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6A – Daily News – Thursday, July 1, 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 Pot tax should be 18 percent not 1.8 percent Editor: 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 The half dozen over the counter meds recommended by my wife's and my cardiologists, ophthalmol- ogists, and internists are taxed at 8.25 percent in Tehama County. Several California legislators and county councils are proposing only 1.8 percent tax for over the counter pot sales defined as medi- cinal. Over-the-counter meds require no heavy expenditure of tax dol- lars for law enforcement while pot requires significant law enforce- ment at the border, as well as for the many local pot raids, arrests of those driving under the influence of pot, and pot farm raids. The 9600 plant raid reported in Tehama County last week is only a typical example of the high law enforcement cost of selling recre- ational pot under the false myth that it is for medicinal purposes. Pot sales should be minimally taxed at 18 percent to pay for the law enforcement and criminal jail time for pot offenders. Joseph Neff, Corning Thank you for being a friend Editor: I want to thank Sheriff Clay Parker for being a friend to the youth in PAL and the Young Marines and all other youth in Tehama County. Yours and Lily's support can't ever be matched by anyone in Tehama County. As President of the Califor- nia Sheriff's Association you were able to have a Resolution approved from all the California Sheriffs that the Tehama County Young Marines lead the fight in the war on drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gangs and violence in the State of California. When the Young Marines needed your assistance in teach- ing other youth (from Tehama and Lassen Counties and Sacra- mento) about these dangers you personally came to us with the equipment needed and got the other agencies to assist. It's something that many of us will never forget, especially our youth. You and Lily personally helped out a PAL kid (of mine) with her mom's funeral. She is serving our country now. She calls me dad so we're always talking. She wanted me to make sure how grateful she is to you for yours and Lily's help in pay- ing for that. Your professional and administrative leadership shows how qualified you are to lead a multi-million dollar agency that is as strapped as any agency in these difficult economic times. You and your two captains personally filled in for deputies and animal control officers when they were either ill or on vacation. So many of us citizens know that you have been up and down the state and other places lobby- ing for more funds and support for Tehama County. Your ethical conduct towards all others will likely never be matched again. I hope you stay involved with PAL and the Young Marines and all the other groups you and Lily have been a part of. You are now and will always be needed and welcome with us. Thank you for being a friend. John Minton, Red Bluff Dreaming? Editor: Crime increases with a rapid rise in population, also with a large number of people in a small space. Fireworks celebrating Fourth of July at Woodson Bridge ceased when the sher- iff said it cost too much to police the area because of out- siders. Media doesn’t report all crime nor is all crime reported to the sheriff. Neighbor kid stole mail from rural postal box — solu- tion change to Post Office Box. Neighbor’s dogs in pas- ture with cattle. Next day calves dead, hooves chewed — solution out of cattle business. Shot rattled off home roof — solution hunters admonished, another time hunters were told to check range of shots when someone was hit with four of rive spent shot. Grapes of rural living sometimes sweet or not so sweet. Steve Kelsey, Corning Your Turn Thanks from PATH Editor: I would like to once again thank the Red Bluff community for supporting our 2-day Yard Sale last week. We did five times more than last year so we were really excited about that. A lot had to do with the generosity of peo- ple. We asked for donation only on most of our stuff and people gave more than anything was worth. We were able to talk to so many about who we are and what we do. This money will go to support our winter shelter, men's transitional housing pro- gram and new transitional liv- ing home for women and chil- dren. Our next big adventure is our PATH Walk Sept. 11, so we will be calling on our community once again to come and walk with us. The theme is "Walk to make a difference." Let's walk together to help end homeless- ness. Pam Klein, 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. Look at our yellow ribbons Commentary Edith Shain was 91 years old when she died peacefully last week in her home in Los Ange- les. You knew her as the woman in the iconic black and white photo of a jubilant soldier kiss- ing a nurse in Times Square on V-J Day. The snapshot tells an American tale of a war ending and an entire generation of peo- ple coupling up — creating the suburbs, a solid middle-class and a stupendous baby boom. What strikes me about the photo is that they really knew how to end wars back then. For example: they used to end wars...back then. There was a global conflict followed by a resolution. Beginning. Middle. End. Done. Birthrate skyrockets. Now we have two never-end- ing wars and Cialis commercials on an eternal loop. How far we’ve come. The U.S. decided to invade Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001. As troops were being mobilized, Americans preemp- tively bought yellow ribbons to show support for the mission and the troops. Yellow ribbons also appeared in 1979 during the Iran Hostage Crisis and again in 1991 for the troops in Operation Desert Storm. Then 10 years later they were back, displayed for all to see: tied to trees, flagpoles, tele- phone poles and every pole in between. Our nation was awash in American flags and yellow rib- bons. “These colors don’t run!” The other day I saw a yellow ribbon stuck in a chain link fence. The ribbon was tattered, frayed and sun-faded. The war in Afghanistan is so long it has outlasted the material of the rib- bons initially supporting the effort. An original ribbon from this current war is now an antique. About five years into the con- flict yellow ribbon car magnets became a big trend. During that time I was traveling all over the country, and in every pocket of the U.S. were cars, trucks and SUVs with magnets showing support for what had become not one, but two wars. Yellow ribbons were ubiquitous. And then gradually the mag- nets starting disappearing until they were gone. Individually - one by one — in private, with no fanfare and no media coverage — Americans removed their patriotic yellow ribbon magnets from their vehicles. You don’t see them anymore. Apparently something as temporary as a magnet shaped like a ribbon is not the proper symbol for the war we are actually waging. With all the red-baiting and pundit-driven fear of the U.S. becoming a communist country because we no longer let health insurance companies deny cov- erage to sick children, we’ve lost sight of an important fact: the Soviet Union — communists — lost their collective red shirts in Afghanistan. The perils of fight- ing a determined local force whose idea of infrastructure is a bridge to the sixth cen- tury proved too enor- mous for the last super power that fought there. In fact, Afghanistan is an empire graveyard. It has been for millen- nia. How about this for a foreign policy: don’t invade a place where the last successful incursion was led by Genghis Khan. Tina Last week a Rolling Stone article about the war in Afghanistan resulted in the retirement of General Stanley McChrystal, Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan. The media attention focused on the personnel issue in the chain of command. What was skipped over was the passage about the COIN (acronym for counter-insur- gency) doctrine created by McChrystal’s replacement, Gen- eral David Petraeus. “The COIN doctrine, bizarrely, draws inspiration from some of the biggest Western Dupuy military embarrassments in recent memory: France's nasty war in Algeria (lost in 1962) and the American misadventure in Vietnam (lost in 1975),” wrote reporter Michael Hastings. That’s right. We are looking at past mistakes and incorpo- rating them into our current conflict — which is like gather- ing a bunch of defec- tive parts, putting them into your new car and being sur- prised by the out- come. So far the war in Afghanistan has cost the U.S. $300 billion. It’s already the longest war America has ever fought. The date President Obama gave for the start of withdrawal is July 2011. The war hawks argue this is too soon. As if. You can say many things about the war in Afghanistan but “not long enough” is not one of them. Maybe those worn-out rib- bons are more of a symbol than we planned on. Tina Dupuy is an award- winning writer and the editor of FishbowlLA.com. Tina can be reached at tina@cagle.com.