Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/283367
Before letting readers know about this Sat- urday's Republican Dinner, I want to give all of you a heads-up on a planned State of Jefferson town hall informational meeting on April 5th, 6 PM, at the Elks Lodge. Speak- ers will provide you with what you need to know before the June 3rd vote on Proposi- tion A, advising the Board of Supervisors on the issue. There are some great reasons to attend this year's premier Re- publican Party event, the Red, White and Blue Reagan Dinner, Saturday the 29th. As of Sunday, tickets were available but will not be sold at the door. Make a call as soon as you can to 567-2323 to reserve your seat or table. There is a no host cocktail mixer at 5:30 and dinner at 6:30. We will be celebrat - ing the legacy of our 40th Pres- ident, Ronald Reagan, with quotes, jokes and quips from his life, as well as an address from a special guest, Dennis Revell, president of Revell Communi - cations, chairman of the Placer County Republican Party, and son-in-law to Ronald Reagan. He was a privileged and pas - sionate observer to some of the dramatic episodes, as well as the quiet moments of the last 25 years of Ronald Reagan's life, blessed as he was to be Mau - reen Reagan's husband for over 20 years. They met in 1973 when both were active leaders in the California Young Repub - licans. This dinner is always a chance for a warmer and more intimate interaction than you would normally have at public events with our local elected of - ficials, up to and including Rep. Doug LaMalfa and Sen. Jim Nielsen. The food is always top qual - ity, memorable, provided this year by Cattle Country Cater- ing, and includes Pork Tender- loin Medallions and Prime Rib Stroganoff. Your $40 ticket, together with any silent auction items you purchase, is a great way to show your support for local Re - publican outreach events; re- member, we are not receiv- ing government or taxpayer funds and rely on your gener- osity. Also note that active, uni- formed military can attend free but a reservation ahead of time is appreciated for the benefit of the caterer. Let's take this opportunity to review some timeless things that Ronald Reagan said in the course of his long role in public service and conservative advo - cacy. I received a timely email with a link to "7 Amazing Rea- gan Quotes that Capture Amer- ica's Current Condition," posted at www.breibart.com/Big-Gov- ernment on 2/24. I think you will find much that speaks to the need for sober and finite ex- pectations for government at every level; each concept con- tained herein should help you discern between the liberal/ left advocates for governmental failure, and conservative pro- ponents of freedom's inherent success. Appropriately, the first one is: "Man is not free un - less government is lim- ited." Everything— whether food, health care, housing, or income support—that comes from the seeming gov - ernmental generosity of other people's taxes, comes with a price tag of servitude. "Can the black teenager who faces a staggering unemploy - ment rate feel that government policies are a success?" Indeed, you could not have a more de- pressingly stark, revealing in- dictment of economic failure under liberal, Democratic pol- icies than the long, sorry un- interrupted state of minority unemployment under Barack Obama's presidency and Demo- crat-run cities. "When you put a big tax on something, the people will pro- duce less of it." We are see- ing that, under Obamacare, the IRS tax penalty is produc- ing, on balance, fewer insured Americans; those signing up for insurance are not keeping pace with those kicked off their health plans (Obama's lie), and many uninsured young plan not to participate. "Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as much as possible, the need for its own existence." Instead, under Obama's epic fail - ure of an economic recovery, ev- ery benefit program is, through eager governmental advocacy, growing the dependency class. "If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under." Bear that truth in mind as you watch anti-religious zealots, whether in governmental, regulatory or ju - dicial positions of power, or even cynical writers or cartoonists on this page, arrogantly advocating against the faithful. The first step of an athe - istic tyranny is to force reli- gious believers to bow and ac- cede to secular authorities and their godless mandates—as when Obamacare forces Chris- tian business owners to pro- vide abortion-inducing drugs to their employees. "One of the traditional meth- ods of imposing statism or so- cialism on a people has been by way of medicine." The leftward trend of state mandates against the economic free will of Ameri - cans has marched lockstep with government-provided health care services. "Freedom is never more than one generation away from ex - tinction." When every aspect of one's personal and economic life can be analyzed, evaluated and regulated for its impact on public health or the environ - ment, generations become ac- customed to the constant pur- view of governmental overlords; they inevitably, inexorably lose even the memory of free will choices. Thus is the transition from living where all is allowed un - less ruled illegal—to living as if nothing is allowed except what is declared legal. Think about it. Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@ yahoo.com. Don Polson Republican dinner to honor Ronald Reagan Cartoonist's take When readers take me to task for my opinions I normally ap- preciate their point of view and am pleased to know that my writing is read. I am compelled however to set the record straight when portrayed as "typical of liberal environmental - ists who move here to get out of urban clutter and start telling us to do what they say, not what they do" in a letter to the editor appearing in this paper last Sat - urday. While distortions and false incriminations to undermine a columnist's character and ques- tion the sincerity of his views may be fair game, the frequency and speciousness of complaints on- line and in print from this partic - ular letter writer warrants a re- sponse. I hope you can appreciate the irony using the idiom "crying wolf" to this end. The origin of this phrase is be - lieved to be from Aesop, a Greek believed to have lived from 620 to 560 BCE who wrote a num- ber of different fables known col- lectively as Aesop's Fables. One of the stories tells of a young boy who was given the responsibil- ity of watching over some sheep for the night. The boy eventu- ally grew bored and thought it would be rather humorous if he pretended to be in danger, so he started shouting "wolf, wolf!" His plan worked, as the people nearby heard his cries for help and came rushing to lend their support, only to learn that it was all a silly ruse. When repeated, people wisened-up and ignored the boy. Later when a real wolf showed up, and the boy re - ally needed help, no one heeded his cries. In other words the boy, and in my opinion my aptly named detractor, frequently complains when there are no real problems present. Nearly a decade ago I moved to Red Bluff from the ru - ral Olympic Peninsula of Washington to be closer to relatives, not to "get out of urban clutter." The "gas guzzling car regis - tered in Texas, perhaps to avoid paying Califor- nia registration and hav- ing to pass a smog test" is in fact a low mileage well main- tained vehicle that gets over 25 miles per gallon. It is owned by my recently widowed mother whose trust was set up by a re - tired military officer in the state of Texas, and as such is legally plated and registered there. Re- placing these vehicles with a Prius is neither cost-effective considering the low annual mile- age nor environmentally bene- ficial because the vast majority of use is on highways where hy- brid performance advantages are modest and certainly offset by the energy required to manu- facture and transport a replace- ment vehicle. My "supersized big block Sub- urban and big RV trailer" are used for business purposes re- quiring the transportation and sales of bulky smokers and bar- becue equipment. The asper- sion that I "give up my barbecue franchise," "to make a consid- erable reduction in greenhouse gas" is specious because most of the equipment I sell is fired with pellets of compressed sawdust, a sustainable waste product of the lumber industry. Cooking with this resource is cost-effective and environmentally beneficial because it offsets the use of non- renewable fuels without adding to the planetary carbon balance. In addition cooking outdoors re - duces the air conditioning and ventilation requirements associ- ated with indoor cooking. Finally smoking meats and preparing jerky or dehydrating fruits and vegetables using a smoker are healthy and natural ways to pre - pare and preserve foodstuffs. Those who know me are more likely to see me riding my bicy- cle to shop in Los Molinos or rid- ing the TRAX to appointments in Red Bluff than they are to see me behind the wheel of my truck or my mother's "Texas caddy." They also know that I heat my domicile with an efficient wood stove, use Energy Star rated ap - pliances and illuminate my home and business with efficient halo- gen, fluorescent and LED lamps. I use drip irrigation to water my garden, use tankless water heat- ers, have both wind and solar electrical generators and com- post my kitchen waste. Perhaps most importantly I strive to keep informed and equipped to use re- sources wisely and sustainably. Finally as a veteran, retired engineer, business owner, con- sumer and caregiver I can as- sure you that I have and continue to pay my fair share and follow- ing my own advice. I say this not to brag or squelch free speech but to have you dismiss much of what this detractor has to say as the deceitful ruminations of one who cries wolf. Richard Mazzucchi is a retired re - search engineer specializing in en- ergy efficiency and renewable en- ergy. He has travelled extensively and now makes his home in Los Molinos, where he is striving to manifest a sustainable and spirit - ual lifestyle and operate a barbe- cue equipment and supply business. He can be reached at living-green@ att.net. Richard Mazzucchi The deceitful ruminations of one who cries wolf This dinner is always a chance for a warmer and more intimate interaction than you would normally have at public events with our local elected officials, up to and including Rep. Doug LaMalfa and Sen. Jim Nielsen. Sounding off A look at what readers are saying in comments on our website and on social media. This is an old tradition at Red Bluff High.... Keep it. Stevana Hill Sedita: Story about threats to FFA and ROP funding at Red Bluff High School Congratulations again, my sweet former first-grader Hailey!! Sarah Dodson: Hailey Nelson wins Tehama Arts Council Student Art Contest Greg Stevens, Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDiToRiaL BoaRD How to have your say: 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 no more than two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151 ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FaCEBooK.CoM/ RBDailynEwS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBluFFnEwS Richard Mazzucchi Don Polson Gleaners lose beloved volunteer Tehama County Gleaners-Red Bluff Food Bank has lost a won- derful, kind, and loyal volun- teer this past week. She was still working for our community at the age of 83 years young. Her name was Dee Eskridge. All of us will miss her devo - tion, time, and energy. She was a Christian woman who, by just being in her presence, gave a lot of people, life lessons. She was a blessing to all of us who were fortunate enough to know her. Dee will be greatly missed by all of us whose lives she touched. — Cee Dempsey, Red Bluff Restore the Diversion Dam Given the prospect of in- creased water shortages in Cal- ifornia, coupled perhaps with even hotter weather in and around Red Bluff, a new empha- sis should be placed on recreat- ing the lake that used to be up- stream of the now unused Red Bluff Diversion Dam. Given California's incredible technical ingenuity, it is proba - ble that a fish ladder capable of ac- commodating even the most slug- gish fish could be devised. Losing the dam was a major loss for many people. It's time to take a new and more rational look at the prob - lems of the Green Sturgeon and how best to solve them. — Gerald Cauthen, Oakland Letters to the Editor OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, March 25, 2014 » MORE AT FaCEBooK.CoM/RBDailynEwS AND TwiTTER.CoM/REDBluFFnEwS a6