Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/14683
6A – Daily News – Thursday, August 12, 2010 Opinion Agood start Editor: 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 Thank the county for the roadside mowing and asphalt on Sherwood Boulevard. I went to the county in Ger- 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 ber and filed a request. They did some weed cutting at the entrance from 99E to Sherwood but they can not do it on 99 because that is Caltrans’ area. Cal-trans did move the 40 mph sign to a reasonable loca- tion north. Thanks to them for that. But all of the proposed work in Los Molinos is great but the entry from 99E onto Sherwood is still very dangerous. Caltrans did a a little work there but the turn off still needs considerable work done. To verify this coming up 99E going north you see all other turns to the right with full aprons to turn on but not Sher- wood. The last letter to the editor I wrote I sent copies of the news article to Caltrans, Highway Patrol and the governor's office — some work but it was mar- ginal and the hole is just as bad as before. I received a letter back from the governor’s office and High- way Patrol. They were courte- ous but did not address the Cal- trans problem. So be warned, I am sending a copy of the letter to the editor to Highway Patrol, Caltrans and the governor’s office. Jo Ann Landingham, Los Molinos Creating jobs Editor: Spending money that we don't have is what started this economic downturn, yet many economists and politicians encourage people to buy "more stuff" in order to create jobs. Unfortunately, the "stuff" people buy is produced by big companies like Walmart that outsource the jobs to people liv- ing in other countries. Histori- cally, new jobs are created by small businesses. One solution to this is to encourage local sustainable businesses and communities by taxing transportation miles. That would also decrease pollu- tion since large buildings and transportation are the biggest contributors. People are innovative. If given a chance, they will create their own jobs. Farmers markets are a good first step. We all know how to throw stuff out. Is there anyone still alive that knows how to fix things? Karen Scheuermann, Cottonwood Moral compass Editor: Do the churches and Chris- tians that support same sex mar- riage worship the doctrines of the Bible (God) or do they worship the doc- trines of government? Is there anywhere in the Old or New Testa- ment that supports same sex intimate rela- tionships? What the Bible does say about same sex relationships is that it is an abomination. Some will say (to paraphrase) Your Turn Once the church, the moral compass and the reason for a civ- ilized world, is destroyed or demoral- ized there will be no right or no wrong, no moral compass to show us the right direction. Les Wolfe, Red Bluff Jesus would not deny anyone a loving relationship. Jesus did many things in the short time he was here on earth — healed the sick, raised the dead and preached the word of God, he tried to make people morally and spiritually whole, the one thing he did not do was to lower his standards to the same level of those he helped but always try- ing to raise the moral and spiritu- al standards of those he helped. One by one for the last many decades our traditional values have been destroyed by the liber- al left. Once the traditional status of marriage is no longer just for a man and a woman, what is next? Will we legalize child pornogra- phy? Lower the age of consent or remove it entirely so adults can have sex with children? Don’t disregard anything or underestimate just how far the liberal agenda will go. It wasn’t that long ago pornography was illegal. More thanks Editor: A week or two ago, I read a letter from Jennifer Youngblood thanking people involved in the All Star experience. I, too, would like to submit a thank you. This one is directed at Roberson's. Roberson's printed our all star uniforms. Well, they includ- ed a bit of a surprise in our boxes. Each child that partici- pated in all stars received, at no expense to them, a T-shirt with their team's all star roster print- ed on the back. Roberson's also embroidered each visor or hat with the player's name and num- ber, again, at no cost to the play- er or the league. I was fortunate enough to be part of the girls’ 9-10 all star coaching staff and when I hand- ed out uniforms with these shirts folded inside, the smiles and looks of surprise on each player's face were priceless Thank you, Roberson's for going the extra mile Tammy Sheppard, 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. GOP: Bring back ‘Corruption of Blood’ Commentary It takes a certain kind of for- titude and leadership to take a strong stand against a small group of children. No, I’m not calling Congress "children." Well, not directly. I’m referring to the barking by Republican leaders to repeal the 14th Amendment, which is interpreted to mean everyone (with few exceptions) born in the U.S. is automatically a U.S. citizen. So far there have been calls for hearings to look into the issue. House Minority Leader John Boehner, shockingly even more tanorexic this week, said on Meet the Press, "It’s worth considering." Really? It’s really worth con- sidering? The Republicans’ "solution" for illegal immigrants living here is to make more people liv- ing here – illegal? There is no hard data on actual "anchor babies." It sounds widespread because it’s repeated often. There are only anecdotal claims. People in the immigrant community deny such a scheme exists. You don’t get citizenship from giving birth to a citizen. Illegal immigrants are having children because that’s what humans do. So "anchor babies" are the new "death panels." And we’re talking about amending the constitution to ward against a conspiracy theory. "I don't think the founders understood when they did the 14th Amendment that they would create a circumstance where people could fly into America, all over the world and have a child and that child would have dual citizenship, fly back to their home countries," said Republican Senator Jeff Sessions in an interview with ABC News. If the Republicans get their hearings, let’s start with how the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, about 70 years after the death of the first president, Founding Father George Wash- ington. The "founders" did not write the 14th Amendment. Just so we keep our basic "founders are sacrosanct" civics straight. What the founders did write was Article 3, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution regarding Treason. The document lays out the implications of treason, then says, "…but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted." "Corruption of Blood" was an English law stating that if your parents committed treason, you were also stained. Meaning, you’re punished for the sins of your father or mother. But according to our founders, not in this new country. No. In this country the American Dream pivots on doing better than your parents by the will of you and your metaphor-worthy boot- straps. In this country it — the- oretically — doesn’t matter from where or from whom you came, the dream can be yours, too. I was raised in fos- ter care. The state not only protected me from my parents, they were my parents. The wrongdoing, political affiliation or immi- grant status of my bio- logical family was never an issue because I was born here — and that’s just not America. There are a myriad of places where it mat- ters who your parents are — college applications, scholar- ships, dating — but the state was concerned only with my welfare and wellbeing —com- pletely indifferent to the short- comings of my parents when it came to how I was treated. Besides, it’s impossible to have the "rugged individualism" narrative going if our citizen rights are tied to mommy and daddy’s documents being in order. I benefitted from a humanis- tic policy that was not wrapped in the myopic frenzy of political theater. If we could all be so lucky. Now, to drum up hysteria about this alleged rash of preg- nant Mexican border hoppers, Tina Dupuy the GOP’s idea is to change the Constitution so that being with- out papers is treated more harshly than treason. If your parents betray the country — you’re safe. But if they stay past the expiration of their student visa — buh-bye, kiddo! For being a party who rails against gov- ernment bureaucracy their idea is a triplicate form of fear-baiting from the department of half-baked. Is the Republican Party really calling for taking away children’s rights? Are they really "looking into" the government’s punishing kids for decisions their parents make? Do we real- ly want lineage to be a deciding factor for civic life? Of course we don’t. We’re Americans. We’re a nation of coming-from- somewhere-else’s. We’re a nation of starting over, trying again and re-inventing our- selves. Most importantly, we’re a nation that protects children - regardless of who their parents are. Even if their parents are politically desperate Republi- cans. Tina Dupuy is an award- winning writer and the editor of FishbowlLA.com. Tina can be reached at tina@cagle.com. -----