Page 4 - Reedley Exponent 1-17-19 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A4 Thursday, January 17, 2019 Editorial & Opinions
Serving “The World’s Fruit Basket” since 1891
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
Town Halls give you opportunity to voice opinions about your city
Jon Earnest — Editor / Sports Juanita Adame — Panorama Editor Budd Brockett — Editor Emeritus
QUOTE
“My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I’m happy. I can’t figure it out. What am I doing right?”
Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000)
Gavin Newsom was sworn in this past week, becoming the 40th governor of the state of California. Newsom announced, as his ad- ministration’s policy, sanctuary for everyone as well as a “pie-in-the-sky” laundry list of more available housing, health care for all whether or not you are a citizen, affordable housing, and a lower cost of living. Given a long list of unpleasant and inconvenient facts which now exist on the ground in our state, one would have to be either delusional or po- litically lying in order to make such a claim.
Fred Hall
Admit it, you’ve always wanted to sound off about how you’re upset with something about your city. May- be you’re bothered by crime, gangs, the homeless, business options. Or maybe you’re simply unhappy with your neighborhood, streets, or those who govern you.
Now’s your chance to give your feedback.
City officials announced at the Jan. 8 Reedley City Council meeting that the city plans to hold six monthly “Reedley Town Hall” meetings, with most taking place the final Monday evening of the month. The first one will be on Monday, Jan. 28, at 6 p.m. in the Reedley Community Center’s Senior Room. The topic should be of interest to many residents — “So Ma- ny Homeless People in Reedley Now!” The meeting will give the community the opportunity to speak out and the homeless situation, which has shifted from the eastern half of the city to portions of wooded area along the Kings River near the River Bottom development.
But in addition to addressing the challenge the city faces with the homeless, the town hall will inform the community about the federal laws that need to be followed to avoid overreach in enforcing homeless from undesirable areas. During the course of the winter and spring, resi- dents also will get to discuss issues
like local commerce and businesses, crime and gangs, local government, the city’s streets and roads and Reed- ley’s water situation in dealing with drought conditions.
The city is to be commended for scheduling these meetings and be- ing transparent to the public. If you have a complaint, gripe — or even compliments and words of praise — these meetings are just the place to interact with city leaders. We have a short writeup on page A1 to detail each upcoming town hall. If you want additional information, you can call City Hall at 637-4200, ext. 212.
•••
Time quickly is ruining out to sub-
mit a nominee for the Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce’s 2019 Busi- ness and Community Awards that will be presented in February. You have through Wednesday, Jan. 23, to drop off a submission at the Reedley Cham- ber of Commerce office (1633 11th St.) or at The Exponent office (1130 G St.), or send in an email (download forms at reedleychamberofcommerce.com). Winners will be honored at the cham- ber’s annual awards gala on Saturday, Feb. 16, at Reedley College.
You can submit a worthy nominee for one of the following categories: Citizen of the Year, Youth Citizen of the Year, Large Business of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Entrepre- neur of the Year, Safety Professional
of the Year, Edu- cator of the Year, Health Profes- sional of the Year
and Reedley Beau- tification. You can make a nomination
in any of the cate- gories. If you have
any questions, call
Erik Valencia at
the chamber at 638-3548.
The governor’s promise of a bright future for California under the continued guidance of the Democratic Party strains credulity, especially when one considers the litany of problems with which we are faced. Given the situation in which California finds itself, we have to seriously question those who claim there is no national crisis existing at our southern border by taking a critical look at what mass, uncontrolled immigration has wrought.
California has the dubious claim of having the highest percent- age of residents over the age of 25 whose education ended prior to the ninth grade...that’s roughly 4 million Californians. We rank next to last (48 out of 50) among states whose residents never graduated from high school. We’re talking about almost one in five Califor- nians who have little formal education. Contrast that to pockets, such as Palo Alto, where 40 percent of the city has a master’s degree, or higher! That sort of disparity is the prescription for a disaster and, know what, it is directly attributable to our desire to bring even more emigrants into this country as cheap labor.
How can this be the case in a state where some of the most renown universities ply their trade? We’re glad you asked be- cause there is a rather simple answer. The California State Uni- versity System has been actively involved in creating a student body where only about 20 percent are English proficient. Sources indicate that, at one time, the remediation rate was about 35 per- cent but that has been recently scrapped as being offensive and archaic. Any institution which accepts “happy and stupid” as an alternative because to do otherwise might harm the self esteem of a student is a direct contributor to failure.
We’re left to ask, as most laymen, what the hell ever happened to “academic excellence” and “the best and brightest?” No ques- tion about it that there is a place for everyone in our society, but the idea of outcome parity through political correctness is a non- starter. When people stand calmly aside and accept being fed ba- loney by academics, we get exactly what we deserve — a second rate society!
Taking a deeper dive into the asymmetrical mess that our state has become, one must ask the question of why, with the highest tax rates in the nation, do we enjoy such poor return in terms of service. Proving our point about burdensome taxation would be the fact that our income top tax rate at 13.3 is the highest in the nation; sales tax at 8.5 percent is 49th; and a bewildering total of gasoline taxes and surcharges is at 55 cents per gallon which is second highest in the entire country. You know the shape our roads are in by making a simple two-hour drive to our coast.
Surely our schools represent a bright, shining point, you might say. Consider the fact that our public school test score rank 46th nationally. English and math scores are embarrassingly low! Na- tional surveys show California’s “standard for the world” system of roads and freeways come in with a ranking of 45th in the nation. Talk about a race to the bottom!
When simple facts are laid in front of one for examination, it’s difficult to realize which California it was that Gavin Newsom was describing during his swearing-in ceremonies in Sacramento. He talked about a great house that was filled with the good life for all. Increasingly we see two houses — the wealthy, well edu- cated one and a permanent under-educated underclass. Taxes and governmental regulations and rules have managed to decimate our middle class — the key support for money to fund our social programs — and sent them fleeing the state in search of an af- fordable cost of living.
Why do the political leaders who we elect take such a righteous look at “red state” America when fully 25 percent of the homeless population of this country sleep on the streets of California. Our liberal attitude toward crime and criminals has resulted in the state trying to empty our jails and transfer the expense of crimi- nals running loose to the taxpaying citizens? San Francisco ranks number one in per capita property crimes among all of America’s largest cities.
During the last 15 years there have been approximately 6 mil- lion Californians who have fled to other states. These are — as a general rule — middle class Republicans who seek more comfort- able circumstances for their families. One shouldn’t worry about a drop in population impacting our representation in Washington because they have been replaced by immigrants capable of doing jobs at low wages. That very issue also has resulted in California being a state with political control in one party — the Democrats.
If you doubt the political shift then explain how Hillary Clinton lost her election against Donald Trump and the media. Ms. Clinton won California by 4 million votes, which was completely out of step with the rest of America.
Immigration alone has not done all of this to California but it sure as hell has contributed. Democracy can’t exist with what amounts to a permanent underclass and a wealthy elite who take advantage.
We’ve tried everything else and it hasn’t worked. Build the wall!
But, as usual, that’s only one man’s opinion.
Jon Earnest
•••
By the time you read this, you
may already have experienced the scheduled sidewalk repair work along parts of G Street in downtown Reed- ley on Jan. 16. Construction workers were scheduled to repair sidewalks in front of various businesses (including The Exponent) for much of that busi- ness day. The city’s goal is to keep the sidewalks safe and accessible to the public, including the many valued se- nior citizens who live here.
While there will have been a bit of inconvenience — especially if there was significant rain as predicted by the weather service — it’s all for the best. Many complained long and loud about the potholes and bumps on Manning and Reed Avenues, then turned the ire to the length of the construction project. But we’re now reaping the benefits of a comfortable drive that doesn’t rattle our vehicles’ shock absorbers.
Controversy over Angela Davis and a human rights award
By Earl Tilford
Guest columnist
On Jan. 4, the Birming- ham Civil Rights Institute revoked its invitation to honor city native Angela Y. Davis at a February gala event where she was to re- ceive the institute’s Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth Hu- man Rights Award. Many individuals inside and out- side the city objected to giv- ing Davis this award due to her record as a member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), brief association with the Black Panther Par- ty, and ongoing association with Black Lives Matter and the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement.
The Rev. Fred Shuttles- worth, an ordained Baptist minister, founded the Ala- bama Christian Movement in 1956 after the state out- lawed the National Associa- tion for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Later that year Shuttles- worth and his family were unhurt after the Ku Klux Klan detonated 15 sticks of dynamite under his house. He later fostered demon- strations in 1963 that led to desegregation of public fa- cilities and hiring of blacks by downtown employers.
Throughout those tur- bulent years, Shuttlesworth and the NAACP renounced relationships with the CPU- SA, and for good reason: the party targeted Alabama’s so-called Black Belt (lan- guage that CPUSA used) along with the mine and steel workers in Birming- ham. Angela Davis, who was born in Birmingham in 1944, joined the CPUSA in
Other Opinions
the early 1960s and twice ran for vice president on the party’s ticket. She retained her CPUSA affiliation until after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Examining the Davis re- cord, during her freshman year at Brandeis University she joined the Che-Lumum- ba Club, a group sponsored by the CPUSA and named for Argentine Communist Ernesto Che Guevara and Congolese Communist Pa- trice Lumumba. (One of the leading Kremlin-run univer- sities in the USSR was Pa- trice Lumumba University, which became a leading training ground for Middle East jihadists.) After earn- ing a master’s degree in African-American Studies from the University of Cal- ifornia, San Diego in 1968, Davis enrolled at East Ber- lin’s Humboldt University to earn a doctorate the fol- lowing year. After the Uni- versity of California, Los Angeles immediately hired her the California Board of Regents under Gov. Ronald Reagan just as immediately fired her. She was reinstat- ed after the American Asso- ciation of University Profes- sors threatened UCLA with the blacklist.
In August 1972, Davis began her international sup- port for human rights with a visit to Castro’s Cuba, a country she visited ear- lier as part of an American anti-Vietnam war delega- tion. A month later, it was off to East Germany, where Communist leader Walter Ulbricht conveyed upon Davis the Star of People’s
Friendship Award along with an honorary doctorate from Leipzig University. In October, she was in the Soviet Union at the invita- tion of the Central Commit- tee to receive an honorary degree from Moscow State University. Seven years lat- er, in 1979, Davis was back in the USSR to receive the Lenin Peace Prize. In her acceptance address, Davis praised, “The glorious Lenin and the great October Revo- lution.”
How can 20 million Gu- lag dead jibe with any hu- man rights award?
Defenders of present- ing Davis with the Shuttles- worth Award point to her extensive scholarly and aca- demic achievements. These include a professorship in ethnic studies at San Fran- cisco State and as professor of human consciousness and feminist studies at the Uni- versity of California, Santa Cruz. She also received a visiting professorship at Rutgers, UC Santa Barbara, and Syracuse University. In 2014, Davis was back at UCLA as a Regents Lectur- er. Her scholarly writings are largely ideological po- lemics on feminism, revolu- tion, and prison reform. Her academic accomplishments speak eloquently to the de- cline of American higher education.
What about Davis as social activist? In August 1970, she became the third woman ever named to the FBI’s 10 most wanted list when she provided guns used to abduct Judge Har- old Haley, a prosecutor, and three female jurors from a Marin County, California
courthouse. During the es- cape attempt, Judge Haley and three of the criminals involved were killed in a shootout. Davis was ar- rested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder. A jury’s not guilty verdict was based their contention that her ownership of the weap- ons involved did not imply criminal conspiracy.
Now that Davis is a mid- septuagenarian, some say her missteps are “ancient history.” Not so. In May 2017, sponsored by George Washington University Stu- dents for Justice in Pales- tine, Davis condemned Is- rael for its “ethnic cleansing strategies.” At GWU, Davis attempted to connect Black Lives Matter to her cam- paign for prison reform by stating: “If we call the U.S. a prison nation ... Palestine under Israeli occupation is the world’s largest open-air prison.”
Charitably, one might assume that the attention and accolades conveyed on Angela Davis by American academic institutions and narrowly averted by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute issue from igno- rance of her record caused by decades during which the study of history has de- volved into fables conceived in self-serving multicultural and diversity polemics. To be ignorant of the past is to defile the present and de- stroy the future.
Earl Tilford is a military historian and fellow for the Middle East & terrorism with The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City (Pa.) College.