Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/383269
GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIALBOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Whither the Islamic State? That's a real double-edged question: where is the group otherwise known as ISIS headed, and can the United States and other civilized nations make it shrivel up and die? Thegroupisandhastaken off like a bat out of hell, gob- bling up territory and becom- ing a virtual murder machine. President Barack Obama's speech on his plan to try to eliminate the ISIS threat could not have come soon enough for him and the Dem- ocrats. Obama's perceived hesitancy in responding to ISIS's threat has decimated the Democrats Party's num- bers on national security. And ISIS's nearly gleeful behead- ings of American journal- ists James Foley and Steven Sotloff had a huge impact on Americans: a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found Americans paid more attention to those stories than any other over the past five years. How fearful and/or angry are Americans? An ABC News/ Washington Post poll found 71 percent of Americans want air strikes against ISIS, 65 per- cent want expanded strikes and 74 percent of Republi- cans and 60 percent of Demo- crats want the strikes. Only 38 percent approved of Obama's performance in foreign pol- icy, an 8 point drop. Being the guy who got Osama bin Laden doesn't do you much good if you're now the guy whose name is becoming linked with the Democratic Party's biggest modern failure as President, Jimmy Carter. But it isn't just the issue of bombing, striking back, and even protecting the American homeland. The bottom line is that ISIS is unlike anything the world has seen since the Nazis. And in terms of their mercilessness and sheer pride in butchering men, women and children, they are even outdoing the Nazis. Yes, the Nazis killed way many more. But just give ISIS time and opportunity and per- haps they'd compete. The big difference been the Nazis and ISIS is that Nazis tried to hide (or at least publicly downplay) their inhumanity. Even today, Neonazis angrily email those writing about the Holocaust, insisting Adolf Hitler would never do such a thing and that photos of Nazi executions and numbers of Jew killed are doc- tored. History shows the Na- zis didn't want word to get out about their "final solution" to the Jewish "problem," and that Hitler ordered that the mur- ders of Jewish innocents not be referred to directly in any documentation. But, as some analysts in- creasingly note, ISIS members seem to be getting off on their power as they talk before their helpless, terrified victims in front of a camera. A depress- ing look at Google Images and videos under "ISIS" shows its members proudly being pho- tographed holding bloody heads, and emotionless ISIS soldiers mowing down rows and rows of tied-up prisoners. Reports describe how fathers and their preteen sons are exe- cuted or young boys are taken out alone and shot. One of the most disturbing videos shows a clad-in-black ISIS execu- tioner standing behind young woman and strangling her with a metal cord as a crowd watches. She violated some ISIS rules. There is no mercy, so, yes, you can imagine what would happen if an ISIS team went into a U.S. mall or what would happen to a city if the group obtained a nuclear weapon. ISIS's enemies are all who don't adopt its specific brand of Islam. But unlike the Na- zis, ISIS wants to get images of its murder and barbarism out to the world. When Twit- ter began shutting down ISIS linked accounts, ISIS threat- ened Twitter employees in San Francisco and Europe with as- sassination. So what is ISIS? A move- ment? A real nation state? A group defiling the image of law-abiding Muslims who wouldn't dream of chopping someone's head off? A group acting out the most Orthodox instructions from Muham- mad? A group totally distort- ing what Muhammad really meant or wanted? The debate over this and more will con- tinue as Obama begins to im- plement his anti-ISIS policy and seeks to build an effective international coalition. In truth, ISIS is a death- cult that celebrates and tries to glorify brutality. They've be- come the world's biggest, un- apologetic producer and mar- keter of real "snuff" videos. That isn't exactly found in the Koran. JoeGandelmanisaveteran journalist who can be reached at jgandelman@themoderat- evoice.com. Joe Gandelman Independent's eye on ISIS and the Nazis City'sprioritiesaskew Editor: It seems the city manager and City Council in Red Bluff have found ways to appropri- ate a 4.5 percent salary in- crease for management and middle-management level city employees. Yet the roads and streets of Red Bluff for the most part are bumpity, bumpity, bang. That would be the tar strip patches that fill the cracks and the worn out pot hole patches all along the trails of Red Bluff. It is very hard to understand the priorities of our local lead- ership. We are in a major drought, the Diversion Dam is no more and Red Bluff will be getting a new boat ramp. Somewhere in the grant pro- cess I've been lead to believe there is also a dog park on the agenda. This would be the type of park where people social- ize their dogs while wearing a throw-away surgical glove. Come on, it's time for a real- ity check. Posturing, posing and pretending are pretty much the same. So I ask our city leaders, are they ever going to properly pre- pare our streets? — Joseph Ostrowski, Red Bluff Hot topic, Jefferson State Editor: Indeed, many Tehama County residents have differ- ences with the Jefferson group. Those who voted yes on Mea- sure A said they did this be- cause they didn't realize that the many false promises before them were propaganda and im- possible to come true. Shame on all those that didn't vote. Others said they voted yes because it sounded like a popu- lar fad at the moment. And who is the opposition to Jefferson? The caring residents who didn't have the time or re- sources to appropriately edu- cate the voters. They are the university edu- cated, well traveled, with years of experience, all tied directly to the state of California. Thank you, Daily News, for exercising the first amendment freedom of the press. — Kathy Bonner, Red Bluff Firefighting resources in jeopardy? Editor: I was watching the news on Channel 7 the other evening. Seeing the coverage of the Bella Vista fire prompted a question I have been wondering about for some time now. If the State of Jefferson was in charge, where would it get the resources to fight a fire of this size? It is very expensive to obtain helicopters, planes, fire trucks and firefighters to han- dle such a situation. Cal Fire does a wonderful job of taking care of California. So does CalTrans. It does a great job of keeping our highways in good shape, another expen- sive job. As a former firefighter, I ask where will Jefferson get all of this money? — Nona Wallace, Red Bluff Vote for Candy Carlson, Supervisor District 2 Editor: It's time for some indepen- dent thinking on the Tehama County Board of Supervisors. What we currently have are old government bureaucrats that resemble those in the U.S. House of Representatives, and we all know how low their ap- proval ratings are. Old time government employ- ees tend to be process and proj- ect oriented rather that issue oriented. They are steeped in a career full of government proto- cols insulated from the people of the community they serve; why else would they be deaf to the concerns of their commu- nity. Over the years, bureaucrats simply become desensitized, and they're like Pavlov's dogs in their response to the pursuit of any project at hand. And their single mindedness never more evident in their covert actions to expand landfill operations by taking 36 acres of the Westgate Subdivision and degrading that subdivision. While the public is up in arms, they just look down with patronizing smiles—so clearly have they forgotten who they work for. Tehama County has a rare opportunity to vote for Candy Carlson for Tehama County Board of Supervisors to infuse a breath of fresh air. Carlson is an achiever and has distinguished herself on many levels, and she is non-partisan. She was formerly in the U.S. Air Force, has a degree in busi- ness and psychology, is a busi- ness owner, has two grown chil- dren and is involved in com- munity actions. Carlson is not a government insider as other board members are; she will represent the community and be thorough in her research into the issues. Contrast this with her oppo- nent, Sandra Bruce, long time county employee — nearly 30 years — and proud of her abil- ity to espouse government reg- ulations, and proud of her knowledge of government ac- ronyms; all the while unable to respond effectively to pub- lic concerns. Remember the ad- age: he or she just doesn't get it. Vote for Candy Carlson if you want representation in Tehama County, District 2. — Lorrie Graves, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take Miraculously, President Obama has conjured a strategy to wipe the Islamic State from the face of the Earth. Just two weeks after con- fessing he had "no strategy" for dealing with this formidable ter- rorist organization, he is drib- bling out pieces of his "compre- hensive" plan. First of all, someone should tell the President that this ca- liphate of rampaging rapists and murderers no longer refers to itself as "ISIL," as the Pres- ident calls them. That was so nine months ago. "The Islamic State," formerly ISIS and before that ISIL. Successful political investi- gative journalists such as Bob Woodward and Edward Klein have documented beyond a doubt that President Obama makes no important policy deci- sion before first calculating how many votes the decision should create for his party. No wonder he has waited so long to cobble together ideas that have been around for quite some time. He first announced to report- ers on Aug. 23, 2013 that he was developing a strategy to combat terrorist organizations. It sure takes a long time to count the votes, doesn't it? No wonder he has adopted President Bush's concept of a "Coalition of the Willing" to fight ISIS. It's a commonsense approach that he mocked as a candidate and has come to em- brace. There are many questions that should be asked of the man Bill Clinton calls "The Amateur." How willing are these coun- tries and how much are you willing to pay them to be will- ing? While they appreciate our weapons, training and boots-on- the-ground advisors? What cri- teria have you agreed upon for these new relationships? Have you articulated protection from persecution for our personnel? Have you entered into these agreements with any precondi- tions? What will these countries give to America for the billions of dollars you're likely to spend and give to them? Are you ne- gotiating for long term relation- ships or are you happy for the U.S. to go back to being despised by these countries' leaders once they feel ISIS is effectively con- tained? How much of this can a Pres- ident really achieve just 15 days after saying, "Oh. Okay. I'll an- nounce a strategy on 9/10?" How are Americans supposed to believe he is now suddenly serious about fighting terror- ism with such an on-again / off- again history of behavior? How are Americans supposed to believe he is now suddenly se- rious about fighting terrorism when his administration has no plan for American citizens who travel overseas, fight for terror- ists and return home? State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf admit- ted that being a member of a des- ignated terrorist organization "does not automatically mean your passport will be revoked." How much of anything he says can Americans believe when one of the most popular themes shared on the internet are lists of Obama's lies. Lies such as "I promise 100 percent transparency in my ad- ministration," "I'll have no lob- byists in my administration," "I'll resign if I don't cut the def- icit in half by the end of four years," and "If you like your health Insurance you can keep it, period." Lies like "I will put an end to the type of politics that "breeds division, conflict and cynicism," "My 'JV' comment wasn't specif- ically referring to ISIL," "Whis- tle blowers will be protected in my administration," We watch, we listen, we dis- believe. I blame Bush. Rick Jensen is Delaware's award-winning conservative talk show host on 1150AM WDEL and 93.7FM HD3, Streaming live on WDEL.com from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Contact Rick at rick@ wdel.com. Rick Jensen Given past lies, it's hard to trust Obama on Islamic State OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, September 18, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6