Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/15014
Thursday, August 19, 2010 – Daily News – 5A Opinion School project 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 Editor: I moved to Red Bluff a year and a week ago and I wanted to share how amazed I am at the gen- erosity of this small town. Not too long ago, I was a mar- 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 ried woman in a dual income fam- ily. I took many things for granted, including the cost of a couple of hair cuts for my two wonderful children. Things changed, divorced, unemployed, ex not making child support payments. Anyway, the point being, I wanted to express my gratitude for the many people who made possible the free hair cuts for the kids going back to school. For all the beauticians who gave their time and talent, for the organizers who spent who knows how much time before the day, the photographers, food vendors, entertainers, churches for their outreach, for all the people who set up and cleaned up and for the city for allowing this to happen, and for anybody I missed that cares about children, I just wanted to send out my thanks and grati- tude as a single mom. You made my kids feel special. Christina Walters, Red Bluff Property wrongs Editor: After an outing in the foothills east of Red Bluff the other day, I had to take it upon myself to edu- cate the legally stupid and espe- cially the ones who think their property lines extend out into pub- lic access roads. I don't care if your property does butt up to a county main- tained road. First, nobody is going to tell me where I can go in public. Sec- ond, you thought you could scare us with a “there's dogs around here.” So what. I had multiple means of protecting myself. Third, you running back to get your significant other did not scare us either. It only could have escalated the situation. We were there in peace, enjoying your area. Had he come back in a threat- ening manner, where there is no signal to call law enforcement, it could have led up to an incident. I understand if you are protecting your property and family. My family has a farm, too. But you’re sarcastic, threaten- ing behavior only tells me two things. You have a hell of a pot garden going on or you have had theft or security issues. But to come off threatening, sarcastic and basically being a horse’s ass only led me to mark the way point and I got your address, too. There are many people that come from certain backgrounds and expertise to be as brazen as you are in messing with people. You may be firing up a Special Forces vet as a great example. So think before you react. We had no interest in your property at all. All you did is draw attention to your- selves. I now have your names, number and address. How do you like them apples? Yes, it took me less than 15 minutes to get that information. So you better be a little more neighborly and listen to people before you lead yourself into a whole lot of trouble. And yes, I have legal counsel. So there are many ways to get your attention if you like. Now grow up, pro- tect your immediate property, or you may have future repercussions if you ever do that again to anyone else. Especially me. Your Turn situation. As a parent, you have a lot on your plate in making ends meet in this dif- ficult economy — under- standing all the challenges in our community let alone our state, is mind boggling. Schools in Tehama County also are being challenged — budget cuts have required most schools to make very difficult deci- sions. Classroom numbers are hitting all time highs and with cuts to staff have caused the per student ratio to soar. As the Board President, I I hoped your mouthy wife enjoyed my reciprocation of sar- casm. Like I told her, “We have no interest in your property, we are on a county road, and have a nice day.” I could have told her in a more trucker talk fashion if you like. Darrell Carson, Red Bluff Public options Editor: While we still don’t know how great or how lasting this current economic downturn may be, can we really deter- mine how it will affect the family unit? Is it too early to tell? Is it too subjective to give a one size fits all view? We all have our own per- sonal, and family, view of the invite you to visit the Sacra- mento River Discovery Char- ter School and see for your- self the difference a small school can make. SRDC still offers low student to teacher ratios and it’s a free public option open to all families in Tehama County regardless of district. Sacramento River Discov- ery Charter’s mission is to always do what’s best for the students. We strive to make learning a hands-on and chal- lenging adventure while offering a safe climate where students feel the family approach to services. For more information, call 529-1650 or visit www.dis- coverycharterschool.org. Rhonda Meadows, 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. Living in a ‘Post-Racist’ Society Commentary The MSNBC documentary series Lock Up ran a story earli- er this month about a Maricopa County Jail inmate charged with identity theft named Cecil Kunkel. The 29-year-old Kunkel has a swastika tattooed on top of his "skinhead." He’s covered in "white power" slogans and imagery. The only ink-free spot on him is an empty space in the shape of another swastika over his heart. The crew first finds him spending time in the hole as dis- ciplinary action for refusing to house with black inmates. When asked why he refuses, Kunkel says, "Because it’s wrong…nothing personal - it’s just the way it is." In the next scene Kunkel is caught on camera beating an African-American inmate who is, of course, smaller than him. Filmmakers for the series interview a close family friend of Kunkel’s, also locked up in Maricopa County. When asked about Kunkel by the producer, the self-proclaimed cousin offers, "He’s not a racist." Yes, here is Kunkel — being documented on national televi- sion proudly boasting about being a criminal, who has more Nazi ink than a copy of Mein Kampf — and the person closest to him doesn’t want Kunkel to be vilified by the term "racist." The whole conversation about race has turned into a rigged game of Whac-a-Mole where every time you hit a mole with your tethered mallet, the mole declares, "I’m not actually a mole, and how dare you use such a horrible label to describe me and my mole-like actions, appearance and affiliations." Denying racism while being overtly racist isn’t a new thing. In the hilarious 2001 book, “Them: Adventures with Extremists,” British journalist Jon Ronson spends time with the KKK during their attempted image makeover. Not using the "n-word" was part of the New and Improved Klan. Yes, the Klan wants you to know it’s no longer anti-non-whites…just very pro-hood. Making a living promoting a fictional idealized version of 1950s morality while having saucy nudie pics on the Internet, Dr. Laura Schlessinger last week felt she suddenly needed to move us all forward about how an affluent white woman should be able to use the "n-word" with impunity. Dr. Laura said the slur on her syndicated radio show some 11 times. Then the melba toast ide- ologue decided to become the arbiter of what’s funny and said to the caller, the black wife of a bi-racial couple, "If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry outside of your race!" After taking such a definitive stand, Dr. Laura apologized the next day. See, she’s not a racist. Racial agitator Andrew Breit- bart is best known for promoting the heavily edited Sherry Sharrod video to show, according to him, the racism of the NAACP. That ordeal resulted in the firing of Sharrod from the USDA followed by the discrediting of Breit- bart after the complete, unedited video was released. And guess what? Breitbart is also not a racist. Sure, almost every one of his slanted stunts, including the one that brought down the com- munity organizing group ACORN, targets black people — but that’s just a coincidence. How dare you imply race has something to do with it — such a horrible slight. The right-wing is now froth- ing at the mouth over a Muslim community center within walk- ing distance — as are most things in lower Manhattan, including a couple of existing mosques — from where the Twin Towers used to stand. President George W. Bush at least gave lip service to the Mus- lim community’s being "peace- ful," but now he’s an embarrass- ment. So the GOP thinks they real- ly have a winner in denouncing and "refudiating" American Muslims with their goals of occupying buildings. The sub- text is that all Muslims are ter- rorists. This goes along nicely with Republican leaders attempting to make all Latinos into job-steal- ing, people-behead- ing, baby-dropping threats to national security. Tina Dupuy If you whittle down enough groups of peo- ple, you do eventually make a point. A point- ed neo-Republican talking point. But the GOP isn’t racist. Tina Dupuy is an award- winning writer and the editor of FishbowlLA.com. Tina can be reached at tina@cagle.com. Yes — hatred, intolerance and discrimination based on race are no longer racist. So sur- prisingly, the next wave of the Nixon-founded Southern Strate- gy is no longer "racist." Pander- ing to our darkest fears about "the others" coming to our side of the island to kill us is, also, officially no longer racist. Perhaps the term "post-racial society" is a typo. What they mean is "post-racist." Racism no longer exists because the word for it is too offensive to those who practice it. Nice twist. -----