The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1331323
D-4 Wednesday, Januar y 20, 2021 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 President Trump's Masada moment There seems to be only one area of common ground in our country today: agreement that something is wrong. But regarding what that "some- thing" is, and what we need to do, there is profound disagreement throughout the nation. The violence in which the sacred ground of our nation's Capitol build- ing was violated by unruly hooligans, resulting in the death of five, is a low point in our history. Clearly, something is wrong. But we won't be able to fix it until we de- fine it correctly. Those on the right are entirely cor- rect that the tone of violence, chaos and nihilism was set by the left. Our cities and institutions have been vandalized and looted with im- punity by the Black Lives Matter and Antifa movements over the last sev- eral years, receiving support and en- dorsement by Democratic Party lead- ers and, sadly, many business lead- ers. A fter a violent mob pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus in Baltimore, a journalist asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, "Shouldn't that be done by a commission or the city council, not a mob in the middle of the night throwing it into the har- bor? " Pelosi's response: "People will do what they do." The speaker tore up, for all to see on international television, the pres- ident's State of the Union address af- ter he finished discharging that con- stitutionally directed duty. I, of course, could go on. The point is that the answer to hor- rible behavior is not horrible behav- ior. It's the absolute secularization of the nation, the purge of the Almighty from our public life, the crowning politicians king of the universe, that is destroying us. Our democratic republic, our free- dom, is vital. But with no absolutes, it deteriorates to chaos. It is why President Lincoln re- fused to let the issue of the spread of slavery be submitted to democra- cy. There must be absolutes that pre- cede politics. It is the Ten Commandments where we learn that murder and theft are forbidden. When life and proper- ty are turned over to politics, the re- sult is the chaos we now see. The nation's high court, in many bad decisions over the last century, has undermined our Constitution as a limiting factor on federal govern- ment power. But the critical moment of detaching the nation as a free na- tion under God occurred in 1973, in the Roe v. Wade decision that legal- ized abortion. The federal govern- ment took charge of defining life and giving women license to destroy it. Then, in 2015, in the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, government seized the authority to define, or redefine, the sacred institution of marriage. President Trump had a success- ful presidency in his effort to "Make America Great Again." A powerful economy was restored and has sustained us through the COVID-19 crisis. Our courts are now filled with principled, conser- vative judges. The United States led the way to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and a new, un- believable peace has been achieved in the Middle East. But America cannot be great if America, as Alexis de Tocqueville said, is not good. President Trump now has an op- portunity to sign off on a powerful note that will totally change the ten- or that Democrats want to set. He cannot control Democrats' abil- ity to politicize events and impeach him. But, if they do it, he can take control by resigning. He can take the high, high ground, in contrast to their low, low ground. He can take responsibility for the horror that just occurred at the Capi- tol, because it occurred on his watch. And he can use the opportunity to de- clare that America must be a free na- tion under God, and that this is the great challenge that faces us going forward. He can turn the reins of leader- ship, in these waning days, to Vice Continued on page 5 Continued on page 5 I came across an article which I think is worth sharing. We all have to make decisions in life, some of which are small ones, and then there are some which are big ones. Here's a part of the article. One day, a young executive asked the president of his company, "How do you run the company so well? It gets more profitable each year. What's your secret? " "Well," the president said, "I make good deci- sions." The junior executive then asked, " How did you learn to make such good decisions? " "I have a lot of ex- perience," he replied. "But how did you get your experience? " came the next question. With a little smile, the president answered, "By making bad decisions." We all try to make good decisions, and often our decisions do work well . At the same time we all have made some bad decisions, and hopefully, we have learned from them. • • • Research has shown that peo- ple make good de- cisions when they follow a common sense process like the following: 1. Identify the de- cision you have to make. 2. Gath- er the information you'll need to make an informed deci- sion. 3. Write down all the alternative decisions you can think of. 4. Weigh the consequences of each alternative. 5. Choose the al- ternative you think is best. 6. Move forward to implement the decision. 7. Evaluate your decision. Was it the right one? What can you learn from it? Most of the secular management science unfortunately may not in- clude an important step in this pro- cess. It is asking the question, "Lord, what do you want me to do? " The article explains that every- day simple things we decide on may not require a deep discernment for the choices we have to make, but when it comes to life changing choic- es, that is when we need to ask for guidance. How then do we know that what we decide upon seems to be the right one? The arti- cle goes on to explain guide- lines on making choices. It might be a Scripture passage that you have come across or read. It might be that the Spirit helps you see a situation from a more godly perspective. It might be that the de- cision produces the most good and virtuous fruits, and that it produces the greatest sense of peace and joy over a long period. • • • Sometimes as we look back on our My Point of View By H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. Decisions, decisions Continued on page 5 Continued on page 5 Continued on page 5 Give Me a Break By John Stossel Teachers unions fail science Eye on the Economy By Stephen Moore Unleash Liberalism — and fail again I don't want to pray like it or not, it is January 20th, 2021 and we have a new presiden- tial administration. I realize there is a segment of the population that voted for the other candidate and is not pleased, but this is how our sys- tem works. The impeachment "crisis" will end with a whimper after much bloviat- ing. Theoretically, you cannot im- peach someone not in office. Sec- ondly, impeachment as discussed in the Federalists Papers is a polit- ical process. Congress defines what the crime is, and the Senate decides on conviction. What is more import- ant is what lies ahead for the United States. The nation politically and cul- turally is fractured. This has not oc- curred over night but began at least five or six decades ago. The nation is at the point where the progressive left is taking no prison- ers. This goes for politics, culture, morality, and the Church. This ev- ident in the recent purge of many conservative viewpoints from Face- book and Twitter. We as a nation are crossing the Rubicon. We have no God, Mount Sinai, or covenant that holds us together. We are defined as a nation of laws and many feel that is crumbling. The hope of the faithful is that we have a God in heaven who controls the levers of power. This is a hard concept for Christians to grasp and accept because the United States is a nation where the "people" elect their leaders. We may elect the leaders but God has control of the levers of power. The prophet Daniel wrote: "Bless- ed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and rais- es up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding." Let that sink in while you consider America's po- litical process. I have been the recipient of the po- litical policies from President Eisen- hower to President Trump. These men have feet of clay and were not elected as ecclesiastical leaders. Each administration has had an im- pact upon America both good and bad. Though congress controls the bud- get and passes laws that restrict our rights and liberties, it is the Presi- dent that gets the accolades or blame for what is right or wrong with Amer- ica. So what is the Christian to do? The answer is prayer. In the Apostle Paul's first letter to Timothy he writes "Therefore I ex- hort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth [I Tim- othy 2:1-4]. But I don't want to pray for that man or that woman. I do not like his/ her politics or lifestyle. He/she make my skin crawl. Setting aside the admonition of the apostle Paul, why would you not want to pray for a person that con- trols some aspects of your life? God has given your local mayor, governor, and the president power over you. Why would you not want to pray for his/her wellbeing and success? Do you not know the President has authority and power to launch a nu- clear strike against any nation that he chooses? This means against na- tions that can retaliate in like kind. In 1961 "President John F. Kenne- dy sat in the Cabinet Room with his top national-security aides and dis- cussed the idea of launching a nu- clear first strike against the Soviet Union. This was no theoretical chat… War seemed not merely possible but likely…officials in the Pentagon and the White House had worked out a plan for a first strike that would virtu- ally wipe out the Soviets' nuclear ar- senal, minimizing the chance of re- taliation….it had to be done by 1964." The American people did not know about this discussion until decades later. Again, why would you not pray for those that have rule over you? We have witnessed firsthand the power of local and state government exercised over the populous due to Is your child's school open now? Probably not — because teachers unions say that reopening would "put their health and safety at risk." They keep schools closed by lob- bying and protesting. "If I die from catching COVID-19 from being forced back into Pinellas County Schools, you can drop my dead body right here! " shouts one demonstra- tor in my new video. But schools rarely spread COVID-19. Studies on tens of thou- sands of people found "no consistent relationship between in-person K-12 schooling and the spread of the coro- navirus." Even Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, encouraged schools to re- open, saying "close the bars and keep the schools open." Heritage Foundation education re- searcher Lindsey Burke points out that studies in 191 countries find "no consistent link between reopen- ing schools and increased rates of COVID transmission." She says schools aren't COVID-19 hotspots. "But it's logical that they would be," I push back. "Kids are bunched together." "Positivity rates in schools are generally below those in the broad- er community," she says. Closed schools hurt low-income students most be- cause they have few- er learning alter- natives. The priv- ileged get around union restrictions. Almost all of Cal- ifornia's govern- ment-run schools are closed, but Cal- ifornia Governor Gavin Newsom's sends his kids to a private school that stayed open. "Choice for me, but not for thee! " quips Burke. Kids blocked from attending school suffer more than academic losses, she adds. "Kids are social ani- mals. A lack of their ability to interact in person, see their friends, see their teachers, is really having an impact." That's not a good enough reason to open schools, say the unions. In my video, one San Antonio teacher argues: "We understand that in-per- son learning is more effective than online teaching, but that's not the question. The question is what is safest." "But that's really not at the heart of why unions are trying to keep schools closed," says Burke. "It's re- ally a question of politics." Definitely. Union demands include all sorts of things un- related to teacher safety. The Los Angeles union demands: defunding the police, a mor- atorium on charter schools, higher taxes on the wealthy and "Medicare for All." "The Oregon Education Association ... said they want- ed the state to halt any trans- fers to virtual charter schools," says Burke. "There's clearly no health is- sue in a virtual setting." It's revealing that government-run schools fight to stay closed, while most businesses — private schools, restaurants, hair salons, gyms, etc., fight to be allowed to open. Why is that? Burke points out that government schools "receive fund- ing regardless of whether or not they reopen." So, union workers get paid even when they don't work. Not working seems to be a big union goal. At one point, L A teachers even se- cured a contract saying that they on- ly are "required to provide instruc- tion ... four hours per day" and they We were all told that 2021 would be a better year for the country, but the first two weeks could hardly have been worse. The left is out to discredit not just President Donald Trump and his indefensible behavior since the election but also his ideas. They are triumphantly saying that free market conservatism is dead and that the era of big government is back with a vengeance. Not so fast. I've lived through two major Dem- ocratic takeovers of Washington in my 35 years inside the capital belt- way. The first was in 1993, when Bill Clinton and the "new Democrats" seized complete control of power, and the second was in 2009, with the Barack Obama "hope and change" liberal agenda. In both cases, Dem- ocrats and their liberal allies outran their mandate from voters with "Hil- larycare" and then "Obamacare," ob- scenely obese spending bills, and a regulatory vice grip on American businesses large and small. In both cases, within two years of unchecked liberal mischief, voters had had it and pummeled the Dem- ocrats with massive Republican victo- ries from coast to coast from local dogcatcher races to congressional seats and governorships. My prediction is this is precise- ly what Democrats will do. The dom- inant far-left wing of the party will feel uncaged. The "squad" in the House, led by Rep. Al- exandria Ocasio-Cortez, will be de- manding a take-no-prisoners rush to socialist policies on health care, ed- ucation, student loans and climate change. President-elect Joe Biden has already announced that, right out of the gate, the Democrats will ram through a $2 to $ 3 trillion stim- ulus bill with the debt careening past the $ 30 trillion mark. Yes, they will try to jerry-rig the rules in Washington to sidestep ev- ery check and balance that was in- stalled by our Founding Fa- thers and nearly 230 years of speed bumps to protect the rights of the minori- ty. This means adios to the Senate filibuster and hello to court-packing schemes. The House Democrats have already canceled the "pay as you go" budget rules requir- ing new spending to be off- set with other deficit-reduc- tion measures. This whole leftist power agenda has a name: the "Great Reset," which is a repudiation of capitalism and free markets and a grand tilt toward re-empowering the elites and the rul- ing class. The globalists are all for it. So is the pope. Putting America first is to be replaced with globalism. As sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, Americans will be repulsed by this anti-freedom Court