Page 4 - Dinuba Sentinel 5-24-18 E-edition

Opinion
A4 | Thursday, May 24, 2018
In My Opinion
Political involvement critical in
Central Valley
Fred Hall - Publisher
Last Wednesday evening, I received the great honor of being asked to serve as
moderator of a political forum for the Government Affairs Committee of The Dinuba Chamber of Commerce. On the agenda for the evening were four candidates for State Assembly 26th district and two candidates for Tulare County Supervisor District 4.
Six of the seven candidates who
were able to attend were greeted by
a delightful Central Valley Spring evening, well prepared with tasty Hors d'oeuvres, as well as an interested and involved turnout of local citizens. Since the forum was outdoors at The Alta Historical Society it would be redundant to say the venue was absolutely beautiful. The questions—provided
by those local citizens—were often
open and pointed as they probed for candidate positions on items considered crucial to the local area.
This event is cited in particular because it, once again, points out how critical it has become to the Central Valley to become active, aware and involved in all local politics
The truth is that our area of the State has become “the red headed stepchild” of statewide politics. We are, with increasing frequency, being given short shrift with governmental financing and other issues which dramatically impact the quality of life in our small cities. It's more important now than ever that we must thoroughly study and research
the candidates we select to oversee and protect our interests. There can be little doubt that all candidates are completely dedicated while running but are often seduced and subverted by the halls of power once elected. Dig deep with each and everyone of them!
It's never been more important
than it is right now to send people
with strong values to represent our Central Valley. Burgeoning budgets, governmental pensions, rising taxes
and a tendency to completely ignore the needs of agriculture make it imperative that we make our votes count to return California to its era as the "Golden State." All the rosy projections being flouted from Sacramento will mean absolutely nothing if we have mortgaged the futures of our children and grandchildren.
This time the stakes are high! The time spent in examining the actions and past proclamations—as well as the ethical behavior—will provide insight
Guest Column
Te moral revolution America needs
Fred Hall
into how they might act as opposed to their spouting political opinion which has been group tested.
With the California primaries facing all of us on Tuesday, June 5, it's time to either fish or cut bait. Are we going to allow the
status quo of growing state budgets, increasing government and their pensions which are so out of control or are we going to elect people who will attempt to bring it under control? Are we going to continue to support
a government that rewards itself by putting common criminals back on the street to rob, steal and plunder? That's Sacramento's job!
Will we stand idly by while utility and fuel costs go through the roof? Will
we allow politicians to plow another $1 billion into MediCal to provide health care for non citizens. Lies have been sold about increasing water storage here in the Valley and yet nothing happens. There is a housing shortage and the housing which is available is beyond the price range of most Californians, both of which one can lay right at the feet of the political overlords.
The Governor can talk about his “rainy day” funds all he wants, but
this state is on the verge of financial ruin. The check for all those unfunded liabilities will become due and rainy
day funds won't make a dent in that number. Read, question and investigate the candidates this year. Your vote may be considered critical to the very future of this beautiful state.
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
As a separate afterthought please consider this: Much has been said over recent weeks about taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation's publicly funded “abortion mill.” When they cry “poverty” if denied taxpayer support, claiming that it will deny basic services, consider that they have spent $30 million on the upcoming mid- term elections. If they have that kind of money to throw around to influence elections why the hell do they need any taxpayer money at all? I don't know about you, but I don't want any of my money being spent on either abortions or liberal Democrat politicians!
Fred Hall is the publisher of The Sentinel.
Guest Column
In an age of fake news, journalists are activists for truth
President Trump has prompted a new era of attacks on journalists, emboldening other politicians across the country and around the
globe to follow suit.
These assaults on the credibility of the news media have
already had an alarming impact: Two months before the 2016 presidential election, Gallup found that Americans’ trust in mass media fell to its lowest levels in the history of its polling.
But Trump is just the latest in a long line of threats to effective journalism.
Across the country, many communities lack a single newspaper that uniquely serves their area. The growth of these news deserts has been worsened by the influence of Facebook and Google in the advertising industry, and by billionaires who buy news outlets and then gut them.
As financial incentives change, journalists are asked to produce content that will attract clicks and advertisers, instead of stories that expose corruption, spotlight the marginalized, or alert the public to injustice and abuse.
These times call for renewed recognition and support for journalism dedicated to serving the common good. And for the past 68 years, that’s precisely the kind of journalism the Sidney Hillman Foundation, which I lead, has dedicated itself to honoring.
Named after Sidney Hillman, who founded and led the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, the awards have come to be known as the “People’s Pulitzers.”
The winners of the 2018 Hillman Prize — who were honored this month — are uncovering the truth and creating change on some of the great issues of our times, from labor abuses to war crimes to white-collar drug trafficking.
Take, for example, the relentless reporting from USA TODAY journalist Brett Murphy, who documented an extensive network of abusive lease-to-own contracts from port trucking companies. Those deals turned tens of thousands of mostly immigrant truck drivers into modern-day indentured servants.
Workers have been trying to organize for years with the Teamsters to correct these abuses, and Murphy’s
Bruce Raynor
work helped spur immediate changes. It prompted internal audits by major
retailers — including Target, Home Depot, and Walmart — to ferret out abusive port trucking companies in their supply chains. And it spurred the introduction of federal, state, and local legislation to improve safety conditions for port truckers.
housands of civil rights things like housing advocates, low-wage workers, and employment and religious leaders kicked discrimination,
And consider a joint investigation by reporters from 60 Minutes and the Washington Post
that exposed a war within the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Justice Department over whether to hold the powerful drug industry accountable for fueling the opioid epidemic.
The report forced the Trump administration’s would- be drug czar — Rep. Tom Marino, who helped pass a
bill making it harder to crack down on companies that sold opioids to suspicious pharmacies — to withdraw his nomination. And it prompted investigations by Congress into the DEA’s failure to aggressively pursue the worst offenders in an epidemic that’s claimed 200,000 lives and counting.
From Nazi Germany to the modern-day Philippines, the first sign of a foundering democracy has always been the erosion of a free press.
This is why our nation’s founders enshrined the
right to a free press in the very first amendment to
the Constitution, and why today we must amplify the work of journalists who force transparency on powerful institutions from City Hall to Capitol Hill, despite increasingly strong headwinds.
Since 1950, the Hillman Prizes have recognized journalists whose reporting exemplifies Sidney Hillman’s belief that a free press was essential to a fair and equal society. These journalists are activists for the truth and accountability that underpins our democracy — and in this moment, we must be advocates for them.
Bruce Raynor is president of the Sidney Hillman Foundation.
off massive protests on May 14, launching a 40-day campaign across the nation in an effort to revive Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign.
The Poor People’s Campaign brings together poor and marginalized people from all backgrounds, places, and religions to stand up for their lives and rights by calling for a “revolution of American values.” They’re taking aim at the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, and ecological devastation.
The first Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 brought thousands of Americans of all races together to fight for fair incomes and living standards. After King was murdered that same year, the movement slowed down. But with the fights for racial and economic equality as intertwined now as they were 50 years ago, organizers believe that
the movement’s vision for America couldn’t come at a better time.
The Poor People’s campaign calls not only for a radical redistribution of political and economic power, but for a deep moral analysis of the national consciousness around poverty and racism.
This analysis calls out the common myths that perpetuate systemic inequality, including the dangerous belief that poverty is the fault of the poor. Those with more than ample wealth, the narrative goes, fully merit what they have. And others merit less.
My colleague Chuck Collins describes this narrative as the “myth of deservedness.” In his book Born
on Third Base, Collins defines that myth as the belief “that people are poor because they don’t try as hard, have made mistakes, or lack wit and wisdom.” And the rich, the same story goes, have worked “harder, smarter, or more creatively.”
This “deservedness” narrative largely ignores the discrimination and other barriers that have blocked economic progress for poor people and people
of color, or the public policies that have kept these barriers intact —
Jessicah Pierre
mass incarceration, and tax policies that favor the wealthy over poor people of all colors.
A report released this year by the Institute for Policy
Studies, The Souls of Poor Folks, examines how what Dr. King called the “Triplets of Evil” — systemic racism, poverty, and the war economy and militarism — as well as the interrelated problem of ecological devastation, have deepened since 1968 because of structural and systemic reasons, rather than individual failures.
The report points out that since 1968, the top 1 percent’s share of national income has nearly doubled, while the official poverty rate for all U.S. families has merely inched up and down. The 400 wealthiest Americans now own more wealth than the bottom 64 percent of the U.S. population (or 204 million people).
As the government increasingly caters to the interests of the few
rich and powerful rather than
being accountable to the poor and marginalized majority, the Poor People’s Campaign reminds us of the ongoing and emerging movements that are compelling a change in our national priorities.
During a time where America couldn’t be more politically and economically polarized, it’s time to change the moral narrative in this country by coming together under moral clarity. We must shift the national conversation from “right versus left” to “right versus wrong.”
The Poor Peoples Campaign is currently organizing events in over 30 states. Learn more about how you can get involved at poorpeoplecampaign. com.
Jessicah Pierre is the inequality media specialist at the Institute for Policy Studies. Distributed by OtherWords.org.
Letters to the editor
Valero impresses at Political Forum
I appreciate having had the opportunity last week to attend the recent candidates night at the Alta Historical Museum. Both candidates for County Supervisor for our area were articulate. I had had a good feeling about Eddie Valero over the years that I was acquainted with him so I made some inquiries, including from someone who works with him in his capacity as a school board trustee. The feedback I got was very positive.
We get so weary and cynical about today's political scene but I was quite impressed with the strength,
Join the discussion
intelligence, humility, honesty, and faith of Eddie. He has credentials from prestigious East Coast institutions but he's not stuck up nor is he just passing through
his modest home town, using it as a stepping stone to move on to the "big time". He's genuinely committed to making Cutler, Orosi, Dinuba and northern Tulare County better places for all of us. Steve Worthley has been like that and has left big shoes to fill.
Eddie Valero strikes me as the real deal and has my vote.
- Ron Jefferson Dinuba
Editor's note: Per the Sentinel's policy on letters to the editor during the political season, the Sentinel will not print letters to the editor or columns concerning the June 5 primary after the May 24 issue. Only letters or columns written in response to a previously published letter or column will be published in the May 31 Sentinel. Please note that letter writers and local guest columnists are limited to one article every four weeks. Letters to the editor on this year's election will be welcomed again after the June 5 primary.
The Dinuba Sentinel welcomes submissions of letters to the editor on topics of local relevance. Word limit is 350. Letters are considered once per month for each submitter.
Letters must include the author’s name, phone number and address for verification. Mail to 145 South L Street, Dinuba,
CA, 93618, or e-mail to editor@thedinubasentinel.com. Letters will be edited for length, grammar and clarity. Libelous letters will not be printed.
Guest columns will be considered for publication -
E-mail editor@thedinubasentinel.com. Word limit is 650.