Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/15048
4A – Daily News – Friday, August 20, 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 It makes ya think Mountain lion 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 Received a call the other day from a reader with a couple of questions. Nothing to do with the Daily News or anything published in it, but this person figured maybe somebody at the newspaper would know the answer. The caller, a retired police officer named Fred, had been sitting with his fellow retirees over coffee that morning when the topic of the attacks on the World Trade Center came up — after all, the ninth anniversary of the attacks is just a few weeks away and the prospect of an Islamic Community Cen- ter in the neighborhood is very much in the news. Fred and his friends wondered reminder that not everything we want to know is so easily found in cyberspace. Strike one. Next Fred said he and his buddies were wonder- ing why, if Earth rotates east to west, do weather patterns also move west to east? I don’t know about you, Chip Thompson 545 Diamond Ave. how many Muslim victims died dur- ing the attacks? Piece of cake, I thought. Let me just fire up the old Internet and I’ll have an answer for him in less than a minute. Think again. The Web was chock full of guess- es or estimates from message boards — areas where visitors can chime in with, well, pretty much anything they want. The Islamic Circle of North America has compiled a list that totals about 60 names and is often cited on other sites. But even that list, with some interesting personal details about some of the victims, starts with the disclaimer, “This list is as yet incomplete and unconfirmed.” While I wasn’t able to find a spe- cific answer for Fred, I did enjoy the but this is the type of ques- tion that hits me like a sack of flour on the forehead. Go ahead, try figuring it out in your head. Trying to picture Earth rotating, with the sun sta- tionary, and knowing the sun travels east to west each day, and that Earth is hurling around the sun at the same time. Every time I had it straight, I’d start questioning myself. Would have been nice to have one of those models that graced my fourth grade classroom. Eventually I sorted it out and responded that Earth rotates west to east, therefore causing the sun to rise in the east and set in the west. Just as a guess, I suggested the atmosphere, hence weather patterns, are pulled along by the rotation of Earth. Sure, the convergence of warm and cool air, usually near water masses or mountains, impacts pat- terns, but that’s another guess. This was good enough for Fred. For the record, Earth does rotate west to east — omkar 1109 said so on the Web. Chip Thompson can be reached at 527-2151, Ext.112 or by e-mail at editor@redbluffdailynews.com. and fishing. This mountain lion thing in our city parks, around our schools, roaming about at night, what, is someone out of their mind? School is in session — kids on the playgrounds running around or soccer the ball goes off the filed into the brush. Children bending over to tie their shoe all this is easy prey for a mountain lion. Editor: Have you heard of relocate before it kills somebody? I’ve worked in the outdoors for 30 years and I do enjoy hunting What happened to all of the ducks and geese in the slough and River Park? When that food supply runs out, well guess what’s next. Your dog, your cat, your loved one. Now the Red Bluff diversion gates are raised the lake is again a river. The mountain lion will have to travel to water, and the food supply will change. Red Bluff and Fish and Game and or Fish and Wildlife, know- ing the dangers of this mountain lion, is it possible for a law suit after loss of life? Now is the time to trap it and move it out into the wild or later when it becomes a man eater. Then it will be hunted down and killed. Your Turn Attention animal lovers Editor: My family and I are animal lovers, too. With this present bad economy has come a great overload on animal shelters and animal welfare groups. The donations are not coming as they once did, and more beloved pets are being dropped off or abandoned than ever before. The cry for help is great. My daughters and I want to help with this crisis ASAP. We Mike Tumidanski Sr., Red Bluff would like to form an animal rescue support committee. Our goal is to open and run a thrift store in the Red Bluff area using proceeds from that store to help financially support the fine efforts of existing animal rescue organizations and agencies. We are seeking others who may have the means, skills or abili- ties as well as heart to give of their time and resources to form and become part of this committee. Eventually, as we grow, we will have a paid staff as well as vol- unteer help of dedicated individuals to ensure a successful and ongoing operation. We are enthusiastic and believe that this idea will come to fruition with honest effort and commitment. Opening our own animal shelters and sanctuaries while continu- ing our support of other organizations, in this compassionate and noble work, is our ultimate goal. If you're interested or for more information call 526-4135. Mike Mayo, 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. Swamp-drainage detritus Commentary There have been easier times to be a Democrat. Think way, way back to the halcyon days of two years ago. Summer of ‘08. Basking like a lazy cat napping in a sun-drenched window box. Now, not so much. Nancy Pelosi must be thinking someone on her team swallowed a bad-news electromagnet the size of a Buick. Obama’s poll numbers are falling faster than barometric pressure in the eye of a hurri- cane. The wars rage on. Scariest of all may be the haunting cries from the swelling ranks of unemployed in the streets; like beckoning zombies: "Join Us. Join Us." And if the polls don’t turn around, many incumbents will. What the Dems definitely don’t need is an ugly self-inflict- ed election-year corruption scandal twining up their legs like an anaconda in the primary stages of a goat swallow. They call it conflict of interest, a polite way of saying crookeder than a dump truck full of bicycle spokes mangled by a tugboat turbine. In normal circumstances, nobody bribes a Democrat because they can’t get anything done. Like handing an eggplant the keys to a Ferrari. Besides, you do give them money, they don’t know what to do with it; they put it in the freezer for crum’s sake. But these aren’t normal circumstances and Char- lie Rangel and Maxine Waters aren’t normal Democrats. Like lions with a wounded zebra, they know what to do with it. Bones and all. After 12 years of wandering in the wilderness, taking over Congress in 2006, the Speaker pronounced her intent to "drain the swamp." The problem is, do that and then you got to deal with all the creepies crawling around the bottom, and those big old alligators got nowhere to hide. Drained or not, they still know where the sharpest marsh grasses are and how to blind adversaries with a face full of swamp gas. Waters is a 10-term Con- gresswoman while Rangel is completing his 20th and both seem perfectly content to take their entire party down rather than walk away from the cash cows they affectionately call public service. When they say this is not about the money, this is about their dignity, you can pretty much bet… this is about the money. They were investi- gated by the House Committee on Stan- dards of Official Con- duct, one of the great oxymorons of all time. Like "rotary cell phone" or "George W. Bush Think Tank" or "Martha Coakley Cam- paign Strategy Hand- book." The two mem- bers could have escaped with a slap on the wrist but are demanding public tri- als. And they’ll get their day in court, in September, right before the general election, which the Democrats need the same way a musk ox needs day- glo targets painted on its sides in the shape of a rifle’s crosshairs. Republicans, like their mas- cot the elephant, Loxodonata Africana, are herd animals and understand protecting the tribe is their number-one priority. Donkeys, however, Equus Asi- nus — where we get the word asinine — are principally known for stubbornness, a demonstration of which is now in ses- sion. You got to love them. They’re like car- nivorous snails, who will eat their own, only when they get around to it. Will Durst Raging Moderate Democrats may not have invented the cir- cular firing squad, but you got to admit, they sure have perfected it. Will Durst is a political comedian who has performed around the world. He is a familiar pundit on television and radio. E-mail Will at durst@caglecartoons.com. Check out willandwillie.com for the latest podcast. Will Durst’s book, "The All American Sport of Bipartisan Bashing," is available from Amazon and better bookstores all over this great land of ours.