The World and Everything in It - July 27, 2021

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

The defund police movement is crawling to a halt in many places across the country. We’ll talk about the lessons learned over the past year.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Also we investigate a group called America’s FrontLine Doctors who debunk the Covid shot.

Plus, we’ll meet a handywoman who works on small projects—really small.

And learning about patience, from God’s perspective.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, July 27th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

BUTLER: And I’m Paul Butler. Good morning!

REICHARD: It’s time for news. Here’s Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Biden announces end of combat mission in Iraq by year’s end » President Biden said Monday the U.S. military’s combat mission in Iraq will end this year. Speaking at the White House, Biden said U.S. troops in Iraq will officially transition into a strictly support-based role.

BIDEN: It’s just to be available, to continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS as it arrives. But we are not going to be by the end of the year in a combat mission.

The president spoke after a White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

AL-KADHIMI: It’s a great honor to be here today with our American friends.

The prime minister said he was in Washington to discuss the strategic partnership between the two nations.

About 2,500 U.S. troops remain in Iraq. It’s unclear if the Pentagon will withdraw any more troops next year.

Air Force general warns about China military buildup » Another top military commander is sounding alarms about China’s military expansion. Speaking at an event in the Washington DC area Monday, Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten said the United States must keep pace with Beijing’s buildup.

HYTEN: They’re building a military, a military capability that is enormous. And they’re building new capabilities, new capabilities in nuclear, new capabilities in space, new capabilities in missiles, hypersonic missiles, new capabilities in cyber. And they’re doing all of this to challenge the United States.

He emphasized the best way to avoid future military conflict is to maintain the strongest possible military as a deterrent.

The Pentagon this week announced that it’s sending more than two-dozen F-22 stealth fighter jets to the western Pacific region  to take part in a military exercise. Analysts say the deployment is much larger than usual and could be a show of force intended to send a message to China.

Infrastructure talks hit snags » Senators ran into new problems Monday as they raced to seal a bipartisan infrastructure deal.

Disputes have surfaced over how much money should go to public transit and water projects. The two sides also disagree over spending and wage requirements for highways, and other issues.

But White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last minute wrangling is not unusual in Washington.

PSAKI: The president worked the phones all weekend and is continuing to. We’re encouraged as we reach the final issues that need to be worked out and are confident about the path forward.

Senate Republicans are also irked by recent comments from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She suggested that her chamber won’t pass a bipartisan bill unless Democrats also approve a separate and entirely partisan $3.5 trillion spending bill.

Democrats would use the Senate reconciliation process to push that through without any Republican votes.

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell blasted that plan on Monday.

MCCONNELL: Washington Democrats, the big idea is to borrow, print, and spend our way to even more inflation and even higher costs for American families.

Adding to political complications, former President Donald Trump issued a statement Monday disparaging Senate Republicans for dealing with the Democrats on infrastructure.

NYC to require vaccines or testing for city workers » With new COVID-19 cases spiraling upward again, New York City will require its employees to either get vaccinated or receive regular tests.

Municipal workers—including teachers and police officers—will have to get a coronavirus vaccine by mid-September or get tested weekly for COVID-19.

Mayor Bill de Blasio…

DE BLASIO: This is about our recovery. This is about what we need to do to bring back New York City. This is about keeping people safe. This is about bringing back jobs. You name it.

The rule is expected to affect about 340,000 city employees.

The Sept. 13 deadline coincides with the start of public school, when the Democratic mayor has said he expects all pupils to be in classrooms full time.

Meantime, in Missouri, a public mask mandate is back in effect this week for the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County. The state’s Republican attorney general is suing over that mandate.

Savannah, Georgia also once again requires face coverings in public citing a—quote—“steep and alarming rise” in new COVID-19 infections.

Typhoon forces Olympic schedule changes » The Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed by the pandemic and opened under oppressive heat, are now facing another challenge: a typhoon.

The storm, arriving today, is forecast to disrupt at least some parts of the Games. But Japanese hosts say it’s nothing to panic about.

Masa Takaya is a spokesman for the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee. He said in U.S. terms, it’s a moderate tropical storm.

TAKAYA: In the US scale it is a 3-grade out of five. So you shouldn't be too much worried about that, but of course it is a typhoon in Japan. So you still have to maintain your precautions.

But archery, rowing and sailing have already adjusted their Tuesday schedules. Takaya said no other changes were expected.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: cities rethink last year’s decisions to scale back police departments.

Plus, learning lessons in patience.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 27th of July, 2021. You’re listening to World Radio and we’re so glad you are! Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. First up on The World and Everything in It, budgets for law enforcement.

Last year, calls to defund the police echoed throughout the country. And that’s what many major cities did. America’s 50 largest cities reduced their 2021 police budgets by about 5 percent with departments across the country losing $870 million in all.

REICHARD: But now many cities are reversing course and restoring money to law enforcement. WORLD’S Sarah Schweinsberg reports on what’s behind the change.

SARAH SCHWEINSBERG, REPORTER: This month, New York City Democrats headed to the primary polls. They had to choose the party’s candidate for mayor from a crowded field.

SOT: 13 Democrats are running for mayor compared to just two Republicans.

Eric Adams eventually emerged victorious. He’s African-American, a former police officer and state senator, and the president of the Brooklyn Borough.

He made public safety the centerfold of his campaign.

SOT: We’re in a dark place right now. A dark moment for New York and America. Whether it’s the pandemic or violence in our streets, we don’t feel safe….

SOT: There’s been over 600 shootings since June, and we have yet to see a comprehensive plan to stop having these communities live in terror.

His message struck a chord with black, brown, and moderate white voters in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens—earning him 50.4 percent of the vote.

Now Adams is on track to win the mayor’s office in November.

Peter Moskos is a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He says Adams’ victory would have been unthinkable just eight years ago when Mayor Bill DeBlasio took office.

MOSKOS: I mean, who would have imagined five years ago that a former cop would be elected mayor of New York City.

Back then, crime in the city had been declining for years and the public was critical of the NYPD for its stop-and-frisk policy. That’s when officers would stop, question, and search citizens for weapons based on little to no probable cause.

MOSKOS: There was, again, a much stronger anti-policing, anti-police sentiment in the city.

Moskos says Eric Adams’ win marks a shift in public opinion of police. They now think of them as necessary.

MOSKOS: Okay, we tried defunding last year, things were supposed to get better, and they didn't. So let's not do that anymore.

Last year, major cities cut funding for their police departments  after George Floyd died under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis.

But then crime rates across the country surged. According to data analyzed by CNN, 63 of the 66 largest police jurisdictions saw a jump in at least one category of violent crime in 2020.

Many of those grim statistics have persisted into 2021.

Politicians attribute the crime uptick to either COVID-19 disruptions or police budget cuts. Regardless, many residents of large cities want more police on the streets.

And local politicians are paying attention. According to data analyzed by The Wall Street Journal, city and county leaders want budget increases for nine of the 20 largest law-enforcement agencies. Those increases range from 1 percent to 6 percent.

Rafael Mangual is a policing expert with the Manhattan Institute.

MANGUAL: I think the public, you know, started to put a lot of pressure on city leaders, and rightfully so recognizing that, you know, police have to be a central part of any likely successful public safety plan. There's just no way around that being the centerpiece.

New York City will restore a third of the $300 million it cut. The mayor of Baltimore wants to increase law enforcement spending by $27 million—completely erasing the $22 million cuts made last year.

LA is proposing a $50 million increase after slashing $150 million. And Minneapolis has already restored 80 percent of its $8 million police budget cuts.

Criminologists say increasing police budgets acknowledges that quality policing will cost more money. Not less. Patrick Oliver is a criminal justice professor at Cedarville University.

OLIVER: I think it's hard to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of a law enforcement agency if you reduce their resources. So I think people understand that you have to increase resources to increase the quality of policing.

Oliver believes cities learned important lessons over the last year. They need to pay for law enforcement. But that doesn’t have to come at the cost of funding additional social services that can help police.

OLIVER: I think communities are going to find additional money for social work and mental health professionals while increasing the budgets for police.

Thaddeus Johnson is a professor of criminal justice at Georgia State University. He says budget increases will help replenish police ranks. And they will help pay for the training and resources necessary to improve police practices.

JOHNSON: It all starts with what type of policing do we want? We need to invest in that style of policing, and create policies to match those investments.

But some criminologists say more money won’t fix everything.

Rafael Mangual at the Manhattan Institute says more police on the streets usually drives down crime and can improve police performance.

But this time things are different. Mangual says in many places, officers are afraid to do their jobs. And that isn’t something money can buy back—at least not right away.

MANGUAL: I think police officers across the country, certainly the ones that I've spoken to are feeling genuinely afraid of what might happen, should they make a good faith mistake in the field. And so, you know, we can refund them all we want. But if they don't feel confident and feel like they have the mandate to go out there, be proactive, do the things that we know are associated with crime control. It's not clear to me that that just simply putting money back into their budgets is going to be enough to get things under control.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Sarah Schweinsberg.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: figuring out fact from fiction.

Many people have passionate viewpoints on vaccines, especially when it comes to COVID-19. Everyone has to make his or her own decision about whether to get one. And reasonable people fall on both sides of that choice.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: As we’ve reported on these issues over the last year, many of you suggested we look into information posted online by one particular group. They call themselves America’s Frontline Doctors—or AFLDS.

So WORLD’s editorial team asked our medical correspondent, Dr. Charles Horton, to research the group and its claims.

And he joins us now to tell us what he discovered. Doctor, good morning!

CHARLES HORTON, CORRESPONDENT: Good morning!

REICHARD: So, who is behind America’s Frontline Doctors? What can you tell us about the organization and its founders?

HORTON: It first showed up last July, and it seemed more political than medical – it was kinda theoretically there to promote the idea that hydroxychloroquine was a cure for COVID, but it kept coming back to politics. If you go to Internet Archive, the original version of their website warns that “the great American experiment of a Constitutional Republic with Representative Democracy, [sic] will cease.” unless we follow their suggestions.

So that’s its roots – it was a political group, arguing against things like masks and lockdowns, but focusing on this argument about hydroxychloroquine instead of on the economic fallout from anti-COVID measures. The group’s founder was a lady named Simone Gold, who was back in the headlines briefly after January 6, because she and AFLDS communications director John Strand were with the rioters illegally inside the Capitol Building that day . They’ve both been arrested for that. So again, Gold has been a very political figure.

REICHARD: Okay, well let’s talk about the group’s particular claims. It has questioned whether COVID-19 is really all that dangerous, given that a commensurate number of people die annually from other diseases, like heart disease is about 600K a year. What have you found there?

HORTON: Well, that argument, far from showing that COVID isn’t a threat. If we add to these leading scourges in American life something else that is able to kill thousands and thousands of people. That doesn’t say we shouldn’t take it seriously but rather that we should take it all the more seriously.
COVID-19 has killed over 600,000 people in America – that number speaks for itself, but AFLDS then essentially argues that the numbers are wrong, because last March’s HHS decision should be reported on death certificates when it appeared to be the cause of death. Keep in mind, that was when it was almost impossible to get a test. Tests were extremely scarce and we were trying to get the least bad data that we could about how this pandemic was proceeding.

And here’s a great example of where AFLDS tips its hand, in terms of its goal being to play the whole thing down. It cites very reassuring statistics about “overall survivability, counting all comers. You know, counting your healthy 20 year old marathon runner and so forth. And it’s writing really tries not to speak very much about what COVID means if you aren’t as healthy, if you aren’t as young. That is in fact where a lot of those 600,000 deaths came from.

REICHARD: Now, regarding COVID-19 vaccines, the group refers to them as “experimental vaccines,” is that correct? And also if you could address the point that these aren’t vaccines at all, they are shots, like flu shots?

HORTON: No, and this is where AFLDS goes from airing opinions – they don’t like masks, they think the economy should have stayed more open – to statements that are just out-and-out wrong. The vaccines are not experimental. They are sold under an Emergency Use Authorization, or EUA, which allows them to be sold without the full FDA approval.

REICHARD: What are the unvarnished facts about the safety and the effectiveness of the vaccines, particularly with regard to the delta variant?

HORTON: There’s great news here – we’d all held our breath about how they’d do against delta variant, but they ended up doing really well where it counts the most – which is in preventing severe illness and hospitalization. Data from Israel showed that Pfizer’s vaccine was 91% effective against severe illness and 88% effective against hospitalization. It didn’t do as well against simply getting sick – it was 39% effective for that – but turning a case that would have sent someone to the hospital, or even ended his life, into a week of feeling crummy in bed is still a win.

REICHARD: Final question: we’ve seen some instances of heart inflammation with the vaccines, what about that?

HORTON: Rare is the word—on the order of one per 100,000 in young men, who were the highest-risk group for it – and it’s almost always transient. It also seems to go with the mRNA vaccines, so folks who want to sidestep that question could also go with Johnson & Johnson. That’s not an mRNA vaccine.

REICHARD: Okay, Dr. Charles Horton is W ORLD’s medical correspondent. He lives and works and raises his family in Pennsylvania. Dr. Horton, always a pleasure!

HORTON: Likewise! Thanks so much.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Most fishermen have a story to tell about the one that got away! But now, some fish in Arkansas have a story like it.

They very nearly enjoyed the feast of a lifetime when a tractor-trailer veered off the road and overturned in the lake.

The driver escaped without serious injury.

The truck’s payload? Twenty-thousand pounds of dried ramen noodles!

Regrettably for the fish, the noodles did not spill out of the cargo hold.

A few wisecrackers online speculated about the value of the cargo. Here’s one: So they lost, what… “$30 worth of ramen?”

REICHARD: Hey, cheap or not, it’s one of my faves! Shrimp flavor.

BUTLER: It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, July 27th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. 

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: another in our ongoing series, What Do People Do All Day?

Today we meet a modeler. Now, if you're thinking modeling as in fashion, that’s not quite it. This is about scenery design. In particular, scenery for model trains. Think tiny details—right down to weathered tracks and barnacles on train trestles.

REICHARD: Bringing railroads down a size is the work not only of carpenters and electricians, but of artists, too. Good ones. Here’s WORLD Senior Correspondent Kim Henderson with the story.

AUDIO: MUSEUM ENTRY

KIM HENDERSON, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: The beach brings tourists to Gulfport, Mississippi, by the boatload. But when they’ve had enough fun in the sun, an increasing number of them visit the Mississippi Coast Model Railroad Museum.

CLERK: And we have one of our model makers in today, Miss Wendy . . .

Miss Wendy—or Wendy Pigott—has a room where she makes scenery that goes behind, beneath, and around model trains. And brings them to life.

PIGOTT: Feel free to pull a chair up . . . people love to sit and watch . . .

AUDIO: TRAIN HORN 

Pigott doesn’t really fit the model train enthusiast mold. She’s female. Never set up an inch of track in her garage.

But she’s always liked miniatures. Doll houses, model car kits, puzzles.

PIGOTT: I always got a kick out of seeing something that looked real, but was really tiny. I've just always loved little things.

AUDIO: MODEL TRAIN RUNNING

When Pigott brought her grandchildren to the museum six years ago, she saw some exhibits she wanted to get her hands on. Now she has her own key, and keeps a blow dryer and paintbrush in tow.

PIGOTT: I use the blow dryer to speed up the process, so I don't have to wait so long for the paint to dry. And I'm just taking the shine off of this corrugated metal. I will rust it up and trim out this building with it to give it an old, dirty rusty look.

Just one small part of what will be an authentic-as-possible fishing village scene.

PIGOTT: Some things are kits and others are not. Here's a building I just made out of scrap material. So, the paper building over there I designed on my computer. It's a prototype, a mock-up . . .

But Pigott isn’t just a model maker. She’s a magic maker, the kind that has kids shaking with excitement.

AUDIO: CHILD WATCHING TRAIN

Most visitors have no idea of the work that goes into what they come to ooh and ahh over. Consider the grass. In modeler lingo, it’s “a base layer of vegetation.”

PIGOTT: I glue real dirt down. And when that's completely dry, then I'll take and put patches of glue where I want the static grass. I use an electric static applicator to make the grass stand up, and that's why it feels so real.

Pigott’s sage green Martha Stewart craft chest may seem a little out of place here, but the drawers are perfect . . . carefully configured to contain everything from bottle rocket sticks to fabric scraps. That’s right. Making things miniature AND realistic is an art. How do you craft chain link fencing at HO scale—when a locomotive is four inches long?

From bridal veil tulle, of course.

PIGOTT: I have an actual little lumber yard of scale lumber. I have from walls of siding all the way down to single one by two scale lumber boards.

She also has scale rulers to do micro math and some handy devices for cutting.

PIGOTT: Here’s the tiny little bitty chop saw. I know, isn't that hysterical? And I also have a table saw. It has the tilt blade and everything just like a real big table saw, but it is miniaturized.

These tools create masterpieces, like her tiny boat-building shop.

PIGOTT: We even have blueprints for boats on the workstations. There's sawdust on the floor. Every book was painted and loaded on that shelf. Yes. (laughs) All the little cans of paint and everything on the shelves in there, that's all hand done.

Pigott has a background in drafting and blueprints, but YouTube is where she learned her modeling skills. She’s set her sights on achieving the rank of master modeler, which involves several steps of demonstrated proficiency. Museum colleagues like Michael Hesser think she’s already there.

HESSER: She says she isn’t a master modeler, but she is, by far. Everyone who sees her work thinks she is a master modeler.

AUDIO: MODEL TRAIN RUNNING

Pigott says she’ll be satisfied when her work matches that of a recent donation to the museum. It’s an over-the-top, room-sized display that’s insured for half a million dollars. But it’s the vintage scenery details—high realism done by professional modelers and artists—that interests Pigott.

PIGOTT: Let’s see. The rock faces, the landscaping, the greenery. It’s been a while since I’ve been over here. But I’m thinking my stuff could maybe fit in over here (laughs)

For Pigott, modeling is relaxing, therapeutic. But unlike many who share her hobby, she’s not tucked away down in a basement. The best part is doing her thing in front of museum crowds.

PIGOTT: Everyone who comes through is coming on vacation or for fun. So they're always uplifted, in a good mood. And so it's a very positive, happy environment, which I think is good and healthy for everyone.

VISTOR: We had a great day. Thank you. (Wendy: Thank you.)

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson in Gulfport, Mississippi.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, July 27th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Paul Butler.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. WORLD commentator Whitney Williams now on the virtue of patience. The right kind

WHITNEY WILLIAMS, COMMENTATOR: My three boys have had a hankering for M&M yogurt lately.

“Can I have M&M whoaaaa-gurt?” one of my 4-year-olds recently asked while I was in the middle of a Zoom call. He pulled on my sleeve for emphasis. I covered my mouth so that it looked like I was coughing, made sure I was muted, and told him in a nice mom, Mary Poppins voice that I would get it in just a few minutes, after I was done with my call.

But the nice mom, Mary Poppins voice didn’t work. He’s started to act a fool to the side of the camera. I feigned a cough once again and broke out the Batman Dark Knight voice: “I’ll get it in a minute.”

By the time I signed off the video call, my other two boys had put in their whoa-gurt requests. I head to the kitchen, get out the tubs of yogurt, the mini M&Ms, three bowls, and three spoons—but not THAT spoon ... THAT spoon!

I tell everyone to get out of the kitchen. It takes great concentration to concoct such culinary masterpieces, you know?

As I start in on the second bowl, an impatient cry comes from the living room. “Mom! I want M&M WHOOOOA-GURT!!”

“I KNOOOOOW. I’m WOOORKING on it ...” I say, one-quarter Poppins, three-quarters Dark Knight.

On super stressful days, I might launch into a diatribe about the fact that while THEY are enjoying their TV show and barking requests from the living room, I’m laying down my VERY LIFE to serve them. I’m not saying these are my finest parenting moments. I’m just telling it like it is. Sinful kids meet sinful mom.

I was reminded of this a few days later, as I stood watching a Sonic employee prepare five drinks for my family. I had ordered ahead on the app JUST as I was walking into the fast food restaurant. But for some reason, I thought our drinks should already be waiting for me on the counter. I had hit the app’s ASAP button, after all! But then I was reminded, it takes time to gather five cups, fill them with ice, and put a different drink in each, making sure it doesn’t overflow. Then to put lids on each cup, wrangle the appropriate size straws, and find a drink carrier. And this poor employee had to do all that while dealing with other customers’ orders, as well.

God met me right there. “You know that thing you’ve been praying about, Whitney? Your M&M whoa-gurt? That thing you hit ASAP on? It’s a good prayer that aligns with my heart for you. But I want you to think about all of the pieces that have to come together for that prayer to come to fruition. Take a look around and you might even see my hands at work piecing it all together. Have some patience, dear daughter, I’m working on it.”

I’m Whitney Williams.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Tomorrow: voting laws. We’ll talk to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp about the effort in Washington to control the way states hold elections.

And, protests in South Africa. We’ll bring you a special World Tour report.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Paul Butler.

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.

When God saw [that the people of Nineveh] turned from their evil ways, He relented of the disaster that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do it.

Go now in grace and peace.

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