Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/15091
4A – Daily News – Saturday, August 21, 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 Letter response 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 In response to Orval Strong's letter about the U.S. supporting Israel. As usual Mr. Strong's research is impeccable but he does open a couple of questions: especially with his comment con- cerning the “establishment of reli- gion, or prohibiting the free exer- cise thereof” phrase from the first amendment of our constitution. We have in this country special interest groups that somehow have acquired disproportionate influence in our courts. They have convinced the courts that that amendment means we can have no religion and the courts have therefore disallowed public prayer, (an infringement on our right to free speech) guaranteed in that same amendment; and also interpreted the separation of church and state provision as meaning schools or public sport- ing events, etc. are part of the state. State and public are not nec- essarily the same thing! Look them up in your Funk and Wag- nall. This kind of logic is only understandable by attorneys in their language of legalese and has no bearing on the intentions of our founding fathers. The govern- ment cannot tell me I have to be a Catholic, or a Lutheran but it also cannot tell me I can’t, anytime, anywhere I want to, pray to God these people will finally sit down, shut up and leave my religious beliefs alone. If they, before some event such as a graduation cere- mony do not want to hear the benediction asking for our Lord's Blessing on those present they have the option of sticking their fingers or whatever else is avail- able in their ears. The constitution does not give them total control of every minute in their miserable lives. When they are in court and the Judge is explaining the rules and procedures that will apply in their case, they don't have to lis- ten, but they had damn well better abide by them. The first amend- ment does not mean they don't have the right to not participate in a prayer, but it does mean they don't have the right to interfere with my right to pray. But ... as to his main concern about the Unit- ed States supporting Israel I heard a quote the other day, which I can- not totally recall now, from an Israeli official on this very subject who was asked why there was this constant conflict between the Arabs and Israel and why should the US support Israel and not the Arabs and essentially what he said was, we have about six mil- lion citizens and we are surround- ed by two hundred million Mus- lims whose main goal in life is to destroy our nation and its people. This conflict between Jews, Muslims and Christians has been going on in one combi- nation or another since the first crusade in AD 1096. We, the US are the only stabilizing factor in the area, and we have interests on both sides of the Israeli, Arab dis- agreement and now we have our own interests to watch out for because radical Muslims have decided that we are the Infidel and must be destroyed too. But please Orval don't look for justi- fying quotes in the Bible or the Torah or the Koran because peo- ple have been finding them for centuries and they have nothing to do with how can we resolve the situation. We need to look for the things that will bring the three of us together, not justify our desire to destroy one or both of the other participants. Fred Boest, Red Bluff Stimulus is taxpayer funded Editor: Somehow public employ- ees, particular educators have Your Turn the mistaken notion that state or Federal stimulus or grant funds are tax free. Public employees need a course in econom- ics. Governments cannot create stimu- lus or grand funds without either increasing taxes or printing money to create the insidious tax called inflation. Government cannot create jobs because any tax spend- ing or inflation cuts civilian jobs. When cities, counties and states cut public employee wages and benefits to civilian level, it does not make any difference if the job is funded by a stimulus or a grant, it is tax funded. All taxpayers are local. The senior meals crew in Red Bluff should not be immune from the 12 percent salary cuts. Cutting public employee pay and benefits helps the city, county and state, no matter the source of these funds. With public employee pay and benefits averaging 77 percent above their civilian equals, significant cuts are needed to end the raping of taxpayers. 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. California out of the closet and into our face Commentary California politics has come out of its closet and is in our face. In the old days we used to com- plain about all the smoke filled backroom deals that were perpe- trated upon us in Sacramento or at the ballot box. Smoke and mirrors were common terms used to describe what our representatives were using to keep us in perpetual ignorance and confusion. Not so anymore. With the diversion created by lack of a budget, the pouting by the Governator, the posturing by our legislators, the brouhaha over Proposition 8, and the revelations bout the excessive salaries by the public leaders in Bell, it is not always possible to keep up to date on events or issues. We are inundat- ed by scandal, ineptitude, and inde- cision. We must appear to be a docile lot, we voters. The politicians and the corpora- tions no longer hide what they are doing, they treat us with indiffer- ence as commodities to purchase, and they believe they can get away with it. Voters are simply an obsta- cle for them, an obstacle they can overcome by bombarding us with misleading information, throwing money at us, or simply pulling “the wool over our eyes.” This year is full of examples of what I describe above. Take the pri- mary race for Governor, for exam- ple. One candidate was talking out of both sides of her mouth while spending an outlandish amount of money to buy our votes. The other candidate treated us with disdain, assuming a snide expression, and revealing little, if anything, that he would do in his second chance at the office. During the same election we were bombarded openly by adver- tizing/propaganda in favor of two initiatives sponsored by large busi- nesses, Pacific Gas and Electric and Mercury Insurance. There was no shame on their part in how they presented the issues. The voters dismissed this attack on their intel- ligence. In November we will have two competing initiatives on the ballot. The first would expand the duties of the newly created California Cit- izens Commission on Redistrict- ing. This fourteen member com- mission’s job will be to redraw the district lines for the state Assembly and Senate elections and also those for the Board of Equalization. They will do this after the data from the 2010 census is available. Like a lot of what happens in Sacramento there has been some foot dragging and the commission members have not been selected at this time. The Applicant Review Panel (ARP) has narrowed down appli- cants for the Commission to 120. The ARP is composed of three CPA’s who have ten or more years of experience in auditing. They were selected at random at a public event in November. The Commis- sion was created as a result of the passage of the Voters First Act, Proposition 11, in 2008. The 120 applicants above will be culled down to the “60 most qualified candidates by the ARP.” That list of 60 will be submitted to the legislature for their review…there is no reason stated for this step, but conspiracy theo- rists will smile. The list will then be returned, presumably intact and without any notes in the margin, and the ARP will randomly select the first eight members, who in turn, will select the next six from the list. If this goes according to schedule the list of 14 members will be completed by December 31, 2010 (more than two years after Prop 11 was passed), and the Commis- sion will begin work in January, 2011. But wait. Things are not all that simple. In November we will be asked to vote on Proposi- tion 20 which would expand the duties of the Commission to include redistricting of Congres- sional districts. We are being asked to vote on this even though we do not know if the Commission has been successful at its original task. For most of us the lengthy creation of the Commission slipped over the horizon of our attention span, and we are a little unsure about this process, yet alone a new duty for our non-existent Commission. Of course the establishment politicians are not particularly happy with this proposed arrange- ment; redistricting of legislative and Congressional districts has been the prerogative of the legislators them- selves, even though there may be a built in conflict of interest. Pride never gets in their way, however, and Democratic leaders are back- ing Proposition 27 which would abolish the Commission altogether. Talk about a slap in our face. Their rationale is that a group of fourteen Joe Harrop citizens could not possibly know the districts like the current district representative do. When is the last time you have seen our Assembly- man, Jim Nielsen, spend the night at his home in Gerber? California was once called the Golden State. The Gold Rush, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Holly- wood symbolized the great land of opportu- nity. We led the nation in adopting reforms such as the initiative process which could counter act the lobby- ing efforts of Southern Pacific, which alleged- ly ran Sacramento in the early 20th century. We devel- oped bold schemes for moving massive amounts of water from the north to the south. We adopted one of the highest sets of academic standards in the nation. Silicon Val- ley gave birth to the digital age. Civil rights were a major focus in California early on. We are proudly diversified as we have welcomed newcomers from Latin America, Asia, and India. We may even call ourselves “enlightened”. Over time, however, the outlook for California has become jaded, to say the least. Some things are bla- tantly out of place, and business as usually is being conducted right before our eyes. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net.