Commentary

THE LOTTERY

A modern Louisiana lottery corporation was established in 1991 and became part of a fixture in our lives. The bill was first offered by Senator Ken Hollis of New Orleans, who asked that the funds be dedicated to education. Unfortunately, by the time it cleared both Houses the money was shared by other entities than just education. This was different from the first lottery which was born in 1868 and sold tickets nationally. A wave of corruption relocated operations to Honduras, where tickets were sold for a brief time by mail.

The first on record came in 1810, according to “History of New Orleans” by the late John Smith Kendall, a former war correspondent and a Tulane professor of 25 years. It was conducted by the rector, wardens and vestry men of Christ Church to raise no more than $10,000 for “religious purposes.”

Ask Rusty – My Husband Still Works; Must He Enroll in Medicare at age 65?

Dear Rusty: There is confusion between my husband and me on when he should file for Medicare. My husband will be 64 in July. While he does plan on continuing to work to age 67 and continuing with his employer’s insurance plan, I believe there’s a requirement that he file for a certain part of the Medicare retirement plan at age 65, otherwise there’s some penalty at some point in the future after retirement. There’s lots of confusion with this, and I’m hoping you can explain exactly what the process is in filing for Medicare at age 65 and after reaching full retirement age. Also, please comment on whether continuing with employers’ insurance is an option or if you should file for Medicare at age 65. Signed: Confused About Medicare

We all can help protect the children in our community, even if we’re not parents. Here are 5 ways you can do your part to support families and end abuse.

Be a good listener. Sometimes stressed parents just need to vent their frustrations and emotions and know someone cares.

Remind parents to practice self-care-that it’s OK to take a break and do something they enjoy.

Offer to babysit. Giving an overwhelmed parent a chance to get alone time is a great gift.

Be compassionate bystander. For example, if a child melts down at the store, nod or smile at eh parent to help lower his or her stress.

Donate your children’s used clothing, furniture, or toys to another family. It’s a way to show support and kindness.

To the editor:

Emergencies don’t take vacations. They don’t even take off nights and weekends.

But no matter when they strike, the compassionate actions of Louisiana Red Cross volunteers, financial donors and community partners help ensure that families and individuals never face crises alone.

The Red Cross mission wouldn’t be possible without these community heroes, and we are proud to honor their dedication in March during our annual Red Cross Month celebration.

Our generous donors enable us to give direct financial assistance when disaster strikes -- whether that’s one of the 147 disasters we responded to last year in Central Louisiana or hurricanes such as Ida or Laura that devastated our coast. Help can’t wait when people are left wondering where they’ll sleep or find their next meal, and community heroes ensure it doesn’t have to.

OIL EMBARGO

President Biden, this past Tuesday, made the decision to ban the Russian oil and natural gas imports. At the same time, he turned up the pace to bring in energy from elsewhere that is more political. The US imports only 3% of the petroleum supply and less than 1% of coal from Russia. About 70% of Russian oil can’t find buyers because of sanctions risk. Therefore we have crude oil prices shooting up to $130 per barrel. There’s a better way, but he won’t do it. Stand at the White House and declare that his administration will support the development of U.S. oil and gas. Expedite permits and encourage investment. He won’t do that. He started blaming the U.S. companies immediately for not producing more. This is totally a lie and you can bet the favorable press treatment that the Democrats get will play this up.

STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE

The word “grace” in biblical language can, like forgiveness, repentance, regeneration, and salvation, mean something as broad as describing the whole of God’s activity toward man or as narrow as describing one segment of that activity. Definition describes grace as “the unmerited favor of God toward man”, “mercy” “granting something to one who does not deserve” “benevolent love” “Charitable.” In the Bible grace and mercy are like two heads of the same coin.

Ask Rusty – About Survivor Benefits for Minor Children

Dear Rusty: My nephew died suddenly at 50 years of age and left 2 children, ages 17 and 14. He was divorced, but they were married for more than 10 years, and his ex-wife works as a nurse. My nephew worked for more than 10 years during his lifetime. I want to know if the children are eligible for survivor benefits and the amount of benefits they will receive, and if their mother’s income will affect their eligibility.

Also, will my nephew’s ex-wife be eligible for survivor’s benefit as she is taking care of a child younger than 16 years old? She did not remarry. Will her income affect her survivor’s benefit? Signed: Helpful Relative

DEATH FROM INFLATION

I am by no means an economist or propose to be an authority on our economy. There are facts, though, we need to recognize., Just recently the national debt reached $30 trillion. It is the largest debt in US history and the ratio to gross domestic product is 119%, which is the largest it has ever been. The scary part, it is only getting worst. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that debt to ratio will double over the next three decades. The Highway Trust Fund will become insolvent perhaps even this year. They are also saying that Medicare, Part A, will run out in 2026 and Social Security will go broke in 2033.

1 John 2:26-27: “These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye NEED NOT THAT ANY MAN TEACH YOU: but as the same anointing teachest you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.”

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”