starting at age 75, but state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, has introduced legislation that would lower the exemption age to 70. It’s a sensible move. She explained, “Our seniors have done their civic duty for decades, and they deserve to be relieved from the stressful and exhausting process of being called for jury duty. This bill would help elder folks save money and energy and give them more time with their families and friends.”
Ever had a dream where you’re in the back of a car that’s roaring down the highway but there’s no driver in front? Or that you’re in the sky but there’s no one piloting the plane? One man who has not yet been identified found himself in the latter nightmare scenario on Tuesday. He was the passenger in a single-engine plane flying 20 miles east of Boca Raton, Fla., when the pilot became “incoherent,” in the words of the passenger. But what transpired next is an example of the abilities anyone can summon when everything is on the line. Acting on instructions from an air traffic controller, the passenger managed to get the plane safely back down on the ground, despite declaring at one point, “I have no idea how to stop the airplane. I don’t know how to do anything.” But he did it. And the fact that he was able to should serve as a reminder that we’re all probably capable of a lot more than we realize.
There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about the candidacy of celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz to become Pennsylvania’s next U.S. senator, with his limited residency in the state and his lack of previous experience in elected office being atop the list. But one criticism of Oz that’s being made by his opponents for the Republican nomination seems unfair. They contend he would somehow be disloyal to the United States if he became a senator because he holds dual citizenship in Turkey. Some television ads have attacked Oz on that point, and have prominently displayed the star and crescent, which is associated with Islam. If elected, Oz would be the first Muslim U.S. senator, a milestone that should be celebrated. Oz has said the attacks on his dual citizenship have carried the whiff of bigotry, and he definitely has a point there.