Editor's note 8/27/20

By Fletcher Farrar

[
          
            {
              "name": "Air - MedRect Combo - Inline Content 1",
              "component": "11490391",
              "insertPoint": "3",
              "requiredCountToDisplay": "1",
              "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block"
            },{
              "name": "Air - MedRect Combo - Inline Content 2",
              "component": "11490392",
              "insertPoint": "7",
              "requiredCountToDisplay": "5",
              "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block"
            },{
              "name": "Air - MedRect Combo - Inline Content 3",
              "component": "11490393",
              "insertPoint": "12",
              "requiredCountToDisplay": "9",
              "parentWrapperClass": "fdn-ads-inline-content-block"
            }
          
        ]

Did anybody wince with me when Joe Biden, asked what he would do if scientists advised him to shut down the economy over coronavirus concerns, quickly replied, "I would shut it down"? Might he at least have prefaced, "I hope it doesn't come to that," to offer some assurance that he won't act rashly? It still seems wrong that a president can decide, without having to ask anybody, to shut down the economy. In 1963 John F. Kennedy voiced a more thoughtful approach: "Scientists alone can establish the objectives of their research, but society, in extending support to science, must take into account its own needs." –Fletcher Farrar, editor and CEO

About The Author

Fletcher Farrar

Email Fletcher Farrar

Fletcher Farrar is the editor of Illinois Times .

Illinois Times has provided readers with independent journalism for almost 50 years, from news and politics to arts and culture.

Your support will help cover the costs of editorial content published each week. Without local news organizations, we would be less informed about the issues that affect our community..

Click here to show your support for community journalism.