Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/267007
6A Daily News – Wednesday, February 26, 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 We must stop them. We must stop the millions of Girl Scouts who are, right this moment, preying on a helpless public, making us buy and con- sume calories we don't need — at the rate of one or two rows of cookies at each sitting. I am on a diet, you see — not just a low-carb diet, but a low-fat diet, low-calorie diet. I am get- ting by on only 1,300 or 1,400 calories a day. That means I can't eat sweets or drink adult beverages or con- sume pretty much anything that tastes good and makes me happy. I am giving up almost all my vices in one fell swoop — making me one of the least pleasant people you'd want to be around. The only upside is that this diet is very effective — and it is working. It is monitored by well-educated administrators and coaches. I meet them every Saturday morning for a weigh-in and to discuss any untoward dieting challenges that I faced the prior week. There is no greater challenge to a dieter than Thin Mints, Samoas, Peanut Butter Patties and, my hands-down favorite, shortbread Trefoils. Oh, sweet heaven on Earth, I'd give my right arm for the Tre- foils recipe — if I didn't need my right arm to dunk the cook- ies in a mug of ice-cold milk. Look, I understand that the Girl Scouts organization was founded in 1912 to help girls develop physically, mentally and spiritually. I know the annual cookie sale has become a tasty part of American culture since it origi- nated in 1917, when one troop held a small bake sale, selling sugar cookies. I understand that managing cookie sales helps Girl Scouts learn useful sales, accounting and other business skills — and that it raises some $700 million dollars yearly, funding many worthwhile Girl Scout activities. But it's still time to stop this outmoded cookie sale — for my sake and the sake of millions of other cookie victims. Who among us has the power to say no to any young girl rais- ing money for charity who offers to sell us a legal product that's so addictive? Nobody — as demonstrated by one particularly tenacious Girl Scout in 1985. Elizabeth Brinton of Falls Church, Va., sold 11,200 boxes of Girl Scout cookies that sales sea- son. She later topped her record by selling 18,000 in another sea- son. She sold more than 100,000 during her Girl Scout career. And I was her only customer! OK, I wasn't her customer, but you get the point. I'm addicted. I sense that word is getting around in local Girl Scout circles that I am an easy sale — so much so, I am afraid to go to any stores or pub- lic places where the clever order-takers will prey on me. It is both troubling and puz- zling to me that, in this era of government-managed health care — a new era of regulations, mandates and penalties — it is still legal for any organization to raise funds by pushing so many sugary, salty, fatty treats onto our already obese population. I am on a diet that will improve my health and hopeful- ly reduce my future health con- cerns and benefit everybody else in my insurance pool. Shouldn't our micromanaging government give me a tax credit for every cookie I don't eat? Likewise, shouldn't the peddlers of unhealthy treats — treats, as I said, that one can't help but eat by the row — be sub- ject to government fines or taxes that pun- ish them for victimiz- ing the cookie-addict- ed? In these unusual times, I fear somebody will take these requests seriously — before I can break my diet, one row of Thin Mints at a time. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist and is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons Inc. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. A dieting cookie addict's plea 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 Tom Purcell 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 Tired of same old arguments Editor: An overused adage states that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If this is true, then we, the readers of this editorial page are all insane. The content of this editorial page has become a platform for the same worn out, rehashed and flat-out restated tirades that are only relevant to the people writing them — and people with obvious- ly short memories. On behalf of the daily readers of this page I think I can collec- tively state clearly and succinctly: We get it. To be fair to anyone not famil- iar with the weekly opines, and the writers themselves, here is one more recap of our more regular contributions. Hopefully, for the final time. To Mr. Polson: We get it. Bush Derangement Syndrome equals uninformed, bonkers liberal think- ing. Obama Derangement Syn- drome equals intelligent, well- informed, rational thinking. We get it. President Obama's inaction in Benghazi was a reprehensible and treasonous oversight. Presi- dent Bush's inaction during Hurri- cane Katrina was justifiable. We get it. The Bush administration's wire-tapping and surveillance was protecting national security. Obama's NSA wire-tapping and surveillance is illegal and uncon- stitutional. We get it. And since it won't fit in the Community Calen- dar, there's a Tea Party meeting at… To Mr. Neff: We know your life story. You worked until age 65, scrimped, saved, planned and now have a tidy little nest egg for retire- ment. As opposed to all those lazy, over-compensated, undereducated public employees who are simply leeching off the taxes paid by citi- zens who actually work. We get it. To Mr. Wolfe and Mr. Merhoff: Your personal jabs over the value of formal education versus the "school of hard knocks" has grown tedious. Frankly, my suggestion is for the two of you to rent two lanes at the bowling alley each week and trade your worn out jabs at the ball return over 10 frames — and leave the rest of us out of it. The last thing we want to hear again is how anyone with above a high school education is a liberal-indoctrinat- ed, educated idiot. We get it. To Mrs. Cressy: We get it. All the state's and country's problems would be solved if everyone just stopped listening to liberals and started listening to the little guy, you, etc. I apologize for my Tehama County public education, but most of the time I don't know what you are referring to in your liberal use of "etc." So, I guess in that way I am actually left with something new to think about after reading your letters. I assure you this is not a parti- san rant. I am a registered Repub- lican. Mr. Polson, you can check the county voter rolls to confirm. Nor am I trying to impose on or restrict any citizen's First Amend- ment rights. Nobody is a bigger supporter of the First Amendment than I am. What I am against is waste. Mr. Chip Thompson, as editor of this page, choosing the same worn out letters and commentary for this page is simply that, waste. I challenge the editors to find a wider variety of columnists with a fresh perspective rather than tediously rehash the same subject. Or better yet, return to "Good ol' Days" when the Daily News had an editorial six days a week, for Pete's (or Bill Goodyear's) sake. I challenge the readers, myself included, to write letters, write guest columns, address real local issues. I was taught to believe that the heart of a newspaper is its editori- al page. Right now this editorial page is like a bad rerun of Seinfeld — a show about nothing, replayed too many times. But unlike a line from a famous episode, "There is something wrong with that." Mark Chrasta, Los Molinos Olympics Editor: Something woke me up in the middle of the night and I began watching the Big opening cere- monies for the twenty-second winter Olympic Games. Truthfully, I was not expecting much. I had read about the travails of the people arriving at their hotels and finding the plumbing, electrical, communications Just not working. My thought was, they've had seven years to put this together and they are obviously not ready. Well. Let's face it. They did better than we would have done. You and I both know we'd still be fighting our way through the envi- ronmental impact reports. We have forgotten how to get things done, but the Russians learned what we taught them well. As I watched the ceremonies unfold my first impres- sion was NBC; Noth- ing But Commercials, But then - as I watched the tableau of the history of Russia unfold on my television set I came to another definition of that acronym NBC; Not Believable Choreography. I honestly have never been a student of dance. But this night I saw things in dance incorporating a multitude of peo- ple, merged with mechanics and state of the art technology that so impressed me, I found the com- mercials a refreshing break. I was absolutely overwhelmed and just needed a break every now and then to catch my breath. Thank you, NBC. I know you didn't mean to, you just wanted to sell your time, but you became a part of a visual extravaganza like I've never seen before. And blending it all together was music from Rimsky Kor- sakov to Rogers and Hammer- stein to Rock-N-Roll. I was in my office typing on this missive when I heard a new rendition of Ameri- ca the Beautiful with Russian lyrics and I had to go into the other room to see why Mr. Putin would put an obvious plug for the United States into the middle of this extravaganza only to find it was a Coca-Cola commercial. Awesome. Well done, and thank you, Russia. Fred Boest, Red Bluff Your Turn