Guest Commentary | Israel has no choice but to defend themselves

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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Prayers for the devastated people in the Middle East.

Prayers for the families who have had loved ones murdered before their very eyes.

Prayers for the families who have loved ones held as hostages. We pray for their safety and release.

Prayers that hate filled terrorists may be overcome. Why do we have such evil on this planet? Why is there so much hate tied to a religion? Why is religion used to carry out barbaric acts of murder and violence? Because evil is an unrelenting force. Evil can make anything bad. The goal of any religion should be connecting people to God and bringing about meaningful lives filled with love, peace and a higher purpose.

The goal of cancer is to destroy and kill. Evil is a cancer that is progressive and terminal unless it is totally eliminated. Any cancer in your body is not good for you. No one can live peacefully with cancer. Cancer finds a way to grow, disable and kill. We cannot coexist with cancer nor can we coexist with mentalities who live to brutally kill others. The goal of hate filled groups such as Hamas is to eliminate Jewish people and then anyone connected to the United States and the Western world.

You can’t coexist with rattlesnakes and copperheads. They are poisonous.

Israel has no choice but to defend themselves and put an end to Hamas. Do we have to be in the middle of this mess? We have been since World War II. Israel has been the number one benefactor of American foreign aid. We are the Santa Claus of the world when it comes to giving away your money. America’s foreign aid contribution reached $66 billion in 2022. This was the first time we had given this much to other nations since 1949. While that amount was staggering, our foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel will make that amount look like a paltry sum.

We have already given Ukraine over $75 billion in their fight against Russia. Now, President Biden is proposing to give Ukraine and Israel $105 billion in aid. Also, America’s border security has been mentioned in this proposal. Probably the only reason our border security is tied to this proposal is because voting Americans are desperate for border security. The manufacturers of war weapons and their investors, such as many politicians, will have a nice Christmas.

Since World War II America has given Israel $260 billion. Jordan, Egypt and some other countries receive a lot of our money.

Countries That Received the Most Foreign Aid from the U.S. in 2021: (Stats from US News and World Report)

1 Israel ($3.3B)
2 Jordan ($1.6B)
3 Afghanistan ($1.4B)
4 Ethiopia ($1.39B)
5 Egypt ($1.29B)
6 Yemen ($1.04B)
7 South Sudan ($954M)
8 Congo (Kinshasa) ($825M)
9 Somalia ($790M)
10 Syria ($782M)

Try to keep working if you can. Somebody has to pay for all of this.

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He is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Federal Affordable Connectivity Program offers low-cost internet to eligible citizens

Photo:NAPSI

NAPSI -- A fast, reliable Internet connection has become a critical part of our daily lives. From remote learning and working to networking and searching for jobs, Americans everywhere felt an online shift during COVID-19. 

And, while the country gradually recovers from the pandemic, the collective need to stay connected remains stronger than ever. 

Enter the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

ACP extends and makes permanent the Internet subsidy for families in need that began under the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program. Falling under the $1.2T bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the ACP is part of a $65 billion broadband Internet initiative designed to bring affordable or even free Internet service to families who qualify.

Eligible households can save up to $30 a month, or up to $75 if they reside on tribal lands.

So, who qualifies? Here’s a glance at the different criteria from the FCC of which one or more is required:

Household is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline.

Participates in tribal-specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.

Participates in the National School Lunch or Breakfast Program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision.

Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year.

Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income Internet program.

Visit fcc.gov/acp for more details and call 844-844-WIFI (844-844-9434) to find a participating provider nearby.

New Federal aid could help lead pipeline removal in Illinois

    by Jonah Chester, Illinois News Connection

Illinois has more lead pipelines than any other state in the nation, but a new plan from the Biden-Harris administration could boost the state's lead-line removal efforts.

The Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan calls for $15 billion over the next decade to replace all the country's lead pipelines.

Angela Guyadeen, director of the Safe Water Initiative for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said financing lead-line removal projects is a major barrier for most communities.

"What's really important to know is that money coming down from the state and also the feds is going to make this process a lot easier," Guyadeen explained. "Many states and communities across the country have said, 'Yeah, well, you know, we really want to replace lead service lines, but it's a really expensive project and there's a lot of other priorities we have to be thinking about.' "

The NRDC estimated as of last June, Illinois had between 700,000 and 1.4 million lead lines. Last summer, the Illinois General Assembly passed a separate measure to begin replacing the state's lead lines. The Chicago Sun-Times reports Illinois will receive $288 million to support the efforts via the federal plan.

The Metropolitan Planning Council noted lead lines are a serious issue in communities of color; 65% of the state's Black and Latin residents live in communities containing 94% of the state's known lead pipelines.

Guyadeen argued the state should ensure the funding to replace the pipelines is equitably distributed. She pointed out the state's current method for distributing such funds, the State Revolving Fund, can be difficult for smaller communities to navigate.

"If you are a mayor or a small-town mayor of a community, and you don't have a lot of resources or consultants, that can be a barrier to accessing these funds," Guyadeen contended.

A separate Metropolitan Planning Council report found replacing all the state's lead pipelines could generate up to 250,000 jobs and $23 billion in new economic activity.

Vice President Kamala Harris, visiting Wisconsin last week, touted the benefits the plan could have for organized labor.

"These investments will result in improved public health, the creation of more jobs, the infusion of support for important apprenticeship programs, and it's just simply the right thing to do," Harris stated.

Exposure to lead can cause several adverse health effects, including anemia, kidney and brain damage. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it also can damage the nervous systems of unborn children.

Guest Commentary: Poverty never comes with privilege

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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I hear a lot about white privilege.

I grew up in Martin county, Kentucky. We were considered one of the poorest counties in the United States. In April, 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson and his entourage of staff, secret service, media and other politicians swarmed into the county seat of Inez during his war on poverty campaign tour.

Johnson and the entourage rode through our town waving and then proceeded on down route 3, which was less than three miles north of my homeplace. He walked onto the porch of a local family where he did a photo session that would be shown on every media source around the world. I just watched it on YouTube.

He then returned to his Cadillac, came back through Inez and shook a few hands at the courthouse before he boarded his helicopter and left us. He had what he needed which were real pictures of real poverty and a story of real poverty from the hills of East, Kentucky.

There was nothing about Johnson's visit that communicated anything about the white privilege of East, Kentucky. We had never heard of white privilege. We hadn't thought much about privilege or poverty either. I don't think too many of us thought we were poor. We didn't know the difference really. We didn't have anybody telling us that we should be demanding equity with others in the country.

After Johnson flew out, we resumed our normal lifestyles. The family pictured in the photo op continued to have a very difficult life of poverty. Even though they had the President of the United States on their front porch it wasn't enough to save them from lives of poverty and difficult times. President Johnson's intentions were good. He led Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act in August, 1964 which was part of his war on poverty effort.

It was a nice gesture.

Unfortunately, families throughout Martin county and East, Kentucky still grappled with poverty after the government money and new programs were approved.

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Going to the bathroom meant going outside to a tiny little building built over a hole in the ground. In the winter, trudging snow to go to the bathroom at any hour of the day was cruel.

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Common life continued to be living without indoor plumbing. For many people this meant a very difficult life of finding alternative ways to access water. Some people had outdoor wells. They would drop a bailer bucket into a well and "draw" up a bucket of water. Several of my family members had wells of this nature and I remember their water tasting pretty good.

This also meant many families did not have indoor bathrooms. Going to the bathroom meant going outside to a tiny little building built over a hole in the ground. In the winter, trudging snow to go to the bathroom at any hour of the day was cruel.

This also meant taking a bath by collecting water from the well and carrying it into the house which involved a lot of carrying if you were going to take a bath. The same process occurred when washing clothes. Enough water had to be collected to wash and then rinse the clothes. This was a massive job. Does this sound like white privilege?

By the time I was born, my family had indoor plumbing and we had one bathroom. We still had an outdoor toilet that sat out from the house in the back yard. I tore it down a couple of years back. Actually, it was hard to tear it down because I knew it symbolized a very different era of life which too many of us Appalachian people are all too familiar.

We had terrible water as a kid. It was really bad to drink and terrible for washing clothes. The sulfur in the water would ruin our clothes. This meant my mother was always catching rain water in large tubs outside the house. In dry weather when I was a child we would walk to the creek and carry water back to the house one bucket at a time. That always embarrassed me as a kid. I don't know why. Most of the people up and down the creek where I lived had to do the same thing plus many of these people did not have indoor plumbing either. Does this sound like white privilege?

When school was in session at my elementary called Tomahawk, I sat with classmates every day who came to school hungry. The free school lunch program was the only decent meal they ever got to eat. Several boys in our school who did not have indoor plumbing came to school dirty but would often stand in the school bathroom washing their hands and faces before class. I'm sure some girls did the same thing Our little elementary school bathroom was a luxury to them. Does this sound like white privilege?

I hear all this talk about white privilege. Growing up in an inner-city dwelling is surely filled with hardships but these dwellers at least have access to a real kitchen, running water, an indoor bathroom and even television and radio reception. These are luxuries that many Appalachian kids did not have growing up.

Even today, in too many places in East, Kentucky and throughout Appalachia there are still families growing up without indoor bathrooms, access to water and surviving daily hunger. Internet cannot be found in too many Appalachian areas. These are the scenarios that have become ignored by media, government and employers. Thank God it's not even close to what it once was but I've been in the hollers of the mountains and seen enough to know poverty is still real and a cruel existence.

Today, 14 of the 50 poorest counties in the United States are all from the same East Kentucky region that Johnson visited in 1964.

For Martin county, "The per capita income is just over $18,000," according to the 2019 Census reporter. Twenty-six (26.3) percent of the county is still at the poverty level according to Data USA with a median household income of $35,125. The county is 99 percent white. Does this sound like a place of white privilege?

McCreary county is located in the Daniel Boone National Forest in southern Kentucky along the Tennessee state border. The only county nationwide where most households earn less than $20,000 a year, McCreary is the poorest county in both Kentucky and the United States. The life expectancy is just 73 according to USA Today. Does this sound like white privilege?

The Washington Post reported that the life expectancy for the 5thdistrict in Eastern, Kentucky is under 73 making it the shortest life span expectancy in the United States. Owsley County Kentucky's life span expectancy has been reported to be 67.3 years while in San Jose, California the life expectancy is 83.

The white privilege I enjoyed as a kid was that I was fortunate to be raised around hard-working people.

My dad spent four hours a day driving to and from Holden, West Virginia to work in an underground coal mine. He spent over 30 years stooped over, on his knees or on his back in a dark coal mine. He made a living until at the age of 55 his health started failing him and he had to quit.

He and my mother kept food on the table. We raised a garden. We had livestock. My family worked hard. My uncles and aunts farmed and worked whatever jobs they could find to make ends meet. My grandfather and grandmother Hinkle worked in a very small grocery store six days a week until he was 83 and she was 80. They worked hard until they died.

No one had unemployment checks rolling in. No one had Social Security Disability checks. No one was receiving stimulus checks. There weren't food stamps or other federal or state money available to help anyone out. Our family had a mindset to work because that was our only means of surviving.

I have never experienced anything like what some of my American friends have experienced growing up. Or, what some still experience.

I'm certainly not intending to belittle your experiences or trying to "one up you" on who was poorer or had it harder. Just be aware that Appalachia is still filled with hurting, poverty-stricken people of different colors.

Poverty never comes with privilege, regardless of color.

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Dr. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated American columnist and author of American Issues, Every American Has An Opinion and ten other books. He is read in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization.

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This article is the sole opinions of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Sentinel. We welcome comments and views from our readers.

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