Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/25330
6A – Daily News – Thursday, February 17, 2011 Opinion King's dream 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 lives on Editor: Anna Washington spoke to her 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 kindergarten and first grade class Jan. 14 about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who he was and why the following Monday, Jan. 17, was a holiday celebrating his birthday. Each student created a likeness of King using construction paper and crayons, which were then posted on the board in the school office. When school resumed Jan. 18, parents and students who walked into the school office saw a display of art from the class, wishing King happy birthday. Right after school was over, a first-grader came into the office to wait for her uncle to pick her up. She had not been in school the pre- vious Friday. When she walked into the office she was surprised by the artwork and asked inquisi- tively, “What is this? Who is that?,” pointing to the poster of King. She didn’t know who King was. I told her to sit in one of the stu- dent chairs, sat down next to her and began by telling her that when I was in first grade like her, black people were not allowed to sit next to white people on the bus or in restaurants and could not even drink from the same water foun- tains. King spoke out against these rules, claiming everyone was equal. He actually made life better for all Americans, which is why we celebrate his birthday. As I told her all of this, she looked at me, wide-eyed, completely shocked. Then, her bi-racial uncle walked into the office to pick her up. She looked at him, looked at the poster of King, then back at her uncle before collecting her back- pack and sweater to leave school for the day. It was quite a learning experience for this first-grader and an equally emotional moment for me. I sat there, thinking back to first grade, reminiscent of my childhood, realizing that life was so very different back in 1960. Change is a good thing. Free- dom isn’t free. King’s dream lives on, through that little first-grader. Vickie Darnell, Corning Sting operation Editor: I would like to ask why three forms of media covered the entrapment sting operation of peo- ple wanting to exchange labor for compensation. These people’s names, ages and offenses were plastered all over the media as guilty criminals, while no one cov- ers the Federal Reserve stealing trillions, yes trillions, of present and future taxpayers’ money. They refuse to say where all the trillions went and won’t agree to an audit. Do you see articles or news reports about the Federal Reserve that is privately owned by private bankers robbing the American taxpayers blind? The media never talks about that. Is it that the media is paid to cover what they are told to cover? Or is it that they don’t care, or are they ignorant? Has Tehama County seen any of Obama’s stimulus money? Or has the Federal Reserve and other banks that are too big to fail swept it up for themselves to decide who to lend it to with outrageous inter- est rates? America is being bank- rupted by the Federal Reserve, but the media won’t cover that. Maybe local govern- ments are so budget strapped that they have to entrap supposed crim- inals to create revenue to keep themselves busy. Now days it seems as if you can’t go outside of your own home without breaking some kind of law. Americans are slowly being conditioned to accept living in a police state, and the media is hyping it up. The economy is affecting peo- ple, especially if they are on a fixed budget, prices keep going up. Some people will risk trying to exchange labor for compensation despite the law. Whatever hap- pened to America, the land of the free? Evolution Editor: In Mr. Wolfe’s Feb. 5 letter, he asked if Darwin’s Theory of Evo- lution was the consensus of all scientists? The answer depends on who you ask. Some believe it is, while other Creation scientists would adamantly challenge that prog- noses. So, basically not all scien- tists agree with Darwin’s theory. His letter stated that although paleontologists and scientists have tried to debunk places and events in the Bible, archaeolo- gists have proved their attempts unsuccessful. That is not an exact assessment of the scientific com- munity. Your Turn Doctors Finkelstein and Sil- berman thoroughly debunk that notion in their book “The Bible Unearthed,” subtitled “Archaeology’s new vision of ancient Israel and the origin of its sacred texts.” Another bit of misinformation stated in that letter is that Iran’s President Ahmadinejad is a Holo- caust denier. In his speech at Columbia University, Ahmadine- jad said, “I’m not saying that it didn’t happen at all.” To many simply to question the magnitude of the Holocaust is to deny its existence. That is even a crime punishable by imprisonment in Germany. Lisa Miller, Red Bluff Why is it so wrong to examine all the accepted dogma concern- ing the Holocaust? Some writers and radio personalities habitually put out half truths, innuendos and outright falsehoods. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Mr. Wolfe for pointing out the superior intel- ligence of most liberals. Wow. Seventy-two percent of uni- versity and college professors are liberals and that percentage goes up to 87 in the more elite schools. Thank you Mr. Wolfe for con- firming what I had suspected for years. Orval Strong, Gerber 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 3070 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. Why GOPshould support Planned Parenthood Commentary The GOP wants to paint itself as fiscally conservative. In the face of all evidence to the contrary (i.e. George W. Bush skyrocketing the size of government and the unpaid tax cuts bearing his name being championed by his party), they want to pretend they’re the "grownups" on budgetary matters. Yes, conservatives are prudent and sound when it comes to spending. And jobs? They’re mono-mind- ed and singularly focused, accord- ing to their tweets. Then naturally this means the majority of their time in session is spent on - abortion. Yes, they want to make abortion illegal, but they stand a better chance of just mak- ing it prohibitively expensive. And when anything is intentionally made to be too expensive to access – it makes being poor punitive. The 112th Congress, at least the House, has used their fiscally con- servative "mandate" to stick it to the marginalized. How focused are they on jobs? They’ve introduced a total of 18 bills so far, according to a simple Library of Congress search, dealing with abortion. 18 bills just to make sure people who can’t afford children are also unable to afford family planning. And yes, defunding Planned Parenthood specifically is a goal. Planned Parenthood was recently the target of Live Action, a group claiming they’re against sex traf- ficking, so they set up a sting of a health care provider. Which is like being against kidnapping so you aim to discredit van sellers. Their real goal is to "ACORN" the health centers so they will no longer pro- vide health care to those in need. The smear campaign has bor- dered on the ridiculous. One pub- lished letter to the editor in the Ven- tura County Star claimed, "Planned Parenthood makes billions of dol- lars every year on abortions…and pays absolutely no taxes." They can either profit from being a low-cost clinic or be a nonprofit. Not both. It’s also been oft repeated by detractors, Planned Parenthood is given a whopping $362 million a year by the government. Planned Parenthood is a non- profit organization. Their IRS forms are available online. In 2008 their entire operating budget was $105 million - $30 million from grants. Their finances are impressive; overhead low, services high. They operate hundreds of health centers around the country providing mil- lions of Americans with cancer screenings, HIV testing and other health services. And yes, in some cases, abortions. Abortion is still legal. Why? Because the Supreme Court ruled there’s a right to priva- cy in the Constitution (you know that document the GOP talks about almost as much as they do jobs). Roe v. Wade means someone else’s abortion is none of your business…unless you’re the 112th Congress and then it’s the only thing you present to committees. What Planned Parent- hood really does is keep poor people out of emer- gency rooms. The clinics treat people with or with- out insurance for ranges of health issues. Yes, low-cost community clinics save taxpayers’ money. Lots. "Funding family Tina planning saves the gov- ernment over three dol- lars for every one dollar spent on health care and welfare programs," Gloria Feldt, author and former President of Planned Parenthood wrote me. "So elimi- nating family planning programs is the least conservative, most fiscally irresponsible thing they could do." But why can’t we have clinics to save money but don’t offer abor- tions? Clean, safe and legal abortions, thanks to the Hyde Amendment, cost taxpayers nothing. Botched illegal ones, however, are pricey. So cutting funding to Planned Parenthood, as H.R. 217, the "Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act" wants to do will end up cost- ing more money than it cuts from Dupuy the budget. Title X Family Plan- ning already specifies its $317 mil- lion in funds can’t be used if the birth control is abor- tion. The money is cur- rently going to low- income patient’s cancer screenings, STD treat- ment and birth control. H.R. 217 wants to cut funds to any facility providing an abortion anywhere on the premises. Which means Planned Parent- hood would lose some of their funding. Other clinics and their com- munities would lose much more. If something moves out of the light, it by definition has to go into the shadows and in the case of clin- ic care – to the E.R. Which raises the question: does being a fiscal conservative still mean being conservative fis- cally? If it does then those who claim the title should be happy with the cost efficiency of Planned Parenthood. They should support the organization absolutely. That’s if they really mean what they say. Tina Dupuy is an award-winning writer and fill-in host at The Young Turks. Tina can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com.