Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/30897
6A – Daily News – Thursday, May 5, 2011 Opinion Better fix needed D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY 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 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 at Reeds Creek Editor: I would like to add just a note to the recent letter from Angela Perry regarding the potential catastrophic conditions at the intersection of Reeds Creek Road and Wilder Road. The accident she spoke of occurred on our property. We were out of town and we want to thank Angela Perry and Jennifer Wright-Strain for their quick response and notification of 911. A drunk driver went through the stop sign at this intersection, miraculously missing any Wilder Road traffic, and then plowed through a wooden barri- er covered with reflectors, then through our pasture fence and ended up approximately 30 feet into our pasture, aiming for our home. According to the police report, the driver was offered several field sobriety tests and he refused to take them. We have seen this happen numerous times over the years, even with perfectly sober dri- vers, with everything from a Volkswagen Bug to a semi- truck and trailer. Angela Perry was perfectly correct when she stated she could estimate the speed of the vehicle just sitting in her living room. All of us at or near this intersection learn these sounds automatically. We often cringe as we hear large cattle trucks approaching this same intersec- tion slamming on their brakes at the last minute. But guess what, Angela. The driver told the offi- cer he was going 35 mph, there- fore that is what the report says and that is what will go before the court. Even as I write this letter, the Tehama County Road Depart- ment is at work to accomplish what they feel may rectify the situation. Yellow light? No. Speed bumps? No. They are going to replace our wooden barrier with a "break-away," barrier which will hopefully prevent any injury the next time. We are grateful for their intervention but are angered that the county is paying for these repairs instead of the drunk dri- ver. But what angers us even more is that no one, not the drunk driver nor the Highway Patrolman, even considered that there were cattle in this pasture. They just left a big hole in the fence, which our heifers man- aged to find with no difficulty. A good Samaritan neighbor found the leader out on the road with the rest of them close behind. He managed to get them back in and then wired up the fence temporarily until we could fix it properly. Another good neighbor reinforced the hole with a wire panel the next day. Black cows on the road at night is not good. That driver is very lucky no one was killed. Granted, we were out of town, but a check of their com- puter would tell them who lived here and by checking just a little bit further, he could have found that another Gunsauls lived just around the comer and two more Gunsauls lived within a mile or two. Any one of them would have responded in a heartbeat, avoiding what could have been a fatal accident. Any law enforcement officer operating in rural Tehama County should have known better. We can only hope that the county’s efforts to repair the damage will also alert them to the fact that the situation needs something more pro- active before someone is killed. Doris Gunsauls, Red Bluff Strays Editor: You see them everywhere, mostly in the country, some- times on city streets or in empty lots. Wandering on their own, dumped, strayed or chained up and neglected. Sometimes shot, or wounded in a fight, hit by a car or suffering from disease or just plain neglect. Dogs and cats whose owners either don’t care, decided to get an animal they could not afford to care for or didn’t want the responsibility of caring for a liv- ing creature. The lucky ones end up at the Tehama County Ani- mal Care Center. There, because of the caring, hard-working staff composed of Lisa, Michelle, Trish, Wally and manager Mark Storrey, they are taken in, and cared for until adopted. And some stay for a long, long time in a kennel, with some human contact but not where they should be, as part of loving fam- ily. They are checked for wounds and disease, given basic shots, Your Turn fed and kept in safety. The flow of homeless animals never stops. And sadly, some are so far gone nothing can be done but to euthanize them. Despite witnessing cruelty and neglect the staff is cheerful, energetic, sympathetic and caring for every animal that comes through the door. The Animal Care Center is clean, and well run. Can you help? Absolutely. Encour- age your family and friends to spay and neuter their pets. Adopt a homeless animal from a shelter or rescue group. If you want a specific breed, there are breed rescues you can contact — a large percentage of home- less animals are pure bred. Don’t buy an animal off the Internet, at a pet store, on the street or from a back-yard breeder or puppy mill — all ani- mals in pet stores come from puppy mills, unless there is an adoption event from a shelter or rescue group. You can donate money for medical care or transportation — some animals are transported to adopters from out of county or out of state. If you are able, come out to the shelter to walk the dogs and pet the cats. And come out this Saturday, May 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and attend the open house, 1830 Walnut St. in Red Bluff and meet some of the great people who work at the shelter, enjoy a free meal, listen to the music and meet the dogs and cats. Sharon Russell, Red Bluff Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 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 — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. 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; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Trump and the joke made ‘round the world Commentary If you didn’t have, say, a sense of smell, and 3,000 people all informed you Casablanca Lilies were pleasantly fragrant – you’d rely on that information and assume they were right. Now if you didn’t have, say, a sense of humor, and 3,000 people around you all guffawed uncontrollably at jokes about you – best you’d rely on that information and at least smile. This would cloak your defective funny bone and lack of self-irony. You’d appear affable instead of culturally tone deaf. Cut to: Donald Trump’s pro- truding lower lip as he scowled at jabs mentioning him at this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner. Trump has been relent- lessly trumpeting the “birther” conspiracy as part of the charade that he’s running for president. A bid for attention and ratings is more likely. But he’s been capital- izing on the Republican rumor that President Obama wasn’t born in the United States. Trump boast- ed how proud he was that he “did what no one else could” and made the leader of the free world release his long-form birth certificate halfway through his first term…won via landslide. Trump even claimed he sent a team of investigators to Hawaii to find out if the President of the United States was really born there. He’s yet to release any evi- dence of this alleged investigation, but Republicans are still more likely to believe that story than they are in Obama’s eligibility to serve as chief executive. Basically, Trump was begging for some proverbial chop busting. He showed up last weekend at the swanky DC gala of journalists and celebrities, and the President was armed with some Trump/birth certificate bon mots. “Donald Trump is here tonight,” said Obama. “I know that he’s taken some flak lately. But no one is happier, no one is prouder, to put this birth certifi- cate matter to rest than The Don- ald. And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter— like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?” Between Obama and headliner Seth Meyers, Trump was the butt of most of the evening’s jokes. He laughed at none of them – making Trump the only one who didn’t find them hilarious. When you don’t have a sense of yourself, it’s possible to be a joke without even realizing it. Bill Maher on his show Real Time last Friday said, “Trump’s hair, it’s a dilemma for a comedian, because, for one thing it’s one of the funni- est things we’ve ever seen. On the other hand, everybody is doing hair jokes on Donald Trump.” The more ridiculous Trump becomes, the easier the bits get — the more abundant they become. There is such a thing as bad publicity — it’s in the form of a joke. It’s tough to recover politically from being a punchline. Just ask Dan Quayle. edy writer once told me a “Leno joke” is defined as the first joke you think of and throw out that Leno will do that night. Comedian Andy Borowitz wrote me, “In the Twitter era of comedy, the first per- son who makes the joke is the winner and every- one else is a Win- klevoss.” Minutes after the President announced Osama bin Laden was dead, filmmaker Michael Moore tweeted, “No matter what Obama says, bin Laden's not dead until Donald Trump sees his death certificate.” Then Mo Rocca made the same joke; Then New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, comedian Albert Brooks and authorTom Bodett. Tina Dupuy But what is it when hundreds all have the same thought at the exact same moment? A wisecrack so widely and independently gen- erated there’s no possi- ble ownership for it? Then hundreds if not thou- sands of other less notable joshers tweeted same idea. Masses of oth- ers retweeted it. Business Insider ran a satirical piece with the premise. In a record setting Twit- ter event — this was an unprece- dented amount of identical Twitter quips. Before Twitter existed, a com- What this example of paral- lel thinking tells me is that Trump is, in fact, a joke. The first sign you’ve become a par- ody of yourself is when the jokes about you write them- selves. Trump is still pretending he’s going to run for president. He, of course, has said he wants to focus on real issues like $5 gas. I think we should appropriately demand to see the proof. ----- Tina Dupuy is an award-winning writer and fill-in host at The Young Turks. Tina can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com.