Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/14532
4A – Daily News – Monday, August 9, 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 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 Those of us on the left are heart- ened that the federal judiciary is acting vigorously to strike down legislation recently passed by wayward majorities of voters in western states that violate the civil rights of minorities. This is particularly true in conservative areas such as Tehama County where right wingers such as the Corning Tea Party Patriots take to the streets to demonstrate their support for the state of Arizona’s attempted crack-down on illegal immigration or disproportionate spending by conserva- tive religious interests sways the voters of California to classify gays and lesbians as sec- ond class citizens. The checks and balances pro- vided by the framers of our consti- tution are now coming under fire by these same groups as they voice their frustrations towards what they see as activist judges deterring efforts to impose their values on all Americans. But this is precisely why the checks and balances among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of our feder- al government were established, and all Americans should be proud that this system has proven to be the best means of governance in the modern world. Richard Mazzucchi Positive Point Of course when federal actions or lack thereof ran- kle the left we too take to the streets to voice our concerns much to the cha- grin of the conservatives among us. Consequently we all have our ups and downs in this contentious environment but have tools at our disposal to chal- lenge lower court deci- sions and evolve the inter- pretation of our constitu- tion. Should it be deemed appropriate by three- fourths of the states a supermajori- ty has the power to oppress minori- ties by amending the Constitution of the United States. The difficul- ty of this process is a principle rea- son we now protect the civil rights of most Americans, rather than just those that a simple majority of vot- ers might choose to support. The net effect of the checks and balances in our federal governance is to maintain a steady keel as our nation traverses through the some- times turbulent seas of human emotions, attitudes and behaviors as passions are stoked by current events, the ever evolving under- standing of our world, and what may seem to be the most appropri- ate ways of adapting to new envi- ronments and consciousness. It is good that making changes to our governing documents are difficult to ensure that stability is main- tained while we dispassionately debate and consider matters of such significance to warrant amendments to the law of the land. My hope is that everyone appreciates the value of this seem- ingly tangled and complicated means of governance to temper their outrage at what may be per- ceived as injustice or inability to enforce our laws. Such frustrations are often the well-spring of cre- ative thought and provide motiva- tion to thoroughly investigate, con- sider, and carefully enact new poli- cies or procedures to improve the common good. Such careful considerations are necessary with respect to immigra- tion policies that strike at the heart of what it means to be an Ameri- can. Less than half a century ago almost everyone in America was a foreigner in a new land seeking lives free of oppression with opportunities to start anew. This natural desire of the human spirit continues today in the hearts and minds of those that come to Amer- ica, both the fortunate ones with money and education to do so legally and the legions of more desperate illegal immigrants. As benefactors of the gift of American citizenship we must be very judi- cious as we consider the plight of those that work hard to better their lives by doing what they must to improve their lot, even if they or their parents do so in violation of our immigration policies. With regard to same sex mar- riage it is also important that Americans exercise great restraint when denying those deserving of the privileges and recognition of marriage. While for many this seems only a matter of semantics pertaining to the meaning of same- sex unions and marriage, to those in the gay and lesbian community this is a passionate and legal issue of fairness and equality. Careful thought and dispassionate reason- ing of this personal matter in the public arena is deserving of all the constitutional protections available to each and every American. Richard Mazzucchi can be reached at living-green@att.net. 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 good, bad and ugly of lawsuits Commentary The headline alone brought a chuckle: "Festival looks to sue county," as if a thing like a festival could file a complaint and stand before a judge to make a case. The reporter’s necessary shorthand, obviously, referred to the individu- als that first moved their so-called Mystic Garden Party from its pre- vious location in Ashland, Ore., to Flournoy. They then promoted the heck out of it before running up against inconvenient realities like narrow roads and the Williamson Act status of the land to be used. The subsequent move to Water Wheel Park in the Shasta County side of Manton was heralded with bucolic photos from its springtime greenery, with no hint of the brown, hot and dusty July conditions. You may have missed the men- tion of why Tehama County’s rea- sonable offer of the use of the fair- ground was rejected: "… organiz- ers decided the concrete at the fair- grounds would deter visitors. ‘Our community of people that come to these events want to be in natural settings,’ (festival producer) Gal- lagher said." And a man-made olive orchard (original site in Flournoy) qualifies as a "natural setting"? The bare-footed, bra-less, halter-topped, hairy-armpit noodle- dancers (start music, extend arms up in the air, wave back and forth) can’t have their commune with nature compromised with such neanderthal-but-modern conve- niences like concrete and asphalt. Between the problems high- lighted in the Daily News article of July 31, and the comments after online news articles, it was quite obvious that Gallagher et al had no one but themselves to blame for the fiasco. He probably never heard of the timeless principle of the "5 P’s": "prior planning prevents poor per- formance." So what’s an aggrieved but apparently not embarrassed festival organizer to do? Why, launch a lawsuit, of course. I’m sure that their headliner, Michael Fonte, will be happy to know that the money that Gallagher didn’t spend on his performance will find its way into some lawyer’s pocket. Meanwhile, county resources (meaning your and my taxes) will necessarily be used to respond to this frivolous- excuse-for-a-lawsuit. Let’s hope it dies an obscure demise, if it ever really is filed. The same could be said about the lawsuit over Tehama County’s General Plan that was thrown out by a judge. Let’s first make sure you understand that the name of the organization, "Citizens Alliance for Rural Environmental Sustainabili- ty," or CARES, tells you all you need to know if you have paid attention to how words are mis- used by the environmental left. "Citizens" actually means busy- bodies and environmental hack organizations that have deep pock- ets to go around putting legal road- blocks in the way of legitimate, elected public officials carrying out the actual citizens’ work of plan- ning a reasonable future for our county. Any residents of Tehama Coun- ty are free to exercise their rights as citizens to influence such planning processes, as well as complain and critique the result. I’d be unfair to deny that legitimate activity. How- ever, at a certain point, the process has worked, people have had their chance to comment and object, and we move on with the normal growth and development that determines whether our county thrives or dies. The so-called "Alliance" is nothing more than the above- mentioned hack organi- zations that have a couple of "anchor residents" to claim being local inter- ested parties. The pur- pose is to do the dirty work of obstructing to serve the BANANA phi- losophy: "Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Any- body." "Anybody" means anyone wanting to file a lawsuit to muck up our right to have our representatives carry out their responsibilities. If we can collec- tively live with the result, why don’t the Sierra Clubs of the world just butt out. They won’t because the rest of the title masks the real agenda: "Rural Environmental Sustainabili- ty" is one of those word-smithed, focus-grouped deceptive phrases that the left comes up with to sound warm, fuzzy and reasonable. I’m sure most intelligent readers already know of such fallacious phraseology but here’s a rough translation: It means people that have homes on land parcels that have concocted a philosophy that serves the selfish purposes of lock- ing up other people’s land and put roadblocks in the way of further development. This often is motivated by their desire to look out upon undevel- oped parcels after they have gotten their person- al piece of rural heaven. Hopefully, for this dis- gruntled group, much like the Mystic Garden Festival, our limited county budget won’t have any further strains put on it to defend against unnecessary liti- gation. Don Polson The way I see it Other lawsuits I oppose: legal efforts to overturn Proposition 8, affirming traditional marriage under Califor- nia’s constitution; like- wise, the federal govern- ment’s legal attack on Arizona’s reasonable efforts to rid their state of illegal aliens. On the other hand, there are lawsuits I support: Sheriff Parker’s admirable participation in legal efforts to fight unconstitutional infringements on our gun rights under the 2nd Amendment through ammunition restrictions. Lawsuits to challenge the unprecedented, and also unconstitutional, require- ment to purchase health insurance or be fined, by the federal govern- ment, are commendable and neces- sary. You see, I have an agenda — I’m just not filing lawsuits over it. Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com. Truth, justice, and the American way