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6A Daily News – Wednesday, December 25, 2013 Opinion 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 Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus The following column was written in response to the letter to the editor of the New York Sun in 1897. "Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? "Virginia O'Hanlon "115 W. 95th St." Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Verginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no Faith in mankind restored enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. Editor: My faith in mankind was truly refreshed recently and I wanted to take the time to express my gratitude to all of those who stopped and asked if they could be of assistance. On Friday, Dec. 13, my car was damaged after colliding with a large snow covered rock on Highway 36 East near Mineral. As I waited for over 3 hours for the tow truck to arrive — Your it was delayed due to another accident — on the side of the snow covered road with my hazards lights on; I was truly surprised and impressed with the number of motorists who stopped and asked whether I needed assistance. It is my hope that one of you who stopped reads this and knows how much I really appreciated your thoughtfulness in my time of need. I think that we take it for granted that we live in such a small community, where people are willing to stop and provide assistance when and where needed. Thank you all. Samuel Crow, Red Bluff Turn Miracles do happen Editor: This past week, the Tehama County Animal Care Center and P.E.T.S. held a three- day adoption event, called Home for the Holidays. The goal was to empty the Center of all animals for Christmas. The Center reduced their adoption fees and P.E.T.S. sponsored not only all the spays and neuters, but provided refreshments for the event. This event was an unprecedented success. A grand total of 48 animals were adopted. In addition, during this same period, 3 dogs were returned to their owners and 3 more animals were rescued. Fifty-four animals went home for the holidays. For the first time in memory, a vast number of kennels and cages at the Tehama County Animal Care Center were emptied. We may not have succeeded in getting every animal out of the Center, but a miraculous amount of dogs and cats will now be spending their holidays in loving homes. Without the astounding support and generous donations of many people, P.E.T.S. could not have provided the funds for this to occur. We would like to Thank everyone who contributed their time and resources, from the bottom of our hearts, for helping cause a wondrous miracle to happen this holiday season. Ronnie Casey, Red Bluff 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. Commentary The key to new year's resolutions There's a reason why only 8 percent of New Year's resolutions are kept: Too many of us make resolutions that lack resolve. "Resolve" is a powerful world. According to one dictionary, it means "to solve a problem, or to find a satisfactory way of dealing with a disagreement." Bill Gates elaborated on the concept in his 2007 commencement address at Harvard. He said the first order of business in resolving a problem is seeing it. Then all you need to do is cut through complexity, so you may solve it. Gates made it sound easier than it is, of course. With virtually all large problems, simplifying complexity requires a great deal of work — a great deal of resolve. Solving problems in the private sector is really no different than solving them in the public sector, or any sector, really — if your interest is in actually getting to the root cause of the challenge, so you may see and understand it, and then in coming up with a solution that produces real results. I have done work for many information technology firms and marvel at their ability to use technological innovation to solve problems. They study old, complex business processes — the way large global organizations source raw materials and parts to support global manufacturing operations, for instance — and replace them with fast, new processes that slash costs and bolster productivity. These technology successes are not applied only in the private sector, either. Though government generally lags behind, many ideas that are perfected on the private side are often introduced to government programs and processes, as well — to the benefit of the government and the taxpayer. In any event, in the past few decades, America has led the world in simplifying complexity. Thanks to Google, anyone can enjoy instant access to information with a few taps on a keypad — oblivious to the complex back-end systems that must perform seamlessly to get you the information you are after. Anyone who has worked with the very smart people who deliver such miracles daily, then, is frustrated at recent events — in which complex systems are They need to put politics being made MORE complex! ObamaCare offers a fine aside for a good long while and address the incredible example of that. The mess that our country reason why health is in. costs have been runThey need to work ning so high has to do together to solve our with complexity. The problems and "find a way to address that satisfactory way of complexity is to get to dealing with a disthe root cause — or, in agreement." this case, multiple root They need to make causes. some serious New But that is not what Year's resolutions to fix our political leaders our country next year did. They actually — resolutions that go ignored the root causTom well beyond partisan es of the high cost of politics to get to the care, piled on comroot cause or our probplexity — atop a heap lems, so they may fix of good intentions and unrealistic wishes — then hoped them. And their resolutions better for the best. And we see how that is turn- include some serious resolve. ing out. Tom Purcell, author of The great worry I have is that if our government was so ill- "Misadventures of a 1970s advised in its approach to one- Childhood" and "Comical sixth of the U.S. economy, how Sense: A Lone Humorist on Earth is it going to fix the Takes on a World Gone many other complexities — tax Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh humor reform, entitlements, spending, Tribune-Review debt and deficits — that need to columnist and is nationally syndicated exclusively by be addressed? There is only one way I can Cagle Cartoons Inc. Send to Tom at see government officials doing it comments Purcell@caglecartoons.com. right. Purcell