The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/908566
D-8 Opinion Wednesday, November 29, 2017 The Press-Dispatch Pursuit of the Cure by Star Parker My Point of View by Dr. H. K. Fenol, Jr., M.D. Conservatives sound 'wake-up' call Mesmerized by lights Court Report CRIMINAL Pike Circuit Court Stephen E. Wheeler charged with count I criminal recklessness, a level 6 felony, count II operating a vehicle while intoxicated, endangering a per- son, count III operating a vehicle while intoxicated and count V possession of marijuana. Ashley N. Gideon charged with count I unlawful possession or use of a legend drug, a level 6 felony, count II operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its me- tabolite in the body and count III pos- session of paraphernalia. Sabina M. Ballou petitions for intra- state probation transfer. SMALL CLAIMS Pike Circuit Court Dana Moyes sues Eric Dedrick on complaint. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANOR Pike Circuit Court Christopher Dee Mason charged with operating a vehicle while intox- icated. Wilner Pierre charged with operat- ing a motor vehicle without ever receiv- ing a license. Tanner O. Gray charged with count I possession of marijuana and count II possession of paraphernalia. INFRACTIONS Pike Circuit Court Cheyenne Frazier charged with speeding, 90 mph in a 70 zone. Logan Grannan charged with driving while suspended. Nicole Miller charged with speeding, 75 mph in a 55 zone. Thomas Moffitt charged with speed- ing in a school zone, 57 mph in a 25 zone. Johna Sewell charged with speeding, 95 mph in a 70 zone. Corbin Wilkerson charged with speeding, 86 mph in a 70 zone. ing just as well as his white peers and graduating? I would opt for the latter. You might ask, "Williams, but how will the nation's elite colleges fulfill their racial di- versity needs? " My answer is that's their problem. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Continued from page 7 DIVERSITY run it." • "When a homeless man receives a [Housing and Ur- ban Development] voucher for a full year of government- funded housing with all util- ities paid, he will not be in the mission's learning cen- ter for GED tutoring, and neither will the volunteers who used to run it." • "When your elder- ly next-door neighbor has a cupboard full of govern- ment-subsidized food, you are certainly less likely to volunteer preparing him a meal." Simply put, if you think someone else is doing the job, why get your own hands dirty? You can sleep sound- ly, secure in the thought that your tax dollars are on the job. That's what Scrooge thought. When he's ap- proached by two men solic- iting donations for the poor, he snidely asks if the pris- ons and workhouses are still operating. "I help to support the establishments I have mentioned," he tells them. "They cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there." Now, there's little doubt that cold-hearted Scrooge is glad to have an excuse to decline their request. But many people who would or- dinarily be glad to donate time or money labor un- der the misperception that their tax-funded programs are sufficient and helpful. But there is good reason to doubt it. Mr. Whitford tells the story of Jon, a former ad- dict who'd been homeless and was preparing to grad- uate from Watered Garden's yearlong recovery and work- ready program. Asked what helped him most, Jon said it wasn't the classes, the job training, or the physi- cal wellness. "It's my men- tor that made the biggest dif- ference for me." Like others in the pro- gram, Jon had been paired with a volunteer, a business executive who gave an hour of his time every week for 40 weeks to "connect with, ad- vise, and be a friend to Jon," Mr. Whitford writes. In short, to provide a hu- man touch. You can't get that from a prison, a work- house – or a government program. Good reason to donate and volunteer not only at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but throughout the year – and do the job gov- ernment can't. Ed Feulner is president of the Heritage Foundation (heritage.org). Continued from page 7 SPIRIT derstood why pets can be so important to the emotional health of seniors and wid- ows. Having Lady around, training her, and walking with her through her life cycle reminded me that we, too, have a fixed time. Like Lady, we also slowly age; our eyes become a little dim, our hearing less acute, and the world in which we live shrinks. The one thing that I dreaded as I realized she was advancing in age was the thought of putting her down if she became dis- abled. The last two weeks I knew that she was failing be- cause she began to eat less and less, even refusing her favorite treats. But I was blessed because she passed with me next to her and stroking her coat and telling her she was a good dog. I know the grandchildren will ask me, "Do all good dogs go to heaven"? The an- swer I can give is that there are animals in heaven, and with God, nothing is impos- sible. We cannot conceptu- alize what a restoration of heaven and earth will be like. One thing I do know is that all good things come from God, and my house was blessed by a small bea- gle mix named Lady. She will be missed. If I can have compas- sion and love for an animal and spoil it, then it seems I should be able to show the same concern for my fellow man. Think about it! Continued from page 7 FROM GOD timates there are 5.3 mil- lion Jews in America, com- prising 2.2 percent of the adult population. But fewer than one-third of one per- cent of our military person- nel are Jewish. It's no coin- cidence that they are statis- tically over-represented in Congress and the Supreme Court, and in the legal and medical professions. Accom- plished, upper-class people of any creed are less likely to accept the risks and indig- nities of military service. I don't remember any rich kids in boot camp. Jews aren't the only Amer- icans under-represented in the U.S. military. Based on the their population in this country, a 2006 Observer article projected that there should have been 21,000 Episcopalians among the 1,254,000 personnel then serving in the military. But there were only 9,600. There should have been 83,000 Methodists in the uniform, but there were only 44,000. Proportional representa- tion for Presbyterians would have been 33,000, but only 13,000 served. Lutherans? 58,000 should have served but only 35,000 did. There should have been 6,270 Mus- lims in uniform, but there were only 3,459. Mainline denomina- tional Protestants have no room to criticize anybody else. We only served at 40 percent of our proportion- al strength, five years after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. But Jews only served at 25 percent of theirs. Even the Buddhists fielded more American sol- diers than U.S. Jews did: 4,400 compared to 3,973. I say this not to denounce U.S. Jews. There are more ways to serve your country than enlisting in the mil- itary, and American Jews are certainly pulling their weight in other important areas. But Ms. Hotovely's observations are accurate: fat and sassy 21st-Centu- ry Americans—whether Jewish or mainline Protes- tant—have never heard the scream of rockets overhead. But rockets are nevertheless screaming over somebody's children. It's an experience most U.S. Jewish and Protes- tant elites have been spared because they have delegated it to others. That's not nec- essarily disgraceful, but it should evoke sympathy and solidarity with the Israe- li civilians (or U.S. troops abroad) who have to dodge the rockets. I wish Ms. Hotovely and her besieged democracy well. Continued from page 7 ISRAEL A group of 44 conservative leaders have sent a letter to all members of Congress that might be called a con- servative wake-up call. The group represents, through their various organizations, a broad array of conservative concerns. But they boil it all down to three areas that all agree need immediate legislative action. Tax reform, which currently is in the pipeline. Bolstering our defense bud- get. And getting the federal budget in order through fiscal restraint. The point these conservatives wish to drive home to Congress is that Don- ald Trump's election in 2016 was not just an anti-establishment vote. It was a vote to push a crucial agenda, on which he ran, for getting out nation back to- ward founding principles. If Congress fails to deliver this es- sential agenda, say these conserva- tives, raw dissatisfaction with Wash- ington could well drive unhappy voters apathetically back home, relinquishing power to the left. This might explain Democratic victories in the most re- cent elections, and particularly the de- feat of Republican Ed Gillespie in the race for governor in Vir- ginia. Gallup polls each month ask Americans, "What do you think is the most important prob- lem facing this country today? " No. 1 on the list for the last several months run- ning is "dissatisfaction with government." Similarly, a recent study from Har- vard Business School focuses on dys- function in Washington and how it is driving widespread public dissatisfac- tion. Pew Research polling, cited in this study, shows that only 20 percent of Americans "trust the federal govern- ment always or most of the time." For some perspective on how we've changed, in the early 1960s, more than 70 percent of Americans expressed trust in the federal government. The Harvard study sums up what is driving disaffection among the voting public. "The real problem is that our political system is no longer designed to serve the public interest, and has been slowly reconfigured to benefit the private inter- ests of gain-seeking private organizations: the political parties and their industry allies." Hence, the sentiment to elect an "outsider" like Trump to "drain the swamp." Donald Trump is the fifth Ameri- can president to never have had held prior elective office. But he is the first to never have served in any public of- fice. Three of the five, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisen- hower were generals. Herbert Hoover was a businessman, but he had been head of the U.S. Food Administration and was Secretary of Commerce be- fore being elected president. Some first things experienced in life. This past weekend, Rose and I decided to bring her sister to St. Louis. Her sis- ter lives in the Philippines and is vis- iting relatives in the USA. So off we went to see two places. The first one is a place called The Shrine of Our Lady of Snows in Belleville, Illinois which is about 20 minutes east of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The Shrine is a huge complex where the Catholic Oblate missionaries have their base and office. They serve 60 countries all over the world. What we really wanted to experience is their well known Way of Lights. You see from Nov. 17 to Dec. 31, the whole com- plex is decorated with about a million Christmas lights depicting various Na- tivity scenes. The sight is just beyond descrip- tion. Takes about 30 minutes to an hour to complete the real slow drive to soak in the beauty of the scenery. There is also a place to park and just immerse oneself in this wonderland. There is also a petting area for the kids where there are sheep, donkeys, hors- es and other animals, lots of tables and chairs where families can get togeth- er to drink hot chocolate and eat light snacks. There is no entrance fee but donations are welcome. One thing that I was mesmerized with was an area where there were light blue lights strung on trees that looked like snow falling from the skies. Music was piped in into the area which added to the festive mood. Now since the compound has a hotel which is very reasonably priced, we stayed there for two nights. We could see the lights from our hotel window. It was a gor- geous sight. Naturally they have Church ser- vice daily posted on their brochures and website. It takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to travel via I 64 West to reach that place. Google Shrine of Our Lady of Snows of Bel- leville Illinois and see if it's worth considering visiting. There are some things in life we need to experience and this was my first real good visit to this place to enjoy the amazing lights. It was worth every ef- fort we had spent. • • • The other first thing I mentioned is another wonderful experience. So I have a good looking first grandson by the name of Andrew who got his per- mit to drive. Naturally I requested him to bring us to Belleville and St. Louis. It was such a great comfort to know that we now have a pilot who can drive us around for long distances. You see, there comes a point in life at our age, we do not feel as patient driving to far- away places. Not that he is my grandson, but I must say he is really cool. He handled the drive so well he did not get per- turbed nor make any mistakes. I was his co-pilot and handled all the GPS programming. Now I got to tell you something. I purchased a pretty good Magellan GPS recently and I'm telling you if not for these devices, going plac- es would be such an ordeal. I remember those days when I had to use maps and paper directions down- loaded from websites. They were so ar- duous to use and quite hard to follow. Then if I would really get lost, I would find a gas station to ask for help. And funny, sometimes the person trying to help tells me more confusing things. Now this GPS I have has many bells and whistles- it warns us if we are go- ing above a certain speed limit, tells us if there are cameras that can take a pic- ture of your license plates if you are speeding, tells if the driver needs to take a break because he or she has been driving more than two hours, reminds one to turn on the headlights if it gets dark, tells closest gas stations/res- taurants, hotels, rest areas, and almost everything you may need to find out. Wow, what amazing devic- es. I certainly don't leave home with- out it. It is worth the investment be- cause speeding tickets are expen- sive, or getting lost cost more in time, money and frustration, and accidents. I know a lot of younger generations use their I phones for GPS but they do not tell as much as the ones like Magel- lan, Garmin or TomTom would do. Just my opinion. • • • Humor of the week: Since it is foot- ball and basketball season, let me share a woman's revenge. At a grocery store, a woman was checking out after shopping. "Cash, check or debit card please? " Asked the cashier. The woman kept search- ing for something on her purse and pulled out a T V remote control. The cashier then asked if she always car- ried a remote control. The customer replied, "No, not re- ally" she replied, "but my husband re- fused to come shopping with me, so I figured this was the most legal aggra- vation I could do to him." Last I heard, the man now regular- ly goes shopping with the boss. Wis- dom of the week: Life's precious mo- ments don't have value unless they are shared. Have a great week! To the Editor It was 76 years ago that the United States entered World War II. It start- ed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Most of us in our senior years of age now remember exactly where we were when we learned of that tragic news. I was sitting in the office of an apart- ment manager at Purdue University. I was a young boy growing up south of Petersburg during the great depres- sion of the 1930s. It was a period of time when people suffered much for daily needs. We were a poor family of seven children. We had no car, no elec- tricity and no money, but we had food because my dad was a farmer. We had a good team of horses and hard work of all the family that pulled us through those difficult years. I had graduated from Petersburg High School in the Spring of 1941. (I would like to hear from any 1941 grad- uate of PHS who happen to see this. Re- ply to jbevwillis@yahoo.com). I want- ed to continue my education and chose to attend the School of Forestry at Pur- due University. But there was problem! There was absolutely no money at our house for college expenses. Times had improved where some jobs were available. I worked for 25 cents per hour during the Summer of 1941 to earn enough money for my first semester tuition of $72 at Purdue Uni- versity. Then I needed money for further ex- penses while at Purdue and was able to secure part-time employment. One of my part-time jobs was to work for a manager of the Varsity Apartments, which included attending to the man- ager's office when he had to be away. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the manager returned and asked, "Jim, have you heard the news? " No, I had not been listening to news. Mr. Pierce announced, "This morning Japan bombed Pearl Harbor at the island of Hawaii." An intelligent admiral of Japan, named Yamamoto, had orchestrated the attack—bringing six aircraft carri- ers to within 150 miles north of Hawaii for the attack. He released 180 planes loaded with bombs for the surprise at- tack on American airfields and ships in the harbors of Hawaii. When those planes returned, another 179 planes were sent to finish the job. More than 2,500 people died that day. The next day, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Ja- pan. Two days later, Germany declared war on the United States. We were now entered into this Historic World War II. Soon thereafter, many young men began enlisting in all branches of the U.S. military, and the United States established the draft system, where- by most eligible young men of 18 years of age and over were drafted into the armed forces of the United States. This tragedy was a shock to people of the United States, and it has been known to the world as a day of infamy. Admiral Yamomoto had advised the Japanese war leaders that to start a war with the United States would lead to the catastrophic defeat of Japan. They feared for his assassination for mak- ing such a statement, because they thought Japan could not be defeated, and he was ordered to continue with the planned attack. Five years of war and the atomic bomb proved that Ya- mamoto was right. Those of us who remember that time, also remember well how our country quickly shifted from normal production to the production of the vast amount of material and supplies needed for the war. Rationing of ma- ny products was also a way of saving for the production and development of supplies for the war. A national speed limit of 35 mph was established for the whole nation to con- serve gasoline. This is my personal story as I re- member it. James Willis Letter to the Editor World War II as I remember it Continued on page 6