Page 4 - Reedley Exponent 5-16-19 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A4 Thursday, May 16, 2019 Editorial & Opinions
Serving “The World’s Fruit Basket” since 1891
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
We’ve often written about the sorry state
of the American educational experience, but it
has now reached the critical phase where we
are about to lose the correct usage of the Eng-
lish language. There can be little doubt that
much of it can be attributed to uncontrolled
immigration and our government mandated
usage of the illegal immigrant’s native lan-
guage in all forms. Teaching methods, social
media and a plethora of other methods have
also greatly eroded the use of proper gram-
mar. I see an increasing use of incorrect grammar by television personalities and celebrities that is almost painful and yet, these are the people our children admire and attempt to emulate.
The requirements for U.S. citizenship are quite specific in re- quiring applicants be able to read, write and speak basic English. There can be little doubt that requirement is either ignored or trampled on by bureaucrats. Sad to say, the people who suffer most economically in the competitive job market are those people with no English skills. This is, after all, an English-speaking coun- try. It is a perfect example of how liberals, who in their avowed efforts to help people, are actually harming them!
If one will take a moment to review many of their monthly statements from utilities and others it becomes obvious, from the number of languages contained therein, that the bureaucracy has bent over backward to eliminate the basic english require- ment. The more accommodations we make for something that is improper the more it is accepted as the norm. Our sorry judicial system can also be considered complicit in this ugly development.
The government further displays how irrational it has become by displaying other languages in our voting materials. I always thought that one must be a citizen to participate in the electoral process, so by listing a secondary language our officials are ei- ther ignoring the requirements of proper voting restrictions or are actually encouraging non-citizen participation. Politicians openly pander to these non-English speaking residents.
That only represents a small portion of our problems when it comes to learning proper usage of a language (English) that people around the world strive to learn. For much of the balance one can blame our educational system and the subversive erosion of social media where everything is so dumbed down that it leaves one shaking one’s head at what passes for civil communication in today’s America.
Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat or any of the simi- lar modes of communication by any other inane sounding name, there’s not a dime’s worth of difference in any of them. The low- est common denominator is the well-established rule! Twitter, in particular, has become a literal pile of garbage from real outliers. Until these people are identified as publishers instead of platforms they will continue to censor information with which they agree and continue to publish stuff which leads to an ever dumber American population. Publishers can be sued in a court of law for their mal- feasance; Congress continues to allow “platforms” to do as they please with no form of repercussion.
Spelling and punctuation are no longer a requirement taught by schools as being needed for any sort of intelligent communication. There was a time when English involved reading and understand- ing the great works of literature in the Western world. Now, more and more, we find that many of the great books are no longer po- litically correct and instructors promote far inferior reading as a requirement for students. We have, instead, substituted racial and cultural quotas on curriculum as guides for recommended reading. Where has simple common sense gone?
An interesting contrast to our “woke” modern day education and one from the days when students were taught writing, reading, arithmetic and history can be drawn if one takes a few moments and goes to the computer and checks on “eighth grade gradua- tion test from 1895.” Very few of us today could hold any hope of passing that examination. Remember, that was for eighth graders! Probably the most exiting discovery in that bit of historical perus- ing would be the fact that those listed subjects were still being taught in the classroom — even history!
If I were to offer a single piece of advice to today’s student it would be as simple as learn to read well, write well and communi- cate well. Communication skills can’t be overemphasized in the job market or about any thing anyone does in the real world. The gar- bage we are currently exposed to on a daily basis of phonetically abbreviated words, little or no punctuation and various other ills will have, I suspect, a far more grievous affect on coming genera- tions than anyone can anticipate. I even had a high school teacher once tell me a horror story about one of their students submitting an essay written in social media text scripting.
But, as always, that’s only one man’s opinion.
Postscript: By now you’ve probably taken note of the fact that Colorado recently approved hallucinogenic mushrooms as being approved for use by people with “deep”depression. Some people are already carrying a medical marijuana card and soon a medical psychedelic mushroom card will be added. What’s next a medi- cal cocaine card, a medical methamphetamine card or a medical heroin card? Don’t laugh because California can’t be far behind. Does anyone need more proof of a cultural decline?
Jon Earnest — Editor / Sports Juanita Adame — Panorama Editor Budd Brockett — Editor Emeritus
QUOTE
“Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody thinks of complaining.”
Jef Raskin, interviewed in Doctor Dobb’s Journal
Fred Hall
Raymond McClure was a rock star, so to speak, on May 11 during the Korky Kevorkian Memorial Barbecue and Fly In at the Reedley Municipal Airport. The 94-year-old’s stories of his seven decades-plus of flying and his service in two wars was an inspira- tion to those who listened.
But he wasn’t the only source of inspiration and influence at the event. I present to you Don Enns, 87-year-old Reedley resident.
I’ve had trouble finding out how long the Kevorkian Fly In has been a tradition around Reedley. My dilem- ma was immediately answered when Enns came up to me holding an old souvenir program. It was dated April 7, 1979, and was a welcome to the Sa- lute to Reedley Aviation Night at the Reedley Community Center. From this event came the roots of the annual Fly In.
Enns was a former member of the Reedley Airport Commission and has mentored hundreds of people over the years while giving them their first fly- ing experience. i quickly found out the extent of that influence.
First, Denise Phariss, administra- tive assistant with the city, came up to us as we talked and said “Don gave me my first airplane ride.” Enns ac- knowledge that, and added that John Johnson, flight sciences program co-
back when the child attended church in Parlier. He’s grown
up into a renowned educator, and was honored this year
as the Selma Uni-
fied School District Teacher of the Year
for his work with
the English as Sec-
ond Language program.
Don Enns provides a history to annual Kevorkian Memorial Barbecue, Fly In
Jon Earnest
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Don Enns shows a copy of the program for the first Reedley Aviation Night in April 1979.
ordinator at Reedley College, also told Enns his first flight came with him.
As I took photos of Enns holding the program, Efrain Tovar of Reedley came up to us and asked if I could take a photo of him and Enns. He handed me his smartphone and I snapped off a couple of shots. Tovar then said, “I love this man,” and said he was 10 or 11 when Enns took him on his first flight.
Enns said he has known Tovar
I then went to speak to Johnson, who was busy instructing young peo- ple on using the aircraft simulator used at Reedley College. He said his first flight came with Enns in 1976.
“He inspired me so much,” John- son said of Enns. “The thing that gets me is that it doesn’t matter whether aviation is your passion or golfing or a million other things. Sharing that passing with teenagers or anybody else – that’s what makes Don Enns a great guy.
“If everybody found their passion and shared it with other people, what I world we would live in. He’s on my top 10 list of human beings I know that I admire.”
It didn’t take long to convince me. Thank you for your contributions to aviation, Don!
Focus turns to alleged FBI/DOJ coup d’e’tat
By Harold Pease
Guest columnist
The Robert Mueller Report has been released in full outside legally re- quired redaction that would compromise sources and methods. It’s over. The Deep State and their media out- lets temper tantrum against Attorney General Bill Barr because he feels the need to investigate the begin- ning of the Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax, now docu- mented, will continue for a time but eventually will dissipate as new documents are declassified supporting Barr’s need to review. The infamous insurance policy to hide FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and other accomplices to the al- leged coup d’e’tat to unseat a president of the United States, failed leaving them exposed to treason.
By the time newspa- pers print this column Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will have resigned. One of the things that Barr may wish to re- view, with respect to the coup, was the intent to use the 25th Amendment in their failed plot. In this, out- going Rod Rosenstein takes center stage.
This was confessed on 60 Minutes by former deputy director of the FBI Andrew McCabe who iden- tified Rod Rosenstein as an accomplice having dis- cussed with others remov- ing the president using the 25th Amendment. This Rosenstein denies. Look for Rosenstein to be put under oath again before the Sen- ate Judiciary Committee regarding this and his of- fer to wear a “wire” while in meetings with President Donald Trump to entrap
Other Opinions
him.
They needed Trump to
look crazy. This was planned before he was inaugurated. Reportedly, Rosenstein told “Mr. McCabe that he might be able to persuade Attor- ney General Jeff Sessions and John F. Kelly, then the secretary of homeland se- curity and now the White House chief of staff, to mount an effort to invoke the 25th Amendment” (“Rod Rosenstein Suggested Se- cretly Recording Trump and Discussed 25th Amend- ment,” New York Times, Sept. 21, 2018).
But the 25th Amend- ment was never designed to undo an election. Even a casual look at it should end that issue. Deep Staters and their media outlets hated Trump and feared his ex- posure of their influence in the election. The amend- ment requires evidence of his mental or physical incapacity. The population had just voted that he was fit and was their best choice of many contenders.
The amendment cre- ated the temporary office of acting president which is filled by the elected vice president serving under the president in one of two ways. First, Section 3, by the president’s voluntarily removal of himself as be- fore surgery which might result in death or second, involuntarily by his cabinet and vice president.
Section 4 is what Trump’s alleged conspira- tors sought to use. It be- gins “Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal of- ficers of the executive de- partments or of such other body as Congress may by
law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore [cur- rently Charles Grassley] of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representa- tives [currently Nancy Pelo- si] their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and du- ties of the office as Acting President.”
Notice the word acting assumes a temporary sta- tus, which will automati- cally be returned to him when he submits to the above named authorities a “written declaration that no inability exists,” that he is fit. He resumes his duties “unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department ... transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to dis- charge the powers and du- ties of his office.”
Should that happen Congress (both houses) is required to assemble within 48 hours to deal with the issue and is given 21 days thereafter to vote on the matter. If Congress “determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Act- ing President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.”
This amendment is de- signed to handle a president incapacitated by a stroke, as in President Woodrow Wil-
son, or a botched assassina- tion attempt leaving a presi- dent incapacitated to do his duties, or in a disease like Alzheimer’s for instance. This is not to be used to im- peach a president as such is clearly outlined in Article II of the Constitution or to overturn the results of an election—more especially one just occurring.
At this point it might be well to review 18 U.S. Code 2385, Chapter 115, pp. 2-6 on what constitutes Treason, Sedition, and Subversive Activities in Advocating an attempted overthrow of Government. This list includes activities respect- ing: “prints, publishes, ed- its, issues, circulates, sells, distributes, or publicly dis- plays.” In the coming weeks and months we may wish to review this law.
Deputy Attorney Gen- eral Rod Rosenstein looked mighty uncomfortable standing expressionless and statue-like behind Wil- liam Barr when Barr an- nounced the results of the Mueller Report as no col- lusion and no obstruction. Since he had much to do with the investigation and is the last standing original senior executive officer in the Department of Justice, he may have much to worry about. At least the Russian collusion focus no longer will be on Trump.
Harold Pease is a syn- dicated columnist and an expert on the United States Constitution. He has dedi- cated his career to studying the writings of the Found- ing Fathers and applying that knowledge to current events. He taught history and political science from this perspective for over 30 years at Taft College in Kern County.