The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1054616
The Press-Dispatch Opinion Wednesday, November 21, 2018 C- 9 • • • As the year is almost gone, I be- gin to wonder. Is it my memory that is getting shorter, or is time just fly- ing too fast. As I speak to my friends about age, we keep reminiscing events of yesteryears. Everybody seems to be of the opinion that it is hard to be- lieve time has gone too fast. It seems that the memory of my coming here into this community in 1978 will nev- er be erased from my hard drive. As I fast forward all the major events that have happened since then, it did not seem too long ago that I was carrying my one bag of luggage, full of hope, dreams and optimism. At the same time some monster was whispering in my ear that things will not work out. But by the grace of God, I think I have done some good for this commu- nity. And have been graced by a won- derful gift of my family: children and now 10 grandchildren and friends. I am forever grateful. To enumerate all these great graces will take volumes of space on this paper, which the edi- tor will surely not allow. • • • Humor of the week: A teen had just gotten his driver's permit, and in- quired of his father, if theycould dis- cuss his use of the car. His father said he'd make a deal with his son. "You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, get your hair cut and we'll talk about your car." The young man thought about that for a moment, decided he'd settle for the offer and they agreed on it. A f- ter about six weeks, his father said, "Son, I've been real proud of you. You brought your grades up and I have ob- served that you have been studying your Bible, but. . . I'm real disappoint- ed you haven't gotten your hair cut." The young man paused a moment and said, " You know Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in the Bible that Samson had a long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair, and there's strong argument that Jesus had long hair too. To this his father replied, "Did you also know they all walked everywhere they went? " Have a great week! Wisdom of the week: A grateful heart walks with great joy. Continued from page 8 THANKS Continued from page 8 LISTS SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY? Let us know at 812-354-8500! Pursuit of the Cure by Star Parker GOP has opportunity with young blacks Court Report CORRECTION It was incorrectly listed last week that Jessica Dessire Naran- jo was charged with possession of marijuana. It should have stated false informing. CRIMINAL Pike Circuit Court Edward William Diskey charged with count I criminal confinement, a level 5 felony, count II operating a mo- tor vehicle after forfeiture of license for life and count III interference with the reporting of a crime. Troy Robinson charged with count I domestic battery, a level 6 felony, and count II resisting law enforcement. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANOR Pike Circuit Court Joseph H. Noble charged with pos- session of marijuana. Jacob Askren charged with count I resisting law enforcement and count II false informing. Michael A. Smith charged with pos- session of marijuana. Eric Reid Salmon charged with in- vasion of privacy. Eddie L. Gerber charged with op- erating a vehicle with an ACE of .08 or more. Keith Eric Perkins charged with ha- rassment. Garett Allon Morley charged with invasion of privacy. CIVIL Pike Circuit Court LVNV Funding LLC sues Roy King on complaint. CACH LLC sues Jadea E. Russell on complaint. Terry L. Combs sues Mark Fox, Kathy Fox, Cassandra Fox, Ryan Fox, Estate of Ryan Fox, Jeff Brooks and Keri Barrett on complaint. Midland Funding LLC sues Denise Burch on complaint. Midland Funding LLC sues Sherri Blackburn on complaint. LVNV Funding sues Michael Do- ades on complaint. Terry Lynn O'Neill sues Teresa Sue O'Neill for dissolution of marriage. SMALL CLAIMS Pike Circuit Court Amy Hyneman sues Robert Higsby on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Steward T. Atkins on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Keith A. McGee on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues James A. Goodpasture on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Keith Benefiel on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Lindsay A. Miller on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Ja- son H. Bottoms on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Ja- na S. Brumfield on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Jo- hannon J. Hill on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Aar- on E. Lyons on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues An- drew R. Kendall on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Li- sa M. Jochum on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service uses Wesley Capehart on complaint. Hoosier Accounts Service sues Chanda S. Catt on complaint. INFRACTIONS Pike Circuit Court Brian Ader charged with speeding, 83 mph in a 70 zone. Casey Caringer charged with speeding, 84 mph in a 70 zone. Troy Church charged with speed- ing, 59 mph in a 35 zone. Kelsey Daniel charged with seat- belt violation. China Durst charged with speed- ing, 49 mph in a 35 zone. Steven Fuhrman charged with speeding, 39 mph in a 25 zone. Jacob Gidcumb charged with seat- belt violation. Michael Gilbert charged with seat- belt violation. Michelle Green charged with speeding, 95 mph in a 70 zone. Lesley Haddad charged with speed- ing, 39 mph in a 25 zone. Marguerite Hall charged with driv- ing while suspended. Amanda Hertaus charged with seat- belt violation. Anthony Mercer charged with speeding in school zone, 40 mph in a 25 zone. Therese Neidige charged with speeding, 69 mph in a 55 zone. Jennifer Phillips charged with speeding, 49 mph in a 35 zone. Donnie Pierce charged with speed- ing, 84 mph in a 70 zone. Stephanie Scott charged with oper- ating with expired plates. Richard Thomas charged with seat- belt violation. Brent Townley charged with speed- ing, 91 mph in a 70 zone. Amanda Wertman charged with speeding, 39 mph in a 25 zone. Continued from page 8 POLAND Continued from page 8 JESUS Continued from page 8 IDENTITY Continued from page 8 VIEWS al relations." This was reinforced in September when President Trump and President An- drzej Duda signed a "Decla- ration on Polish-American Strategic Partnership." Ac- cording to the two ambas- sadors, it "emphasizes the strong ties and common in- terests between our coun- tries in the areas of security and defense, energy, trade and investment, research and innovation." As Lech Walesa once said, "I am happy that Poland is returning to the road of pluralism and democracy." Working together with our Polish allies, let's make sure that, over the next 100 years, its star continues to rise. Ed Feulner is founder of The Heritage Foundation (heritage.org). consider: For males between the ages of 17 and 21 to pass the Army's fitness test, they must do 35 pushups, do 47 si- tups and run 2 miles in 16 min- utes, 36 seconds. Females in the same age group pass the fitness test by doing 13 push- ups, doing 47 situps and run- ning 2 miles in 19 minutes, 42 seconds (http://tinyurl.com/ yaphmzl). Would it be OK for males who cannot meet the male requirement to claim that they are females? Suppose a man is convict- ed and sentenced to a 10 -year term at California State Pris- on, Corcoran. Should he be able to claim that he is a wom- an and be allowed to serve out his sentence at the California Institution for Women? Before the U.S. Supreme Court is the case Students for Fair Admis- sions v. Harvard. The plain- tiffs allege that the univer- sity's admissions office dis- criminates against those of Asian descent. Those Asian students, with off-the-charts SAT scores, could have easily avoided anti-Asian discrimi- nation simply by claiming that they were black or Hispanic. Who at Harvard would have dared challenge their racial claim? A fter all, it's politically incorrect on college campus- es to suggest that one's skin color, one's eye shape or the sound of one's voice indicates his or her race. With privileges being de- termined by race and sex, we need something like South A frica's apartheid-era Popu- lation Registration Act of 1950 to define in clear terms who belongs to what race and what sex and thereby prevent race and sex fraud. Walter E. Williams is a pro- fessor of economics at George Mason University. ready being prevented from moving into empty school buildings, which would al- low them to admit more chil- dren from waiting lists. Denying these chil- dren what can be their one chance in life is a new low, even for politicians. Political rhetoric can cam- ouflage what is happening. But the arguments against charter schools are so pho- ny that anyone with a decent education should be able to see right through them. Un- fortunately, the very failure of many traditional public schools to provide a decent education enables their de- fenders to get away with ar- guments that could not sur- vive any serious analysis. Consider the incessant- ly repeated argument that charter schools are "tak- ing money away from the public schools." Charter schools are themselves pub- lic schools, educating chil- dren who have a legal right to be educated with taxpay- er money set aside for that purpose. When some frac- tion of children move from traditional public schools to charter schools, why should the same fraction of money not move with them? What is the money for, if not to educate children? The amount of taxpayer mon- ey spent per child in char- ter schools is seldom, if ev- er, greater than the amount spent per child in tradition- al public schools. Often it is less. Another argument used in attacking charter schools is that, despite particular char- ter schools with outstanding results, by and large charter school students' results on educational tests are no bet- ter than the results in tradi- tional public schools. Even if we accept this claim, it leaves out one crucial fact. White students and Asian students together constitute a majority of the students in traditional public schools. Black students and Hispanic students together constitute a majority of the students in charter schools. On virtually all education- al tests, black and Hispanic students score significantly lower than white and Asian students. If charter schools as a whole just produce edu- cational results comparable to those in traditional public schools as a whole, that is a big improvement. If you want to make a comparison of education- al results with compara- ble students, you can look at results among children living in the same neigh- borhood, at the same grade levels—and with both char- ter school children and chil- dren in a traditional school being educated in the very same building. Such comparisons in New York City showed, almost ev- ery time, a majority of the students in the traditional public school scoring in the bottom half in both math and English, while the per- centage of charter school students scoring in the top half was some multiple of the percentage of other stu- dents scoring that high. This is what the teachers' unions and the politicians want to put a stop to. Who will speak up for those chil- dren? a brother in the Lord." The question arises after reading the Letter to Phi- lemon. How can one treat another person as proper- ty? This very act begins the long march toward accept- ing that all people belong to the family of God and have worth. This concept en- twines itself with Paul writ- ing [as mentioned previous- ly] to the Galatians, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Je- sus." Jesus made humility, for- giveness, and love virtues; He said, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your ene- my.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Fa- ther in heaven." Christianity fundamen- tally changed the course of human history. The change was made possible by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. One word summarizes the Gospel message of Je- sus and defines Christiani- ty: Love! Love, as practiced and taught by Jesus is divine and Godly love. Christian- ity challenged the human family to love one another. Jesus told the religious that they were not to forget the sick, those in prison, and es- pecially the poor. Christmas is about mak- ing room for a baby, which should remind us to remem- ber widows and orphans, and the sick. Christmas reminds us that there is hope. The day- to-day events of life are pale when we look into the faith of the cross and see eterni- ty enveloping us in the here and now. Often we place our hope in temporal amuse- ments, wealth, or the latest fad, and we then wonder why we feel disappointed and question the purpose of life. This is the message of the Gospel that begins with Je- sus as a baby. A small gift depended upon mom and dad for its needs; who Him- self will take on the needs of the world. This baby Jesus who was the Christ changed our val- ues and capacity for forgive- ness. It is possible when we ask the Son of God to reside in our heart. Look around, and you'll find countless people who have invited Him into their lives, and that has made a difference their lives! Think about it! Buried in the mounds of data flesh- ing out what happened in the mid- term elections is an interesting take on blacks. Nationwide data on black voting in this election cycle do not point to much change. Various polls over re- cent months seemed to indicate that blacks were starting to warm up to Republicans and President Donald Trump. But blacks went 90 percent for Democrats and 8 percent for Republi- cans. Pretty much business as usual. However, digging down, we find something interesting. Blacks ages 18 to 29 voted 82 per- cent for Democrats and 14 percent for Republicans. That seems to point to change taking place among young blacks. Lending support to this conclusion is the fact that in the 2014 midterms, 18 -to-29 -year-old blacks voted in con- cert with the overall average, 88 per- cent for Democrats and 11 percent for Republicans. Either we have a fluke in this year's midterms or some kind of change in political thinking is taking hold among young A frican-Americans. I think there is good reason to be- lieve the latter. Of course, where it goes depends on how Republicans choose to think about and handle the situation. Adding to this curiosity is some- thing else of interest. The inclination to vote Republican as a function of age is the complete reverse for blacks as it is for whites. Younger blacks vote Republican at higher percentages than older blacks. Younger whites vote Republican at lower percentages than older whites. Compared with the 14 percent of 18 -to-29 -year-old blacks who voted Re- publican in the midterms, 6.5 percent of blacks 45 or older voted Republican. Compared with the 43 percent of 18 -to-29 -year-old whites who voted Republican, 58.5 percent of whites 45 or older voted Republican. How might we understand this? According to the Feder- al Reserve, as of 2016 me- dian black household income was $ 35,400, and median black house- hold net worth was $17,600. Contrast that with $ 61,200 median income and $171,000 median net worth for whites. A fter all these years of government programs to help low-income Ameri- cans, A frican-Americans, on average, are not catching up. Perhaps the message is sinking in to young blacks that what they need is more freedom and the kind of grow- ing economy that goes with it. They are seeing firsthand the re- sults in the economic recovery that has taken place over the past two years. There were over 650,000 more blacks working last month than there were in October 2017. Compared with the average monthly numbers of 2016, there were over 1.3 million more blacks working. According to reports that have been rolling out during this recovery, the boom has created a tight job market, which has created new opportunities for previously unemployable lower- end workers. This has meant new op- portunities for young blacks. Young white voters — who, on av- erage, come from higher-income homes and have a higher chance of getting help in start- ing out from their par- ents — seem to be likelier to buy into the big-government and social justice mindset than their parents and grandparents. Republicans should highlight for young blacks the critical im- portance of capitalism and a free economy for upward mobil- ity. However, they also need to inform them that the same Federal Reserve report showing large gaps in income and wealth between blacks and whites also shows 61 percent of white house- holds as having a married couple or romantic partners, compared with 37 percent of black households. The message is that wealth is creat- ed through freedom and family. President Trump won in 2016 by flipping states that were blue to red by very thin margins. Florida, for example, with 29 elec- toral votes, which Trump won by a margin of about 1 percentage point, will be critical in 2020. We see now the elections there for senator and gover- nor at razor-thin margins. Republicans should target A frican- Americans in Florida and other swing states with the message of upward mo- bility. It could make all the difference in 2020. Star Parker is an author and presi- dent of CURE, Center for Urban Renew- al and Education. Contact her at www. urbancure.org. its 8,100 stores. They announced it in self-flattering language about equal- ity and respect, but the bottom line is that Walgreen's executives have shrugged off the privacy and physi- cal safety of girls and women in 8,100 restrooms nationwide. It's not always clear where a Chris- tian should shop. Human Rights Cam- paign, a potent Sodomite advocacy or- ganization reports this year that 609 major businesses earned a perfect rat- ing for "LGBTQ equality." The T in that acronym is for "transgendered." Sometimes it's unclear because a company has some Christian-friendly practices and policies, as well as some hostility. According to conservative watchdog 2ndVote, Wal-Mart contrib- utes to three pro-abortion organiza- tions and two prolife organizations. It contributes to two organizations that favor same-sex marriage, and to one that favors traditional marriage. The American Family Association posts an annual "Naughty or Nice" list that rates retailers on their attitude to- ward Christmas. If the retailer is re- luctant to use the word Christmas in its promotions and marketing mate- rials, it ends up on the naughty list. This year, that would be Wal- green's, Family Dollar, Nordstom, Gap, Best Buy, Foot Locker, Barnes & Noble and 11 others. They list eight stores that are "marginal" (neither naughty nor nice), including Kohl's, Dollar General, CVS and Safeway. The good news is that there are 48 retailers on the nice list. There's certainly room for dis- agreement whether we want Christ- mas associated with commercial ac- tivity in the first place. It's not entire- ly clear that we should direct our pa- tronage to retailers who say "Merry Christmas" instead of "happy holi- days." But this much is clear: it's time for grown-up Christians to re-think our Christmas list.