Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 1-28-21 E-edition

Thursday, January 28, 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
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION Jobs, economic growth
stymied by stroke of a pen
Last week, in one afternoon, our new president managed to effectively wipe out four solid years of jobs and economic growth. Since most of the executive orders he signed seemed to make no sense, we can only assume it was an act of vindictiveness undertak- en to satisfy the far left of his political
party. Fred Hall What can one say about a political
party whose only apparent agenda is to wipe out any traces of the policies that led to the economic successes made possible by the previous president? Let's face it, President Trump fought tough battles against Demo- crats and his own party to enact many of the actions which improved the security and well-being of the aver- age man and woman.
According to James Carville — a former campaign aide to Bill Clinton — It's the economy, stupid. Any as- tute politician with even a modicum of intelligence is well-cautioned to be ever mindful of that small piece of advice.
People tend to vote their pocketbook. President Biden's tsunami of orders is completely counterintuitive. They run the gamut from destroying high paid union jobs to making us less secure and, last but not least, mak- ing sure that biologically male high school athletes will be allowed to compete in athletic events with biological females. I know that's what we tend to blindly accept these days, but it's unfair to the young women because of a whole host of reasons that are naturally present.
A good job accompanied by a decent quality of life is that to which most Americans aspire. Yet, with some- thing that simple at stake. Self-serving state and federal politicians seem to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the constituencies who elected them.
We find it instructional that this first flurry of execu- tive actions, which were done so in an effort to wipe out Trump's legacy, will result in jobs loss running into the tens of thousands. His “brilliant” transportation secre- tary, Pete Buttigieg, opined that these hard-working in- dividuals who are impacted by abandoning the Keystone pipeline and Southern security wall must go somewhere else and get a job. I suspect that Mr. Buttigieg, on his own merits, would have a helluva time finding gainful employment. Feeding at the government trough always results in those folks losing touch with reality.
Funny thing about Biden's cabinet picks, apparently one needs little or no experience in the matters with which their agency will deal. It seems to truly matter about appearance, race, political correctness and a host of other markers which have nothing to do with ability.
We find ourselves in the middle of a pandemic. Busi- nesses across the entire country have been shuttered because of the orders of bureaucrats — both elected and unelected — using “junk science” which they are unable to support. Couple that with all the people who have lost their jobs to satisfy a “nutty left” agenda to which Biden has subscribed and one has to ask why we suddenly open our Southern border to some of the poorest people in Central and South America. It does provide cheap labor but has tremendous impact on Americans who deserve first shot at those jobs and a livable wage.
Remember well that even Cesar Chavez was opposed to illegal immigration for reasons that are still valid. Cheap labor does, indeed, suppress wages for everyone.
Actually, Biden doesn't seem to be a strong believer in anything he does. We believe he sold out to the radi- cal wing of his party to be elected. Truth is, we have no idea of what his core feelings — we're not sure he even knows his positions until he's instructed by his handlers. In Biden we see a “stalking horse” for socialist factions. Kamala Harris is waiting in the wings!
Dinuba High cheer team does itself proud in 'Dance Across America'
Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
There's no other way to say it. Dinuba High School's var- sity cheer squad did its school, city, county and region proud with the stellar video perfor- mance it put on earlier this month in a video audition for "Dance Across America." It was such an impressive show- ing, it caught the eye of the high-profile organizers to the extent that the team was one of just 275 submissions to make the final cut for the na- tional video that was played as part of the Biden inauguration celebration on Jan. 20.
Organizing the audition was sophomore cheer squad member Alena Garver, who herself has an impressive re- sume in dancing.
She's an accomplished dancer who has performed as a member of the LA SparKids dance crew, and built up her own celebrity. Young Alena was profiled a few years back in The Dinuba Sentinel. and was lauded then for her dance skills as a child.
In this case, Garver brought her DHS cheer team- mates into this experience af- ter she learned of the video submission process. The tal- ented unit quickly picked up on the video's song – the clas- sic Motown hit "Dancing In The Streets" by Martha & The Vandellas — three weeks ago and knocked out their audition in a matter of hours. Over- seeing the process was team
coach Angelica Quintana. The payoff was being se- lected for the final video, where the team danced along- side videos of eight other dance groups about three- quarters of the way through the 3-minute plus video. Watching the video (you can catch it on YouTube by search- ing for Dance Across Ameri- ca), it's evident that the team can hold its own with any of the other talented dancers that
were selected. Congratulations to all the
girls for their performance. It's a feel-good moment for a group of students who've weathered the frustrations of nearly a full year unable to perform their routines before crowds because of COVID-19.
•••
On the subject of the virus,
credit also goes out to mem- bers of Adventist Health's health workers and staff-lead- ers with the Kings Canyon Unified School District that helped organize COVID vacci- nations on Jan. 23 in the park- ing lot at Adventist Health Medical Office-Reedley Jef- ferson. The drive-up event resulted in about 400 vacci- nations being administered without incident, at a time when supplies of the vaccine are becoming scarce in many parts of Fresno County.
At its Jan. 26 regular meet- ing, members of the Reedley City Council and City Man-
ager Nicole
Zieba praised
the health
care workers
and KCUSD
staff involved
with the event.
Three council
members, Bob
Beck, Anita Betancourt and Ray Soleno, all received shots at the event. Beck praised the health workers for their pro- fessionalism in helping make the event run smooth and with- out extended waits for those receiving shots. "You go up to Fresno, you're going to wait four to five hours," Beck said. Zieba also praised the KCUSD board for how they continue to provide ahead of the curve programs and options for the community.
•••
Just another reminder to
the Sanger community, "Raid- ers Nation" and Central Valley pro football fans in general, you still have more than a week to sign a petition of sup- port Tom Flores in his bid to be inducted into the Pro Foot- ball Hall of Fame. Provided you're over 21 years of age, you can electronically sign the petition by going online to CoorsLight.com/Iceman and add your electronic signature of support.
Let's hope this is the years for Sanger's famous "Iceman." Jon Earnest is news/sports
editor for The Times.
Jon Earnest
Letters from readers
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
More of the same
Here we go again.
I thought I was going to sit back and watch my world im- plode. Cut out the TV news, de- pressing, but I always support local papers no matter; whether at home or traveling.
I found out in 2016 I was "deplorable." Now, according to Mr. Mendoza, I'm a member of a cult of 75 million people.
I would like to know where he was when Antifa burned, looted and killed people. I don't
think we heard from him. What happened when the capital was stormed was wrong, and they should be prosecuted. I
believe in law and order.
Did Mr. Mendoza mention that Antifa was part of that
group? I don't think so.
You thought it would stop
when Biden got into office, but it hasn't and won't until we have someone who actually cares about the American people.
Mr. Mendoza ask yourself who funded Antifa, who bailed them out of jail so they could
continue their destruction.
It certainly wasn't Donald Trump. Have you even listened to his speech asking for peace- ful gatherings, or are you lis- tening to the news media that
abhors him?
Trump will go down in his-
tory as the best president this country ever had, always look- ing out for the people, and if this makes me a member of a cult, I accept.
Shirley Gonsalves Reedley
Letters Policy
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QUOTE
“No matter how rich you become, how famous or powerful, when you die the size of your funeral will still pretty much depend on the weather.”
— Michael Pritchard (1949- )