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4A Daily News – Wednesday, April 3, 2013 Opinion 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 California should end subsidies Editor: States should end their mandate of requiring a high percentage of electricity energy use to be the almost doubled costs of solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energy. Those who have made serious efforts to cut their home electricity use through common sense programs, have found that the state mandates for solar, wind, and biomass energy eats up any self managed home energy savings. For us the self managed energy reduction program has included replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent lighting, turning off lights when you leave a room, turning off standby power to the TV overnight, cutting back the day and night thermostat settings, reducing the number of light bulbs in multi bulb areas, and turning off computers when signing off, Since 1993 we have two homes because our family is equally divided between Northern California and the Midwest. The Midwest energy savings program, used about half of the year, and without high cost wind and solar energy, but low cost coal, natural gas, and nuclear power, has saved 17 percent over 10 years, even with 46 percent higher utility costs per kilowatt hour. The Corning home electricity cost has increased 17 percent, using the same energy savings program, because of the state mandated use of very expensive solar, wind, and biomass energy. California residents would achieve huge energy cost savings by ending the state mandate to use high cost solar, wind and biomass energy, and substitute low cost, imported coal energy, natural gas, nuclear, and increased hydro energy. Joseph J. Neff, Corning Liberal bias Editor: The duty of a newspaper is to print the news not falsehoods. On Saturday, March 9 your editorial staff printed a cartoon of a monster called McConnell, Boehner Sequester. If your Editorial Board was following the news, not CNN and AP tripe around San Quentin — 10 they would know that the per- years is pretty darn slow. son who first suggested Should Mr. Bealer be consequester was the man that victed — 10 plus years for Pres. Obama wants the Sen- him. ate to make the new Sec. of Indeed — in my case, my Finance and he Pres. Obama feelings is that the anger felt first suggested it will not disapate until and McConnell justice is served. Your and Boehner I called the Goveragreed so your nor's office. The Govcartoon should ernor was asked to have been not kick this capital punprinted or amendishment in gear. Looks ed to read the Obama, like the state will need the McConnell, Boehner room. Sequester. Another falsehood Sam Collins, Red Bluff you keep printing is the A.P. constantly referring to the money to be less spent in the Editor: sequester as cuts when they Seems gun control laws is are only that the increase prohibition 1920-33 again. funding for the next year is lowered to 8 percent from an For long term security inefincrease of 15 percent. Of fectually addressing inanicourse the A.P. is a notorious mate objects is not the same liberal news system so as seeking solutions with they're point of fact Pres. irresponsible people. Maybe treating cause of Obama signed the sequester violence first is needed now. law. Mental health improvement? Bob Kelley, Red Bluff School tagers may have felt wronged by something that happened there. Perhaps by learning to forgive themEditor:: Just read the March 8 selves and others they could paper. Dave Mobilio's mom learn to be responsible peoand dad on the front page. ple. Steve Kelsey, Corning The person that murdered this young man is still kicking Turn Gun control Justice waiting 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. Commentary A political dropout confesses After feeling guilty of late for losing interest in America's political landscape, I decided to go to confession. "Father, forgive me, for I have sinned. Like so many low-information voters, I am having trouble maintaining interest in what is going on in Washington." "Explain, my son." "Father, polls by the Pew Research Center and others routinely show that the percentage of Americans who closely follow politics and government is relatively low. Only about one-third of Americans are informed." "You're saying that 70 percent of Americans aren't paying close attention to what's happening in Washington?" "Yes, father. What's worse is that the majority of Americans have no awareness or concern about the big issues of our day: our debt, runaway spending and deficit. None of these will get fixed if the majority doesn't care." "This is not good, my son. In a representative government, the representatives need to be closely monitored by the people. So why haven't you been paying attention?" "Like many other Americans who do keep closely informed, I feel somewhat powerless, father. Keeping informed these days is painful." "Painful?" "Our government and political leaders keep making one stupid move after another — moves that are taking the greatest country in the history of mankind in a direction that may sink us, just as other great countries have been sunk throughout history." "Some examples, my son?" "Spending is the biggest one, father. How long we can sustain these massive deficits is anyone's guess. Now we have a new federal entitlement, ObamaCare, that will drive up costs and spending all the more — when we already have trillions of dollars in unfunded future liabilities. How are we going to pay for this?" "I see." "Regulations are another area of concern. Small businesses in America, the lifeblood of our economy, are under assault. Every year, they must comply with hundreds of new regulations — 854 new ones in 2012, according to Forbes. It is getting harder to create the jobs our country needs, jobs that will produce the taxes we in the governing process are critical." need to pay our bills." "It is the truth, "This is not so father." good, my son." "When nearly "Worst of all is two-thirds of a counthat there appear to try is asleep, that be no consequences. cannot bode well for Politicians can do that country's future whatever they wish, — particularly one good or ill, and they that is grappling pay a very small with severe chalpolitical price. There lenges that could are so many people well sink our future who vote now who if they are not are not paying attenaddressed right tion to politics. Any Tom now." politician with the "I know it, father, proper celebrity but I have to go right appeal can win their now. There is a beer votes, regardless of what he or she does in office." and hot wing sale at the Irish "And this is why you are pub. I better get there before the other low-information tuning out of politics?" "That is correct, father. I voters eat all of them." am a wee bit despondent, I do admit. It is painful to follow politics and I find myself tunTom Purcell, author of ing out every chance I get. I have decided to turn my atten- "Misadventures of a 1970's tion to more trivial matters, Childhood" and "Comical such as enjoying pints of Sense: A Lone Humorist Guinness at my favorite Irish Takes on a World Gone pub and talking about sports Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh humor and my favorite television Tribune-Review columnist and is nationally shows." "My son, I understand your syndicated exclusively by guilt. The heart of a democra- Cagle Car toons Inc. Send to Tom at cy is the people, and the peo- comments ple's participation and interest Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Purcell