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Opinion
I trust Putin’s daughters won’t be sending him a Father’s Day card this year.
Dace McCarty lives in Upper Lake, Calif.
Dace McCarty lives in Upper Lake, Calif.
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- Written by: Dace McCarty
On Tuesday, I received a mailer touting Anthony Farrington’s desperate bid for district attorney.
He actually claims that the position of district attorney does not need a lawyer, but a “leader.”
Based on my decades of observing him, I don’t believe he qualifies as either and furthermore, I couldn’t disagree with him more. That would be like saying the Forty Niners don’t need a football player as quarterback, they need a people person and so the water boy is perfectly qualified.
Farrington also quotes statistics given by Crimegrades.org. What he doesn’t add is their disclaimer that, “Crime Grades do not represent the crime in any given year, but are instead our projection of what crime will look like in a typical year,” and that these statistics are created by them as advertising in order to further sales of home security systems.
In typical disingenuous Farrington fashion, he tries to divert voter attention away from his complete lack of qualifications in order to scare people into believing that the current district attorney has absolutely anything to do with funding the police. This not only demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the position, but is nothing more than a political sleight of hand and a feeble attempt to distract from his utter lack of meaningful criminal law experience.
He attempts to use his past experience as a county supervisor to try and fool people into believing that he has any ability to run this very important office. Noticeably missing still is his answer to my very simple challenge to name ANY criminal jury trials conducted and seen through to jury verdict with him as the attorney of record.
Let’s lower the bar and try and make it even easier for him by asking him to name just two. As he has some trouble recognizing what qualifies as a criminal jury trial, let’s give him a hint: case numbers start with a CR and the caption begins with “The People of the State of California versus …”
I am glad that we have District Attorney Susan Krones as our quarterback, and I urge you to not elect the water boy.
Rob Brown lives in Kelseyville, California.
He actually claims that the position of district attorney does not need a lawyer, but a “leader.”
Based on my decades of observing him, I don’t believe he qualifies as either and furthermore, I couldn’t disagree with him more. That would be like saying the Forty Niners don’t need a football player as quarterback, they need a people person and so the water boy is perfectly qualified.
Farrington also quotes statistics given by Crimegrades.org. What he doesn’t add is their disclaimer that, “Crime Grades do not represent the crime in any given year, but are instead our projection of what crime will look like in a typical year,” and that these statistics are created by them as advertising in order to further sales of home security systems.
In typical disingenuous Farrington fashion, he tries to divert voter attention away from his complete lack of qualifications in order to scare people into believing that the current district attorney has absolutely anything to do with funding the police. This not only demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the position, but is nothing more than a political sleight of hand and a feeble attempt to distract from his utter lack of meaningful criminal law experience.
He attempts to use his past experience as a county supervisor to try and fool people into believing that he has any ability to run this very important office. Noticeably missing still is his answer to my very simple challenge to name ANY criminal jury trials conducted and seen through to jury verdict with him as the attorney of record.
Let’s lower the bar and try and make it even easier for him by asking him to name just two. As he has some trouble recognizing what qualifies as a criminal jury trial, let’s give him a hint: case numbers start with a CR and the caption begins with “The People of the State of California versus …”
I am glad that we have District Attorney Susan Krones as our quarterback, and I urge you to not elect the water boy.
Rob Brown lives in Kelseyville, California.
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- Written by: Rob Brown
Democracy is hard work. It takes constant vigilance and participation. Those living within the Middletown Unified School District know this well.
For the past several months, a small group of citizens has bullied, threatened and undermined the hard work of teachers, administrators and school board members. Why? Because they have not learned the basic civic lesson that some things must be done for the good of all.
I applaud the individuals who spoke up either in letters or in person at the most recent Middletown School Board meeting, letting the community and the current board members know that they have had enough of this constant badgering, manipulation of standard policy and procedure and disrespectful and threatening behaviors.
What goes on in any one of our school districts affects all residents of Lake County. This small group of people have planted the seeds of disruption in other districts as well.
If you are approached by someone from this group to sign a recall petition, stop and ask yourself if you want to contribute to more undermining of the Middletown School District, more manipulation of a well-established system and another costly recall action against the legally appointed, very qualified and newest member of the board, Chris Ochs.
These same petitioners have wasted precious school funding on one special election because they would not abide by the decisions of the current, legally installed school board.
They have methodically disrupted the everyday functions of a district that serves our south county. They are engaged in tactics that waste the precious time of those who are actively and professionally involved in the process of educating students.
It takes only a few signatures, less than 2% of the voting population, to activate a costly special election to fill a board vacancy. Less than 2% does not reflect the democratic will of the people.
Don’t contribute your signature to an unwise, unneeded, misguided and expensive petition that serves no real purpose.
Let the current board get on with their important work. Let the election in June settle the existing open seat. Middletown does not need a second petition resulting in another costly special election. Beware what you put your name to.
Mary Borjon lives in Kelseyville, California.
For the past several months, a small group of citizens has bullied, threatened and undermined the hard work of teachers, administrators and school board members. Why? Because they have not learned the basic civic lesson that some things must be done for the good of all.
I applaud the individuals who spoke up either in letters or in person at the most recent Middletown School Board meeting, letting the community and the current board members know that they have had enough of this constant badgering, manipulation of standard policy and procedure and disrespectful and threatening behaviors.
What goes on in any one of our school districts affects all residents of Lake County. This small group of people have planted the seeds of disruption in other districts as well.
If you are approached by someone from this group to sign a recall petition, stop and ask yourself if you want to contribute to more undermining of the Middletown School District, more manipulation of a well-established system and another costly recall action against the legally appointed, very qualified and newest member of the board, Chris Ochs.
These same petitioners have wasted precious school funding on one special election because they would not abide by the decisions of the current, legally installed school board.
They have methodically disrupted the everyday functions of a district that serves our south county. They are engaged in tactics that waste the precious time of those who are actively and professionally involved in the process of educating students.
It takes only a few signatures, less than 2% of the voting population, to activate a costly special election to fill a board vacancy. Less than 2% does not reflect the democratic will of the people.
Don’t contribute your signature to an unwise, unneeded, misguided and expensive petition that serves no real purpose.
Let the current board get on with their important work. Let the election in June settle the existing open seat. Middletown does not need a second petition resulting in another costly special election. Beware what you put your name to.
Mary Borjon lives in Kelseyville, California.
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- Written by: Mary Borjon
I would like to offer a rebuttal to the opinion piece I read recently which blasted the book “Island of the Blue Dolphins” by Scott ODell. The complaint was that the portrayal of the Aleuts was inaccurate and insulting and therefore the book should be pulled from school curriculum.
My point is this: The book is historical fiction. “Historical” means that there is some nugget of truth or fact. “Fiction” means that most of the story is made up. Most readers, including fourth graders, can discern that authors twist facts, add their own details, exaggerate, or just plain lie. It’s up to the reader (or the teacher) to ferret out the truth, or perhaps, to just enjoy the story for what it is, a fictionalized survival story about a young girl abandoned on an island.
I am retired now, but I taught fourth grade for many years and this story was always part of my curriculum. We read it together and even my most “reluctant readers” were very engaged. It was a great introduction to the study of California Indians. ODell wrote this story in 1960, long before the PC and woke movements. Today, teachers could easily incorporate fact checking as part of the lessons. They could also add (not replace!) other stories, either by native authors or about native people. In other words, deepen and broaden the lesson.
I think we do not give children enough credit for understanding complex or contradicting ideas. Heroes can have faults, because they are human, after all. Ideas that may have seemed true or appropriate at one time, we now know are not correct or fair. The earth is not flat after all!
Please do not deprive students of this wonderful book! Help them to understand that it is not factual in its representation of the Aleut people, but please do not take away a story that so many have loved for so long.
Carolynn Jarrett lives in Clearlake, California.
My point is this: The book is historical fiction. “Historical” means that there is some nugget of truth or fact. “Fiction” means that most of the story is made up. Most readers, including fourth graders, can discern that authors twist facts, add their own details, exaggerate, or just plain lie. It’s up to the reader (or the teacher) to ferret out the truth, or perhaps, to just enjoy the story for what it is, a fictionalized survival story about a young girl abandoned on an island.
I am retired now, but I taught fourth grade for many years and this story was always part of my curriculum. We read it together and even my most “reluctant readers” were very engaged. It was a great introduction to the study of California Indians. ODell wrote this story in 1960, long before the PC and woke movements. Today, teachers could easily incorporate fact checking as part of the lessons. They could also add (not replace!) other stories, either by native authors or about native people. In other words, deepen and broaden the lesson.
I think we do not give children enough credit for understanding complex or contradicting ideas. Heroes can have faults, because they are human, after all. Ideas that may have seemed true or appropriate at one time, we now know are not correct or fair. The earth is not flat after all!
Please do not deprive students of this wonderful book! Help them to understand that it is not factual in its representation of the Aleut people, but please do not take away a story that so many have loved for so long.
Carolynn Jarrett lives in Clearlake, California.
- Details
- Written by: Carolynn Jarrett