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4A – Daily News – Saturday, June 12, 2010 Opinion 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 20s not so good Editor: The Roaring 1920s are falsely remembered as a great time for all Americans. 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 It certainly wasn't a great time for the common working people, the farmers, and the small business owners. Just like today, the super- wealthy were gaining greater wealth. Back then the wealthy con- trolled the railroads, steel mills, oil companies, banking, and all of our heavy industry. Their abject greed then led to the Gilded Age. Which of course then led directly to the Crash of 1929 and the 12 years of the Great Depression. It nearly happened again in 2008 with the housing bubble, the crash of the Wall Street banks and brokerage houses. Plus, more sadly, today's linger- ing 11.2 million unemployed. The main difference from back then and today's situation: In the 1930s we still had all of our huge idle manufacturing plants ready to go, and the employees who knew how to produce the necessary goods. If America gets into a huge con- ventional war today - how would we ever begin to manufacture all that war machinery? Who's going to do alt the required work? And where will they manufacture all those necessary war goods? Today, 73 percent of our manu- f acturing plants, and the production machinery, have been Your Turn sent off-shore. The employ- ees who knew how to work in those plants have drifted off into other jobs, retired or died. Back in January 1942 the plant managers were told to immediately convert over to producing war machinery. It only took them two weeks. Nearly 90 percent of our sophis- ticated electronic missiles have their components manufactured off shore. What do you bet that some- body has placed a bug in everyone of those foreign-made electronic devices. When we launch a missile towards a major adversary - ten minutes into the flight, the bug will spring to life and tell the missile controls - Return To Sender. The Pentagon generals and the White House staff will be scream- ing, "We've got to immediately crank up our manufacturing plants and begin making war machinery." The word flashes back to Wash- ington, "We don't got no manufac- turing plants, don't got no machin- ery, and we don't got nobody who knows how to make nothing." What then? Donald Ward, Corning Wake up and smell the roses Editor: In the upper Northern Califor- nia region, we have a luxury that most of us take for granted. Clean air. I was born and raised in Red Bluff, and have also lived in Los Angeles for 7 years. Upon moving back to Red Bluff, I looked up at the sky one night and said, "Oh yea, there are stars up there." It was a beautiful sight. It was also a reminder of the importance of clean air. Let me ask you, could you imagine coughing up blackish, soot-filled saliva? My good friend in New York has become accustomed to it. And so I am writing this to remind our residents just how good we have it as far as air qual- ity, and to spread the word about the importance of the Clean Air Act. And this couldn't be a better time for such a reminder. As reiterated by the massive, environmental grassroots net- work, Friends of the Earth, right now, the Clean Air Act is under attack from dirty industries' biggest polluters. But Friends of the Earth and their network of groups in 77 countries are fighting back and spreading the dirty word: Several officials in Congress, led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R- Alaska, are trying to block the Obama administration from using the Clean Air Act to reduce smokestack pollution and stabilize climate chaos. This isn't about political affilia- tion, or whether you believe in global warming or not. The importance of clean air and the Clean Air Act is a no-brainer. Would you drink a glass of water that is dirty, polluted and hazardous over a glass of clean, untainted mountain spring water like what we are so fortunate to have up here? This is a rhetorical question, of course. That said, I'm not going to insult your common sense and ask you the quality of air you would prefer to breath. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of Sen. Murkowski and her allies. Just how ignorant do they think we are? I don't know whether to feel insulted, laugh in embarrassment or look for Ashton Kutcher and his film crew because there is no way I'm getting "Punk'd!" Nice try though. Kristopher Scott, 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. The story of the green shirt Commentary While we waited to change planes in Minneapolis, I noticed three young men offering a free round trip if the passersby would take out a Delta sponsored credit card. They also offered some trin- kets, neck pillows, a clock, and other items. Their presence remind- ed me of what now seems like a humorous incident. Some of you may have seen me at the Family Fitness and Wellness Center, muscles rippling under- neath a green tee shirt emblazoned with “Philadelphia” across the chest. That shirt has an interesting story behind it. We normally fly through the Philadelphia airport when we visit our younger son and his family in Pottstown. US Air had a hub in Philadelphia, and we often used them to get there. On one trip we had a few minutes to spare while we were leisurely walking to our gate to fly home. There were a couple of eager young women who caught our attention, asking if we wanted to join the US Air family and receive a free round trip in the process. We could also receive a choice of pre- miums. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and all we had to do was answer a few basic questions. I chose the green shirt, and Peachey chose a travel clock/calculator. After the airline representatives were done with the paperwork, they submitted it via computer and gave us a copy. I casually read the paperwork as we walked to our gate and suddenly realized we had just applied for a VISA card for each of us, each with an annual fee of $79. “We don’t want this,” I told the representatives. “We don’t need another credit card, particularly one with an annual fee.” The women were polite, but firm. It was too late now the paperwork was in the com- puter. I told them they were being deceptive and perhaps fraudulent in asking us to merely join the US Air family. We would have to refuse the card if it was granted, they said. I tried to give them the shirt and clock back; they would not take them. A week later two credit cards arrived via mail in Red Bluff; I immediately cut them up and shredded the paperwork that came with them. My thought was that if we did not activate them they would essentially be non-existent. That was not my first misstep in the tale of the green shirt. Two weeks later we received two bills from the credit card com- pany, each for $79. I wrote what was for me a very direct letter telling the company we did not want these cards and that they should remove these charges and drop our accounts. Of course, there was no reply, and 30 days later we received another bill with a late charge added to the $79. Normally I try an indirect and polite approach with my letters. Once when I was working at the high school we found out that someone was using our dumpsters for their domestic garbage. I wrote them a letter telling them we had found out that someone was steal- ing their garbage and putting it in our dumpsters. I told them we would be happy to return the garbage and keep an eye out for whoever was doing this to them. The letter worked. So when the bill from the airline arrived, I tossed it since I felt it must have crossed paths with my sure to be effective direct let- ter. The next month we received a bill with still more late fees and a nasty let- ter regarding credit ratings and good faith. I wrote one of my best letters ever, or so I thought. I addressed it to a woman who was a customer ser- vice specialist according to her sig- nature block; I asked her what she told her children at the dinner table about serving customers that day. I told her she was likely ashamed to tell her children she had tried to deceive another customer that day, and she was held in ill regard by those she tried to trick. I mentioned what her firm had done was illegal in California, and most likely deceptive, if not unethical, any- where. I complained about the fraudulent nature of their approach, and said that US Air had lost our business. I also included a bill for my time in handling their unwanted cards, writing letters, and postage. We never got a response from Joe anyone, but a month later we received statements zeroing out our accounts. Harrop Sometimes I feel like Don Quixote trying to get justice from large corporations instead tilting at gigantic windmills. Recently we had a digital frame die; the company did not have a toll free technical support num- ber; they would not guarantee their product for more than 90 days, and they could not rec- ommend a location where I could get service. I was told it had malfunctioned, and they couldn’t do anything about it. When I asked why they were not proud enough of their products to guarantee them more than 90 days, there was silence. I repeated my ques- tions in writing, and I never received a response. My best guess is that nobody ever reads any of my nasty letters, that the end of the green shirt story would have been the same without any nasty letters and the digital frame company would have ignored a polite letter as well. I also know that I enjoyed ventilat- ing against those big, amorphous, immoral companies. It made me feel good, anyway, even if it was “wasted” energy. In any case, I was particularly happy to have my green tee shirt last week; I had to repaint the shut- ters on our playhouse, and the shade of green was a good match to my shirt. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net.