The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/751731
D-2 Opinion Wednesday, November 16, 2016 The Press-Dispatch net edition yeah, it's that fast! Z M www.PressDispatch.net/Subscribe It's The Press-Dispatch. No matter where you live. Delivered every Wednesday morning! Add it for $5 to your current print subscription or stand-alone for $35/year. Berman wrote back in the 1970s, "the public philoso- phy of America has shifted radically to a secular theo- ry of law, from a moral to a political or instrumental the- ory ... Law is now general- ly considered...to be simply a pragmatic device for ac- complishing specific politi- cal, economic, and social ob- jectives." Court decisions and pub- lic policy have methodical- ly put this secular, human- ist view into place over the last 75 years. We've taken prayer out of school and the Ten Commandments out of public spaces, legalized abortion on demand and re- defined marriage. The result is a nation run by judges and politicians with diminishing personal freedom and responsibility. Our economy is growing at sclerotic rates bogged down by huge debt to finance all the public programs enact- ed to supposedly make our society fairer and by tens of thousands of pages of regu- lations that pretend to make our society more just. We've destroyed more than 58 million of our in- fants since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, today half our babies are born to un- wed mothers, and 50 per- cent of American adults are married compared to 75 per- cent half a century ago. There is a deep feeling in America that something is wrong. In the latest Gal- lup poll, only 28 percent ex- pressed satisfaction with the direction of the country. This feeling of dissatisfac- tion is our conscience speak- ing. It is time to turn away from political answers and toward the God who, accord- ing to our Bible, gave us our freedom. Star Parker is an author and president of CURE, the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Contact her at www.urbancure.org. Continued from page 1 IDEALS dead? Hitler's Mein Kampf is a number one seller in Germany. How about The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zi- on? It can be purchased on Amazon for 99 cents [Kindle version] or downloaded else- where free. Marxism dead? The Communism Manifesto and Das Kapital is available for free download from mul- tiple websites. PC has been an enemy of Christian civilization in the western world. It has about been overthrown. Not by a better way or a more pro- gressive religion, but by he- donism and selfishness. The real issues of the 2016 presidential election should have centered upon "what type of world do you want your grandchildren to inherit? " What did we hear? We heard issues of moral- ity were based upon right to an abortion [which is always couched in issues of choice], same sex anything and ev- erything is to be valued, the transitory status of sexual identity is a right, and the right to euthanasia [Obam- acare for the elderly]. Issues of jobs, security, and immigration are impor- tant, but political correct- ness defined the issue. National security cannot be tied to unfettered undoc- umented immigration; that is a sign of xenophobia. Law and order cannot be tied to black-on-black kill- ings; that is racism. God forbid you mention the right to maintain your culture; that is intolerance. Really? Examine the escalating crime rates in Paris and Lon- don, or in the nations of Swe- den and Germany. All are cosmopolitan world-class cities and na- tions that are on the edge of cultural civil war. The reasons, though com- plexed, can be distilled into one simple sentence. The glue that held Western Civi- lization together, Christian- ity, has lost its place in soci- ety as a common agent. Christianity is no longer protected and enmeshed in daily life and has lost its in- fluence upon law. The wisest among us has decreed that we can have separate politi- cal and personal lives that are not connected by religion. Really? Outside of the Western world, where might you find that? Not in China, Russia, India, Japan, or Mus- lim dominated countries. We heard in this elec- tion cycle that we can vote for "Stronger Together or "Make America Great Again." What exactly does that mean? One is "crooked" while the other a "loose can- non." One embraces "failed polices" backed by Wall Street and banks while the other is "unproven" and is supported by a "basket of deplorables." We have survived bad presidents, and Trump is at this point an unknown, but we cannot survive the col- lapse of Christianity. What will take its place? That is what the real is- sue should have been about. Think about it! Continued from page 1 ISSUES er to walk about campus in a Che Guevara shirt when he's just an abstraction, and his notorious legacy and views are unknown to you. The sad thing is, this has nothing to do with actual in- telligence. I worked as a sub- stitute teacher in the Phila- delphia public schools in 1963 and 1964, and while I encountered an attitude of indifference from some stu- dents, many were eager to learn and advance, despite the odds against them. Five decades later, I don't believe that ratio has changed much. We've vast- ly increased federal fund- ing in the intervening years, but our students are no better off — indeed, in many ways, they're worse off. Their bright minds are clearly being underfed, if such a large number of them are more suspicious of capi- talism than communism. The need for more school choice and greater parental control in our education sys- tem should be obvious. The stakes are too high for us to simply shake our heads. Let's not forget the rest of Reagan's quote about free- dom: "We didn't pass it on to our children in the blood- stream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our chil- dren and our children's chil- dren what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ed Feulner is the founder of the Heritage Foundation (heritage.org). Continued from page 1 CIVIC Court Report Katiedid vs... by Katiedid Langrock The cheese aisle When I was in college, I had a stalk- er. This man would sneak in to my apartment at night, picking the lock or climbing through a window. I would wake up with him sitting on my bed, caressing my face. It was terrifying. So I did what any reasonable young wom- an would do: I dyed my hair red. "Desert rose," to be exact. Sometimes we indulge in the absurd to feel that we have some semblance of control over our own lives. A fter the election, I found myself grasping for something I could indulge in — some way of taking back control. I found it in the cheese aisle. Ah, yes, the cheese aisle — a ver- itable smorgasbord for your senses, with wheels of marbled masterpieces that can invoke a variety of reactions. The sharp, the stinky, the crumbly, the creamy — they were all there. So many options. So many cheeses I have nev- er tried, been too afraid to try. Yes, the cheese aisle is where I chose to (wo) man up and grab life by the Limburg- er. This is still my America, because darn it, we have cheese! And I wasn't the only one who sought comfort in colby jack. On Wednesday morning, there were notably more folks in the cheese aisle than usual. Ac- tually, that's not fair to say. Truth be told, I rarely visit the real cheese aisle — you know, the true-blue artisanal aisle, where you buy by the chunk that a cheese guru must siphon from the wheel. This area of the grocery has al- ways intimidated me. My palate is a precious little snowflake, and my wal- let is too restricted to risk spending $10 on a quarter-pound of whisked goat milk that would make me turn green with nausea. My preferred cheese aisle is really the hot dog aisle. It's the aisle with the cold cuts and the Lunchables and the pre- sliced cheddar and Kraft American cheese. I buy mozzarella sticks for my kids, pepper jack for my husband and, if I'm feel- ing particularly indul- gent, a wedge of Gouda or Brie for myself. But this need for control, for even the smallest victory, wouldn't be sati- ated with Gouda — not even smoked Gouda. And everyone loves smoked Gouda! No, I coveted something new and risky, the desert rose of Roquefort. Despite not knowing for certain whether the population eyeing the artisanal wheels of molded milk was larger than usual this past Wednes- day, I'm confident they were as new to this crock as I was. We had questions for the connoisseur in the floppy white hat behind the counter. So many ques- tions. We all turned the same shade of green or yellow when smelling certain styles. And we demanded samples. So many samples! Even if I knew the cur- rent cheesy offering was something I would abhor, I demanded a taste. It gave me something to lord over, some- thing to demand and to receive. A few fellow cheese samplers lost their nerve. They tried a single bite of something stinky and decided to go back to the packaged slices of Ameri- can cheese. But for me and a few oth- er brave Bergenost warriors, we held fast. There was no turning back. It was a new day and a new world, and we would find our place in it! The fight would begin with fromage! Those were the words playing out in my mind when the lady next to me started to choke. I came right out of my reverie to slap the back of the red- faced rebel. Turns out, not all cheese rinds are edible. Good to know. The man in the floppy hat feigned concern as he rolled his eyes. My new cheese warrior bestie walked a whey. She was done. I was not. And there were others who continued to sample — to chew, to swallow. We handed over our money and the sanctity of our taste buds for a moment of absurd control — of try- ing something new, of tasting a new reality. It was an educational experience. I found a few new cheeses that I actual- ly loved, others that were merely pal- atable and some that were straight- up disgusting. Disgusting to me, any- way. Clearly, there are enough folks who love the cheeses I found unpalat- able, or else they would not be sold. And there's the lesson. I learned something vital in this quest for culinary control: Even the stinkiest of cheeses can be swallowed — and, eventually, passed. Like Katiedid Langrock on Facebook, at http://www.facebook.com/katiedid- humor. CRIMINAL Pike Circuit Court Jon L. Harbison charged with count I stalking, a level 5 felony; count II criminal confinement; and count III residential entry. CIVIL DOCKET Pike Circuit Court Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC sues Melissa A. Goodpasture on com- plaint. Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC sues Barbara S. Miller on complaint. Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC sues Ellen Corn on complaint. Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC sues Ralph M. Godfrey on complaint. Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC sues Donna Margerison con complaint. Tina M. Willis sues Matthew H. Wil - lis for dissolution of marriage. Lawanna Birdsell sues George Bird- sell on complaint. INFRACTIONS Pike Circuit Court Kathy Ficklin charged disregarding a stop sign. Hannah Hillenbrand charged with speeding, 92 mph in a 70 zone. Rachel Oxender charged with speed- ing, 84 mph in a 70 zone. Emilee Shafer charged with seatbelt violation. Bradley Stoll charged with speeding, 93 mph in a 70 zone. Daniel Eads charged with speeding, 69 mph in a 55 zone. Breyton Booker charged with ex- pired plates. Rachel Cartwright charged with speeding, 73 mph in a 55 zone. Joshua Young charged with speeding, 90 mph in a 70 zone; and no operator's license in possession. Jacob Barnes charged with speeding, 87 mph in a 70 zone. Jessica Schaeffer charged with speed- ing, 71 mph in a 55 zone. rubber stamp either his ju- dicial nominees or whatever other agenda he has. More than that, Trump can be im- peached if he oversteps the bounds, without either the Republicans or the media screaming loud protests. Trump seems to pose much less danger – which, unfortunately, is the most we can expect this particu- lar election year. PART II In most Presidential elec- tion years, the most impor- tant vote is the vote for Pres- ident of the United States. This year, the most impor- tant vote looks like the vote for control of the Senate. Regardless of who wins the White House, the freedom that Americans have tak- en for granted – taken too much for granted, for far too long – can be destroyed by whomever the next Presi- dent puts on the Supreme Court. Since the Senate has the power to approve or disap- prove whatever nominee any President wants to put on the High Court, that makes the Senate this country's last line of defense against any headstrong President who puts his or her own pow- er ahead of the freedom of more than 300 million Amer- icans and of future genera- tions. The Senate is also the last line of defense against any President who exceeds his or her own authority, and thereby destroys the Con- stitution's balance of power among the three branches of government that has kept this country free for more than two centuries. If either party – wheth- er Democrats or Republi- cans – unites behind a Pres- ident with no regard for the Constitution, that party can change the fundamental na- ture of American govern- ment, leaving not only the in- cumbent President, but fu- ture Presidents as well, able to rule virtually by decree. When the Democrats con- trolled both Houses of Con- gress, as well as the White House, we came dangerous- ly close to that, with Presi- dent Obama virtually repeal- ing the immigration laws passed by Congress and is- suing executive orders on this and other issues that simply took over the legisla- tive power from Congress. Fortunately, there was still a third branch of gov- ernment – the federal judi- ciary – which put a stop to some of these illegal actions. But, if that third branch of government is also taken over by one party, there is nothing left as a barrier against unbridled power. The Democrats are united behind Hillary Clinton in a way that the Republicans are by no means united behind Donald Trump. Mrs. Clinton also has overwhelming sup- port by the media in a way that Mr. Trump never has and never will have. If either of these head- strong and self-centered in- dividuals were to overstep the Constitutional boundar- ies as President of the Unit- ed States, and endanger the freedom of Americans, only Donald Trump faces any real danger of being impeached by the House of Represen- tatives and then being re- moved from office by the Senate. This is not to predict that either of them will in fact be impeached by the House and removed by the Senate. But penalties exist in the law not just to punish peo- ple, but to deter them from doing things that the penal- ties are there to prevent. Trump would be on a shorter leash, even if the Republicans controlled the Senate. And there is no way that he doesn't know that fact, with some Republi- cans already refusing to endorse his candidacy and some even announcing that they plan to vote for Hillary Clinton. But, with the Democrats controlling the Senate, Mrs. Clinton would know that she had a blank check, instead of a Constitutional check on her powers. With the Sen- ate and the media on her side, there would be virtu- ally nothing she could not get away with. Control of the Senate mat- ters hugely, no matter who gets into the White House. It matters for the future of the Supreme Court, on which the rule of law depends, and it matters for keeping any President from running this country like a banana republic. The politically divided government, which the me- dia so often and so loud- ly lament, may be all that can keep the next four years from being the last four years for Constitution- al government and the free- dom that depends on it. Republican control of the Senate is a necessary, but by no means sufficient, pre- condition for keeping a head- strong President within bounds. There are still pain- ful memories of the preemp- tive surrender when Senator Lindsey Graham announced that he was going to vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, even be- fore she had been examined by the Senate. Regardless of who wins the White House or the Sen- ate, the voters are going to have to keep their feet to the fire, to make sure that Sen- ators do not simply take the path of least resistance. That path usually leads downhill, sometimes very far down- hill. Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institu- tion, Stanford University. His website is www.tsowell.com. CHOICES Continued from page 1