Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/583479
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@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 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 Inthewakeoftherecenthomicidalshooting rampage at an Oregon community college, I'm forced to come to the conclusion that it is high time for common sense national back- ground checks for journalists. It'stimeweclosedthepolit- ical loophole and prevented bi- ased, ignorant political opera- tives from getting their hands on a dangerously misleading national microphone. RedState has a perfect ex- ample this week. Former Bill Clinton White House aide, and current Clinton Foundation donor George Stephanopou- los, is the host for ABC's This Week. He uses his "bully pul- pit" to bully conservatives and Republicans. During an interview with New Jersey Gov. Chris Chris- tie, Stephanopoulos inter- rupted Christie to assert, "But there's no question the pace of mass shootings is accelerating, happening more frequently than anywhere else. If it's not the gun, then what is it?" This is a perfect example of leftist thinking. As Dennis Prager points out, the left al- ways blames the inanimate ob- ject and never the user. During the Cold War the left wanted to ban atomic weap- ons rather than condemn and work to overthrow totalitar- ian regimes that could use The Bomb to further their ends. Leftist—in—Chief Obama con- tinues to be fixated on nu- clear weapons and behind the scenes is working to ren- der our nuclear deterrent im- potent. Now the left is fixated on the gun. Blaming the user of the gun is out of the question, because that involves individ- ual responsibility. Once America starts think- ing in terms of individual re- sponsibility again, it has the potential to open up a line of questioning that is very un- comfortable for big govern- ment leftists. For example: Why can't you find a job? Where is the fa- ther of your children? How did your home enter foreclo- sure? What do you spend your money on? Why have we lost the War on Poverty? After demonizing the gun, leftists like Stephanopoulos use false data from anti—gun pressure groups to contradict defenders of the 2nd Amend- ment. First they change the defini- tion of "mass shooting." Before the numbers started to trend against them, the definition was at least four deaths NOT counting the shooter. Now gun grabbers use three deaths as a minimum or they include the wretched shooter in the total. Naturally, as if by magic in a cloud of cordite, there are more mass shootings, but even doctored statistics can't sup- port the "accelerating" claim. The RedState graph shows mass shootings peaked in 2004 and have not reached that peak since. Since 2008, mass shootings have been trending downward. I'm certain rabid Democrat defenders of media bias will block my common sense back- ground checks for journalists bill in the Senate. So in the meantime I can only advise you to beware leftists bearing statistics. MichaelReaganisthesonof President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press). Send comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com. Follow @reaganworld on Twitter. Michael Reagan Time for sensible background checks Cartoonist's take Regarding the latest shoot- ings in schools, the media does us all a great disser- vice by naming the shooter, dis- cussing his back- ground and then speculating why he would do such a thing. I think it obvious to most of us that this information only fulfills the assailants wish, which is the instant no- toriety that he did not previ- ously possess. There should be an unwritten law observed by news gathers, that when a perpetrator kills himself or is killed by law enforce- ment people, that his name is never revealed. Only if he is captured alive should his name and background be re- vealed to speed up his death sentence or life in prison. And while they are at it, how about a little caveat at the bottom of the article remind- ing readers "This is just an- other example where guns do kill people." Gun lobbyists get off way too easy citing the well worn 2nd Amendment. And speaking of gun lobby- ists, D. Polson in his Tuesday column dismissed gun con- trol advocates reacting to the yet another mass murder, this time at Umpqua Community College, by repeating his fa- vorite mantra and unfounded nonsense that "law-abiding citizens might be denied their 'God given right' to self de- fense in any public space," this if gun control ordinances were passed. However, mass shootings merely accentuate the violence of the gun. In the same Daily News issue, Rik Stevens of the Associated Press reported that 8,124 homicides, by gun, were committed in 2014. That's 156 per week or 22 people shot to death every day across this country. Don, your 2nd Amendment defense jazz just doesn't cut it any more. ••• The Jim Wilson God Talk column is always worth a read, if for nothing more than to hear of his observations of the power of prayer. He writes, "I have visited Fiji and Ha- waii's Big Island where eco- logical dead reefs were resur- rected after periods of prayer and repentance. I have seen polluted streams restored in Northern California and dry rivers erupt from under- ground streams after intense prayer; droughts have twice been broken in the past two decades when humble prayer begged God, and meteorol- ogists had predicted contin- ued dryness. It is well known in prayer circles that certain sin patterns literately pollute the land" and so forth. Does anyone edit these pronounce- ments? Is there an agency that checks up on restoration of reefs and the effect of intense prayer to get dry streams run- ning again? Tsk, tsk. ••• In last week's I Say, I urged letters to the editor writers to continue their efforts despite their limited writing skills. However, "college educated," his words letter writer P. Glea- son, an educator, has proba- ble cause to defend those lack- ing in sentence construction. Despite his skillful teach- ing, it may be that many of his former students are lack- ing in this department and would welcome his late day tu- toring when composing their next batch of letters. And Pat will certainly have time to spare once the LA Dodgers fail to win the World Series — with or without the power of prayer. ••• If letters to the editor and columnists are not making you happy, here are 5 sugges- tions by Mandy Oaklander de- signed to brighten your life: 1) Create conditions in your day likely to bring about positive emotions. 2) Shift your per- spective. When people value calm more, they seek out more relaxing activities. 3) Stay present. People who listened to classical music were told to feel as happy as possible, but ended up in worse moods than those who simply listened. 4) Lower your expectations. Peo- ple who made elaborate plans were the most disappointed afterward. 5) Savor great mo- ments. Appreciate and relive wonderful moments even after they're over. Savoring strongly predicts higher levels of hap- piness. And yet, who can advise for every individual and every sit- uation? Different strokes for different folks ••• Cousin W. B. Kelsey in Bur- lingame fills up his sock drawer with miscellanea, and then empties the drawer and sends it on to me. I don't have the space for all he has culled from the papers, but three stand out: In church bulletin, "Sermon: What is hell? Come and hear our pianist." In the same bulletin: "I Am Thin, O Lord" should have read "I Am Thine, O Lord." Sign in de- partment store: "Unattended children will be given a cup of espresso and a puppy." ••• Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson appears to have little chance of gaining the coveted position of leadership of this country, but he does have a following. He states "Obamacare is the worst thing that has happened to this na- tion since slavery, reading is the way out of ignorance, that he would not advocate putting a Muslim in the White House, the bible is a valuable resource for everyday living, America is very much like Nazi Ger- many whereas we live in a so- ciety where people are afraid to say what they actually be- lieve." Some of his utterances are food for thought, and oth- ers — i.e., Nazi Germany — are observations not befitting a presidential candidate. We are all free to say whatever we want — more than any time in our history. ••• Newspaper headline: "Law- yers for Kentucky clerk at the center of the U.S. gay mar- riage debate say the Vatican ambassador to Washington helped arrange her meeting with Pope Francis last week." Bad move, Francis. This meet- ing did a lot to undermine your visit. She broke the law. The grandstanding clerk Kim Davis should be cashiered from her Kentucky position. ••• Two friends, Bill and Ray met for a drink. Bill said, "I've had a sex change since last we met." Ray was stunned and asked, "Is there anything you miss now that you're a woman?" And Bill an- swered, "Well, I just wish I could remember how to paral- lel park." A patient in a hospital com- plained that he hated the place, that they treated pa- tients like dogs. A nurse re- plied, "That's not true. Now, roll over." Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail. com. I say Mass shootings accentuate the violence of the gun After demonizing the gun, leftists like Stephanopoulos use false data from anti—gun pressure groups to contradict defenders of the 2nd Amendment. Robert Minch President Barack Obama: The White House 1600Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 Fax: 202-456-2461 president@whitehouse.gov U.S. Senate Dianne Feinstein: Hart Senate Office Building Room 331 Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3841 Fax: 202-228-3954 One Post St., Suite 2450 San Francisco, CA 94104 415-393-0707 Fax: 415-393-0710 Website: feinstein.senate.gov Barbara Boxer: Hart Senate Office Building Room 112 Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: 202-224-3553 Fax: 202-228-3865 501I St., Suite 7-600 Sacramento, CA 95814 916-448-2787 Website: boxer.senate.gov U.S. Representative Jared Huffman: 1630Longworth House Office Building Washington D.C. 20515 Phone: 202-225-5161 Fax: 202-225-5163 3173rd St., Suite 1 Eureka, CA 95501 Eureka phone: 707-407-3585 Fax: 707-407-3559 Website: huffman.house.gov Governor Jerry Brown: State Capitol Building, Suite 1173 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916-445-2841 Fax: 916-558-3160 Local Tehama County Supervisors, 527-4655 District 1, Steve Chamblin, Ext. 3015 District 2, Candy Carlson, Ext. 3014 District 3, Dennis Garton, Ext. 3017 District 4, Bob Williams, Ext. 3018 District 5, Burt Bundy, Ext. 3016 Red Bluff City Manager, Richard Crabtree, 527-2605, Ext. 3061 Corning City Manager, John Brewer, 824-7033 YOUR OFFICIALS OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, October 9, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4