The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/596385
The Press-Dispatch Opinion Wednesday, November 4, 2015 C- 7 NOT GOOD gress no longer conforms to the original theory, which pro- moted the idea of full disclo- sure: "open covenants openly arrived at," as Woodrow Wil- son put it ungrammatically a century ago." "Democrats vs. Republi- cans. Free market vs. social- ism. Free trade vs. protection- ism. It's all kabuki theater. It goes back to 1912: Roosevelt/ Rockefeller vs. Wilson/Mor- gan, with Taft/Skull & Bones as the third option. Ameri- cans had a choice of which New York bank they wanted to have setting policy." "Democracy sounds good. It's good political cover. It lets the connected do its thing at the expense of the taxpayers." North ends with "I think of the Republicans' slogan in the 1946 Congressional elec- tion is fitting: Had enough? I know I have." The Moral Majority had its now defunct. The Moral Majority was a religious [Christian] attempt- ed to hold government/politi- cians morally accountable for its actions. The demise of this move- ment began with the Carter years when after voting for him in mass, nothing was ini- tiated by his administration to overturn Roe v Wade. By the Clinton presiden- cy the religious surge in poli- tics had waned-the Christian woke up. Has voting become irrelevant? Not at the local level be- cause the officials rub elbows with their constituents. The taxing, spending, and poli- cies have immediate and tan- gible effects. For years comics have been making fun of politics and we have nervously laughed at the jokes. What we fail to realize is that comedy is a form of truth telling and self-confession. Listening to the number of jokes daily on the comedy shows suggests we are close to needing life-support. Before falling into despair remember what the prophet Daniel wrote twenty-six hun- dred years ago: "Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowl- edge to the discerning." What North could have end- ed with is "He [God can and does] change times and sea- sons; he deposes kings and raises up others." If Chris- tians depend upon God for their substance and hope, then whoever occupies the seat of power is still clay in the Potter's hand. Think about it! The Weekly by Alden Heuring Court Report Get a clue Ah, Clue. The classic game of de- ductive detection. At an All Hallow's Eve party over the weekend, our ge- nial host whipped out the 1950 edi- tion of Clue once the rain drove us in from our bonfire. Clue hasn't changed much in 60 years. Professor Plum was a grape- flavored Lifesaver, and "The Knife" was a Lego dagger, but otherwise, ev- erything had that old familiar feeling. I've played Clue since I was a wee lad, and I've always been terrible at it. But as I say about all the games I can't win, winning isn't really the point of Clue. In case you don't know, the protag- onist of Clue is Mr. Boddy. Boddy's an unfortunate member of the rox-nou- veau who invites his dear friends over for a party, only for one of the guests to do him in right before dinner. Mr. Green, Mrs. White, Prof. Plum, Col. Mustard, Miss Scarlet and Miss Pea- cock (also known as the players) put their heads together to sleuth out which of them did the deed, and in what room, and with what weapon. It's a dinner mystery theatre in a box! Really simple, effective storytelling, I think. Our first round was pretty quick, as someone flat-out guessed the culprit on their third turn. For the second mystery of the night, we flipped the box open and read the rules, which slowed things down a bit (follow- ing the rules tends to do that). The game has a lot of interesting nuances to it that I didn't catch as a kid. Even though there's a board and all these pieces, the real action is taking place behind people's foreheads. For example, when someone makes a suggestion: "I think it could have been Professor Plum, in the conservatory, with the candlestick," ev- eryone else has their own guessing game to play. "Why's he asking about Plum? The last guy asked about Plum. Do they know something I don't? What if they know it isn't Plum and they just want to find out about the weapon? Why doesn't the game come with notepads? I can't keep track of everything on this sin- gle sheet of paper! " Then of course, it's your turn and you have no clue (get it?) what to ask. Clue is a lovely game, because it makes you think; and it makes you think differently than most games. It's also a very old game with some old trappings of "classic" board games that, I think, hold it back from being even lovelier. Monopoly is a classic board game, too, but have you ever finished a game of Monopo- ly? I have, and I needed new friends afterward. So, after a whole 10 minutes of shallow thought, here are my sug- gestions for playing a more stream- lined, simple, fun game of Clue. Try 'em at home during your next fami- ly game night! First of all, while the whole concept of running around inside a dead guy's mansion is fun and spooky, I found during our sessions that the exis- tence of a game board and game piec- es actually made the game worse. If you weren't rolling well, you could be floundering around in the hallways for a seeming eternity while the guys and gals who rolled a six are doing ac- tual sleuthing. So I say, ditch the board. Just play with a bunch of 10 -cent steno pads, writing utensils and the Clue deck. You can keep the cute lil' con- fidential case file, too. Instead of mak- ing people roll the dice, just start in- vestigating on turn one. That's what the game is all about anyway. Second, I found the charts that you get to record your findings are a bit lacking out of the box. The check boxes are nice, but I always wanted room to write down what I'd asked and what other people were asking so I could pore over it and give my- self a headache. Like I mentioned earlier, some of those little super- cheap steno pads you can get at lit- erally any box store in America are, in my opinion, the perfect solution. You can write whatever you want in them, tear the pages out when you're done if you like, and—again—they're so, so cheap. There you have it: easy, breezy, beautiful Clue. Of course, no matter what rules you play by, it's the people you play with who make all the differ- ence. I may be terrible at Clue, but I'm lucky to have some great friends around the game table. HURRAY HILLARY ARMY Continued from page 6 Continued from page 6 Continued from page 6 Continued from page 6 Continued from page 6 NAMES TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANOR Pike Circuit Court Virginia B. Padgett charged with count I reckless driving and count II refusal to identify self. Levi L. Loveless charged with count I operating a vehicle with an ACE of .08 or more and count II op- erating a vehicle while intoxicated. Kyle A. Haley charged with public intoxication. Matthew A. Menter charged with count I possession of marijuana and count II reckless driving. Dustin R. Conkle charged with possession of marijuana. CIVIL DOCKET Pike Circuit Court Pallie A. Coleman sues Tyler Smith on complaint. Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC sues Diana Callow on complaint. U.S. Bank Trust sues Portfolio Re- covery Associates on complaint. Shelly K. Deffendall sues Jackson L. Deffendall for dissolution of mar- riage. SMALL CLAIMS Pike Circuit Court LVNV Funding LLC sues Amy Carr AK A Amy Sue Carr on com- plaint. INFRACTIONS Pike Circuit Court Juan Valadez-Guzman charged with speeding, 75 mph in a 55 zone. Jordan Adamson charged with speeding, 71 mph in a 55 zone. Holly Stenftenagel charged with speeding, 76 mph in a 55 zone. Devin Miller charged with speed- ing, 105 mph in a 55 zone. Able Moten charged with speed- ing, 69 mph in a 55 zone. Jeanine Craig charged with speed- ing, 39 mph in a 25 zone. Lucas Kuebler charged with speeding, 39 mph in a 25 zone. Amber Riesenbeck charged with speeding, 40 mph in a 25 zone. Brandy Atkins charged with speeding, 97 mph in a 70 zone. Travis Barnett charged with seat- belt violation. Donald Clark charged with speed- ing, 49 mph in a 40 zone. Trisha Coonce charged with speeding, 79 mph in a 70 zone. Aaron Haire charged with speed- ing, 72 mph in a 55 zone. Samantha Harger charged with speeding, 84 mph in a 70 zone. Stephanie Hendricks charged with speeding, 49 mph in a 40 zone. Westley Innocenti charged with speeding, 79 mph in a 70 zone. Tanna Mabrey charged with speeding, 69 mph in a 55 zone. Charles Moss charged with seat- belt violation. Todd McCann charged with speed- ing, 64 mph in a 40 zone. Hunter Pierce charged with speed- ing, 91 mph in a 70 zone. Cortney Pearce charged with speeding, 84 mph in a 70 zone. Chase Wagner charged with seat- belt violation. Tyler Willner charged with speed- ing, 96 mph in a 70 zone. Kaleb Claridge charged with speeding, 98 mph in a 70 zone. Lucas Roberts charged with ex- pired plates. Dillon Bedell charged with speed- ing, 69 mph in a 55 zone. SUBMIT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR All letters to the editor must be signed and include an address and phone number. Only your name will be published with the letter. editor@pressdispatch.net | P.O. Box 68, Petersburg the media as old news, and what was exciting now was how well Hillary 2.0 outper- formed the Congressional committee on television. If the corruption and under- mining of the American sys- tem of Constitutional gov- ernment eventually costs us our freedom, will the media say, "What difference does it make now? " Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institu- tion, Stanford University. Why Ben Carson is flying high Pursuit of the Cure by Star Parker Americans are now in a historical- ly long period of distrust and dissat- isfaction regarding their government and their country. This goes a long way in explaining why political outsiders are dominat- ing the polls in the Republican pres- idential race. Even quality conserva- tive candidates such as Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz lag far behind Donald Trump and Ben Carson. They are tainted by the mere fact that they are politicians. The Pew Research Center report- ed data last year covering a period of 56 years, showing the percentage of Americans saying they trust the feder- al government to do what is right "al- ways/most of the time." From October 2006 to February 2014, the percentage of Americans ex- pressing a high level of trust in Wash- ington went from 30 percent to 24 per- cent. This was the longest stretch over the 56 years reported that trust never rose above 30 percent. By contrast, in December 1958, 73 percent said they trust the federal gov- ernment to do what is right "always/ most of the time." Last August, according to Gallup, 26 percent of Americans expressed satisfaction with the direction of the country. Satisfaction remains consistently well below 36 percent, which has been the historical average for this poll dat- ing back to 1979. It dropped to a record low of 7 percent in 2008. Consider what the candidacy of Hill- ary Clinton adds to this already deep cynicism about Washington. Former New York City mayor and federal attorney Rudolph Giuliani says he has identified "a list of 13 criminal statutes that Hillary alleg- edly violated with her con- duct." Now, as Clinton emerg- es from her testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi, we see, with little doubt, that she is indeed a world- class and totally shame- less liar. The hearings revealed that although Clinton was telling the American public that the attack on our embassy in Benghazi, which resulted in the death of our ambassador and three others, was a spontaneous act of violence protesting an inflammato- ry video about Islam, she was deliver- ing a different message in private. She emailed her daughter that the perpetrator was an "al-Qaeda-like group." And then she told the Egyptian prime minister in a phone conversa- tion that "the attack had nothing to do with the film. It was a planned attack, not a protest." Can it really be that someone with this kind of character is likely to be the Democratic Party candidate for presi- dent of the United States? Bloomberg's Mark Halperin lists 19 reasons that Clinton will be the next president. He includes that "Republi- cans are erroneously convinced that they can beat Hillary solely with talk of Benghazi, e-mails, and other con- troversies that have nothing to do with the economy and the real lives of re- al people." But doesn't having a ruthless liar in the White House – com- mitted to expanding the power of government and using that power for per- sonal enrichment – have important implications for our economy and the "real lives of real people"? Because so many Amer- icans are repulsed by the sleaze occupying the cen- ter of political power in our country, even Republican candidates who are politicians are suf- fering the collateral damage. It becomes less hard to understand why a candidate such as Ben Carson, despite having no political experience or even managerial experience, is still flying at the top. Why? Because many Americans so long for a leader they see as decent and genuinely honest, and whom they can trust. Many even believe that Carson could be that Republican candidate that can break the ice with black voters. President Eisenhower was the last American president to never have held political office prior to the presiden- cy. And back then, in the 1950s, over 70 percent of Americans expressed a high level of trust in the federal gov- ernment. And it is also worth recalling that when Republican Eisenhower was re- elected in 1956, he received 39 percent of the black vote. Star Parker is an author and presi- dent of CURE, the Center for Urban Re- newal and Education. Contact her at www.urbancure.org. rogue agency that has wildly spent and regulated outside its purview," Mr. Loris con- cluded. A fter reviewing the Open the Books report, who can disagree? Ed Feulner is founder of the Heritage Foundation (heri- tage.org). idea of having a girl freaked him out a little. He wanted to give her a name that was tough, a name that was cool, a name that said, "Don't mess with me, or I will de- stroy you." His top two con- tenders: Danger and Vi- cious. Yes, our sweet lit- tle girl, all wrapped in pink blankets, with her perfect lit- tle rose-shaped lips, was to be called Vicious. I tried to meet him in the middle. "What if we named her Lunatic but called her Luna? " (Better yet, we could name her Luna and keep the "tic" part in our back pock- et for when she's a tantrum- ing 3-year-old.) My husband shook his head. "No, that just sounds as if you're try- ing too hard." Huh? Luckily, over the months, the death jam names subsid- ed into names that resemble the time of year she is to be born. As a fall baby, may- be she could be named Au- tumn. We considered calling her November if she were to come late. We discussed Harlow Ween as a possibili- ty if she were to be born on Halloween. Then my hus- band pointed out she may be born Oct. 30, Mischief Night, and suggested the name Mischief. And we were back full circle to death jam names—or, at the very least, to names we'd undoubtedly regret with a teenager. We also sought out names with personal meaning like our son's. Perhaps Auro- ra, after the aurora borea- lis from our trip to Iceland a few months back. But ... we never actually saw the north- ern lights. We both like the name of my favorite beach, and after my exposure to mercury last week, the ba- by may be born with fins, but my husband has no attach- ment to this place. Naming a human is tough! I guess we will just have to see what she looks like and decide. And if we can't, I'm sure the hospital will assign her a number or something. I've always been partial to the name 26. Like Katiedid Langrock on Facebook, at http:// www.facebook.com/ka- tiedidhumor. Christie and Ted Cruz also had very good nights at the third debate. Carly Fiorina was strong and sensible, too. I think all of the Republi- can debates should be host- ed by CNBC from now on. The network demonstrat- ed a number of traits people loathe about the press — and the candidates, most of them anyway, came out smelling like roses. In the first place, by declin- ing to use a stopwatch and a buzzer, CNBC (like CNN before it) guaranteed that the moderators would have to stomp on the candidates' sentences in a bullying fash- ion. This provided an open- ing for Chris Christie to quip: "That's rude even by New Jer- sey standards." By providing so few rules and leaving so much to "moderator discre- tion," CNBC invited the dis- organized melee that some- times broke out. This is an object lesson in letting liber- als run things. Second, by proffering "got- cha" questions, failing to pro- vide sources ("Where did I read that? " asked Becky Quick at one point) and ar- guing with the candidates, the immoderate moderators revealed their bias. Third, by posing ques- tions about such trivia as missed votes, who said what about whom (and please re- peat it here so we can have a food fight and higher ratings) and fantasy football betting, the questioners demonstrat- ed that they are not up to the task of discussing the great challenges that face our na- tion. The candidates, howev- er, are. They sailed over the heads of the petty and nig- gling questions and man- aged to debate several seri- ous points. 1) How to reform entitlements? 2) Is a flat tax feasible? 3) How can we gen- erate economic growth? 4) What is the proper role of the federal government? Well, not all of the candi- dates. The one candidate on the stage Wednesday night who had almost nothing of substance to say was the frontrunner. History sug- gests that the voters will not choose him when the time comes. But here's a question for the conspiracy theorists: If the Republican "establish- ment" always picks moder- ates, wouldn't that be Trump? Mona Charen is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Pub- lic Policy Center.