The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1304002
B-6 Wednesday, October 28, 2020 The Press-Dispatch OPINION Submit Letters to the Editor: Letters must be signed and received by noon on Mondays. Email: editor@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Race for the Cure By Star Parker Points to Ponder By Rev. Ford Bond Stimulus funds benefit politicians, not taxpayers I recall several presidential elec- tions ago, an elementary school teacher wrote a newspaper column about a mock election he held in his class. Two students were nominated by their classmates, and then they cam- paigned for their votes. Who won the election? One of the students presented an agenda and reasonably argued for the merits of that agenda. The other student prom- ised ice cream for everyone who vot- ed for her. She won. It is an unusual politician who has the power and authority to give vot- ers ice cream but won't use that pow- er to buy votes. This is particularly true when vot- ers themselves believe that ice cream is crucial for their health and welfare. In a recent survey from Pew Re- search Center, 52 % said they prefer "bigger government providing more services," compared with 45% who said they prefer "smaller government providing fewer services." The majority of the American pub- lic have bought into the idea that gov- ernment can solve their problems. When a crisis hits, like now, the first instinct of most is that government needs to step in. So now, rather than talking about ice cream, let's talk about a few tril- lion dollars in stimulus spending. As a result of the first round of stimulus spending, the Congressio- nal Budget Office reports that the na- tion had a budget deficit of $ 3.1 tril- lion in fiscal year 2020. This is tri- ple the nearly trillion-dollar deficit in 2019, about which the CBO was already expressing concern. At $ 3.1 trillion, per the CBO, the deficit now stands at 15.2 % of our gross domestic product, the larg- est percentage since 1945, when we were fighting a world war. It puts the deficit equal to the size of the entire economy of Califor- nia, the largest state economy in the country. So, should the government now spend another few trillion on top of this? The economic recovery from the initial COVID-19 -lockdown shock has been remarkable. In six months' time, more than half of the 20 mil- lion-plus jobs that were lost have been regained. The unemployment rate, after peaking over 14% , has now dropped to 7.9 % . Is this strong recovery the result of government pumping several tril- lion dollars into the economy, add- ing those trillions to the debt burden shouldered by American taxpayers? According to some economists in- cluding Casey Mulligan of the Uni- versity of Chicago, former chief econ- omist of President Donald Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, not only did the government trillions not help but they also arguably hindered the recovery. The $ 600 -per-week supplement to unemployment insurance, per Mul- ligan, resulted in most of the unem- ployed getting more income than they had in their previous job. It just provided an incentive to not go back to work. The PPP loans to small business- es were conditioned on those busi- nesses keeping their standing work- force intact. But in a crisis, you want to change the way you're doing busi- ness, the opposite of what the gov- ernment demanded for businesses to qualify for the government money. Economist Brian Wesbury of First Trust Advisors zeros in on what has been driving this strong recovery. "(T)he sharp rebound," he writes, "is a testament to the underlying strength of the US economy before the shutdowns happened, combined with the seemingly unlimited inge- nuity of American people." "(T)he US entered this govern- ment-mandated recession with the highest incomes and lowest poverty rate we have ever recorded," contin- ues Wesbury. Let's recall that these great eco- nomic results were driven by the de- regulation and tax cuts enacted early in the Trump administration. So, it's about less government, not more. Continued on page 7 Continued on page 7 Continued on page 7 This article was widely circulated a long time ago, but it is very relevant to what's coming up November 3. Some time ago, Ann Landers printed a letter in her column that made a lot of readers stop and think. It was a person from Missouri who was alarmed at the growing number of people in the U.S. who are not ex- ercising their right to vote. Their ex- cuse was that their vote would not matter anyway. So why bother? And because these people have stopped voting, they also have stopped pay- ing serious attention to the issues and candidates. The letter quoted an article in an election manual. The title of the ar- ticle was "How important is One Vote? " Here are some examples of how important one single vote has been in our nation's history. Had it not been for one vote in 1776, our official language would be German instead of English. Had it not been for one vote in 1845, the state of Texas would not have become part of the U.S. Had it not been for one vote in 1868, Andrew Johnson would have been impeached as president of the U.S. Had it not been for one electoral vote in 1876, Ruth- erford Hayes would not have been elect- ed president of the U.S. In 1923, Adolf Hitler became the leader of the Na- zi party in Germa- ny by one vote. Just think of it. Had it not been for one vote, six million Jews may not have been slaughtered in the worst holocaust history. Had it not been for one vote, World War II, with all of it's pain and death, may never have taken place. The point is painfully clear. One person's exer- cise of the right to vote can make a tremendous difference. One vote can literally change the world. In today's crucial message for all citizens, we possess a dual citizen- ship. We are citizens of two worlds: citizens of earth and heaven. And because of our dual citizenship, we have responsibilities toward God and toward Caesar. These two obligations are like the two sides of the coin. A failure in our duty as citi- zens, literally, constitutes a failure in our duty as Chris- tians and people of faith. We have a grave responsibility to keep the administration of our nation from falling into the hands of unqualified gov- ernment officials. • • • I have been watching and follow- ing for a while just like everyone of us I presume, the demonstrations that have taken place in many major cit- ies. The last one was the demonstra- tion led by Reverend Franklin Gra- ham called the D.C. Prayer March at the National Mall on September 26. I certainly note the huge differ- ence between the two different groups of citizens who were partici- pants of the demonstrations. Several demonstrations we witnessed were My Point of View By H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. It is time to vote Heritage Viewpoint By Hans von Spakovsky Federal Appeals Court reminds judges not to change rules before or during election Continued on page 7 Continued on page 7 Minority View By Walter E. Williams Disgusting professional teachings It's hard to listen when your mind is in Six Flags the focal point of corporate wor- ship is the Word of God. The empha- sis on hearing and studying the Word can be traced to the development of the Synagogue around the 5th cen- tury BC. The Christian Church in its early form did not organize a sepa- rate meeting place but was part of the Synagogue. Over a short period of time a breech developed between those who followed Jesus as Messi- ah and those who rejected the mes- sage and the Church as a separate entity was born. The Church likewise centers its worship on hearing the minister, priest, or exhorter expound upon the scripture. However, at times all of God's people have trouble hearing for a variety of reason. Recently I ran across a blog from Thom Rainer and he suggests there is a lot more going on within each of us at Sunday Worship than we care to admit. Allow me to paraphrase his take on attentive worship. Sunday is the first day of the week but many see it as the end to the weekend. Sunday could just be an- other bad day of a string of bad days. It could be work or family issues that are consuming your mind and atten- tion so listening and processing a sermon is unlikely. You might as well be in Six Flags because that is where your mind is. Our modern lifestyle can wreak havoc upon our attentiveness. Radio and television have programmed us to be attentive for eight minutes at a time then its commercial break. Teachers have noticed this anciness in the classroom with elementary students. However, the typical Sun- day Worship service is 60 to 80 min- utes long. That is six to nine-eight minute periods with no break. In a world of instant everything, many in the Church demand get to the point messages. Effective preach- ing requires time to lay a foundation for the text. Congregants are thrill because their pastor can quote the latest Christian self-help books and contemporary subjects; but this if often at the expense of application. The relevance of a sermon to your life comes from the setting of the message. The latest emphasis upon preaching is not to exceed 12 to 18 minutes, which is no more than a ser- monette. Remember the old cliché, sermonettes make Christianettes. What happens to your concentra- tion and withitness in worship if a ba- by cries or a child whines? How about coughs or the sound system buzzes and screeches? How about the couple who snickers and coos behind you as they travel the path of love? The music wars. All of us have preferences to what we think is ap- propriate Church music. The tradi- tional church wants to hear hymns and anthems; the contemporary wants more praise songs. We often forget we are there to worship God in song and praise. God is the audience and we are the musicians. Worship is not for our entertainment. Pastors worth his/her salt knows music sets the tone for the message. Bad music does not facilitate good preaching; and neither does a bad attitude be- cause you do not like the music. One of the hardest obstacle for a person to get over is being hurt by his/her Church. This can be from an inadvertent snub of not getting your name on the birthday/anniversary list, to feeling hurt by a member of the church staff or a parishioner, or you feel in a recent sermon your life's situation was singled out. How do you join in singing In the Sweet By and By when you wish someone gone? Usually the reason given for a bad worship experience is bad preach- ing. I have heard the comments about pastors; "He's a legend in his own mind, He likes to hear himself talk, or He has a lot to say." I have prob- ably used them myself. Realistical- ly sometimes the message is boring. For whatever the reason the message doesn't even get past home plate. Re- member the apostle Paul once was so exhilarating someone fell out of a window. The final distraction comes from within and without. Jesus refers to this foe as the enemy [modernists re- frain from using the word Devil or The Supreme Court advises that judges should not change state and county election rules right before an election, a Cincinnati-based appeals court has reminded a lower court. The Ohio case, like others this election season, involves the use of ballot "drop boxes" and restrictions that officials may put on them while attempting to maintain the integrity of state elections. In a split decision, 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Grif- fin, writing for himself and Judge Amul Thapar, said: "The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that lower federal courts should or- dinarily not alter election rules on the eve of an election." Why did District Court Judge Dan Polster, a Clinton appointee, need the Oct. 9 reminder from the 6th Circuit panel? Because, as Griffin put it, "Here, the district court went a step further and altered election rules during an election." Here's what happened. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a di- rective that allowed ballot drop boxes to be placed only in a county's election office in secured, monitored settings. LaRose reasoned that under Ohio law, an absentee ballot could be returned only by mail or by "personally deliv - er[ing] it to the [election] director." In LaRose's view, this last require- ment meant that any drop box had to be located at a county's election board office. Polster disagreed, issuing what some called a "scathing decision" that required LaRose to allow drop boxes at additional locations. In the process, the district court judge sum- marily rebuffed concerns about elec- tion fraud, saying that LaRose "has not advanced any legitimate reason to prohibit a county board of elec- tions from utilizing off-site drop boxes and/or off-site delivery of ballots to staff." Polster also refused to stay his decision—put it on hold—to allow Ohio officials to appeal. That's when Griffin and Thapar, the 6th Circuit judg- es, stepped in to stay Pol- ster's decision themselves, dissolving his preliminary in- junction and reminding their fellow judge of his proper role. "Federal courts are not 'overseers and micromangers' of 'the minutiae of state election processes,'" they wrote, and "The district court in this case altered election rules during an election and in disregard for Ohio's important state interests." The two appeals judges made clear that even though LaRose's di- rective allowed a ballot drop box to be placed only at the board of elec- Note: The following column has some language and concepts that readers may find offensive. The ugliness that we have recent- ly witnessed including rioting, bil- lions of dollars of property destruc- tion, assaults, murders and gross- ly stupid claims about our nation has its origins on college campus- es. Two websites, College Reform and College Fix, report on the de- spicable teachings on college cam- puses across the nation. Let us look at some of it. In response to Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson's tweeting that he sup- ports "citizen soldiers" in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Tressie McMillan Cot- tom, a black professor at the Uni- versity of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's School of Information and Li- brary Science declared that "they have deputized all white people to murder us." Jesse A. Goldberg, professor in the English department at Auburn University who teaches classes in A frican American literature, Amer- ican literature and composition wrote a now-deleted post on Twit- ter, "The only ethical choice for any cop to make at this point is to refuse to do their job and quit." Eddie Glaude Jr., a Princeton Uni- versity professor and chairman of the Department of A frican Amer- ican Studies said that when it comes to policing in America "Black peo- ple still live under the slave codes." Glaude's tweet came in response to news that Jacob Blake was hand- cuffed to his hospital bed after be- ing shot by police in Kenosha, Wis- consin. Glaude added: "Placing shackles around the feet of Jacob Blake amounted to a phys- ical reminder that he was still, no matter the protests, a n**** in the eyes of these policemen." New School professor Richard Wolff has called for the abolition of grades. He claims they are not on- ly unfair to students, but also that they are a means of propping up capitalism, and as such, aca- demia would be better off do- ing away with grading entire- ly. He went on to say: "Grad- ing takes up much of my time that could be better spent on teaching or otherwise direct- ly interacting with students." Administering grades to stu- dents has "little education- al payoff" and "disrespects (students) as thinking peo- ple." Wichita Falls, Texas, station KF- DX-T V reported that Midwestern State University far-left philoso- phy professor Nathan Jun wrote on Facebook, "I want the entire world to burn until the last cop is strangled with the intestines of the last capi- talist, who is strangled in turn with the intestines of the last politician." Vanderbilt University scientist Heather Caslin Findley says that "white supremacy, racism, and prej- udice" are perpetuated by the con- FENOL TEACHINGS RULES