The Press-Dispatch
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C-6 Wednesday, October 7, 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 Blacks and Trump President Donald Trump just rolled out his new "Black Economic Empowerment Platinum Plan." The plan focuses on building on his achievements since 2016 to im- prove the lives of black Americans by creating more opportunity to par- ticipate in a growing economy and to achieve greater security in life and property. A poll by The Hill and HarrisX re- leased almost a month ago, after the Republican convention, showed ap- proval for Trump surging among blacks, to 24 percent — triple the 8 percent he got in the 2016 election. A recent Washington Post/ABC poll and a recent Wall Street Jour- nal/NBC News poll show the presi- dent at 9 percent and 5 percent black support, respectively. If indeed the post-convention surge in support from blacks is erod- ing, it's important to think about why that might be happening. The Census Bureau just published its annual report called "Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019." The data shows substantial econom- ic gains among black Americans that would very much justify strong new black support for the president. Among the data reported is annu- al gains in real median income for all U.S. households, and for black households in particular, from 1967 to 2019. The average U.S. household me- dian income increased 6.8 percent from 2018 to 2019, the largest in- crease in history. However, the me- dian black household income in- creased even more — 8 percent, al- so the largest in history. Furthermore, as American Enter- prise Institute economist Mark Per- ry notes, the 8 percent increase was "almost nine times the average annu- al increase of 0.90 percent over the last half-century." The report also breaks out black households by defining them as low-income, middle-income or high-income. Low-income is defined as $25,000 annual income or less, middle-income as $25,000 to $75,000 and high-income as above $75,000. In 2019, per the Census Bureau, 29.4 percent of black households were high-income, compared with 9.1 percent in 1967. Forty-one per- cent of black households were cat- egorized as middle-income in 2019, compared with 46.4 percent in 1967, and 28.7 percent were low-income in 2019, compared with 44.5 percent in 1967. The defining landmark moment in 2019 was that, for the first time ever, the percentage of black house- holds categorized as high-income, 29.4 percent, exceeded the percent- age of black households categorized as low-income, 28.7 percent. The per- centage of high-income black house- holds in 2019 was over three times that of 1967. If black support is not strengthen- ing with news like this, and is possi- bly even weakening, what is a possi- ble explanation? One possibility is the aggressive and very well-funded disinformation campaigns the left disseminates in- to black communities, shutting down good news and manufacturing bad news. I wrote a few weeks ago about a campaign initiated by my organiza- tion, the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, to disseminate into black inner cities via billboards the message that the way out of pover- ty is finishing school, taking any job and getting married. As I reported, Black Lives Matter in Milwaukee immediately protested and got the billboard company, Clear Channel Outdoor, to take down the billboards. Economist Perry examined the new Census Bureau data and checked the characteristics of high-income versus low-income families. His sum- mary: "(I)ndividuals in high-income households are far more likely than individuals in low-income house- holds to be well-educated, married, working full-time, and in their prime earning years. In contrast, individu- als in lower-income households are far more likely ... to be less-educat- ed, working part-time ... and living in single-parent or single households." The Census Bureau data bears out to the letter the truth about escap- ing poverty that my organization had posted in black neighborhoods and Continued on page 7 Continued on page 7 Continued on page 7 This article contains my person- al opinions and experiences on the difficult subject of microbiology and virology. In 1966, I had my first exposure to the science of microbiology and para- sitology. Two years of our learning in med school was focused on the intri- cacies and complexities of the world we could not see, except through the use of the microscope. It brings back memories of the amazing world of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and vi- ruses. We could see the three forms mentioned through microscopes, but since viruses required electron mi- croscope technology, which the uni- versity I went to did not have, we had to learn by looking at the pictures. Let me explain. To simplify what we saw through high-powered mi- croscopes, imagine bacteria as very tiny blueberries and red marbles. Some looked like corkscrews and half moons. During preparation of these materials for identification, they are made to absorb different colors and then placed on slides for viewing. Some were grown on gelat- inous materials to make them multi- ply and be harvest- ed for analysis. What about virus- es? Well, the ones we encountered during residency training were har- vested from fluids obtained from skin blisters, such as shingles and chick- en pox blisters. These viruses, when viewed under the electron microscope, looked like ultra tiny hot dogs with hairs. At that time, I was in Canada where part of our rotation was at Children's Hospi- tal of Toronto. The hospital had it's own electron microscope. For me to explain the details of harvesting, growing, staining, viewing is going to require volumes of pages. No need to do that. • • • So, several questions come up. From where did these biological materials originate? Why are they in our environment? What purpose do they serve, both good and bad? How do we elimi- nate them? How do we con- trol their growth? Should we live without them, completely make them vanish? No. Some are needed for our survival and some are very harmful. We have some answers, but there are still many myster- ies around them. Now that we are in the twenty-first centu- ry of scientific progress, we do know plenty about them. There are many things we have learned and under- stood about the world of disease and health, but there's still a universe of mystery we need to discover. • • • Let's go down to Earth. This COVID-19 virus, which is a protein depicted to look like a golf ball with spikes. Where did it originate? How does it make a person ill? Why are some who are infected remain as- My Point of View By H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. My thoughts on COVID-19 Heritage Viewpoint By Nicolas Loris Markets should drive vehicle choice Continued on page 7 Continued on page 7 Minority View By Walter E. Williams Supreme Court and rules of the game World means world Fecently World Communion Sun- day was observed by many elements of the global church and this even is worthy of comment. This celebration of unity is held on the first Sunday in October and was begun in 1933 by Pastor Hugh Kerr of Shadyside Pres- byterian Church at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His vision for World Communion was to "Bring church- es together in a service of Christian unity—in which everyone might re- ceive both inspiration and informa- tion, and above all, to know how im- portant the Church of Jesus Christ is, and how each congregation is inter- connected one with another." By 1940 the Federal Council of Churches [the predecessor to the National Council of Churches] em- braced Kerr's vision and began to promote it to its member churches worldwide. As mentioned, World Communion Sunday is an attempt to promote uni- ty among the many Church denomi- nations, which the latest estimate is about 34,000. When one considers the stagger- ing number of Christian denomina- tions the question arises, "Why are we so divided? " The answer is not as complexed as it would seem. In sim- ple terms the Church lacks the divine love that Christ prayed would direct His disciples. That is not to say Churches do not love one another, but the love is qual- ified, and where this is most apparent is in the lack of sharing Communion with those of other faith traditions. World Wide Communion Sunday should be a time where walls of di- vision are breached and Christian's globally embrace the love of God shown through Christ. Was it not Jesus who said in John's Gospel, "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one an- other. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another." COVID-19 reminds the Church that the human family is indeed con- nected, and regardless of religious profession, we are one family. This should especially be apparent to the Church. The Church and by extension Christians in all nations need to consciously think of their kinship in Christ. This is why James wrote "if a brother or sister be destitute of dai- ly food" give it to them. This should encourage all of us to live as brothers and sisters in God's family. All Church denominations choose their name with the intent to convey what they stand for and their connec- tion to Christ. For example the Cath- olic Church [Universal], the Ortho- dox Church [Right Way], the Disci- ples of Christ, the Church of Christ, the Lutheran Church [Follows Mar- tin Luther's teachings], the Wes- leyan Church [identifies with the teaching of John Wesley], Episcopal Church [governed by bishops], the Presbyterian Church [governed by elders], and the United Methodist Church [following a specific meth- od] just to mention a few. And with- out qualification, each has adopted a correct way to approach communion. Though the theology of Commu- nion is important, we should not al- low how individual Churches ap- proach serving and partaking of communion to dissuade us from unity. Different liturgies exist for com- munion throughout the world. Nev- ertheless, the message of God's love for us, made known in Christ, is pro- claimed boldly at the Table. Why would one refuse the grace of God to a child of God? The grace of God is what is proclaimed at the Table! As followers of Christ we should proclaim the message of unity and connection with all brothers and sis- ters at Christ's Table every Sunday of the year. Regardless how often we partake of Communion, we are gathering in spirit with other Chris- tians all over the globe and declare our oneness in Christ to Him, and with each other. Do not we expect the Holy Spirt to be among us as we partake of the el- ements that have been sanctified by the Lord's death? Christ and His love has the power to heal the wounds of the spirit, the family, the communi- ty, and between the nations. What should the litany of Com- munion consist of? A simple litur- gy would begin with "As part of the You know what they say: If you can't beat the competition … elim- inate it. That appears to be California Gov. Gavin Newsom's approach when he signed an executive order to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035. The order also calls for a phaseout of conven- tional trucks and buses "where fea- sible" by 2045. Newsom's proposed ban of gas-powered cars is a serious affront to consumer choice and markets. Granted, the transportation fuels sector could look very different 15 years from now, and the order could be largely irrelevant. If consumers want electric cars, let market forces meet that demand. Nonetheless, Newsom's proposal is backward thinking that could have a number of adverse economic and en- vironmental consequences. Currently, electric vehicles ac- count for about 2 percent of sales in the U.S. and 10 percent in California. Subsidies have boosted those sales, in which federal and state tax cred- its can surpass $10,000. So far, electric cars largely have been a luxury item for wealthy households. According to research from the Universi- ty of California at Berkeley, 90 percent of the tax credits ac- crue to America's top income quintile. To meet the state's push for more electric vehi- cles, there will like- ly be calls for addi- tional subsidies for automakers and car buyers, as well as subsidies for addi- tional charging infrastructure. A government mandate to "fuel" cars at outlets rather than gas pumps could put additional strain on Califor- nia's already strained electric grid. California has the third-highest electricity rates in the continental United States. The state's recent roll- ing blackouts demonstrated how af- fordable, reliable energy makes our lives, easier, safer, and more com- fortable. Without it, food perishes, communication becomes difficult, and families must suffer through harsher weather conditions. Beyond that, there are immense economic costs as businesses can- not operate efficiently, if at all. The underlying prob- lems of California's grid are that there is no market struc- ture that properly values re- liability, that there is a lack of accountability among grid operators, and that policy- makers have forced the pre- mature shutting of many con- ventional power plants. Perhaps California will wise up and introduce mar- ket reforms that actually improve reliability and affordability. If past is prologue, however, such reforms are unlikely. Even so, there were al- ready concerns regarding how Cali- fornia will handle peak electricity de- mands with the increased adoption of electric vehicles before Newsom's proposed ban. Newsom's strategy could also back- fire environmentally. For instance, consumer behavior might shift on the purchase of a car. They may choose to buy a gas-powered car in-state before the ban takes place. Or, rather than The United States Constitution's Article 2, Sec. 2, cl. 2, provides that the president of the United States "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States." Pres- ident Donald Trump has nominated Amy Coney Barrett as U.S. Supreme Court justice who will replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Barrett cur- rently serves as United States Circuit judge of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 7th Circuit serves the Midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. It is now the Senate's job to de- cide whether to confirm Barrett's appointment as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. In thinking about the Senate's criteria for making their decision, we might ask what is the role of a U.S. Supreme Court jus- tice? A reasonable answer is to recog- nize that our Constitution represents our rules of the game. It dictates what is and is not permissible behavior by government and its citizens. There- fore, a Supreme Court justice has one job and one job on- ly; namely, that of a referee. A referee's job, whether he is a football referee, baseball umpire or a Supreme Court justice, is to know the rules of the game and to ensure that those rules are evenly applied without bias. Do we want a referee or justice to allow em- pathy to influence their decisions? Let us answer this question using this year's Super Bowl as an example. The San Francisco 49ers have played in seven Super Bowls in their franchise history, winning five times. On the other hand, coming into the 2020 game, the Kansas City Chiefs had not won a Super Bowl title in 50 years. In anyone's book, this is a gross disparity. Should the refer- ees have the empathy to understand what it is like to be a perennial los- er, not winning a Super Bowl in five decades? What would you think of a referee whose play calls were guided by empathy or pity? Suppose a referee, in the name of compensatory justice, strin- gently applied pass interfer- ence or roughing the passer vi- olations against the San Fran- cisco 49ers and less stringent- ly against the Chiefs. Would you support a referee who re- fused to make offensive pass interference calls because he thought it was a silly rule? You would probably remind him that it is the league that makes the rules (foot- ball law), not referees. Supreme Court justices should be umpires or referees, enforcing neu- tral rules. Here is a somewhat triv- ial example of a neutral rule from my youth; let us call it Mom's Rule. On occasion, my sister and I would have lunch in my mother's absence. Either my younger sister or I would have the job of dividing the last piece of cake or pie. Almost always an ar-