Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/708753
Californiahas17andSan Francisco 39 measures on the ballot for voters to decide on November 8th. Why does this happen? Are our 120 golden state legislators in Sac- ramento incapa- ble of handling all these issues? Or are the eleven Supervi- sors governing the Bay Area just as unproductive? This is a more difficult "my take" for me to share with you today. I gen- erally feel the more ballot is- sues that go before the citizens themselves, the better democ- racy will be. First, I think we should all look forward to deciding as many issues for ourselves as possible. Second, citizens are not paid to decide public policy, so why do we have to do so? Third, the fact is that count- less citizens simply don't vote, which indicates some voters don't care enough to become in- volved and thus may not have even sought enough informa- tion to do so intelligently. This may all be part of the citizen-government movement that seems to be occurring across America, especially in this year's race for President be- tween Hillary Clinton and Don- ald Trump. 2016 is strongly be- coming a year that favors an outsider. Citizens are unhappy with our representatives. My take is all these bloated ballots are a good opportunity for voters to have a stronger say in today's regulations and laws. Where there is good news, there might be bad news as well. I say that because on oc- casion when politicians are not able to get the public policy they want passed, then they can raise money or gather signa- tures to put the issue before us on our ballots. Just one example that comes to mind is Califor- nia's own Lieutenant Gov- ernor Gavin Newsom. I had a private meeting with him not that long ago and we dis- cussed the fact that he offici- ated at hundreds of gay mar- riages while he was Mayor of San Francisco. I asked him briefly how that issue has af- fected him politically. He re- plied in jest that his action on that is now tattooed on his forehead. Mr. Newsom, in his present quest to be Califor- nia's next Governor in 2018 submitted a ballot measure requiring background checks for people buying ammuni- tion as well as limiting the gun clips to a maximum of ten bullets. Get ready to vote on that. I think we should all cherish each and every opportunity to vote. Just some of the issues you will personally have an impact on November 8th if you vote are increasing the cigarette tax, stricter gun control, whether plastic bans should be perma- nently banned, the use of recre- ational marijuana, making the use of condoms mandatory in adult films and even the possi- bility of eliminating California's death penalty. This gives a whole new mean- ing to the phrase "citizen legis- lator." California is one of just a few states that allow the recall, initiative and referendum pro- cesses. They were started here by Governor Hiram Johnson during the time he led Califor- nia, 1911 to 1917. Also, qualifying an initia- tive can often be a backup to get something done when our government can't seem to get it done. Proposition 13 in 1978 was a prime example when prop- erty taxes were at last restricted from going so high. Thank goodness the people stepped in and did it for themselves. Thisweek'smoviereview I cautiously saw "The Purge: Election Year." It is about a night when all crime becomes legal. The screenwriter and di- rector should have thought of something better to write about. This film also has some racist messages, but that was not needed. I do not recommend this film. StanStathamserved1976-1994 in the California Assembly and was a television news anchor at KHSL-TV in Chico 1965- 1975. He is past president of the California Broadcasters Association and can be reached at StanStatham@gmail.com. StanStatham My take on California's busy ballots This may all be part of the citizen- government movement that seems to be occurring across America, especially in this year's race for President between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Trump is simply a heartless bully Editor: It brings a smile to my face knowing I can still get under Les Wolfe's skin. I must have hit his soft spot. His love for Trump. Let me share with you what I wrote on Polson's col- umn expressing deep sorrow that none of his establishment wackos made it to the finish line, as Trump took each one out by acting like the person we tell our children not be, a heartless bully with no morals or manners. I wrote: "I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Laugh, because people like Republicans created the monster Trumpen- stein through their own rac- ist, bigoted, anti-government rhetoric. Cry, because the rise of Trump will destroy America and the world, if elected. Laugh, because the establishment Re- publicans tried to make the Tea Party happy by obstruct- ing everything Obama put on the table and still failed miser- ably, because there is no possi- bility of ever making politically whacked out fanatics happy. Well, Don, you, Rush, Hannity and followers have very likely ushered in a person, who fits the Biblical profile of the anti- Christ and has the same men- tal and personality disorders of other evil men, like Hitler, Sta- lin and Napoleon." Now, let me delve into what I base my assumptions on. From the beginning, everyone was saying Trump has no chance of winning. I said he would if he is who I think he is. Against all odds, Trump is the Republican nominee. His first miracle. In what I view as super- natural, Christians like Joel Osteen, Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell Jr. were able to put their Christian values on the back burner and em- brace the son of perdition. It was possible, as these leaders of the church and the church have turned their backs on the teachings of Christ, to em- brace and support an evil man who is the exact opposite of Christ and his teachings. Some may say, but Trump says he's a Christian. Lots of people do, but that does not make them Christians. Ac- cepting the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, acknowledg- ing our sins and asking for for- giveness is needed to be a true born again Christian. Trump has said he is never wrong, never says he's sorry, therefore has no need to be forgiven. This flies in the face of what Jesus said one must do to be saved. As far as my references to Hitler, Stalin and Napoleon, I stand by them. Like them, Trump is narcissistic, authori- tarian, with delusions of gran- deur. Trump's sick rhetoric and hysteria at his rallies is rem- iniscent of Hitler rallies, in- cluding the Heil Hitler salute and extracting promises from his followers of pledges of alle- giance, not to our country and flag, but to Trump. Already, he has shown he has no problem using brute force and our Secret Service to at- tack protestors, rally his sup- porters and has no problem dis- regarding the 1st Amendment, freedom of speech, along with freedom of the press. Even if Trump is not the anti-Christ, he is an extremely unscrupulous, greedy, bigoted and an egoma- niac, not suited at all for being President. The people who sup- port him are brainwashed or extremely foolish. — Pat Johnston, Red Bluff Columnist all wrong on Trump Editor: More than one educated lib- eral has accused me of not be- ing sophisticated, well maybe I ain't. I might have trouble tell- ing you what a knee jerk is but I know BS when I see it or smell it and Joe Harrop's column on July 16 didn't look like or smell like a bed of roses to me. In regard to Trump's father's discrimination lawsuit, I said other landowners could sympa- thize with him that have had to go through the expense of evict- ing crummy people. Then in a knee jerk reaction of the worst kind he accused me of mak- ing a sweeping generalization about African-American rent- ers. I said crummy people and crummy people do not singu- larly describe African-Ameri- cans, I would say it is inclusive of all ethnic backgrounds. It was Harrop that introduced Af- rican-American into the conver- sation after the fact. Harrop bemoans he is falsely accused of saying Republicans were racist and never used the word Republican. Maybe not lit- erally but he made it be known that Trump's father had been a member of the KKK and Trump is most likely the Republican presidential candidate for pres- ident and he said "On July 2 I wrote about some of my con- cerns about Donald Trump and the racist heritage of his father and his own racist remarks." One could certainly make the assumption that Harrop's com- ments branded Trump and his supporters as racists. By liberal standards who would vote for a racist but another racist? Wouldn't you know it; I missed his scathing review of Hillary's e-mails. Maybe Harrop should lis- ten more to patriotic African- Americans such as Sheriff Da- vid Clark of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Dallas Police Chief David Brown or Lt. Colonel Al- len West, Ben Carson and Her- man Cain just to name a few, instead of Obama, Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. I suggest Harrop keep a running tab on how many cops have been executed start- ing with the Dallas shooter and report to us on the count and the hatred spewed on social me- dia by, most likely, Black Lives Matter members or supporters. I believe Harrop is in denial that Obama administration's biggest accomplishment is di- viding America and making Is- lamic terrorism a world threat. Hillary's biggest achievement is staying out of jail. — Les Wolfe, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take Every Monday night in the fall of 1975, I ran until I was out of breath. Despite rushing home from my afterschool job, I always missed the first five minutes of "All In The Family." I could certainly have used an iconic device that wouldn't go into distribution in the U.S. for another two years: the video cas- sette recorder (VCR). I bring this up because USA Today reported that Funai Elec- tronics, the last known manu- facturer of VCRs, will no longer make them after this July. The Japanese company cited declining demand (750,000 units sold last year, versus the peak of 15 million units annually) and the difficulty of procuring parts. Parts? Given how outdated the device had become, I wonder if the parts were horseshoes so the Pony Express could deliver them? Who is still buying 750,000 VCRs a year? One source said the Chinese, but I suspect that some distant tribe is sacrificing them to the volcano god. ("And here is a copy of Cheech & Chong's 'Up In Smoke' for good measure.") There are probably a lot of Third World nations proudly using the analogue technology. ("Maybe I earn only a quar- ter a day, but you can bounce that quarter off these abs after I finish all those Jane Fonda workout tapes.") In its day, the VCR was hailed as revolutionary. Yes, "revolu- tionary" in that the wobbly, ever- degenerating images made the characters all fidget like they were waiting for the guillotine. Okay, the VCR was also rev- olutionary in that it offered an explosion of options for home entertainment. As a precur- sor of today's Redbox, "time- shifting" and streaming me- dia, it saved us from being at the mercy of theater owners and network programmers. In- stead, we were at the mercy of idiot family members who for- got to program the thing or id- iot family members who left the dog unattended to chew the cord. Even Bob Hope wouldn't go near those war zones. The VCR spared us from sprinting to the bathroom at every commercial break. Sure, the Surgeon General issued a preliminary report that this change sparked a rise in car- diovascular disease; but he somehow got distracted from issuing a final draft. ("Who's the idiot who taped over the 'M*A*S*H' finale????") The "leisure" device actu- ally provided new things to stress out over. ("I've still got 567 hours of game shows to catch up on. I think Bob Barker should have promoted spay- ing or neutering 'The Price Is Right' instead of pets.") Remember the war between the VHS and Betamax formats of recording? And how leaked in- dex cards in cursive handwriting revealed that the Democratic Na- tional Committee was involved in swinging support to VHS? (They even got Pres. Jimmy Carter to tell "Playboy" maga- zine, "I have lusted after grainy home movies in my heart.") The VCR was such a big deal that the Supreme Court had to rule on the technology in 1984, deciding that it was not illegal to copy TV shows for home viewing. In a sidebar, the Court also declared that video- tapes are persons, with the free speech rights to donate to po- litical campaigns and demand reparations for being stuck in dusty bookcases or grungy yard sale boxes. When the last shiny new VCRs have worn out, it'll really be time to bury the technology. But don't dig a shallow grave. The & %$# things will probably chew their way out. Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Danny Tyree The world's last video cassette recorder produced GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD 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, 728Main St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS By Danny Tyree Stan Statham OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, July 28, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4