The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Opinion Wednesday, Februar y 13, 2019 C- 9 Something newsworthy? Give us a call— 812-354-8500 Katiedid Versus by Katiedid Langrock Pleasure practice Continued on page 10 Letter to the Editor Abortion laws are a cancer on this nation launched cruise missile, ac- cording to senior Ameri- can officials, a finding that was conveyed by President Obama to President Vladi- mir V. Putin of Russia in a letter on Monday." The Obama administra- tion may have been good at voicing displeasure, but ter- rible at concrete actions or any sort of meaningful fol- low-through. Its fabled "re- set" with Russia and the New START (Strategic Arms Re- duction Treaty) signed with Moscow in 2010 drew plau- dits from the media, but in the end, nothing changed. So we're supposed to keep ourselves shackled to a trea- ty that we comply with, but Russia doesn't. Yet if we de- cide to end this untenable sit- uation, we're the bad guys? We're the ones touching off a "destabilizing" arms race? The ship has already sailed on that charge. And the ones to chastise are in Moscow, not Washington. "Continued efforts by the U.S. government over the last five years to engage Russia to persuade them to return to compliance with the INF treaty have failed," notes defense expert Thom- as Spoehr. "All U.S. inqui- ries and efforts have been met with lies, deceit and de- nial." Adding to the problem of Russia's cheating is a fea- ture of the new world envi- ronment: China. China wasn't a party to the INF agreement. Of course, it wasn't a rising military su- perpower in 1987. Now it is, and guess what? It's already spurned an offer to join the INF Treaty. Beijing is more than happy to keep building its arsenals unfettered. Today, China has the world's second largest mil- itary budget. And it's been augmenting its forces for some time now, including in areas that threaten Amer- ican interests. Under those circumstanc- es, and with Russia refusing to stop violating the treaty, it makes no sense to continue being a party to it. As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently said, the onus is on Moscow. But the government there on- ly wants to complain, not change its behavior. No wonder they preferred the Obama approach, which also relied primarily on words, not action. Fortunate- ly, the Trump administration is trying a different tack. If the president's crit- ics are worried about a "de- stabilizing" situation, they should be firing at Moscow, not the U.S. Things are al- ready "dangerous." The first and sanest step we can take to change that is to stop pretending the INF Treaty has a role to play in preserving the peace in 2019. Ed Feulner is founder of The Heritage Foundation (heritage.org). Court Report CRIMINAL Pike Circuit Court Robert Austin Melvin charged with two counts of domestic battery, a lev- el 6 felony. Robert Lee Townley, Jr. charged with count I possession of metham- phetamine, a level 6 felony, and count II public intoxication. Laura Boyd charged with count I possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony, count II maintaining a common nuisance - controlled sub- stances, count III unlawful posses- sion of syringe, count IV possession of marijuana, and count V possession of paraphernalia. Jason M. Boyd charged with count I possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony, count II maintaining a common nuisance - controlled sub- stances, count III possession of mari- juana, and count IV possession of par- aphernalia. Roy Shane King charged with count I dealing in methamphetamine, a lev- el 2 felony, and count II corrupt busi- ness influence. Kenneth E. Wright charged with count I criminal trespass, a level 6 fel- ony, and count II public intoxication. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANOR Pike Circuit Court Cody Ray Slater charged with pos- session of a controlled substance. Lori Jean Frank charged with pos- session of a controlled substance. Jason Lee Christenberry charged with possession of a controlled sub- stance. Edith Nicolh Kavanaugh charged with possession of a controlled sub- stance. Junior Martinez Rodriguez charged with operating a motor vehicle with- out ever receiving a license. Haley N. Truelove charged with count I operating a vehicle while in- toxicated, and count II operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II con- trolled substance or its metabolite in the body. Brittany M. Davidson charged with driving while suspended. Lacey W. Whittaker charged with count I possession of marijuana and count II possession of paraphernalia. Joseph W. Robling charged with dis- orderly conduct. Tamara L. Ashton charged with possession of a synthetic drug or syn- thetic drug look-a-like substance. Treyshawn M. Rhodes charged with resisting law enforcement. Christopher L. Pilant charged with count I driving while suspended and count II operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the body. Laura L. Boyd charged with count I disorderly conduct and count II pub- lic intoxication. CIVIL Pike Circuit Court Portfolio Recover Associates sues Somer L. Wallace on complaint. Professional and Business Collec- tions, LLC sues Russell W. Hale on complaint. Professional and Business Collec- tions, LLC sues James S. Hunter on complaint. Professional and Business Collec- tions, LLC sues Ariel N. Funches on complaint. Professional and Business Collec- tions, LLC sues Charles W. Moore on complaint. Professional and Business Collec- tions, LLC sues Sarah N. Woods on complaint. First Federal Savings Bank sues Angela E. Lane on complaint. First Federal Savings Bank sues Phyllis E. Hill on complaint. Adam Tyler sues Autumn Nicole Ty- ler (Thornton) for dissolution of mar- riage. SMALL CLAIMS Pike Circuit Court Medical and Professional Collec- tion Services sues Eric W. Rowe on complaint. Medical and Professional Collec- tion Services sues Carol A. Miley on complaint. Medical and Professional Collec- tion Services sues Lori L. Loveless on complaint. INFRACTIONS Pike Circuit Court Kaleb Bolin charged with seatbelt violation. William Byers IV charged with seat- belt violation. Cayla Clayton charged with speed- ing, 81 mph in a 55 zone. Curtis Isaacs charged with seatbelt violation. Madeline Johnson charged with speeding, 69 mph in a 55 zone. Debra Killion charged with seatbelt violation. Timothy Lally charged with speed- ing, 54 mph in a 40 zone. Alex Like charged with improper passing. Joezie Mumma charged with seat- belt violation. Lori Ray charged with speeding, 90 mph in a 70 zone. Taelor Reeves charged with speed- ing, 69 mph in a 55 zone. Andrew Swartzentruber charged with seatbelt violation. Jami Allen charged with speeding, 90 mph in a 70 zone. Trevor Anders charged with operat- ing with a transferred plate - no proof of ownership. Lauren Benbenek charged with speeding, 79 mph in a 70 zone. Kacia Cunningham charged with seatbelt violation. Vittorio D'Uva charged with speed- ing, 99 mph in a 70 zone. Lavelle Davis charged with speed- ing, 84 mph in a 70 zone. Brandi Day charged with speeding, 76 mph in a 55 zone. Madison Graddy charged with speeding, 79 mph in a 70 zone. Mary Grogan charged with speed- ing, 84 mph in a 70 zone. James Hughes charged with disre- garding an official traffic control de- vice. Timothy Kiser charged with seat- belt violation. Matthew Krampen charged with speeding, 84 mph in a 70 zone. Jeremy Mullins charged with speeding, 99 mph in a 70 zone. Marcus Norman charged with speeding, 88 mph in a 70 zone. Joseph Powell II charged with speeding, 102 mph in a 70 zone. Kevin Smigielski charged with speeding, 71 mph in a 55 zone. Aaron Kendall charged with seat- belt violation. Steven Martindale charged with speeding, 63 mph in a 35 zone. Darin Ramirez Abrego charged with no valid driver's license. Kiley Rariden charged with speed- ing, 70 mph in a 55 zone. Continued from page 8 TREATY Continued from page 8 VARIANCE In the fall of 1735, John Wesley travelled to Georgia at the invitation of James Ed- ward Oglethorpe, the lead- er of the colony. He was asked to lead the church at the city of Savannah. On his journey to America, his ship was caught in a severe storm and was in danger of sinking. What helped calm the crew and Wesley, were a group of Moravian Chris- tians on board who sang and remained cheerful. Wesley's would later write that he felt that the Moravi- ans "possessed an inner strength which he lacked." This encounter would deep- ly affect Wesley and would lead him to embrace the per- sonal pietism [holiness] that the Moravians lived. Wesley's adventure in America was, by his estima- tion, a failure. The enthusi- asm he had for the church was not shared by the pop- ulous. He was expecting a congregation that was some- what similar to what would be found in England; in- stead, a level of indifference infected the flock. Wesley fared no better in his attempt to convert the natives. He wrote, "I will hear the gospel afresh by preaching it to the innocent savages because they have no defense against the text." However, Wesley was not impressed with his poten- tial parish and said of them, "They are liars, thieves, and murderers. They mur- der their own babies, and they murder their own par- ents! They do not wish to learn and are not willing to be taught." Leaving Savannah in 1737, Wesley was dejected and wrote later of his inward struggle, "I went to America to convert the Indians, but, oh, who shall convert me? Who, what, is he that will de- liver me from this evil heart of unbelief? John Wesley was a man who sought a living faith in Christ in an era where ritu- al and good works were ac- ceptable among the clergy and congregants as a sign of salvation. Wesley in his own words speaks of his struggle, "I know that I had not faith, unless the faith of a devil, the faith of Judas, that speculative, notional, airy shadow, which lives in the head, not in the heart. But what is this to the living, justifying faith, the faith that cleanses from sin? " Wesley was a tormented man, seeking a living expe- rience that he saw among the Moravians. What was beguiling him was the same disease that inflicts human- ity. Wesley was following rules, doctrines, and dog- mas of the Church, but he was following prescribed rituals and beliefs in them- selves do not produce spir- ituality and inward peace [justification before God]. Wesley had faith, a faith in outward piety and good work, but he felt spiritually condemned. He would lat- er write, "I [had] not that joy in the Holy Ghost, no set- tled, lasting joy; nor [had] I such a peace as excludes the possibility either of fear or doubt." At this point of his life, not all was well with John Wes- ley; how about you? Think about it! Next Week Part II – Do Good Continued from page 8 WESLEYAN The astounding thing that you begin to realize, if you've measured objects for any significant purpose or length of time, is how much humans can do with such imprecise informa- tion. Take the example of the tape measure. I measure my kitchen table's length with a tape measure, and it lines up with the 60 -inch mark on my tape. I measure my kitchen table's width with a large cal- iper, and the electronic dis- play reads 35.875 inches. I submit my kitchen table to analysis by a laser scan- ning machine, and I find that the radius of the corners is 4.0118 millimeters. In reality, I now know a thousand times more about the width of my table than the length, and at least ten times more yet about the corners than about the width. And yet, I can go to the store and buy a 72x48 - inch tablecloth with full as- surance that it will definite- ly cover my table, even with just my immensely vague knowledge that my table is "more or less" five feet by three feet. We have reached an era in human history where those extra decimal points in our knowledge can be the dif- ference between life and death, depending on what we are measuring - what known we are comparing to the unknown. And this is a marvelous thing to consid- er, that each decimal point we add to the little reading on the measuring tool really and truly does increase our knowledge of the unknown tenfold. Yet, in our dewdrop world, where we "see as through a glass, darkly," so many of us have struggled by and lived abundant lives with num- bers as simple as "about five feet" to guide us. There is a beauty in knowing things as exactly as we have the capa- bility to know them; there is a beauty in knowing things simply in simple terms. Have a great week! Letter to Editor, Pro-Life people across the country are saddened by the initiative taken in the last few weeks with the pass- ing of a bill in New York that is noth- ing more than killing a child at the time of birth. How barbaric our coun- try has become. It was bad enough to do this but to celebrate the way Governor An- drew Cuomo and his fellow pro-abor- tion Democrats celebrated was noth- ing less than dancing on the graves of those they would kill. While Governor Cuomo celebrates the killing of the unborn many of those of the Catholic faith along with some Catholic Bish- ops are calling for Cuomo's excommu- nication from the Catholic Church. Cuomo calls himself a Catholic but we wonder if that is in name only. He along with other Democrats in the U.S. Congress, call themselves Cath- olic but strongly believe in the killing of the unborn. While there is an out- cry from Catholics and some Bishops, Cardinal Timothy Dolan would be the individual to make that decision and it appears he will not take action. It is time for our Catholic Bishops to show their members in the church pews they will not allow Catholics, es- pecially those holding public office to support activities that are in complete contradiction to church teachings on the Sanctity of Human Life. It also cre- ates scandalous activity by promoting the killing of the unborn. It is time for action that has been long overdue. Elected Officials like Governor Cuomo have given the impression that it is okay to support the killing of the unborn by abortion when in fact the Church is very much opposed to abortion. If Andrew Cuomo can push abortion without any consequences, what message does that send to oth- er Catholics in public office or to oth- er church members? Are Church Leaders being complic- it with Governor Cuomo's aggressive pro-abortion position by remaining si- lent and taking no action? It is time for the Catholic Bishops to take ac- tion and that is long overdue. If no ini- tiative is taken against pro-abortion politicians then it brings shame to the church. If you say you are a Catho- lic, you need to abide by the princi- pals of the Catholic Church! As the saying goes, "You Cannot Be Catho- lic and Support Abortion! A fter the initiative taken by the New York Legislature, other liber- al states have tried to follow suit. It is like a cancer spreading across the country. There are some experts say- ing they feel with the new abortion re- lated cases coming before the U.S. Su- preme Court could result in restric- tions placed on abortion as we know it today but very few feel that abortion will be outlawed all together. In closing we can only pray that our elected officials, judges and leaders in our country will come to their senses and respect human life from concep- tion to natural death. President Trump has made that journey, let us pray oth- ers can do the same. We would also ask that members of all faiths encourage your church lead- ers to stand up and to be a voice for the unborn and let the pro-life cause be a foundational message for your church. It is worth repeating that the only thing necessary for evil to suc- ceed it for good people to do nothing. Louis Kavanaugh Jr. President of Daviess County Right to Life Inc. Montgomery, Ind. "What's your pleasure practice? " my friend Lynn asked. We were sitting in a cafe having coffee together. And by "together," I mean I was drinking coffee, which practically landed on her lap after she asked this question and it went out my nose and across the table. Otherwise, Lynn was drinking tea. "Little personal, don't you think? " I responded. Lynn smiled. "No, no. I mean your daily morning pleasure practice." She emphasized the "daily" and the "morning." Clearly, there was some- thing I was supposed to be getting, but I still didn't get it. I raised an eye- brow. "What do you do each day that makes you happy? " "Oh! " I said far too loudly. I sipped my coffee as I pondered. This time, it didn't go out my nose. Lynn is the crunchy kind. She speaks in time relegated not to a clock but to the moon's phases. She collects stones in her yard, gives them person- alities and bestows wishes upon them before setting them back down to the earth. This, she says, is how she re- plenishes the world that plenishes her. She does yoga with goats, de- fines feelings as earth elements and often says I need to invoke water, be- cause I apparently live life in the fire. I don't know what any of this means. I never know what she means. But I nod as if I do. I thought about my morning rou- tine, which relies heavily on coffee, work and the morning news — all of which are necessary but don't necessarily bring pleasure. "It's because you subsist in the orange chakra," Lynn said. I'd been told this before, and despite the fact that I'm always assured it's not an insult, it always seems to be one. And once again, I didn't know what she meant but nod- ded anyway. "You can't live your full- est life without a pleasure practice." I asked Lynn what her pleasure practice involves; maybe it would give me some ideas. She listed off a series of activities: yoga, herbal med- itation, chanting, an apple cider vine- gar bath. All of that sounded like my nightmare. When my kindergartener came home from school, I asked him what his pleasure practice involves. He didn't snort coffee out his nose. Why would he have? He's only 6, and he doesn't drink coffee — that I know of. Instead, he seemed to think this was a perfectly normal question. Before running off, he answered: "I made three new best friends this morn- ing. We were lemurs." He's been making "three new best friends" nearly every day. I don't know the last time I made three new best friends. And I certainly can't re- member the last time I made one who would be a lemur with me. A sloth, perhaps, but not a lemur. Making three new best friends daily would cer- tainly count, in my book, as a daily pleasure prac- tice — but it's one that doesn't quite seem at- tainable. I work from home. And I work a lot of hours. Lunch with an already ac- quired best friend or my husband happens once a month if I'm lucky. I don't see many people, and when I do, it is during activities related to my kids' sports and hobbies. Lynn invited me to her 5:30 a.m. hot yoga class, assuring me there would be lots of great people there. I passed. But I did know that Lynn was onto something. It's so easy to forget your- self in the hustle of life. Engaging in something each day that makes you happy and brings pleasure should be a priority. I looked around my house as if in a game of hide-and-seek, expecting to find three new best friends hiding behind the door of the coat closet. And as luck would have it, they were. Hiding away, practically giggling as I craned my neck around the cor- ner, were my hiking boots, walking