The World and Everything in It: August 15, 2024

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. My name is Marty VanDriel. I live in Lynden, Washington with my wife Faith, and I hope you enjoy today's program.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Good morning! Ukraine strikes back…with an offensive in Russian territory. But will the gamble be worth the risk?

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: We’ll talk about it with a foreign policy expert. Also, a conversation with former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson about this year’s election. And how the wildfires in Hawaii brought the community together.

GARCIA: I need to take care of you guys, and you need to tell your neighbors, it's alright, no shame, cause sometimes we need help.

And Cal Thomas on getting back to school without campus protests.

MAST: It’s Thursday, August 15th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. Good morning!

MAST: Up next, Mark Mellinger with today’s news.

MARK MELLINGER, NEWS ANCHOR: Columbia University president resigns » The president of Columbia University is stepping down.

Minouche Shafik’s resignation comes months after pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli demonstrations rocked the university. Shafik faced criticism for her handling of those, including her inability to get an encampment of protesters off the university’s lawn.

At one point demonstrators broke into a campus building and barricaded themselves inside. It took the help of the NYPD to remove them.

CNN is reporting it’s obtained Shafik’s letter of resignation in which she touts what she characterizes as progress during her tenure. But she also admits it was a time of turmoil.

The school’s website lists Katrina Armstrong as the new interim president.

Cease-fire talks moving forward without Hamas » Negotiations resume today in Doha, Qatar for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. But Hamas is threatening to not show up.

A top Hamas official tells the Associated Press Israel hasn’t been negotiating in good faith, and he doesn’t think the U.S. will apply pressure on Israel to seal a deal.

But State Department spokesman Vedant Patel says the Biden Administration is eager to resolve the conflict.

PATEL: It is far time for the remaining hostages to be released, which of course include American citizens, and bring relief to the people of Gaza.

Israel has denied sabotaging the talks, and claims it’s Hamas blocking a deal.

Even if Hamas isn’t there, mediators could use today’s talks to carve out a plan for settling remaining issues.

This all comes as Israel faces the imminent threat of an attack from Iran, which would be in retaliation for the recent killing of a top Hamas leader. According to Reuters, senior Iranian officials are saying only a ceasefire deal in Gaza would prevent that attack.

Monkeypox declared global health emergency » The World Health Organization, or WHO, has declared mpox outbreaks in Congo and other African countries a global public health emergency. The virus is spreading fast with more than 14,000 cases and at least 500 deaths, mostly in Congo.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus…

GHEBREYESUS: Its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported Mpox and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying.

Africa’s CDC says cases are surging 160% compared to last year, and deaths are up 19% over this same period a year ago.

The vast majority of infections in Congo are in children younger than 15, who also make up the majority of deaths.

Africa’s CDC is asking for international help, and WHO leaders agree there’s an urgent need for global resources to contain the virus and prevent further spread.

Ernesto leaves path of destruction » Tropical storm Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane, pounding Puerto Rico and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

SOUND: [Rain and wind]

It also bore down on the U-S and British Virgin Islands, bringing strong winds and rain. People in St. John and St. Croix reported island-wide blackouts.

Virgin Island Director of Emergency Management Daryl Jaschen is warning people to expect between 6 and 8 inches of rain by this evening.

JASCHEN: So that’s a lot of rain happening over that period of time. So please, part of being prepared is watching out for those flood-prone areas.

Forecasters expect Ernesto to strengthen over the next few days as it travels over open water, possibly achieving major hurricane status, before reaching Bermuda by the weekend.

Bermuda’s national security minister is encouraging people on that island to start preparing now.

Montana Supreme Court minors & abortion ruling » Montana’s Supreme Court just made it easier for minors to kill their unborn babies. WORLD’s Travis Kircher has more.

TRAVIS KIRCHER: The state’s highest court ruled yesterday that girls under the age of 18 do not need their parents permission to get an abortion in the state.

Justice Laurie McKinnon wrote the unanimous opinion, which declared that minors have a fundamental right to privacy, as well as what she called “procreative autonomy.”

She went on to say that Montana’s parental consent law violates the privacy clause of the state’s constitution.

But proponents of the law say it protects minors from sexual exploitation as well as rash decision making. They also say parents should bear the primary responsibility of managing the health care of their children.

For WORLD, I’m Travis Kircher.

Arizona ballot pamphlet: Fetus can be called ‘unborn human being’ » Arizona's Supreme Court has ruled voter information pamphlets for upcoming ballot measures can refer to a fetus as an unborn human being.

In November, voters there will be deciding whether to pass a constitutional amendment allowing abortions up to around 24 weeks.

When a legislative panel came together last month to determine the pamphlet’s language, there was a heated moment between Republican House Speaker Ben Toma and Democrat Stephanie Stahl Hamilton.

BEN TOMA: We’re using both words and we’re using both phrases in this particular case, which again makes my point, which is that this is fair and balanced. 

STEPHANIE STAHL HAMILTON: But Mr. Speaker, you can support the medically accurate term, yes? 

TOMA: I’m not a doctor, Representative Stahl Hamilton. I don’t care what the medical accurate term is.

That audio from KSAZ. The phrase ‘unborn human being’ will not appear in the title or main description of the ballot measure in the pamphlet or on the ballot itself.

Abortion advocates opposed the phrase, saying it is neither impartial nor objective. Republicans supported including it.

I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: Ukraine’s operation to take the war to Russia. Plus, recovering from wildfires on Maui.

This is The World and Everything in It.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: It’s Thursday the 15th of August.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Lindsay Mast.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up first, Ukraine takes the offensive.

Last week, Ukrainian tanks and armored vehicles rolled across the border into a region of Russia called Kursk. This marks one of the first times Ukraine has taken the war into Russian territory since it was invaded in 2022. Russia responded by evacuating a nearby village and redeploying some troops to counter Ukraine’s offensive.

MAST: How does the move change the outlook of the war?

Joining us now to talk about it is John Hardie. He’s Deputy Director of the Russia Program for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Welcome, John.

JOHN HARDIE: Thanks for having me.

MAST: Well, John, how significant is this advance by Ukrainian forces in your mind? Just a border raid, the beginning of a full-scale assault, or something in between?

HARDIE: So it's certainly not a border raid. Ukraine has conducted those in the past with units subordinate to its Military Intelligence Directorate, whereas this is a bona fide offensive regular army units, including some of Ukraine's better units, like 82nd and 80th Air Assault brigades, thousands of troops involved in the operation, really caught Russia by surprise, and Ukrainians were able to make pretty rapid gains. It's a significant moment in the war. I think if it works out, it could kind of shift the momentum back in Ukraine's favor, potentially ease pressure in Donetsk Oblast, a region where Russia is currently making slow but steady advances, and it could potentially allow Ukraine to take back some area north of the city of Kharkiv that Russia took in May 2024, if Ukraine is able to take advantage of Russian redeployments.

MAST: From reports I've heard, Ukraine is in a bit of a scramble to pull this off, pulling troops from the front lines for this operation. So, what kind of risks does that move pose for the war overall?

HARDIE: Right, so the flip side of the potential positive outcomes I mentioned is Ukraine is currently suffering from a significant manpower shortage. It's really the Ukrainian military's main problem going back to last year. It's the main reason why Russian forces have made gains in Donetsk Oblast, especially around the city of Bucha and the smaller city of Toretsk. And so, Ukraine took a gamble by committing, kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel to gather forces for this operation, rather than putting them on the defense in Donetsk Oblast. So, if it doesn't work out, Ukraine will have basically committed a self inflicted error that could compound its manpower shortage, even as the situation in Donetsk Oblast continues to deteriorate. And I should note that so far, Russia has deployed units from lots of different areas. It is not yet, at least. So far, I've seen deployed units from the primary axes in Donetsk Oblast, so Pokrovsk and Toretsk.

MAST: John, let's talk a little bit about the timing for this offensive. I remember last year, many expected to see Ukraine take actions like this one in a spring offensive that turned into a mud slog. Now it's a year later, fewer troops. Why make this move now? It seems risky.

HARDIE: So, I think Ukraine wanted to a reduce pressure from some of the areas where Russia has been advancing. The situation, especially in the Bucha area, is quite serious for Ukraine. The Russians are approaching an important logistics hub in Donetsk oblast, and I think Ukraine is really want to get out of the kind of negative trend, both in the on the battlefield and in the kind of media and informational sense of basically a narrative of slow and steady defeat. Ukraine wanted to reverse its fortunes by launching this offensive and I think they saw an opportunity, because Russia left the border weakly defended. It was the force there was prepared for like a small-scale raid of the type that Ukraine has conducted previously, but the Russians did not see and for that matter, I don't think many outside of the very narrow circle in Kyiv saw this offensive coming. So I don't think the Ukrainians gave the White House or others a heads up. I think, like I said, it was kept within a very narrow circle. And even Ukrainian commanders of brigades involved in the operation found out just a few days ahead of time.

MAST: John, is there anything else that we need to know to understand how significant this move is for this war?

HARDIE: Right? So I go back to the manpower issue. I think that's really the central dilemma for Ukraine. And I think, like I said, this offensive could end up being a master stroke that really shifts the momentum in the war, and it could end up being a self-inflicted error that compounds Ukraine's problems. So, only time will tell how it's going to turn out. I think the Ukrainians face an uphill battle in the sense that Russia has a significant advantage in force availability, so they are able to move forces from lower priority areas to deal with this offensive. We'll see how successful they are in driving Ukrainians back, and how long Ukraine actually tries to hold the territory. I think, at least for the time being, though, it seems the Ukrainians are digging in, which seems to me, they're going to try to put up a stout defense.

MAST: John Hardie is deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. John, thank you for your time.

HARDIE: Thank you.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: To vote or not to vote.

On Tuesday, we heard from black voters in Georgia who support Donald Trump. But what about Republicans who don’t? What options do those voters have now that the Republican convention is over and the party has selected its nominee?

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: One of those Republicans is Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas who ran in the Republican primary last year. He’s one of just a few candidates who continue to say they will not support Donald Trump’s campaign for a second term.

BROWN: WORLD’s Washington Bureau Reporter Carolina Lumetta recently interviewed former governor Hutchinson to learn more about his outlook on the election.

Here’s their conversation.

CAROLINA LUMETTA: Governor Hutchinson, thank you for joining us.

ASA HUTCHINSON: Great to be with you today. Thank you.

LUMETTA: Well, I had the chance to chat with you briefly at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month. I'm curious, how did it compare to previous years? What was your impression on the direction of the party?

HUTCHINSON: Well, unique qualities. One of them is you've got Donald Trump coming off of the assassination attempt. So it's a great deal of unity within the convention hall, and really respect for the way he handled that assassination attempt and his message that we ought to tone down the rhetoric, let's make sure we have a convention that's not demonizing the other side, basically. And so it was a very good start to the convention. Now, I do think that there's a lot of self-selection in the unity. The national media story was how unified the Republican Party is around Donald Trump. But you start thinking about that, you didn't have George W. Bush there. You didn't have Mitt Romney there, former nominee of the party, or Paul Ryan. And so there was great deal of unity there and excitement about the fall campaign. But quietly, underneath all of that, you know that there were a lot of people who weren't there.

LUMETTA: Well, speaking of the former president, you were last a speaker at the RNC in 2016 where you said this about the then candidate, Donald Trump, and I wonder if we could just play a bit of that clip to lead into my next question.

HUTCHINSON: Donald Trump represents a different kind of leadership. He is exactly the kind of transparent, straight talking leader America needs right now. A Trump presidency will be about the art of the possible. Donald Trump is the right leader for our time.

LUMETTA: So, I play that because you have been very clear now that you will not endorse or vote for Trump. Can you explain why?

HUTCHINSON: Well, first of all, that was a pretty good speech I made, and it was the right speech for 2016 but it's not the right message or what I believe today. And the difference is, you've had January 6, and I watched that from the governor's office in Little Rock, and I saw the attack on the Capitol. I saw Donald Trump denying the election results and refusing to accommodate the peaceful transfer of power. And particularly with the January 6 attack, I said that even though he may or may not be legally responsible, he's certainly morally responsible, and I said he should not be—I'll never support him again. 

LUMETTA: Well, you mentioned that character counts, and you've lost trust in that with former President Donald Trump. How would you balance Trump with Christian principles? And do you believe that Christians can vote for Trump in good conscience?

HUTCHINSON: Well, I think Christians can certainly disagree on this point. Right now, you've got two choices, two major choices, and whether it's Nikki Haley or others and good Christians that say, you know, "I think that Donald Trump would do better in protecting our religious freedom than the other side." So I respect that conclusion if you come to it. And it's not easy now, whenever you just got two major candidates. I think the two major parties have failed us and given us two choices that are not, in my judgment, healthy for America.

LUMETTA: What do you think about Vice President and now presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris? Would you vote for her?

HUTCHINSON: No, I'm a Republican, so I'm going to write in a Republican candidate. And you know, I'm hopeful that both of these major candidates will perform better in the fall. I hope that Donald Trump gets back to the economic issues, our national security issues, and focuses on, on how he can make a difference. But I expect to vote Republican this year, probably writing in a candidate, as many others will be this year.

LUMETTA: So, even though this is likely to be another very, very close election, you wouldn't describe it as throwing away your vote?

HUTCHINSON: I wouldn't, but it's also a matter of conscience. I think that, you know, whenever voters say "none of the above," that vote counts. Whenever you do write in someone else, that sends a message as well. And the most important thing is that you do vote because there's Senate races and House races that are critical for our country. And so again, I respect those that say, "He's the nominee and I'm going to support him no matter what." I understand the thinking on that. Nikki Haley made a persuasive speech on the convention floor. That's just not where I am, and I'm sticking with that.

LUMETTA: Well, final question, what are you praying for in this election cycle and for the future of the party in the country?

HUTCHINSON: You know my prayer is that the Donald Trump that we saw coming out of the assassination attempt would look to take that healing moment and make it more lasting and not be a divisive leader. Secondly, I pray that we will make sure that we have a conservative House or Senate, that whoever is president will be able to have the right checks and balances. And then I just pray for our country, that we will return to God, that we will recognize that we have an eternal responsibility to him, both in our words, our actions, and that the United States has been blessed, and that we ought to recognize the blessings of God here in our democracy and say we're going to continue to stand with our allies abroad for freedom.

LUMETTA: Governor, thank you so much for sharing your time and your thoughts with us today.

HUTCHINSON: Good to be with you. Thank you.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: City dwellers often yearn for a little nature in their lives.

A neighborhood in Brooklyn has come together around a makeshift goldfish pond due to a leaky fire hydrant.

Audio from PIX 11 News:

AUDIO: We don’t have an aquarium, so it's good as we're going to get.

A few locals put goldfish into the puddle around the hydrant. It’s the talk of the town, bringing the community together to care for the fish.

AUDIO: They look beautiful and I didn't know that they was right there. I thought they was inside the hydrant.

But leaky hydrants don’t suit their purpose, and the city wants to fix it. So, now there’s a movement to create a permanent home in the neighborhood for the fish.

AUDIO: I love it. I’m pro the fish.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, August 15th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

Before we get to our next story, a quick update from our colleague Mary Reichard. She’s home from the hospital, and getting ready for a season of cardio therapy. She’s looking forward to coming back in a limited capacity soon, but in the meantime, Mary wants you to know that she’s recovering well. Here’s what she had to say:

MARY REICHARD: Well, last week it was two new stents for me. And this week it's learning about all of these new drugs that I need to take, arranging for cardiac rehab, doing follow up appointments, trying to eat right and not moving too much.

It turns out that these stents need time to settle in and they can't do that if I'm stressing my heart out much. The doctors tell me I already had a heart attack somewhere along the way. They could see the damage while they were putting the stents in.

I think that probably happened one night when I woke up with pain in my jaw. I mean, it was a 10 out of 10 on the pain scale, but because I had been to the ER before, with that complaint and it didn't come to anything and it was really expensive, I just lay there until it passed and got up a few hours later and went back to work.

Ladies, this is for you. Our heart problems don't always present like a man's. Pain in the jaw and neck is a classic presentation for women. I saw that some healthcare providers didn't seem to know that. Also don't pretend like you are invincible somehow.

Seriously, Christian, take some time to rest. He's got you. You can rest. I want to thank all of you who have sent me encouraging words. I can tell you this health adventure would feel very much like a tailspin without your steadying words and of encouragement, really appreciate it. God's blessings on you all. Over and out till next time.

BROWN: So good to hear things are progressing well.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Recovering from the Maui wildfires.

Last week marked one year since wildfires burned more than 2,000 acres on an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. The fires killed more than 100 people and displaced 12,000 more. Authorities say downed power lines likely started the fire. Several companies, the state of Hawaii, and the County of Maui recently settled a four billion dollar lawsuit… over how they allegedly failed to prepare and maintain equipment.

MAST: Since then, Hawaiians have been trying to clear debris and rebuild their homes, but it’s slow going for many and very few have been able to move back to the burned zone.

WORLD’s Mary Muncy talked to one of those Hawaiians and brings us our story.

EDDY GARCIA: Starting out early, the winds were just unbelievable, like nothing we'd ever seen.

MARY MUNCY: Eddy Garcia runs a regenerative farming non-profit on Maui—teaching people how to homestead and revitalizing abandoned land. He also raises some livestock. Garcia and his interns were trying to repair some fence lines on one of his properties when the hurricane hit and trees and telephone poles started going down. Then they saw the fires.

GARCIA: I don't think we realized how bad it was. We went to the top of the hill to get a better view of it. And in that time we went to the top of the hill, we could see that it was beyond serious.

High winds were moving the fire toward Lahaina, a nearby city of about 13,000 people.

GARCIA: Even though the flames weren't completely engulfing Lahaina, all of Lahaina, yet, the smoke and the wind had turned everything black and inundated everything. Where you couldn't see, you couldn't breathe.

They went down to the road to help move debris with their machines until the police told them to go home.

Garcia’s land was well managed, but he still kept fighting fires until the next day. Then Garcia took a couple of interns into Lahaina to see if they could help anyone left there move debris or get out.

GARCIA: There was nobody really there we could help. It was just carnage, like a nuclear bomb went off. All that was there was vultures, which were the looters.

So they went back to the farm, just a few miles from Lahaina. The next day, both of his interns quit because of the trauma.

But Garcia stayed on his farm and started looking for ways to help in the long term.

In the first few months, he helped distribute food and let charities use his farm as a distribution hub.

Then he realized he had some unique business connections.

GARCIA: I was like, let me reach out to shipping companies and people that I know, and solar companies, and perhaps they can help us.

And they did. Companies donated about 100 shipping containers along with solar panels and other goods. So far, Garcia has distributed the supplies to build about 40 tiny homesteads. These are self-sufficient, so people don’t have to wait to live on their land until the city turns power and water back on.

On one trip to drop off a container, he saw an “auntie” he hadn’t seen in years.

GARCIA: They actually used to scold me for taking mangoes off the fence.

He started talking to her.

GARCIA: ‘Well, you know, I just gave your brother a container over there.’ And, ‘oh, we not gonna ask for anything. Well, my family all shame.’ There's this thing in Hawaii where others need it more than you. You don’t ask.

The fire burned her generational land. Eight families were living there and it would likely take years to rebuild.

He asked her to come get a container from him, but she said she wouldn’t.

GARCIA: I'm like, ‘nah, nah, nah, Auntie, I need you. I need you to come get a container from me. I need to take care of you guys, and you need to tell your neighbors, it's alright, no shame, cause sometimes we need help.’

She eventually let him help.

Garcia says just getting back onto your land is its own kind of healing.

GARCIA: A lot of these people, what was interrupted in this culture is uncle was always raking leaves. Auntie was outside watering plants. So living in hotels for months at a time, not being able to cook your own food, not being able to do the mundane things you used to do, is pretty traumatizing.

He’s still dealing with his own trauma.

He wasn’t able to get back on some of his land immediately because the address wasn’t right on Apple Maps and FEMA wouldn’t accept Google Maps. Since they weren’t sure it was his, he couldn’t move anything and he watched looters carry away a lot of his livelihood.

Garcia also says some of the initial charities weren’t legitimate—and now he and others say bureaucratic red tape is keeping people off their land and from rebuilding.

GARCIA: I want to say, we cry in my office three times a week.

But things are slowly returning to normal, and soon he’ll start working to get the toxins from melted PVC pipe and other burned things out of his land.

GARCIA: By the end of next year, we will phase out of our recovery program and be back to what we do. We're farmers.

Garcia says the fire was devastating, but through it, he’s watched his community come together in ways he thinks might not have happened otherwise.

GARCIA: My greatest accomplishment recently has been to break through that shame, that shame of accepting by connecting with my neighbors and people I’ve known my whole life or known of, but we were fragmented in our community and didn’t have that bond. Now we’re friends for life.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Thursday, August 15th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Cal Thomas now on what getting back to school should look like on campuses disrupted by pro-Palestinian protests this spring.

CAL THOMAS: Not that long ago, students looked forward to beginning, or returning to college. After violent anti-Israel and anti-Semitic demonstrations on some campuses, many fear this semester might see a repeat of the prior ugliness.

This is how bad it has gotten. Police in Montgomery County, Maryland, are investigating after anti-semitic and pro-Palestinian graffiti was discovered outside Bethesda Elementary School Sunday morning. An elementary school! Rather than condemning the incident, the pro-Hamas lobby group known as CAIR issued a statement that sounded like “what can you expect,” given Israel’s justifiable attempt to wipe out the terrorist group in Gaza.

New York’s Columbia University was the site of some of the worst rioting last semester. It's reportedly considering granting arrest powers to campus police, hoping it will curb the demonstrations. That’s fine, but it’s not just about arrests…most of which have resulted in quick releases. It’s about prosecuting lawbreakers. In liberal New York that has become nearly impossible—thanks to District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who often releases, and fails to prosecute, even violent offenders.

Columbia is also employing a “lockdown” system to keep “non-affiliates, with bad intentions” off campus. Good luck with that. If current laws and regulations are being violated why should anyone believe new laws and regulations will be obeyed, especially when some professors agree with and encourage the demonstrators?

DePaul University in Chicago is preparing to reopen its campus Quad before students return for fall classes. Demonstrations last semester caused $180,000 dollars in damages, resulting in the Quad’s closure for three months for necessary repairs. What’s to prevent a repeat performance?

According to Wall Street Journal Columnist Jason Riley: Penn State has “suspended several students who were part of an illegal anti-Israel encampment that ended in May with the arrest of 33 people. Yet Penn looks to be an outlier.” He goes on to say: “Harvard reversed an earlier decision to suspend students who participated in pro-Hamas demonstrations on its campus that violated school policy and local ordinances. It was at least the second time administrators caved in to pressure from student activists and sympathetic faculty members.” 

Jewish students wishing to return to certain college campuses aren’t optimistic they will receive better treatment than last semester.

While some university presidents resigned after being accused of aiding and abetting the protests—and anti-Semitism—the problem will remain so long as administrators allow students (and non-students) to dictate to those who are in charge and supposed to be enforcing the rules.

Here’s what might work. If students wish to demonstrate they should be assigned a secure area where their presence won’t impede other students from attending classes, visiting libraries, or exercising other rights. If professors encourage the demonstrators and make anti-Jewish remarks making Jewish students feel unsafe, they should be placed on leave or fired.

By following through on law enforcement and prosecution perhaps students will get the message that a criminal record will likely harm their prospects for future employment and a successful career.

When police in Boston went on strike in 1919, unleashing looting and other criminal activity, Massachusetts governor and later president Calvin Coolidge sent a telegram to American Federation of Labor Samuel Gompers which said in part: “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.”

The same should be said of rioting students who impede the rights of other students to feel safe and attend classes without mobs confronting especially Jewish students. They have a right to feel safe and protected from persecution.

I’m Cal Thomas.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Tomorrow: John Stonestreet joins us for Culture Friday. And, a movie about a heartbroken fisherman who forms a bond with a lost penguin. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Lindsay Mast.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Psalmist writes: “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you.” —Psalm 39:4, 5.

Go now in grace and peace.

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