Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/303582
GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EditorialBoard 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 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 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 Middle class Americans should be added to the list of endangered species as they are bifurcating into the haves and have-nots. Inthepastdecade millions of middle class jobs have disappeared, incomes are steadily de - creasing for the major- ity of Americans, the rate of homeownership has declined and the U.S. government and consumers have accumulated record-setting levels of debt. An unfortunate result is that the percentage of Americans that are able to take care of them - selves without government as- sistance continues to decline to the point that the percentage of Americans that are receiving government assistance is now at an all-time record high. The number of people on food stamps has increased by nearly 50 percent while Barack Obama has been in the White House, and at this point nearly half the entire country gets money from the government each month. Anyone that tries to tell you that the middle class is go - ing to be "okay" is living in de- nial of recent Supreme Court de- cisions giving corporations the status of citizens and unleash- ing the wholesale purchase of elected officials by allowing un- limited campaign contributions. In 2014 only 44 percent of all Americans consider them- selves to be middle class. Even more worrisome is that while in 2008, 25 percent of all Ameri- cans in the 18- to 29-year-old age bracket considered themselves to be "lower class" now nearly half of them do. The tipping point is upon us, with the 10 per- cent of American families now controlling three-fourths of the nation's wealth increasing their stranglehold at such a rapid rate that absent a populist revolt or evolution of our tax systems the middle class will disappear in less than a decade. The popularity of the Tea Party and their simplistic bat - tle against governance and judi- cial action to address this reality is a clear indication of the power of modern media and those with the funds and motivation to con - trol it for their own advantage. Why else would hard working Americans flock to meetings to secede from the state of Califor - nia, challenge the benefits of so- cialized medicine and condemn those that seek help from fellow citizens in times of need with an empty promise that by do- ing so all these problems will be magically solved. If there is one thing that his- tory teaches us it is that "power corrupts, and abso- lute power corrupts abso- lutely." Apparently our high court justices have fallen prey to the demagoguery of wealthy conservatives by completely ig - noring the corrupting quali- ties of unlimited wealth and the power of media control. Ours is a new world where most Amer- icans are either too lazy or too busy to do their own research and critical thinking, choos- ing instead to follow campaigns that best suit their way of see- ing the world. In such a world the wealthy will ultimately pre- vail as they exercise their power to manipulate who gets elected and what messages voters re- ceive unless advocates for social equity and fairness are empow- ered. It seems that our only hope to keep our democracy from corrupting into an oligarchy is for the middle and lower class Americans that remain exercise their power at the ballot box be - fore it is too late. Although it is hard to believe, an astounding 53 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year in wages. Real disposable income in the United States just experienced the largest year over year drop that we have seen since 1974. In - credibly, 56 percent of all Amer- icans now have "subprime credit." Across the country, Olive Garden and Red Lobster res - taurants are struggling, while fine-dining chains are thriv- ing. Sears and J.C. Penney are both on the verge of bankruptcy, and now we have learned that Radio Shack may be shutting down another 500 stores this year. At General Electric, the in - crease in demand for high-end dishwashers and refrigerators dwarfs sales growth of mass- market models. For these reasons I encour - age everyone to consider what is best not only for themselves, but for everyone in this wonderful country. Placing your faith and votes in the wealthiest Ameri - cans may seem like a winning bet until you realize that in a zero sum game wealth is gained by taking it from others — and when taken to the extreme as it is today, results in a dysfunc - tional duality of haves and have- nots. RichardMazzucchiisaretiredre- 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 barbecue equipment and supply business. He can be reached at living-green@ att.net. richard Mazzucchi Dualityofhaves and have-nots Cartoonist's take CAPtiOn Emphasizing their civic-minded service to the general public, the Tea Party Patriots are staging get-to-know-can - didates events this elec- tion season. Tonight at their weekly meeting you will have a chance to hear from District Attorney candidate Larry Olsen. That's at 6 p.m. at the Westside Grange, with Mr. Olsen appearing after a short business and update period. Then, mark May 6 on your cal - endars for a Tea Party Patriots- sponsored "all candidates" night at the Community/Senior Cen- ter, Jackson and Kimball, set to begin at 5 PM, with KBLF's Cal Hunter moderating. Readers may recall, regard - ing the Bureau of Land Man- agement (BLM), that not so long ago Tehama and Shasta Coun- ties were asked to give approval to the Bend Recreation Area (BRA) by the BLM, under plans formulated primarily by Dem - ocratic Senator Dianne Fein- stein; Republican (then-) Rep- resentative Wally Herger found the language, written by Fein- stein, to be insufficiently pro- tective of the sovereignty and rights of local governments and citizens. Many residents at the time raised objections based on personal accounts of the high- handed and arbitrary manner that the BLM treated private landowners and holders of graz - ing rights on federal lands. It was widely believed that the BLM has often been a bad actor and neighbor to have to deal with on several accounts. Advocates and fans of the fed - eral agency dismissed those of us who pointed out that there was more-than-justifiable cause to suspect that, with the BLM in charge of the BRA, the rights of existing users of those lands would always risk being vetoed by "evolving" BLM priorities and values. Yes, the prospect of an "advi - sory" board, mostly locally ap- pointed, was touted as a firewall against unreason- ableness by the BLM, but it never entirely refuted the suspicion that BLM's atti- tude was "What's ours is ours and what's yours is ne- gotiable." The events and confrontation in Nevada be- tween the BLM and rancher Cliven Bundy can serve to il- lustrate and confirm what local BLM critics were saying. Absent the armed standoff aspect, the media's attention will seek other distractions from the epic failure of the Obama economic "recovery" and Obam - acare; the "teaching moment" will pass. There is much to learn and it deserves more attention from this writer. Much has sur - faced on the duplicitous and hypocritical history of federal land ownership; how agencies morph from simple, straightfor - ward missions and purposes to agendas completely at odds with their own founding priorities; and how crony capitalism rears its corrupt and ugly head over "green energy" boondoggles re - quiring the manipulation of law, regulations and rules to facili- tate solar and wind projects. I'll get to more of that next week. First, some quotes bear men- tioning: A debate in Utah be- tween a conservative state law- maker, Rep. Ken Ivory, and a lib- eral former director of the BLM, Pat Shea, provided glaring proof of the personal and institutional arrogance of that agency. "Ivory argues the federal government used to own much of the land in states like Florida, Illinois and Nebraska and has since turned it over to private owners or the state. He believes it's time for Western states to demand equal treatment in this matter and if Congress won't comply, it may be time to launch a major court case. He said the land would be better managed and the prof - its from mining would help fund the state's education system. Shea was dismissive of such an idea. 'I don't think states are capable of the complex - ity of managing these lands,' he said accusing Ivory of inflam- ing local officials to challenge federal land managers when the chances of the state's gain- ing control of these lands are re- mote at best." (Matt Canham, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4/24) Does it grate on you like it does me to read such conde - scension over the administra- tion and management of public lands? He talks as if only the de- livered wisdom of Washington, D.C. is capable of informing the intricacies and nuances of it all. "What's ours is ours …" We yay- hoos in flyover wastelands, not so much. In "Arizona Official: Cliven Bundy's Acts Are Legal," Joe Battaglia, writing for News - max, quotes Barry Weller, vice chairman of the Apache County Board of Supervisors, saying that he thinks Bundy was right in standing up to the Bureau of Land management. "The case is similar to another in Nevada, in which Wayne Hage won a protracted battle with the federal government by successfully arguing that he had the right to graze his cows within two miles of water sources he developed. "The Bundys and Hages are standing on their water and graz - ing rights which, Weller said, 'were pre-existing in territorial times, long before the govern- ment took over and these states became states and these rights are mentioned, and any fed- eral law or policy act that comes thereafter is always stated, 'sub- ject to pre-existing rights.' "The only solution to this problem, Weller said, is for the government to follow through on the transfer of public land that was promised to all newly created states at statehood but honored only to the states east of Colorado. The people who take the best care of anything are the people who own it." don Polson Meet candidates; high-handed BLM attitudes still a source of frustration Placing your faith and votes in the wealthiest americans may seem like a winning bet until you realize that in a zero sum game wealth is gained by taking it from others. The issue brought to light in the Donald Sterling mat- ter is this: neither passing legislation nor even electing a black president can cleanse all minds of evil thoughts. Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers bas - ketball team, is alleged to have made racist remarks about African-Americans. Considering Sterling's past behavior, including paying $2.7 million in a housing dis - crimination suit, the allega- tions ring true. His is said to be the voice in a tape, released by TMZ. com, in conversation with Sterling's female friend named V. Stiviano. The male voice says it's unwise to post messages and photos on so - cial media about friendships with blacks. The male even goes so far as to berate Sti- viano for bringing the NBA great Magic Johnson, a black who is part owner of the L.A. Lakers, to Clippers' games. The tale is complicated by the fact that Stiviano faces a lawsuit from Sterling's family in which it is alleged that she embezzled nearly $2 million. Sterling has de - nied making the comments that were recorded, presum- ably by Stiviano, and given to TMZ. But regardless of whether the NBA's investigation con - firms that the voice is Ster- ling's, the fact is racism re- mains a serious problem in America. Blacks are the NBA's dominant achievers, and a black man holds the highest office in the land, yet in a perverse and tragic way, such advances proba - bly increase the level of ill- will among bigots. If the voice on the record- ing is Sterling's, and if it was recorded without his knowl- edge by Stiviano, then what we have is a crude, yet pri- vate, conversation. Under California law, similar to those in 11 other states, it is illegal to make recordings without the prior consent of all parties, unless the con - versation occurs in public where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. Stivi- ano could face a year in jail for such an offense. Just as the TMZ story broke, I happened to be con- ducting a social experiment in Arizona for our "Candid Camera" program. A well- dressed British man and a modestly-dressed Mexican man each asked passersby for a favor. Almost everyone stopped to hear what the British guy needed. Some did stop for the Mexican — but many people wouldn't even break stride, and a few detoured across the street to avoid direct contact. No amount of legislation changes what lies in the heart. Many Americans — a shrinking universe, perhaps, but still a vast number — are frightenedbysocialprogress. Rather than accepting Lati - nos, or blacks, or Muslims, or gays, or anyone else who is trying to climb the social ladder,theybecomecowards. And they say things such as, "It bothers me that you want to broadcast that you are as - sociating with black people," which is a quote from the TMZ recording. Magic Johnson said he feels sorry for his friends on the Clippers. Kobe Bry - ant said he wouldn't play for a man like Donald Sterling. Michael Jordan, perhaps the greatest player ever, said he was "sickened." Social media are ablaze with comments correctly condemning the remarks attributed to the Clippers' owner. The Clippers play - ers, while not able to say much publicly, staged a si- lent protest before Sunday's game, wearing black socks and turning warm-up jer- seys inside out to hide the team logo. As Martin Luther King, Jr. noted, "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inev - itability, but comes through continuous struggle." Throughout sports, poli- tics and the American land- scape, sadly, that struggle continues. Peter Funt is a writer and speaker. His book, "Cau- tiously Optimistic," is avail- able at Amazon.com and CandidCamera.com. PEtEr Funt Comments attributed to Sterling still aren't that uncommon Richard Mazzucchi Don Polson OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com tuesday, april 29, 2014 » MORE At FaCEbook.CoM/rbdailynEwS AnD TwiTTEr.CoM/rEdbluFFnEwS a6