The attacks on the integrity of our local police create the atmosphere where we may soon suffer from the “Ferguson Effect.” In August, 2014, a Ferguson, Missouri, Police Officer killed a young black man. That city and St. Louis area was then rocked by weeks of riots and mob violence. A grand jury investigation concluded […]
After I read Harper’s open letter on “Justice and Open Debate”, I discovered that it immediately got a lot of hate. Some said that it was vague. And that it shed little light on what specifically the letter meant by “intolerance of opposing views”. Others, like culture critic Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times, […]
On May 30, Visalia became part of a national record of locations of vehicles plowing into crowds gathered to stand for progressive ideals. On that day Tulare County residents peacefully protested in unity the national wave and support for the “Black Lives Matter” movement. It was also the day when a Visalia driver drove through […]
I spent two of the past four weeks engaged in an orgy of destruction. No, not protesting that Black lives matter. The fight I was in regarded the other BLM: Backyard Life Matters. Because the man we bought this house from is allergic to grass, half of the backyard–the half surrounding the pool–resembled, say, Guadalcanal. […]
When the current protesters–most of them no more than kids–first took to the streets many of you cried foul. They blocked traffic, you said. In fact, three of you in a blue Jeep (license plate number 8JUK695) took it upon yourselves to ram two of them. This column was initially going to address District Attorney […]
Some generous local individuals and companies have stepped forward to create a “no barrier” system to distribute free food to individuals who may not be reached by existing non-profit organizations and government agencies. The effort is being led by Jason LeFaive, Lead Pastor of SevenOaks.Church in Visalia and CityServe, Tulare-Kings. Pastor Jason’s church is part […]
At 41 years old I have learned not to believe everything I see, read, or hear. I use critical thinking and question, study, research, and thus determine what I will embrace as my truth. I understand there are always two sides, and even two truths to some degree, to every issue. Do not be deceived […]
It’s been a long time since I’ve sent a letter to the editor. I feel compelled to do so now in light of recent letters in the papers that are derogatory to our Sheriff, Mike Boudreaux. I also see where there are some Board of Supervisors that seem to be considering starting an oversight committee […]
One particularly irksome dynamic regarding the BLM movement is that its martyrs are chosen for it. By this I mean the semi-random institutional murders we’ve witnessed lo these 400 years. It’s a galling twist piled atop everything else that these oppressors, by their very semi-random aggression, all but name the martyrs. Totally without care, these […]
Today marks seven years to the day that the Valley Voice, under my wife and myself and with some very talented writers, first emerged in print. And what was the featured story above the fold on that front page seven years ago? An interview with Devin Nunes, in which he welcomed the paper back. Folks, […]