Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/243904
6A Daily News – Friday, January 17, 2014 Opinion Raises 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 NSA Editor: Tehama County Supervisors receive a very generous taxpayer gift of salary, a car allowance, health insurance, and retirement benefits. Public employees remain significantly overpaid compared to their private sector equals because cities and counties compare themselves to public employers instead of to the non union private sector workers who pay for their golden benefits. Most private sector employers do not provide pensions. Employers drop health care subsidies upon retirement. For the few with pensions, they are not inflation adjusted. Eightyeight percent of employees are non union. Public sector pay and benefits should be cut to private sector levels instead of constantly comparing themselves to the highest paid neighboring counties. Limit total compensation increases to annual Social Security inflation adjustments. Joseph Neff, Corning Editor: Edward Snowden, who is being blamed for the reconstruction of the NSA, is only a smoke screen. The "total information awareness" program was created during the first term of the Bush administration. The effort was killed by Congress in 2003 after an outcry over its potential for invading Americans' privacy. However that was only to appease the public. On July 6, 2011 NSA deputy director Chris Inglis, the agency's highest-ranking civilian who ran its worldwide dayto-day operations, showed up in Bluffdale Utah. This is the site of the new data center which is a part of Camp Williams, a National Guard training site. Inglis along with Harvey Davis, the agency's associate director for installation and logistics, and Utah senator Orrin Hatch, a few generals and politicians, for the ceremonial ground breaking for the, media dubbed, "new spy center" at a starting coast of $2 Inside the center consist of billion. Finished slated date four 25,000-square-foot halls 2013. This new spy center will be filled with servers, 900,000 used for breaking codes, heavi- square feet for technical support ly encrypted financial informa- and administration, water stortion, stock transactions, busi- age with the capability of ness deals, foreign military and pumping 1.7 million gallons of diplomatic secrets, legal docu- liquid per day and, electricity will come from the ments, confidential center's own substapersonal communicaYour tion built by Rocky tions. The NSA Mountain Power to pounded their chests a satisfy the 65few years ago when megawatt power they were able to cryptanalyze, or break, unfath- demand. At tax payers expense omably complex encryption of $40 million a year. The eavesdropping on Amersystems employed by governments around the world plus the icans doesn't stop there. In order average computer users. It has to capture satellite communicathe capability to establish listen- tions in and out of the US, the ing posts throughout the nation agency also monitors AT&T's to collect and sift through bil- powerful earth stations, satellite lions of emails messages and receivers in locations include phone calls within the country Roaring Creek's three 105-foot or overseas, and to look for pat- dishes, which handles commuterns and unscramble codes, nications to and from Europe thanks to a supercomputer with and the middle East, Salt Creek, rural Catawissa, Pennsylvania, unimaginable speed. If the NSA ever fills the Utah Arbuckle California and three center with a, yottabyte, which similar dishes at Salt Creek stais a septillion bytes, of informa- tion service the Pacific Rim and tion, it would be equal to about, Asia. Kathy Nelson, Red Bluff 500 quintillion pages of text. Turn 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 Time for a woman's touch in leadership In a previous column I suggested that women should replace men in positions of importance, such as President of this and other countries...that men have had their chance to make the world free from war and injustice, and now is the opportunity, in this New Year, to give said leadership a woman's touch and compassion. In response, B. Borror, former Supervisor, mentioned that there are 3 women running now for a position on the Board...and then, with a chuckle, reminded me of the 3 women I helped recall from said Board years ago. Well, yes, Bill, I do recall that incident, but would like to think that 2 of the members recalled were in the sway of the third, who was marching to her own beat to the detriment of the county at the time. The distaff side will generally display common sense for the benefit of all. *** Walmart shoppers are often portrayed on the Internet as overweight and perhaps dim of wit. However, I was just concluding a purchase at our local WM , and as the checker was about to hand me change from my $20 bill, I suggested she, in addition, give me a dollar for 4 quarters. She did so...but then I asked for the dollar left over from my twenty. She said, "I just gave it to you ." I said, "No, that was from the 4 quarters." She said, "Yes...from the 4 quarters." I said, "No...I mean the change from my twenty." A woman in line behind me, observing the transaction, said, "You don't have any change coming back from the twenty!" She smiled as she said it, but was also just a tad smug about it. I started to protest her intervention when I glanced at the display from the register and noted that my original purchase had come to $19.44 instead of the $18.44 which I thought was the total. I flushed, stuttered my apology to the checker and to the astute person in line, and slunk away to the exit. Hope nobody recognized me. *** I inadvertently turned the telly on to the Golden Globes Awards last Sunday and was treated to a close- up of Tehama County's contribution to cinema culture, handsome Tom Hanks. Here is an actor who came to fame with a portrayal of a mentally arrested up the ghost after being in a coma for eight character named Forrest Gump. From that years, felt their efforts were worth the effort. It great performance he has gone on to many was said that he, during these twilight 8 years, other demanding roles, is a box office could communicate, via a finger movement that he understood what was favorite…and has congoing on about him. If this is tributed to the restoration of so, it would seem he could, our State Theatre for the at some point, respond with Performing Arts. Hats off a finger tap that he was to Mr. Hanks and to his ready to meet his maker. proud mother living in As a side bar to the subretirement hereabouts. ject of life support, writer *** Andy Crouch in TIME puts L. Bonham, my contact it this way: "What we ultiat the Red Bluff Garden mately fear about death is Club, has replied after readthat we will die alone and ing the New Yorker article I Robert die without meaning. The sent her titled "The Intellireal hope for all of us is not gent Plant" which explored that there is a machine that the idea that plants have will save us, but, at the very brains similar to humans end, there will be someone and animals. who loves us, closer than As she was due in Portour own breath." land on a matter of much *** more importance than the article in question, Last week's quiz was again first answered she paused briefly to suggest that her late father, Grant Merrill, well known locally as by L. Brown who avowed the most popular well as nationally as a person who created recorded Xmas songs are White Christmas, new plants from genetically dissimilar par- Frosty the Snowman, and Jingle Bell Rock. ents or plant stock, should have weighed in However, my source says Silent Night, Joy on this article. As he died in 1973, we are To The World and White Christmas. He also denied his wise counsel on the matter, but stated that mystery writer PD James' initials Lorna agrees with Lincoln Taiz, an Emeritus stand for Phyllis Dorothy. And what's Professor of Plant Physiology at U.C. Santa wrong with calling it a "Boston Cream Pie?" Cruz, that although plants have both short Because it's not a pie, it's a cake. This week's quiz: The 23rd Psalm conand long term electrical signals, and they use some neurotransmitter-like-chemicals as tains the phrase "Thy rod and thy staff shall chemical signals, the mechanisms are quite comfort..." Define each device and its purdifferent from those of true nervous systems. pose. Also, name at least half of the ConfedShe concluded with "It is fun to think of erate states during the Civil War. *** plants having brains…and maybe I wouldn't A blonde decided to paint her apartment. be so forgetful when it comes to watering and fertilizing my garden, but then, if I While she was at it, her roommate came by thought they all had brains, maybe I would and asked why she was wearing her ski jacktry to teach them to water and fertilize them- et over her mink coat. The blonde answered, "Because it said on the paint can, for best selves." So advised…and good luck. results, put on two coats." *** Sources say that 57% of Americans believe Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red God can heal patients even after doctors have declared that further medical intervention is Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily pointless. I wonder if the relatives of Ariel Observer and Meat Industry magazine and Sharon, former Prime Minister of Israel, and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be victim of a massive stroke, who finally gave reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail.com. Minch I Say