The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1429961
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, November 17, 2021 B-7 elec- Dem- brought in We- progres- the come own think schools Gov- ex- Parents choices? Americans politicians to public student. protests schools! near- stu- per could good one an- money ... education spe- America." It students do countries. choice competition su- pric- provid- things to not in Cath- "public" often When Ameri- why so Today, work on government off. yours she the monopo- want about government-run like ter- that it's that offer- we wins Weingarten, and take 10 profession," I re- works When it still aired, Weingarten Hun- signs,and demand an Stossel! " out of yell at me I'd (probably hard with for a through high elementary They John, again by I would have taught in any classroom they picked. I wanted to videotape it. But then they showed their bureaucratic nature. A fter repeatedly resched- uled meetings, they decided that I would not be allowed to teach. Children are too import- ant to be entrusted to unions or government monopo- lies. Competition, parental choice, would bring innova- tion that will make schools much better. A fter Glenn Youngkin won the race for governor, he said, "We're going to intro- duce choice within our pub- lic school system." If he does it, it's about time. John Stossel is author of "Give Me a Break: How I Ex- posed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media." government. The attack on Kadhimi came two days after clash- es in Baghdad between gov- ernment forces and support- ers of the Iran-backed mili- tias, who were violently pro- testing the election results. There was an outburst of rock-throwing and an ex- change of gunfire that killed one protester and injured scores of others, as well as dozens of security personnel. Qais Khazali, the leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, accused Kadhimi of ordering the use of live ammunition against the protesters and said the prime minister should "pay the price" for the killing. The drone attack, an un- precedented escalation of threats against Iraq's govern- ment by Iran-backed militias, occurred shortly afterward. Iran moved quickly to in- tervene in the growing crisis. Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, who succeeded Soleimani as head of Iran's Quds Force, arrived in Baghdad to meet with Kadhimi within hours of the drone strike on Sunday. Although it's not known what he told Kadhimi—be- yond denying Iran was re- sponsible for the attack— it is likely that he cautioned Kadhimi against taking ac- tion against Iran's proxies. Ghaani may even have of- fered Kadhimi "protection" against further attacks if he was cooperative and stopped resisting Iranian efforts to dominate Iraq. While Ghaani lacks the in- timidating aura of Soleimani, as well as his unchallenged control over Iran-aligned Shia militias, Ghaani's sud- den appearance signaled Iran's strong interest in maintaining its influence in Iraq. The United States, in con- trast, supported Kadhimi with a phone call from Secre- tary of State Antony Blinken. Although expressing Amer- ican diplomatic and political support is important, it's not sufficient to offset the lethal threats posed by Iran and its proxy militias. Those threats—to Iraqis as well as to the 2,500 U.S. troops supporting the Iraqi government—will only get worse unless Iran is forced to pay a heavy price for its meddling in Iraq. Unfortunately, the Biden administration, fixated on reviving nuclear talks with Iran, is likely to turn a blind eye to Iran's shadow war against Kadhimi's govern- ment, just as it has played down the continuing attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi militias against American troops. This complacent response will only embolden Iran and lead it to launch more proxy attacks in Iraq and else- where. James Phillips is a senior re- search fellow for Middle East- ern affairs at The Heritage Foundation. Court Report FELONY Pike County Circuit Court Charles E. Deweese charged with count I intimidation, a level 5 felony, and count II disorderly conduct. Todd Thomas Hoffman charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in bodi- ly injury, a level 5 felony, and count II do- mestic battery on a person less than 14 years old, a level 6 felony. Jesus Tamayo Hernandez charged with count I resisting law enforcement, a lev- el 6 felony, and count II operating a vehi- cle while intoxicated. Gabriel H. Ramos charged with count I intimidation, a level 6 felony, count II re- sisting law enforcement, a level 6 felony, and count III operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Colton Eugene Mallory charged with count I possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony, count II battery against a public safety official, a level 6 felony, count III possession of paraphernalia and count IV resisting law enforcement. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANORS Pike County Circuit Court April D. Hotz charged with intimida- tion. Dean Sweany charged with domestic battery. Christopher William Heiple charged with driving while suspended, prior. CIVIL Pike County Circuit Court Bank of American, N.A. sues Tammy Hudson on complaint. Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC sues Ashtan Clark on complaint. Terry Warren sues Kayla Elise Gar- rett, Jeromy Garrett and Jim Norris on complaint. SMALL CLAIMS Pike County Circuit Court Brycen H. Knepp sues Christine Mar- tin on complaint. INFRACTIONS Pike County Circuit Court Jeffery S. Sinks charged with speed- ing. Lakshmipathi G. Nomula charged with speeding. Reese W. Noll charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Kendra N. Rodman charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Alexis Y. Morin charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Gaynecia S. Keusch charged with speeding. Darrian R. Herrera charged with speeding. Holly M. Walther charged with speed- ing, exceeding 30 mph. Clayton E. Besse charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Daniel W. Segal charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Tyshawn D. Flowers charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Emily N. Eckert charged with speed- ing. Romell Julien charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. MacGuire R. Butterfield charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Kevin L. Way charged with operating a motor vehicle with a fictitious plate. Bradley W. Frederick charged with speeding, exceeding 30 mph. Chasity Lay charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Zeberiah M. Stilwell charged with dis- regarding a stop sign. Emilie M. Miyake charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Stephen E. Carr charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Nicolas Santiago San Jose charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Samuel A. Yager charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Rachel M. Householder charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Corey D. Crowell charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Elijah T. Harris charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Michele L. Peaches charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Elle L. Erato charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Elizabeth R. Lapczynski charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Rufus Lacy charged with count I no valid driver's license and count II speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. William A. Kelly charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Madelyn C. Wittenbrink charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Kellie R. Head charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Madison G. Clifford charged with count I no valid driver's license and count II speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Christopher S. West charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Sarah L. Dorsett charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Davis E. Greenburg charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Claire E. Helfrich charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Brittany J. Stofleth charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Cuda L. Dimmett charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Matthew J. Goedde charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Da Shar J. Stewart charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Julian E. Boyd charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Bryer D. Nunn charged with speeding. Haven R. Crooks charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Richard A. Phillips charged with driv- ing while suspended. Dirk M. Fahey charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Chamaka D. Martin charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Christopher J. Fonner charged with speeding. Gordon Gene Powel charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Dean V. Fraker charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Kendra S. Lancaster charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Andrew J. Hill charged with speeding. Madeline L. Curry charged with speeding. Nicholas A. Kuebler charged with speeding. Joni D. Hayes charged with speeding. Sandra H. Payne charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Michael T. Keppler charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Austin J. Trimble charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Joseph M. Lewis charged with operat- ing with expired plates. Justin P. Jerger charged with speeding. Takarta S. Flagg charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Ronald R. Bullock charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Michelle A. Peters charged with driv- ing while suspended. Kimberly M. Scott charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Wadrian R. Cummings charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. David Glaskin charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Michelle C. Willis charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Kesnel Ophedna charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Tammy M. Lybarger charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. RUSE Continued from page 6 The challenge today is not to find a middle that doesn't exist. The challenge today is for Americans to choose who they are and what kind of country they want — free or not. Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show "Cure America with Star Parker." CENTER Continued from page 6 DRONES Continued from page 6 Dear Rusty: Social Security is deduct- ing $297 per month for my Medicare Part B coverage. I have what's called a "Windfall Elimina- tion Provision" because I re- ceive a pension from my for- mer State employer. Prior to my 65th Birthday in Ju- ly of this year, Social Secu- rity was paying me $764 per month, but when I turned 65 they reduced my amount to $467 per month. I read that the Part B premiums for 2021 are $148.50, so I won- der why I'm paying double that amount? Could it be that I never enrolled in Medi- care Part B and they just automatically started deducting that amount? Some sort of penalty? If so, it seems kind of high. Can you explain why I'm paying so much for Medicare Part B? Signed: Curi- ous About Medicare. Dear Curious: Your Part B premium of $297/month has nothing to do with the Windfall Elimination Provision ( WEP). WEP affects (reduces) your Social Se- curity retirement benefit amount but doesn't affect your Medicare premium. Your Medicare Part B premium is $297/ month because of a different Medicare rule known as "IRMA A," which is the "Income Related Medicare Adjustment Amount." Here's how IRMA A works: Medicare determines your Part B pre- mium amount each year using your com- bined income (from all sources) from two years prior, so your 2021 Part B premi- um is based upon your 2019 income. The income amount used to set your Part B premium is called your Modified Ad- justed Gross Income (MA- GI), which is your normal Adjusted Gross Income on your tax return plus any other non-taxable income you may have had (includ- ing half of your SS bene- fits, non-taxable interest, etc.). If your MAGI is over a certain threshold, your Part B premium is more than the stan- dard $148.50. The IRMA A thresholds at which you pay a higher Part B premium de- pend upon your tax filing status. A mar- ried couple filing jointly with MAGI un- der $176,001 pays the standard premi- um ($148.50 for 2021), and a single tax filer whose MAGI is under $ 88,001 al- so pays the standard Part B premium, but income exceeding those thresholds means a higher Part B premium. How much higher depends upon how much your MAGI exceeds the base amounts above. The Part B IRMA A premium in- creases on a scale relative to how much your MAGI exceeds the base threshold and, from what you've shared, it appears that your 2019 MAGI resulted in a 2021 Part B premium of $297/month. Since you were already collecting So- cial Security when you turned 65, you were automatically enrolled in Medi- care Part A (which is free) and Medicare Part B (for which you pay a premium), which is why your Medicare premium increased at that time. If you also have "creditable" healthcare from either your or your wife's employer ("creditable" is a group plan with at least 20 participants), you can dis-enroll from Medicare Part B by filing form CMS -1763 and having an interview with Social Security. That way you could save that $297 monthly Part B premium for as long as you have oth- er "creditable" employer coverage, and then re-enroll in Part B during the Spe- cial Enrollment Period which starts when your employer coverage ends (or shortly before to avoid a gap in healthcare cov- erage). If you have retired from working and your combined income in 2020 was much lower than in 2019, Social Security will automatically adjust your 2022 Medi- care Part B premium as appropriate for your combined income reported to the IRS on your 2020 tax return. If you re- tired in 2020, you might also wish to sub- mit form SSA-44 (www.ssa.gov/forms/ ssa-44-ext.pdf ) to claim a "life changing event," which may result in a smaller Part B premium for 2021 as well. To submit a question, visit website (amacfoundation.org/programs/so- cial-security-advisory) or email ssadvi- sor@amacfoundation.org. Why is my Medicare Part B premium so high? Social Security Matters By Rusty Gloor ally corresponded with lower tax collections from the rich. The scheme we should all be on to by now is that high- er tax rates on the rich are al- ways unfailingly gateways to taxing everyone else. The original 1913 income tax was 1 percent for people with incomes above $ 3,000 (about $ 83,000 today) and $4,000 in income for married couples (about $111,000 to- day). The top rate was 7 per- cent on $500,000 or more ($13.8 million). About 3 per- cent of the population was taxed. Congress promised the public two things: Tax rates would never go above 10 percent, and the middle class would never pay the tax. A few short years later, the highest rate was 70 per- cent, and almost everyone got socked with this new in- come tax to be paid by the rich. The Alternative Mini- mum Tax in the late 1960s was aimed at a handful of multimillionaires. However, it wasn't long before this tax gadget was squeezing mil- lions of people. Biden promises he will never tax anyone making less than $400,000. Really? Then why does he want to audit the transaction of ev- ery person with $10,000 or more in their bank accounts? It turns out that you may not think of yourself as rich. But Washington does. Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at FreedomWorks. He is also a co-founder of the Com- mittee to Unleash Prosperity and a Washington Examiner columnist. ECONOMY Continued from page 6 ident, taking office on January 20th, 1977. America was experiencing a period of "stagflation," which is a combination of slow economic growth with high infla- tion. The OPEC Oil-Embargo of 1973 and its aftermath was recent history. Distrust of government was at an all-time high be- cause of Watergate and the end of the Vietnam War and its after-effect. As president, Carter made no excuses about being a Christian. He regularly at- tended church at First Baptist Church, in Washington. Political wheelers and deal- ers found Carter a man of principle, con- viction, and deep faith. They found it dif- ficult to get Carter to "cut a deal" as is the norm in Washington. In confronting the energy and stagnation crisis, he looked to God for guidance and help in finding solu- tions. People hearing his speech might have thought it was more of a sermon than political theater. He began his sermon stating, "It's clear that the true problems of our na- tion are much deeper—deeper than gas- oline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession. And I realize more than ever that as President I need your help." He continues. "All the legislation in the world can't fix what's wrong with America." Carter is onto something here. Like a voice crying in the wilderness, Carter continues: "In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities and our faith in God, too many of us now worship self-in- dulgence and consumption." Let that sink into the gray matter. Churches are unfilled on Sunday while entertainment venues are filled to the brim. Communities have allowed hood- lums and race-baiters to burn down their cities, defund public safety, ransack businesses, while officials stand idly by wringing their hands paralyzed by their own political agenda. Carter says, "Human identity is no lon- ger defined by what one does but by what one owns…owning things and consum- ing things does not satisfy our longing for meaning." Sounds like something Je- sus would say. "And he said to them, So is the one who lays up treasure for him- self and is not rich toward God… Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not con- sist in the abundance of his possessions" (Lu 12:15 -21). Carter becomes a prophet. "As you know, there is a growing disrespect for government and for churches and for schools, the news media, and other in- stitutions. This is not a message of hap- piness or reassurance, but it is the truth and it is a warning." Carter issues a dire prediction for the future. "We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mis- taken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over oth- ers. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests end- ing in chaos and immobility. It is a cer- tain route to failure." Carter was calling for citizens to re- think their own value systems. To self-sacrifice; become their brother's keeper; and stop expecting government to solve all their problems. Carter had a powerful message from God in 1979. Carter's words were pro- phetic. We ignored his warnings and have continued down the path of self-in- dulgence and self-interest. People chose bondage over freedom. America is at war with itself and is fall- ing apart. The enemy is from within. Peo- ple have become too self-absorbed to re- alize the ship is taking on water and is sinking. There is encouragement and a solution on the way to rectify this mal- aise. "Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is draw- ing near" (Lu 21:28). Keep Praying! TEACH US Continued from page 6 To the Editor: In response to Star Park- er's October 27 article "Pro- gressives versus indepen- dent contractors," I would like to respond. I have talked to many of these independent contrac- tors on job sites. They all have several things in com- mon. They generally don't pay into workman's comp. The only health insurance they have is whatever the "state" provides. This means when they get hurt, I pay for it. The right-to-work issue is not complex. It is a low wage, union busting set of laws. Indiana is good at selling cheap. Cheap labor is the cor- nerstone in any economy. Let's bring back child la- bor, piece work at home. Why not put children in coal mines? It will build them character. Sadly, there is not right or wrong, only money. Thank you, Robert Heiden Letter to the Editor Response: Progressives versus independent contractors SUBSCRIBE TODAY! We're not afraid to shed some light on the truth. 812-354-8500