Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, January 3, 2024/Page 6A
Stye Aiiuancg
OPINIONS
“I honor the man who is willing to sink
Half his repute for the freedom to think,
And when he has thought, be his cause strong or weak,
Will risk t’other half for the freedom to speak.”
-James Russell Lowell
editorials
The Lessons of2023
By Ben Shapiro
2023 was a rather
bad year.
Not as bad as
2024 is likely to be,
or as 2020 was.
But bad.
Nonetheless, we
ought to learn from
the bad as well as the
good. So, in a spirit
of reflection, I offer a
few lessons we ought
to remember from this crummy year.
Lesson No. 1: Lots of people do not
think like we do. And failure to recognize
the truth of this lesson leads to failures of
imagination that in turn lead to suffering
and death.
When Hamas slaughters infants in
their cribs, rapes women in front of their
husbands and takes them captive back to
Gaza, and tortures and murders civilians,
that isn’t because of some outsized griev
ance. It’s because they do not have the same
values as Westerners. Pretending that
members of Hamas are simply freedom-
loving people who seek material prosper
ity, quiet family lives and tolerance for
those who think differently isn’t just
wrong; it’s catastrophically wrong. It’s
also leading foolish Westerners to believe
that appeasement of Hamas sympathizers
will somehow alleviate Hamas’ evil terror
ist behaviors, or that current deaths of ci
vilians in the Gaza Strip are the result of
Israeli indiscrimination rather than
Hamas’ stated war objective of maximiz
ing civilian casualties for the international
media.
That’s a lie. And it’s a dangerous lie.
It’s the same lie that led to 20 years of ter
ror buildup in the Gaza Strip, funded and
then ignored by the West. It’s the same lie
that has led to thousands of deaths, both
Israeli and Palestinian. It’s the same lie
that led the West to import millions of
radical Muslims into its heart, endanger
ing both the social fabric and the future of
the West itself.
Which brings us to lesson No. 2: The
next generation is in serious moral peril.
As a recent Harvard-Harris poll showed,
79% of young Americans (18-24) agree
that white people are oppressors and peo
ple of color are the oppressed; a similarly
frightening two-thirds of young people
believed that Jews are part of the oppres
sor class and “should be treated as oppres
sors.” This bodes ill for the future of re
publicanism: If Americans can quickly be
classified as oppressor or oppressed not
based on behavior but based on group
identity, we will revert to the tribalism
that destroys nations entirely.
Lesson No. 3 of 2023: Weakness
breeds aggression. From Afghanistan to
Crimea, weakness in the face of America’s
enemies breeds aggression. Russia moved
on Ukraine not predominantly because it
feared NATO’s dominance, but because it
sensed Western weakness; right now, the
Iranian government is flipping the activa
tion switch on all of its proxy terror groups
in the Middle East because of perceived
Western cowardice; should the West fail
to confront the Houthis in the Red Sea,
undoubtedly China will see the West’s
unwillingness to expend even minor mili
tary resources to retain open trade lanes,
and will threaten Taiwan. The same is true
with regard to America’s southern border:
an open border breeds waves of illegal im
migration, which is precisely what we
have been seeing. Conversely, strength
means facing hard realities and making
sacrifices in order to confront them.
Lesson No. 4 from 2023: what goes
around comes around. Always.
This has been true for quite a while
when it comes to American politics: void
ing the judicial filibuster means the other
party will cram through nominees on a
party line vote; militarizing the executive
order will allow the other party’s presi
dent to do the same. Today, Democrats
seem excited to weaponize the Depart
ment of Justice in order to target former
President Donald Trump, the leading can
didate to face off against President Joe
Biden. What are the chances that prece
dent will be utilized by Democrats’ oppo
nents in the future? Refusal to acknowl
edge this reality means an endless cycle of
escalating reprisal that ends only with ac
tual conflict.
One final lesson: incompetence has
consequences.
We live in the richest and most power
ful country in human history. That truth
obscures the effects of incompetence at
every level. But not for long. Eventually,
the people tire of the incompetence of
their leaders — and when they tire of the
incompetence of leaders from all sides,
they seek radical change to the systems
themselves. Often, such changes are more
perilous than the incompetence they seek
to rectify. Which means that perhaps in
termediate institutions — say, political
parties — ought to flex their muscle in
order to press forward competent people
rather than caving to the whims of the
moment.
So long, 2023.
Here’s to a better 2024.
Ben Shapiro, 39, is a graduate of UCLA
and Harvard Law School, host of "The Ben
Shapiro Show," and co-founder of Daily Wire+.
He is a three-time New York Times bestselling
author his latest book is "The Authoritarian
Moment: How The Left Weaponized America's
Institutions Against Dissent." To find out more
about Ben Shapiro and read features by other
Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit
the Creators Syndicate website at www.
creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM
Biden grants clemency to
two Georgians imprisoned
for drug offenses
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
President Joe Biden
granted clemency Friday to
two Georgians incarcerated
on cocaine charges, part of
a group of 11 Biden said are
serving “unduly long” sen
tences for nonviolent drug
offenses.
The two Georgians to
be released early are An
thony Ewing of Union City
and Darryl Allen Winkfield
of Augusta.
Ewing was convicted
of conspiracy to distribute
cocaine and crack cocaine
and sentenced to 20 years in
prison.
Winkfield was con
victed of possession of co
caine and crack cocaine
with intent to distribute and
three counts of distributing
cocaine hydrochloride - a
local anesthetic - and sen
tenced to a life term.
Biden commuted both
sentences to expire on
April, 20, 2024.
In a prepared state
ment, Biden said all 11
people receiving clemency
would have been eligible for
significantly lower sentenc
es if they were charged with
the same offenses today.
“I have exercised my
clemency power more than
any recent predecessor has
at this point in their presi
dency,” he said. “And while
today’s announcement
marks important progress,
my administration will
continue to review clem
ency petitions and deliver
reforms that advance equal
justice, address racial dis
parities, strengthen pub
lic safety, and enhance the
wellbeing of all Americans.”
Biden also issued a
proclamation Friday par
doning those convicted
of possession and use of
marijuana under federal
and District of Columbia
law. He urged governors to
do the same for those con
victed of the same offenses
under state law.
Too much of what is
called "education" is
little more than an
expensive isolation
from reality, *
dwell
Don't look now but
here comes 2024
Wait a min
ute! What was
that that just
blew by me? It
looks like 2023,
but it has gone
so fast I hardly
saw it. Okay, I
know we have a
few days left in
the year, but by
the time I write
this and you read it, it will probably be
July. Or at least it seems that way.
I remember sitting in Ms. Bolton’s
fifth grade class at S.R. Young in Col
lege Park and thinking the school day
would never end. The day began
around 8 a.m. as I recall, and several
eons later we would have morning re
cess, go back inside and wait another
eon or two for lunch. Then more hours
would drag by until afternoon recess,
followed by a few more eons, and then
finally the school day would be over,
only to be repeated the next day. To
day? Whoosh!
Maybe it is just as well that time
flies these days. About the best thing I
can say for 2023 is that we have sur
vived it (as of this writing.) Ironically,
we may look back on these days fondly
when we are neck deep in 2024. I’m
sure I don’t need to remind you that it
is a (shudder!) presidential election
year.
I have been around the political
block more than a few times, but I don’t
ever recall a presidential election where
both major candidates are two old cod
gers with approval ratings currently in
the mid-40s. This is the best we can
do?
I won’t make any predictions on
who will win in November, which in
political terms is a couple of light years
away. Besides, people still remind me of
my prediction that there was no way an
obscure Republican state senator from
Bonaire would ever beat the Demo
cratic incumbent in the 2002 Georgia
gubernatorial election. We all know
how that turned out.
But does this deter your intrepid
scribe from buffing up the ol’ crystal
ball and boldly looking into the future?
Need you ask? Danger is my middle
name. (Actually, Richard is my middle
name but I am trying to make a point
here.)
Note: These predictions are the
property of the Yarbrough Worldwide
Media and Pest Control Company, lo
cated in Greater Garfield, Georgia. Any
rebroadcast, retransmissions, pictures,
descriptions or accounts without the
expressed written consent of general
manager Junior E. Lee, a highly-re
garded media maven and certified pest
control professional is strictly prohib
ited. In fact, I wouldn’t suggest you
bothering Junior at the moment. I am
told he is busy poking around in Aunt
Flossie Felmer’s drawers. He claims he
is looking for fire ants. I wonder.
In 2024, I predict that the five
members of the Georgia Public Service
Commission will announce they’ve
had a change of heart and instead of
making customers pay $7.5 billion for
By Dick Yarbrough
Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle cost over
runs, they will absorb the cost them
selves through a payroll deduction
plan. “It’s only fair,” their press release
will say, “we are the ones that misman
aged the project along with Georgia
Power, not the rate payers.” The cost to
each commissioner will come to $1.5
billion. Or $125 million per month.
Georgia Power will agree to help the
commissioners absorb the costs.
I predict that Vice President Ka-
mala Harris will return Donald Trump’s
$6,000 he donated to her reelection
campaign as California attorney gen
eral, saying she thought it had come
from Donald Duck, not Donald Trump.
Trump will blame the whole embar
rassing situation on the law clerk in his
civil fraud case in New York. Georgia
election conspiracists will blame Secre
tary of State Brad Raffensperger.
I predict that the Food and Drug
Administration will declare that any
thing green such as broccoli, asparagus
and English peas - but not collards and
green beans cooked in bacon grease -
could be hazard to your health and
prescribe banana pudding as the only
possible cure.
I predict that the University of
Georgia, the oldest state-chartered uni
versity in the nation, will once again
win the national football champion
ship in 2024 while adding more Rhodes
Scholars to the 25 or so we already
have. (There have been so many, I’ve
lost count.) On the outside chance I
am wrong about the national champi
onship and the Rhodes Scholars, I pre
dict we will still be the oldest state-
chartered university in the nation. Take
that to the bank.
Finally, I predict that by the time I
finish writing this and you finish read
ing it, it could be July 2024. Times flies
when you are having fun.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at
dick@dickyarbrough.com or at P.O. Box
725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139.
0l,t A&uance
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R.E. "LID" LEDFORD, PUBLISHER
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Publisher & Managing Editor:
WILLIAM F. LEDFORD JR.
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