Criticism of Clovis Unified board: Letters to the editor, Nov. 7, 2021

Wrong Fogg engulfs Clovis

One of the dumbest things I have heard emanating out of Clovis Unified comes from Steven Fogg, who claims “It is one thing to put a mask on a kid, but it’s another thing to stick a needle in their arm.” He forgot something. It’s another thing to stick a kid in a coffin.

I thought that Clovis schools are supposed to be the best academically. There is no way that is possible when you have an ignorant minority, led by the so-called Clovis Unified School Board president, gaslighting the pandemic.

This whole issue was settled way back in 1905, long before Fogg replaced tule fog in the San Joaquin Valley.

Clovis student ‘a hero’ at meeting

The resent Clovis school board meeting where a Clovis student was booed and jeered after presenting his views before the board was intolerable. Board president (Steven) Fogg (who appeared to be in one) should have declared a short recess and admonished the audience. He could have also threatened them with ejection from the room for interrupting the business of the board. Security can escort them from the room.

A school board (I used to be on one) is sanctioned by the California Constitution and is not a town hall meeting. It has definite guidelines.

In my opinion, the student and citizen is a hero. We encourage our youth to participate in government and then treat them like this? Shame on us!

School board failed free speech

I am extremely disappointed with both Superintendent (Eimer) O’Farrell and Board President Steven Fogg. It seems a student who identifies as nonbinary (whatever that means?) was booed and jeered by the audience. By expressing empathy, you pandered to this pumpkin.

Instead of training he/she to act like an adult, you were concerned about the student’s feelings. Your comments demonstrate a lack of respect for free speech. Boos and jeers are part of free speech. I wonder, do you take the same tone and have the same attitude when conservatives and Christians are booed? I doubt it.

Shameful stance by some Clovis parents

America, the land of the free and land of the brave, and free to speak without any repercussions from anyone, including Clovis parents.

Well, that ideal is “dead” in Clovis.

I grew up in school reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. For what? So that one day, there would be parents “bullying, booing, and jeering” at a young student for speaking his/her thoughts and ideals in a public school setting.

Well, this is a sad day in Clovis, indeed. These horrible, terrible actions by these parents could only take place in some foriegn country — not America. Boy, was I wrong.

I don’t know if these so-called decent parents believe in American ideals, but, I’ll tell you this, they are cowards, along with their co-conspirators, who contributed by keeping silent.

These parents must feel they’re pretty decent — they’re not.

They should all be ashamed.

Stop big utilities from solar grab

California is known as a leader in renewable energy, solar being at the forefront of providing clean energy produced by the sun to homeowners and businesses all over the state. In fact, in 2020 California became the first state to mandate solar panels on new homes. Homeowners are taking advantage of solar and the savings that it brings.

However, the big utility companies are trying to make it harder to keep solar energy affordable by planning to gouge consumers with penalties for utilizing solar for their homes.

It makes no sense that, on one hand, homeowners are mandated to have solar on their new homes, and then the utility companies are potentially going to reduce the credit that homeowners receive when supplying renewable energy to the grid.

The utility companies are just taking advantage of consumers who are able to invest in property and generate their own energy for their personal use, and to add renewable energy to the grid.

With all of the issues the utilities have with their antiquated infrastructure, doesn’t having clean, renewable energy to supply power throughout the grid make better sense?

Childhood vaccinations are standard

I just don’t understand why folks are so upset about the next year’s requirement for children to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before being allowed to attend the public schools in California.

It’s not like children haven’t already been required to be immunized against a raft of other dangerous communicable diseases, like: diphtheria, haemophilus influenzae Type B (bacterial meningitis), measles, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, rubella, tetanus, hepatitis B and chicken pox.

Many studies have linked clusters of nonimmunized children to serious outbreaks of measles, pertussis and varicella or chicken pox, and many other potentially dangerous diseases. An outbreak of COVID and its delta variant in our public schools could well put the lives of our children and their families at great risk.

We should all applaud the requirement. For while parents do have a constitutional right to their ignorance of public policy, as always, “Suffer the children.”

Where will electricity come from?

With Gov. Newsom pushing to mandate only electric vehicles sold after 2035 and now signing legislation to outlaw gas powered lawn mowers, edgers, blowers, etc. in addition to having the new high speed rail to be electric operated, where is all of this needed electricity coming from? No one is answering this question; why?

If no more water storage is being built or expanded, what is going to generate all of this added demand for electricity? Like Europe found out, it will be forced to use coal, natural gas or nuclear.

Protect against ‘surveillance capitalism’

I thought the doctor-patient relationship was confidential. It’s for sale today.

Big business, big boxes, big internet, social media and big medicine combine in mining your personal information for ever greater profits. You would be horrified to know what is known about your personal life — and who buys it.

My wife and I have some medical conditions. Not particularly serious, but we have seen physicians. We have each received calls from companies wanting to sell us (via Medicare) medical apparatus. These were specialized calls; the only way they could have found out about our conditions is by buying information either from the physicians or from the insurance companies.

This problem isnt just in medicine. What you read, where you travel, where you eat, even what’s on social media, are all for sale. It is called surveillance capitalism, and it’s legal.

Crime wave? Sure, and many of your favorite companies are guilty.

Protect yourself. Congress won’t do it because those same companies are big election donors.

This story was originally published November 7, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Criticism of Clovis Unified board: Letters to the editor, Nov. 7, 2021."