Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 7-21-22 E-Edition

Thursday, July 21, 2022 | 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
Guest Column
For the good of the country, Biden shouldn't run again
By Rich Lowry
Guest columnist
Perhaps the best decision Joe Biden could make as president is to stand down.
It would be a welcome act of statesmanship and self- awareness if the 79-year-old president dropped the insis- tence that he’s running for a second term, and instead announced sometime after the November midterms that he isn’t running again.
He was too old to run in 2020 but made his way into the office he had coveted for decades by default.
In two and a half years, Biden won’t be any younger and the chances of something going catastrophically wrong only increase with time.
The country’s experience with a 78- and 79-year-old president hasn’t been pretty. Just wait until Biden is 82 (at the time of his theoretical second inauguration), or 84 (after the second midterms), or 86 (at the end of his second term).
A New York Times report confirms about what you’d expect of White House aides. They fear that Biden, who increasingly shuffles when he walks, will trip over a wire. They hold their breath hoping he can get to the end of re- marks without making a gaffe. They generally don’t have events for him at night and try to keep the weekends free.
In an office that requires vigor and forcefulness, he’s mumbly and bleached out. In a position that makes young men suddenly look much older, he’s already quite aged. In a job where words matter, he can’t keep his straight.
Yes, there have been elderly leaders of nations who have been unquestioned giants — Konrad Adenauer, Charles de Gaulle, Ariel Sharon. No one is mistaking Biden for a statesman of such caliber, though. He’s more like President Jimmy Carter with a quarter century more on the odometer.
Even if in the unlikely event Biden’s age isn’t affecting how he can do his job now, it will at some point.
Then, there are the disaster scenarios. We should all hope that Biden lives to be a 100 but were he to die in of- fice of natural causes, it would be a significant national trauma. We haven’t had a president die in office in half a century and it would create comparisons to the geron- tocracy of the late Soviet Union.
If anyone thinks American politics is poisonous now, just wait till there’s an unelected president (the vice presi- dent would succeed Biden in this scenario) and an unelect- ed vice president appointed by the unelected president.
All this would be the process set out by the 25th Amendment; it would generate legitimacy concerns all the same.
If a health event prevented Biden from performing his duties, meanwhile, it would create a crisis at the top of our government. The natural tendency of politicians and their loyalists is to be less than forthcoming about health problems. What Edith Wilson did when Woodrow Wilson had an incapacitating stroke — hide it as much as possible and carry on regardless — wouldn’t be possible in the cur- rent media age. That doesn’t mean there’d be transparency.
The process for sidelining a debilitated president under the 25th Amendment is a mess, especially if the president doesn’t think he’s incapable of discharging his duties — such a scenario would make an impeachment look neat and clean by comparison.
Perhaps none of this would ever come to pass and a reelected Biden would make it to the finish line with ease, proving that 85 is the new 75. It’s also true that anything could happen to anyone of any age — even a 45-year-old president could fall ill. But the longer Biden serves, the higher the risks.
And for what? Biden isn’t uniquely gifted, ideological- ly compelling, irresistibly likable, or very good at being president. His claim to be the only Democrat who can beat Donald Trump in 2024 looks more attenuated by the day.
In short, there’s no good reason for Biden not to make the best call of his presidency and prepare for retirement.
Rich Lowry is editor of the National Review. © 2022 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Sanger creeps one step closer to getting Well 2A back on line
Fred Hall — Publisher Emeritus Jon Earnest — Editor
Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
It's seemed like it's been forever for Sanger residents waiting to get a little liquid re- lief in the form of solid water pressure from city wells. In reality, it's been a number of weeks dating back into spring since Well 2A went off-line, leaving an unknown number of residents with low water pres- sure for showers, washing with appliances, watering and other commonplace daily activities.
Earlier this week, the two- week delay in getting 2A back up to speed came a little closer, when City Manager Tim Chapa notified me with the news that the new pump needed to op- erate the well finally arrived. By week's end, the installation process should be well under- way. WI'll find out more on the ongoing process at the July 21 City Council meeting, and get an updated timeline.
Citizens and residents at- tending the meeting also will find out the status and have the opportunity to comment on the city's effort to rezone a parcel
of land at the northwest corner of Jensen and Greenwood av- enues. Sanger wants to rezone the land from Administrative and Professional Office district (C-P) to Community Commer- cial (C-2) in line with the city's general plan. The ordinance had been planned for the July 7 meeting, but was tabled.
The public also will be in- troduced to four new Sanger police officers, which will help beef up the community's law enforcement. The meeting be- gins at 6 p.m.
•••
Speaking of police, the Dinu-
ba Police Department continues a period of transition this week with the retirement of transi- tion this week with the retire- ment of Chief of Police Devon Popovich. His final day on the job is July 22, and the outgoing chief was honored at the July 12 City Council meeting.
I had an opportunity to meet with Chief Popovich this week, and plan to have a writeup on his service to Dinuba in our Ju-
ly 28 issue. Also
retiring from
the department
this summer is
Lisa Casas, the
longtime DPD
records techni-
cian who com-
pleted 29 years
of service with the city earlier this month.
Congratulations Chief Popo- vich and Lisa, and enjoy retire-
ment!
•••
A reminder, Reedley Col- lege fans and the surrounding communities have one more day to purchase tickets for the 29th annual RC Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony, scheduled for Saturday, July 30, at the college.
Deadline to purchase tick- ets is Friday, July 22. Go online to eventbrite.com for ticket in- formation.
Jon Earnest is news-sports editor for The Times
By Sergio Coronel
Guest columnist
In the varrio (neighborhood) I grew up in, a college educa- tion was never discussed or re- ality for youngsters like myself in a gang. The only education I received was a gang education rooted in violence and incar- ceration as a future. I couldn’t learn or pay attention in the classroom because of the trau- ma I was reliving in my head.
My first language was Span- ish, so I struggled to learn English, and some teachers did not help as they made me feel stupid and dumb. My early experiences with school were punishments, suspensions, and later expulsions. The school that was supposed to educate and help me constantly labeled me a troublemaker and pushed me out.
My behavior in school was due to my experience with violence in the home, streets, and school. Achieving a higher education seemed impossible. I felt I wasn’t smart enough. The humiliation and lack of accep- tance in school forced me to trade off my books for a gun,
my pencils for a knife, and the school for the neighborhood gang. If pushing me out of the school system was supposed to help me, it only pushed me fur- ther into the gang — creating a monster.
At 18 years old, the continu- ation school couldn’t keep me any longer. So I transferred to an adult school in a differ- ent city, and my life changed forever. I felt welcomed by ev- eryone there, and my hatred for the school system began to change. I will never forget my teacher, Ms. Hernandez. She was never in a gang or former- ly incarcerated, but had a big heart. Ms. Hernandez never judged me, criticized me, lis- tened to me, motivated me, ad- vocated for me, took her time to teach me to read and write, believed in me, and made me feel safe. For the first time, I wanted to sit in the classroom and learn.
I listened to everything Ms. Hernandez told me and took a chance at higher education. I graduated from the adult school, and she gave me a tour of a local community college and said to me that I could
achieve anything I wanted. Completing a higher education seemed impossible; however, I used where I came from to mo- tivate me every time. I went on to graduate from a local com- munity college with an admin- istration of justice degree and two bachelor’s degrees, and I am currently finishing my graduate degree.
Change is a process, and it doesn’t happen overnight. I am evidence that even the most hardened youngster can make a change with the proper sup- port and guidance. At one of my graduations, Ms. Hernan- dez gave me a letter that read, “I’m so proud of the man you have become. Make good choic- es and keep moving forward. It was my pleasure and honor to have you as a student.”
Ms. Hernandez did not give uponme,andIdothesamefor the youth in our communities.
Sergio Coronel is a Fresno State graduate in criminology and history, and is studying to- ward his master's degree. He grew up in Fresno County, and is the co-founder of YoungSTers 4 Change.
QUOTE
“I'm not a real movie star. I've still got the same wife I started out with twenty-eight years ago.”
— Will Rogers (1879-1935)
Jon Earnest
My journey toward a higher education
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 brev- ity, 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, Mid Valley Times, 1130 G St, Reedley CA 93654.
Have an opinion? Want to share it?
jearnest@midvalleytimes.com