www.montereycountynow.com july 4-10, 2024 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 15 Last Thursday night, June 27, two very different men stood on stage to debate the issues and to attempt to persuade the American voting public that they are the best person to be the next president of the United States. Debates give voters a rare opportunity to hear directly from the candidates themselves. This matters when it comes to matters of policy, but also how they comport themselves. Voters are wondering: Is this the person best equipped to hold the most powerful job in the world? Nothing about the debate made us feel comforted. Jokes about golf skills, when existential questions face our country, the world order, peace, prosperity and health? And yet those were among the more coherent moments of the debate between President Joe Biden and former president Donald J. Trump, the presumptive nominees for the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, respectively. When Trump at one point said, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence, and I don’t think he did, either,” it was a rare moment of truth for the serial liar. Biden seemed lost and dazed throughout. While his surrogates have dismissed it as an off night, we are not convinced. This is a time for intense clarity to hold Trump accountable—and if not Trump, what about Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu and other world leaders? The Biden campaign’s fundraising email the next morning was just as tepid as Biden the debater: “I have never heard so much malarkey in my whole life.” Sure, it’s a cute line, his signature “malarkey.” But Biden failed even in writing—as he failed to do verbally the night before—to convey the real dangers associated with a second Trump presidency. Who says malarkey when talking about a candidate who’s promised to leverage his elected office to go after his political enemies, pardon the convicted Jan. 6 insurrectionists, let Putin have his way in Europe, undo smart climate change initiatives, and effectively shut down the country’s borders and build a permanent wall around a nation of immigrants? This is much, much worse than malarkey. It is a threat to undermine the whole American experiment. We like Biden—his lifelong spirit of service, his measurable achievements in the past four years (the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, rallying to support Ukraine, a long-overdue exit from Afghanistan, his overall human decency). It’s precisely because of all of this good that we hope the people who have his ear will urge him to step aside. Biden can walk away gracefully on a high note, and also empower the next generation of leadership. Or he can fight for another term and in so doing imperil not just his own political sendoff, but also a 50-year legacy of Democrat-led legislation that has done good. Remaining in the race would almost definitely mean a Trump presidency, after his halting debate performance. And that’s not just bad for advancing Democrats’ policy goals and Biden’s legacy—it’s bad for America, and dangerous. Trump wants to double down on a xenophobic state, effectively shutting down our borders and deporting people he doesn’t agree with. He wants to strip the government of knowledgeable staff, in his attempt to root out the elusive “deep state.” He threatens to pull out of NATO, undermining the world order. He would exit the Paris climate accords, and would ramp up oil production just as the world is beginning a serious shift to renewables. His policy platform is an existential threat to American ideals, to freedom and liberty for all— including women. It’s not just Biden who should step down from his candidacy—it’s Trump too. Even after 62 lawsuits making claims of 2020 election fraud failed, he still claims the election was stolen. Instead of celebrating our free and fair elections as a bedrock American institution, he continues sowing doubt that imperils the credibility of the system infrastructure itself. He is evasive about whether he will accept the 2024 election results. This says nothing about Trump’s true character: that his company is barred from doing business in New York for continual corrupt practices, that a jury (twice) convicted him of sexual harassment and he owes E. Jean Carroll $83 million in damages, that he was convicted of 34 felonies for misreporting payments to his lawyer and a porn star to United We Stand Biden and Trump should both drop out. Our country is too important. By the Editorial Board Crying Fowl…Squid is something of a starfish connoisseur—they are just so colorful. Squid is thrilled when starfish decide to visit Squid’s lair, but makes sure that only four at a time are around at any given time. Any more, and Squid would have to get a hobbyist permit. That’s what Gonzalo Narez of Aromas tried to do, although not with starfish, but with equally colorful animals—roosters. Narez sought a permit as a “poultry hobbyist” through the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner to keep five or more roosters on his property. A “poultry hobbyist,” per the county’s definition, is a member of an organization that promotes chicken breeding for show or sale. But the ag commissioner denied Narez’s request on May 13, stating that he wasn’t affiliated with an association “recognized as a legitimate poultry hobbyist organization.” Such organizations include 4-H and Future Farmers of America, according to the county’s extensive rooster-keeping ordinance— adopted in 2015 as a way to combat the rise of cockfighting—which includes rules such as maintaining a good temperature in the chickens’ homes and disposing of manure. Narez is now taking his case to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, July 9, where Squid expects a few feathers will be ruffled. Lost in Translation…Squid showed up ready with shrimp-flavored popcorn at a meeting of the Alisal Union School District’s board of trustees on June 26. The gym at Jesse G. Sanchez Elementary School was quite empty. That made it a little awkward for Squid to chomp loudly on Squid’s popcorn, but there were enough juicy morsels for Squid to sink Squid’s beak into from AUSD officials. Superintendent Jim Koenig shared an update on AUSD’s special education studies. Two things stood out: Over-identification of students compared to the state average, and a high number of untranslated individualized education programs (IEPs)—639 out of 895 special education students—meaning non-English-speaking parents probably wouldn’t know about the additional services their children with special needs require to succeed in school. Boardmember Guadalupe Gilpas Barrera said it’s been an ongoing issue. “We always have this problem with IEPs and translation for years and years and years, and nothing has worked. What are we going to do?” She also asked if the district was liable. That’s when AUSD’s legal counsel advised the board to stop talking: “This discussion in itself could be causing liability for us.” Just like that, it became a dead end for the board, just like it’s a dead end for as many as 639 families. editorial SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. This is much, much worse than malarkey. Send Squid a tip: squid@montereycountynow.com editorial continued on page 16
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