Page 4 - Dinuba Sentinel 8-9-18 E-edition

Opinion
A4 | Thursday, August 9, 2018
In My Opinion
DLooking back to look ahead
ifficult as it may seem to exploration to believe, August is already a rid ourself of week upon us and the mid- dependency on
they have productive jobs in which they can regain their pride. His tax cut, which Nancy Pelosi referred to as crumbs has been a big part of driving this rebirth.
Trump believes in America’s strength and greatness although one would never know that if one only gets their “news” from much of the mainstream media where the line between reporting and advocacy has been blurred so much as to become invisible.
With less than 100 days left, there is sufficient time to do the necessary reading and research necessary
to make an informed choice in November.
With all the obfuscation involved in modern electioneering, it’s absolutely imperative that each and every one
us become a more sophisticated consumer of the garbage fed as the reasons to vote for them. Everyone running for office has good points as well as a problematic downside. It’s our job to decide if the good points outweigh the bad! Any decision which is made on emotions alone is usually bad. A good example of that would be, “this guy(or gal) has promised
me more free stuff making them my choice.” The free stuff is killing us, not only in California but all across the nation.
Strangely enough—we believe it is mainly due to the liberal education system—there has been a number
of candidates announcing for office who present themselves as Socialist Democrats of the Bernie Sanders ilk. Need we point out that Socialism has never worked wherever it has been attempted? California has already advanced the idea of free health
care for everyone, whether they are
a citizen or not. On the national level these Socialist Democrats are advocating tor the abolition of an entire segment of law enforcement which enforces immigration law. They also want free health care for all. That comes at a price which
has already been established by two separate and disparate groups as $32 trillion. That shouldn’t be all that hard to find!
Don’t fall victim to media which
is so infected with The Hate Trump virus that they find reporting of simple truths so elusive as to be out of their grasp.
Read, study and demand facts when someone advances a claim or theory. When a decision such as the one you will be facing in November is so momentous one should be damned sure their decision is fact based and not an emotional one.
But, as always, that’s only one man’s opinion.
Although, as I said, this is only my opinion, please take these facts into consideration when you are doing your research!
Fred Hall is publisher of the Sentinel.
W When the people become the police
hat happens when the people become the could be the difference between a police? citation or an arrest.
A video went viral this week that showed The creator of the video went on
Fred Hall - Publisher Rick Curiel - Editor
term elections of November are just around the corner!
James Carville, Bill Clinton’s campaign manager back in the 90’s famously and succinctly told all of America who would listen that “It’s the economy, stupid.” For a man who was so incredibly irritating, he was very accurate in making that assessment of the political front.
It seems that people vote their pocketbook first and foremost. Those were, economically, really good times. Silicone valley was beginning to flourish, money was available, seemingly everywhere and jobs seemed plentiful.
Somewhere in the middle of that decade, Congress got involved. They felt that everything was so good that everyone should own their own home and they were going to help make that happen. Such was the beginning of unintended consequences when those two august houses of huge egos and little common sense set the stage for the great recession of the 2000’s
Since people had been allowed
to become over-leveraged in
their homes, thanks to sub-
prime borrowing, the numbers of foreclosures ballooned to unbelievable numbers in the early years of this new century. That colossal collapse placed strain on the American economy and there was rampant failure.
Enter Barack Obama, a black academic for whom the stars had aligned. This well-spoken young man was elected President and immediately massive programs began to flow from the Federal government—generally to no avail or even a detriment. Startup energy companies in the solar industry received government grants and immediately built palace-like headquarters and bled axpayer grant money until they were gone!
Obama’s anemic, socialist driven, economy muddled along for eight years with record low employment numbers and unprecedented numbers of people unemployed and joining
the welfare roles after exhausting all efforts to find a job. We were told this was the new reality and we should
get accustomed to it because no one was ever going to be able to change the situation. President Obama
spent much of the early part of his term apologizing for America, asking forgiveness from the rest of the world for perceived past wrongs.
That brings us to 2016 and a political neophyte named Donald J. Trump announcing his candidacy for The President of The United States. No one gave him a chance of success. This man used terms like “draining the swamp” that is Washington and was hated by both Democrats and the power structure of the Republican Party. This man promised change
in the cultural fabric of America as well as the economic structure. He believed one could grow the economy and bring back business that had fled all the regulations put in place by the prior administration.
He believed in “loosing the tiger” that is the American spirit by eliminating the draconian regulations put in place by our own government. He believed in opening up this
great wealthy country to mineral
Fred Hall
unpredictable foreign governments. He wanted to see that American spirit rekindled by getting families off of welfare and see that
a Fresno Police officer detaining a street vendor, apparently for not having the proper permit.
The man behind the camera began recording as the man was being arrested. Throughout the video the officer is repeatedly accused of taking the issue too far. At more than one point the officer, who is white, is accused of being a racist. The street vendor detained in the video is Mexican.
The video offers a quick glimpse into an arrest, an arrest that may or may have not started with a lack of the proper permit. Apart from the image of a street vendor being arrested, mostly without incident, the only other information you have to go off is the man behind the camera, who can be heard narrating the scene.
It would be more than difficult to gather a true perspective based on one single video, narrated by someone who obviously felt like there was an injustice. There's clearly more than meets the eye.
The creator of the video also offers a written narrative to support his claim of injustice. He states that the
street vendor in question did in fact have a permit to do business in the location he was in, however, that permit was for a different vehicle. He had taken a smaller trailer to the same location he had been selling at for the past eight months.
This is where the matter becomes critical. If the vendor is knowingly selling without a proper permit, then he is clearly in violation of the law. What happens between
the revelation of the infraction and the manner of resolve
Rick Curiel
to explain that the street vendor asked the officer to give him a week to get his paperwork in order. But that doesn’t fare well for the violator either. It never behooves a person to ask an officer of the peace to willingly bend the rules, regardless of the offense.
Now sure, we may just be talking
I
not long ago, I heard an ad on the radio in which a woman insisted I do my homework on day care places because early education starts, well, early. The ad also suggested that if my 18-month-old isn’t starting her education out on the right foot, then she may never catch up to her peers. At that moment I looked in the rear- view mirror and caught my daughter trying to fit her whole foot in her mouth. Apparently, I was screwed.
My daughter, now 2 1/2 years old, is with me most days. And since she’s a total extrovert and I would go crazy in the house all day alone with her, we’re out in public a lot: visiting friends, taking trips to the zoo and going out to eat. In our day-to-day, we hold many conversations with each other, and I am more often than not finding myself explaining things to her, even when I know it’s over her head. But it’s not what you think. I’m not trying to increase her vocabulary or teach her things beyond her years so she can excel in a field at an Ivy League.
We talk about using gentle hands and thank the owner at the park whose dog we got to pet. We smile at the person taking our order at the fast food chain where she loves to play. I tell her while watching PBS how wonderful it is that families come in all shapes and sizes.
I understand the importance of kids getting ahead in school so that colleges look at them. I get that doing
about tacos on a street corner. But if you’re arrested for being in violation of anything, can we
really turn the eyes on the officer?
Well, yes. And that’s only if the officer is acting in a
way contrary to the one thing he is sworn to protect, the peace. If the officer is doing his job, even if it be code enforcement, then any arrest with due cause is justified.
However, if the officer’s decisions are influenced by biased, or even racist, motives, then that would not only be an injustice to the individual but to humanity as well – and a stain on all efforts of peace within any community.
In an age where everyone has a camera and all the world is a stage, the people have become the police. Let’s hope the cameras only help to create the truth, and not just bend it. And let’s hope the end result is one and the same with the police they’re policing, peace.
Rick Curiel is the editor of the Dinuba Sentinel. He can be reached at editor@thedinubasentinel.com
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Guest Column
Forget being smart, I'm raising my daugther to be kind
get the pressure to raise smart kids. Really, I do. In fact, driving home from a play date
homework has a purpose. But when my daughter grows up, and my husband and I are sitting
in the bleachers
at her high school graduation, I don’t
want to just be
proud of her for that diploma. I want to
To subscribe to the Dinuba Sentinel, call 591-4632
Risa Kerslake
know that she is the girl that will say hi to the new boy in her class. I want to know she was the one that invited the lonely girl to sit with her at lunch.
In an age where school shootings have become horrifyingly normal, I want my daughter to be the light in
a world of violence. I want to let her know that mental health and gun control issues can’t be solved with being nice to a future school shooter— that is not for her to take on. But being nice will get her further in life than any degree ever will.
I have wonderful educators involved in my daughter’s life. They have been instrumental in her learning, even though she’s not even 3. But it’s my job to help her navigate life and how to treat others while still upholding her own values.
So, yes, even in early toddlerhood, my daughter is learning kindness. I don’t have grand plans for her life, but I do hope she makes a difference in those little moments along the way.
Risa is a registered nurse turned freelance writer for mom.me.