Ask the Editor

PAUL BUTLER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Today I thought I’d quickly respond to a handful of questions and comments from listeners sent in over the last month. The first one comes from the Moyers of Centennial, Colorado.

After our June 30th interview with pharmacist Zach Jenkins about monkeypox, they wrote in with this question:

In your interview about monkey pox why was it not asked or explained that it is transmitted sexually by homosexuals?

Thanks for pointing that out. We’ve published a few stories on the virus over the last few months at WORLD Digital. In that coverage we did mention the high occurrence rate in gay men…but you’re right, we should have mentioned that in our podcast coverage last week. It was an oversight.

It is not a coincidence that cases increased during June—so-called “Pride month.” However, it would be a mistake to consider Monkey Pox only an STD as it is considered a stable virus—meaning that it can remain on surfaces for an extended period of time. So that could prove a threat to the broader community as well.

After our June 27th Legal Docket segment analyzing the Dobbs decision—and the unraveling of Roe v. Wade—astute listener Mark Denard wrote in challenging us on a well-worn argument that he felt we should have debunked.

[You] stated “…the Dobbs vs Jackson case reversed the 1973 Roe decision that established the constitutional right to an abortion.”

I have heard this many times, but was very surprised to hear it on the podcast. Afterward I read the US Constitution again to see if I am incorrect about abortion being in there.

I would very much like an explanation on how abortion was a “constitutional right” prior to Dobbs... If I recall correctly many pro-abortion advocates recognized the problems with Roe and how it would always be a controversy unless Congress were to pass federal legislation or if enough states joined together to pass constitutional amendment as allowed under Article Five.

Mark, you’re spot on…and that’s actually the point Mary was making. The Dobbs decision does in fact overturn the 1973 Roe decision—and with it the long-held claim to its constitutionality. The legal analysis involves first asking “does the constitution mention abortion?” And you rightly identified it does not. Then asking: “is abortion as a right implied in the constitution?” The majority answered no to both and in the process dismantled the reasoning of both Roe and the follow-up case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Our next email isn’t a question, but a comment after our June 30th story on the Liberty Bell. Sarah Heitzman-Nolte had this gentle correction for us.

In the piece, Milton Wiest recounts a story about a young blind man that came into the center. In recounting the story he refers to his mobility aid as a “stick” and later [your reporter] mentions his “stick.” As the mother of a grown blind man, I want to let listeners know that the correct term for the traditional white “stick” used by the blind is cane…not [a] stick.

Thank you for your wonderful program, I am a faithful listener. In fact my awesome blind son suggested I listen to the podcast and I am hooked.

Sarah, thank you for that reminder, and we’ll be more careful in the future.

Thankfully not every email to the editor is quite so serious. We enjoy hearing from listeners with a sense of humor as they point out our errors. So I’ll end with one of those today. Eric wrote in to point out that at the end of last Friday’s program we mentioned Cal Thomas’s name twice in our closing credits. Knowing our desire to be Biblically objective, Eric asked:

Was that perhaps an application of the principle that some elder speakers "are to be considered worthy of double honor" (1 Timothy 5:17)?

Well Eric…I’d love to say yes…but alas—it’s more likely proof of Proverbs 19:2—“...he who hurries his footsteps errs.”

Thanks for the kind-hearted ribbing.

If you have a question, comment, or constructive feedback for the program our email address is editor@wng.org. You can write to us there, but why not record yourself on your phone and send it along? We look forward to hearing from you. Again our email address is editor@wng.org.

I’m Paul Butler. And now with this week’s credits—here’s Nick. 

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