Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/313716
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 TheSupremeCourtdecided last month that the only way a public official can be corrupted is if there is a quid pro quo trans- action — I give you dollars, you in direct return do me political favors. If there isn't evidence of that kind of outright bribery, the Court said, it's not corruption. This new ruling, in McCutch- eon v. FEC, put an end to aggre- gate caps on how much an indi- vidual could give to candidates in one election cycle. That cap had been set at $117,000 a total that affected only 646 donors in 2012. That means that those 646 very rich people will be able to give far more in the 2014 election than the more than $75 million they have given in the past. The McCutcheon ruling came on top of the Court's previous Cit- izens United decision, which al- lows corporations and individuals to give unlimited funds to political action committees, supposedly es- tablished to support positions on issues but not candidates. The Court has now estab- lished that there was nothing corrupting about a Las Vegas casino billionaire personally contributing over $100 million in 2012 to PACs and candidates. How much will he give in 2016? I have no idea, but the parade of potential presidential candi- dates who publicly traveled to Las Vegas last month to submit to his personal review indicates they think it will be enough to compensate them for what looked an awful lot like crawl- ing there on their knees. Writing for the majority in Citizens United, Justice Ken- nedy said, "This Court now con- cludes that independent expen- ditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appear- ance of corruption. That speak- ers may have influence over or access to elected officials does not mean that those officials are corrupt. And the appear- ance of influence or access will not cause the electorate to lose faith in this democracy." Well, that may be how it looks to five judges sitting on the august bench in the Su- preme Court building, but re- cent polls have shown that Americans have done just that. They have lost faith in the fair- ness of our system, and they cite how we finance our political campaigns as a major reason. Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the generally conser- vative, pro-business American Enterprise Institute, wrote in the National Journal about Mc- Cutcheon, "More significant, in any case, were Roberts's sweeping conclusions about corruption and the appear- ance of corruption in the deci- sion. The Chief Justice took the shaky conclusion reached by Justice Anthony Kennedy in the Citizens United decision — that money given 'independently' of campaigns could not involve corruption or its appearance — and applied it in an even more comprehensive fashion to money given directly to candi- dates and campaigns. "Thanks to McCutcheon, only quid pro quo corruption is sufficient to trigger any restrictions on cam- paign contributions — mean- ing, direct bribery of the Ab- scam or American Hustle va- riety, presumably captured on videotape for the world to see. The appearance of corruption? Forget about it. Restrictions on elected officials soliciting big money? Forget about them, too. "To anyone who has actually been around the lawmaking process or the political process more generally, this is mind- boggling. It makes legal what has for generations been illegal or at least immoral. It returns lawmaking to the kind of favor- trading bazaar that was com- mon in the Gilded Age." I know after 40 years working in the Senate that outright brib- ery in Washington is rare. But as Ornstein says, the idea that unlimited money doesn't cor- rupt the process is mind-bog- gling. As a result of these two Supreme Court decisions, we now have a system where a very small and very rich segment of the population can anonymously pour literally billions of dollars into political activity. You and I don't have any way of know- ing who they are, but I promise you the candidates whose cam- paigns benefit know who they are and what they want. Don't take my word for it. Sen. John McCain recently de- scribed the two Supreme Court decisions as "the worst since Dred Scott ... We're at the height of corruption thanks to the United States Supreme Court." He went on to predict, "a ma- jor scandal will happen because there is too much money wash- ing around ... and people don't know where it comes from." Strong words and reason to hope there will be a bipartisan response to the Court's deci- sions. I believe the future of our democracy is dependent on a re- newed effort to agree on mean- ingful campaign finance reform. TedKaufmanisaformerU.S.sen- ator from Delaware, and writes regularly for the News Journal. Contact Ted and read more of his work at tedkaufman.com. Ted Kaufman DoesSupreme Court know what corruption is? (Americans) have lost faith in the fairness of our system, and they cite how we finance our political campaigns as a major reason. Whatdowewantina superintendent Editor: It is unfortunate that Charles Allen, candidate for Tehama County Schools superintendent, apparently lied on his job appli- cation and resume for associate superintendent. According to public records, he claimed that he obtained a master's degree from Chico State University in 2003. He did not. Additionally, in two public forums he also stated that he had a master's degree. In addition to his salary, Al- len receives a $750 yearly sti- pend for a master's degree that he does not possess. To some Tehama County vot- ers, this may seem an inconse- quential issue. However, such be- havior provides a poor example of executive leadership, lack of integ- rity and questionable core values. What do we want in an in- dividual seeking the office of county schools superintendent? What characteristics of strong leadership do we believe in? Isn't honesty important in leading our schools and our children? Our children deserve strong honest role models as they advance through their school years. I think voters should consider how integ- rity and honesty affect leadership and role models for our youth. — Christine Sorensen Fish, Red Bluff Allen is more than qualified Editor: Harley North should have checked his facts before he ac- cused Charles Allen of falsifying his education documents on televi- sion. North certainly knows Allen well enough to have made a cour- tesy call and asked him to explain the discrepancy he alleges and judged from that answer what his course of action should be. Allen stated that he and North had agreed to run a clean cam- paign so it appears that they have communicated in the past. Allen was forthcoming in his answer with Channel 7 that he completed the course work at Chico State in a dual program with an Administration Creden- tial and Masters Equivalent. Al- len further explained that the equivalency was approved by the Department of Education and by the people who hired him. It was further pointed out by the in- terviewer that the Department of Education's job description guidelines for Allen's position re- quires "Equivalent to graduation from an accepted college or uni- versity with a master's degree in school administration, educa- tional leadership, pupil person- nel, or closely related field." Allen submitted his docu- ments and credentials to the De- partment of Education Human Resources and there were no concerns. This may not measure up to North's expectations but it certainly was acceptable to the Department of Education. Allen stating that he had a master's degree does not raise any concern on my behalf; the course he took was for an equiv- alency degree. I do not need a master's degree in order to un- derstand that the definition of "equivalent" means the same as. Allen's statement that he has a master's is not misrepresent- ing the facts in my opinion. Case in point, look up the definition of a high school equivalence test or GED — General Education De- velopment — and see that it is equal to a high school diploma. Would it be fair under North's strict definition of equivalent to make a person who has a GED declare that they do not in real- ity have a high school education? Allen has been the second in command for the past 5 years and has been in training to suc- ceed Larry Champion. North re- tired. Allen is the man for the job, he has been doing the job, and he deserves the job because of his commitment to the depart- ment, the staff and the students. Allenismorethanqualified,his opponent'sallegationisundignified anditisawasteofstafftimetoen- gageisthistypeofpoliticalpostur- ing.Allen'squalifications,character andeducationareabovereproach. — Cliff Johnston, Red Bluff Vote yes on measure B Editor: Serving on the Tehama County board of Supervisors has become a full-time job. Not only do members set pol- icy for the county, they hire the county CAO and other key offi- cials, serve on many state and regional committees affecting everything from law enforce- ment to water rights protection. In addition, effective supervisors need to spend a lot of time on con- stituency issues, and studying vol- umes of paperwork on your behalf. The last time there was an in- crease in compensation, 1989, the median household income in the U.S. was $28,906. A gallon of gas was $1.12. Now gas is moving to- wards $4 a gallon and the me- dian income in Tehama County is $48,685. It is not difficult to see that su- pervisors should be compensated at a higher level than when Dan Quayle was Vice President. The amount suggested by the Grand Jury is the average supervisors' salary for Amador, Del Norte, Ca- laveras, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Men- docino, Mono, Plumas, Siskiyou, Trinity and Tuolumne counties. The office should attract more qualified candidates because as things stand now, it is difficult to serve unless one has another in- come. This is fraught with po- tential for conflict because these candidates' other income is of- ten from government retirement. This can lead to decisions favor- able to the government, and not the people paying the bill. The Board of Supervisors is a body of and for the people in the finest tradition. Supervisors get $100 monthly to cover their tele- phone and computer costs, and $500 for transportation. It's time we paid supervisors at a rate that reflects the tre- mendous responsibility the job carries. Such a raise would not cause an increase in taxes. We need supervisors who per- form their duties free from finan- cial pressures. Vote for better gov- ernment. Vote yes on measure B. — Bob Martin, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take The National September 11 Memorial and Museum, recently dedicated by President Obama, has been fraught with contro- versy from the beginning. As one cultural historian summed it up, the museum has too many stakeholders trying to achieve too many irreconcilable goals. Among the cross purposes are the victims' families' resistance to the memorial, the presence of the Ground Zero Cross, and Imams who object to what they perceive as the memorial's un- fair portrait of Islam. Also le- gitimately questioned is the in- appropriateness of storing un- identified victim remains in the museum, charging $24 ad- mission and selling souvenir t- shirts. In his 9/11 Museum speech, President Obama called the site a place of healing and hope where Americans can come to- gether to remember those who died as well as pay tribute to he- roes who saved others. Then- New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said that the museum will be a place where future genera- tions can visit to learn from the tragedy and use their newfound knowledge to become more aware. But none at the dedica- tion ceremony said anything about how the tragedy hap- pened and why subsequent ter- rorist attacks like the 2013 Bos- ton Marathon bombings are in- evitable. The 9/11 terrorists abused a ri- diculously lax immigration sys- tem to stay in the U.S. after their visas had expired or gained cit- izenship when they should have been denied. According to re- search from the Center for Im- migration Studies, between 1990 and 2001, foreign-born Islamic militants used almost every avail- able immigration avenue to enter the country. They arrived as stu- dents, tourists, and business vis- itors. Some were Lawful Perma- nent Residents (LPRs) and even- tually became naturalized U.S. citizens. Others snuck across the border illegally, arrived as stow- aways on ships, used false pass- ports, or were granted political asylum. From 1993 through 2001 and including the 9/11 hijackers, 48 foreign-born Islamics have been convicted of, charged with, ad- mitted to or pled guilty to terror- ism within the U.S. The sad truth, ignored at the Museum, is that 9/11 could have been avoided and 3,000 lives saved if immigration laws had been strictly enforced. Because terrorists exploited weak enforcement of already too permissive immigration laws, to- day the Departments of Home- land Security and State must tighten security at the border, in- ternally and scrutinize visa ap- plications with a goal of issuing fewer of them, especially to for- eign nationals from terrorist- sympathetic countries. Despite the pious dedication ceremony, the federal govern- ment has shown little interest in protecting Americans from fu- ture terrorism. More than a de- cade after an entry/exit system was developed that would track how many of the 150 million U.S. visitors leave, Congress has done nothing. About 40 percent or 4.8 million of 12 million illegal im- migrants living in the U.S. have overstayed their visas. Those nearly 5 million could and prob- ably do include hundreds if not thousands of terrorists. The official 911 Memorial web- site makes much of its determina- tion to help young Americans un- derstand the disaster. The web- site devotes a special section to a politically correct and nonsensi- cal study guide to explore what it calls key 911 themes and issues. Sample topics include "Airport Security versus Civil Liberties" and "Days of Infamy: September 11 & December 7." But a chapter on how the ter- rorists entered and remained in the U.S. illegally isn't included. In today's America, criticism of federal immigration policy even in defense of saving lives is ta- boo. Joe Guzzardi is a Californians for Population Stabilization Senior Writing Fellow whose columns have been syndicated since 1987. Contact him at joeguzzardi@capsweb.org. Joe Guzzardi Politically correct Sept. 11 Museum ignores truth OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, May 17, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4