Red Bluff Daily News

December 22, 2010

Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/21832

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 5 of 15

6A – Daily News – Wednesday, December 22, 2010 Opinion Religion D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Editor: Hello, I have recently moved to Red Bluff. I can no longer purchase or even read your newspaper because you seem to think that it is appropriate to include stories, poems and op- eds that openly discuss Jesus, Christianity, salvation, etc. I am disappointed and sur- prised since I have never seen a daily that is so openly prosely- tizing. This is a secular newspaper, not a church bulletin, and I hope I can find a source for actual news for and about the commu- nity. Claire Lucer, Red Bluff It’s not about the money Editor: If I own a company that sells widgets, and nobody is buying, or sales are slow, then I am priced too high or there is no real demand. If I’m priced too high for the market, I must somehow lower my overhead to lower prices. Usually the first thing to go is labor. If there is little demand for the product, there is nothing that can be done to increase demand regardless of how much money people have. Such was the case with the horse and buggy. No matter how cheap they were, technology changed demand. The politicians and media would have you believe that giv- ing Americans more money, either through stimulus dollars, tax breaks, incentives, subsidies, etc. will decrease unemploy- ment. I argue that only through competitive pricing of desired products will we be able to employ more people. I confess that I voted for the man with the big ears who was against NAFTA. He has since been proved right. We are no longer a competitive nation as regards industry. Our products cost too much, or there is little demand for what we produce. Of course this doesn’t pertain to every industry, but does on the whole. We import far more goods than we export. Why? We have too many restrictions on industry and business that don’t exist else- where. It is like being made to compete in a swim meet while carrying an anchor. We need to stop thinking that it is a money problem. It is a goods and services problem. Money is only the common denominator for the exchange of goods and services. No matter how you manipulate the decimal points or interest rates, you are just exchanging money, not goods and services. Subprime mortgages, mortgage backed securities, credit default swaps etc. all dealt with numbers, not real goods, and they failed. When currencies fail, barter takes over until a stable currency replaces it. It is a fundamental fact that it is the exchange of good s and services that make an economy strong. We need to think in those terms, not money terms when trying to get back on our feet. If it were a money thing, why not give everyone a million dollars so we would all be rich? I think you know the answer. Let’s make our politicians get back to basics. Paul Moon, Red Bluff Cost of the war Editor: I got a lot of comments from my last letter. They were mostly negative, accusing me and every- one who agreed with me of wanti- ng to take their money away simply for wanti- ng to end Bush’s tax- cuts for the richest fami- ly’s in America. All I can say is some around here have an awfully inflated view of their finances. One individual suggest- ed moving to Texas if you need a job. That may be a good idea if you’re not tied down by your home, sick or dying relatives, or any number of circumstances. One other hindrance could be the lack of the means to get to Texas. With an unemployment rate of 8 percent there is no guar- antee that after you pack-up and move there, a job will be waiting for you. I attempted to shame my critics for caring for billionaires more than the homeless. In the economic debate the right never mentions the millions wasted daily on the phony war on terror. So, after, what, seven years what have we achieved? Well, we have devastated two countries, we have multiplied the daily insurgent attacks and number of insurgents. By the way we have prosecuted this war and how our prisoners are treated we must be considered one of the worst barbaric nations on this planet by the majority of the world’s population. But we are freer now, right? With more prisons than schools being constructed that is highly debatable. Your Turn At least we can say we take care of our veterans, right, here is an interesting tidbit: “Of all home- less men 40 percent of them have served in the armed forces. Only 34 percent of the total adult male population has served in the armed forces 19 percent of the urban homeless population are veterans.” This statistic was found at http://library.thinkquest.org/10374 /html/facts.html. If you find a website that pur- ports to show the cost of the war you can be sure the number is greatly deflated. For instance the Veterans Administration recently added Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease to the list of presumptive service-connected ill- nesses linked to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. This addi- tion is projected to cost you tax payers $42.2 billion over the next 10 years. Mind you that is from a war that ended over 35 years ago. Will they find presumptive ser- vice-connected illnesses regarding the burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan where plastics, rub- ber, chemicals and other dioxin builders are disposed of 30 or 40 years from now? That is a distinct possibility. Bob Dylan really pegged this generation of Americans when he wrote, “Oh we’ve given up our sanity for our pride and our vanity, turned our back on humanity cause we don’t give a…” Orval Strong, Gerber Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3063 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Christmas has become better every year Commentary I still wish I hadn't peeked in the attic that year. It was Christmas 1972 and I was 10. It was the first year when I no longer believed in Santa Claus. Until that point, Christmas had been a magical time for me. A few weeks after Thanks- giving, I would join with my father to pick out our tree. He'd wear his rattiest coat and work his mastery on the helpless Christmas-tree guy to knock the price down two or three bucks. Soon, my father and I would have our giant platform in place and the tree perfectly positioned. We'd string the lights -- thick old bulbs that burned fingers when touched -- and head to the attic to bring down boxes of Christ- mas decorations. My sisters would be called and our whole family would decorate the tree. As our stack of scratchy old Christmas records would play -- as Mitch Miller, Bing Crosby and the Chipmunks would sing -- our mother would make special note of old orna- ments handed down from family members long gone and my sis- ters would show me how to hang the tinsel expertly, one strand at a time. The sun soon would go down and the light of our Christmas- tree bulbs reflecting off the tin- sel would transform our living room into a kaleidoscope -- a brilliant glow of colors dancing on the walls and ceiling. My mother, a master at build- ing up suspense, would talk about the days ahead -- church, family and the gifts Santa might bring. We would have the sense that a real event was about to hap- pen. And it was. The next few weeks would take forever to pass. Finally, Christmas Eve would arrive. There would be no harder night, then or now, for a kid to sleep. But as Bing Crosby would sing "White Christmas" on the old stereo console -- as our father would grumble to our mother, "For godssakes, Betty, I'll never get this thing together by morning ..." -- we'd finally fall asleep, only to wake 3 hours later to the glorious surprise awaiting us downstairs. All that magic left me in 1972. What a fraud it all seemed to be. Yet there was my mother, as cheerful and hopeful as ever. She whistled along with our Christmas albums as she deco- rated the house. She did everything she could to build up mystery and suspense, but I wanted none of it that year. I had become a cynic. All I cared about was that my gifts were hidden in the attic. I had pulled down the attic stairs and snuck up inside with a flashlight. I had been surprised to see one gift I really wanted but didn't think my parents could afford: a table-top hockey game! My excitement had quickly turned to sadness. I had cheated my mother. I had robbed her of the mystery and suspense she put so much effort into building. I had to fake my surprise on Christmas morning. I felt like a rat. My mother and father are doing well in their 70s. My mother is whistling along with old Christmas records as you read this. Despite all the noise our country faces every year -- materialism and argu- ing over public Christmas displays -- Christmas is very sim- ple to me. Tom Purcell still. more. In addition to its spiritual origin, it is a celebration of the abundance of love and security my parents gave my sisters and me so many years ago -- the love and securi- ty we give each other That happened 38 years ago. Here's what also happened: Every Christmas got better after that. They're getting better still. Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e-mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. I don’t peek into attics any- ———

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Red Bluff Daily News - December 22, 2010