The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1436082
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, December 8, 2021 D-5 Fact-blockers cen- cen- Shel- Lombo- col- claim argues spreading and its censor- ap- Poy- claims "a nonpartisanship." nonpartisan. It like prais- they conserva- ap- call- to an forc- can be lat- par- "giving mak- concen- ar- nasty stop many Sci- because random such Tierney "false" fact- takeaway" chil- some- believe," World World under required to well-docu- mask," wear Germa- half-hour controver- things They that only ad- like cri- Shellenberger saying extinction," not! point- have ac- because than prov- was But tempera- the with your "fact-check- climate get now pow- Face- Some blame company can de- with "fact-checkers." mis- Lombo- know That's want to space.' goal the end Letter to the Editor Finally a time for joy To the Editor: This letter is for all my family and friends in Pike County and everywhere in between. We were blessed with a wonderful, sun- ny day for the Christmas parade. Good to see so many smiling faces, which we hav- en't seen in awhile. I think everyone was ready for some joy, especially me, hav- ing lost my husband and best friend of 45 years. It has been a struggle to get through everything. My children, grand- children, great-grandchildren and all the rest of my wonderful family and friends are what have kept me going. Very thank- ful for all of you. A very special thank you to the police- man at the end of the parade who gave my little great-grandkids coloring books, stickers and wristbands. These simple gestures of kindness are something they will always remember. Life has dealt us with lemons these last couple of years, so now it's time to make lemonade. A spe- cial thank you to everyone out there that has taken care of all of us. Bless you all. Sharon ( Jochim) Elkins up in a place where we only have approved facts that fit the current narrative. That would be a terrible outcome." But that's the outcome we've got. Facebook and its censors are now the enemy of open debate. "They're trying to sup- press people whose opinions and whose evidence they don't like," concludes Tier- ney. "They're not fact-check- ers, they're fact-blockers." The world doesn't need fact-blockers. We need more freedom to speak, not less. John Stossel is creator of Stossel TV and author of "Give Me a Break: How I Ex- posed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media." presence of peacekeeping troops. While A zerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev cele- brated the end of the conflict and the "restoration of A zer- baijan's territorial integrity," members of his administra- tion have signaled their dis- content with the cease-fire agreement. On Aug. 11, A zerbaijan's Ministry of Defense voiced concerns, through a state- ment, about repeated cease- fire violations, which includ- ed Armenians setting up new military posts in the Kara- bakh. "In accordance with the provisions of the trilateral statement, the peacekeeping forces of the Russian Feder- ation must put an end to the deployment of the Armenian armed forces in the territo- ries of the A zerbaijan Repub- lic, where they are temporar- ily deployed," the ministry statement said. Russia responded by blam- ing A zerbaijan for allegedly violating the cease-fire and carrying out strikes against the Armenian Armed Forces in Karabakh. A zerbaijan is also alarmed by Russian military drills taking place in Karabakh. One exercise focused on soldiers defending them- selves from drones. Consid- ering the crucial role drones played in A zerbaijan's victo- ry in last year's war, a mili- tary exercise of this nature was sure to raise eyebrows in Baku. More than ever, an endur- ing peace is needed between Armenia and A zerbaijan. Russia has not done enough to quell the violence between the two countries. Russia has also failed to lead on imple- menting the terms of last year's cease-fire agreement that it helped to broker. This is especially true in the case of new regional trade corri- dors opening. In the past, Russia has benefited from the conflict between Armenia and A zer- baijan. It allowed Moscow to have more influence in Baku and Yerevan and to sell weap- ons to both sides. While Rus- sia would not want to see a re- turn of major fighting, it is al- so unlikely to push for a last- ing and enduring peace. As long as there is tension between Armenia and A zer- baijan, Russia will have in- fluence and soldiers in an in- creasingly important region in the world. Luke Coffey oversees re- search on nations stretching from South America to the Middle East for the Heritage Foundation. Court Report FELONY Pike County Circuit Court Amanda K. Pride charged with count I possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony, and count II possession of par- aphernalia. Shanna Rose Bolin charged with count I possession of methamphetamine, a lev- el 6 felony, and count II possession of par- aphernalia. Caleb J. Like charged with count I un- lawful possession of a firearm by a se- rious violent felon, a level 4 felony, and count II maintaining a common nui- sance-controlled substances, a level 6 felony. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANORS Pike County Circuit Court Jacob D. Catt charged with operating a vehicle with an ACE of at least .08 but less than .15. Laterrance Kyles charged with posses- sion of marijuana. Marvin L. Goodrid charged with know- ing or intentionally operating a motor ve- hicle without ever receiving a license. Jason E. Allen charged with posses- sion of marijuana. Casey W. Brown charged with violation of rule adopted by director. Tiffany S. Nossett charged with operat- ing a vehicle with an ACE of .15 or more. CIVIL Pike County Circuit Court Joseph Clark sues Dave Baney on com- plaint. SMALL CLAIMS Pike County Circuit Court Autumn Apartments Partnership sues Deidra Pauw on complaint. Patoka Valley Apartments sues Made- lyn Gray Jochem on complaint. INFRACTIONS Pike County Circuit Court Austin Kirkwood charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Dakota A. Sims charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Cory N. Slaven charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Carson P. Peach charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Dale A. Sandy charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Amber S. Fox charged with no valid driver's license. Thomas John Glass charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Alan D. Tucker charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Jack M. Krywyn charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Heather R. Fox charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Jason Wang charged with speeding, ex- ceeding 70 mph. Lillian B. Fields charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Lisa M. Sears charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Alena Swindle charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Isaiah A. Travis charged with hunter orange violation ground blind. Aaron L. Bota charged with authoriza- tion for IAC conservation violations. Sue L. Foll charged with authorization for IAC conservation violations. Michael R. Slaven charged with disre- garding a stop sign. Lewi L. Hulsman charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Janice R. Yoder charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Christopher Villanueva charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Jackson R. Ellerman charged with speeding. Carly D. Cincotta charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Steve J. Lewis charged with speeding. Hannah C. Erny charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. BLOCKERS Continued from page 4 RUSSIA Continued from page 4 Dear Rusty: How can a foreign com- pany pay into the US Social Security sys- tem? I worked in Barbados before I immigrated to the USA and earned a pension there. Now my US Social Se- curity benefits are reduced because I receive a pension from Barbados. One has nothing to do with the other and I want my money back. Signed: Angry Immigrant. Dear Angry: Foreign companies don't pay into the U.S. Social Security system, and neither do residents of other countries working in their home country. But a resident of a foreign country who earns a pension in their home country, and who later moves to the U.S. and earns an additional U.S. Social Security pension, will have their U.S. Social Security benefit reduced by a provision of U.S. law called the Windfall Elimination Provision ( WEP). WEP was enacted by Congress in 1983 to eliminate what was viewed as "double dipping"— where someone with an extra pension (such as your Barbados pension earned without contributing to US Social Secu- rity) had their US Social Security (SS) benefit computed in the same way as a US resident who had no such extra "non-cov- ered" pension. The 1983 WEP rule cre- ated a special formula for those entitled to both a U.S. Social Se- curity benefit (earned by contributing to the US pro- gram) and another pension earned without contribut- ing to Social Security. Though you are adamant that one has nothing to do with the other, US law says otherwise. WEP reduc- es the US Social Securi- ty benefit of anyone with a "non-covered" (e.g., foreign) pension so that their US Social Security benefit is more consistent with benefits provided to others without an extra non-covered pension. US Social Security is designed to provide a higher percentage of replace- ment income to lower income workers, and those with an extra non-covered pen- sion enjoy an unfair advantage because their income artificially appears lower than it truly is. WEP was implemented by Congress to correct that unfair advan- tage. However, like you, almost everyone affected by WEP (which, by the way, in- cludes many public service employees in 27 U.S. states) believes it to be unfair and often complain about it to their Congres- sional Representatives. For information, there is a legislative bill now before Congress which proposes to eliminate WEP (H.R. 82 – The Social Security Fairness Act of 2021). I must, however, let you know that a bill to ei- ther eliminate or reform WEP has been introduced in nearly every Congress for many years, and no previous bill has ev- er made it past being introduced on the floor of the House or Senate and then as- signed to a committee for review, where progress seems to end. Although you want your money back, I'm afraid I can't offer you much hope that will ever happen. Congress is more fo- cused on other issues, including a much broader reform of the Social Security pro- gram to restore it to financial solvency before the SS Trust Fund is depleted in 2034 (which would require an across the board 21 percent reduction in all bene- fits). Whether WEP reform will be part of the corrective measures taken to re- store Social Security's finances is any- body's guess. But registering your objec- tion to the Windfall Elimination Provi- sion with your Congressional Represen- tative would be a step in that direction. To submit a question, visit website (amacfoundation.org/programs/so- cial-security-advisory) or email ssadvi- sor@amacfoundation.org. Social Security's WEP is unfair—I want my money back Social Security Matters By Rusty Gloor XL pipeline to trying to shut down other existing natu- ral gas pipelines in the Mid- west (Home heating costs are going way up this win- ter.) to shutting down much of Alaska oil production to new Environmental Protec- tion Agency rules making it very difficult and expensive to drill here in America. He is also preventing the mining of American coal, which is still one of the dominant sources of electric power around the world. He also wants to raise taxes on the oil and gas in- dustry. Now, let's be honest. Do any of these policies sug- gest that Biden and his lib- eral friends in the green-en- ergy movement want to keep oil and gas prices low? If you answer yes to that, you prob- ably believe that Al Gore in- vented the internet. Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at Freedom Works. He served as a member of Pres- ident Trump's Economic Re- covery Task Force. SECRET Continued from page 4 SCIENCE Continued from page 4 can be scientifically quanti- fied to prove God exists. Be- lief in God is a personal mat- ter and outside the realm of science. Those who worship at the altar of science declare the Bible is not a scientific textbook and is filled with in- accurate statements. Can this be an accurate statement? The book of Genesis says, "God said, Let us make man in our image, after our like- ness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…" Gen 1:26 -28. We read God took a rib from the man he created and cre- ated a woman from it. God brought her to the man and Adam said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall be- come one flesh" Gen 2:22-24. Science tells us a male has a "Y" chromosome and a wom- an has a "X". In reproduction, an X Y pairing makes a male and an X X pairing makes a female. It takes two to make one. The Genesis account of creation sounds scientific. The Bible says that Eve con- ceived and bore a son, Cain. She exclaimed, "I have got- ten a man with the help of the LORD." Gen 4:1. There it is, a bold statement of fact from the first mother. God is in creation and conception. Conception is creation! Bi- ological science confirms at conception, a living organism is created. Human life has be- gun. By affirming this cre- ative phenomenon, science validates God! Christians, Moslems, and Jews believe humans show God's creative power. We also possess some of God's DNA, so to speak. Genesis says that "the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature," Gen 2:7. God's breath gave life to dust. Without the breath of God, dust has no life. In death, humans return to their origi- nal element dust because the breath of God is gone. Without God, life does not exist. Advent has begun, and sev- eral billion Christians around the world will celebrate the birth of God. In Matthew we are told, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God is one of us)" Mt 1:23. With God, all things are possible, right? Soon after God's birth, "wise men from the east" ar- rived in Jerusalem asking, "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him" Matt. 2:2. Wise men, possi- bly astronomers, observed an event in the zodiac and went searching for its meaning. They believed God existed. When Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared unto his disciples and, "he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit" JN 20 :22. Once again, the breath of God through the power of the Holy Spirit creates life. John, in his Gospel, declares in Je- sus "was life, and the life was the light of men… But to all who received him, who be- lieved in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." Jesus' virgin birth was di- vinely engineered. Likewise, a Christian's new birth has the same divine touch. Jesus was a present sent from God for ev- eryone; that gift is eternal life through God's son Jesus the Christ. You cannot receive a better Christmas present than that. It is science that invent- ed weapons of mass destruc- tion. It is God who invented a savior who will save the world from destruction. I do not trust science. Do you? 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