Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/260878
4A Daily News – Saturday, February 15, 2014 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 Opinion WASHINGTON -- Distilled to their discouraging essence, Republicans' reasons for retreat- ing from immigration reform reflect waning confidence in American culture and in the political mission only Republi- cans can perform -- restoring America's economic vigor. Without this, the nation will have a dismal future only Democrats can relish: govern- ment growing in order to allo- cate scarce opportunity. Many Republicans say addressing immigration will dis- tract from a winning focus on Obamacare. But a mature party avoids monomania, and Oba- macare's manifold defects are obvious enough that voters will not require nine more months of reminders. Many Republicans say immi- gration policy divides their party. If, however, the party becomes a gaggle of veto groups enforcing unanimities, it will become what completely har- monious parties are: small. Many Republicans see in immigrants only future Democ- ratic votes. This descent into Democratic-style identity poli- tics is unworthy of Republicans, and unrealistic. U.S. history tells a consistent story -- the party identified with prosperity, and hence opportunity, prospers. Many Republicans have understandable cultural con- cerns, worrying that immigrants from this hemisphere do not experience the "psychological guillotine" that severed trans- Atlantic immigrants from prior allegiances. But is there data proving that American culture has lost its assimilative power? Thirty-five percent of illegal adult immigrants have been here at least 15 years, 28 percent for 10 to 14 years and only 15 per- cent for less than five years. Thirty-five percent own their homes. Are we sure they are resisting assimilation? Many Republicans rightly say control of borders is an essential ingredient of national sovereignty. But net immigra- tion from Mexico has recently been approximately zero. Bor- der Patrol spending, which quadrupled in the 1990s, tripled in the 2000s. With illegal entries near a 40-year low, and a 2012 Government Accountability Office assessment that border security was then 84 percent effective, will a "border surge" of $30 billion more for the fur- ther militarization (actually, the East Germanization) of the 1,969 miles assuage remaining worries? Many Republicans say Barack Obama cannot be trusted to enforce reforms. This is, how- ever, no reason for not improv- ing immigration laws that subse- quent presidents will respect. Besides, the Obama administra- tion's deportations are, if any- thing, excessive, made possible by post-9/11 technological and manpower resources. As The Economist tartly notes, "a mass murder committed by mostly Saudi terrorists resulted in an almost limitless amount of money being made available for the deportation of Mexican house-painters." Many Republicans say immi- gration runs counter to U.S. social policies aiming to reduce the number of people with low levels of skill and education, and must further depress the wages of Ameri- cans who, at the bottom of the economic ladder, are already paying the price for today's eco- nomic anemia. This is true. But so is this: The Congressional Budget Office says an initial slight reduction of low wages (0.1 percent in a decade) will be fol- lowed by increased economic growth partly attributable to immigrants. Immigration is the entrepreneur- ial act of taking the risk of uprooting oneself and plunging into uncertainty. Small wonder, then, that immigrants are about 20 percent of owners of small businesses, and that more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 com- panies were founded by immi- grants or their children. George W. Bush was the first president since Woodrow Wil- son to serve two terms and leave office with the average house- hold income lower than when he entered it. Obama may be the second when he leaves during the eighth year of a wretched recovery. Forty-seven percent of the House Republican confer- ence has been in Washington 37 months or less; 21 percent of them have never held any other elective office. Many plunged into politics because they were dismayed about the nation's tra- jectory under the current presi- dent (BEG ITAL)and his prede- cessor(END ITAL). Many are understand- ably disposed against immigration because they have only dim memories of a more dynamic America, and have little aptitude for politics suited to, and aimed at restor- ing, vibrancy. Some Depression- era progressives, expecting capitalism's crisis to produce a prolonged and per- haps permanent scarcity of jobs, hoped Social Security would open jobs for the young by encouraging older workers to retire. Progressives often are ambivalent about scarcities because they see themselves as administrators of rationing. But President Bill Clinton, refuting opposition -- much of it from Democrats -- to the North American Free Trade Agree- ment, splendidly said: "Protec- tionism is just a fancy word for giving up." Opposition to immigration because the economy supposed- ly cannot generate sufficient jobs is similar defeatism. Zero- sum reasoning about a fixed quantity of American opportuni- ty is for an America in a defen- sive crouch, which is not for conservatives. George Will's email address is georgewill@washpost.com. Why immigration reform matters Commentary N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY 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 George F. Will 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@sen- ate.ca.gov GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558- 3160; E-mail: governor@gov- ernor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Wash- ington, DC 20515, 202-225- 3076. 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; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Your officials I don't stand behind Obama Editor: Mr. Crail advised, "If Ameri- ca wants to move forward, stand behind our President Barack Obama, that's for certain and sure." Sorry, I do not stand behind the president, just as I would not stand behind a new idea manure spreader. Vickie Linnet, Corning Facebook Editor: In 2012, Facebook was val- ued at $104 billion, and by Jan- uary of 2014 its market capital- ization had risen to over $134 billion. At the end of January, 1.23 billion users were active on the website every month, while on Dec. 31, 2013, 945 million of this total were identified by the company as mobile users. The company celebrates its 10th anniversary in the week begin- ning Feb. 3. Facebook is providing mod- ern day entertainment to ~1.23 billion people per month now worldwide. Many people post home made videos, writings, essays, scientific research, art, photography, articles, etc. to the FB site for free. Actually, they have to pay for Internet service to have the priv- ilege of posting all this media and entertainment onto the Internet — while at the same time computers are compromis- ing the security and privacy of the users of FB. Evidently the money that FB owners make is from the adver- tising on FB, which the users of FB hardly even notice, it is absorbed subliminally. Has one single person out of the 1.23 billion users of FB ever received a commission check for posting entertainment and media onto FB? I think the answer is a big no. Is this the beginning of total world mind control predicted in science fiction novels before WWII? To FB posters, how does it feel to be a slave in the year 2014? Laurence D'Alberti, Red Bluff Corporatocracy Editor: Ostensibly, we are engaged in the laudable endeavor of introducing freedom and democracy to countries far and wide at the cost of Trillions under the banner of New Amer- ican Century and Pax Ameri- cana, an effort which thus far has produced dubious results at best, if not considered an outright failure. Iraq, once thriving by regional standards, is totally destroyed, reduced to rubble and in the throes of dev- astating sectarian warfare, which claims innocent lives on a daily basis, in addition to the 1 million-plus already lost directly or indirectly as a result of two invasions, sandwiched between a decade of bombing and air strikes during the 1990s. Afghanistan, driven into chaos following the Soviet invasion, was finally adminis- tered the coup de gras, from which it will not likely ever recover, yet their production of opium and heroin is flourishing and has doubled under our aus- pices. In North Africa, as a result of our so called libera- tion, Libya is in turmoil and has also descended into lawlessness and civil war. However, current Trans Pacific Partnership edict which requires the U.S. and all other members to voluntarily surren- der portions of their sovereign- ty to a consortium of transna- tional corporations and our eagerness to comply, gives rise to a totally different sce- nario, which points to a plot far removed from the introduction of freedom and democracy. Instead, the operative word is corporocracy, in which case our efforts have certainly not been in vain, because Iraqi and Libyan oil is now firmly in western corporate hands and the massive UNOCAL pipeline in Afghanistan continues to function unimpeded under U.S. military protection. To paraphrase Woodrow Wil- son, the world is now being made safe for corporatocracy under our leadership and enforced by ostracism, threats, sanctions and even U.S. military intervention where necessary. Prepare yourself to genuflect to the unelected powers that be, which are poised to hold sway over our jobs, rights, lives and future. Joe Bahlke, Red Bluff Your Turn