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Daily News – Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Opinion
Red Hats
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
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Editor:
On Thursday, Nov. 21, 67 Red
Hat Ladies from Redding to Corning enjoyed a day of shopping and
lunch in downtown Red Bluff.
We would like to thank all the
merchants that gave us discounts,
raffle gifts, a fashion show, goodies
and demonstrations, making this a
special day for all of us.
Dena Guthrie, Redding
Hand-outs
Editor:
Oddly enough, Les Wolfe and
I seem to agree that we should
try to limit all government
"hand-outs" and provide adequate oversight of government
spending. Who would argue
with that?
However, he manages to
opine that $5.1 million is a pittance, then spins off into unsubstantiated claims of subterfuge
on the part of several of our state
and national leaders. I feel sure
that there is plenty of corruption
in the government, but would
like to see something other than
rumors from The Drudge
Report.
He asks if there is more fraud
in the welfare system than in the
farm subsidy program. I assume
that there is far less. There are 50
billionaires, including members
of the Walton family, who are
receiving
farm
subsidies
amounting to many thousands of
dollars; I have yet to hear of a
welfare recipient receiving such
largesse.
There is a withering post in a
publication titled "The New
Civil Rights Movement" with
the challenging headline in its
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Act?
In 2013, 47.6 million people
At this point I do not think
received food stamps. That so. For you see much of Amerimeans recipients get about ca is driven by fear. Fear
$1,680 in benefits, on average, because it is normally thought
each year. There are roughly 3.1 that it is new and I'm afraid of it
million farmers who split the as it is out of the norm. And this
remaining $20 billion in the farm fear is echoed by the mainbill. That works out to $6,451 stream press and a group of
per farmer. So overall
politicions and their
spending on food
Tea Party bosses and
Your
stamps is much higher
corporate benefactors.
than farm subsidies.
And the sad fact is
But on a per-person
a large majority of
basis, farmers come out
Americans throw up
ahead.
their hands in awe and
Now, does anyone believe say, "I follow thee oh powerful
that LaMalfa and family one."
received only $6,451 per year to
This is evidenced on that
add up to over $5 million over fateful day of 9-11 when one
the past 17 years? California man ordered the attack on the
official records show that Dsl Twin Towers and after the
Lamalfa Family Partnership attack was over the president
received payments totaling proclaimed, not declared, "we
$5,132,156 from 1995 through are at war with terror." Then
2012, as much as $517,226 in ordered the invasion of a nation.
one year —2001. That would
The American people, like
support a large number of poor sheep, closed their minds and
working families.
eyes to follow without question.
This is why my previous letter This was followed by another
to the editor pointed out the invasion. And like the nation of
hypocrisy of LaMalfa voting to lemmings we are we blindly folkeep his subsidies, while voting lowed.
against aid to poor families,
I use the 9-11 issue to clarify
including those where adult the fact that we must always
members are working or willing question those we elected — to
to work. Mr. Wolfe seems to do otherwise is to betray your
have missed this point entirely own vote.
and become consumed in spinThe same methods are used
ning what amounts to hearsay.
by an array of slimy politicions
Hugh Merhoff, Red Bluff
to destroy ACA.
I must respond to the lady
from the Tea Party, no it is not a
socialist scheme, it was first
introduced by President Herbert
Hoover and had the support of
Editor:
the Heritage Foundation. This
While it is best for America, action was supported by every
does the American public president who followed.
deserve the Affordable Care
Robert Hogan, Red Bluff
Turn
Affordable
Care Act
Your officials
STATE ASSEMBLYMAN —
Dan Logue, 150 Amber Grove
Drive, Ste. 154, Chico, CA
95928, 530-895-4217
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) 5583160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE —
Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon
House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-2253076.
U.S.
SENATORS
—
Dianne Feinstein (D), One
Post Street, Suite 2450, San
Francisco, CA 94104; (415)
393-0707. Fax (415) 3930710.
Barbara Boxer (D), 1700
Montgomery St., Suite 240,
San Francisco, CA 94111;
(510) 286-8537. Fax (202)
224-0454.
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Sept. 21 edition, "Is Your Congressman One Of The 13 Who
Get Federal Farm Subsidies But
Voted To Cut Food Stamps?"
And yes, right there is a picture of all the congressmen with
names, government subsidy
amount and net worth. LaMalfa
is one of them, give it a look at,
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/is-your-congressmanone-of-the-13-who-get-federalfarm-subsidies-but-voted-to-cutfood-stamps/#.UpA0zbDTn9I.
It should be noted that the list
of billionaires is not exclusively
Republican, as is the list of Congress members in the above article. To add to the "appearance of
corruption," most farm subsidy
recipients also receive assistance
in paying for farm crop insurance, but that can't be traced by
individual and amounts received.
From Claretian (Catholic)
publication: "It's true that with
state and federal expenditures,
welfare programs cost a total of
$24 billion annually. And yet
welfare payments affect only 1
percent of the federal budget."
From The Kansas City Star
for July 10:
"The House farm bill shot
down in June would have cost
$939 billion over ten years. For
easy math, let's round up to $1
trillion, or about $100 billion
annually. Of that, 80 percent —
$80 billion — goes for food
stamps. The rest, broadly, goes
for ag help, about $20 billion a
year"
That means that farm subsidies of $20 billion a year nearly
equals the cost of welfare.
Read
more
here:
http://www.kansascity.com/2013
/07/10/4337263/which-costsmore-food-stamps-or.html#sto-
Commentary
Why there's lots to celebrate this Thanksgiving
Sure, the country isn't doing so
well at the moment, but there are
still plenty of reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving.
I sit at the "big people's table"
now, just to the left of my father. It
took me years to earn that coveted
spot, and for that, I am thankful.
Everyone in my family is
healthy this year. My parents are
80 and 77, and doing well, and for
that, I am surely thankful.
This will be my 51st Thanksgiving. I've celebrated most of
them at my parents' house, with
various relatives, my sisters and
their children and grandchildren.
My father fell head-over-heels
with my mother the first time he
met her. He was a football star at
Carrick High School and she was a
cheerleader.
We marvel over their wedding
pictures. My dad's hair was thick
and black. My mother was stunning. As a couple, they looked like
two actors in a 1957 Hollywood
production.
They had no idea that day that
their union would produce six children, 17 grandchildren and seven
great-grandchildren.
This is what I celebrate on
Thanksgiving.
For so much of the year, we
focus on what is not right. To be
sure, lots of things are not right in
our country, and civilized debate is
needed to get us back on the right
path.
I worry about spending and
debt and dismal economic growth
that is not producing enough
wealth to pay our bills.
I worry about our rapidly growing government and the basic freedoms it is taking away. As the
unintended consequences of ObamaCare rear their ugly heads, I am
being joined in that worry by many
others.
But that is not what Thanksgiving is about. It is a day to set politics aside. It is a day to remember
what we have done right.
Bill Bryson, one of my favorite
authors, points out that Thanksgiving is still one of the least commercial holidays we have.
Sure, there are ads for turkey
and cranberry sauce. Sure, more
retail stories are opening their
doors on Thanksgiving night,
which is regrettable.
But then again, there are no
Thanksgiving greeting cards that
have to be sent, no gifts that have to
be exchanged. For most, Thanksgiving is still a simple day when
you enjoy a traditional feast with
of some kind — my new job is to
your family.
One of my favorite parts of the make the second turkey and bring
that with me — to conday is when my father, at
tribute to the celebrathe head of our three or
tion.
four tables, says grace.
After my father says
My father, who has
grace, we toast loved
never enjoyed speaking
ones who have passed.
publicly,
stumbles
We pay tribute to
through the words every
Grandma and Nanny,
year, but they still hold a
Aunt Jane, Uncle Mike
great deal of meaning to
and Uncle Jimmy. We
me.
share humorous toasts
The first Thanksgiving
and laugh out loud.
was about thanking God
And then we dig
for a plentiful harvest.
into our feast.
That is the traditional
Tom
We are thankful
meaning of the day.
because we are togethAs the American
er — because we know
experiment
produced
that everything we
tremendous results — as
our free republic produced really need in life can be found situnimaginable wealth — Thanks- ting next to us at our Thanksgiving
giving took on a whole new mean- table.
ing.
Over many years, millions have
Tom
Purcell,
author
of
flocked to our shores, asking for
nothing but the freedom to pursue "Misadventures of a 1970's
Childhood" and "Comical Sense:
their own happiness.
This is what I celebrate still on A Lone Humorist Takes on a
World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh
Thanksgiving.
I love the commotion of the day. Tribune-Review humor columnist
My father has to rent a couple of and is nationally syndicated
tables and several folding chairs to exclusively by Cagle Cartoons Inc.
Send comments to Tom at
accommodate our family.
Everyone shows up with a plate Purcell@caglecartoons.com.
Purcell
