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6A – Daily News – Monday, January 17, 2011 Opinion Please help end the blame game 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 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 Conservatives praised Presi- dent Barack Obama’s speech memorializing those killed and wounded in the Tucson, Ariz., shooting rampage as a remarkable, courageous and pitch-perfect address. Former George W. Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen wrote in The Washington Post that the address was "two speeches in one. The first speech was brilliant. The second was courageous. Obama delivered a traditional memorial address, and did so with elegance and eloquence. He shined a light on the victims and the heroes and told their stories, which had been lost amid the shameful debate that erupted following the attack. In so doing, he gave voice to their courage and sacrifice — and reclaimed the narrative of the day for them." Even Fox News’ Glenn Beck said on his blog that the crowd reaction was inappropriate at times, but the president did noth- ing to encourage it. "This is proba- bly the best speech he has ever given, and with all sincerity, thank you, Mr. President, for becoming the president of the United States of America last night," Beck said. "It was needed, and you accom- plished the job, and you did it expertly. Thank you, Mr. Presi- dent." And John Weaver, former political adviser to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on Face- book that the "president had exact- ly the right tone and was pitch-per- fect for the nation." "If this tragedy prompts reflec- tion and debate, as it should, let’s make sure it’s worthy of those we have lost. Let’s make sure it’s not on the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness that drifts away with the next news cycle," the president said. This opinion columnist agrees whole- heartedly with this quest, and beseeches all of us to rise above the shame of blame games and engage in productive and civil political discourse. Some of you may remember my column entitled "Your awe- some power of intention" espous- ing the importance of what we say and think about our future, and last week’s column decrying the hypocrisy of conservative mem- bers in our House of Representa- tives that blame others for huge budget deficits as they cut taxes on the wealthy. It seems my words have come full circle, as have the words of victim Gabby Giffords about Palin’s use of rifle site crosshairs to target Democrats for removal from office. Gabby’s nationally televised warning about this practice that "such deeds have consequences" seems to eerily ring true in light of a bullet through her head. While it is shameful to blame Palin or others not directly involved with the actions of shooter Jared Loughner, it can be both beneficial and honorable for us to learn from them by ton- ing down the vitriolic rhetoric and the demo- nization of others all too common in our political discourse of late. It is all too easy and self aggrandizing to dis- pense culpability for the world’s problems by pointing the finger at some person or group not aligned with your Richard Mazzucchi Positive Point personal persuasions. It is only by understanding motivations at a deeper level and taking tangible action that we learn from disagree- able events and make steps to ensure they won’t be repeated. Instead, Palin sheepishly removes offensive material from her web site and washes her hands of the matter by posting "On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and jus- tice," without a word to her Tea Party followers that picketed out- side of representative Giffords’s office with signs read- ing, "It’s time to reload" and "One way or anoth- er, you’re gone." I don’t blame Sarah for the mis- deeds of others, but do think she should acknowledge the hurt- fulness of her rhetoric and urge her followers to be more civil and respectful in the pursuit of their political aims. Don’t get me wrong, Americans have every right to express their opinions as they wish, but in my mind this does not reduce culpability if their expressions of vio- lence come to fruition. Please help end the blame game by treating others with respect and dignity as we look within to com- passionately resolve our differ- ences and elevate our political dis- course to more civilly and effec- tively perfect our union. Richard Mazzucchi is a retired research engineer specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He can be reached at living-green@att.net. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3063 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, 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. Good, bad, ugly from Tucson to Red Bluff Commentary Let’s start out crediting good behavior: local writers, with one exception as of last Saturday, have refrained from engaging in mis- placed causation over the killing rampage by Jared Loughner in Tucson. That could change from today forward; the one exception made a quite inappropriate connec- tion to "leftist control" of Congress and the Presidency. Good behavior recognition goes out to Democrats Bob Beckell and Gov. Ed Rendell for stating the shootings had noth- ing to do with heated political rhetoric; President Obama likewise did the baseball equivalent of "brushing back" his liberal base by similarly stating, "it did not." So did journalists Howard Kurtz and Howard Fineman. I mentioned numerous inci- dents of rhetoric from President Obama suggestive of violence, and the multitude of over-the-top words, threats and actual violence by those on the left. We now know without doubt that the voices behind Loughner’s murderous rampage were not those of parti- sans on either side of the spectrum. Rather, it was a lethal, deadly com- bination of emotional/mental aber- rations, combined with a menu of pot, numerous other mind-altering drugs, and a mixed bag of crackpot theories and beliefs. Most unfortunately, there were personal failings by people who could have reported Loughner for psychological evaluation, people who knew of him from his neigh- borhood, school, and certainly law enforcement. Such actions under Arizona laws should have placed legal barriers to his acquisition of guns and ammunition. There has to be a compromise between the atti- tude that we leave everyone alone to "do their own thing," no matter how bizarre, and being a "brother’s keeper" in the sense that saying something to the proper authority is being a good citizen and neigh- bor. Ultimately, but for the object of Loughner’s murderous rage being a political figure, it has more in common with killings at work- places and homes than heated political rhetoric. I think Sheriff Dupnik has to accept a great deal of criticism for some of the most unprofessional ranting and conjecture over the shootings that I have ever seen. Now that we all know what caused this man to go berserk, Dupnik’s broad castigation of his perceived political, talk-radio and conserva- tive ideological foes becomes even more reprehensible. His depart- ment is culpable, considering their numerous interactions with Loughner; he should resign. About being the object of a local professional comedian’s "shtick" in letter form, I can only marvel that my column could inspire such derision. On the hypocrisy scale, when a comedian, whose public record of perfor- mances is rife with, shall we say, potty-mouthed humor, when that comedian questions what my deceased mother taught me – we’ve just rung the bell. I just counted about 30 state- ments of indisputable facts in last week’s column. Those facts put the media, liberals, left-leaning pundits and Sheriff Dupnik in an unfavor- able light. The scenario I laid out has come to be proven accurate. Why that would so outrage liberals reveals more about their defen- siveness than my motives, in my opinion. I wrote that column after seeing over 12 hours of misplaced blame and accusatory fingers from the usual liberal media talking heads who, unlike me, actually did have a story line ready to go without the benefit of facts. It started with, among others, New York Times writer Paul Krug- man spewing such unsupportable castigation of conservatives that even his fellow journalists had to intervene. That narrative did indeed follow a pattern of the left and their mouthpieces attributing nearly every such tragedy, in knee- jerk fashion, to whatever conserva- tive person or cause happens to be their object of hate at the moment. Let me refer you to my blog, "Polecat News and Views," linked under the Daily News’ online blog section (or enter donpolson.blogspot.com in a search window), where you can click on topics such as "Palin," "loony left," "violence" or "liberal hypocrisy." One or two items are posted each day, and currently you can read numerous articles on the Tucson shootings. You’ll be better informed than the talkers on the tube. Don Polson The way I see it We are not far from the anniver- sary of one of the most despicable acts of character assas- sination of an entire group to ever play out on the national stage: the fraudulent accusa- tions leveled at Tea Party protesters, of racial epithets and spit- ting directed at Con- gressional Black Cau- cus members. It was all made up. The media and leftist talkers (over- lapping groups, I know) ran with those outra- geous tales without ever verifying them. See a pattern? The left is deter- mined to shut their ide- ological opponents up; the new media of talk radio, Internet bloggers, and the Tea Party won’t be shut up. Remember the census worker found hung with "FED" on his chest, a supposed victim of anti- government violence? Turned out to be a suicide, but it was another example of the left seizing on any- thing to falsely accuse others, not unlike the "blood libel" against Sarah Palin over the attack on Rep. Giffords. Will anyone on the left apologize for the hundreds of death threats against Palin result- ing from that lie? I’m not holding my breath. Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.