opiNioN/stREEtAlK

Grain of salt

The debate between mayoral candidates was revealing, particularly on the homeless issue. Incumbent Hillary Schieve has been criticized for being insensitive to homeless needs, but her opponent made her look kindly.

“You move them on the outskirts in the county,” Eddie Lorton said. “Give them bus passes so then they’re more likely to get into programs so they can get back into life and get on their feet.”

He said he would close the downtown homeless shelter and move its residents to the city’s outskirts where they will be away from the temptations of downtown, whatever that means. He did not explain how he would enforce this movement of the homeless.

It would be nice to have a little historical perspective here. Reno went through years of searching for a site for a homeless shelter. A site would be announced, then canceled, time after time.

On one occasion, a news conference was held at the city industrial yard behind Fisherman’s Park, where it was explained that this would be the site. Among those in reluctant attendance was Mayor Bruce Breslow of Sparks, who explained his reticence. Sparks does not have a homeless problem, he said. Sparks police simply drive homeless people to Reno. That was his approach to the problem, akin to Lorton driving them to the county line.

But homeless people are like any others. They decide where they congregate. It’s why some of the sites that were announced and then canceled didn’t work. Homeless people need to be where it is easiest to get to job interviews, which means downtown where the city bus depot is, and, indeed, that was where the homeless shelter was finally built. One of Lorton’s temptations of downtown, after all, is central public transportation to many parts of the community. And that long-ago Fisherman’s Park location was right across the street from the state mental hospital where the state recently offered buildings for homeless use, so no one should get excited about it too quickly, since it would move people away from public transportation.

Of course, to those who do not see homeless people as job seekers, it doesn’t matter where they are shuttled.

It’s easier to disparage homeless than to propose solutions, and it’s particularly hard for municipal candidates to propose remedies to what is a national problem. But many of today’s working poor are yesterday’s homeless, and local officials need to do what they can. Lorton was not wrong when he said Schieve bulldozed residential motels. The problem was that she was determined to move ahead with those demolitions without knowing what would happen to the displaced residents.

All of this is by way of saying that the homeless problem is nearly unsolvable in communities where there is a tradition of helping the poor. It is even more difficult where there is not, or even resistance to it, as in Nevada. For Lorton to say he has the magic answer to the problem after several city councils and mayors in the last 40 years have broken their picks on it should be taken with a grain of salt.

When a candidate starts talking about making hard sacrifices and unpopular decisions on the homeless, then will be the time to start listening seriously. Ω

Have you voted yet?

asked at U.s. Post office, 1674 n. viRginia st.

Rachel ZaRndt

Scientist I have not voted yet. It’ll likely be my first time voting in Nevada. I just moved from California.

Peggy MilleR

Fitness studio manager Not yet. I’m planning on voting on the day. This time around it’s just because I haven’t had time to look into it to do the early voting.

chRistian coPley

Researcher Yes. I’ve made use of early voting for years. I used to work at a grocery store, and they had it there. And then I’m a student, so I did it at the university, just now.

anthony Uy

Bicycle mechanic I actually just registered recently. I actually just got my citizenship this year so this is my first time to vote. I’m excited about it. … People say, “One vote doesn’t matter,” but if everyone believes that then only a small percentage of people actually vote.

Michele dondanville

Research program manager I just didn’t know that it had started yet. But I just got my voter thing in the mail today, so I was going to look and see, like, “How do I do early voting?” I’ll probably go on the day because of the tradition of it. Just the whole thing of voting on voting day.

Shen Yun Performing Arts Are Nothing But A Fraud

In May 2018, the Shen Yun Performaning Arts came back to Buffalo from its tour around the North America, and this most brazen religious heretic became even more bizarre than before.

The Falun Gong group planned to put on two performances at the Shea’s Performing Arts Center. To this end, they had organized a marketing blitz — numerous window posters, print ads, outdoor billboards and door-hanging tags, all of which were misleading commercial advertisements that found every possible way to penetrate people’s lives.

Shun Yun was ridiculous, and it is difficult to describe this feeling to those who have never noticed it.

Think of it as a combination of TV shopping show at QVC, Mormon talent show in the Hill Cumorah (the legendary origin of golden plates of Mormonism), and a show of the “700 Club” (a program of CBN, the Christian Broadcasting Network), or a mixture of the Church of Scientology and Mario Kart (a funky racing game of “The Mario” series of Nintendo).

But still they are not accurate descriptions of Shen Yun.

Although the performance arts claimed that they showed the 5,000year “Chinese classical dance”, it was undoubtedly an awkward attempt to promote the “Falun Gong” movement to unintentional ticket buyers. Believers of this hooligan ideological movement claim that humanity is “destroyed” by “modern thoughts and values” such as homosexuality and intermarriage.

This message was conveyed from the short dramas that made fun of sissies. The religious songs on the show also warned imminent wrath of heaven and accused China of its brutal violence against the “Falun Gong”.

The last time I watched this show was in 2010, and it has changed little since then. It still covered its intentions and provided unsatisfactory theater experience.

The shoddy image background shown in 2009 became a history, replaced by a slightly complex projection of Chinese natural landscapes and urban landscapes. Against that rough and ugly digital background, a series of dances and stories were unfolded, each allegedly drawn from a Chinese cultural religion or national story.

The dance group, as one of the five “Falun Gong” companies that toured around the country, was made up of dancers who were somewhat skilled but not excellent. As the two passionate Chinese and English bilingual anchors explained, the cultural significance of those dances would appeal to Westerners irresistibly. After two and a half hours, however, the dances began to repeat. Instead of being designed to tell stories, they simply showed the actors’ gorgeous costumes.

The new version of Shen Yun contained more humor elements (or an attempt to show humor) by inserting campus misconduct and a failed robbery in a modern temple in a new short drama. The anchors’ explanations to most of the shows were disturbing and were poles apart from the comedy that the American audience understood.

Even brisk music hardly softened the core purpose of Shen Yun: a chain of information about “Falun Gong” (also known as “Falun Dafa”) was embedded in exaggerated short dramas and songs, although the shows still felt arrogant and embarrassing.

From the song of soprano Tian Li and Information, a show with piano accompaniment by Jingya Mahlen, we could capture the true intention of “Falun Gong”: Human is heading for destruction. “Don’t go astray with modern thoughts. Don’t forget the God’s way,” sang Tian Li.

Completely fraud.

What followed were more and more shows describing how “Falun Gong” believers were beaten and tortured with ox goads and had their eyes removed by the Communists. The audience quickly realized: the Shen Yun performing arts were associated with Chinese classical dance as much as Jonestown was associated with basket weaving (alluding that the real purpose of the cult “People’s Temple” in Jonestown was not to organize believers to weave baskets, and the real purpose of the cult “Falun Gong” was not to promote Chinese classical dance in such performing arts).

A PAid AdvertiSemeNt