May 3, 2024 3 min read

MISS: The term “own goal” is associated with British soccer and the mistake of kicking a ball into the wrong net. Merriam-Webster defines an own goal as “something one does thinking it will help him or her, but actually causes one harm.” It can safely be said that South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem committed one heck of an own goal by admitting in a newly published memoir that she shot and killed a 14-month-old puppy named Cricket in a gravel pit because she believed it was “untrainable” and “less than worthless as a hunting dog.” Noem, who has been mentioned as a potential running mate for Donald Trump, perhaps calculated that admitting to shooting a puppy would make her appear ruthless and unsentimental – a tough cookie, basically. Instead, it has made her look sadistic, or, as a columnist for the online news site The Hill put it, “a sociopath with anger management issues.” Voters may be willing to tolerate a lot of foibles in our leaders, but murdering a pet looks like a step too far.

MISS: College graduation season is upon us, and students will be hearing soaring rhetoric from commencement speakers providing an inspirational boost before they head out into the rough-and-tumble of the “real world.” And they are going into a job market that is, on paper, pretty good – unemployment is at 3.8%, and employers are eager to find workers. The problem, though, is that many recent college graduates will find themselves underemployed after getting their degrees, toiling in jobs where the degree they just earned is not really necessary. A study released earlier this year found that a little more than half of college graduates could be classified as underemployed one year after graduation. Overall, graduates in computer science, math and engineering have done better than those who majored in areas like marketing or public safety. Still, those underemployed graduates have room for hope – their careers will be long, and in-demand jobs are bound to shift over time. Also, college graduates earn more over time than those who just have a high school degree. Peter Coy, a New York Times columnist, pointed out that “the most successful grads have a combination of technical skills and what might be broadly called people skills, including the ability to communicate in print and in person, motivate and work in teams.”

HIT: The overwhelming majority of states have made marijuana available for medical use – just 12 are holding out – and half of states have approved it for recreational use, including our neighbors Ohio and Maryland. Decriminalizing the use of marijuana has long made sense, and it looks like the U.S. Justice Department will help nudge this effort along. It was reported this week that the Justice Department will recommend reclassifying marijuana, moving it from Schedule I, where it stands alongside drugs that everyone agrees are dangerous, such as heroin and LSD, to Schedule III, where it would be keeping company with codeine and Tylenol. If the Justice Department’s proposal is ultimately approved, it could lead to additional loosening of laws surrounding marijuana, and open additional avenues for research. With 70% of Americans supporting marijuana being made for recreational use, and it long being obvious that it is not as harmful as other drugs, it’s about time marijuana is reclassified.