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6A – Daily News – Wednesday, May 12, 2010 Opinion Offended by 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 campaign Editor: I am writing in response to 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 Hey, big spenders Commentary I don't know who they are, but I've got to hand it to them. I'm too cynical to do what they do. I speak of the Americans who, every year, donate money to pay down America's national debt. The Bureau of the Public Debt — part of the Treasury Department — began allowing such donations in 1961. According to Title 31, Chapter 31 of the U.S. Code, any citizen is free to give a "gift" to Treasury, under the condition that the money will be used only to pay down the debt. Last year, the government received $3 million in such gifts. Who are the gift-givers? Nobody knows for certain. Mckayla Braden, senior adviser at the Bureau of the Public Debt, told me that all the bureau does is tally the totals. It keeps no records on the number of individuals who give or the average amount. Braden was able to share some interesting details and anecdotes with me: • Gift-givers generally mail in checks — rarely do they include a note of any kind. • Sometimes they donate their tax-refund checks, after signing the checks over to Treasury. • Occasionally, someone leaves a large portion of his or her estate to the government. That happened in 1992, when the largest gift on record, $3.5 million, was received. Over the years, Braden was able to learn about some of the givers. In the early '90s, a teacher sent in a large jar of dimes and nickels. The teacher explained that she'd conducted a class exercise on the national debt. Her students had contributed what they could. Braden remembers one gift- giver who mailed a small money order from a convenience store. She remembers another fellow who mailed in $10 or $20 every payday. He did so for years. Though little is known about the gift-givers — it isn't entirely clear what motivates them — Braden got a sense that most are patriotic people who want to do their own small part to help their country. "Small" is, unfortunately, the right word. For the past decade, Treasury has received between $2 million and $3 million in gifts every year. But our debt, growing a few trillion a year, now stands at $13 trillion. If our debt remained fixed at $13 trillion — and if we applied $3 million every year to pay down that debt — it would take 4.3 million years to pay it off. And that is with zero- percent interest. opportunity to spend even more. Nonetheless, I wish more peo- ple were as thoughtful as the silent givers — particularly the people who are so eager to expand our govern- ment and raise our taxes. Hey, big spenders, here's your chance to put your money where your mouth is. You can send your own money to Trea- sury right now. Just go to www.pay.gov. How about it, big Tom Besides, the gift donations technically aren't paying down the debt any- how. All the donations are deposit- ed to the receipts ledger of Uncle Sam's general fund. deficits, the donations simply reduce the amount of money our government will borrow. The last thing I want to do is give our spendthrift government an Purcell Since we're running large spenders. Hello? Just as I figured. No wonder I'm such a cynic. 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. Attorney Lisa Muto’s campaign for Tehama County Superior Court Judge, Office Seat 1. Her campaign, as declared in the Daily News article dated Jan. 14, along with her latest campaign signs, offend and insult me not only as a citizen of Tehama County but as a woman as well. This article, which still seems to be the only informa- tion readily available, was to announce her to the county, boasting her qualifications and achievements, while explaining why the citizens of Tehama County should vote for her. Muto explains her reason for running as that “there has been no female judge or candidate for judge in the county.” She exclaims that female judges and their courtrooms “tend to be very calm?” and that she is a “calm and levelheaded individ- ual” who would like to replicate that tone in Tehama County. To sum up her explanation, she is best qualified because she is a woman. That’s it. That is why she believes we should vote for her. The remainder of the article describes her person- al and scholastic background as well as her 20 years of experi- ence as a lawyer and litigator. While they are impressive, they do not explain, nor define her qualifications for Superior Court Judge. As a proud voter in Tehama County I demand more informa- tion about a candidate than how “calm and levelheaded” they are. I want to know what experi- ences they have, what issues are important to them and what they plan on doing to enhance Tehama County. As a candidate for judge, I expect to know their litigating history and what issues they deem most important. Consider- ing how elections are about a month away I would have expected more information to have been published by now that could speak to those quali- fications, but sadly, all I have noticed are her campaign signs proclaiming “The Time Has Come.” The time for what? This campaign has been demeaning and insulting with its weak and tacky insinuation that the people of Tehama County should vote for her sim- ply because she is a woman, as if that is the best she has to offer. It is appalling that a highly educated and professional per- son would use her sex to run for such an important seat, which will affect case law in our coun- ty. It is possible this was not Muto’s intention, however, this is the tone she has set. In today’s age of demanding equal rights it is a shame that this campaign is based on such antiquated ideas. If tables were turned and a man ran on the basis that he was the best candi- date simply because he was a man, cries of sexism would be heard from all around. A cam- paign should be based on the candidate’s merits, not their sex. Carrie Patterson, Gerber Appreciate child care providers Editor: May 7 was National Child Care Provider Appreciation Day — a special day to recognize child care providers, teachers and other educators of young children everywhere. Child care providers work long hours to care for our chil- dren. They are often under-paid and underappreciated. Take the time to thank the person who cares for your kids. Child care providers are not babysitters, they are nurses, nurturers, teachers, counselors and devel- opers of future adults. Provider Appreciation Day was a great time to celebrate the important child care providers in your child's life, or to cele- brate the staff in your child care center by giving them a bonus, buying them a gift card to their favorite store or restau- rant, buying lunch for the child care, purchas- ing a special toy or piece of equipment, donating your time to clean up or build something, or just saying thanks. a beautiful green area. However, the pictures were taken in the spring and did not show how hot and dry it is in the summer. They also referred to 18,000 acres of land. But only about 3,000 acres are usable. The other acres are rocky and pretty barren. They would not be good for hiking, camping or riding. Also, if Barbara Your Turn Remember, child care keeps parents working and children learning. Michelle Kinner, Red Bluff Bend decision ignores public Editor: I attended the county board meeting about the approval for the National Recreation and Conservation designation for the Bend area. I was very disap- pointed with the decision of the board. They seemed to have their minds made up before the meet- ing. Why don't government offi- cials listen to the people that live in the area or use the Bend area? My husband and I have been riding horses at the Bend for over 10 years. We live west of Red Bluff and the property around us has been fenced off so we have to trailer our horses to ride. The Bend is close and is a wonderful place to ride. However, if this is made into a National Recreation Area, it will be way too crowded. The presentation that was made at the meeting showed pictures of Boxer makes this a conservation area, we are afraid they will limit the places we can ride or ban riding horses altogether. They can also ban the fishing, hunting and boating if they want to. We just don't trust the gov- ernment anymore. Bigger is not always better. A couple years ago we were riding at the Bend and Wally Herger was there. We talked with him and his group and they said if the Bend was made into a National Recreation Area they would improve the road from Hoggs Lake off of Hwy. 36 so there would be another access to the Bend. If they do that, what is to stop people from using that as a short cut to get to Redding? The traffic would be terrible. We elected the government officials so they could represent us, the people. They are doing a lousy job. Joyce Pickering, Red Bluff Super Center Editor: Mr. Callahan, sir, not being certain that the pending lawsuit will favor the Super Center. I’m sure you’re right, though, it probably will be built as it’s hard to fight such a giant. I hope they have more than 350 applicants, though. And I really hope the millions come into Red Bluff. Time will tell. Susan Collins, Red Bluff Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, 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.