Henderson Daily News (Henderson, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 187, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 26, 2017 Page: 8 of 12
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OPINION
DAILY NEWS
Thursday, October 26, 2017 PAGE 8
7/
I
AM
Wes Beall
PRESS ROOM
Nancy Harris
BOOKKEEPING
Joy Slaymaker
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
ballot as governor or presidential elections.
Now, in brief, this year’s proposed amend-
ments, followed by a brief discussion of why Texas
amends its constitution so much:
Proposition 1
DAVE
MCNEELY
bank
I me
JIM
MULLEN
The Village Idiot
Others Opinion
How about some good news?
T n this world where bad news spreads quickly, it’s easy to
I feel discouraged. Our social media platforms are filled
-Lwith the latest tragedies, including mass shootings, and
they seem to be happening with more frequency.
The country is divided politically; the world is in a state
of unrest; and, closer to home, an active tropical season has
been cause for great anxiety.
The opioid epidemic is spreading and Northwest Florida
seems to have more than its share of drug-related deaths.
Homeless people still stand on comers, hot, desperate and
thirsty, and those of us who drive by them wage an internal
battle about how best to help them.
But the human condition is still filled with heart and gen-
erosity and a desire to help others, as a trio of stories in last
Tuesday’s Northwest Florida Daily News demonstrated.
A pawn shop manager in Killeen, Texas, when faced with a
choice between throwing away a class ring and tracking down
its owner, did the latter. Gary Ferwatka of Top Loan Pawn
said someone had tried to pawn the ring, but it had no gold in
it, hence no financial value.
But he checked it anyway and found a name inscribed
inside the Niceville High School ring from 1996. A few Face-
book conversations later and the ring was on its way back to
the man who lost it at a Valparaiso church his senior year.
The original owner said the stranger’s kindness gave him
hope that people still care about each other. And Ferwatka
told the Daily News that the world is already a dark enough
place, that he felt it was important to do his part to make it
better.
That same weekend, a pair of boat captains out of Destin
stopped to help some divers who had drifted far from their
boat. One of the captains was on his way in to weigh some big
catches at the Destin Fishing Rodeo.
But he stopped to help, risking missing the weigh-in, and
then called a friend for backup.
Robert Hill told the Daily News that the No. 1 rule you
learn when becoming a captain is to always stop and help
others.
His crew and passengers recorded some impressive catch-
es that day. But saving two strangers who were lost more than
20 miles from shore was certainly their biggest catch of all.
And, finally, 30 divers gathered near the east jetty last
weekend to pull more than 200 pounds of trash from our
beautiful waters. There is no shortage of litter in this world.
Thank goodness there are people willing to pick up trash,
their own and others’. It’s a thankless job. Most of us will
never notice what’s missing, although we may notice the trash
that will sweep in to replace what was collected.
So, as you start your day, think of these folks who, in their
own small ways, are among those making a difference. Let
them inspire us to do more of the same.
—Northwest Florida Daily News
AN MfmbEl syu pic/wN
<50 COMIC? >C0M-
s
STEVE
CHAPMAN
Pay it
backwards
My 1
7' ; Just
it would take
eight business
days for a large
check I got for
selling a house
to clear. That’s
two weeks in
non-banker
time. And it
was another
bank’s check.
You’d think they’d at least trust
each other, even if they don’t trust
me.
Once it clears, I can write
checks to people and companies
who will then have to wait for
three days for my checks to clear.
Then those people can finally
write checks to other people, and
so on and so on. It’s 2017: We
have self-driving electric cars,
GPS and avocado toast — why are
our banks living in 1917?
Imagine that you wanted to
send some money to someone in
another state, or even to another
country — how would you do
it? What if they needed it quick-
ly? Cash? Checks? Gold? A wire
transfer that costs $50?
What do the banks do with all
that money waiting three to eight
days to clear? I’m just guessing,
but would anyone be surprised to
find out they use it to buy televi-
sion ads that tell you how won-
derful their banks are? And some
of it surely helps them buy more
ATMs that charge you to take
your own money out of your own
account. I even had one bank that
charged me a fee for not using the
ATMs often enough.
Imagine if all the parties
involved in my recent house clos-
ing had used a digital currency
like bitcoin rather than checks. All
the money would have changed
hands the same day, if not the
same minute. Of course, a lot of
people think digital currency is a
scam. Most of those people are —
surprise, surprise — bankers.
If you haven’t heard of it yet,
bitcoin is a digital currency that is
created by “mining” it from solv-
ing complicated math problems
with high-powered computers.
As the problems get longer and
harder to solve, the more bitcoin
is mined. When 21 million digital
coins are mined, that’s it — no
more can be created.
“But it can be hacked,” the
bankers say. What an odd criti-
cism for a banker to make. Banks
get robbed every day. Hacked,
Forced childbirth vs. voluntary abortion
■y n April, the Trump administration took a stand
I against the brutal methods used to enforce
~L. China’s one-child policy. The U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops denounced China for “acts of vio-
lence” against pregnant women, including “coerced
sterilizations and forced abortions,” and praised
the president for cutting off funds for U.N. family
planning efforts.
This administration does not try to force preg-
nant women to have abortions. Just the opposite: It
tries to force pregnant women to have babies. And
its methods bear an uncanny resemblance to those
employed by the Chinese government.
The evidence is on view in the case of an unac-
SWEETIE,
JUST BECAUSE
A PRESIDENT
OFTflE UNITED
STATES SAYS
sgwething
BAD ABOUT
SOMEONE,
DOESN'T /MEAN
VPU SHOULD
REPEAT IT.
i
r
never taken such a position. It has ruled that even
undocumented immigrants enjoy constitutional
protection, including “due process of law.”
The Texas Constitution to be amended - yet again
The much-amended Texas Constitution is up to
be amended Nov. 7 — up to seven times.
The seven propositions voters will decide on
are relatively minor and non-controversial, though
a couple have drawn opposition. One proposal
would allow easier access to the equity in your
home. Two others would allow pro sports teams,
and financial institutions, to conduct raffles.
We’ll outline them briefly below, and suggest a
site where you can get much fuller, even-handed
descriptions. Be aware there might be other items
on your local ballots, like school or city bond
issues, and maybe some local elections. Check your
county election office website for information.
You can vote early
More Information: For a full-
er and even-handed discussion
of these proposed amendments,
their legislative histories, and
the pro’s and con’s of each of
them, go to the Texas Legisla-
tive Council’s website www.tlc.
state.tx.us/ docs/ amendments/
analyses17.pdf). It will give you
all the details.
Why the Texas Constitution
is amended so much:
As of last count, there have
been 673 amendments considered by voters since
if you were registered by the current Texas Constitution was written in 1876.
the cutoff date of Oct. 10. Early voting began Mon- Of those, 491 have passed, and 179 were defeated
day, Oct. 23, and lasts through Friday, Nov. 3. by Texas voters. Blame the nit-picky constitution
There should be room at the polls. The usual on the Civil War — or rather, the Radical Recon-
turnout for an off-year election — when most con- struction government imposed on the Southern
stitutional amendments are decided — is pretty states after the North won the war.
slim. There are no super-hot proposals this year, Under Reconstruction, the governor had a lot of
like the lottery legalization in 1991, to dramatically power, and appointing his own cabinet members,
increase turnout. and controlling most agencies.
The vote on amendments can double or triple When Reconstruction finally ended in 1876, and
on the few occasions when they are on the same Northern troops were withdrawn from the South,
Texans wasted no time writing a new constitution.
The new document provided for a so-called
“Weak Governor” system. The cabinet officials
— attorney general, comptroller, treasurer, land
Would authorize property commissioner, and so forth — were no longer
tax exemptions for some partially disabled veter- appointed by the governor, but elected by voters —
ans or their surviving spouses. just like the governor.
Proposition 2 — Would allow borrowing Most governmental agencies were set up to be
against the equity in one’s home with fewer restric- governed by appointive boards and commissions,
tions, and lower maximum fees. in multiples of 3 — either 3, or 6, or 9 members
Proposition 3 — Would limit the amount of — appointed by the governor, but requiring a two-
time an officeholder appointed to a non-salaried thirds vote of approval by the Texas Senate,
position can serve after their term has expired. The board members served for overlapping
Currently, they can serve until a replacement is 6-year terms, so that only one-third of its mem-
chosen. bers changed every two years. Since the governor’s
Proposition 4 — Would require courts to term was two years (the constitution was amended
notify the Texas attorney general of any consti- to make it four beginning in 1974), and the tradi-
tutional challenges to state laws, and prescribe a tion was for no governor to serve more than two
waiting period before a court can declare the law consecutive terms — there is no constitutional
unconstitutional. limitation — that meant it was not until the third
Proposition 5 — Would allow charitable foun- year, and second round of appointments, that any
dations associated with professional sports teams governor would have appointed a majority of the
to conduct charitable raffles. boards’ members. And with a tradition of no gov-
Proposition 6 — Would allow property tax emor serving more than two successive terms, that
exemptions for the surviving spouses of first lasted into the 1950s, the governor seldom got full
responders who are killed in the line of duty.
Proposition 7 — Would allow credit unions
and banks to hold promotional activities, like
raffles, to encourage savings.
The Justice Department said
that because she is a minor and
here illegally, it is entitled to
impose its own preferences on
her. If she wanted to have an
abortion, it said, she had the
option of returning to her home
country — though she said that
doing so would expose her to
more abuse.
The district judge ruled in
her favor, and on Tuesday, an
appeals court agreed.
In her opinion, Judge Patricia Millett concluded
companied 17-year-old from Central America who that Doe, “like other minors in the United States
was detained after entering the country illegally who satisfy state-approved procedures, is entitled
in September. On Wednesday morning, after a under binding Supreme Court precedent to choose
furious legal battle, she got an abortion. But that to terminate her pregnancy.”
outcome came only after weeks of efforts by the The administration said it should not be required
administration to prevent her from doing so. to “facilitate” a procedure it finds abhorrent. But
She has been held in a federally funded shelter that was a bogus claim. The girl was not asking
since she was picked up. After discovering her the government to pay for the operation, provide a
pregnancy, she went through the process required doctor or transport her to the clinic. The only thing
under Texas law for a minor to get an abortion. her lawyers asked of the government was “to stop
A state court ruled she was “mature and suffi- blocking the door.”
ciently informed” to decide for herself. The Supreme But the facilitation argument wouldn’t stand up
Court has ruled that the constitutional right to pri- regardless. If she were an adult, Doe would be in
vacy protects the right to abortion. Given those two the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforce-
realities, the case should have been closed. ment, which permits detainees to get abortions. If
But the administration doesn’t like to be con- she were in federal prison, she would be allowed to
strained by laws or the Constitution. It preferred get an abortion. Doe asked for far less — and the
that “Jane Doe,” whose identity is protected, carry Trump administration tried to deny her even that,
her pregnancy to term, and it did all it could to This was a simple choice: Compel the girl to give
make her comply. birth or let her get an abortion. The fact that she
The Office of Refugee Resettlement sent her to is undocumented doesn’t change that reality. As
an anti-abortion “pregnancy crisis center,” where Judge Millett wrote, “Surely the mere act of entry
she was urged to change her mind. It told her into the United States without documentation does
mother about the pregnancy even though the girl not mean that an immigrant’s body is no longer her
said her parents had severely abused her. or his own. Nor can the sanction for unlawful entry
The government refused to let her leave the be forcing a child to have a baby.”
shelter to get an abortion — though it offered to Forcibly commandeering someone’s uterus to
let her leave for medical treatment if she agreed advance the government’s purposes may be stan-
to give birth. At each stage, it found ways to block dard procedure in China, but not in America. In
her access. It may be argued that because the teen- both places, the issue is not whether any pregnant
ager is here without authorization, the Constitution female should have a baby or get an abortion. It’s
doesn’t apply to her. But the Supreme Court has who should decide.
Steve Chapman blogs daily at <newsblogs.chicagotri- |qq J don’t think they have the
bune.com/steix chapman,. high ground on that argument.
It s only good tor drug deal-
ers and kidnappers,” is another
thing you hear about bitcoin.
Hmmm, that’s really bad. Maybe
we should ban bitcoin so kidnap-
pers can go back to using good old
U.S. dollars for ransom, the way
they have for hundreds of years.
Drug cartels will have to go back
to using $100 bills. Oh yeah, they
never stopped.
“It’s anonymous — you can’t
track it,” they say. It’s difficult,
but bitcoin can be tracked. But
what about that cash in your
pocket? Isn’t that anonymous?
Does that make it evil? The cash
you just got out of the ATM could
be used to buy drugs. No one can
track it — unless you ask your
drug dealer for a receipt, which I
highly recommend.
“But bitcoin has no value, it’s
just a bunch of computer code,” is
another criticism. Can you think
of anything else that has no value,
but that people trust to keep
track of transactions? Can you
say “paper money”? It gets sto-
len, lost and counterfeited every
single day. And the government
can just print some more when-
ever it wants to go shopping. And
the government goes shopping a
lot. A couple of aircraft carriers, a
few more million people on Social
Security, a couple of diet sodas
and boom — suddenly their debit
card doesn’t work anymore. Time
to print some more money.
Wouldn’t you love to just print
some money every time you need-
ed it? But they can’t print more
bitcoin; no one can, which, com-
bined with its worldwide ease of
use, is what gives it value. Of
course, banks and governments
are scared of it. Which is why I’m
thinking of turning the money
from selling my house into bit-
coin.
If the check ever clears.
Jim Mullen’s newest book, “How to
Control of a board. Lose Money in Your Spare Time — At
Home,” is available at amazon.com. You
Dave McNeely is a retired political writer for the Aus- can follow him on Pinterest at <pinterest.
tin American-Statesman. He can be reached at <davemc- com/jimmullen>.
neely111@gmail.com> (512) 458-2963. © 2017, United Feature Syndicate Inc.
Today In History
Today is Thursday, Oct. II Battle of Leyte Gulf ended
26, the 299th day of 2017. in a major Allied victory over
There are 66 days left in the Japanese forces, whose naval
year. capabilities were badly crip-
Today’s Highlight in pled.
History: On October 26th, In 1958, Pan American
1881, the “Gunfight at the Airways flew its first Boeing
O.K. Corral” took place in 707 jetliner from New York
Tombstone, Arizona, as to Paris in 8 hours and 41
Wyatt Earp, his two brothers minutes.
and “Doc” Holliday confront- In 1984, “Baby Fae,” a
ed Ike Clanton’s gang. Three newborn with a severe heart
members of Clanton’s gang defect, was given the heart of
were killed; Earp’s brothers a baboon in an experimen-
and Holliday were wounded, tai transplant in Loma Linda,
On this date: In 1774, California. (Baby Fae lived 21
the First Continental Con- days with the animal heart.)
gress adjourned in Philadel- In 2001, President George
phia. W. Bush signed the USA
In 1825, the Erie Canal Patriot Act, giving authori-
opened in upstate New York, ties unprecedented ability to
connecting Lake Erie and the search, seize, detain or eaves-
Hudson River. drop in their pursuit of pos-
In 1861, the legend- sible terrorists.
ary Pony Express officially Today’s Birthdays:
ceased operations, giving Actress Shelley Morrison
way to the transcontinental is 81. Actress Jaclyn Smith
telegraph. (The last run of the is 72. TV host Pat Sajak is
Pony Express was completed 71. Hillary Rodham Clinton
the following month.) is 70. Actor Dylan McDer-
In 1921, the Chicago The- mott is 56. Country singer
atre, billed as “the Wonder Keith Urban is 50. Actor
Theatre of the World,” first Tom Cavanagh is 49. Actress
opened. Rosemarie DeWitt is 46.
In 1944, the World War — Associated Press
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Staff
Dan Moore
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Hughes Ellis
SPORTS EDITOR
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Moore, Dan. Henderson Daily News (Henderson, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 187, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 26, 2017, newspaper, October 26, 2017; Henderson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1236947/m1/8/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rusk County Library.