The Press-Dispatch
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Opinion C-2 Wednesday, November 13, 2013 The Press-Dispatch Observations by Thomas Sowell An old 'new' program Like so many things that seem new, ObamaCare is in many ways old wine in new bottles. For example, when confronted with the fact that millions of Americans stand to lose their existing medical insurance, as a result of ObamaCare, defenders of ObamaCare say that this is true only when those people have "substandard" insurance. Who decides what is "substandard"? What is older than the idea that some exalted elite know what is good for us better than we know ourselves? Obama uses the rhetoric of going "forward," but he is in fact going backward to an age when despots told everybody what they had better do and better not do. ObamaCare is old in yet another way. One of the fundamental reasons why pri- Thanking our Veterans By Ed Feulner It's one thing to say, "Thank a veteran." It's another to actually do something to show that gratitude. Take the World War II veterans that made headlines last month during the government shutdown. Largely overlooked in the furor that erupted when they were barricaded from their own memorial is how they got to Washington, D.C., in the first place: through a nonprofit group known as the Honor Flight Network. The seed that would create the HFN was planted shortly after the WWII memorial opened in 2004. Earl Morse, a retired Air Force captain working in a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Springfield, Ohio, knew from talking to patients who were veterans that most wanted to see it. But then, he said, "I would see my World War II veterans some three, six months later, and I'd ask them if they'd gone to see it. Three hundred of them, and not one of them had been to it. Reality set in. They were never going." Not without the help of the good-hearted individuals who would come to comprise the network of volunteers that make the honor flights possible. The HFN started small, of course, but soon spread, ably assisted by Morse's co-founder, Jeff Miller, a small-business owner in North Carolina who is the son of a WWII vet. Today, the program has 127 "hubs" in 41 states and has transported about 100,000 veterans to see the memorial. Local volunteers nationwide arrange for the veterans to board the flights, while others at the Washington end meet, greet and transport them from Washington's airports to the site. This is a prime example of one of our nation's greatest strengths, one that's worth celebrating as we mark another Veterans' Day: how capable Americans are of pulling together and acting in ways that benefit not just ourselves, but our neighborhoods and our communities. Our World War II vets saw our national motto, E Pluribus Unum (Latin for "Out of many, one"), become a reality in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. Upon hearing the news of the first attack on the United States since the British Invasion in the war of 1812, our nation united as one against Japan and its allies Germany and Italy. In the months following the attack, America's military personnel grew from 1.933 million in October 1941 to 3 million by April 1942, and 5.2 million by October 1942. By October 1944 it would contain 11.9 million personnel who had signed up to serve. Those soldiers, the vast majority of whom had never set foot on the islands of Hawaii or knew any of the 2,340 men killed in the attack, were not directly affected or threatened by the Japanese assault. Yet they signed up to protect their fellow citizens and their nation. The patriotism of these recruits, their sense of community, and courage, brought them together to volunteer to risk their lives in ways they could hardly foresee. An attack on one was considered an attack on all. This sense of community Continued on page 3 No spin zone—by Bill O'Reilly The kids are amazing For many American children, the floor has become their closet. This drives me crazy. I walk into a room where an urchin resides, and there are clothes scattered everywhere. Believe me, I know the passive-aggressive tactics that kids use to torture their parents, but something else is going on here. More than a few times, I've heard parents describe their offspring as "amazing." If you look up that word, you will see this meaning: "To cause great wonder or astonishment." That's what "amazing" means. So occasionally, I will ask the parent of an "amazing" child to tell me exactly why that word applies to their tyke. What is the "great wonder" associated with him or her? "He just is" comes the usual reply, along with a look that could kill a cactus. Many children fully realize their parents see them as astonishing crea- tures and incorporate that into their daily presentations. That is, they throw their stuff on the floor because if you are truly amazing you can pretty much do what you want. Right? When I confront the urchins about strewn clothing, I sometimes get a blank look. So I read their minds. And the brain waves come back this way: "Why are you bothering me? This is interfering with my texting. Someone will pick up my clothes. And if they don't, so what?" American children are being done a great disservice by adult society. For reasons only Dr. Phil understands, many parents have decided to attach their own self-image to their children. So if the kid is amazing, that means the father or mother is amazing, as well. That's what's going on. The huge downside is that it takes a lot of work and perseverance to become amazing, and most human beings never reach that status. But children are generally not told that. They are rarely confronted with the fact that life is tough and that to succeed you have be honest, industrious and disciplined. The discipline part kicks in when you hang up your clothing. The disturbing thing about childhood these days is that some parents and grandparents excuse a lot of questionable behavior because they want their kids to approve of them. It all goes back to "amazing" again. If your extra-special kid doesn't like you at the moment, maybe you aren't topnotch. Americans whose parents were raised during the Great Depression or World War II understand how drastically things have changed on the home front. My father did not care a whit whether I liked him, and it would have been unthinkable for him to pick up my stuff. There were rules in the house, and they were enforced. So today, as an adult, I still pick up my stuff and recycle and keep a neat house. That is routine and not at all amazing. But I'm not sure that tradition will survive the next generation. Points to ponder—by Ford Bond God Won't Strike Out The moral culture of America is almost devoid of Christian influence. In a recent column I was reading, the writer used a baseball game as an analogy suggesting that God's Team, the Disciples, were trailing the Devil's Team, Hell's Follower's. The game is in the seventh inning of last game of the best of seven. Allow me to rewrite his take and put my own ending upon the story. The critics have hailed this "the game of all games." They have not given it a name yet because of all the twists and turns. Boxing fans will remember the Thrilla in Manila and the Rumble in the Jungle, but there is no catchy phrase here, just GOOD vs. EVIL. The winner gets the series and the rights to eternity. The era in which we live is the deciding game. Earlier it seemed Hell had the series won, with the death of the one called the Son of God, but instead it became a rally when he arose from the dead, just as the COACH said he would. This caught the Devil and his team off-guard, but the crowd still seems to be on the side of Hell. Blood had been spilled, and it seems many were rooting for Hell. Hell is playing before a home crowd, and they are in a festive mood. The visitors seem to be somewhat subdued and uncertain if a A woman's perspective—by Mona Charen Primer from a conservative winner The most alarming message for Democrats from Tuesday's elections was the near obliteration of Terry McAuliffe's lead over Ken Cuccinelli in Virginia. An October poll, conducted a week after the government reopened, had placed him 11 points ahead. On Election Day, Cuccinelli lost by only 2.5 points. McAuliffe's precipitous tumble was caused entirely by Obamacare. There was bad news for Republicans, as well. The government shutdown damaged Cuccinelli, possibly costing him the race. But there were other factors; the money gap (he was outspent 3 to 1), outgoing Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell's ethics troubles and Cuccinelli's dour mien all made it possible for a gasbag Democratic moneyman who admitted that he didn't read legislation and would hire someone to handle such trivia to take Thomas Jefferson's seat in Richmond. Yet in Virginia's 34th District, just outside Washington, a very conservative delegate was able to run between 8 and 18 points ahead of Cuccinelli and win. And that was a district that went for Tim Kaine for senator and Barack Obama just a year ago. Barbara Comstock is as conservative as any right-winger could desire—profree enterprise, pro-life and pro-Second Amendment. Her opponent, Kathleen Murphy, a doctrinaire liberal, was supported by the unions, Michael Bloomberg, NARAL and Planned Parenthood. If conservatives want to win elections and not just preen about their ideological purity, they should study Comstock. How can conservatives cope with the "women's issues" that are handing Democrats huge percentages of the female vate medical insurance has gotten so expensive is that politicians in state after state have mandated what this insurance must cover, regardless of what individuals want. Insurance covering everything from baldness treatments to sex-change operations is a lot more expensive than insurance covering only major illnesses that can drain your life's savings. Now these mandates have moved up from the state to the federal level. Insurance is an institution for dealing with risks. It is a costly and counterproductive way to pay for things that are not risks— such as annual checkups, which are known in advance to occur every year. Continued on page 3 vote? Comstock is not furtive about her opposition to abortion. At a debate the week before the election, she spoke affectionately of her son-in-law's birth mother and of her "courageous and loving" decision to place him for adoption. She also took a page from Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's book and endorsed making birth control pills available over the counter as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends. It's hard to paint her as someone who wants to keep women barefoot and pregnant when she advocates making birth control pills easier to obtain. Her opponent opposed this. Comstock fought back aggressively when Murphy accused her of opposing funds for cancer screening. (This smear was used against a number of Virginia Republicans this year.) Comstock pointed out that Murphy was referring to a Democratic legislative effort to pull cancer screening funds from the health department and turn them over to Planned Parenthood. Comstock authored legislation to ease telework (traffic congestion plagues her region), to require competitive bidding on state transportation projects (unions were unhappy, but taxpayers saved $400 million), to curb human trafficking and to provide more in-state slots at Virginia colleges. She sponsored legislation on Lyme disease and joined efforts on allday kindergarten programs and instant background checks for gun purchasers. Why those? Because her constituents requested them. "You're supposed to be serving them," she notes, "not the other way around." Government agencies usually spend all available funds at the end of the fiscal year rather than return money to the treasury. McDonnell passed legislation offering state employees a 3 percent pay bonus if they could identify savings in their agencies. It was a win-win; state employees got a raise, and taxpayers got less spending. Comstock suggested applying the same principle to schools—with the surprising approval of the teachers union. "Lots of teachers are in favor of eliminating 'curriculum specialists' and other bureaucrats," she notes. Comstock finds common ground where it won't compromise important goals or principles. She founded a Young Women's Leadership Program for middle- and high-school students and invited a number of leading Democrats, including Donna Brazile, as well as Republicans, including Kate O'Beirne, to share their experiences and advice. People expect their state and local governments to take care of things such as roads, bridges, congestion, schools and public safety, she explains. One of her mentors is former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who, among other reforms, reduced wait times at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles from hours down to an average of seven minutes. It was a symbol of efficiency and good stewardship. Comstock doesn't believe in "putting sticks in the eyes" of her opponents. She fights false accusations aggressively, but she smiles whenever possible and offers concrete accomplishments that make her constituents' lives easier. Virginia is more conservative because its House of Delegates has such a smart and savvy member. She hasn't compromised her principles. She is not a sellout, a squish or a RINO. She's something all Republicans should aspire to be—a winner. change of game plan is needed. Some fans of the Disciples demand a change of pitchers, a pinch runner, or hitter. One hears from several places "Throw the bum out." Another yells, "The Coach's game plan isn't relevant anymore." Others scream "Kill the Umpire"; others suggest that to win, God's Disciples must play like Hell-does. Sports writers say the Disciple's talent is weak; the bench is shallow. God's recruiting pitch has been, "Seek me and only me. Things eternal is what I can play, and it is eternity what you really want. Think of it as a structured payout." Hell's Followers had been synonymous with 'success.' The Devil recruited with flair. "I'll pay with money, sex, power, and fame. You want it NOW! I'll give it to you now and without limits! Now that's real." O did I say MONEY Too? Fence riders claim the game will soon be wrapped up, and then they can celebrate with the winner. Of course, the Devil's Followers feel that God will strike out. Vegas is sheepish and inning by inning has changed the odds. Odds have been like an accordion over the series, but the odds-on favorite remains the Followers. Columnists, experts, and Talking-Heads suggests that all God's Disciples can do is to find beauty, virtue, and joy where one can and think on transcendent things. Obviously, they sense that the world as the Disciples know it is passing from the scene. But God's Disciples need to remind themselves that God never strikes out. The Devil is overplaying his hand, and he'll wind up as Casey did in the poem "Casey at the Bat." Casey was smug and confident, and he relied upon his own talent to win the game for the team. At the end of Walt Disney's 1946 Musical cartoon Casey at the Bat when he (Casey) strikes out, he finds himself alone, in a deserted stadium and being drenched by a storm. He is dejected, crying, and as he throws a tantrum, he still cannot hit the ball as he chases it across the field. That is how the Devil's Followers see the game playing out; they win and can indulge in their hedonistic lifestyle forever, relieved of any tinge of conscious. It Continued on page 3 The P Dispatch ress- MR. AND MRS. FRANK HEURING, PUBLISHERS ANDREW G. HEURING, EDITOR JOHN B. HEURING, ADVERTISING MANAGER Wednesday, November 13, 2013 Entered at the Post Office in Petersburg, Indiana for transmission through the mails as Periodical Mail, Postage paid at Petersburg, Indiana. Published weekly. Change of Address—Subscribers changing addresses will please give old address as well as new one along with phone number. 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