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4A Daily News ��� Wednesday, March 27, 2013 Opinion Polson 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 Editor: Well, I waded through the Tuesday whiner���s purposefully misleading diatribe. And found the last sentence, where he claims the deficit is the result of redistributive welfare programs, astounding. Not one mention of the two Bush/Cheney wars or Medicare Part D or tax breaks to the wealthy or Corporate subsidies. Mouthing the same poppycock over and over does not make it true. Dan Gallagher, Los Molinos Guantanamo 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. Editor: During the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq generous rewards were offered to citizens of these countries, for turning in terrorists that were living and operating within their midst. Some took full advantage of the opportunity by pointing fingers at innocent people, who happened to be their personal enemies, and in the process effectively killing two birds with one stone, ridding themselves of a foe or adversary, and collecting a generous reward. This filled the cells of such infamous prisons and compounds as Abu Graib, Bagram, and Guantanamo to capacity. Mostly ignored by the corporate mainstream media is the fact that of 166 prisoners presently in Guantanamo, the majority has been on a hunger strike for weeks, protesting current inhumane treatment, torture and poor living conditions. Most disturbing and unreported is, that 86 of these inmates have been found innocent and cleared for release years ago, yet are still held cap- 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 Society of blame Editor: We live in a Society of Blame; the Republicans, the Tea Party, the evil rich, and the evil corporations. Corporations provide jobs for Americans, and yes, the CEO���s make an insane amount of money. Why no crying over the outrageous amounts of money brought in by the Hollywood elite and athletes? Class warfare from our government and liberal elite? It���s not any certain party���s fault, they���re all to blame for being fiscally irresponsible, and not using common sense! Instead of making mature decisions about budget cuts we get petty B.S. Some of our California residents are now required to pay a fire fee to fund the spending whims of Sacramento. We are paying nearly 70 cents per gallon of gas in taxes! Everything our representatives want to do is funded by we peons that work ourselves to death, just to barely get by. The plan? Tax us more, to fund their out of control spending. The almighty government can���t seem to find it���s way to the Gamblers Anonymous meetings. ���The Affordable Health Care Act���, determined by the Supreme Court to be a tax, is required for all- not offered ��� but required, to purchase. Under who���s determination is it that everyone can afford this? The IRS via the gov- children they can be anything ernment elite, that���s who (and has they want to be if they try hard exempted themselves). We enough? We need to encourage already have government health children to be all they can be, care programs; Medi-Cal, Med- never give up, go for the gold. Government aid should be a icaid, Medicare, healthy family plans and preventative cancer hand up, not a hand out. Patty Smith, programs. Our property Paskenta taxes are due on the 10th of every April and Your December, who came up with that brilliant plan? Why is there so much hate for the Tea Party? Editor: They stand up and speak out for I grew up here. I left with a freedom, sovereignty, upholding the Constitution and fiscal desire to return. I received an responsibility. What is that hate education. I fought to come teaching our children? Patriots home. I came home. I worked aren���t being a negative force in hard. In my back yard people America, they���re working to pre- now camp. I asked them to serve what our Founding Fathers move on. They stay. They yell laid out for our country. We the on sunny days and their dogs People are standing up and run wild. I see them urinating speaking against decisions we just beyond my fence. Their feel are detrimental to our soci- fires burn in a slough now a tinety, and the future of our children der box since the loss of our and grandchildren. Who does river. I call for help from the that threaten? Why is the media sheriff. I write a letter to the and others labeling patriots radi- Board of Supervisors. Everyone cal and racist? Because we want tells me they have a ���right��� to our government to uphold the be there. This response tells me Constitution (honor their oath of I have no rights. I pay taxes. I office!) and to follow the laws as am forced to pay flood insurthe working class is expected to ance when I live along a dry do? Ethic backgrounds? We creek. I do this because it is my Americans all bleed the same, we civic duty. But each night I must listen all hurt when we lose a loved one, why categorize us by skin to loud voices, the barking dogs. I must worry if I am safe. My color? That in itself is racist! Many young adults aren���t compassionate heart tells me I looking for work, they have no should do something. My logidesire or incentive. Their families cal mind says it is not wise to do receive food stamps and can be so. Again, I ask for help: nothused to buy Red Bull and junk ing is done. I moved here when I was 9 food. Government paychecks, years old. My parents died here. why work, stay home and play video games. Our government My children were born here. I sets such a great example for fis- fought to return here. Next cal responsibility and common month: I will move. Dorothy Bratton, Red Bluff sense, don���t they? What happened to teaching Turn Nothing being done Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN ��� Dan Logue, 1550 Humboldt Road, Ste. 4, Chico, CA 95928, 530-895-4217 STATE SENATOR ��� Jim Nielsen, 2635 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico, CA 95928, (530) 879-7424, senator.nielsen@senate.ca.gov GOVERNOR ��� Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 5583160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ��� Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-2253076. U.S. SENATORS ��� Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 3930710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. 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 tive in violation of international law. We are always so eager to criticize, human rights violations by others. So, how would we react, if these same atrocities were committed by any other country, especially one we happen to be in disagreement with? Joe Bahlke, Red Bluff Commentary Not the devil, but silver-tongued The devil is in the details. Maybe I'd better explain. As it goes, the hit History Channel show, "The Bible," was recently called out because the actor playing the part of Satan, Moroccan-born Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, looks eerily similar to President Obama. I don't think Obama is the devil, but he surely has one characteristic that old Beelzebub is known for: a silver tongue. See, many people think that if they met the devil in person, he'd be a foul-smelling, abrupt and frightening creature. The fact is, he'd appear to be the exact opposite. He'd wear a Brooks Brothers suit and display a charming smile. He'd be affable and compassionate, and charm the socks off the unwitting. He'd certainly NOT have our interest at heart ��� he'd only want to use us to achieve his own selfish goals ��� and many of us would probably never know it. Many would think he is our savior. There's no doubt Obama makes a lot of people feel this way ��� even though he has delivered the opposite of his many grandiose promises. I vaguely recall talk of "hope and change" ��� how he'd magically cross the political aisle and bring the parties and the country together ��� yet we are more divided now than at any time in my lifetime and Obama has been the most partisan president in modern history. Is not our division the result, in no small part, of the class warfare he waged to win a second term? I vaguely recall him being elected in 2008 to address our financial crisis and get the economy going again. Instead, he gave us a massive new entitlement program and spent billions of borrowed stimulus dollars ��� yet unemployment is still high and economic growth remains incredibly stagnant. Despite our massive debt, deficits and future entitlement obligations, our sweet talker in chief now assures the masses that America no longer has a spending problem. He says we have already cut spending plenty; what we need to do is raise taxes to get things cooking. Sure, he overplayed his hand on the sequestration cuts ��� which cut about $84 billion from our massive $4 trillion in annual spending. The gloom and doom he prophesied aren't coming to pass, and his poll numbers have suffered some. But the fact is, Obama has been successful, over and over, at saying one thing and doing another and paying a very small political price for the difference. Gosh, I feel sorry for Republicans. Sure, they have their failings ��� and were careless and reckless in spending the last time they controlled Congress and the presidency ��� but they are now on the regrettable side of calling for sensible reductions in government growth and for sensible reforms to taxes and entitlement programs. What we need is a giant bipartisan effort to address those very things, led by our president, but Obama wants nothing to do with it. Republicans are in the regrettable position of, say, having to tell an obese fellow he needs to lose weight or he'll get diabetes, or hardened arteries, and may even suffer a heart attack five or six years down the line ��� while Obama promises the fellow a buffet dinner. As I said, the guy is a maestro at saying one thing and doing another. Most in the media continue to NOT hold him to account for that ��� or for the many ways he is NOT leading us on the many problems we must address (spending, deficit, entitlements, tax reform). Obama is not the devil, but, boy, does Tom he have the silver tongue. Purcell Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970's Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist and is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons Inc. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@caglecartoons.com.