The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1045736
B-10 Wednesday, October 31, 2018 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 The Weekly by Alden Heuring Them apples One of the many great things about fall is the apples. In our mod- ern world, apples are readily avail- able year-round, but September is a common "starting point" for har- vesting, and the fall months are a perfect time to enjoy apple pies, baked apples, apple cider, and whatever other apple dish you can dream up. But before you start gathering ingredients for your favorite ap- ple recipe, you've got to have the right apple for the job. There are many varieties of apple, but a few are common to almost every gro- cery store. Here's some tips and tricks about picking the right stuff from among those common apple varieties courtesy of the U.S. Ap- ple Association. Granny Smith Let's start with a tart. The Gran- ny Smith apple has a ne- on green skin and one of the most sour tastes among the apple variet- ies. If that's to your lik- ing, the USA A recom- mends using Granny Smiths as a snack, in a pie, or to make apple- sauce. And of course, you can always sweet- en to taste. Golden Delicious A yellow apple inside and out, the USA A describes the Gold- en Delicious as "a buttery, hon- ey taste to please." It's extreme- ly mild, almost the polar opposite of the Granny Smith. However, it will mix well with Granny Smiths in a crisp or pie, providing a good balanced flavor com- bination. Red Delicious While the USA A describes the Red Delicious as "the most widely recog- nized of all U.S. ap- ple varieties," my wife, Jill, describes this apple as "waxy, mealy and bleh." It was bred specifically to look good on a shelf, but not so much for taste. If you enjoy the Red De- licious anyway, try it sliced or in a salad, but Jill recommends any other variety on this list over it. While campaign stumping in Las Vegas, former Vice President Joe Biden said that American val- ues are being "shredded" by Pres- ident Donald Trump. According to Biden, the United States was founded "on an idea, an American idea, basic fundamental decency, and it's being shredded." Considering Biden's professed interest in American values and first principles, it's worth recall- ing the words of George Washing- ton in his Farewell Address. "Of all the dispositions and hab- its which lead to political prosper- ity, religion and morality are in- dispensible supports," observed our first president. He continued: "Where is the security for prop- erty, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation des- ert the oaths which are the instru- ments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution in- dulge the supposition that moral- ity can be maintained without re- ligion." In these few words, Washing- ton warned against everything that Biden's Democratic Party has become. Washington said that we should never buy into the illusion that we can have a lawful society Lucid Moments By Bart Stinson Democrats shred American values Shifting values and immigration Excercise your right to vote My Point of View by Dr. H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. In a week, we will again experi- ence one of the great gifts of de- mocracy, our right and privilege to elect citizens who step up to the plate and declare themselves will- ing to serve our communities- for the local, state and federal govern- ment. Year after year, our Country is in a non-stop hum of political ac- tivities to continue building our nation in order to make our lives hopefully safe, relatively prosper- ous and orderly. For more than 200 years, our experiment of govern- ing has made many outside of our country get bewildered, amused, somewhat envious and puzzled as to how we do it. I have had the priv- ilege of experiencing first hand the process of elections under three democracies. Believe me each one of them had very unique flavors, quirks and passions. Back in my nativeland the Phil- ippines, my mother who was a teacher and all the other teach- ers in the schools across the na- tion were the most trusted group of people who could supervise, wit- ness and undertake the very com- plicated process during the actu- al election. They also were entrust- ed in the tedious work of counting and guarding the ballots. As a teenager then at that time, my mom always counted on me to stay with her during voting day for some safety and witnessing. Their work started at 7 a.m. and ended about 2 to 4 a.m. the fol- lowing morning. The polling plac- es were teeming with people who were campaigning, witnessing and guarding the process. It got rath- er heated and at times scary vio- lent in some sections of the coun- try when those in power lost and would not accept the will of the electorate. I would rather not go into de- tails, but if the reader is curious, I'd be happy to tell my first hand experiences. Now comes my next It is customary in American cul- ture to reframe from speaking ill of the dead. Saudi dissident and col- umnists Jamal Khashoggi's mur- der in the Saudi Consulate in Tur- key has captivated the media for the last several weeks. He has been lionized for his critiques of the Kingdom [Saudi Arabia] and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. However, the press fails to mention that Khashoggi was no friend of democracy and Western Civilization. Khashoggi over the last year of self-imposed exile [he left the Kingdom fearing persecution] had become the heartthrob of the Western media because of his an- ti-Saudi critiques. News outlets report that he had more than two million twitter followers and was a regular guest on news outlets in the United States and Europe. He had ties to the United States, resided in In- diana, and graduat- ed from Indiana State University, in 1983. Nonetheless, his re- ligious/political views are at odds with the Western values that he was exposed to while attend- ing ISU. He joined the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1970s, whose aim is to rid Islam of Western in- fluence; and he embraced politi- cal Islam which calls for an Islam- ic Caliphate. Khashoggi had close ties with many of the Saudi Roy- al Family who Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has had arrested; Salman was on the receiving end of many biting critiques of Khasoggi, and the Prince is no friend of the Brotherhood. Khashoggi's death was an assassination of a dissident by the Saudi Royal Family. It was brazen and calcu- lated and was to go somewhat un- noticed. Obviously, that backfired. In the Western mindset, no per- Points to Ponder by Rev. Ford Bond A tragedy of epic proportions Continued on page 11 Continued on page 11 Continued on page 11 Continued on page 11 Minority View by Walter E. Williams Democratic-controlled house Continued on page 11 Continued on page 11 Continued on page 11 Democrats are hoping the com- ing election will give them a ma- jority in the House of Represen- tatives. Republicans and much of our nation dread that prospect. My question is: What would a House majority mean for the Democrats? Let's look at it. To control the House of Represen- tatives, Democrats must win at least 218 seats, which many predict as being likely. To control the Senate, Democrats must win enough seats to get to 51, which many predict is unlikely. Let's say the Democrats do take the House. If they were to pass a measure that Republicans in both houses didn't like and President Donald Trump didn't like, either, he could use his veto pen. To override Trump's veto, Democrats would need to meet the U.S. Constitution's require- ment that they muster a two-thirds vote in the House of Representa- tives (290 votes) and a two-thirds vote in the Senate (67 votes). Nei- ther would be likely. It's quite a challenge to over- ride a presidential veto. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the veto king, with 635 vetoes. Only nine of them were overridden. President Grover Cleveland ve- toed 584 congressio- nal measures and was overridden only seven times. If the House Democrats were to do all that they prom- ise to do and if Pres- ident Trump were to marshal the guts of Presidents Roosevelt and Cleveland—both Democrats, I might add —the next two years would be a sight to be- Remembering Buckley's pivotal role in the conservative movement Heritage Viewpoint by Edwin J. Feulner Pursuit of the Cure by Star Parker California State Senator Kev- in de Leon introduced SB 54, the California Values Act, on the first day of the 2017 legislative ses- sion. It would forbid California lo- cal law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration author- ities. Former U.S. Attorney Gen- eral Eric Holder and 100 law pro- fessors wrote letters in support of the measure. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcet- ti, La Raza, Planned Parenthood, Catholic Charities, the Quakers, the Iranian American Bar Associa- tion, the Children's Defense Fund, the Los Angeles County Demo- cratic Party, both major teachers' unions, the California Labor Fed- eration, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Civil Liberties Union supported SB 54, and Governor Jerry Brown signed it into law in October. It took effect at the beginning of this year. But some California communi- ties disagreed with the state's pow- er grab. Shasta, Tehama and Sis- kiyou Counties declared their de- fiance of state-mandated sanctu- ary in February. Although the new state law forbade local jailers to notify immigration authorities of a foreigner's release date, the Or- ange County Sheriff began post- ing it online. The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to join U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' lawsuit against the State of California to invalidate the sanc- tuary law. An unsympathetic fed- eral judge dismissed the case, and that is now on appeal to the 9th Cir- cuit (federal) Court of Appeals. The second smallest city in Orange County, Los Alamitos, passed an ordinance to declare it- self a non-sanctuary city. Orange County activist Shakeel Syed ac- cused the City Council of "hate," and taunted them that county- wide demographics have shifted against them. Indeed they have. Fifty years ago, Orange County was conser- vative Republican country. Mas- sive immigration into the coun- ty, especially in Santa Ana, has made it dependably and irrevers- ibly Democratic. But not so in prosperous, im- maculate Los Alamitos, still con- servative and heavily Republican. Los Alamitos leaders said cooper- ation with ICE (immigration en- forcement) is important to pro- tect their city from crime by illegal aliens. Their antagonists said that can't be their real reason, since crime rates are actually quite low in Los Alamitos. But I think Los Alamitos residents are entitled to want to keep it that way. At an outdoor rally against the Los Alamitos City Council, ACLU staff attorney Sameer Ahmed ac- cused the council of lawlessness. He said we can't tolerate local offi- cials unilaterally declaring a state law unconstitutional. This was breathtaking hypocri- sy on Ahmed's part. The Consti- tution explicitly reserves immi- gration law for the U.S. Congress, not for eccentric state legislatures. Neither is immigration policy up to the immigrants themselves. Whom we wish or do not wish to admit to our country is up to us, not to foreigners. Ahmed announced that the AC- LU is suing Los Alamitos for its decision to cooperate with the fed- eral government. The mayor said he was expecting the lawsuit, and planned for it. He opened a Go- fundme campaign to raise $100 thousand for the legal costs of de- fending the city's right to cooper- ate with federal law enforcement. =The last I heard, only $11 thou- sand had come in. This points up a vulnerabili- ty of local government, includ- ing school districts, local law en- forcement and criminal prosecu- tion. The ACLU and similar well- funded organizations have learned that they can prevail over the ma- jority by initiating or threatening litigation that will impose enor- mous financial burdens on the government entity, or monopolize scarce manpower.School districts fold their hands and capitulate to bullies who threaten lawsuits for Last week was a homecoming for me. But it was something more. On Oct. 18, I was in Chicago to re- ceive the annual William F. Buck- ley Prize for Leadership in Polit- ical Thought. On the occasion of this great honor, I couldn't help re- flecting on the fact that we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. Conservatives owe a huge debt to Bill Buckley. He didn't just start a magazine when he founded Na- tional Review in 1955. He planted a flag for many of us who bristled at the liberal orthodoxy then prev- alent in American society. The books that followed, along with his hosting television's "Fir- ing Line" for 33 years, showed how the tenets of conservative weren't something that had to be con- signed to history books and musty tomes. They were eternally true. They could — and should — be applied to the issues of the day. For so many of us, the philosophy of freedom found its voice in Bill Buckley and its platform in Na- tional Review. It soon became clear that Bill was developing not just a readership, but a national movement. NR was not simply an- other journal, but a political act. We intend, wrote Bill to a pro- spective supporter, "to revitalize the conservative position" and "in- fluence the opinion-makers" of the nation. The challenge was enormous. Nation- al Review was defi- antly eclectic, mak- ing room for every strand of conservative thought — libertar- ians, Burkeans, free marketers, Southern Agrarians, Madiso- nians and European monarchists. Exclud- ed were racists, anti-Semites and kooks. But Bill's influence went beyond his landmark magazine. His biog- raphy itself is conservatism's his- tory.