A4 THE BULLETIN • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2021
Conspiracies
DEAR ABBY
Write to Dear Abby online at dearabby.com
or by mail at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Dear Abby: My wife and
I have dear friends, one of
whom has been diagnosed
with untreatable cancer. The
doctors told him to go home
and maximize his quality of
life. The first step he took was
to completely cut us out.
We had been friends for
years. They watched the big
football games with us at
our house. When he was di-
agnosed, I was the first per-
son outside of his family he
called. They stood up with us
when we renewed our vows.
I have cut cords of firewood
for them. We traveled to-
gether.
Recently, the wife posted
on Facebook that when un-
dergoing trials you find out
who your friends really are.
We have been tossed aside
like worn-out shoes.
My question is, when he
passes, if we learn about it,
would it be appropriate to at-
tend the funeral to say good-
bye to this man we dearly
love and offer our condo-
lences to the widow?
— Already Bereaved in Kansas
Dear Already Bereaved:
Everyone reacts differently
after receiving a diagnosis
like the one your friend re-
ceived. Some people reach
out for support, but a sizable
number do the opposite.
They “circle the wagons,”
which may be what this man
has done.
It would be interesting to
know if his wife was aware
of the message you were
given, because from what
she posted, she may not
have been. I think it is time
to reach out to her privately
and ask her how you can be
supportive — if only to her.
And yes, when he passes you
should pay your respects and
offer condolences. Funerals
are for the living.
Dear Abby: For the past
few months I’ve been seeing
a gentleman in his late 50s
who lost his last girlfriend,
“Vera,” in a tragic accident.
Her death was less than a
year ago and he is still griev-
ing, which I respect and am
not uncomfortable with. My
beau has low self-esteem. He
thinks the relationship he
had with Vera made him a
better person, and that with-
out her he will be less so.
I understand his sorrow
and that he needs more time
to sort through his feelings
but, if things work out with
us, and we continue to see
each other, I want to know
how I can also make him
feel like I’m helping him be
a better person. He says it
was “just the relationship
they had” and that he doesn’t
know how to put it into
words.
I don’t want to replace
Vera or copy her, but I do
wish I could understand
what she did to help him be-
lieve positive things about
himself.
— New Girlfriend in
New Hampshire
Dear Girlfriend: In order
to understand that, it would
be helpful to see if he can ex-
plain the reason for his low
self-esteem. Was it hypercrit-
ical parents? Difficulty fit-
ting in with peers that started
when he was in school? Not
receiving enough positive
feedback in his youth?
Once you gain more in-
sight, you may be able to find
the answers you are looking
for. Both partners in a rela-
tionship should use whatever
attributes they have to make
EACH OTHER feel positive.
However, please recognize it
should not be your respon-
sibility to prop him up on a
continuing basis.
YOUR HOROSCOPE
By Madalyn Aslan
Stars show the kind of day you’ll have
õ õ õ õ õ DYNAMIC | õ õ õ õ POSITIVE | õ õ õ AVERAGE | õ õ SO-SO | õ DIFFICULT
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR MONDAY, FEB. 1, 2021: Strong-
willed, mentally quick and courageous, when you9re right, you won9t give
an inch. This year, however, you work on a team, and patience creates a very
successful and profitable project. If single, don9t be too anxious to please
lovers. Your true soul mate comes along in May. If attached, you may be in
a turbulent phase, but this smooths out soon. Then you are in bliss. LEO is
super generous.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
õõõõ The sky picture brings a sensitive and sentimental mood to love.
Photos, scrapbook souvenirs and walks along the cold shore will delight
someone you care for. Devote the day to love magic. You deserve it. Tonight:
A socially distanced dinner date. Don9t be impulsive.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
õõõõ Good health habits are a must today. Honor your body and serve
healthy foods. An animal that strays to your door may belong to someone
else. Don9t consider it a permanent part of your household until you find out.
Tonight: Early beddie-byes.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
õõõõõ Today promises sparkles and surprises in matters of the heart.
Significant meetings and partings can occur. You always enjoy a challenge
in love situations and can lose interest in someone who is too complacent.
Tonight: Make up your mind. Don9t think so much.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
õõõõ Thoughts will center on home life and understanding family mem-
bers. Avoid a change of residence. The move would prove unsatisfactory. Rel-
atives can be entering new life stages, or a residence might need updating.
Tonight: Be flexible. Conversations with and about relatives are revealing.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
õõõ Stay in familiar surroundings today. Vehicles can be unreliable or di-
rections lost. Use care in communication during this time, for messages can
be lost or misconstrued. Carrying a talisman of citrine for clarity can be most
helpful. Tonight: The mental cobwebs are swept away.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
õõõõ Earning enough to pay for new treasures will absorb your attention
today. Enjoy all that you have, rather than lamenting that which eludes you.
You9ve been concerned about security. This trend will ebb. And your financial
picture should grow promising. Tonight: Keep hope alive.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
õõõõõ Your judgement is especially good today, so don9t go through the
usual agony about making a decision. Your instincts will lead you to the right
choices. A new home, job or relationship can replace the familiar. Tonight:
The final message is that it9s time to grow.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
õõõõõ Suddenly discretion is more important than usual. You will cherish
your privacy today. You9ll be aware of the secret worries and needs of others.
There are opportunities to be helpful, almost acting like a guardian angel to
those less fortunate. Tonight: You impress yourself.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
õõõ Follow through with networking. Blend business and pleasure today.
Don9t take others for granted. Associates might not be as they first appear.
Competitive situations are present. If you9re the winner in a conflict, be alert
to the possibility of poor sportsmanship. Tonight: Relax.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
õõ You will be highly visible at work. Be aware of cycles and patterns in your
social life. Friendships can impact your career. As 2021 gets underway, past
life connections will become apparent in intimate relationships. Tonight:
Expect a tense situation. Practice deep breathing.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
õõõõõ Journeys of the mind as well as actual geographic wanderings will
take you to new places in the future. Now, because of COVID, you cannot
travel. But new concepts can broaden your outlook. Tonight: Reach out to a
friend currently in a foreign land.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
õõõõõ Life is full of sparkle, but resist the temptation to control. Recognize
and respect synchronicity. Allow destiny to play her hand, and you will tri-
umph. The veil to the afterlife will be especially transparent. Tonight: Loved
ones on the other side can communicate quite clearly.
Skepticism toward govern-
ment messaging isn’t new, and
knocking down rumors has
always been part of the job for
crisis communicators. But now,
in the age of social media, false
information spreads like, well,
wildfire and can be dangerous
in real time when officials need
to quickly share the facts about
fast-moving crises.
“The one challenging aspect
all fire departments, all govern-
ment entities face is, the infor-
mation we post is verified and
… there are times the general
public is able to post some-
thing online that gets traction
just based on their perception
of what’s happening,” said Nick
Schuler, a deputy fire chief with
the California Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection.
“If I were down at the beach
today and posted ‘Hey, a giant
wave took out the sea wall,’ you’d
have several people re-sharing
that information, posting it,
probably before the city would
be able to say ‘No, that’s not cor-
rect.’”
Schuler recalled getting a
flurry of media inquiries in 2017
when people began to wrongly
connect a massive solar flare
with wildfires in San Diego.
Last year, firefighting crews
in Oregon encountered groups
of people who were convinced
that wildfires burning there
were started by antifa. The peo-
ple were stopping residents from
moving on local roads and, in
at least one case, prohibited fire-
fighters from going onto their
property to help set up a de-
fensive position for oncoming
flames.
When fires are extreme or
wind-driven, their burn patterns
can seem completely illogical
to the uninitiated, and thus ripe
for conspiracy as people try to
make sense of what happened,
said Jack Cohen, a wildfire ex-
pert and retired U.S. Forest Ser-
vice firefighter.
The Carr Fire that burned
in Shasta and Trinity counties
in Northern California in 2018
seemed to char every inch of
forest in some areas, but one
or two homes would survive.
During the Camp Fire later
that year, much of the tree line
remained intact, but homes
tucked within them were de-
stroyed.
Cohen said he first started
hearing conspiracy theories
about space-based directed-en-
ergy weapons after high-defi-
nition drone images showed
the Camp Fire’s pattern of de-
struction. People he said, are
“obscenely obsessed” with what
causes wildfires and fill in the
blanks when they can’t explain
them.
While people are impressed
by high-intensity big flames,
he said, the reality is that many
homes and structures are de-
stroyed more slowly during
wildfires by burning embers and
low-intensity surface fires that
linger in vegetation.
Anastasia and Daniel Skin-
ner laughed when they heard
Greene’s theory.
In early 2019, the couple
were living in an RV on their
scorched property. Money was
tight as they paid for water, pro-
pane, gas and other necessities
for their five young children —
costs that amounted to more
than their monthly mortgage for
the home the fire destroyed.
Then, the RV was stolen. An-
other property the couple own
in the area was being foreclosed.
They had hoped settlement
money from PG&E would help
save that home, but they haven’t
seen a dime.
To hear a politician from an-
other state spreading rumors
about the fire that upended their
lives is “silly” and “annoying,”
Anastasia said.
“There’s no way to prove la-
sers from space would have
caused the fire,” Daniel said.
“But she’s getting a lot of atten-
tion.”
Meanwhile, he said, victims
and people who actually do help
families like his don’t get enough
of it.
make no more than $50,000
per year and families capped at
$100,000 per year.
Under the Biden plan,
families with incomes up to
$300,000 could receive some
stimulus money.
“That is certainly a place that
we’re willing to sit down and
think about, are there ways to
make the entire package more
effective?” Deese said.
As a candidate, Biden pre-
dicted his decades in the Senate
and his eight years as Barack
Obama’s vice president gave
him credibility as a deal-maker
and would help him bring Re-
publicans and Democrats to
consensus on the most import-
ant matters facing the country.
But less than two weeks into
his presidency, Biden showed
frustration with the pace of
negotiations at a time when
the economy exhibited fur-
ther evidence of wear from the
pandemic. Last week, 847,000
Americans applied for un-
employment benefits, a sign
that layoffs remain high as the
coronavirus pandemic contin-
ues to rage.
Continued from A1
California wildfires have been
ripe for conspiracy for years, but
Greene’s comments surface at
a time when a sizable segment
of the American population is
treating false conjecture as fact
— from armed people in Ore-
gon on the lookout for so-called
antifa members starting blazes
to the mob that attacked the U.S.
Capitol based on former Pres-
ident Donald Trump’s baseless
claims of a rigged election.
Greene’s post speculated that
former Gov. Jerry Brown, Pa-
cific Gas & Electric, and Roth-
schild Inc. — an investment
firm that has long been the tar-
get of anti-Semitic conspiracy
theories accusing Jewish peo-
ple of controlling global affairs
— were involved. It also falsely
claims that the blaze followed
the path of California’s planned
high-speed rail line.
Republican leaders have faced
increasing pressure over their
handling of Greene, who has
been assigned to the House Ed-
ucation and Labor Committee.
A representative for House Mi-
nority Leader Kevin McCarthy,
R-Calif., did not respond to re-
quests for comment.
Greene put out a statement
Friday addressed to “the radical,
left-wing Democrat mob and
the Fake News media trying to
take me out.”
“I will never back down,” she
wrote. “I will never give up. ...
More MAGA reinforcements
are on the way.”
The Camp fire was sparked
by PG&E electrical equipment,
some of which was nearly 100
years old. The company pleaded
guilty to 84 counts of involun-
tary manslaughter in June.
Virus aid
Continued from A1
The plea for Biden to give
bipartisan negotiations more
time comes as the president
has shown signs of impatience
as the more liberal wing of his
party considers passing the re-
lief package through a process
known as budget reconcilia-
tion. That would allow the bill
to advance with only the back-
ing of his Democratic majority.
The Republicans did not
provide many details of their
proposal. One of the signato-
ries, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cas-
sidy, said that it would cost
about $600 billion.
“If you can’t find bipartisan
compromise on COVID-19, I
don’t know where you can find
it,” said Ohio Sen. Rob Port-
man, who also signed the letter.
But even as Biden extended
the invitation to the Republi-
can lawmakers, Psaki said that
$1,400 relief checks, substantial
funding for reopening schools,
aid to small businesses and
hurting families, and more “is
badly needed.”
“As leading economists have
said, the danger now is not in
doing too much: it is in doing
too little,” Psaki said. “Ameri-
cans of both parties are look-
ing to their leaders to meet the
moment.”
Biden also spoke on Sunday
with House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and Senate Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer, who
are facing a growing push from
the more liberal Democratic
members to move forward
with Biden’s legislation with or
without Republican support.
The other GOP senators in-
vited to meet with Biden are
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska,
Mitt Romney of Utah, Shelley
Moore Capito of West Vir-
ginia, Todd Young of Indiana,
Jerry Moran of Kansas, Mike
Rounds of South Dakota, and
Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Brian Deese, the top White
House economic adviser who
is leading the administration’s
outreach to Congress, said ear-
lier Sunday that administration
officials were reviewing the
letter. He did not immediately
commit to a Biden meeting
with the lawmakers.
But Cedric Richmond, a
senior Biden adviser, said the
president “is very willing to
meet with anyone to advance
the agenda.” When asked about
the senators’ plan, Richmond
said, “This is about seriousness
of purpose.”
Deese indicated the White
House could be open to nego-
tiating on further limiting who
would receive stimulus checks.
Portman suggested the checks
should go to individuals who
Chris Kleponis/Sipa USA via TNS
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., yells at journalists as she passes
through a newly installed metal detector outside the House Chamber.
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