Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/264400
6A Daily News – Friday, February 21, 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 Nearly 20 years have passed since a group of concerned citizens gathered to thwart the private agendas of 3 members of the Board of Supervi- sors. The members were Shirley Marelli, Kath- leen Rowan and Joann Landingham. After a long and costly battle, we were able to file over 19,000 signatures (only 5,153 per supervisor required) to put the recall on the ballot. On the 6th of February, 1996, the results were tallied and the group, dubbed The Gang of Three, were cashiered from office. It was an example of the democratic process in action as opposed to the recent ill-advised action by the present board. They voted to put on the June ballot a reso- lution to determine if county voters are in favor of an action to divide the state of California. Ini- tiatives of this nature have failed and will fail again when voters realize how entwined the county is with state and federal edicts. But regarding this passing of the buck by the supes, and going the ballot route, they are abdicating their responsibilities. They were elected to rep- resent their constituents and, in so doing, reflect the will of the majority. It is too easy for the supes to go for the ballot...too costly and too time consuming. Presentations have been made before the board by secession advocates as well as those in the audience opposed. If the supes want to earn their keep, and get their salaries increased to boot, this would be a good place to start by taking a stand when hot air balloons are floated in their presence. Tsk, tsk. *** Pastor Peter LaRuffa wrote: "If somewhere in the bible I were to find a passage that said, 'Two plus two equals five' I wouldn't question what I'm reading. I would believe it, accept it as true, and then do my best to work it out." Peo- ple like Pastor LaRuffa vote. This is scary stuff. *** A big fellow dropped off an old newspaper photo showing my father, a 4-H youth and a bull. The caption read, "PACKER BUYER--- Dave Minch of Red Bluff, Calif., packer and feedlot operator paid Wallace Roney 50c lb. for his reserve champion 4-H fat steer at this year's Tehama County Fair." It is dated August 1959. The 4-H kid is one of the famous Roney cattle clan. The article is timely because one of the Roneys, Elwin I think, died recently. Will have to confirm that with columnist Jean Barton who knows everyone worth knowing. *** You may wonder why perpetra- tors of crime, even those caught in the act, will plead not guilty and go to jury trial. That's not only on advice of counsel, but because there are so many variables to weigh when establishing guilt or innocence. One such is the confession. If a defendant makes a signed confession while undergoing interroga- tion, but later retracts his statement, that confession, introduced into court, will almost always sway the jury to convict. But the methods used to extract confessions are now under scrutiny according to a New Yorker article by Douglas Starr titled, "The Interview" wherein it states that a method, called the Reid Technique, is uni- versally used today in which a suspect is asked a series of loaded questions in the hopes it will lead to a confession whether or not the suspect actually committed the crime. There is a 3-day training course on the Reid Technique in Boston, which is attended by mostly police officers, federal agents and pri- vate security workers. The course states, "The hallmark of lying is anxiety and therefore inter- viewing involves watching for signs of anxiety and occasionally causing it." The key phrase here is "occasionally causing it" meaning that getting false confessions through duress has become standard procedure today. After reading the lengthy article, which details the type of questions designed to confuse a suspect, it should give us all pause, when read- ing of an arrest, a pending local murder trial comes to mind, to not jump to faulty conclu- sions despite how heinous the crime. We don't know what questions were asked of the alleged perpetrator during interrogation — and they could be the key to how the jury will react when they hear of physical evidence versus protesta- tion of guilt or innocence by the accused. It may all have to do with the questions...and the answers. *** Famous tennis instructor Vic Braden offers this advice to beginners: "My theory is that if you buy an ice cream cone and make it hit your mouth, you can learn to play tennis. If you stick it on your forehead, your chances aren't as good." *** In last week's quiz, J. Bauer was first in by explain- ing that the cited pangram, "Mr. Jock, TV quiz Ph.D, bags few lynx" as a typing exercise, uses all 26 letters of the alphabet only once, that "bookkeeper" has 3 consecu- tive pairs of letters, all back to back, and lastly that the word "area" is a rare four letter word with 3 syllables. This week's quiz: Going from alphabet exercises to the mundane, what is the former name of Istanbul, what male actor was featured nude in Cosmopolitan magazine and speaking of nude, through what English town did Lady Godiva make her famous ride? *** A six-year-old goes to the hospital with her mother to visit her Grandpa. When they get to the hospital, she runs ahead of her mother and bursts into her Grandpa's room. "Grandpa, Grandpa," she says excitedly, "as soon as my mother comes into the room, make a noise like a frog! "What?" said her Grandpa. "Make a noise like a frog, because my mom said that as soon as you croak, we're all going to Disney World! *** A wife texts husband on a cold winter's morning: "Windows frozen, won't open." Husband texts back: "Gently pour some lukewarm water over it." Wife texts back 5 minutes later: "Computer really screwed up now." Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail.com. As I recall... 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 Robert Minch I Say 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) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.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 A few weeks back I used this space to include some curious news items I came across while gathering content for the 90 Years Ago... feature that appears each edition on Page 3A of the Daily News. I had no idea they would be so popular, but was pleased that so many of you enjoyed them. There were a couple of others from January 1924 that I didn't have space for and they follow here. Here is a dog showing variety of contrary instincts Can an ordinary dog, without special training of a brilliant fami- ly tree back of him, distinguish between the relative merits of two newspapers, and finally come to the conclusion that neither is worth picking up and carrying into the house? This is the question that confronts John Mooney, well known resident of this county. The problem is forced upon Mr. Mooney, who resides south of Red Bluff. Mr. Mooney is an old time reader of the Red Bluff News. Since moving to his new home on the highway the daily has been delivered at his place by the circu- lation manager of the paper. Mr. Mooney has a dog of ordinary parentage, but he is either well read or frightfully ignorant. The minute the News hits the yard the dog walks leisurely to the lawn, picks it up and takes it into the house. He never failed. Then the Gerber Star was start- ed and delivery made once a week at the Mooney home. For a time this fact didn't confuse the dog in the least. He would walk out to the lawn, nose the two papers, pick up the News and leave the Star. He was able to make the distinction without error for several weeks. Then perplexity assailed him. He seemed unable to distinguish between the two sheets, and for fear of disappointing his master he began taking both papers into the house. Then after a period of excep- tional service disgust seized him, and now he refuses to pick up either of the papers. Mooney is perplexed. the editors of the two papers likewise have a nut to crack. They can't determine whether the News has sunk to the level of the Star, or the Star risen to the level of the News. Fortunately the dog can't talk. Judge warns jury that newspapers are not reliable Judge K. S. Mahon, of Yuba City, who is pre- siding in a case in the superior court of Tehama county, took occasion Tuesday evening in dis- missing the jury for the day, to pillory the news- papers and newspaper men of the country. The attack was so unfair and so absolutely without excuse that we take the liberty here of quoting the learned jurist, who because he is a jurist is supposed always and particularly from the bench to have his facts in hand and to be fair and impartial in dealing that hand. Mahon's Talk To The Jury "It doesn't make any difference to you what anybody on the out- side may think. It doesn't make any difference what newspapers may publish about a case. They generally get things wrong in my county. I don't know how they do here. But, if you read any thing in the newspaper down there, you may know it is wrong. "So if newspapers during the progress of this trial should have any thing about it, why don't read it, or, if you do, put it down as wrong, because that is what somebody told somebody outside, and that somebody told somebody up the street, and that somebody told a reporter, and that reporter went and made up a story out of it. "You know the facts, and it will be of no consequence to you what the newspaper publishes, what anybody else says about it." Chip Thompson can be reached at 527-2151, Ext. 112 or by email at editor@redbluffdailynews.com. Fol- low him on Twitter @editorchip. Blasts from the past, part II Chip Thompson 545 Diamond Ave.