The World and Everything in It - July 1, 2021

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

President Biden wants to retool a 1930s-era program and call it the Civilian Climate Corps. But not everyone thinks it’s a good idea.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also crime along the southern border spikes now that border security lags. We’ll talk about that.

Plus cataloging the growing list of long-term side effects of COVID-19.

And commentator Cal Thomas wonders whatever happened to the work ethic?

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, July 1. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Now it’s time for the news. Here’s Anna Johansen Brown.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, NEWS ANCHOR: President Biden visits site of condo collapse » President Biden is in Surfside, Florida today where a condo building collapsed a week ago, killing a still unknown number of people.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki…

PSAKI: Well, the president and first lady will be thanking heroic first responders, search and rescue teams and everyone who’s been working tirelessly around the clock. They will also be meeting with families who have been forced to endure this terrible tragedy.

Four more bodies were found Tuesday night, raising the death toll so far to 16 people. Nearly 150 others are still missing.

Crews searching for survivors have built a ramp that should allow the use of heavier equipment. That could speed up the removal of concrete, and the state fire marshal said that—“could lead to incredibly good news.”

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said Thursday…

BURKETT: We’ve got heavy, heavy equipment, and it’s actively lifting gigantic pieces of concrete out of that pile. We’ve got waves of first responders and rescue people all over the top of that mound.

The cause of the collapse is under investigation. A 2018 engineering report found signs of structural damage and cracking in concrete columns.

Trump joins Texas governor at southern border » Fresh off his first rally since leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump made a high profile visit to the southern border on Wednesday.

With traffic and illegal crossings at the border surging since January, Trump hammered President Biden for reversing his policies.

TRUMP: All Biden had to do was go to the beach. If he would have just done nothing, we would have now the strongest border we’ve ever had.

Trump traveled to south Texas at the invitation of Gov. Greg Abbott, who told reporters...

ABBOTT: The increase of people coming across the border who have been apprehended has gone up more than 800 percent in just that May over May and in April it was the exact same thing.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded more than 180,000 encounters on the Mexican border in May, the most since March 2000

The Republican governor also said the Biden administration’s polices are to blame.

In recent weeks, Abbott has rolled out plans to continue building the border wall and $250 million in state funds for that purpose.

Texas state troopers plan to begin arresting illegal border crossers and jailing them for state crimes, such as trespassing.

Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to the border in El Paso, Texas last week. She said the problems on the border are a lingering consequence of Trump’s border policies.

House votes to form Jan. 6 committee » Democrats in the House voted Wednesday to launch a new investigation of the Jan. 6th Capitol riot.

AUDIO: On this vote, the yeas are 222 and the nays are 190. The resolution is adopted.

The party line vote will set up a special committee to probe the Capitol siege.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of the vote…

PELOSI: What we are seeking is the truth.

The action came after Senate Republicans blocked creation of an independent commission. Many GOP lawmakers said that commission would have been—and that the forthcoming House committee is redundant, as multiple panels have already probed the incident.

Republicans also rejected the new probe as “incomplete” because it would not look into other politically motivated incidences of violence.

Cosby freed after Penn. Supreme Court overturns conviction » Bill Cosby is a free man after Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned his conviction. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The 83-year-old comedian flashed the V-for-victory sign as he returned to his home in Philadelphia after nearly three years in prison.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned Cosby’s conviction for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004.

He could have served up to seven more years.

The state’s high court found that District Attorney Kevin Steele was obligated to honor his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby. After that promise, Cosby gave potentially incriminating testimony. The ruling precludes the possibility of further prosecution. Though the comedian only faced charges in Constand’s case, numerous other women accused Cosby of sexual abuse.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Donald Rumsfeld dies » Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has died at the age of 88.

Rumsfeld became the youngest person to serve as defense secretary at age 43 under then-President Gerald Ford. After years working in the private sector, he returned to the position in 2001 at age 68. He served under President George W. Bush until he resigned in 2006.

He’s heard here in a farewell message to U.S. troops:

RUMSFELD: You are the ones who live the successes and who endure the setbacks of this struggle, who find your daily missions a personal test of will.

Rumsfeld was also White House chief of staff under President Ford. Before that, he served six years as a Republican congressman from Illinois.

I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Straight ahead: the president’s plan to put conservationists to work.

Plus, the dangers of perpetual indolence.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday, the 1st day of July, 2021.

You’re listening to World Radio and we’re so glad you’ve joined us today! Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. First up on The World and Everything in It, government jobs.

In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps—the CCC—one of the many so-called “Alphabet Agencies” of the New Deal. The CCC employed 3 million young men over a decade until Congress ended the program in 1942.

REICHARD: The CCC built roads, campsites, bridges, and cabins in state and national parks across the country. Now, President Biden wants to stir up a fresh batch of alphabet soup, beginning with an all-new CCC. WORLD’S Sarah Schweinsberg reports.

SARAH SCHWEINSBERG, REPORTER: In 2012, Nicole Kreiser wasn’t sure what to do. She was studying biochemistry at a small private college in Pennsylvania. But she wasn’t excited about her future.

KREISER: I couldn't find that career path that I was hoping to find within that major.

She decided to take some time off and move out west to Utah. After a few months, Kresier overheard a group of young people at a coffee shop talking about their work with the Utah Conservation Corps.

KREISER: I met a group of crew members that had just finished up a project week out in the high Uintas wilderness here in Utah. And they were so excited about their project work. I definitely you know, love being outside and hiking and camping, backpacking, things like that were really important to me. Then they recommended that I apply. And so I did.

Kreiser spent the fall clearing trails and removing invasive plants and trees.

She never left. Nearly a decade later, she coordinates Utah’s more than 200 conservation crew members.

Kreiser says the Utah Conservation Corps gives her and thousands of other young people an outlet for love of the outdoors … as well as practical skills.

KREISER: So I think it really teaches folks how to manage dynamics, communication skills, being able to plan logistics, being able to coordinate a crew of people, being able to coordinate volunteers. So it gives also gives our folks an opportunity to be able to, to learn those vital skills.

Today, state-run conservation corps programs carry on the legacy of the original federal program.

Now, President Biden wants to recreate the CCC, but this time it would be called the Civilian Climate Corps. The program would have two goals: mitigate climate change and employ young people.

Biden’s American Jobs Plan includes $10 billion for the program. Eighty percent of that funding would go to personnel. It would pay about $40,000 a year for up to 200,000 workers. It would also provide housing and stipends for clothes, food, and transportation.

The rest of the $10 billion budget would fund climate mitigation projects across the country like clearing undergrowth that can fuel forest fires, planting trees, and creating green spaces in cities.

Melissa Bass is a public policy professor at the University of Mississippi. She wrote her dissertation on the original Civilian Conservation Corp. She says the Biden administration’s CCC has a similar mission and design to the original.

BASS: The men were paid $30 a month. So that's $1 a day. But it also provided room and board. So for free of cost, health care, and like work supplies, so their boots, their uniforms.

Bass says although the original CCC did a lot of valuable work throughout the country. Congress didn’t renew the massive program because it was no longer needed. The country was mobilizing for World War II, and jobs were plentiful.

BASS: There were questions of should we still have a big national government program, when there is not an issue with high unemployment. So it really was seen as a jobs program.

And that's exactly how some labor experts see this new proposal.

Rachel Greszler is a labor policy scholar at the Heritage Foundation. She points out that many businesses are struggling to find enough workers.

GRESZLER: And so to have the government come in now and to say, No, we're going to let you come to this CCC program that's going to give you lush compensation, housing, food, clothing, transportation, everything else, that just makes it harder for the other businesses out there who are struggling to get the workers to come in to be able to recover.

Despite those economic concerns, environmental experts say they’re excited about the prospect of having a larger labor force. America’s public lands are getting more traffic than ever and that requires more maintenance than ever.

Sean Damitz oversees the Utah Conservation Corps.

DAMITZ: If we're willing to spend a little bit more on as a nation to get more young folks on their feet with good skills and to give back to the public lands that we all use, love, and value, I see that as a good thing.

Damitz’s colleague Nicole Kreiser agrees. But she points out that state-run corps already get the bulk of their funding from the federal government’s AmeriCorps program. So why not just increase that funding instead of starting a new federal program?

KREISER: We've been performing this service work for 20 years now. And it's been, you know, wildly successful. If we were to receive that additional funding, I think we have a good foundation to be able to build on.

Plus, she says, state-run conservation corps are already doing the tasks the Biden administration calls climate change mitigation.

KREISER: We have UCC field crews that work on environmental projects, including, you know, the fuels reduction projects for wildfire fuels, tree planting, wetland restoration, vegetation management. So, a lot of the work that we do could be relatable.

The CCC’s $10 billion price tag is a drop in the bucket of the newly negotiated $1.2 trillion American Jobs Plan.

But Heritage’s Rachel Greszler says the government is different today than it was in the 1940s.

Once it creates a program, it’s usually here to stay.

GRESZLER: All these little things tend to add up over time.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Sarah Schweinsberg.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Up next: securing the southern border.

As we reported, former President Trump made a trip to the southern border yesterday.

That came roughly a week after Vice President Kamala Harris made her first trip to El Paso, Texas since taking office.

And now we’d like to take you to the southern border, as best we can, through the eyes of someone who lives and works on the southernmost edge of Texas.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: WORLD’s Kent Covington spoke with Victor Manjarrez. He served for many years as sector chief for the U.S. Border Patrol. Today, he is associate director of the Center for Law and Human Behavior at the University of Texas El Paso. He told us that the southern border really is out of control right now, with levels of illicit activity along the border flirting with an all-time high.

Here now is a portion of that conversation.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS EDITOR: Chief Manjarrez, good morning to you, sir!

MANJARREZ: Good morning to you, Kent.

COVINGTON: Chief, what do you hear from border patrol agents right now on the ground? What are the challenges they’re facing now as they state them?

MANJARREZ: You know, the agents along the southwest border, the biggest challenge they face is just the overwhelming numbers of individuals coming through. You know, within the last 24 hours, Rio Grande Valley apprehended a group of over 200 people. And the problem is that it takes a lot of manpower or personnel to actually make that type of arrest and into logistics that follows, right? To be able to transport those people to a station, to be able to process them. As that's going on, the border doesn't stop. As those agents are tied up with that activity and trying to wrap that up, there are other things that are hitting our border that can't simply be addressed. It was always my concern, as a chief in Tucson and as a chief in El Paso prior to that, is that what are we missing? Great job making the arrest, great job, you know, making seizures on that. But that always ties up people. And when they tie up, you can't respond operationally to other activities

COVINGTON: So, is the answer more border patrol agents, do you think? Or, what could be done better to address that? Just better manpower? More barriers?

MANJARREZ: Well, it's always a combination of several things. You know, the easiest thing is to kind of throw money at the problem, right? And that money usually manifests itself in either border barriers, personnel, and technology. And those help immediately. But if if you're not addressing that pull factor, or the reason why, you know, the belief of a change, that you know that the U.S. may be more welcoming is really a belief that many people have, we're going to struggle.

COVINGTON: Texas Gov. Abbott has talked a lot about a tremendous increase in crime, border communities under siege. He even used the word “carnage.” Is he exaggerated for effect or is he right on target?

MANJARREZ: You know, it really becomes a matter of perspective. I think there's some times that he does exaggerate for an effect. But then when I start looking at the unified crime report, then it becomes very impactful, very truthful. But to paint that very broad stroke along all of Texas would be inaccurate. It certainly is accurate, though, in certain specific areas, where you're looking at very high numbers. Crimes that occur with the border that really has no semblance of control, vehicle thefts, home invasions, trespassing, things of that nature, that really just kind of have an impact on the quality of life of residents who live along the immediate border area.

COVINGTON: Vice President Kamala Harris recently visited the border for the first time since taking office. Republicans, though, criticized her for traveling to El Paso - in your backyard. They say she was avoiding the hotspots where the real problems are along the border. But what was your reaction to her border visit?

MANJARREZ: I was surprised. I was surprised at the site selection of coming to El Paso. I mean, El Paso you get a taste of it, a taste of what's going on. But it's certainly not the focus point of all that’s occurring. That's down in South Texas. So I was really surprised at the selection.

COVINGTON: So if you were advising her trip, what would you want her to see?

MANJARREZ: I definitely would have—if I was an advising her—is we need to go to the focus point we need to see, you know, the worst hit area and that's South Texas. That's in McAllen. And I would actually spend some time with the border patrol agents in the field and looking at the challenges. We look at the Rio Grande area in McAllen. It's very imposing, but it becomes a challenge. People are crossing it. And the problem with that is it's very dangerous. When agents are working in that area, we often just think of them making arrests, making, you know, drug seizures, things of that nature. But a big portion of that is life saving attempts because quite frankly, there are a lot of people that cross and simply go out to swim, rescue attempts and what type of resources it takes. I would advise, you know, the operation, let's take a look at that firsthand, look at the challenges. Second is, you know, there's an arrest or seizure made and that's always, you know, a great talking point. But that always has a logistical tail end. If you make an arrest, a large arrest, you have to do something with them . And that has an impact. I think I would explain that process. What it does, you know, it they are family units or unaccompanied children, you know, what does that entail? And so I would have given her a broader picture of what was occurring operationally, like what she received in El Paso was a very small slice of that. And it has a tendency of—you visit El Paso, you leave with a false impression that it's not as bad as it really has made out to be. But it's worse in other places.

COVINGTON: Well let’s talk about the border wall. President Biden, as you know, has pulled the plug on construction of the wall. In response, again, Gov. Abbott has said the state of Texas will take that on and complete the wall in his state. Is this something that Texas can actually pull off? What’s your take on the state’s plans?

MANJARREZ: I'm a little leery of having the state picked up or any entity to be quite honest with you. We've seen some non-government organizations build up sections of the wall through private donations. And what we've seen is that those don't last very long. The engineering is not in place, which includes hydrology and things of that nature. And we've seen they’re falling apart, it becomes more of a hindrance for the men and women that are patrolling that area. So my hope is with the Texas of plan is that if they're gonna build a barrier, build that barrier in a thoughtful and meaningful way that's designed to last for years. Not just, you know, for this term cycle.

COVINGTON: Okay, Victor Majarrez with the University of Texas El Paso has been our guest. Thanks so much for your time and your expertise!

MANJARREZ: Thank you very much.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Officials in Louisiana are stepping in to break up a gang that has overtaken a local neighborhood.

I guess you could say they’re quacking down on the problem.

A gang of ducks has become a nuisance in a Baton Rouge neighborhood. There are now about 60 of the birds waddling from house to house, and neighbors say they’re multiplying quickly.

RICHARDSON: They seem to be happy little maters ‘round here. Yeah they do!

Homeowner Jennifer Richardson said the birds have become attached to her for some reason. The ducks wait outside her front door and follow her and her neighbor around on walks.

Animal control officers are relocating the ducks today. And Richardson says while she won’t miss the mess the birds leave behind, she will miss the companionship.

RICHARDSON: We’ll probably have to find out where they’re going so that we can go over there and make sure they’re ok.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Thursday, July 1st. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: COVID side-effects. 

Over the last year, vaccines and their potential reactions have gotten a lot of attention. But as more than 167 million people world-wide caught COVID-19 and recovered, the list of side-effects from the disease continues to grow.

EICHER: WORLD’s Paul Butler recently spoke with a doctor who says COVID and its lingering symptoms are likely to define medical research for a generation.

AUSTIN: My name is Keturah Austin, and I’ve had COVID twice. I had it first in early 2020, and again at the end of 2020.

PAUL BUTLER, REPORTER: Keturah Austin lives in Bel Aire, Kansas, a suburb of Wichita. After her first bout with COVID, she struggled with symptoms for weeks.

AUSTIN: I think the things that stuck around and started making me wonder what was going on were things like, the brain fog, the exhaustion. Instead of eating lunch, I would take a nap. The other thing that really stuck around for me was the body aches. I really just wanted to know what was going on and when it was going to end?

By now, we’re all familiar with COVID-19 onset symptoms: fever, fatigue, cough, headache, loss of taste or smell, and troubled breathing. Most symptoms go away within two to three weeks. But for people like Austin, a growing catalogue of side-effects linger long after the initial recovery.

POLAND: This virus affects virtually every system of the body, every organ system...

Doctor Greg Poland is a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

POLAND: We see problems with taste and smell. We see evidences of scarring of the heart, scarring of the lungs. We see abnormalities in sperm counts in males, and almost everything else you can imagine...

Other side effects include hair loss, phantom smells, blood clots, mood swings, anxiety, and various nerve abnormalities.

POLAND: We have certainly seen a large number of people who will have various phantom nerve sensations, for example, something crawling on them, or needle, or electric shock-like phenomena happening in their nerves. And we don't have a good way of predicting who will have what kind of complication.

When these symptoms persist for more than 30 days, it’s known as Post COVID Syndrome. Those who suffer from it are informally called: long haulers.

In the spring of 2020, Keturah Austin was slowly recovering from COVID. After four weeks, her symptoms weren’t much better. Her doctor assured her that it might take six to eight weeks before she got back to normal. But normal didn’t arrive on schedule.

AUSTIN: Probably eight to ten weeks after I first had it, I was at her office for an appointment, just still really struggling with all these effects. And she said, “Yeah, I don't know. I mean, we just don't know a lot about it, what else to try.” I kind of broke down at that point. And I was like, Hey, I know you don't know me. But this is not me...

Austin informed her doctor that what she needed was a partner to help her figure out what was going on.

AUSTIN: And it was as my parents used to say, that “come to Jesus meeting.” But it actually really helped. And after that, she just looked at me and she said, “Okay, I got it.”

According to Mayo Clinic’s Greg Poland, that’s a critical step for COVID long haulers in finding relief. First, you have to tell your doctor what you’re experiencing. Then, advocate for yourself.

POLAND: And that might involve bringing somebody with you, if you tend to be you know, shy or hesitant, or maybe even feeling like, to do that is to bring up conflict or something. Bring an advocate with you.

The third thing Poland says is to find a doctor who listens. Something he’s worked hard at doing for 40 years.

POLAND: Often people have symptoms that I don't understand. The appropriate answer is, “I don't really understand that symptom. Let's get a consultation with somebody in that field.” Or “let's continue to watch and wait and see how that unfolds.” Or “let's try this and see if it benefits you. If not, we'll step back and reassess.” But there's always something to do, including the most important drug a physician can ever use. And that's hope, to give patients hope.

Doctor Poland says we’re in a critical time for post-COVID care. Patients need to inform their doctors about their symptoms, no matter how small, and physicians need to listen carefully.

POLAND: We are literally building this airplane while we're flying it. We, by definition, only have 18 months experience with this virus. That’s why I would say if you have a symptom, report that. You might even think, “well, gosh, it sounds like kind of a crazy symptom,” but it might just be the symptom that triggers the right diagnostic pathway in the physician’s thinking as to what to do.

Sometimes, there’s nothing to do for the symptoms but wait them out. In those instances, long hauler Keturah Austin finds hope in talking with other people who have gone through it.

AUSTIN: Reading through the support groups for long term COVID sufferers has actually been really important for me, because it makes you realize you're not alone, for starters, and you can kind of gauge...kind of baseline things too.

Austin isn’t quite back to normal yet, but she’s found a silver lining through her many post-COVID symptoms.

AUSTIN: Going through this was rough certainly for me and for my family. But it did provide a great deal of clarity. I think there's there's good in everything. But I think it's also an opportunity to really share just kindness and grace with people. People get upset about masks and vaccines and this and that and the other or somebody complaining about not having the energy they used to. This is that opportunity to just have some grace.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, July 1st. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Here’s commentator Cal Thomas on incentives to work or not to work. That is the question.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: Most people don’t understand human nature, or refuse to learn from it, or worse, play to its dark side.

Some politicians play to the dark side of human nature because it empowers them and extends their careers at taxpayer expense. They never have to solve a problem; they only have to appear to care about a problem. Doubt me? Then why after many years of talking, legislating, studying, and spending are so many problems unresolved?

Several states have stopped or will soon stop sending out unemployment checks. The result? Many of the former recipients of other people’s money are now going out to find, or return to work. Who knew?

It reminds me of the welfare reform bill worked out by President Bill Clinton and Speaker Newt Gingrich 25 years ago. Some critics then said the measure would cause people to starve in the streets. It didn’t. Most found work when they realized government checks would no longer arrive in their mailboxes.

“Now hiring” signs are everywhere these days. Some stores and companies are offering incentives for employees to return to work, including cash bonuses and electronic devices. What happened to the “work ethic”? Work used to be seen as noble. Having a job that provided for one’s self and family was a mark of good character.

During the welcome reduction of Covid-19 cases and deaths, many people refused to go back to work. For some, unemployment and other government benefits paid more than their previous wages. It’s human nature. And getting paid not to work is addictive for many.

Accompanying reluctance to return to work is another reflection of the dark side of human nature: indolence. That’s defined as “disliking work or effort; lazy; idle.” Granted, not all who have been reluctant to return to work are necessarily indolent. But many seem to be. And that’s a bad condition to encourage in an individual and a nation.

Part of this, I think, is also related to the never-ending attacks by the Left on “the rich” and successful. The notion that one is entitled to certain things without having to work for them, along with envy of those who have made the work ethic work for them, is also a bad character trait. It diminishes appreciation for the successful and subsidizes failure.

What we promote we get more of and what we condemn we get less of. In condemning wealth and success we are likely to get fewer people striving for those things that improve their own lives and the lives of others. That, too, reflects the dark side of human nature.

We can’t say we haven’t been warned with Biblical wisdom, including this admonition from Proverbs: “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.”

I’m Cal Thomas.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: John Stonestreet joins us for Culture Friday.

And, a musical extravaganza for July 4th.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

Go now in grace and peace.

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