A4 — Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Sonora, California
THEUNIONDEMOCRAT
Enrroaau,Bown Kari Borgen, Interim Publisher Lyn Riddle, Editor
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GUEST COLUMN
There's little difference between Trump and Sanders Down in South Carolina, in the days before the Republican primary, I was shocked by the number of South Carolinians who told me they were trying to decide whether to support Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. This choice is, of course, possible in an open primary state such as South Carolina. But what could possibly be happening, I asked myself, that the same voter could be considering Sanders and TI'Ump?
When I dropped ou t ~ St3I' of the welfare p~k| I. state 33 years ago and b ecame a conservative and a Republican, I felt I was walking out of one world and into another that was totally, irreconcilably different. I said goodbye to the government plantation and Democrat Party politicians promising redemption with other people's money. I turned to the Republican Party, which represented, for me, traditional values, personal responsibility and limited government.
These were the values of the healthy, prosperous parts of America. And it was these values that I wanted to bring to poor black communities as antidote to the damage done by the welfare state. But a funny thing happened over 30 years fighting for more freedom in minority communities. The healthy part of America became more like the unhealthy part, rather than the other way around. Back in 1995, when I was working with Republicans on welfare reform, 37 percent of Americans,
according to Gallup, said government should not favor any particular set of values — including traditional values. By 2015, this was up to 51 percent. Among Republicans the change has been particularly pronounced. In 2002, 22 percent of Republicans said government should not promote any particular set of values. By 2015, this almost doubled, up to 39 percent. The support that Donald Trump, the current Republican front-runner, is getting is being explained as anger at the Washington establishment and big government. But is that true? Are these Trump supporters really looking for limited government andending programs thatare bankrupting us? In a Pew Research survey done last December, 53 percent of Republicans said government doesn't do enough to help the middle class. In aReuters polldone lastyear,nearly 80 percent ofRepublicans opposed getting rid ofSocial Security and Medicare. Sixty-four percent opposed gettingrid ofMedicaid. But these programs consume half the federal budget. And according to the Cato Institute, over the next 10years, Medicaid is projected to expand by21 percent, SocialSecurity by 30 percent and Medicare by 40 percent. Without major reforms here, dealing with America's massive fiscal imbalances will be impossible. Bernie Sandersproposes to deal with it allby making this country a socialist welfare state, with massive new taxes on those earning higher incomes. Donald Trump doesn't seem to think he needs to propose anything beyond assuring us there is no problem he can't solve.
It all helps to explain why it is possible that the same voters could support either Sanders or Trump. Both really have a lot in common. Sanders and Trump share a message that all our problems are because of someone else and can be solved by someone else. According to Sanders, it is big business and the wealthy that cause all our problems. According to Trump, it is Chinese imports and immigrants. For Sanders, government will solve all our problems. For Trump, Donald Trump will solve all our problems. America's greatness lies in giving individuals freedom totake responsibility fortheir own lives. Economically, this means ownership. Socially, this means family. What makes America not great is this new era of blaming everyone else for our problems and looking for someone else to solve them. Absence of personal responsibility has always been the message of Democrats. But it is new for it to define Republicans. It certainly is not the same Republican Party that won me over 33 years ago. How did weget so lost? Star Parkeris an author and president of
CURE, the Center for Urban Renewal and
Education. Contact her at wr y . u r bancure.org.
GUEST COLUMN
Apple, public safety and selling stuff Federal investigators hold theiPhone ofSyed Rizwan Farook, the terrorist who helped slaughter 14 innocents in San Bernardino, California. They want to look at its contents but can't because the device is encrypted and Apple has refused to unlock it. The matter ended up in federal court, where a magistratejudge ordered Apple to hack Farook's cellphone. Apple has rejected the judge' s order, citing privacy concerns. Apple is in the wrong. As Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance points out,
Froma Harrop that puts all users in danger of being hacked by identity thieves and other creeps. It has ordered Apple to help the Federal Bureau of Investigation get into a single iPhone. To do this, Apple must create a hacking tool, which, some fret, could get into the wrong hands. But th e decrypting could be done on Apple property by Apple people — and the tool kept in Apple's
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tional policy on confronting terrorism should not be left to "corporationsthat sellstuff for a living." It shouldn't matter how cool the stuff is. Victims of the San Bernardino attack are filing a legal brief supporting the U.S. government's position. And for what it's worth, Donald Trump has called for a boycott of Apple products if the company does not cooperate. No one said that drawing a line between privacy and security is simple — and new technology keeps moving that blurred border. But Comey is right. The job of setting national security priorities has not been outsourced to Silicon Valleyboardrooms. It is a matter for our federal government.
Dear Apple: Frustrating effortsto track terrorists is not a great marketing strategy. Your wisest move would be to make some noise and then help the FBI break into a terrorist's iPhone.
ment is nonsense.
use against
The court's not telling Apple tocreate what one critic of thejudge's order called a "design defect," a backdoor
China is Apple's second bigAnd there are American Follow Froma Harrop on gest market after the United sensibilities to consider. FBI Twitter @FromaHarrop. She States. Director James Comey spoke can be reached at fharrop@ U.S. tech companies and for many when he said na- gmai l. com.
YOUR VIEWS Corruptconservators To the Editor: One ofthe top issues forthe electorate this year is government corruption. To the growing list of government entities that have fallen short, I would like to add the Probate Court System — specifically, for-profi t, court-appointed conservatorship. A conservatorissupposed toprotectan elderly person who is no longer able to care for himself or herself. Unfortunately, sometimes the protector can become a
problem. My grandma was conserved in Tuolumne County at age 99. An elder law
t h ei r c i t i z ens. ers know the score.
hours,and allvisitshad tobe supervised. He unplugged her phone. Despite the fact that his actions did not seem legal (see AB 937 signed by Brown in 2013), we could not get a single community or governmental agency to intervene. Everyone referred us back to the court. Months later,we did get these restrictions overturned, but it cost us over $30,000 in legal fees. Not to mention, the conservator was not penalized in any way. In fact, he used my grandma'smoney to defend the restrictions imposed against us. My grandma passed away last month, and now I hope to educate others about conservatorship. Anyone who g r ows old enough to lose significant functioning will be eligible for conservatorship. Please visit www.aaapg.net or coalition4rights.corn and consider taking action!
attorney convinced me to allow the court
to appoint a licensed professional fiduciary as a solution to a family dispute over her care.As a licensed professional supervised by the court, I thought he would be held to the highest standard. Instead, I found his approval by the court meant it was difficult to hold him to any standard at all. For example,although my grandma was living in her own home, the conservatorrestricted family members' access to her. He implemented strict visiting
HE NION EMOCRAT'""' .:I :,': ;: , ' :: . .; .; .. '". ", " CONTACTUS:
she wrote. Hers has contacts,
medicalrecords, kids' report cards, pictures and so forth. All the more reason not to carry all t h a t i n formation around in one's handbag, we might say. But even if a master key for unlocking iPhones got on the loose, the brutes would still need to possess the physical iPhone and the government's case rests spend perhaps years trying to on centuries of law holding famously secure vault. get past a strong password. that "no item — not a home, While Apple's stance is unFull-disclosure time. Your not a file cabinet and not a acceptable, it is understand- writer is a voracious consumsmartphone — lies beyond able from a limited business er of Apple products and an the reachof a judicialsearch point of view. Apple worries investor in Apple Inc. stock. warrant." that if it gives U.S. law en- She's not selling her shares There exists no "right of forcementaccessto encrypted for the following reasons: Before the recent iPhone privacy" to withhold evidence cellphones, countries less senof a crime. The idea that the sitive to civil liberties would decryption debate, China was cellphone is a privileged com- demand the same. Places like already demanding a backmunications device that must China and Russia could grab door to its citizens' computers be off-limits to law enforce- the technology for widespread and phones. Chinese consum-
Jennifer Warner Mi-Wuk Village
Healthycompetition To the Editor: I was very impressed by Guy Dossi's article, "Running together," on Feb. 20. A track runner in high school and still running today at 71, it was very refreshing to hear two schools that compete against
DEPARTMENTHEADS
162nd year • Issue No. 178
civil libertarians are supporting Apple's stance. Nuala O' Connor of the Center for Democracy and Technology expressed some of the fears. Cellphones "have become effectivelya partofour bodies,"
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each other, but are also helping each other out. Holding on to the competitive spirit but not having the hate that can sometimes infect a sport is impressive. I have two grandkids growing up in Tuolumne County, and I know now that they will be in good hands. At 71 years old, the best thing about participating in sports is all the lifelong friendships that you will have over the years, but at 71 I must admit that I do still have that same competitive spirit that I had in high school. Walter Bales Grov eland
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