Looking at something as basic as adjectives and modifiers, we can find times when the more extreme of these can be perceived as being overplayed, even though many are fittingly applied. Think of these few as examples: Historic. Once-in-a-century. Epic. For-the-ages. It can be argued that overuse has blunted the power of those words and expressions.

As we consider the future of the U.S. effort to punish China for its treatment of the Uyghurs, and the future of the U.S.-China relationship more broadly, keep an eye on China’s neighbors in the Asia-Pacific. Where they go, expect Washington to follow.

How about we respect educators as the trained professionals they are? How about we trust their judgment? How about we stop requiring them to reach consensus with those who have not the first clue? If a parent feels their child can’t handle some challenging material, fine: empower that parent to opt the child out of the lesson — not to deny the lesson to everyone else.

Is that not what especially evangelicals and others who highly regard personal integrity in our leaders have done with Donald Trump? Does the end justify meanness and lying? Can they ever credibly question the behavior and language of future presidents when they have sold their souls on this big question?

Media — newspapers, TV talking heads, entertainers, reporters, internet trolls, TikTok exhibitionists — Beijing’s influence, infiltration co-optation and blackmail operations target media large, minute and in-between.

The North Atlantic Trade Organization is a defensive alliance. No one sincerely believes, not even the Kremlin, that it is going to wage a war of aggression against Russia. Think about it. Since when does Russia have more to fear from, say, Estonia or Poland — countries on the eastern flank of NATO — than they have to fear from Russia?

While we in Maine hunkered down last Saturday waiting out the heaviest snowfall of the winter (until then), our neighbors in Canada were coping with what seemed almost deja vu all over again. A protest rally gone sour.

Why did Cheslie Kryst, a former Miss USA with law degree, an MBA and an on-camera gig on “Extra,” a celebrity TV show, leap to her death from a posh Manhattan apartment? As the cliche goes, she had everything to live for.

The Border Patrol’s role is to prevent illegal entry into the country, but this outcry of abuse is always one sided. There is another side, one of valuable, effective enforcement, and even timely, humanitarian actions by these underappreciated officials.