Writing this first column of 2016, I’d like to begin by wishing everyone a happy New Year. But I can’t. I can’t wish a happy 2016 for ISIS–or for extremists of any stripe, anywhere–and I certainly can’t wish a happy year to those who for their own reasonsactively harm others. I can only wish they […]
Some milestones in life seem daunting until you realize, usually during them, that the anticipation of the moment was worse than the moment itself. Childbirth springs to mind, as do pre-wedding jitters. One’s first driving test. A first day on the job or on campus. What we do, customarily, is get through it–whatever “it” is. […]
As previously reported in the Valley Voice on January 15, 2015 and February 5, 2015, Wendy and her son, Brian Jones of Tulare County remain in battle against Tulare County Animal Control. The Joneses claim Tulare County contrived an unlawful seizure of their family pet “Clyde”, who was subsequently ruled “vicious” by County hearing officers […]
By “our” I mean the world’s, in its now–after ISIS’ Paris attacks–international fight against “Islamic” terrorism. Note that I put Islamic in quotation marks. It seems to me there’s nothing remotely Islamic–a word whose root, Islam, means, if I remember correctly, Peace–in terrorism. The United States, of course, has endured more than its fair share […]
And now, apparently, we’ll be putting troops on the ground in Syria to combat ISIS. I’m fine with this. As I told my wife a year or so ago, they just don’t know they’re dead yet. But–and as would befit a war-weary United States–we don’t need to pour in the entire apparatus at our disposal. […]
As a member of the Valley Voice staff, I am privy to articles prior to their coming out in print. In fact, I am tasked with copy editing the publisher’s column each issue, which doesn’t amount to much, only occasional fact checking or reducing a run-on sentence or paragraph. But, with regard to his current […]
It’s October again, and time for something that has become a tradition in our family–my weeklong bachelorhood. I can’t say I enjoy it–because I love my wife–but knowing she and our daughters are off having fun alleviates any devastation here on the home front. They send me pictures. It’s quiet. And I get to watch […]
The water went out in our house a couple of weeks back, and my first thought was, “Welcome to East Porterville.” This was particularly galling because just the night before I could hear, through an open living room window, the reassuring susurration of the citrus irrigation. It’s a sound that says, “All is well with […]
In its September 3 edition, the Valley Voice ran a front page article about a Tulare man who claimed to have been roughed-up by some officers of that city’s police department. Ideally, the truth of this incident will begin to emerge with the defendant’s first hearing, which is scheduled for the 24th of this month. […]
Suicide is a tragic fact of life in Tulare and Kings counties, as in the entire nation: In Tulare County, 41 people have committed suicide so far this year, which is as many as all of last year and close to the county’s annual average. In Kings County, 10 people have taken their own lives […]