Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/205770
6A Daily News – Tuesday, November 5, 2013 Opinion The irony of secessionism DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY 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 letters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. 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 submitted will be considered for publication. Letters will be edited. Letters are published at the discretion of the editor. Mission Statement We believe that a strong community 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 vehicles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its communities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the residents 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 On Sept. 3 county supervisors in Siskiyou passed declarations supporting withdrawal from California as a first step toward forming the State of Jefferson. Followed by Modoc County on the 23rd — now supporters are knocking on Tehama County's door to endorse declarations that state lawmakers neglect to represent the interests of "rural and frontier counties" by failing to protect property and water rights, passing gun restrictions and approving an "illegal fire tax." It recalls the time, in 1941, when ornery residents in Northern California and Southern Oregon staged a secession by naming John Childs, a retired judge from Crescent City, as governor. Men with hunting rifles were stationed on State Highway 99 at a mythical state border to raise the flag of Jefferson – marked with two Xs to protest the double-crossing politicians in Sacramento and Salem who failed to build roads for copper mining. The declarations also decried proposals then endorsed by the U.S. Interior Department to remove four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in southwestern Oregon to restore historic spawning habitat for salmon and steelhead, a plan some today still view as a theft of water from local agriculture despite the validity of native water rights. In Alturas, cattlemen offer another motive for the upstart revolt: anger over lost jobs and traditions. For 11 years, the Niles, a grand palace in this timber and ranching town near the Oregon border, lay abandoned. It's recent remodeling and reopening bring back memories of the logging mills that sent tired and thirsty workers into Alturas and once supported three local car dealerships – compared to the current single sales lot with its two lonely pickups. In Modoc County, earnings from timber harvests plummeted from $35.4 million in 1994 to $4.5 million in 2011, with production a fraction of logging heydays in the 1970s and 1980s. These days, more than 18 percent of residents live in poverty. In Siskiyou, timber revenues dropped from $62.6 million in 1994 to $39.2 million in 2011. Seventeen percent of residents live in poverty. With 9,300 residents, Modoc County has the third smallest population among California's 58 counties. Siskiyou is not much bigger — the 14th smallest with 44,000 residents. But some diehard believers think they can pull off statehood that requires approval of the California Legislature, as well as lawmakers in Oregon if counties there join the Jefferson movement, and ultimately passage by Congress. The last time that happened was in 1863, when West Virginia broke from Virginia during the Civil War. The present breakaway spirit spurred on by those that believe less government is good government ironically stand ready to add two more Senators, a Representative, a governor, and some type of state legislature to the political of frustration with name calling and resignation in prefmix, most certainly far erence to the bygone right in nature. This practices of respectful move will face staunch negotiation and comproresistance by the rest mise. We have the Tea center and left leaning Party and their intransiCalifornia even though gent Republican sycothey would just as soon phants to thank for this be rid of the northern revolting political cli"rednecks" that deride mate. efforts to protect naturIn any event the same al habitat and air qualieconomic challenges ty as they deny that their actions impact the Richard that drive this secessionist movement raise quesrate of climate change. tions about whether the But most Californians region can support itself now realize that disas a new state. Both tancing themselves Modoc and Siskiyou from responsibility for counties get far more our environment to money from California enrich a few is a prein state social services scription for a world than residents pay in state income unfit for habitation. Today's bitter political climate and sales taxes. And while farmis reminiscent of an enduring ing in the area generates more than myth that the 1941 Jefferson state- $85 million in annual earnings, hood drive would have succeeded government is the largest employif it weren't abruptly dropped after er. County, state and federal jobs the Japanese attacked Pearl Har- account for more than one-third of bor and America entered World the labor force. This dislike of War II. The Jefferson region is a governance while sucking at its tits metaphor for the divisiveness is the irony of secessionism. around the country — the conRichard Mazzucchi is a retired flicts between the loggers, the fishermen, the environmentalists, research engineer specializing in the settlers from urban California energy efficiency and renewable and the descendants of the Oregon energy. He has travelled Trail. Add to this the moral extensively and now makes his divides between those for and home in Los Molinos, where he is against gay marriage, marijuana striving to manifest a sustainable legalization, the death penalty, and and spiritual lifestyle and operate assault rifles it appears the move- a barbecue equipment and ment gains steam because those supply business. He can be with conflicting interests act out reached at living-green@att.net. Mazzucchi Positive Point Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 150 Amber Grove Drive, Ste. 154, Chico, CA 95928, 530895-4217 STATE SENATOR — Jim Nielsen, 2635 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico, CA 95928, (530) 879-7424, senator.nielsen@senate.ca.gov GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-225-3076. 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; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Commentary Obama: If I like it, you can keep it Tonight's Tea Party Patriots meeting will host Assembly candidate Ryan Schohr. Let's start off with what can happen right here in Tehama County, regarding Obamacare. I won't use its formal title, the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (or ACA)," because we now know that patients' health insurance plans, providers, doctors, choices and personal information are emphatically not protected. Moreover, due to increased costs for the law's coverage, the higher premiums and out-of-pocket expenses are no longer affordable for many. Nor is it affordable for our federal budget (our tax dollars) if masses of people get a "subsidy" paid for by someone else. As Lady Margaret Thatcher once famously said, "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." Anyone cheering that federal subsidies defray the bloated cost of Obamacare-compliant insurance policies ought to consider asking any random group of taxpayers: "I'm eligible for an Obamacare subsidy; who wants to pay for it?" Liberals should keep this in mind before bloviating about everyone collectively paying for everyone else's health care. Locally, there may be hundreds of people getting letters from their insurance companies notifying them that their prior coverage, like it or not, is being cancelled. This illustrates President Obama's mendacious (Webster's: "lying or false") statements, uttered almost 50 times over the years, about keeping the doctors and health care plans you like—period! The cancellation of individual policies is reality; anyone going through the opposite of "keeping your plan" might write the editor describing their experience. National Review, 10/25, told readers, "San Francisco columnist Debra J. Saunders has learned that at least 500,000 Californians may lose their health insurance next year—and that's a conservative estimate." Saunders: "as of December 2012, there were 491,977 covered lives in individual health care plans regulated by the state Department [of] Insurance that are not grandfathered under the ACA." From Kaiser health news ("Thousands Of Consumers Get Insurance Cancellation Notices Due to Health Law"): "Health plans are sending hundreds of thousands of cancellation letters to people who buy their own coverage, frustrating some consumers who what to keep what they have and forcing others to buy more costly policies (because they) fall short of what the ACA requires starting Jan. 1." State and local insurance cancellations can be multiplied by a factor of 10 or 20 for a nationwide picture of so-called "health care reform". Obamacare defenders and ideological hacks dismiss many, many millions of people as "a small percentage." Health policy expert Bob Laszewski explained that "the Obama administration's regulations on grandfathering existing plans were so stringent … (that) 16 million are not grandfathered…(their) plans will no longer be available … Most of these will be seeing some pretty big rate increases." "Obamacare's winners and losers in Bay Area" by Tracy Seipel (San Jose Mercury News, 10/16), told of "Cindy Vinson and Tom Waschura, big believers in the Affordable Care Act (whose passing on a benefit to other peovotes) helped elect and reelect ple who are not otherwise able to buy basic insurance," President Barack said Griffin, retired and Obama … (T)hey were 64. floored last week when U n d e r s t a n d a b l y, they opened their bills: healthy people may well Their policies were 1) ignore the Obabeing replaced with macare mandated insurpricier plans that conance exchanges, 2) form to all the requireadjust their withholding ments of the new health to make sure they owe care law. Vinson, of San something in taxes each Jose, will pay $1,800 April, leaving the IRS more a year for an indiunable to collect the vidual policy, while "tax," for which there Waschura, of Portola Don are no penalties in the Valley, will cough up buy a highalmost $10,000 more for Polson law, and 3)catastrophic, deductible, insurance for his family of four … In California, The way major-medical policy. They'll spend the rest on 1.9 million people buy I see it things important to plans on the open marthem—it's called freeket…and many of them dom of economic are steaming mad." In "Sticker Shock Often Fol- choice; liberals detest that. Regarding security, Consumer lows Insurance Cancellation," Nov. 2, AP reporter Kelli Kennedy Reports advised against using the wrote of how Dean Griffin liked web exchanges. Bad data has been the health insurance "he purchased given to agents about enrollees; for himself and his wife three one Justin Hadley (per the Weekly years ago and thought he'd be able Standard), received "eligibility letto keep the plan even after" the ters" addressed to other people— ACA took effect. However, it "was in other states—with personal being cancelled because it didn't information. Even the AP ferreted cover certain benefits required out a document from the CMS under the law." They'll be forced showing concern that a lack of off a $770/month plan with a testing posed a potentially "high" risk for the $2,500 deductible and the cheap- security est Obamacare-compliant plan HealthCare.gov website serving will charge them $1,275/month 36 states. "If they (security issues) and have a $12,700 deductible, cannot be resolved, they could and will only cover providers in prove to be more serious than the long list of technical problems the Pennsylvania. Since they live on the state bor- administration is trying to der near Delaware they won't be address." able to see the doctors they've Don Polson has called Red Bluff used for more than a decade. home since 1988. He can be "We're buying insurance that we by e-mail at will never use and can't possibly reached ever benefit from. We're basically donplsn@yahoo.com.