Page 4 - Dinuba Sentinel 9-20-18 E-edition

Opinion
A4 | Thursday, September 20, 2018
In My Opinion
Nothing escapse the ugly Ireach of political posturing
f Donald Trump is such an the mandate for abject failure as President of a government The United States, according entity right here
Fred Hall - Publisher Rick Curiel - Editor
to Democrats, members of he media and members of the Republican establishment, why then is Barack Obama trying to take credit for much of what he is accomplishing? Remember, when Obama came into office back 2009, everything wrong with the country was the fault of George W. Bush. Sooner or later, common sense would tell us that
we must take the blame for our own actions when things don’t go well. It’s always been something of a
standard for former occupants of the Oval Office to not become involved
in elections, but no one should be surprised at all by ex-President Obama dipping his feet in the political waters with his ‘endorsement tour’ of California recently. Where else would he be more at ease than a state which has become irretrievably Democrat during the last three decades? We are a state recognized for its resistance
to anything and everything Trump says or does. It’s also a state that has become a political train wreck suiting Obama’s skills superbly, with his having thoroughly divided the country politically and racially during his tenure.
During that swing through the state, Obama repeatedly attacked a current, sitting President, thereby becoming the first to do so in my recollection. Normally the men who have occupied that office—particularly one who is so flawed —refrain from openly attacking their successors. But then, that’s exactly what one would expect from one of the most divisive individuals who ever occupied the oval office. Talk about being un-Presidential!
Sadly, everything has become
so politicized in this country that nothing escapes the ugly reach of political posturing. President Trump, in a recent article appearing in The Washington Post, has been identified by the writer as being “complicit” in the most recent hurricane because
he withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords. After his confirmation hearings had concluded and prior
to the vote on his confirmation,
Bret Kavanaugh has been accused
of “something that happened back
in high school” by a mysterious, anonymous source from—surprisingly- -California. It is so absent of merit that the FBI refused to even look into the allegation.
The tactic used against Judge Kavanaugh is not completely unprecedented, having previously been employed in the confirmation hearings of Judge Clarence Thomas when Anita Hill was suddenly brought forth in attempt to sabotage that nomination. Thankfully it failed back then and should fail now but it shows just how politicians are willing to stoop to impeach the reputation of a good man (or woman) if it fits their agenda.
We have an absolute classical example of a political agenda warping
Guest Column
Fred Hall
in California.
The Agricultural Labor Relations Board completely politicized an exercise in democracy when workers at Gerawan
Farming voted to oust a union that had been long missing in their responsibility to represent those workers. The ALRB summarily and unilaterally ruled that election to reject as illegitimate and refused to even count the votes. Finally they have been told they must count those votes. After five years of obstinance on the Board’s part they have been told to remedy the situation by no less than the California State Supreme Court.
“Workers have the right to choose whether they wish to be represented by a union. Nearly five years after
the Gerawan Farming workers’ votes were cast the ALRB has exhausted
all of its appeal rights and must now do the right thing and have the votes counted. However, this process has taken too long and is evidence that the State of California has deliberately acted to disenfranchise farmworkers. The ALRB has strayed far afield from its original purpose—to guarantee justice for all agricultural workers— which requires immediate reform.”
Those are the words of Tom Nassif, President of Western Growers, reacting to the announcement of the California Supreme Court rejecting an ALRB appeal petition. Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers who grow fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico.
The long-running mess created by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board generally typifies what happens when the government takes sides in an issue which they should be honestly and fairly adjudicating. When unelected bureaucrats place their thumbs on the scales of justice to achieve a political agenda the harm they create lasts
long and runs deep. Governmentally appointed agencies and bureaus
must always be honest arbiters of the law as applicable to disagreements.
It’s patently obvious that with bureaucrats, many feel they are above the law and their inane mandates, which can destroy people, are the ultimate word. If they are unable to fairly interpret the law and enforce it bilaterally they should and must be replaced. Now would be a good time to begin that practice.
But, as always, that’s only one man’s opinion.
Just as an afterthought: If it were true, as so many claim, that our strength is in our diversity why is there always a cry for unity when things get really tough?
Fred Hall is publisher of the Dinuba Sentinel.
Guest Column
T No"Resistance"intheWhiteHouse
his week, the White House continues its furious break, then trying to cut food stamps, hunt for the anonymous official who proclaimed Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid? themselves part of “The Resistance” in a New Trying to throw 24 million Americans off
York Times op-ed. Unsurprisingly, the president is “obsessed” with it, CNN reports.
What really set Trump off — perhaps understandably — was the suggestion that aides were deliberately undermining orders. “We want the administration to succeed,” the author said, before describing a coordinated effort to “thwart parts of [Trump’s] agenda and his worst inclinations.”
But not all of that agenda. The author praised Trump’s commitment to “effective deregulation, historic tax reform, [and] a more robust military,” and even complained about “near-ceaseless negative coverage” obscuring those supposed accomplishments.
The president’s behavior in pursuit of that agenda may be “detrimental to the health of our republic,” the author admits, but assures readers: “There are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening.”
This helps the rest of us understand what’s happening, too: Career Republicans are riding right along with someone they themselves describe as “anti-democratic,” “reckless,” and “erratic.” And they’ll do it just as long as he cuts taxes for billionaires, deregulates the corporations they own, and keeps the spigot open to the military- industrial complex.
He’s doing that.
So, what’s he doing wrong? The author specifies only Trump’s “preference for autocrats and dictators” like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un.
Trump’s admiration for those figures says a lot about his disdain for democracy. But the response the author describes sounds more like an effort to shut off diplomatic openings with nuclear-armed rivals than to curb Trump’s anti-democratic impulses. Feel better?
Beyond this, the author offers few specifics on what they’d actually like to prevent.
Pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accords? Not a problem, apparently. Deregulating the banks that caused the financial crisis, and the fossil fuel companies causing climate change? Go right on ahead.
Giving corporations and billionaires a $2 trillion tax
Peter Certo
their health care?
The author describes precisely no
concern about any of these things, because virtually any Republican would have done them.
Remarkably, the author actually complains that Trump “shows little
affinity for ideals long espoused by conservatives.” But it sure sounds like he’s governing as
one.
Sure, Trump has made unique his own contributions to
modern conservatism — alliances with white nationalists, concentration camps for babies, etc. But our anonymous “adult in the room” offers no objection here either, even as down-ballot Republicans increasingly embrace those extremes.
I can believe White House staffers really do find
the president unstable and dangerous. But instead of constitutionally removing him by the 25th Amendment, they’re keeping him around so they can cut billionaires’ taxes, put over half of every taxpayer dollar into the military-industrial complex, and coddle corporations that loot the country and pollute the planet.
The writer pines for the late Senator John McCain, calling him “a lodestar for restoring honor to public life.” McCain was surely more honorable than the president he feuded with, but even he voted with Trump 83 percent of the time. Do we really think Trump’s pathologies reside entirely in the other 17 percent?
If Trump implodes, they’re going to act like his personality was the problem — not the policy agenda he’s executing on their behalf. They’ll say we haven’t gotten enough “real conservatism.”
Sorry, but I think the amazing social movements behind the real “resistance” would disagree. They’re not trying to rollback 17 percent of what this White House has done. They’re trying to transform it — and much of what came before it — 100 percent.
Peter Certo is the editorial manager of the Institute for Policy Studies and the editor of OtherWords.org.
How much is Amazon really
worth to you?
How much are you paying Amazon?
I don’t mean how much
you’re shelling out for stuff you bought. I mean much you and your neighbors are simply giving to this huge and uber-rich on-line retailer.
If you live in Indianapolis, Austin, Chicago, Atlanta, or 16 other lucky cities, congratulations! You’re a finalist in the “Throw-Your-Money-At- Amazon” Sweepstakes!
It’s like Bonnie and Clyde, but instead of robbing banks, Amazon
has enticed city and state officials to rob their own citizens — then hand over the loot in the form of tax breaks, land, and other bribes to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. The locality that offers the most booty “wins” the grand prize of having this thieving corporate behemoth become its new neighbor.
At least until Bezos gets a better offer.
So, again I ask: How much are your officials offering?
Shhhh, that’s a secret. Nearly all of the 20 contestant cities won’t tell city council members (much less taxpayers) how many billions they’re throwing at Bezos. Many cities even turned their negotiations over to
Jim Hightower
business groups like the Chamber
of Commerce, letting this handful of unelected, self- interested, private elites secretly make binding promises that would affect all residents without consulting them.
In the few places that did release information,
it’s amounted to an unfunny joke. Montgomery County, Maryland,
for example, made public a 10-page document listing “incentives” it was offering, but every word on every page was blacked out!
This whole flim-flam is abominable and ought to be criminal. Amazon will rake in a quarter-trillion dollars in sales this year, and Bezos is sitting on $166 billion in personal wealth. Shame on him for demanding public handouts, and shame on local officials for robbing the public till to further bloat his ego and fortune.
Jim Hightower, an OtherWords columnist, is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker.
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