The BulleTin • Monday, June 28, 2021 A3
TODAY
DEAR ABBY
Write to Dear Abby online at dearabby.com
or by mail at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Dear Abby: I am a very
fortunate 60-year-old male.
I have a wonderful life, great
kids, I’m a new grandfather
and I’m recently retired. I
think I am a happy and over-
all positive person. Most peo-
ple would be thrilled to have
my life.
However, I can’t seem to
stop crying. I tear up at the
end of every sad or roman-
tic movie. I choke up when
I’m around my loved ones,
and it is only getting worse.
I wonder if it is because of
pain I experienced in my
past (deaths of loved ones,
divorce, etc.) or fear about
the future. Do you have any
insight based on your expe-
rience?
— Tearing Up in Ohio
Dear Tearing Up: The
death of loved ones can make
a person increasingly emo-
tional. Being able to express
emotion is a gift, not a dis-
ability. You may simply be
a sensitive individual, but
because you say this is “only
getting worse,” it might bene-
fit you to discuss what’s going
on with your physician or a
licensed mental health pro-
fessional who can put your
concerns to rest.
Dear Abby: My ex-girl-
friend and I have been good
friends for the past five years.
Even though our relationship
didn’t work out, I still want
to be there for her as a friend.
My ex isn’t that financially re-
sponsible, nor is her family,
and she keeps asking me for
bailouts. I have loaned her
thousands of dollars since
our breakup, Abby.
I am of two minds about
this. Part of me feels I’m be-
ing taken advantage of. How-
ever, the other part of me
knows she doesn’t have many
friends and, because I believe
in karma, I tend to help those
in need. Please tell me what I
should do. Should I continue
helping or let her fail?
— Lending a Helping Hand
Dear Lending: There is
a point after which “help-
ing” becomes enabling.
You reached that milestone
years ago. It’s time to let your
ex-girlfriend suffer the conse-
quences of her financial irre-
sponsibility so you can focus
on helping people who won’t
take advantage of your gen-
erosity.
Dear Abby: My husband
and I used to be very close
to another couple in town.
Before the pandemic, they
caused quite a bit of pain and
drama among our friend
group, so we decided to add
some distance. The pandemic
provided the perfect excuse.
We exchange texts every few
weeks, but otherwise we don’t
interact much. The problem
is, now that we’re all vacci-
nated, they want to be friends
again and we just aren’t up
for it. We don’t know the best
way to clearly end the friend-
ship. How do you break up
with friends?
— Moved On in the Midwest
Dear Moved On: If you
want to end the friendship,
a way to do that would be to
be “busy” and not available
to them. If you are asked for
an explanation, tell them the
pandemic forced you to re-
think your schedule, that you
see fewer people than you did
before it happened — and
therefore you are no longer
available to the extent that
you were. It’s kinder than say-
ing you think they are trou-
blemaking drama queens,
which would be unkind and
cause hurt feelings.
YOUR HOROSCOPE
By Georgia Nicols
Stars show the kind of day you’ll have
DYNAMIC | POSITIVE | AVERAGE | SO-SO | DIFFICULT
MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping or making important decisions until
2 p.m. EDT today (11 a.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Aquarius
into Pisces.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2021: You have a
wide variety of interests, and you are very spontaneous. You are an excellent
planner, and you are also persuasive. You are certainly dominant and deter-
mined. This year you have every right to seek your personal happiness. Ask
yourself what you want and where you want to go. Enjoy socializing with
others and exploring hobbies. Claim your world.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
This is a feel-good day, which is why you feel compassion and concern
for those who are less fortunate. If you can do something to help someone in
need, you will feel gratified. You might join forces with someone else to do
this. Tonight: Seek solitude.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
A discussion with a female friend will be a rewarding experience for
you today. You also might become involved with a charitable group or others
who wish to help people in need. Today, whatever you give will come back to
you multiplied. Tonight: Be friendly.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
You look good in the eyes of others today, especially bosses, parents
and VIPs. Even if you don’t do anything special, you appear to be successful,
wise and generous. Well, it never hurts to have good press. (There’s also a
strong likelihood that you deserve this praise.) Tonight: People notice you.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Today you’re full of big plans, especially for future travel or anything
to do with future education or training. You also might have ambitions re-
lated to medicine, the law, publishing or the media. Enjoy a heady exchange
about metaphysical ideas. Tonight: Do something different.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
This is an excellent day to discuss how to share something, because
you will come out laughing all the way to the bank. Gifts, goodies and favors
from others might come your way. This is also a good day to explore financial
negotiations and discuss shared property. Tonight: Take care of paperwork.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
You feel warm and generous to others today, especially those who
are close to you — partners, spouses and close friends. This is a good day to
make a suggestion about some big plans that you’re hoping for in the future.
Perhaps a trip? Tonight: Cooperate with others.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Work-related travel might be happening today. This is an excellent
day to join forces with others to form working units or to work with groups.
Because you feel confident and you’re in a positive frame of mind, you will be
productive. Tonight: Do a favor for someone.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Enjoy good times today! This is a great day for social outings, sports
events, fun activities with kids or a chance to express your creative talents.
You want to have fun! Remember that today you will get what you give —
kindness, friendship and loving support to others. Tonight: Enjoy!
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Family discussions will go well today, especially with a female. This is
a good day to be generous to others, because whatever you give will come
back to you multiplied. You’ll also find it easy to be patient. You might have
advice for someone. Tonight: Cocoon at home.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Because you’re in a positive frame of mind, you’re thinking big to-
day! Others will be encouraged by your ambitious ideas, especially relatives,
neighbors and siblings. (It’s amazing how one person can influence a group.)
Tonight: You need to talk.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
This is an excellent money day! Look for ways to boost your income
or, possibly, look for a better paying job. You are more inclined to “think big”
today regarding financial matters, including spending money. Nevertheless,
keep your receipts. Tonight: Keep track of your finances.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Today the Moon is in your sign lined up with lucky Jupiter, which
makes you feel happy and generous to others. Your confidence is strong, and
you feel kind toward others. This is a good thing, because today you will get
what you give. Tonight: Expect a favor.
Today is Monday, June 28, the
179th day of 2021. There are 186
days left in the year.
Today’s Highlights in History:
On June 28, 1940, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the
Alien Registration Act, also known
as the Smith Act, which required
adult foreigners residing in the
U.S. to be registered and finger-
printed.
In 1838, Britain’s Queen Victoria
was crowned in Westminster
Abbey.
In 1863, during the Civil War, Pres-
ident Abraham Lincoln appointed
Maj. Gen. George G. Meade the
new commander of the Army
of the Potomac, following the
resignation of Maj. Gen. Joseph
Hooker.
In 1914, Archduke Franz Fer-
dinand of Austria and his wife,
Sophie, were shot to death in Sa-
rajevo by Serb nationalist Gavrilo
Princip — an act which sparked
World War I.
In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles
was signed in France, ending the
First World War.
In 1950, North Korean forces cap-
tured Seoul, the capital of South
Korea.
In 1951, a TV version of the radio
comedy program “Amos ‘N’ Andy”
premiered on CBS. (It was the first
network TV series to feature an
all-Black cast, but came under crit-
icism for racial stereotyping.)
In 1964, civil rights activist
Malcolm X declared, “We want
equality by any means necessary”
during the Founding Rally of the
Organization of Afro-American
Unity in New York.
In 1978, the Supreme Court
ordered the University of Califor-
nia-Davis Medical School to admit
Allan Bakke, a white man who ar-
gued he’d been a victim of reverse
racial discrimination.
In 2000, seven months after
he was cast adrift in the Florida
Straits, Elian Gonzalez was re-
turned to his native Cuba.
In 2010, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.
Va., the longest-serving senator
in the nation’s history, died in
Falls Church, Virginia, at 92. The
Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that
Americans had the right to own
a gun for self-defense anywhere
they lived.
In 2013, tens of thousands of sup-
porters and opponents of Egyp-
tian President Mohammed Morsi
rallied in Cairo, and both sides
fought each other in the country’s
second-largest city of Alexandria,
where two people — including
an American — were killed and
scores injured. The four plaintiffs
in the U.S. Supreme Court case
that overturned California’s same-
sex marriage ban tied the knot,
just hours after a federal appeals
court freed gay couples to obtain
marriage licenses in the state for
the first time in 4 1/2 years.
In 2019, avowed white suprema-
cist James Alex Fields, who delib-
erately drove his car into a crowd
of counterprotesters in Charlot-
tesville, Virginia, killing a young
woman and injuring dozens,
apologized to his victims before
being sentenced to life in prison
on federal hate crime charges.
Ten years ago: Taliban fighters
raided an international hotel in
Kabul and killed 10 people on
the eve of a conference to discuss
plans for Afghan forces to take
over security when international
troops left by the end of 2014.
Five years ago: House Republi-
cans concluded their $7 million,
two-year investigation into the
deadly attacks in Benghazi,
Libya, with fresh accusations of
lethal mistakes by the Obama
administration but no “smoking
gun” pointing to wrongdoing
by Hillary Clinton, who said the
report “found nothing, nothing to
contradict” the findings of earlier
investigations.
One year ago: California Gov.
Gavin Newsom ordered bars that
had opened in seven counties
to immediately close, and urged
bars in eight other counties to do
the same, amid the rapid spread
of the coronavirus in parts of the
state.
Today’s Birthdays: Comedi-
an-movie director Mel Brooks
is 95. Former Sen. Carl Levin,
D-Mich., is 87. Comedian-impres-
sionist John Byner is 84. Former
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
is 83. Rock musician Dave Knights
(Procul Harum) is 76. Actor Bruce
Davison is 75. Actor Kathy Bates is
73. Actor Alice Krige is 67. College
and Pro Football Hall of Famer
John Elway is 61. Jazz singer Tier-
ney Sutton is 58. Actor Jessica
Hecht is 56. Rock musician Saul
Davies (James) is 56. Actor Mary
Stuart Masterson is 55. Actor John
Cusack is 55. Actor Gil Bellows is
54. Actor-singer Danielle Brise-
bois is 52. Jazz musician Jimmy
Sommers is 52. Actor Tichina
Arnold is 52. Actor Steve Burton
is 51. Entrepreneur Elon Musk is
50. Actor Alessandro Nivola is 49.
Actor Camille Guaty is 45. Rock
musician Tim Nordwind (OK Go) is
45. Rock musician Mark Stoermer
(The Killers) is 44. Country singer
Big Vinny Hickerson (Trailer Choir)
is 38. Country singer Kellie Pickler
is 35.
— Associated Press
Biden aims to keep bipartisan
infrastructure deal on track
President walks back
apparent veto threat
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Aiming
to preserve a fragile bipartisan
deal on infrastructure, Pres-
ident Joe Biden endorsed it
“without hesitation” Saturday,
walking back from a threat to
veto it if Congress also didn’t
pass an even larger package to
expand the social safety net.
Biden said he didn’t mean
to suggest in earlier remarks
that he would veto the nearly
$1 trillion infrastructure bill
unless Congress also passed
a broader package of invest-
ments that he and fellow Dem-
ocrats aim to approve along
party lines, the two together to-
taling some $4 trillion.
Speaking Thursday mo-
ments after fulfilling his hopes
of reaching a bipartisan accord,
Biden appeared to put the deal
in jeopardy with his comment
that the infrastructure bill
would have to move in “tan-
dem” with the larger bill.
Though Biden had been clear
he would pursue the massive
new spending for child care,
Medicare and other invest-
ments, Republicans balked at
the president’s notion that he
would not sign one without the
other. “If this is the only thing
that comes to me, I’m not sign-
ing it,” Biden said then of the in-
frastructure bill. “It’s in tandem.”
By Saturday, Biden was seek-
ing to clarify those comments,
after his top negotiators Steve
Ricchetti and Louisa Terrell
worked to assure senators that
Biden remained enthusiastic
about the deal.
“My comments also created
the impression that I was is-
suing a veto threat on the very
plan I had just agreed to, which
was certainly not my intent,”
Biden said in a statement.
“I intend to pursue the pas-
sage of that plan, which Dem-
ocrats and Republicans agreed
to on Thursday, with vigor,”
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
President Joe Biden, pictured with some senators who are part of a bi-
partisan group pushing an infrastructure bill, speaks Thursday outside
the White House.
Biden added. “It would be good
for the economy, good for our
country, good for our people.
I fully stand behind it without
reservation or hesitation.”
Biden’s earlier remarks had
drawn sharp criticism from
some Republicans, including
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.,
who tweeted Friday, “No deal
by extortion!” Others felt
“blindsided” by what they said
was a shift in their understand-
ing of his position.
Tensions appeared to calm
afterward, when senators from
the group of negotiators con-
vened a conference call, ac-
cording to a person who spoke
on condition of anonymity to
discuss the private meeting.
“My hope is that we’ll still
get this done,” said Sen. Rob
Portman of Ohio, the lead
Republican negotiator, in an
interview Friday with The As-
sociated Press. “Our infrastruc-
ture is in bad shape.”
Biden was set to travel Tues-
day to Wisconsin for the first
stop on a nationwide tour to
promote the infrastructure
package, the White House said.
The sudden swings point
to the difficult path ahead for
what promises to be a long
process of turning Biden’s
nearly $4 trillion infrastructure
proposals into law.
The two measures were al-
ways expected to move to-
gether through Congress: the
bipartisan plan and a second
bill that would advance un-
der special rules allowing for
passage solely with majority
Democrats votes and is now
swelling to $6 trillion. Biden
reiterated that was his plan on
Saturday, but said he was not
conditioning one on the other.
“So to be clear,” his statement
said, “our bipartisan agreement
does not preclude Republicans
from attempting to defeat my
Families Plan; likewise, they
should have no objections to
my devoted efforts to pass that
Families Plan and other pro-
posals in tandem.”
Before his clarification Sat-
urday, not all senators were
swayed by the White House
outreach, which came after
a tumultuous month of on-
again, off-again negotiations
over Biden’s top legislative pri-
ority.
The Democrats’ two-track
strategy has been to consider
both the bipartisan deal and
their own more sweeping pri-
orities side by side.
Ten Republican senators
would be needed to pass the
bipartisan accord in the 50-50
Senate, where 60 votes are re-
quired to advance most bills.