Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/14356
4A– Daily News – Thursday, August 5, 2010 Opinion Republican 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 Congress 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 A Republican take-over of Congress, or even just a gain in Congressional seats period, will result in a lame-duck session till at least 2012, in which case very lit- tle change can take place, and Obama's legislative agenda would stall. Personally, I think Obama is the best president I know of. He is anti-establishment, a fierce advo- cate for bipartisanship. Republicans’ current partisan obstructionism and ridiculous false, fear-mongering rhetoric is simply a disgusting abuse of their position to win seats in November. They could care less about the people and working with the Democrats. I site their nay votes to emergency unemployment com- pensation as an example, as mil- lions of people are now homeless, unable to feed their children, etc. Their is a certain Democrat, too, who seems to be somewhat of a secret Republican so-to-speak, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who isn't helping matters much. Same with Democrat Bart Stupak and his extreme anti-abortion stance — most Dems are pro-choice — that has caused turmoil among pro- choice advocates and health care legislation. The Stupak amend- ment and his ability to make abor- tion coverage not available, at least temporarily, in the new health care legislation is a dangerous step backwards leading to back-room abortions and a denial of women's reproductive rights. Roe vs. Wade settled this issue, accept it. Congressional politicians are elected to do a job.That job is to work for the people. Many are not fulfilling their job description and are in it for their own personal and party gains. It's unacceptable. Obama is exactly the kind of president we need who is extreme- ly less capable to be influenced to make decisions based on politics and lobbyists and corporate influ- ence. Yes, he is forced by the nature of our government to play politics at times, but my view is he does it when it's for the good of the American people. We must re- elect him in 2012. To my fellow progressives, we just need to have heart to heart conversations with those people who are perhaps ignorant about politics, independents who can sway one way or the other or those who perhaps are anti-Obama because they expect immediate change, which unfortunately is not how it works. By doing so, we can gain and keep pro-Obama momentum come the November mid-term elections. To Republicans and conserva- tives, this message is for you, too, of course. I hope that you can sim- ply allow yourselves to be open- minded, and make sure you and all of us voters are educated on the facts, not basing decisions on rhetoric and ideology alone, and realizing the future consequences of how we vote. Kristopher Scott, Red Bluff Time for pot mess solutions Editor: Voters have created a mess by authorizing recreational pot use under the guise that it is medicinal. Police have an impossi- ble task to arrest those who illegally obtain pot, or those who drive and use pot. Your Turn The solution is to adapt the Netherlands laws for pot use. Any- one there can legally obtain up to 3 grams of pot over the counter in a coffee house. They may not use pot and drive as that will result in a 6 month loss of driving privileges. The option for pot users is to walk, bike, or take a cab or bus. Recog- nizing that a small percentage of recreational pot users, do so for medicinal benefits, a doctor can prescribe pot use the same as any medication. The medicinal pot is only available with a doctor's pre- scription taken to a pharmacist. No one can grow their own pot. The government controls the distribu- tion of medicinal pot. Of course there is black-market distribution of pot to some coffee houses, called McDrugs shops. It makes no sense to allow pot users to grow their own weed for any reason. It makes no sense to allow over-the-counter distribution of so called medicinal pot. Either it is medicinal or it is not. If it is in fact medicinal distribute it only with a prescription at a licensed pharmacy. Over the counter distri- bution of pot should be heavily taxed as any over-the-counter medication for colds, headaches, wounds, or health care. Five of my daily meds prescribed by my glaucoma ophthalmol- ogist, cardiologist, and internist are over- the-counter taxed at California's 8.25 per- cent sales tax rate. The FDA assures the quality of these meds, even though they are nonprescrip- tion doctors recommendations. These include a daily aspirin as a blood thinner, two vitamins pills, a fish oil pill for triglycerite man- agement. and a pill for eye macu- lar degeneration control. Only the prescription medications, generic and non-generic, are tax free. It does not make sense for over-the- counter so called medicinal gener- ic pot to be sold tax exempt. They should be heavily taxed to cover costs of law enforcement and bor- der patrol. There are certain to be those who depend on mind altering pot. for their recreational use. It makes sense to allow that use in small 3 gram daily quantities, provided the user does not drive a motorized vehicle. It does not make sense to provide jail time for responsible pot users who do not drive. Joseph J. Neff, Corning 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. Stop calling Republicans hypocrites Commentary It’s not that Republicans aren’t hypocrites - it’s more the label just isn’t an effective dig. First, hypocrite is a fancy for- eign Greek word like amnesty, ethics or Europe – how is that going to appeal to Republicans? Second, espousing virtues you don’t personally have to live up to is basically the point of being a Republican. Talker Rush Limbaugh, speaker for Republicans every- where, famously railed against drug users and called for harsh- er sentencing for possession when it was fashionable in the ‘90s. Then in 2006 Limbaugh was arrested and went to rehab after losing his hearing as a direct result of his long-term drug addiction. Needless to say, he’s cool with hypocrisy. He even thinks hypocrisy is a good thing. During South Carolina Gov- ernor Mark Sanford’s "Appalachian Trail" love affair last year, Limbaugh defended the Republican politician, telling his audience, "Hypocrisy shows that there are moral values in a culture. With- out moral values in a culture it would not be possible for any- one to be a hypocrite." Yes, according to self-pro- claimed personal responsibility advocate Rush Limbaugh, per- sonal choice doesn’t make you a hypocrite – society does. Calling a conservative "hyp- ocrite" is like calling a progres- sive "liberal:" It stings, but they don’t actually understand why it’s supposed to be offensive. The GOP doesn’t see self- contradiction as a moral short- coming. They see people who don’t agree with them as a moral shortcoming. Take closeted homosexual GOP lawmakers who stand with their party and vote against gay rights. I’d list them all by name but I have a word count limit and it’s widespread (er stance) enough to be a cliché. Does it really hurt them to be called hypocrites? No. Take the canard that Repub- licans are somehow for the gov- ernment getting out of our lives. That’s unless we look like we could be Mexican, or we’re a woman of childbearing capabil- ity. Then it’s the government’s job — responsibility — to get up in our business. Is it effec- tive to call them hypocrites? No. Take Fraction Governor Sarah Palin who spends her free time telling President Obama how to do his job after she quit hers during the greatest eco- nomic downturn her state has ever faced. Not to mention her daughter, the unwed teenage mother Bristol Palin, who is now a paid advocate for absti- nence. Do they care if they’re called hypocrites? No. Fox News rails against the "mainstream media" while bragging about their high rat- ings and now their front row seat in the White House press briefing room. Republican leader- ship castigates Democ- rats for high unem- ployment rates while stalling the jobs bill. Not to mention Republicans floating the myth that the biggest donor to the Obama campaign was BP when the bumper sticker and rallying cry of the 2008 RNC was "Drill, Baby, Drill." Does calling them hypocrites somehow stop this? No. Does it make them consid- er these positions to be flawed? This is about national security. Do you hate America? No, using the word "hyp- ocrite" should really be stopped altogether. It’s become a mean- ingless insult like "Nazi," "bias," or "environmentalist." It actually has some spray back onto its user anyway. Basically pointing out someone is a hyp- ocrite makes you sound like an angsty emo tween. It’s a word we learn in junior high to apply to grownups. Instead of "hypocrite" I rec- ommend the word "fraud." It sounds bad. Fraud is illegal. Fraud is immoral. And it’s an Tina Dupuy accurate way of describing hypocrisy without sounding like an irate Justin Bieber fan. Plus, we’re faced with a GOP who have appointed themselves as deficit hawks, but who are now for renewing the Bush Tax Cuts. These tax cuts added to (wait for it) the deficit - that’s why they’re going to expire. The only way the original bill could pass through recon- ciliation was for the Congressional Bud- get Office to have it expire in 10 years. Will renewing these tax cuts add to the deficit? Just a couple of trillion dollars. Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan was asked on Meet the Press this week if he agrees with Republican leaders who say that tax cuts pay for them- selves. His answer? A curt, "No, I do not." What does that mean? It means Republicans are frauds when it comes to being deficit hawks. Tina Dupuy is an award- winning writer and the editor of FishbowlLA.com. Tina can be reached at tina@cagle.com. See how easy that was? -----