You might almost feel bad for Mike Pence. You could almost see the color drain from his cheeks when he was tapped by the boss to lead the United States coronavirus response.

I’m beginning to get it — “it” being how Puritanism, with its disdain for freedom of speech, religious tolerance, equality, et cetera, led to the Declaration of Independence — but my essential question as to how we got from Cotton Mather to Thomas Paine remains.

Craig H. Handler, Karen A. Hoeg, and Bernadette E. Tuthill, associates at the law firm Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin, and Quartararo, have been promoted to partner, a spokesman for the firm announced this week.