The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1322401
D-4 Wednesday, December 23, 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 Trump: Promises made, kept A retrospective on President Don- ald Trump's four years in office must be put in perspective of what he him- self promised to accomplish when he ran: Make America Great Again. To answer the question requires, of course, defining what makes Amer- ica great and asking to what extent President Trump put the nation on course toward this goal. If one believes, as I do, that what makes America great is that it must be a free nation under God, that this stands at the core of what makes the nation prosperous and moral, I think President Trump's achievements have been significant. Probably the greatest paradox of this election is the Gallup poll done in September asking whether regis- tered voters were "better off now" than they were four years ago. The 56 % who responded yes was the high- est percent under any president run- ning for reelection since the question was first asked, when Ronald Reagan ran for reelection in 1984. Based on this, we would have expected Presi- dent Trump to be reelected in a land- slide. I would list major achievements of the Trump presidency under three headlines: economic reform that re- stored robust economic growth; ap- pointment of federal judges across the nation, up to the Supreme Court, who will restore a federal judiciary guided by conservative principles; and achievement of a new peace in the Middle East that seemed beyond anyone's reach. Another point of critical impor- tance is that Trump policies have been a boon to America's minorities. Despite the success of left-wing dem- agogues in portraying the Trump presidency as racist, facts show truth to be the complete opposite. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act fu- eled economic growth that the nation had not seen in years. This was aided further by deregu- lation. Tax cuts and deregulation tar- geted at restoring the global compet- itiveness of American business and restoring conditions friendly to in- vestment fueled job growth and an unemployment rate of 3.5% that no one thought possible. And, as reported by the Wall Street Journal: "Median weekly full-time earnings for blacks increased 19 % in Mr. Trump's first three years, to $ 806. That followed a period of 11% growth during Mr. Obama's seven post-recession years in office." According to the Federal Reserve's 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances, the largest growth in household net worth from 2016 to 2019 occurred in households in the lowest 20 % of in- come, 34.3% . Black median household income increased 7.9 % in 2019, the largest annual increase in history. And, in 2019, for the first time ev- er, the percentage of black house- holds earning above $75,000, 29.4% , exceeded the percentage earning be- low $25,000, 28.7% . With the confirmation of Trump's last Supreme Court appointment, As- sociate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, we now have a Supreme Court with a solid 6 -3 conservative majority. This in the overall context of 220 federal judicial appointments made by President Trump, establishing a powerful conservative basis in law for our free nation under God. Despite what liberals say, this is enormously important for minority Americans. An example is the Su- preme Court ruling earlier this year in the Espinoza v. Montana Depart- ment of Revenue case, which found unconstitutional the state prohibition of use of public funds for scholarships to attend private religious schools (known as the Blaine Amendment). This is a boon for school choice that poor and low-income Americans vi- tally need. And, of course, a conservative court raises the possibility of stop- ping the abortion carnage that is dev- astating black America. President Trump's courage in mov- ing the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognizing Jeru- salem as Israel's capital shined light throughout the world. And now we are seeing new peace agreements between Israel and Arab and Mus- lim nations that no one ever thought possible. Continued on page 5 Continued on page 5 This article is most appropriate for the event we are about to celebrate. This was a homily from our priest, Fr. Frank Renner. "On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we are getting to the heart of Christ- mas. On this Sunday we move deep- er in understanding the person of Je- sus. You know He is the reason for the season. We move deeper to the most amazing part of the Christmas story, the Incarnation. God became human flesh. What an amazing story our Gos- pel reading is today (Luke 1:26 -38). The God of all creation took on hu- man flesh in the Baby of Bethlehem. But why? Why did God come down to where we are? And why take the form of a helpless Baby? This was God's way of changing the heart of humanity. The objective is not to overwhelm humanity, lest you rob humanity of the freedom to choose. The object is to win the heart and souls of human beings in order to fashion a new creation. How would God accomplish this? God would become one of us. God came down to where we are. Evidently there was no oth- er way to lift us up than for God to come down to us. And God emptied himself. That is the significance of the Ba- by in the manger. God, who is pow- erful, made His appearance not in strength but in absolute weakness. Who is more help- less than a baby? God emptied Himself and became a human being. Eu- gene Patterson, author of the book "The Message," paraphrased the wonderful passage in Philippians 2:6 - 8 that speaks of Christ com- ing into the world like this: "When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became hu- man! " It was an incredibly humbling pro- cess. He didn't claim special privi- My Point of View By H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. A great love story Heritage Viewpoint By By Ana Rosa Quintana Mexico's efforts to undercut oil competition Continued on page 5 Continued on page 5 Continued on page 5 Give Me a Break By John Stossel Hero or traitor? Eye on the Economy By Stephen Moore Potential 900% tariffs on mattresses Be prepared for love The theme we chose for the Ad- vent Season this year was, "Be Pre- pared." We need to be prepared for hope because Peter wrote, "… and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meek- ness and fear." We need to be prepared for peace. Jesus told his disciples, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives." God's peace goes much deep- er than how we usually define peace. Peace is more than the absence of war. Peace from God provides for confidence and assurance that He is in control when life seems irrational. We need to be prepared for joy! Ne- hemiah wrote, "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." The joy of the Lord goes beyond laughter and being jovial; it provokes a sense of hope when life events close in. We need to be prepared for love. Christmas is entwined with the love that God has towards us. The most recognized and repeated scripture about God's love is John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoev- er believes in Him should not per- ish but have everlasting life." In this passage, we are introduced to the redemptive work of Christ which is wrapped in love. God gave his creation a gift; it is the gift of redemption and an open hand in fellowship with Him, and a promise of everlasting life. And that is just the beginning for Paul quotes Isaiah the prophet where he wrote, "But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have en- tered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'" We are challenged to be prepared for love! That sounds simple enough for we are all ready for expressions of love! Only the callous fail to react with a smile when they see children play or a baby laugh or when a gift is opened and the recipient reacts with joy. But when we think of God's love, it is often in the abstract-in the mind, an intellectual pursuit. Christmas signals the expression of the fullness of God's love. The apostle Paul reiterates John 3:16 in his letter to the Romans, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sin- ners, Christ died for us." At Christmas time the very na- ture of the celebration of love can- not be hid – a child was born – why? As we read John 3:16 – "For God so loved….," we have the answer. But if we are not careful, the word "love" can be weakened. In our cul- ture, the word love is so flagrantly used that it doesn't even compare to what God's love is. To many, love is like a young girl who giggles and whispers "I love you" as she slowly unwraps a choc- olate candy. Saying 'I love you' to a piece of candy pretty well sums up our society's casual approach to love. When was the last time you used the phrase "I love you? " How did you mean it, and why did you say it? How many people outside of fam- ily [and to some that is a chore] do you really love; and likewise who has told you that they love you? In the Church, we have brotherly love – family – we are a family, con- nected to one another. We are so con- nected because Christ loves us and told his disciples, "A new command- ment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." Who told you that they loved you five years ago, twenty years ago or more? Do they love you today? Imme- diate family does not count because we assume they do. For many, love is a feeling of the moment and has little to do with tomorrow and commitment. But Christmas reminds all that there is someone who loves us as much to- day as He did years ago. God's love never changes. He never has loved us more nor will He never love us less. In one verse, the love of Advent is summarized; "But God demon- strates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sin- ners, Christ died for us." The love of God shines at Advent because His love is transcendent and was revealed in Bethlehem centuries ago. Are you prepared to receive and to give love to others? Think about it! A recently revealed memo from the president of Mexico, written by Mexican officials, highlights a deep- ening of statist economic policy in that country. Mexican President Andres Man- uel Lopez Obrador has purportedly directed authorities to further un- do the 2014 energy liberalization by granting state-owned oil giant Petroleos de Mexico primary access to the country's electrical grid— meaning, the Mexican government is unfairly excluding private energy companies from participating in gov- ernment contracts in order to shield state-owned enterprises. While Lopez Obrador's oil nation- alism is well-known, this latest devel- opment could undermine the spirit of the recently signed U.S.-Mexico-Cana- da Agreement and hamstring foreign investments in Mex- ico. In response, a bipartisan and bi- cameral letter from members of the U.S. Congress to President Donald Trump highlights the urgency of this situation, claim- ing these threats "violate and con- tradict the spirit, if not the letter, of the USMCA." The U.S.-Mexico commercial rela- tionship is profound, as Mex- ico is the U.S.' largest trade partner, the largest export market for U.S. petroleum, and a growing destination for American-produced nat- ural gas. Abandoning a rules-based approach would undermine economic prosperity on both sides of the border. The coming into force of the USMCA in July of this year was a great step forward in U.S.-Mexico relations, but this trade President Donald Trump should pardon Edward Snowden. Who? I know, it's embarrassing — As- sange, Manning, Snowden... Who did what? I got them confused before I re- searched this topic. National secu- rity isn't my beat. I finally educat- ed myself this month because I got a chance to interview Snowden, the CIA/NSA employee who told the world that our government spied on us but lied to Congress about it. Now Snowden hides from Ameri- can authorities. We talked via Zoom. Fourteen years ago, when Snowden worked for the CIA, and then the NSA, he signed agreements saying he would not talk about what he did. I confronted him about breaking his promise. "What changed me," he answers, "was the realization that what our government actual- ly does was very dif- ferent than the pub- lic representation of it." The NSA's mass surveillance pro- gram was meant to find foreign ter- rorists. When con- gressmen asked NSA officials if, without warrants, they collected da- ta on Americans, they lied and said, "No." "There was a breathtaking sweep of intentional knowing public decep- tion," says Snowden. "We're captur- ing everything that your family is do- ing online." I asked Snowden if his co-workers had qualms. "In private, some said, 'This is cra- zy. I'm not sure this is legal, but you know what happens to people who talk about this.'" What does happen? Nothing terrible, said Pres- ident Barack Obama, who claimed Snowden could have revealed the government's lawbreaking legally. "There were other avenues avail- able," he told reporters. "What he said was incor- rect," Snowden tells me. Government officials protect them- selves by discrediting those who re- veal inconvenient truths. Previous whistleblowers lost their jobs. Some were shocked to be subjects of dawn raids by federal police with guns drawn. When import tariffs are under discussion in Washington, D.C., they typically revolve around rates of 5 percent to 25 percent on foreign goods. But what about duties on import- ed household items that can reach 300 percent, 500 percent or even 900 percent? Those are the tariff rates that some in Congress and the Trump administration propose on import- ed bedding products and mattress- es. Rates that high could drive some mattress prices from the $100 or $200 range to above $1,000. Talk about sticker shock. There is a classic clash in Wash- ington between big-name domestic mattress producers, such as Mis- souri-based Leggett and Platt and Georgia-based Elite Comfort Solutions against the import- ers. This group in- cludes Utah-based bedding company Malouf and retail home goods giant Ashley HomeStore. These tariffs would not be imposed on adversaries, such as China, Iran or Russia, but on allies, including Vietnam, Thailand, Malay- sia, Indonesia and Serbia. It isn't small potatoes. The bed- ding industry is roughly $10 billion of annual revenue, with upward of 30 million mattresses sold every year. With these new tariffs, a standard twin mattress im- ported from Turkey that sells at $129 could see its re- tail price quadruple to more than $ 600. A $ 99 mattress from Thailand could rise in price to $ 900, a punitive tar- iff rate of more than 900 per- cent. Those are price increas- es that would cause millions of people to literally lose sleep by not having the means to af- ford a new mattress. The claim is these Mount Everest tariffs are justified because Asian