Final words on the Newsom recall: Letters to the editor of The Fresno Bee, Sept. 19, 2021

Liberals show racism, too

Now that the recall election is over, I wonder if the liberal Democrats and their allies in the news media are going to apologize to Larry Elder for their racist comments towards him.

While I disagree with many of Elder’s positions and did not vote for him, the way he was treated by the liberals was reprehensible, from MSNBC’s “blackface” comments to the L.A. Times’s “white supremacy” designation.

Even more unsettling was when Elder was attacked by a person in an ape costume in Venice and the reaction was deafening silence by media like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and even The Fresno Bee. If he had been a Democrat, they would have screamed “racism” from coast to coast.

The bottom line is that liberals are scared to death of Black conservatives, and that justifies any kind of attack, no matter how demeaning it is. I doubt, however, that any expression of regret will be forthcoming. The next time, though, when liberals cry “racism,” they need to first look at themselves in the mirror because they are hypocrites and the biggest racists of all.

Recall failure was surely inevitable

A quick comment on Newsom recall effort: No matter how many millions of dollars were poured in to the effort, there was no way it was going to work simply because the majority of us knew about the dangers of electing a Republican. We remember the incompetent criminal we had at the White House, and this guy Elder is an exact replica of him.

A good piece of advice to those who wanted and voted yes on removing Newsom: Suck it up or pack it up. It’s your choice.

Squaw Valley name change needed

I live in Squaw Valley and I appreciate the effort to honor Native Americans by changing our name. This would be a good decision for two reasons. Practically speaking, this town depends on tourism for a substantial source of its income. People around the nation are becoming acutely aware of words that trigger pain. As they decide to buy or rent houses and book rooms for vacations, many of them will make decisions based on how they feel about the towns they visit. The name “Squaw Valley” could become a detriment to our businesses. I’m sure that Squaw Valley north of us, close to Lake Tahoe, took this into consideration when they decided to change their name.

My second reason for wanting to change the name rests in simple human decency. I’m currently reading the book, The Night Watchman,” this year’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel for literature, written by a Native American woman. One of the main characters, a member of the Chippewa tribe, is crowned homecoming queen in the town where she grew up. This is a healing experience because as a little girl, her classmates bullied her by calling her “Squaw.” The name was hurtful and the children who used it knew that it was hurtful. The “Night Watchman” just won America’s most prestigious award for literature. We need a name that does not identify us as people who don’t care about the insult to Native Americans.

River cleanup a good deed

Many of us complain about the unsightly transient camps that appear from time to time in our community, but few of us do anything about them. However, on Aug. 14 a group of about 40 volunteers did just that.

RiverTree (a nonprofit), the Serve group of Fresno County Library employees and family, and members of Scout Troop 153 donated about four hours to clean up two illegal camps along the San Joaquin River, near Camp Pashayan. The work was challenging, because of the location of the camps. One was on an island, accessible only by canoe or kayak. The other was located midway down a steep bluff directly above the river. The trash removed included mattresses, a car battery, bicycle parts, blankets and tents. Over 3,000 pounds of material was removed, including more than 800 hundred pounds of recyclables.

We owe a debt of thanks to each and every one of the volunteer workers and leaders for this clean-up, but a special thanks should be extended to Richard Sloan, Janet Gardner and Chuck Kroger of RiverTree for organizing and leading this invaluable work.

Afghanistan disaster on Biden

Given the ineptness of the Biden administration in the handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the president can take pride in some of his action. He has provided the Taliban with more armaments in the past two weeks than we have given Israel in decades. He has brought our credibility in the world to zero. Largest one day death total since 2011.

He can enjoy the new slogan in that region — “Taliban: Built Back Better!”

Mandating vaccines is court-backed

Our country’s constitution places the interests of the collective good ahead individual liberty in several areas. Fighting wars and getting vaccinated are two examples. More than 100 years ago the U.S. Supreme Court upheld smallpox vaccine requirements stating that “a community has the right to protect itself against an epidemic of disease which threatens the safety of its members.” Courts have consistently rejected challenges to vaccine mandates since then. COVID-19 vaccines are no exception. In one case, the court rightly called the plaintiffs’ argument “reprehensible” for equating an employer’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate with medical experimentation like what Nazis did to Jews.

When our country is at war, it depends on volunteers to fight. When volunteers are too few, our country drafts men. A citizen may be compelled against his will “to take his place in the ranks of the army of his country, and risk the chance of being shot down in its defense,” the Supreme Court said 100 years ago. Our country is at war against a disease. Volunteer and get vaccinated, even if there are risks. If volunteers are too few, I support employer and school required drafts.

Far right views try to redo history

In response to commentaries by Bill Atwood and Marc Thiessen on the withdrawal in Afghanistan, both seem to neglect or conveniently omit Trump’s role leading to the final operation. Thiessen mentions that President Biden released 5,000-7,000 prisoners, but does not mention Trump’s release of 5,000 prisoners, and the release of the current Taliban leader. Atwood follows a similar far-right theme, never mentioning Trump’s role, but putting 100% of the blame on President Biden.

Ending a war is never going to be easy. I am always willing to look at both sides of an issue, but the far right’s attempt to rewrite history never ceases to amaze me.

Washington ordered vaccines

To all the anti-vaxers, I answer in two words: George Washington. During the Revolutionary War, he ordered his troops to be inoculated against smallpox, although the procedure was less safe than that of modern vaccines. There were no religious or philosophical exemptions. Years later, when he was president, Congress sent to the states the Bill of Rights. Since Congress was aware of Washington's medical order during the Revolution, it is inconceivable that the First Amendment guaranteed a right to refuse a necessary public health measure.

This story was originally published September 19, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Final words on the Newsom recall: Letters to the editor of The Fresno Bee, Sept. 19, 2021."