Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/312552
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 Superintendentpriorities Editor: The residents of our county should insist on a superintendent who will represent the well be- ing of all school districts. I do not know Mr. North or Mr. Allen, but I am grateful we have candidates who are willing and qualified to represent our county. Thank you to both gentlemen. I do have concerns that if a can- didate is so focused on a seemingly insignificant detail, he may not be able to see the big picture and thus work with all parties to serve our community. Forest for the trees, forest for the trees. I apologize for any errors in grammar or spelling. I do not now nor have I ever held a mas- ter's degree, but have managed to raise three children who are productive, happy members of society. —PamelaPascua,RedBluff Discrimination at RBUHS Editor: Many people may ask what is discrimination? Discrimination occurs when people are treated unequally or less favorably than others because of some real or perceived characteristic. Discrimination may also be in- direct or less obvious, such as seemingly neutral admission policies that actually favor one group over another. All kinds of discrimination are wrong and can be harmful to those involved. This can make students feel un- safe or unaccepted. Discrimination is at every school and business out there but this particular story focuses on an administration discriminat- ing against young adults attend- ing at Red Bluff High School. Re- cently we had an incident with the higher authority who discrimi- nated against a young lady want- ing to take her girlfriend to the prom dance of the class of 2014. To my belief, I thought the ad- ministration was suppose to be a role model and teach the young not to use discrimination against other students or the facilities. Many students have followed this rule and those who didn't had con- sequences for their own behavior. We need to get the word out there that not only students but the administration of Red Bluff High School discriminate against the students attending there. We should not let the ad- ministration get away with this especially if the children attend- ing the school have to deal with their consequences for discrimi- nating against others. The young adults deserve an administration and faculty that is open-minded and has many opportunities for the students. Although not all administra- tion is like this towards their stu- dents and we would like to rec- ognize the ones that do stand up for those being discriminated against. In this particular story, Mrs. Haase was that one teacher that stepped forward and took control of the situation for the young lady that was being dis- criminated against by the prin- cipal. Thanks to Mrs. Haase, she got to go to her prom with her girlfriend and the best part of it all is that Mrs. Haase paid their way to get in and to get their pic- tures done, since they could not afford it after waiting until the last minute for approval for her date to go to the dance with her. Although this does not take care of the discrimination at the school, Mrs. Haase did what she thought was right. Regardless of who you are; stand up for what is right and thank those who do. — Cheyanne Grannes, Red Bluff Response to attack on candidate Editor: My husband, Tim Morehouse is candidate for Clerk and Re- corder. Last week our current Clerk and Recorder's husband wrote a letter against my hus- band. Due to the fact that the Daily News will not print a can- didate's response to a direct at- tack on their character, I am writing to say three things. First, Tim has never dispar- aged anyone in this race and he never will. We both believe that it is important to remain civil and kind in the midst of a stress- ful competition for an elected po- sition. Secondly, Tim brings a much needed new set of eyes to the of- fice of Clerk and Recorder. His management experience will benefit the county staff as well as the regular citizen with lead- ership and a vision for our Clerk and Recorder's office. Finally, Tim recognizes the po- sition to be an elected position to serve as a check on our govern- ment not to perpetuate the goals of the government. By voting for our Clerk and Recorder we as cit- izens have a say as to who will en- sure our documents are being handled appropriately, that we are being communicated impor- tant information which impacts our lives and probably most im- portantly that the government is serving us, its citizens, and not the other way around. I hope that we all will look into who has the best vision, manage- ment skills and leadership expe- rience along with a commitment to the people of Tehama County before we vote on June 3. — Karissa Marino Morehouse, Red Bluff Utopia Editor: Once upon a time, during the '40s and '50s, science and tech- nology advanced in exceptional ways and produced a plethora of inventions and innovations, which emboldened analysts, fu- turists and prognosticators to predict the onset of Utopia, in which machines and robots.... A.I. — Artificial Intelligence... would liberate us from drudgery, mindless work and repetitive motion, usher in an era of leisure and provide a unique opportu- nity for our middle and working classes to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to an unprecedented extent. The name bestowed upon this manifestation of human ingenu- ity became known as the Venus Project, which for instance went so far as to predict family owned helicopters criss-crossing our friendly skies, along with a pro- jected array of additional life en- hancements that would make Jules Verne's predictions of fu- ture events look relatively bland. Obviously, none of these altru- istic ideas have ever come to frui- tion. In fact, quite to the contrary, science and A.I. is now effectively used full spectrum to replace hu- man participation in the work force from service to manufactur- ing jobs. Instead of a long awaited glorious future, the use of science and its robots systematically pro- motes unemployment and the en- suing misery, neglect and pov- erty, while further exacerbating other indignities routinely in- flicted upon our citizens at the work place and beyond. However, the situation is far from settled, because encroach- ment by robots on our liveli- hood and lives is merely at its infant stage, as described by James Barrat in his disturbing new book titled Our Final Inven- tion, a fact filled well researched and revealing tome, which de- picts the development and ram- pant advance of A.I. including its increased mental capacity far exceeding that of homo sapi- ens, which will eventually repre- sent an existential threat to its very creators. All this is totally fact based and by no means re- lated to Hollywood style Sci Fi, if interested, simply Google the book's title to access the syn- opsis of its content, but be pre- pared because it is likely to star- tle if not alarm you. It is amazing to witness his- tory repeat itself, because over 200 years ago a German poet by the name of Goethe refers to a similar scenario in his unique ballad of the Sorcerer's Appren- tice (der Zauberlehrling) which depicts the conjurer's frighten- ing inability to rein in the ghost and spirits he thoughtlessly brought to existence. What a deplorable legacy we are in the process of passing on to future generations. — Joe Bahlke, Red Bluff Justice denied by courts Editor: It is no wonder that our pris- ons are so over crowded these days considering the leeway the Supreme and Appealed courts have given prosecutors. They are allowed to violate civil rights in initiation prosecu- tion and presenting cases (Im- bler v. Pachtmanz a 1976 case): knowingly use false testimony and suppress evidence (same Supreme court decision), file charges without any investiga- tion according to the 8th Cir- cuit Federal Court of Appeal in Myers v. Morris, (1986), file charges outside of their jurisdic- tion (same case), suppress excul- patory evidence which shows one innocent according to the 5th Circuit Federal Court of Appeal in Henzel v. Gerstein (1979). They are immune from law- suits stemming from conspiring with judges to determine the out- come of cases (9th Circuit Fed- eral court of Appeal in Ashelman v. Pope a 1986 case). Lastly they can file charges against innocent persons for a crime that never occurred according to a tenth Circuit case between Norton and Liddell in 1980. It is a wonder we are not all locked up somewhere. Justice has been overruled by our courts. — Orval Strong, Gerber Your opinions Cartoonist's take It is with great disappoint- ment, and no small amount of confusion, that I learned of the New York Post's recent deci- sion to entirely drop the com- ics page from its publication. As the current president of the Na- tional Cartoonists Society, and being that the NCS is an orga- nization of professional car- toonists among whose mem- bers are the creators of the ma- jority of the comics that used to grace the Post's comics page, the reason for the disappoint- ment is obvious. The confusion is another matter. That's where the confusion sets in concerning The New York Post's decision to drop the com- ics page—and frankly the atti- tude towards the comics by most newspapers over the last sev- eral decades. The one strength newspapers and other print pub- lications still have is that they can collect and present perhaps less timely but still relevant ex- panded news, opinion, and enter- tainment, written by vetted pro- fessionals into a convenient pub- lication of great interest to a local market. Focusing on entertain- ment and more than a 140 char- acter story on topics that read- ers still care about seems to me to be the best hope for the contin- ued survival of newspapers. The daily comics are one of the most popular and read sections of news-papers, yet they have been treated like an afterthought for a long time by the editors and pub- lishers of dailies. Despite being a truly AmericNow, we have a ma- jor newspaper dropping the com- ics entirely... perhaps one of the few sections that is read by vir- tually everyone who opens the paper. That seems to be cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. It's like a restaurant dropping one of its most popular items, one that keeps people coming back to their establishment, be- cause it costs a bit more to make than the rest of the menu. What's next, the sports section? Surely it costs a lot to pay beat reporters to cover multiple sports teams. I understand that front page head- line copy costs money, too. No one disputes that newspa- pers are struggling in the face of rising costs and declining read- ership. How-ever, I don't believe it is a smart business move to eliminate, in the name of cutting costs, one of the most popular and read parts of a newspaper like the comics pages. It is one of the sections readers enjoy the most, and isn't providing things readers want to read the first priority of any publication? Tom Richmond is the Reuben Award winning president of the National Cartoonists Society. Tom Richmond Dropping comics is not a smart move "People globally are embracing the sharing economy." So says an article in the May 9 "Newsweek." We've long had scrap metal recycling, garage sales and neighbors lending leaf blowers; but the unholy trinity of com- puter chips, the Internet and enterprising entrepreneurs is ushering in a brave new world of maximized use of our ex- isting tools, clothing, vehicles, lodgings, cooties, etc. I hate to rain on anyone's pa- rade (especially when someone else has possession of their um- brella), but a lot of things con- cern me. Certainly the carbon foot- print fanatics are at the fore- front of this trend, but what sort of scheduling logjams will ensue when they get sharer's remorse? "I know my 15 min- utes of hugging the tree are up, but can't I hug it just a few min- utes moooooooore." Are we really that nostal- gic for the days when you had to rent the VCR as well as the Be- tamax movie? Do we really want to adjust from appreciating "new car smell" to appreciating "clown car smell"? Do we want to see a middle-aged Brooke Shields purring, "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins — except a #@%^ waiting list." If we suddenly, drastically cut back on the things we man- ufacture, Mother Nature might thank us — here. Have another earthquake — but the displace- ment would be infinitely more widespread and wrenching than a buggy whip craftsman retrain- ing to make horseless carriages. The unemployed will wander around like zombies, crying out for "brains, brains," but find- ing brains a scarce commodity among the extollers of the shar- ing economy. Don't get me started on Mur- phy's Law. What happens when we have the inevitable software glitches? "Lady, my app says you've got the Shroud of Turin, a breeding pair of Yeti and an hon- est politician here somewhere, and I'm not letting you renege." People with just the right personalities and logistical ad- vantages could really thrive with sharing. But some of us would balk at carting every- thing to a centralized location or having strangers traipsing around our property. Some of us like our privacy, our solitude and the knowledge that we can be spontaneous and on a whim play the William Shatner LP we haven't touched in 30 years. And having 24-7 access to our own baseball bat, so we can de- molish the phonograph after remembering why we hadn't played the album. Let's put this into perspec- tive. With all the ethnic/ra- cial/sexist slurs, psychobab- ble and political doubletalk as- saulting our ears, do we really want to single out "my" as the single most deplorable word? When we critique civilizations for their shortcomings, do we really want to rank "Offered hu- man sacrifices" and "Enslaved millions" as no worse than "wears that cardigan only once or twice a year." The sharing economy is only a half-baked response to con- sumerism, anyway. It's touted as "living better" and enjoying even more things, so it focuses just on the resource-depletion end and not our actual materi- alistic fascination with stuff. So we're swapping "Whoever dies with the most toys, wins" for "Whoever dies with dibs on the most toys, wins." Sharing is great — as a purely voluntary choice. But how long until we start ostra- cizing nonparticipants? How long before Uncle Sam makes sharing mandatory? Do you really want some bu- reaucrat salivating over your components? "You're really wasting those dentures be- tween meals. And the NSA says you barely use that per- fectly good pacemaker while you sleep..." Danny Tyree welcomes reader e- mail responses at tyreetyrades@ aol.com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Danny Tyree Sharing economy, proceed with caution OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, May 15, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6