Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 12-2-21 E-edition

Thursday, December 2, 2021 | 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
In my OPINION A 'lump of coal' awaits
hard-working Americans
By now we should be in the process
of it becoming obvious to most Ameri-
cans that we now live in a country that
is rapidly losing even basic law and or-
der. One of he most troubling issues
about that skid is that it is a self-inflict-
ed wound. We, the voters, approved
many of these new laws and elected
any number of George Soros selected
and supported district attorneys. Add-
ing to that bit of idiocy, the crazies began to advocate for defunding and even eliminating police departments.
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez once attributed the looting to people doing the stealing in the need for bread and milk. It's really difficult to equate the theft of a Gucci handbag worth thousands of dollars to the need for food. Not to be outdone Nancy Pelosi once equated the ex- tremely violent MS-13 gang to “little boys on their bi- cycles.” Really? I don't believe that the families of their mutilated victims would describe them in the same way.
We've descended morally to the point where gangs of thugs organize their raids on Facebook and swarm over a store, overwhelming the retailers who are unable to deal with such a large gang. One young woman anarchist in New York City defined the expensive items which she had just stolen as “reparations.” No matter how they spin it, it's stealing something that someone else worked hard to pay for. The lives of working men and women are impacted negatively by these throngs of lowlifes.
I've always believed that the arc of any political movement is very much like that of a pendulum. It can only travel so far before it is naturally forced to return from where it came. We should not lose hope because there are indications that the craziness of “woke-ism” and cancel cultural has begun the correction. Although there are still pockets of racism, that term has become akin to the story of the little boy who cried wolf once too often. This is not a nation of systemic racism. That epithet has been so overused it has begun to lose much of its derogatory meaning.
Change from chaos is always difficult but we must take those initial steps. Probably the quickest way to regain our equilibrium is via the ballot box. We must begin to elect representatives of moral turpitude, with conservative attitudes who believe our Constitution is one of the greatest documents penned by mankind. A good start would be for them to do what they promised they would do. Although politicians seemingly have abandoned making American great again, this is still the greatest country in the world.
With only 23 days remaining until Christmas, it seems appropriate to discuss the one gift that no one would ever wish for! American taxpayers are well on their way to receiving a” lump of coal” in their stocking this year, courtesy of President Joe Biden, his minions in Congress and our government bureaucrats.
Let's just be honest about it; oil is the commodity that runs the world's economy. It's one thing to talk about, and dream of, ending the planet's dependence on petroleum but an alternative must be available and in ample supply to satisfy demand. Shutting down pipelines, closing ar- eas to exploration and ending the leasing of government land should be called out by the press, especially when the administration is accusing everyone of price goug- ing, All of this is cloaked as saving the planet, but we are begging other countries to pump more to maintain the world's supply. Talk about the epitome of hypocrisy!
Expensive gasoline is one of those things that dispro- portionately impact the middle class. Profligate spend- ing, running into the trillions, has created inflation which also makes life more problematic for folks caught in the middle. Always remember that a fish rots from the head.
December's arrival signals a rash of holiday parades, activities
Fred Hall — Publisher
Jon Earnest — Editor
Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
During the COVID-19 pandemic these past 20-plus months, many of us probably engaged in "binge-watching" television series or movies. This weekend, you have the oppor- tunity to "binge parade" in your favorite Mid Valley Times city.
If you're the kind who loves bands, floats, arts and crafts, food and drink and the like. this is the weekend for you. WIthin a period of 24 hours, you can join the community spirit by watching (or participating in) Christmas holiday-themed pa- rades in Reedley, Sanger and Dinuba — in that order. First comes the Reedley Electrical Farm Equipment Parade on Friday (7 p.m.), followed on Saturday by the Sanger Toy- land Parade (11 a.m.) and then the Dinuba Christmas 2021 Parade (5:30 p.m.) During my time with Mid Valley Publish- ing, I've had multiple oppor-
tunities to cover the Reedley and Sanger events. This year, I'll get to enjoy the Dinuba fes- tivities for the first time.
All three events have their own unique flair. Reedley fea- tures the clever and color- ful creations that community members do to your everyday tractor, truck bed, hay baler and trailer and other ag equipment. In a chilly evening, the glisten- ing of the lights through down- town is a special sight. The same goes for Sanger, which is a daytime event but includes massive community involve- ment from clubs, organizations, schools and businesses.
I'm sure Dinuba's parade offers the same spectacle. An- other evening event, it's tied in with the city's annual tree light- ing. It's another opportunity for all of us to gather as a commu- nity as we try to slowly emerge from the gloom of much of
2020-2021. •••
The fall
sports season
for our area's
schools official-
ly ended on Nov.
27 with the CIF
State Champion-
ships for cross country at Wood- ward Park in Fresno. Two teams — Sanger High's Division II Cen- tral Section champion girls and boys squads — competed along with Reedley High's Araceli Vil- larreal in Division III girls. The Apaches girls finished ninth in the team standings, and the boys team — led by 10th place indi- vidual David DeLoera — ended in 12th place.
Not bad to be among the se- lect few to compete for a state championship. Congratulations to all the competitors!
Jon Earnest is news-sports editor for The Times.
Jon Earnest
Fred Hall
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
It's time to punish big tech's IP theft
By Kristen Osenga
Guest columnist
Owners of the Apple Watch might be walking around with stolen goods strapped to their wrist. In a complaint filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission this summer, medical device firm Masimo Corporation accuses Apple of stealing patented technology for measuring blood oxygen levels and incorporating that tech into the popular smart- watch.
Masimo's claims aren't far- fetched. For tech behemoths like Apple and Google, appro- priating intellectual property (IP) is an all-too-common strat- egy for maintaining market dominance.
Many of the victims of such theft are smaller operations or individuals without the re- sources to stand up to massive tech companies.
The public and sharehold- ers need to hold these tech firms accountable. Cracking down on Big Tech's predatory IP violations is the only way to defend the rights of inventors and start-ups, while promoting market competition that ben- efits consumers.
Masimo's suit against Apple
is just one of several recent in- stances of alleged IP theft by the biggest players in the tech world. In August, a trade judge ruled that Google violated five different patents owned by speaker-maker Sonos. In 2019, a jury ruled that Apple had infringed three patents of its San-Diego-based supplier Qual- comm.
The principle guiding such behavior is obvious: If you can't beat your smaller competitors, steal from them outright. Odds are, your victim won't have the time or the money to defend their right in court. But if they do, Big Tech will be ready with an army of top-tier lawyers.
Lately though, small com- panies have been calling their bluff — and winning in court. With losses in the hundreds of millions, it's hard to imagine how executives at these tech firms justify their decision to shareholders.
By denying inventors a chance to reach their potential, Google and Apple are suppress- ing the competition that would otherwise benefit consumers by driving down prices.
Major tech firms counter these accusations by claim- ing that IP protections are too stringent, and that the patent
holders are the ones engaging in anti-competitive behavior.
Such arguments are at best a distraction. At worst, these arguments are meant to fool the courts. The ability of a pat- ent holder to seek licensing fees from others who want to use the technology is one of the primary benefits of a patent — and of a free market.
The real threat to compe- tition comes from giant tech firms who refuse to honor the IP of smaller start-ups and in- dividuals. Major technology companies must learn that in- fringement entails significant financial consequences.
Start-ups and individual in- ventors need assurance that their hard-won IP can't easily be stolen by a deep-pocketed Apple or Google. Without such confidence, the incentive to in- novate would evaporate.
An environment of strictly- enforced patents isn't just im- portant for a vibrant, competi- tive tech market -- it's a pre- condition. Big Tech's assault on these essential protections has gone on for too long.
Kristen Osenga is the Austin E. Owen Research Scholar & Professor of Law at the Univer- sity of Richmond (Va.) School of Law.
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.
QUOTE
“If you live long enough, the venerability factor creeps in; first, you get accused of things you never did, and later, credited for virtues you never had.”
— I. F. Stone (1907-1989)
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