Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 12-9-21 e-Edition

Thursday, December 9, 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 tale of fallen morals,
culture and work ethic
The surest road to hell is the grad- ual one — the gentle slope, soft under- foot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. The preceding is a paraphrased quote from C.S. Lewis and seems to fairly repre- sent the situation we find ourselves in America after about two generations of slowly buying into liberalism!
London event this weekend puts cherry atop area's parades return
Fred Hall — Publisher
Jon Earnest — Editor
Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
Fred Hall
It's not difficult to figure out that the public – certainly those of us in the Dinuba, Reedley and Sanger areas of the Central Valley — are happy to get out and mingle with our neighbors and celebrate the return of Christmas holiday season pa- rades this past week. The large turnouts in each of those cities — and what includes Parlier — was the biggest giveaway.
No doubt, we're celebrating a little bit of a return to nor- mal from the last 20 months of a world dealing with COVID-19 and all the ensuing variants of the virus. Last year was limited to "reverse" parades in Reedley and Dinuba — nothing at all in Sanger and Parlier. So it was completely expected that many people would line the street; in fact packed in portions of each parade route.
There were some daz- zling lights on display at both the Reedley and Dinuba eve- ning events on Dec. 3 and 4. The Reedley Electrical Farm
Equipment Parade always at- tracts colorful float entries cleverly, and this year's top attractions were Sweepstakes winner S&S Pump Service and first place finisher Reedley College Forestry and Natural Resources Program. Throw in the magnificent Reedley High Marching Band, and there's plenty of crowd appeal.
Sanger's daytime Toyland Parade — marking its 73rd edition in 2021 — was packed with 90 entries, far more than the other parades. Children and adults alike enjoyed all the floats and holiday fun provid- ed. Then that night, the Dinuba Christmas Parade featured a bevy of events along with the special appearance by home- town baseball hero Dylan Lee, who rode atop the main float. Two nights later, Parlier fol- lowed up its tree lighting from a week earlier with a parade along Fresno Street through its downtown.
Amazingly enough, Santa
Claus managed to make it to all the parade events, still leaving him time to pre- pare toys for children world- wide later this month.
Jon Earnest
Although we have been unable to
establish the verbatim authenticity,
the following quotes from two noted Communist figures summarize their views of what would happen to America. Vladimir Lenin reportedly wrote “Give me two genera- tions of children of Americans in school without God and I will take the nation without firing a shot.” Nikita Khrush- chev allegedly said in a speech, “You Americans are so gullible. No, you won't accept Communism outright, but we'll keep feeding you small doses of Socialism until you finally wake up and find you already have Socialism. We won't have to fight you, we'll so weaken your economy until you fall like overripe fruit into our hands.”
Right about now would be a good time to take a criti- cal look at how far we've fallen in terms of morals, cul- ture and work ethic in today's America. We're well into the process of losing this great nation but for the inher- ent strength of our citizens, it's still not too late.
With all the recent smash and grab looting from high- end stores one might argue that we no longer have any sense of law and order. Remember the little cartoon character who lived in a Georgia swamp? He succinctly uttered “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Think about that! We elected the politicians who have made such a mess of things. As if that weren't enough, we voted for versions of laws which were more beneficial to the criminal than the citizen victim. Last summer's vio- lent riots on the streets of America, which were allowed to go on unabated, presented a sorry statement to the moral depravity which is becoming rampant, especially in what might termed “blue states.” Adding insult to in- jury, we're unable to find where any of the malcontents were ever prosecuted. As a matter of fact, under the new “no cash bail required” guidelines it appeared that, even if they were detained, they were allowed to walk away from the police station scot-free and go right back on the street to burn and loot.
Thank you George Soros and the voters who elected such liberal district attorneys! Some of his most notori- ous picks practice their trade in Philadelphia, San Fran- cisco, Minneapolis, Chicago and Los Angeles. Seattle, it appears, was so fed up with the thugs wearing black in the name of Antifa that they even voted some Republi- cans into office in the most recent election. Apparently there is hope that this great ship will right itself before an insurmountable damage is done to society.
Here in California, we've noticed with some inter- est, that Gov. Gavin Newsom has spoken in defense of Proposition 47. If one will check, that proposition has “set the table” for a great part of today's criminality with it's softening of law. That proposition carried the ballot title of “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” It had nothing to do with either. If its results were not so devastating, that alone would almost be funny! How in hell does the governor support such an abomination? Can you say one party rule and hubris from Democrats?
Following closely on the heels of that bit of black hu- mor, the voters saddled themselves with Proposition 57, which served no purpose other than the emptying of our jails. If there's anything we don't need it's a fresh supply of criminals running loose. It seems to me that we are already well stocked!
When Prop 57 went before the voters it had ben en- titled “The Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act.” I don't know about you, but I don't see what it has to do with public safety. It's just another large dose of lies coming out of Sacramento. California voters be damned. What else is new?
One more holiday parade awaits this Saturday, Dec. 11. It's London's 20th annual Christmas Parade from 11 a.m. to noon in the small Tu- lare County community located between Dinuba and Traver. If you want more information to to participate, call Rob Isqui- erdo at (818) 482-8140.
For the rest of this month, enjoy all the holiday light dis- plays in your community dur- ing this special time of year. You can email in photos of dis- plays you feel are worth men- tioning to jon@midvalley pub- lishing.com.
Jon Earnest is news-sports editor for The Times.
FDA approval of over-the-counter hearing aids is music to Americans' ears
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
By Sally C. Pipes
Guest columnist
Millions of Americans may soon be able to hear a bit easier. The Food and Drug Administra- tion just announced a new rule that would permit over-the- counter sales of hearing aids.
This move to liberalize the market for hearing aids is an unmitigated piece of good news. It recognizes that pa- tients should have greater con- trol over the care they receive. And it promises to increase competition in the market for hearing aids, saving consumers money and expanding access in the process.
Half of seniors over the age of 75 have what the National In- stitutes of Health classifies as "disabling hearing loss." Young- er adults can struggle with their hearing, too. The NIH says that around 14 percent of Ameri- cans aged 20-69 have some level of hearing loss.
At present, a person needs a prescription to get a hearing aid. That's limited access to — and the potential market for —
hearing aids.
These supply restrictions
have elevated the prices of hear- ing aids. Professionally fitted devices seldom cost less than $1,000, and sometimes more than $6,000 — about 17 percent of the U.S. median income.
For the average senior, the outlook is even grimmer. The most expensive hearing aids would strip them of 22 percent of their annual income.
It's no wonder, then, that many people who would ben- efit from hearing aids go with- out. Nearly 60 percent of peo- ple over 55 who have hearing loss don't use them. And over three-quarters of those who do have the cash for hearing aids say they're still too expensive.
Shifting to an over-the-coun- ter model would erase one of the chief barriers to getting a hearing aid — the need for a prescription from a doctor or audiologist. By expanding the potential customer base for hearing aids, it could induce manufacturers to enter the space — and reduce prices for consumers.
A possible preview of what's ahead — speaker and headphone manufacturer Bose already sells over-the-counter hearing aids. They cost $850 -- much less than the thousands of dollars that prescription hearing aids can cost today.
Scrapping regressive FDA regulations on hearing devices also opens up the possibility for even more innovation. Imagine the possibilities. Wireless head- phones that double as hearing aids, or hearing aids that con- nect with a smartwatch.
Requiring people with com- mon forms of hearing loss to jump through hoops to procure low-risk devices that can help them is a pointless burden -- and a cruel one, too.
Sally C. Pipes is president, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith fellow in healthcare policy at the Pacific Research Institute. Her latest book is False Prem- ise, False Promise: The Disas- trous Reality of Medicare for All (Encounter 2020). Follow her on Twitter @sallypipes. This piece originally ran in the Detroit News.
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
“All truths are
easy to under- stand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”
— Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Have an opinion? Want to share it?
news@midvalleytimes.com