Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 12-3-20 E-edition

Thursday, December 3, 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 Plenty to question about
the 2020 General Election
Have you ever found yourself
recently asking “How in the world
was Joe Biden able to defeat Donald
Trump in the 2020 General Election?”
Welcome to the club! Biden ran abso-
lutely no campaign and never gave the
American voter any glimpse of what
his agenda might be — other than pan-
dering to the far left and their socialist
programs. Credit the mainstream me-
dia and big tech for providing cover for the candidate. The press which should always serve as a watchdog for the public interest failed miserably in their scrutiny of candidate Biden. Or, maybe that was their goal!
Let's just begin with a basic reason for questioning the outcome of the General Election. Why not begin with the anomaly of 80 to 90 percent turnout by the electorate. Add to that the fact that Joe Biden received more votes than anyone is history. Consider all of that in the face of the “president-elect” spending most of the time in his basement and never really conducting any sort of campaign. If memory serves correctly Biden didn't venture far from his home in Maryland.
Adding insult to injury was a system of voting and counting of those ballots that would seem more like a third world country. Uncontrolled distribution of mail-in ballots being sent to everyone; ballot harvesting; signa- tures on ballots not matching those of the voter; some precincts where there were more votes cast than voters in that area; continued absence of any sort of identifica- tion required and the possibility for malfeasance con- tinues on! In the past, the United States has sent people to third world countries to assure — as much as pos- sible — that their elections were free and fair. Maybe we should begin here first before trying to solve other people's problems.
Wonder how the press could possibly affect the out- come of an election? In America's case, it would come as an error of omission and objective reporting.
Polling done since the election indicate that many Americans were completely unaware of the scandals involving Joe and Hunter Biden. People who get their news from CNN, the Washington Post, New York Times, NBC, MSNBC and any of big tech's news sites knew nothing about that bit of malfeasance because it was covered up and not reported. Journalism is dead. It has been replaced by activism and we're all the poorer be- cause of it!
In the middle of all the claims of election fraud, re- counts and questions about the integrity of voting com- munity comes the assertion that Dominion Systems was purchased by the Chinese back in October, “President- elect” Biden has begun to announce members of his cabinet. If that doesn't frighten you, nothing will! It's painfully obvious that the goal of this administration is to undo everything Donald Trump did. Remember Trump gave us the strongest, most vibrant economy in years. Everyone, including minorities, did well under the Trump administration. Remember the thought that a ris- ing tide lifts all boats. Maybe that's why Trump received a record number of minority ballots in the past election.
One can bet that the borders will be flung wide open and tax relief will be taken off the board to accommodate new social programs designed to reapportion income. One of the items on the Biden cabinet wish list is a carbon tax, which will increase the price of a gallon of gas by 40 cents. There can be little doubt that this increase will impact the poor and middle class disproportionately.
Given the current political system and its lack of in- tegrity, which as a general rule, is supported by a pha- lanx of liberal judges, we see little hope for any relief on this past election.This will require a commitment to a fair and impartial system, or one party will dominate for years to come!
History repeating itself watching a talented Fresno State receiver
Rick Curiel — Sanger Editor Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
QUOTE
“The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.”
— Horace Walpole (1717-1797)
It was in September 2012 when I got my first glance at him on the football field. It was the first game of the new sea- son and people from all over the Valley were wondering what would come of Fresno State’s football program.
Ticket sales were in decline after a couple of years of strug- gling for the Bulldogs. But this year was different. Fresno State had Derek Carr and many were excited to see what he could do, especially after seeing what his older brother David did for the program.
I wanted a good seat for the kickoff of this season. And since the tickets were cheap I bought two tickets on the visi- tor’s 50-yard line.
It was a perfect day for foot- ball. They day was warm and the weather was perfect for this afternoon game.
Fresno State was playing a lesser opponent in Utah State and I remember feeling confi- dent in a Bulldog victory. What I wasn’t expecting was to see the level of talent on the field.
Granted, I expected to see Carr perform at a high level. But there was one wide receiv- er who gained my full attention from the outset. From the first
time he caught the ball and im- mediately spun away from the defender for a large gain, to his precise routes and speed, I knew right away that I was watching a star in the making.
I must have talked my wife’s ear off about how good this kid was. I look him up in the pro- gram and realized he was just a freshman but was playing well beyond his years. He wore No. 15 and he was playing at anoth- er level.
I must have spent the entire first half raving about this guy when I felt a tap on my shoulder from a fan sitting behind us.
“You know that kid you’re talking about, that’s our grand- son,” said the older gentlemen sitting behind us — his wife grinning from ear to ear.
He went on to explain how his grandson had been playing since he was just a kid and that he had put in so much work to get where he was. They also ex- pressed how proud they were of him.
“He’s a very gifted athlete,” I responded. “I can’t wait to see him play on Sundays.”
That wide receiver was Davante Adams. And though I don’t like what he did to my Bears on Sunday night, I can’t
help but feel a since of pride in seeing him play on Sundays — even if he’s a Green Bay Packer.
It reminds
me of another
time I witnessed a current Fresno State wide receiver in an early game. He must have been maybe 10 years old at the time. Yet, even at that age he was running by everyone else on the field.
The game was a youth foot- ball game in Sanger. I remem- ber watching in amazement as play after player this kid ran past every defender in what seemed like an older kid taking advantage of much younger ones. But that wasn’t the case. He was just playing at another level.
A little more than two weeks ago, I saw him again playing at another level — putting up mon- ster numbers for Fresno State and making it look easy.
And so I’ll just say it. I can’t wait to see Jalen Cropper play on Sundays.
Rick Curiel is Sanger editor for The Times.
Rick Curiel
Fred Hall
More COVID fallout with delay of prep sports, Sanger parade canceled
As if 2020 and the effects of COVID-19 haven't been tough enough on us here in the Cen- tral Valley, here come a couple of more setbacks for December.
The latest came late Tues- day, Dec. 1, when the Califor- nia Interscholastic Federation announced that the state's de- partment of health has forced a delay of beginning practice for "Season 1" (the revised fall sports season) until at least Jan. 1. That means the hope for ath- letes and fans of prep football, volleyball, water polo and cross country won't get to see their teams play until mid-January at the earlier, the possibly weeks after that.
That news came one day af- ter the Sanger District Cham- ber of Commerce announced the cancellation of this year's Toyland Christmas Parade
scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 5. The chamber said is de- cided to take what they called extreme precautionary mea- sures to protect members of the community. Initially, organizers were attempting to have a "re- verse" parade format.
Early this week, Dinuba of- ficials continue plans for its Electric Light Christmas Pa- rade, also on Saturday, Dec. 5. We wish the best of luck to the event, and hope Dinuba and sur- rounding communities turn out in support (safe and physically- distanced, of course).
•••
I understand the frustra-
tion of the many people who attempted to view the Reedley "Holiday Lane" reverse parade the evening of Nov. 28. There were many complaints of traf- fic backed up as far as Frank-
wood Avenue near T.L. Reed School, and many people didn't get to pa- rade past floats by the time the event reached it 9 p.m. conclu- sion.
Jon Earnest
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
Letters Policy
MID VALLEY TIMES invites letters from the public on any topic of local relevance. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity or brevity, and we reserve the right to NOT publish them if they could be deemed libelous or profane. Letters should be 350 words or less, and bear the author's name, address, and phone number. Letters can be mailed, emailed, submitted via our website, or personally delivered to: Editor, Reedley Exponent, 1130 G St, Reedley CA 93654.
Erik Valencia expressed the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce's regret at not accommodating all attendees. Despite the complications, Va- lencia and the chamber should be laudedw for their efforts in providing some type of Reedley Fiesta and Christmas parade. Hopefully, they won't have to take the opportunity to smooth out these rough spots in 2021, as we regain a sense of normalcy.
Jon Earnest is Reedley edi- tor for The Times.
Have an opinion? Want to share it?
news@midvalleytimes.com