By Merrill Lynn Hansen When he first ran for president in 2016, Donald Trump repeatedly told everyone in America, as well as every person who was listening on foreign soil, that America was no longer great, and that only he could make it great again.  But, as I watched Michelle Obama speak at the Democratic convention that year,  my eyes teared up when she said, "Don't let anyone ever tell you that this country isn't great, that somehow we need to make it great again.”  Everyone at the convention cheered, and many of them also wiped away tears, because everyone knew that our country was great. This year, because of the deadly virus stalking the land, the Democratic National Convention is viral.  There is no audience cheering, and we can't watch people wipe away tears when they hear an emotional speech that is a reflection of their own thoughts, values and fears.  But I still looked forward to watching Michelle on the first night of the Democratic Convention, because I knew she would do what she likes to do; talk to everyone listening, as if she's sitting in the room with us.  After all, the only person Trump envies and fears more than former president Barack Obama, is Michelle Obama. I didn't know if she was going to go high, or ignore her own motto, and go low. But if anyone has a right to pierce Trump's famously thin skin, Michelle Obama does, because of his unrelenting attempts to erase her husband's presidency, and all the insults he and his supporters heaped upon her and her family for years.  More importantly, Michelle understands what is happening to our country because of racist politics.  But, for my own selfish reason, I hoped she would cut close to the bone, for the millions of Americans, of whom I am one, who feel that our country has been under attack by Trump and his administration.   I hoped Michelle would tell us exactly what she was feeling--and she did. In a gripping speech, Obama reminded us that she is one of only a handful of people who knows the "awesome power of the presidency.” When she listed the qualities the job requires--clear-headed judgment, a devotion to facts and history, a moral compass, and an ability to listen--she didn't need to say anything further, or mention our current president's name.  It was clear she was telling us those were not qualities he possesses.  But, then, she went further, and left no doubt about how strongly she feels about Trump.  This time, she mentioned his name: "Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can.  Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country.  He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head.  He cannot meet this moment.  He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us.  It is what it is." And there were those words: "It is what it is.” The very words Trump had spoken, when casually discussing the number of COVID-19 deaths in our country, as if losing our friends and family members was something we just needed to get used to.  But now, Michelle Obama was telling us that Donald Trump cannot be who we need him to be, and that it should be no more acceptable to us, than the loss of family and friends to COVID-19. Michelle didn't just say that Trump is unable to be what we need him to be.  She dug deeper and was far more personal. She not only spoke about the chaos and division we get when we look to the White House for leadership, consolation and "any semblance of steadiness,”; she emphasized that there is a "total and utter lack of empathy.”  What can be more personal than saying our president is so selfish that he disregards other people’s feelings, and is unable to grasp the concept of reaching out, rather than judging?  Michelle seemed almost baffled that Trump didn't understand this concept, one that he should have learned as a child.  When she said, "It is something parents teach their children,” I couldn't help but wonder whether she was not only referring to Trump's lack of empathy, but his children’s as well. Michelle Obama didn't want us to believe that Joe Biden lacks any of the requisite qualities and empathy to be our new president, or that her only goal was to get rid of Trump. She didn't want to leave the impression that this is a campaign about the lesser of two evils, like some Trump voters felt in 2016.  She strongly praised Biden's experience, and the decency and character in him that she and her husband have witnessed for years.  "His life is a testament to getting back up,” she declared and assured everyone listening that Biden was going to channel his grit and passion, and "pick us all up, to help us all heal, and guide us forward.” Michelle may worry that some people won’t pay attention to her message, because she is a partisan woman speaking at a Democratic convention, in a nation that is deeply divided.  But I'm certain there are people who heard and understood what she meant when she said "being president doesn't change who you are, It reveals who you are. “ She reminded us that it reveals who we are.  Her warning was riveting: "If you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this; if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don't make a change in this election.  If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have to go vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.” With that, Michelle Obama not only let everyone know who Trump is, she let Trump know who he never can be. Merrill Hansen is a legal assistant, living in West Bloomfield, Michigan. She describes herself as a frustrated writer, who wishes she could be Nora Ephron (when she was alive), if only for a day. She is a news-, political- and FB-junkie, a combination that requires a constant reminder that she needs to take deep cleansing breaths when responding to people who don't agree with her.

By Morrey Weinner Here we are with an attack against the U S. Postal Service, an agency that is deemed essential and that was established before the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. I am a retired letter carrier now, but I delivered mail in Bloomfield Hills, Mich for over 41 years efficiently and enjoyably. What I am seeing and hearing now on the news and in conversation is troubling and downright appalling. In my working days, all the mail had to be delivered each and every day. If for any reason it wasn’t, heads would roll. If there was mail brought back when we returned from our own routes, we turned around and went back out with that mail. Many times, this was in the dark (which to me is a safety hazard), but it didn’t matter. The latest I ever delivered mail was 9:30 p m. Once, I had to follow a walking mail carrier with my vehicle, and shine the headlights on the houses so she could see the addresses. These are only a few extreme instances, but the point is mail had to be completely delivered each day. That doesn’t seem to be the case nowadays. However, in talking and observing local carriers, there is no doubt as to their dedication and high work ethic on the street and the workroom floor. The Postal Service has had problems, no question, and other disagreements and issues with the workforce. But through negotiated contracts and arbitration, most issues have been resolved. Never have there been such blatant and extreme policy changes from the top without discussion. And with overtime pay eliminated, there is no way most routes can be finished daily. I rarely had a day when I didn’t require overtime. In addition, one must realize that the post office delivers more than parcels and mail. There is Free Matter for the Blind, media mail, 2nd class magazines and papers, Registered Mail (the most secure way to send anything), circulars, coupons and more. This all takes time and effort. How can removing sorting machines and mailboxes NOT hinder mail delivery? Right now, there are people off sick, on vacation, on days off, so every office is short-handed. Daily scheduling cannot be met. These changes from the top only decrease efficiency and productivity. One last thing: the government can borrow money from the postal budget and it doesn’t have to pay it back for years. If the government would pay off its debt, the Postal Service would probably be solvent. Enough said! A native Michigander, Morrey Weinner grew up in Birmingham, Mich. Now that he is retired, his regular route revolves around taking Honey Girl, his poodle-terrier mix, out for long walks.

From CNBC August 10, 2020 Economist and bestselling author Jeffrey Sachs says a geopolitical cold war with China would be a “dreadful mistake.” He explains how globalization will persist as societies and workplaces move online, and urges policymakers to come together to tackle issues like climate change. Sachs says the U.S. economy won’t have a “v-shaped” recovery because of the country’s failure to contain the pandemic.

The best laid pandemic plans of mice and men often go awry. That goes for the plans of rising first graders too. Manhattanite Willa Beck, age 5.75 years old (Willa’s grandfather is an economist, so she already thinks in decimals), has been looking forward to her recital ever since she started taking piano lessons in September. The weekly lessons, with her piano teacher Loy, lasted 30 minutes; in addition, Willa practiced an hour or so (in energetic ten-minute spurts) every week on her own. But in March, Willa’s in-person lessons, along with kindergarten, came to a grinding halt. With the onset of the pandemic, relatives and schoolmates were suddenly off-limits. What was a budding musician to do? Thanks to Loy’s ingenuity, Willa and her two sisters, Sienna, 7.75 years old and Olive. 4.0 years old, were able to take individual FaceTime piano lessons. With an iPad set up on a chair near the piano, Loy could guide the girls virtually while they played. Like musicians five (ten, fifteen!) times her age, Willa was determined to master her musical pieces before her upcoming recital. So each week, she regaled the family with “Little Indian Brave” and “Electric Bass.” Finally, on August 14, the big day. Willa and her sisters dressed up for their recital, but because it is 2020, no guests arrived in person. Instead, Willa’s parents, Lisa Sachs and Matt Beck, gathered the audience virtually for the gala. Soon, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins excitedly filled the screen. How did it go? Pandemic practice makes perfect! To memorialize the occasion, Willa has written the following exclusive essay for The Insider. What’s on the horizon for her this fall? Attending remote elementary school and taking more FaceTime piano lessons. To which we say, Brava!

By Andy Borowitz August 20, 2020 PHILADELPHIA (The Borowitz Report)—Former President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday night that he had renewed his lease inside Donald Trump’s head. Obama, who took up residence in Trump’s head during the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, said that his new lease will run until November 3rd of this year. “I’ve enjoyed living there for the past nine years,” Obama said. “It’s really the only Trump property I’d ever consider staying in.” He confirmed reports that, as of Monday night, his wife, Michelle Obama, had also taken up residence in Trump’s head. “Fortunately, there’s plenty of room for both of us,” he said. Andy Borowitz is a Times best-selling author and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes The Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news.

FRED PLOTKIN is one of America’s foremost experts on opera and has distinguished himself in many fields as a writer, speaker, consultant and as a compelling teacher. He is an expert on everything Italian, the person other so-called Italy experts turn to for definitive information.  Fred discovered the concept of "The Renaissance Man" as a small child and has devoted himself to pursuing that ideal as the central role of his life. In a “Public Lives” profile inThe New York Timeson August 30, 2002, Plotkin was described as "one of those New York word-of-mouth legends, known by the cognoscenti for his renaissance mastery of two seemingly separate disciplines: music and the food of Italy." In the same publication, on May 11, 2006, it was written that "Fred is a New Yorker, but has the soul of an Italian."

By Victoria Rolfe As a family budget adviser, I have been blogging, giving presentations and meeting with people one-on-one for a number of years now to promote the joys and peaceful serenity that come from stepping down from the frenzied spending that is the American way of life in order to live a simpler, more frugal existence and save money. It’s sometimes a struggle to get this message across and accepted. Many Americans are entrenched in the spending/debt cycle and honestly believe it is just normal. And then came COVID-19. My husband, John Rolfe (who writes The Insider’s Aggravation is a Full-Time Job column) and I have weathered the emergency effortlessly. We had already been living a modest lifestyle and had plenty of money put aside after 34 years of doing so together. Nothing really changed for us. But COVID-19 stopped a lot of people in their tracks and made them take notice of their finances, lifestyles and, unfortunately, their lack of savings. What seems to be a hardship, and indeed is for many, also holds a silver lining for them and for me as a teacher. Maybe now they will be ready to accept that there is an alternative to the frantic American way of spending, and it is actually a better way of life. America began this quarantine journey during the raw March winds when we too were raw and reeling from the shock of what was happening. Many of us experienced a job loss or a reduction in pay. We could barely wrap our brains around what was happening. All we could do was retreat to our homes, as we were told to do, and try to make sense of it all. We remained hunkered down through the rains of April, for the most part unable to even get outside much in the soggy world. As temperatures plummeted, so did our investments, and often our spirits. Things looked pretty bleak. All we could do was keep abreast of where we were financially and in every other way. For those of us who still had jobs it was just a matter of staying afloat and ignoring the stock market plunge (as we are always told to do), and stay the course. For those struggling with income loss, it was a matter of prioritizing and taking care of their most pressing needs (shelter and food). The rest would have to be figured out eventually. “But Victoria,” I can hear you saying now, “I thought this was going to be a silver linings message.” Okay, we are still home, but the initial shock has worn off a little. Those who have lost all income have hopefully figured out a way to get their most important needs met. Maybe they are getting unemployment, SNAP benefits, food from a food bank, a stimulus check, or help from other sources. The rest of us are learning to live at home, creating new routines, keeping ourselves busy and occupied. But the real, lasting positive effects are going to be what we take away from having gone through all this. For many, this time has given them somewhat of a wake-up call. They were hurrying along through life without even thinking about where all their money and time were going. This has given us all time to pause, and reflect, and live a different way, whether we wanted to or not. Many are surprised to see how little they are spending now that they are forced to stay home, unable to go to restaurants, coffee shops, stores, bars, movies or concerts. Some never paid attention to how much all of that was really costing them. And some are finding that they actually can lead a pretty good life without all that spending. Perhaps they will continue when life returns to normal. So that’s a silver lining. Forced savings help you discover a different way. The silver linings go beyond all that, though. As usual, when we go through tough times it brings out the goodness in people. Acts of kindness and generosity abound. It is heartwarming to hear the stories of people going above and beyond for their neighbors, friends and people they don’t even know. And staying at home has given us a chance to live at a different pace, to stop all the rushing about and really spend time with each other in ways we rarely do when life is going full tilt. We have been playing board games, making meals and baking together, even just talking and going for long walks together. Some people have reconnected with old hobbies that they never had time for when life was in full swing: knitting, gardening, painting, playing an instrument. All of that is the best silver lining of all as far as I am concerned. If you know me at all, in person or from my writing, you know that I have long championed the slower, simpler, frugal lifestyle that has now become a forced reality for many. As for John and me, we are spending this quiet summer happily tending to our capacious vegetable garden, for once having the time to keep on top of the weeds, critters and bugs, and enjoying cooking up some delectably fresh healthy meals with our garden’s bounty. I hope, you too, have discovered some silver linings in this anomalous time we find ourselves in. Perhaps some good will come of this adversity after all. A rainbow created by the storm. Wishing you all good health, happiness and peace. ☮️ Victoria Rolfe is a family budget coach who has had a lifetime of experience in the art and joy of frugal living and its resulting financial freedom. She spent many years as a stay-at-home mom and home economist and rose successfully to the challenge of raising a family of four kids on a modest income without incurring debt. She did crazy things like paying for all their cars with cash, paying off their mortgage in ten years, buying their next house for cash, and sending all her kids to college with no student loans, while building a comfortable retirement nest egg for their own bright future. She is now passionate about helping others to enter this beautiful world of peaceful and simple frugality and to achieve their own financial goals with the knowledge and personal finance skills that she has acquired. She writes a monthly blog, teaches via a series of light-hearted group presentations that she created, and sees clients in one-on-one personal meetings. Visit her website and blog at brightfuture2budget4.weebly.com, or email her at brightfuture2budget4@gmail.com.

A Poem by Estha Weiner In Judaism, mourners are considered to be escorting the dead Hebrew for ‘funeral,’ for ‘funeral,’ for ‘accompany,’ accompany him or her to the grave. No rabbi, no cemetery worker buries the dead. I do, you do, we do, he does, she does, they do, those in sorrow, those surrounding the sorrow honor their bond with the beloved, gone. Return the beloved quickly to the earth, to its able arms. The earth will escort now: the dead will not be alone. We will. Estha Weiner's newest poetry collection is at the last minute (Salmon Poetry, 2019). She is also author of In the Weather of the World (Salmon Poetry), Transfiguration Begins at Home (Tiger Bark Press), The Mistress Manuscript (Asheville Book Works), and co-editor/contributor to Blues For Bill: A Tribute to William Matthews (University of Akron Press). Her poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, including The New Republic and Barrow Street. Winner of a Paterson Poetry Prize and Visiting Scholar to the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford, England, Estha is the founding director of Sarah Lawrence N.Y. Alumni Writers Nights, and serves on the Advisory Committee of Slapering Hol Press, Hudson Valley Writers Center. She is a professor in the English Department of City College of N.Y, CUNY, and Sarah Lawrence College Writing Institute.

Confessions of a Skeptical Mom By Laura Berman COVID-19 was on the uptick last month, with Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and other southern states drenched in hot red on all the coronavirus maps. My 19-year-old daughter was enrolled in physics and biology classes – what else was there for her to do? – and her university president, an infectious disease specialist, was rolling out the plan for fall: A cheery, upbeat propaganda effort dubbed Together We Will. The idea? Everyone on campus would be expected to marshal untapped reservoirs of carefulness and responsibility as a pathway to still experience the personal growth and connections afforded by a university campus. Dorm bed locations were being reconfigured to be six-feet apart. Plenty of “deep-cleaning” was underway. A university official, on video, promised that the watchwords would be “socially engaged but physically distanced.” Together We Will. “This is ridiculous,” I snorted. “It will never happen.” But Michigan State University has since only partially backed off. Newly released online videos portray administrators in green and white masks – school colors -- issuing enthusiastic welcomes to this bizarre new campus concept. The football season is cancelled. The president, under further consideration, suggests students heading for the residential halls would be better off studying from home, and agrees to promptly refund dorm costs if asked. But he isn’t closing the dorms or the campus. Many other colleges are shutting down. The publication Inside Higher Ed reports that hundreds of colleges and universities have changed their plans, going online, and in many cases, closing campuses or dorms since June. Within the last few weeks, Georgetown, George Washington University, and American University, all in Washington, D.C., have gone all-remote. Smith College announced it would be online and closed its undergraduate campus in early August, as did Princeton. In all, Inside Higher Ed reported, more than 40 colleges have changed their plans in the last couple of weeks. And that was before the University of Pennsylvania opted for “remote learning” on August 10. My daughter Lina, a sorority-bound sophomore, is eager to resume “real” life, among her peers, exploring the world outside her parents’ home. After spending spring and summer semesters watching mind-numbing Zoom lectures and doing physics problems in our living room, she’s ready for a change of scene, happy to forego at-home laundry and dinners served on ceramic plates for a house packed with 25 young women wearing face masks. I am certain, if I were her, that I would do the same. But the reality of the new COVID-19 campus – what Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber describes as “diminished benefits and increased risks”—which is likely to result in a “confining and unpleasant” campus experience – hasn’t fully dawned on most college students. If they can go, they will. For parents, the situation unfolds as a maze of contradictory and confusing choices, for which there is no easy roadmap. “Don’t you want me to grow up, Mom?” my daughter asks, reasonably, knowing that I do. But the eerie, mask-wearing, grab-n-go food campus, where wastewater will be analyzed for COVID-19 traces, is an unsettling way to let your kid try out adulthood. You can attempt to measure the risks, but the lack of any solid statistical guidepost is as obvious as the 50-yard-line in an empty football stadium. Lots of finger-crossing and wishing for the best isn’t exactly a template for good decision-making. And yet, that’s exactly what we parents are doing. It’s also what college administrators are doing, as they weigh the extraordinary dollar losses against the risks of pandemic infection. When the New York Times surveyed epidemiologists in June about sending their own kids back to school, few gave clear responses. “Epidemiologists’ informal motto is ‘It depends,’” reporters Claire Cain Miller and Margot Sanger-Katz concurred. So I am punting. In two weeks, Lina will head back to the Michigan State University campus, where the residents will be sharing bathrooms and eating “grab and go” food, mostly in their rooms. Masks are required in all public spaces, indoors and out. All her classes – including a biology lab – are online. Air purifiers are being encouraged. There’s no mandatory testing requirement at the university and, thus, parents were told, no testing will be required at the sorority. “Good luck at the House of Doom,” Lina’s uncle, a pessimistic fellow, tells her. I repeat the campus mantra -- Together We Will -- and hope for the best. Laura Berman is a journalist with a lifetime of professional writing experience and a passion for seeing what’s next. As a three-times-a-week columnist for the Detroit News, she earned a reputation for insightful commentary that earned her the National Headliners Award for column-writing and a Society of Professional Journalists lifetime achievement award. Her full-length pieces have appeared in many national magazines, including Newsweek, Time, and Fortune. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Laura is now a freelance writer, editor, and professional writing coach.

FRED PLOTKIN is one of America’s foremost experts on opera and has distinguished himself in many fields as a writer, speaker, consultant and as a compelling teacher. He is an expert on everything Italian, the person other so-called Italy experts turn to for definitive information.  Fred discovered the concept of "The Renaissance Man" as a small child and has devoted himself to pursuing that ideal as the central role of his life. In a “Public Lives” profile inThe New York Timeson August 30, 2002, Plotkin was described as "one of those New York word-of-mouth legends, known by the cognoscenti for his renaissance mastery of two seemingly separate disciplines: music and the food of Italy." In the same publication, on May 11, 2006, it was written that "Fred is a New Yorker, but has the soul of an Italian."

By Andy Borowitz August 13, 2020 WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In a blistering takedown of Joe Biden’s running mate, Donald Trump on Thursday accused Senator Kamala Harris of maliciously speaking in complete sentences. Blasting her penchant for hewing to the rules of grammar, Trump said, “A lot of people are saying, mean, nasty, disrespectful. To a new level, like you wouldn’t believe.” “Sad,” he said. “Sick and sad.” Trump also was contemptuous of Biden, noting, “Sleepy Joe—something’s going on.” “Quite frankly,” he added. In his most withering criticism, Trump suggested that Harris’s stubborn insistence on making subjects agree with verbs was an insult to every American voter. “Woman bad,” he said. Andy Borowitz is a Times best-selling author and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes The Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news.