The Press-Dispatch

July 29, 2020

The Press-Dispatch

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B-10 Wednesday, July 29, 2020 The Press-Dispatch Minority View By Walter E. Williams Historical ignorance and Confederate Generals Court Report LEARNING Continued from page 9 HE KNOWS Continued from page 9 EXPRESS Continued from page 9 their kids in various ways. I discovered I was having lots of fun interacting with them and learning the new techniques of communicat - ing and imparting a differ- ent set of discipline and or- der under the current time and new norms. At this time, I am dog-sit- ting Duchess since my daughter and her family are vacationing for a week. I'm learning the dog has a cer- tain routine I have to follow. I'm sure one of us will learn who the boss is. • • • Humor of the week: "The government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it." Ronald Reagan, 1986. Mount" in its entirety [Mat- thew Chapters 5 through 7], it becomes apparent that no one can earn salvation. Our only recourse is we must turn to God's grace. Jesus is offering a practical life of discipleship. The indi- vidual participates as imper- fect disciple and worship- per and it is through faith in God's grace and mercy that the humble and penitent is accounted as righteous. As mentioned, the Beati- tudes reveal that God knows what we need! The "Sermon On The Mount" is not all that we need to know—For God knows what we are in need of—and daily life consists of than the temporal things of life that many fix their ambi- tions upon. Jesus is revealing the Fa- ther's ways are not our ways, and what we think are the es- sence of living are carnal, and actually drives us away from God. We are challenged to fo- cus our attentions upon ex- periencing life not solely through our mind and sens- es, but through the teachings of Christ, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. God has given us the abil- ity not only to think, but al- so to feel and act. He has demonstrated to us through Christ His love so we might show love and mercy to oth- ers. The "Sermon On The Mount" paints a picture of the pathway to God and it is straight and narrow—but it becomes treacherous when our mind and heart wavers away from the eternal and everlasting. The life of being a "Disci- ple of Christ "becomes stren- uous when our desires be- come centered upon things which produces lust and covetousness. Add to that individuals have a tenden- cy to center thoughts onto the here and now and upon events he/she have no con- trol over. Could it be that the Beat- itudes as Jesus taught them was the opening of the door and pathway to peace and life everlasting? Think about it! FELONY Pike County Circuit Court Vicki Brochin charged with count I possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony, count II possession of parapher- nalia, count III operating a vehicle while intoxicated and count IV possession of methamphetamine, a level 5 felony. Michael Oakman charged with count I possession of methamphetamine, a level 5 felony, count II maintaining a common nuisance, controlled substances, count III possession of marijuana and count IV possession of paraphernalia. Johnny Mack Brown charged with count I criminal confinement, a level 5 felony, and count II domestic battery, a level 6 felony. Joy V. Pomeroy charged with count I domestic battery and count II domestic battery, prior, a level 6 felony. Brian K. Cassidy charged with count I domestic battery and count II domestic battery, prior, a level 6 felony. John Dillon charged with count I pos- session of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony, and count II possession of a con- trolled substance. Edward Fox charged with count I ob- struction of justice, a level 6 felony, and count II resisting law enforcement, a lev- el 6 felony. Michael S. Doades charged with do- mestic battery committed in the pres- ence of a child less than 16 years old, a level 6 felony. April Benningfield charged with do- mestic battery committed in the pres- ence of a child less than 16 years old, a level 6 felony. Maria N. Osborne charged with main- taining a common nuisance - controlled substances, a level 6 felony. Edward Fox charged with residential breaking and entering, a level 6 felony. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANOR Pike County Circuit Court Derek Collins charged with count I possession of marijuana and count II mi- nor in possession of alcohol. Spencer Cannon charged with count I possession of marijuana and count II mi- nor in possession of alcohol. Billy J. Moore charged with driving while suspended, prior. Damon L. Shaw charged with posses- sion of marijuana. Chase A. Kelley charged with battery. Laurie Michael Veale charged with count I possession of a controlled sub- stance and count II possession of para- phernalia. Zachary Reynolds charged with visit- ing a common nuisance - controlled sub- stances. Lisa Crow charged with count I posses- sion of marijuana and count II possession of paraphernalia. CIVIL Pike County Circuit Court LVNV Funding, LLC sues Jennifer Might on complaint. Midland Credit Management, Inc. sues Patricia Wornica on complaint. LVNV Funding, LLC sues Michael Watkins on complaint. Evansville Teachers Federal Cred- it Union sues Christopher Stafford on complaint. MidFirst Bank sues Brandon Williams and Russell Simmons on complaint. Kimberly M. Smith sues Kyle M. Smith for dissolution of marriage. Eric Cannon sues Elizabeth Cannon for dissolution of marriage. INFRACTIONS Pike County Circuit Court Nathan P. Alexander charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Misty D. Coleman charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Jessical L. Nunge charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Marie Y. Charles charged with no val- id driver's license. Ryan W. Hemenway charged with speeding, exceeding 65 mph. Tashlyn D. Harney charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Cassandra L. Morton charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Katie R. Henderson charged with driv- ing too fast for conditions. Jonathan K. Montgomery charged with knowingly authorizing a violation of IC 9 - 18.1-14-11, an individual less than eigh- teen (18) years of age who is operating or riding on an off-road vehicle shall wear a helmet that meets the standards estab- lished by the United States Department of Transportation. Jarard Landrum charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. John I. Strobel charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Christopher L. McNary charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Kamren D. Miller charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Aaron W. Spinner charged with oper- ating an off-road vehicle on a public high- way. Travis G. Hayward charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. The Confederacy has been the excuse for some of today's rioting, property de- struction and grossly uninformed state- ments. Among the latter is the testimo- ny before the House Armed Services Committee by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley in fa- vor of renaming Confederate-named mil- itary bases. He said: "The Confederacy, the American Civil War, was fought, and it was an act of rebellion. It was an act of treason, at the time, against the Union, against the Stars and Stripes, against the U.S. Constitution." There are a few facts about our found- ing that should be acknowledged. Let's start at the beginning, namely the Amer- ican War of Independence (1775 -1783), a war between Great Britain and its 13 colonies, which declared independence in July 1776. The peace agreement that ended the war is known as the Treaty of Paris signed by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay and Henry Laurens and by British Commissioner Richard Os- wald, on Sept. 3, 1783. Article I of the Treaty held that "New Hampshire, Mas- sachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Prov- idence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela- ware, Maryland, Virginia, North Caro- lina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign and Independent States." Delegates from these states met in Philadelphia in 1787 to form a union. During the Philadelphia convention, a proposal was made to permit the feder- al government to suppress a seceding state. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, rejected it. Minutes from the debate paraphrased his opinion: "A union of the states containing such an in- gredient (would) provide for its own de- struction. The use of force against a state would look more like a declaration of war than an infliction of punish- ment and would probably be considered by the party at- tacked as a dissolution of all previous compacts by which it might be bound." During the ratification debates, Virginia's dele- gates said, "The powers granted under the Constitu- tion being derived from the people of the United States may be re- sumed by them whensoever the same shall be perverted to their injury or op- pression." The ratification documents of New York and Rhode Island expressed similar sentiments; namely, they held the right to dissolve their relationship with the United States. Ratification of the Constitution was by no means certain. States feared federal usurpation of their powers. If there were a provision to sup- press a seceding state, the Constitution would never have been ratified. The rat- ification votes were close with Virginia, New York and Massachusetts voting in favor by the slimmest of margins. Rhode Island initially rejected it in a popular ref- erendum and finally voted to ratify — 34 for, 32 against. Most Americans do not know that the first secessionist movement started in New England. Many New Englanders were infuriated by President Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which they saw as an unconstitution- al act. Timothy Pickering of Massachu- setts, who was George Washington's sec- retary of war and secretary of state, led the movement. He said, "The Eastern states must and will dissolve the union and form a separate government." Other prominent Americans such as John Quin- cy Adams, Elbridge Gerry, Fisher Ames, Josiah Quincy III and Joseph Story shared his call for secession. While the New England secession- ist movement was strong, it failed to garner support at the 1814-15 Hartford Convention. Even on the eve of the War of 1861, unionist politicians saw secession as a state's right. Rep. Jacob M. Kunkel of Mary- land said, "Any attempt to preserve the union between the states of this Confed- eracy by force would be impractical and destructive of republican liberty." New- York Tribune (Feb. 5, 1860): "If tyranny and despotism justified the Revolution of 1776, then we do not see why it would not justify the secession of Five Millions of Southrons from the Federal Union in 1861." The Detroit Free Press (Feb. 19, 1861): "An attempt to subjugate the se- ceded States, even if successful, could produce nothing but evil — evil unmit- igated in character and appalling in ex- tent." The New-York Times (March 21, 1861): "There is a growing sentiment throughout the North in favor of letting the Gulf States go." Confederate generals fought for in- dependence from the Union just as George Washington fought for indepen- dence from Great Britain. Those who la- bel Robert E. Lee and other Confeder- ate generals as traitors might also label George Washington a traitor. Great Brit- ain's King George III and the British par- liament would have agreed. Walter E. Williams is a professor of eco- nomics at George Mason University. ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the im- age which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer th- ee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known un- to thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 19 Then was Nebuchadnez- zar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Me- shach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their ho- sen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fi- ery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king's commandment was ur- gent, and the furnace exceed- ing hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery fur- nace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spa- ke, and said, Shadrach, Me- shach, and Abednego, ye ser- vants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, gover- nors, and captains, and the king's counselors, being gath- ered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his an- gel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a de- cree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego, in the province of Babylon. This week, with the start of major league baseball, we watched entire teams bow on one knee in homage to a fast-sweeping move- ment. In the last weeks since George Floyd's mur- der we have witnessed a political movement sweep through our nation. It isn't one like we have seen be- fore. It is one that simply does not allow dissent with- out grave consequence. Businesses, mayors, police chiefs, political leaders of all persuasions are taking a knee to the movement. King Nebuchadnezzar isn't there to cast those in disagreement into a fiery furnace. Yet retribution for not bowing is nearly as menacing in many parts of the country. Careers, live- lihoods and even person- al injury are at stake for those with the audacity to disagree. How did we get to the point where if you disagree, you are immediately and permanently labeled a rac- ist, or any other number of socially unacceptable pho- bics? A recent poll found 62 percent are afraid to ex- press their political opin- ions. This is the United States of America. This isn't a ba- nana republic, or the Soviet Union or China. But it cer- tainly resembles their tac- tics. Freedoms are quickly be- ing removed in the name of the crisis of the day. If we do not stand up now, it will only get harder to do so in the future. Instead of withdrawing, people need to express their opinions in a respect- ful way and explain how they came to that opin- ion. Yes, you may lose a friend, but if someone can- not agree to disagree on something, you haven't lost much of friend. But if you remain silent and let an ag- gressive mandate roll over you and your fellow coun- trymen, you will have lost your freedom of speech. Heritage Viewpoint By Katharine Cornell Gorka Standing up to the 'wokeness' of mob rule From around the country, we are hear- ing stories about companies, schools, uni- versities, and others that are making pub- lic confessions and flagellating themselves for America's supposed "systemic racism." What is most concerning about that is not only the falsehood of their claims and the denial of history that's required to make those claims (such as Princeton Uni- versity's statement that "anti-Blackness is foundational to America"), but the denial of free speech that ensues. Not only are they preempting any mean- ingful debate, they are punishing those who dare to dissent. Earlier this summer, a theatrical pro- ducer named Marie Cisco published a list of "Theaters Not Speaking Out," and she asked people to add names of those who had not made a statement "against injus- tices toward black people." So, at a time when theaters across the country were struggling to stay alive amid can- celed seasons, they al- so had to face this public hanging. Given such pressures, it's likely that more insti- tutions, fearful of being singled out, are going to join the trend and make public confessions about their "racism." That makes it all the more important that those who remain committed to free speech find ways to defend it. Among the most eloquent and notewor- thy examples of courage in the face of this censorious fire are Glenn Loury and Josh- ua Katz. Brown University in Rhode Island issued a letter on June 1, signed by its senior leader- ship, painting a picture of en- demic racism in America: The sadness comes from knowing that this is not a mere moment for our coun- try. This is historical, lasting, and persistent. Structures of power, deep-rooted histories of oppression, as well as prej- udice, outright bigotry and hate, directly and personally affect the lives of millions of people in this nation every minute and every hour. Loury, a professor of social sciences in Continued on page 11 Letter to the Editor No abatement. No free money. To the Editor: Property taxes continue to go up in Pike County. Assessment per acre for ag- riculture property has been going down for years. It was $1,850 in 2017, $1,610 in 2018, $1,560 in 2019 and $1,260 for 2020. If you own residential property, you have made up the difference with your taxes each of these years. The Legislative Services Agency's fis- cal notes estimate that farmland taxes were reduced by $125,000,000 in 2016 - 2017. The increased taxes by other tax- payers were raised by $101,000,000. Lo- cal governments lost $ 9,000,000 in 2016 and $15,000,000 in 2017. Farm ground taxes continue to be less and less today. This would have made up by you, you and you. Wasteful spending and over taxation by county government is out of control today. Even the thought of giving a tax abate- ment to an almost $10,000,000,000 com- pany is another thing. According to this company's or companies' information on- line, 60 percent of their project costs are paid for by the taxpayers in one way or another. If you could possibly keep up with all the numbers given in the recent coun- cil meeting, you noticed that the pre- senters were talking out of both sides of their mouths. From one side to another, $5,000,000 grew to several millions. County government recently gave a tax abatement to build a hog barn after the taxpayers had rebuffed a citizen of the county wanting to expand their hog busi- ness sometime ago. Just for information: I worked for 35 years and saved my mon- ey. I built a home in Pike County without any abatement or free money from any- one. I paid taxes on it from day one. I al- so purchased a small rental house and fixed it up, and have been paying taxes to Petersburg city and the county for sev- eral years. No abatement. No free money. I'm for any business wanting to spend their own money to build in Pike County, but the millions it will cost the taxpayer for four jobs is way too much. Jim Johns

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