The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1316377
D-4 Wednesday, December 9, 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 Historic significance of Georgia Senate contests There is no word more overused in political life than "historic." But considering the runoff races for the two U.S. Senate seats in Geor- gia, "historic" is the right word. There is little of what we once thought of as middle ground remain- ing in the nation. Today, we've got the left, the right and not much in the center. With the far left now controlling the White House and the House of Representatives, only a Republi- can-controlled Senate stands in the way of what these two far-left cen- ters of power want to do and will be able to do. If Republicans do not win at least one of the two Georgia Senate races — leaving them a 51-seat Senate ma- jority — stand by for the most sweep- ing left-wing rewrite of our national script ever. Think about the Equality Act, which President-elect Joe Biden has set as a legislative priority for his first 100 days. The Equality Act pretends to pro- tect rights of LGBTQ individuals. But, like all left-wing rhetoric about protecting rights, it is really about using political power to force a giv- en agenda on all of us, in violation of the rights of those with compet- ing values. The law would open the door to eradicating any biological basis to defining gender and leave it to indi- viduals to decide for themselves what sex they happen to be — at any giv- en moment. These self-defined she-men, he-women and all combinations thereof would become a legally pro- tected class, meaning it would be against the law for any facilities in public spaces to give credence to men and women as unique, distinct, biologically determined entities. I am speaking about mandat- ed same-sex bathrooms and locker rooms in all public spaces, including public schools. Biden has committed to appoint- ing LGBTQ individuals to an array of federal government positions. This has nothing to do with pro- tecting rights. This is about using political power to advance LGBTQ. Can anyone imagine the fallout if any president were to announce a pri- ority of appointing evangelical Chris- tian Americans to an array of feder- al positions? For sure, I will receive threats and hate mail from those who allegedly care about freedom, because they think freedom means advancing their values at the expense of mine. Sex and gender are far from the only areas where the Biden left is to- tally detached from what was once known as reality. As the nation swims in red ink — with a mind-boggling $ 3 trillion defi- cit for the 2020 fiscal year and nation- al debt equal to the size of our entire economy — Biden's economic team thinks government should be spend- ing much more and be financed by trillions more debt bequeathed to our children and grandchildren. As cap- sulized by the Wall Street Journal, Biden's "advisers are also known for advocating expanded government spending they say would boost the economy's long-term potential, in areas that are liberal priorities such as education, infrastructure and the green economy, and policy changes aimed at narrowing racial disparities in the economy." Because ideology, not facts, is what interests liberals. They ignore the historically low black unemploy- ment rates and a historically low gap in black unemployment against the national average, all of which result- ed from President Donald Trump's tax cuts and deregulation. There is a long record showing that it's freedom and limited gov- ernment that maximize economic growth and opportunity. Sympathy is high in black commu- nities to empower parents to choose the school where their children learn. The left-wing crowd now in power is hostile toward this idea, in- cluding the economist who will take Continued on page 5 Continued on page 5 Continued on page 5 Last week I received a phone call that was very uplifting. A caller told me after a polite greeting that in about one hour, someone already in the vicinity of our county was going to hand me a certificate announcing me as a winner of ten thousand dol- lars and a title to a brand new Mer- cedes Benz. I always had a dream of owning an MB. Continuing on, he said in addition, I would also be given a document that entitles me to one thousand dollars a week for a lifetime. He said it was like the ad on T V from Publishers Clearance House where winners are surprised by all these gifts at no cost. I had two choices: hang up right away or engage him in a little more discussion, because I was curious how they convinced people to be- lieve what they offer. So I asked him if there was any cost at all for me, and he said absolutely none. He even added a comment that he was a good person, lived an honest life, a godly person who would not hurt anyone. He further instructed me to get a piece of paper and jot down some se- rial number, a code, and his name, and to hand it to the person who will show up in my residence. Now the conversation got more interesting. He said the process- ing fee was already paid for by their company. I just had to pay half of it and that was all. Naturally, my an- tennas were way up. He said this op- portunity would not happen again and there was no time to play games. So I said, "I'd be happy to comply but I'd like to have our local sheriff be able to protect their precious doc- uments and that he will be present in my residence to welcome their agent. And then I said "Hello, hello, are you still there? " I got disconnected for some reason. Shucks, I just lost ten grand, a car, and one grand every week for my lifetime. He might call back, but I will be very surprised. I've been taken off the suckers list, I'm sure. Yes, I did notify our local law enforcement office right away and told them in case a vehicle shows up in my driveway which I do not rec- ognize, I will call them back imme- diately. Obviously that was a scam call. I often wonder why peo- ple just can't make an honest living, but instead, do terrible misdeeds. • • • Normally I never answer suspicious calls but since I had just been awakened from a good nap when this guy called. I was not in a good mood and I wanted to under- stand the psychology of how these scammers carry on a conver- sation. Now I'm sure many of us get these annoying and dangerous calls and I'd like to share what I do some- times. If I get caught off guard which is very rare, I tell the other party I could hardly hear them. I tell them I have another phone number they could call since it will have a better recep- tion. I always give them a phone num- ber of another scammer who had pre- viously called me, since our phones always record previous spams or scam phone numbers. Sometimes, give them the phone number of a law My Point of View By H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. Lost money and lost car Heritage Viewpoint By David R. Burton Congress should not kick small businesses while they are down Continued on page 5 Continued on page 5 Minority View By Tom Sowell Walter E. Williams 1936-2020 COVID is producing a spiritual crisis Today the church office received a call that informed a parishioner had fallen and broken their hip and was scheduled for surgery. They are el- derly and this was going to be a ma- jor procedure. I stopped at the Infor- mation Desk at a central Indiana hos- pital and identified myself as a pastor needing to see a parishioner. A fter a phone call the receptionist informed me that they were not allowing any- one to visit. I replied to her "I am her pastor." Her reply was "We have Chaplains." Do you see any problems with her response? Do these Chaplains leave the hospital, go shopping, eat out, or frequent convenient stores; or are they sequestered in the basement like monks? My reply was "She does not need a Chaplain, she needs her pastor, and you are wrong-Christianity does not work like this." I meant no disrespect toward any chaplain or the woman at the desk. I am frustrated and angry at being denied access to the sick and hurt- ing. Anguish, fear, and anxiety never takes a day off-not even for COVID. Those in skilled care facilities need spiritual comfort from their pastor; the individual who has prayed with them, given them the sign of grace through the Eucharist, and is part of their life and family. This is not what a chaplain does. COVID-19 is a health issue, but it is not the Black Death of the 1300s. The sealing off of hospitals and long-term care facilities to the clergy is wrong. The sick are not only afflicted they are scared! People need spiritual as- surance and the experts say no-too risky. But these same experts leave the facilities and live as all of us do, and we hear daily how stressed and overworked these workers are and by the way, they are not immune to COVID. This policy is WRONG and sin- ful! The clergy historically has not stepped away from epidemics and war. During the Black Death many local priests died ministering to the sick and dying. Sure, there were lo- cal priests who abandoned their par- ishes, but they were in the minority. But the calling of a pastor is to minis- ter to all in health and sickness. That is our calling. To be denied access to a parishioner forces the local pas- tor/priest into the position of a hire- ling, who flees from adversity when it comes. Research how the clergy respond- ed and ministered during the Black Death. These men and women died at a higher rate than the populous. Why? They ministered to the sick, the dying, and buried the dead. What has our elected officials told the Church? Lock your doors and hope you don't die! If we ask, "What do we tell our parishioners, we are as- sured by the experts 'They will un- derstand! '" How does the dedicated clergy person answer such an absurd state- ment? Being a pastor or clergy person is a calling and as vital and important as a physician. The physician may be able to heal the body, but the clergy are entrusted with the transcendent mysteries of God which cannot be ad- ministered by the health profession. Who ministers to the disenfran- chised around the world? The lo- cal pastor/priest or nun. These men and women are exposed to Ebola, encephalitis, leprosy, and many un- known pathogens. These dedicated saints put their lives on the line just as much if not more than the Doc- tors Without Borders. But here in Hancock County, we are told to lock the church and stay home, and don't even think about ministering to the sick. I am sure some will suggest I could have called, sent a text, or connect- ed through facetime or even zoom- that would be okay. I can assure you it is not. Any seasoned pastor has visited a parishioner in the hospital and heard "Pastor, you did not need come, you could have called, but I am glad you came." The transcen- dence of God's presence and power of the Holy Spirit is intended to work through the Church and the clergy. God is not an iPad or a smartphone. I pray I never have to stand outside of a hospital in the grass or parking Progressives and some Repub- licans are trying to sneak a bill in- to the National Defense Authoriza- tion Act that would impose a benefi- cial ownership reporting regime on small businesses. It would create a large compliance burden on approx- imately 11 million businesses with 20 or fewer employees (the only non-ex- empt category) and would create as many as a million inadvertent fel- ons. Given the economic reverses that most small businesses have suf- fered this year, this is precisely the wrong time to impose a massive new federal compliance burden on only small firms. The exact language that may be included in the National Defense Au- thorization Act is unclear, but Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., is al- ready celebrating inclusion of the inaptly named Corporate Transpar- ency Act—which has passed in the House—in the National Defense Au- thorization Act. This celebration is very premature. Under the bill, small businesses would be subject to fines and imprison- ment unless they file the proper re- ports with the Trea- sury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Net- work. The rules gov- erning the reporting are complex and full of ambiguities. The proposed beneficial ownership reporting rules are easily and lawfully avoided by the sophisticated, so they would do vir- tually nothing to achieve their stat- ed aim of protecting society from ter- rorism, drug dealers, tax evasion, or other forms of illicit finance. Those most able to abuse the financial sys- tem would be exempt. Furthermore, the vast majority of the information that the proposed reporting regime would obtain is al- ready provided to the IRS. Allow- ing the IRS to share this in- formation with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Net- work would better meet the needs of law enforcement by providing more comprehen- sive information and better enforcement than would the proposed reporting regime. The Senate version of the National Defense Authoriza- tion Act does not include a beneficial ownership report- ing regime. The conference commit- tee that is resolving the differences between the House and Senate ver- sions of the National Defense Autho- rization Act should reject the effort to include a beneficial ownership re- porting regime for small business- es in the National Defense Authori- zation Act. David Burton is a Senior Fellow in Walter Williams loved teaching. Unlike too many other teachers to- day, he made it a point never to im- pose his opinions on his students. Those who read his syndicated newspaper columns know that he expressed his opinions boldly and unequivocally there. But not in the classroom. Walter once said he hoped that, on the day he died, he would have taught a class that day. And that is just the way it was, when he died on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. He was my best friend for half a century. There was no one I trusted more or whose integrity I respected more. Since he was younger than me, I chose him to be my literary exec- utor, to take control of my books af- ter I was gone. But his death is a reminder that no one really has anything to say about such things. As an economist, Walter Williams never got the credit he deserved. His book "Race and Economics" is a must-read introduction to the sub- ject. Amazon has it ranked 5th in sales among civil rights books, 9 years after it was published. Another book of his, on the effects of economics un- der the white su- premacist apart- heid regime in South A frica, was ti- tled "South A frica's War Against Capi- talism." He went to South A frica to study the situation di- rectly. Many of the things he brought out have implications for racial dis- crimination in other places around the world. I have had many occasions to cite Walter Williams' research in my own books. Most of what others say about higher prices in low income neigh- borhoods today has not yet caught up to what Walter said in his doctor- al dissertation decades ago. Despite his opposition to the wel- fare state, as something doing more harm than good, Walter was private- ly very generous with both his mon- ey and his time in helping oth- ers. He figured he had a right to do whatever he wanted to with his own money, but that politicians had no right to take his money to give away, in order to get votes. In a letter dated March 3, 1975, Walter said: "Some- times it is a very lonely strug- gle trying to help our people, particularly the ones who do not re- alize that help is needed." In the same letter, he mentioned a certain hospital which "has an all but written policy of prohibiting the flunking of black medical students." Not long after this, a professor at a prestigious medical school revealed that black students there were given passing grades without having met the standards applied to other stu- dents. He warned that trusting pa- tients would pay — some with their CRISIS