Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 11-19-20 E-edition

Thursday, November 19, 2020 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION Hang on for a bumpy ride
in the coming months
Who among you thought that the
day might come when Nancy Pelosi
would be considered a moderate?
And yet the biased media has chosen
to identify her as such? The Demo-
cratic Party has become so radical
and so far left that Pelosi is consid-
ered by some as the moderate voice
of the party. Given the philosophical
makeup of her narrowed Democrat
majority, it appears that there could be a fight for the speakership she so covets.
It's difficult to believe the woman could get any worse but it appears she will do whatever is necessary to retain her position as Speaker of the House. To do that, we firmly believe that it will require her to em- brace even more of the left wing craziness. Pelosi, we believe, will do whatever it takes to retain her special hold on power. After all, the speakership is only two seats away from the presidency!
When one considers just how malleable the presi- dent-elect is, it presents a frightening proposal for the country. One may read my use of the term malleable as meaning the man is weak.
Biden has already announced that he will rejoin the Paris climate change accords, which will do nothing but cost America tens of millions of dollars; DACA desig- nees will automatically receive citizenship as will mil- lions of undocumented. Illegal aliens will be eligible for all the benefits as tax-paying Americans, and in all probability Biden will remove sanctions from Iran and America will once again sign on to that awful treaty.
Biden already has committed to wipe out the Trump tax cut, which means that most of you will pay more. Add those to all of the anticipated social programs and expansion of big government rules and regulations, and you better hang on for a bumpy ride. The worst part of this scenario is that Biden will be able to accomplish much of this damage to the country through executive order. Given the people we expect to serve as his “han- dlers” we expect a great deal of damage.
Sadly we have to assume a majority of American voters signed on for this giant step toward socialism and put in place the mechanism for that form of gover- nance. It's been an abject failure everywhere it's been attempted bat least a part of America mistakenly be- lieves it will be different here.
COVID-19, much of which Democrats blamed on Donald Trump — and which Biden swore to eradicate — shows no signs of easing its chokehold on the econ- omy. Biden's rumored cabinet would appear just fine with continued governmental overreach and, as a mat- ter of fact would like to see even more governmental control..
Democrat governors seem to be welcoming of all the policing power which they assumed. Constitutional guarantees of freedom for the American citizen seem to be gone with the wind. Perhaps I should be careful in using that expression since many of today's “woke” and “canceled” generation are offended by anything involved the Civil War and history in general.
In an effort to find a bright spot among this mess, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Ange- les Times will see a loss in readership while the ratings for CNN, MSNBC, NBC and other left wing media out- lets will drop precipitously. While all of that is happen- ing, the Washington establishment will be able to give a sigh of relief as everything returns to “normal.”Donald Trump who was the nemesis of all the bottom feeders who inhabit the city can't rest easily because the fol- lowing of Trump voters will not soon go away. We've had a fleeting glimpse of what good government might look like.
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
Brace for the second COVID-19 wave with caution and care
Rick Curiel — Sanger Editor Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
QUOTE
“An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't.”
— Anatole France (1844-1924)
Here it comes, again.
It seems we were just get- ting a handle on things, the virus that is. Numbers were down and some counties, in- cluding Fresno, have recently enjoyed somewhat of a return to normalcy with indoor dining and worship services, with pan- demic precautions of course.
Now, here we are about to embark in what medical ex- perts warn could be one of the darkest seasons in United States history. Even with the news of two promising vaccines, both of which hold the potential to put this pandemic in the rearview mirror, we still have a long way to go in our crawl back to a nor- mal life.
Now is not the time to lay down our guard. When you hear numbers like more than one million US cases in just the past week, it can raise an eyebrow or two – and rightfully so. The virus is still here and entering prime season for most damage.
Remember, we vaccinate for the newest strand of the flu ev- ery year around this time. Sure, notallofusgettheflushotona yearly basis. Some of us would rather take our chances, and we have every right to do so.
But most of us understand the importance of getting the flu shot. It is a preventative measure taken to lessen the odds and the degree in which we might be infected. Every once in a while, however, like once in a century, a strand of
More than support
The news none of us in Fresno County (or Kings County, where I live) wanted to hear came down on Nov. 16: Our home counties were tum- bling back into the "purple ti- er" signifying widespread CO- VID-19 positive case activity. Once again, we're facing the dreary prospect of closed in- door restaurant dining, no in- door use of gyms and fitness facilities, no indoor worship services, no trips to the movie theater or zoo.
When it comes to restau- rants, cafes, coffee shops and other dining — now becomes a time when going out for take- out is important to help those businesses. It was a welcome respite to go back to 25 percent capacity to again enjoy a meal out. But with owners again able to offer only take-out, delivery or outdoor dining, bringing
virus comes around that has the potential to cause mass damage. Pandemics, or plagues if you will, have come and gone throughout the history of man- kind. We are no exception to the rule. This is the pandemic
of our time.
One hundred years from
now, future generations will not look back at this time and think we feel victim to some mass conspiracy or hoax, though some may scratch their heads at the credulity of those who did.
I recently read an article about a nurse in the Midwest who was left devastated by certain patients who refused to believe the virus they were suffering from was real. Even when prompted to videoconfer- ence loved ones before taking a turn for the worse, some re- fused – believing it would all go away. The nurse stated the pa- tients died with anger and hate in their hearts.
History will recall how many lives died from this pan- demic, currently over 1.3 mil- lion and rising. They will look at the things we did well to curb the spread and things we could have done better – as they should. That’s what medical re- cords are for.
But some things that I’m sure will be in play for the next worldwide pandemic, especially in the case of a respiratory vi- rus, are the use of masks and utilizing social distancing.
Have you ever seen a doctor’s mask used during the Black Plague? Yes, the one that looked like a raven with an elongated beak.
Rick Curiel
Fred Hall
Doctor’s back then didn’t think that the bird mask pos- sessed some magical healing powers. They knew enough about the disease to determine it was passed on through the respiratory system. The mask was their best defense against the deadly plague.
Doctors have been wearing masks ever since.
Lord willing, we won’t have to shelter in place again. Lord willing, we can bear the brunt of this second wave with little to no damage. But the odds of that happening decrease significant- ly if we don’t all do our part in the next few weeks and months.
I encourage all of you to wear masks while out in public and around others. If you plan on gathering with family over the holidays, try to do so outside and with enough room to allow for social distancing.
Nobody likes doing what we have to do during this time, but much worse than that is losing a loved one to the pandemic or our time.
Rick Curiel is Sanger editor for The Times.
ever, now's the time to affected businesses
home lunch or dinner can pos- sibly be the difference at some of these establishments staying in business. In Reedley, much credit goes to city officials and workers who helped set up and built "parklets" — the limited outdoor seating areas in park- ing areas along G, 10th, 11th and 12th Streets. In addition, there remains partial street ac- cess for exercise equipment for Fitness Quest Health Club.
Whether you're in Reed- ley, Sanger, Parlier or Orange Cove, make that extra effort to go visit those businesses still able to remain open. And the same goes for our Tulare Coun- ty readers in Dinuba, Orosi and Cutler. Remember your local business, and if you have the available money help out your neighbor. While the last two weeks have been startling with increased positive cases and
sudden hospi- talizations, the hope remains that those will level off. But it remains a slow and arduous road back to a level of normal.
Jon Earnest
•••
This week's issue contains
the sad news of the passing of Chuck Jensen, who coached Reedley High School to con- secutive boys basketball Valley titles back in 1965 and 1966. I'm getting some great feedback on his storied coaching career, and hope to follow up with another writeup on a man who provided the Reedley community with great pride and accomplish- ments more than five decades ago.
Jon Earnest is Reedley edi- tor for The Times.