Opinion

Public parks belong to the public, right? A billionaire can’t cordon off an acre of Golden Gate Park for his private party. But can a poor person -- or anyone who claims they can’t afford a home -- take over public spaces where children play and families experience nature?

Dear Annie: I’ve always disliked house parties. During the first ones I’d been invited to, I had to leave early due to the loud music, vulgar dancing and drunk classmates an environment that would only make me feel anxious, disgusted and sick.

The leftist “free expression” group PEN America collided with a brick wall of radicals who don’t like anyone who expresses a sympathetic view of Israel after the Hamas slaughter of Oct. 7. Their literary awards ceremony had to be canceled due to a substantial withdrawal of authors striking a “pro-Palestinian” pose.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives last Saturday voted 311 to 112 to approve a bill to spend $60.89 billion on aid for Ukraine. Among House Republicans, this bill lost 112 to 101.

Dear Annie: I am a 45-yearold man, and I was married for 17 years to my lovely wife until her untimely death a year ago. My wife and I have three children, one of whom is from her previous relationship. I love her so much, and when she passed, I was heartbroken and severely depressed.

“Every single member (will) vote their conscience.” Conscience, did you say? House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) words cut cleanly through the House of Representatives noise. Seldom are they told to rise above the partisan rabble.

Public Employees Are NOT Being Cheated by Offsets A month or so ago, I wrote a column about people who mistakenly think they are being cheated by the Social Security Administration out of benefits they believe they are due. But one group I didn’t mention in that column are the biggest complainers of all: public employees such as teachers and police officers in certain states, many of whom don’t even pay into Social Security in the first place.

Dear Annie: We have neighbors who reside in a culde- sac that is at the rear of our property. Our property is located on a U-shaped halfmile neighborhood, which is ideal for walking. Over time, these neighbors have chosen to repeatedly cut through our property on an almost daily basis to facilitate their walking routine. It’s gotten to the point where these neighbors act as if they are “entitled” to treat our property as a public gateway from their neighborhood to ours.

In 2024, foreign policy doesn’t pit Republicans against Democrats so much as it pits Republicans against Republicans and Democrats against Democrats. For Joe Biden’s party, Israel is the fault line, with Democrats split between supporters of the Jewish State and those of Palestinian sympathies.

We have entered a new social media hell, where online creeps run sadistic schemes targeting high school kids. Since late 2021, their ruses have driven at least 20 young people, mostly boys, to take their lives.