Last week, we poked fun at President Trump’s tendency to inflate his high school baseball stats. But after MLB owners approved a proposal to start play around the Fourth of July, we see opportunity. Trump should announce a federal commitment to provide testing kits and other key supplies to ensure baseball begins again soon — with him throwing out the opening pitch. Consider it a less divisive sequel to his military parade. A return to baseball "would give us the glimmer of hope we need,” as Trump's hometown columnist Mike Vaccaro wrote in the New York Post on Tuesday. And Trump taking the mound could provide a powerful image of stability and unity, akin to George W. Bush’s World Series toss in Yankee Stadium after 9/11.

Most politicians have urged caution while implementing a gradual return from social distancing. Not so for Janice McGeachin, the Idaho lieutenant governor who has rallied protesters and repeatedly spoken out against the coronavirus clampdown by her Republican colleague, Gov. Brad Little. McGeachin, 57, who became the first woman to hold the post in 2018 after winning a GOP primary by just 3,000 votes, also owns an auto business. Her mantra now? That government is violating the rights of private business owners by forcing so many of them to shut. In the conservative state (where there have been just 69 COVID-19 deaths as of Wednesday), pandemic populism could prove powerful. Is a primary challenge brewing?

Georgia was ridiculed by liberal and conservative critics alike for its decision to reopen on April 24. Yet the Peach State’s new coronavirus cases have actually declined by 12 percent in the last week (although some skepticism is warranted, given that test kit data could be lagging the virus’s two-week incubation period). Florida saw a similar decrease — another signal that phased reopening may not be a recipe for disaster. Meanwhile, some aggressive lockdown states, including Michigan and New York, have seen reductions of more than 30 percent, suggesting that staying at home still flattens the curve best.

This week, Nebraska held the first major in-person election in a month, following the much-panned Wisconsin races. While Cornhuskers went the extra mile with PPE and disinfectant, voting in person seems strange during a pandemic. And while vote-by-mail gains steam, we are wondering: Is it finally time for online voting to have its day? Send us your best ideas, thoughts or criticism at [email protected]. 

Last week we asked whether Democrats should pack the Supreme Court if they take power. Larry T. proposes: “The court members need to have a defined term of service just as politicians need to have. No more of these lifetime appointments.” Judy D. laments the polarization on the court, writing that nominees “should have an established history of balanced decision making; some decisions more conservative and some decisions more liberal.”

Recent protests from garment workers in Myanmar are only the beginning. As the world's focus slowly shifts from the pandemic to its economic impacts, flash points around eroding worker protections — already emerging in America, India, the U.K., Germany and France — could shape the future political direction of modern democracies, much as they did after the Great Depression. And unless leaders at the helm of these democracies are careful, that direction won’t necessarily be to their liking.

Latex gloves, a post-apocalyptic Tim Kaine, elbow bumps and an Anthony Fauci showdown with Rand Paul: The coronavirus Senate testimony hearings had it all — if not in substance, at least in memes.