As I continue into my senior years, I realize how important it is to center health and wellness in my day-to-day life. I feel so lucky to have amazing benefits and security with my Medicare Advantage plan that help me stay healthy.
Americans for Contraception are rightfully calling out NC's entire Republican Congressional delegation that voted against Congresswoman Kathy Manning's Right to Contraception Act in their latest ad. It was a simple bill that protects the right to condoms, IUDs, the pill, patches, emergency contraception, and the ring. With a pivotal election just around the corner, it is likely that a vote will come up again early next year.
Election season is in full swing, and leaders across North Carolina and the country are busy touting their legislative and political victories. And while Governor Cooper is not on the ballot this November, his impact on our state continues to deliver tangible gains for our communities, economy, and political system. Because of his strong leadership, business-minded Democrats are running up and down the ballot and a culture of growth and innovation has permeated our state.
This country has a long history of banning products deemed harmful to public health only to have disastrous outcomes (prohibition of alcohol, the war on drugs being two stark examples). Despite that history, the FDA has proposed a new federal mandate criminalizing the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
Today’s headlines paint a dismal picture of American politics. Divisions are apparent across the country, including here in North Carolina. But candidly, for those of us who truly care about preserving civil liberties, that response is justified. Partisan officials across the country, particularly in Texas, are driving an anti-trans, anti-choice, and anti-education agenda that only services to drive us further apart.
For Democrats to be successful in the 2022 cycle, we can’t get distracted by issues that are far from the priorities of everyday voters. The top consumer complaints from 2021 released by Attorney General Josh Stein are a great example of the guidebook that leaders should follow. No doubt, Stein’s agenda this year will mirror these consumer priorities, and we shouldn’t expect him to get caught up in the distractions of the day – including the anti-tech wave sweeping Congress.
At a time of unprecedented challenges, including widespread threats to voting rights, devastating impacts of climate change, and continued health risks from a global pandemic, the responsibility of elected officials is to address the most pressing problems at hand.
Dear editor:
We now know that the insurrection of January 6, 2021 was organized largely online, with loose networks of Trump-inspired radicals hatching a plan to infiltrate the Capitol and harm our representatives, including the Vice President. Yet nearly a year after that incident, Congress still hasn’t figured out how to handle dangerous, conspiratorial speech online.
Building on a previous op-ed I shared, we MUST bolster community pharmacies in NC. They are on the frontlines of vaccine distribution and they are under attack from corporate interests.
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