Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 8-20-20 E-edition

Thursday, August 20, 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 Government stupidity can
bring a hint of humor
A tragic conclusion to another water incident on river at Reedley Beach
Rick Curiel — Sanger Editor Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
Tenets shared for the twisted teach- ings of Saul Alinsky, Marx, Lenin, and the various advocates of socialism and and anarchy include creating chaos and then controlling the communica- tions and the narrative. That narrative eventually is delivered by a sycophan- tic press to all us who they consider the great unwashed.
By now, you're well aware of the tragic incident at Reed- ley Beach back on Aug. 5 that resulted in the drowning of two people who were swept away by cold and surprising- ly treacherous current of the Kings River.
If you're a reader of our print edition only, last week's issue reporting the incident said that 8-year-old Samantha Cruzpedro remained on life support at Valley Children's Hospital in Madera County as of Aug. 11. Sadly, Saman- tha was taken off life support and passed away that same day. While we were able to re- port her passing in our online e-editions, I feel a need to ac- knowledge the update. It was a tragedy all around, as 29-year- old Manjeet Singh lost his life when he went into the water in an attempt to save Samantha. Even though Singh couldn't swim, he made the brave and ultimate sacrifice in an at- tempt to save a child. He de- serves any tributes and honors that the public offers up.
One such honor comes from Selma, where a large mural has been places at the
intersection of McCall Avenue and Whitson Street. The mural features portraits of both Sa- mantha and Singh.
In my five-plus years work- ing in Reedley, I've seen and heard way too many reports of possible drownings in the riv- er. It's especially heartbreak- ing when a child loses their life. Outside of actually clos- ing off the river to any type of swimming at the longtime Reedley landmark, there is no real solution to mitigate the hazards and often the danger of the river. All I could hope is that people who visit Reed- ley Beach practice the utmost caution. Water above the an- kles, and anywhere a current is taking place, is a warning sign best heeded.
•••
The expected confronta-
tion came to pass between Im- manuel Schools and the Fresno County Department of Pub- lic Health — and the state of California — when the Reed- ley private school began the 2020-2021 school year on Aug. 13 with in-person instruction. Immanuel released a news statement saying that they sin-
cerely believed
that in-school instruction
was best for
their students,
and the county
health depart-
ment respond-
ed by issuing a
Health Officer Order, which eventually could enable the county to enforce a shutdown of the campus.
It's a process that's current- ly in the courts, Fresno Superi- or Court in this instance. Fres- no County is in the process of filing a restraining order and injunction against Immanuel that would allow it to enforce a closure. Immanuel Schools, meanwhile, is in the process of larger legal proceedings, working with other Christian and private schools to file a lawsuit. It's a case of two sides strongly standing behind their respective positions and be- lief.
The coming days and weeks should be interesting.
Jon Earnest is Reedley edi- tor for The Times.
Following hard on the heels of that
goal would be the intent to insinuate themselves into the social, educational and governmental agencies who are in charge of the governing process and policies. Some- how, we've elected people to positions in Congress, both the House and the Senate, who hold open contempt for this country and her citizens. George Soros is the man behind the curtain who has had a big hand in orchestrat- ing all of this. Local mayors and prosecutors have openly said that they refuse to obey the law.
Jon Earnest
Fred Hall
This is the same group who are helping disseminate the idea of eliminating, or reducing the numbers of po- lice and law enforcement officers. Presumably, as a replacement for these armed, trained professionals we would have social workers walking into the middle of a confrontational situation. The “savings” realized in those cuts are to be used in social programs. We've watched the fallacy of such a position going all the way back to the Johnson administration. Its infancy actually goes all the way back to FDR.
Crime is so bad in places like New York City, with the worst mayor to ever hold office, along with Chicago and Portland — both with complete lightweights as mayors — there already is a mass exodus to places like Florida. Remove the police factor from any society, and you can bet it isn't long before anarchy becomes the order of the day! Don't forget that the same people advocating for less or even no police protection also want to take away the only resource left to defend your family. Being anti-Second Amendment, they want to disarm the public.
Even with just a cursory examination of the contem- porary political scene, it's painfully obvious that we have allowed ourselves to sink deeply into the priorities of these groups who hate America and everything about her.
Freedom requires constant vigilance and we, the vot- ers, have fallen woefully short in our obligation.
I'm often asked why I don't write more positive things so the next few paragraphs will be dedicated to that cause. I'm often reminded of the story of the opti- mistic young woman who was asked to remove all the excrement from the stable to which she replied “with that much horse poop in here there has to be a pony hidden somewhere.”
Even with a subject as serious as the pandemic there still is humor if one watches closely. Generally, the humor arises from the stupidity of our government officials in issuing their little “power mad” edicts and clueless handling of the citizenry by stripping away our constitutional rights. A shining example would be the Wisconsin Board of Natural Resources (Yes, there actu- ally is such a government board) mandating that when conducting meetings that have their members alone in their home or office, the members must wear their “Fauci masks.”
We are delighted to see that the Justice Department has begun to un-peel the onion represented by the great “Russian hoax” which hung over this president and America for roughly three years. Criminal indictments have been handed down involving an FBI lawyer and fal- sifying documents used to obtain a FISA warrant against Carter Page, an innocent man. The humor comes from remembering the clumsy machinations of Adam Schiff and Gerald Nadler and watching their ridiculous claims fall apart. You were right, there is humor to be derived from utter stupidity.
May I recommend a movie?
Since many of us are spend- ing more time at home these days and, given the recent heatwave, spending more time on the couch, I thought I might recommend a movie for your viewing pleasure.
The movie is based on a true story that took place about a hundred years ago. An epi- demic breaks out in the Alaskan winter and the only hope for the town of Nome is a man and his team of sled dogs.
Against the odds, the man and his dogs venture into a wilderness ravaged by an epic winter storm in hopes of re- trieving a life-saving serum. The journey for a cure is hun- dreds of miles away, but it’s the journey of a man and his dog, in this case — his lead dog, that ultimately saves the day.
The movie is called “Togo”, the name of the lead dog. If
you’re a dog lover, nature lover and fan of history come-to-life, you’ll love this Disney feature. The lead role of Leonhard Sep- pala is played by Willem Dafoe.
It follows the story of Sep- pala, who raises sled dogs, and focuses on one particularly rambunctious Siberian Husky. The dog begins his journey as a runt, nursed to life by Sep- pala’s wife. Without giving too much away, that runt grows to become what Time Magazine called the most heroic animal who ever lived.
The premise of the movie can best be summed up in a re- sponse to a question posed by Seppala. When questioning his wife’s decision to care for the young husky, he asks her, “What does he bring to the breed?”
Her response: “The heart of a survivor.”
Togo also brings to light
the heart of hu-
man survival,
and captures
what man is ca-
pable of when
drawing on all
resources and
pulling together
in the face of an epidemic. For that reason, it is also a fitting story for the times.
The storm can be seen as a metaphor for the journey we must all traverse in difficult times. And the story’s journey offers hope in uncertain times.
If nothing else, an abun- dance of winter scenes might also help keep you cool during this excessive heat wave.
“Togo” can be streamed on Disney+.
Rick Curiel is Sanger editor for The Times.
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
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QUOTE
“The only thing that's been a worse flop than the organization of non-violence has been the organization of violence.”
— Joan Baez (1941-)
Rick Curiel