Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/102382
6A Daily News – Tuesday, January 8, 2013 Opinion Republican ambitions cost North State voters dearly DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY 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 letters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All 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 cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submitted will be considered for publication. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong community 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 vehicles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its communities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the residents 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 Today is the special election for the 4th State Senate district. Democrat Michael "Mickey" Harrington is squaring off against republican Jim Nielsen for the seat left open by the premature resignation of republican Doug LaMalfa to replace republican Wally Herger as our representative in the U.S. Congress. Harrington is a Labor Council president, while Nielsen claims to be a rancher and independent businessman, although the only business I see him practicing is that of a self-aggrandizing politician with questionable ethics. The fact that Mr. Nielsen is neither a resident of the district he strives to represent nor actually occupies a manufactured home in Gerber used to legitimize his candidacy and state per diem and travel expenses is discounted by republican voters so as to pursue their partisan aims. Jim Nielsen is certain to win since he garnered 49.8% of the vote for this seat last November compared to the paltry 27.7% of his closest competitor democrat Michael Harrington. Unfortunately another Republican, Dan Logue, took 11% of votes that would have likely been cast for Nielsen because he failed to abandon his pursuit of the Senate seat before the ballots were printed. This alone speaks volumes about the abandon with which republican voters cast votes to keep representatives in office when they cast votes for candidates that have withdrawn from the election. Now because of this ardor and the ambitions of Republican lawmakers all north state taxpayers must shell out over a million bucks for this otherwise unnecessary special election because no candidate received a majority of votes. So it seems to me appropriate that these millionaire republican candidates should foot the bill for this special election brought upon only due to impatience to fulfill their political ambitions. Although the chances of such a gesture are less than Mr. Harrington's likelihood of winning this doesn't seem to bother most local voters who seem satisfied to fulfill Wally Herger's wish to place Doug in Washington. It seems to this columnist that the supporters of this republican tryst have no problem letting these millionaire politicians play their partisan games at our expense because to question it shows the extent to which some people place party over principle as local Republican Pete Stiglich intimated. However all is not as hopeless for Tehama County democrats as many assume. According to the county elections department there are 30,211 registered voters in the county, 9,336 registered democrats (30.9%) versus 13,319 republicans (44.1%). This means that if all republicans and democrats voted the party line, that democrats could prevail if they sway 77% of the remaining 7,546 county voters. So a Democratic In addition let us not forget the Red Bluff City Council Party win in the county refusal to rezone vacant is not impossible, but property to make way is nonetheless difficult for a homeless shelter, as evidenced by the despite the fact that it election of Doug was supported by the LaMalfa to be our repoverwhelming majority resentative in the U.S. of those expressing supCongress. port and that time-limitThis victory came ed grant funding could despite deceptive camhave been used for conpaign tactics now struction and operation. under investigation, None of this speaks the hypocrisy of his Richard well of us but such is the contempt for federal apparent will of those in entitlements while his positions of power and family receives milinfluence and their suplions in crop subsidies, porters. The turn-out for admittedly misinthe last election was a formed anti-choice respectable 72% due to beliefs and cavalier the contentious presidiscounting of climate change as only something that dential election and the number of occurs with the change of sea- state-wide ballot propositions. It sons despite record-setting tem- will be interesting to see what perature extremes, historic kind of turn-out we see for this drought, unprecedented hurri- special election as we might be cane and tornado devastation, surprised by the outcome if everyand incontrovertible evidence of one assumes as do I that Mr. increasing global temperatures, Nielsen will win, rendering any carbon dioxide concentrations, votes for his challenger all the more potent. In any event all taxand sea levels. Apparently most local voters payers should chafe as they go to are not disposed to hold our rep- the polls because in the end repubresentatives accountable for the lican ambitions cost north state fiscal impacts of their ambitions, voters dearly. taking misinformed positions, Richard Mazzucchi is a retired callousness toward those that suffer from abuse or misfortune, eth- research engineer specializing in ical failures, legal compliance, or energy efficiency and renewable failure to seriously address the energy. He can be reached at impacts of humans on our planet. living-green@att.net. Mazzucchi Positive Point Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 1550 Humboldt Road, Ste. 4, Chico, CA 95928, 530-8954217 STATE SENATOR — Awaiting results of special election GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-225-3076. 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; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Commentary Young students could figure it out First, I'd like to invite anyone, particularly ideological opponents, to come to the Tea Party Patriots meeting tonight to view a DVD on Agenda 21. We will greet, make welcome and serve snacks and coffee to cynical critics and doubters alike; please watch, listen, take notes and share with readers your conclusions on the validity of our concerns and suspicions over the UN's 20 year old efforts to sublimate America's private property supremacy to mandated "sustainability" policies. Secondly, I have just posted the 4,000th article at Polecat News and Views (DonPolson.blogspot.com); page readership is modest by major-blog standards, but approaches 80,000 for the life of the blog. It is not monetized with ads, pop ups, auto-start audio, video, or banners; and is intended to provide a few really incisive and informative articles a day instead of a multitude of headlines and summaries. Post 4,000 is "The giant, gaping hole in Sandy Hook reporting," by David Kupelian of World Net Daily. Find out about the reliable link between mass shootings, Andrea Yates drowned children, the wannabe assassin of President Reagan, and mood altering drugs like Ritalin, Paxil and Prozac. This non-gun angle to mass killings is truly eye opening. While a relatively miniscule percentage of unstable users are subject to "suicidal" or "homicidal" psychotic episodes, the use of such drugs goes much further to explain such murderous rampages than the guns that they usually had to illegally obtain. A family friend said Adam Lanza was "on medication and everything." When will authorities release the names of psychiatric drugs he had used or ceased using (which has also triggered murderous rampages)? If I had an imaginary group of young students, and was informing and testing them on their knowledge of the Social Security retirement system, it might go like this (names randomly chosen from relatives): DP: When retirees receive a Social Security check, are they getting back their own money that they paid over the years? Billy: No, their money was used to pay the folks that were retired at the time they were still working. People have always mostly received money that current workers were paying in taxes. DP: But didn't some money get deposited in their name in a separate account? Davy: Actually not; they were entitled to funds from the system by qualifying for them with years worked and earnings. No one has ever literally gotten their own money back. DP: What about the inception of the Social Security program? The first retirees didn't literally receive other people's money, did they? Amy: Some of their own money may have been used for their SS checks, but the first retirees had not worked but a few years to qualify for benefits, and they would obviously never have paid enough in taxes over that short time to rely on. So, yes, they also mostly received other people's money. than 5 workers, or soon DP: But, help me out will be, and that there here by explaining why a are no longer any surprogram like Social pluses. Security was described Ritchie: The surplusas pre-paid retirement es quit being set aside insurance with practical back under President ownership of the funds Johnson, and used to in a person's SS account help fund the Great Socifor which they had a ety welfare programs number. and a new program for Jimmy: Americans at senior health care: that time, unlike now, Medicare. By using had a really strong disthose surpluses, people like of having money Don were misled to think that taken from one group there was enough money and given, or redistribPolson for those well-intended uted, to another; it wasn't looked on as the way The way new programs that redistributed taxes from American individualism workers to beneficiaries. and personal responsibilI see it DP: But aren't there ity was meant to work. trillions of dollars in the The politicians knew this and so made great efforts to hide SS Trust Fund? Joey: Actually, there are only the true nature of the first, grand effort to use the government to help IOUs from the SS money being the most vulnerable and helpless in loaned out. There are no cash, or America: the often enfeebled real, assets. We know that for a fact because when the debt-ceiling elderly. DP: Hadn't they had been cared limit was in jeopardy of not being raised last year, the government for by family or in rest homes? Patty: Social Security was sup- had to admit that there was nothposed to never be a system, at least ing with which to pay Social Secuin design, which forced current rity checks to retirees. DP: No kidding; sounds like a workers to pay for other people's parents out of their wages. The tax fraudulent scam, a Ponzi-type of paying workers were led to believe con game. Class: Yes, it is! that they were saving for their own "In general, the art of governretirement. In fact, each retiree, due to shorter life spans and being ment consists of taking as much far fewer in relation to the tax pay- money as possible from one party ing workers, depended, unbe- of the citizens to give to the other." knownst to them, on between 15 (Voltaire, 1764) and 20 workers. So, folks didn't Don Polson has called Red Bluff mind that surpluses built up in the home since 1988. He can be system. by e-mail at DP: I understand that each reached donplsn@yahoo.com. retiree is now supported by less