Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/323127
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 Castingyourvote for local, state, and national officials and issues is the most sig- nificant way to ex- press your opin- ion and necessary to craft our democracy. All a voter need do is complete a simple registration form 30 days prior to the election and then mark their preferences on a ballot. By requesting absentee ballots one will be delivered to your ad- dress that can be dropped off at any polling station or put it in the mail to reach the regis- trar on or before voting day. Despite this ease the percent- age of people casting ballots is appalling low in primary elec- tions, particularly now with the unpopularity and partisan inef- fectiveness of the state and fed- eral legislatures. All too many are losing faith that their votes even matter when political ti- tans control which candidates and legislation even have a chance of prevailing. Voter turn-out today will probably be even lower than it was in the last primary election on June 8, 2010 where 15,287 ballots were cast, (5,529 at the polling stations and 9758 ab- sentee) by just over 50% of Te- hama County's 30,545 regis- tered voters. One reason con- servative causes reign supreme here is that over 63% of Repub- lican voters cast ballots at that time while only 52% of Demo- crats did, with even lower per- centages for other political par- ties and independent voters. Should turn-out projections ring true less than half of the county's registered voters will cast ballots today meaning that our electorate is effectively ced- ing governance to those that don't give a damn. Fortunately we did do considerably better in the last presidential election on November 6, 2012 when 23,261 votes were cast by the 31,174 registered voters at the time, a turn-out of nearly 75%. To ensure effective gover- nance and restore respect for what many believe to be the most magnificently crafted rules of governance in the world, the Constitution of the United States of America, voter attitudes must change or the document itself must be amended. Indifference to the outcome of elections, and fail- ure to even register to vote are the height of disrespect for our nation in my opinion and there should be direct and immediate consequences of such disregard. While the freedoms of expression guaranteed in the Bill of Rights include the right to say nothing at all, I think American citizens should be compelled to submit a ballot, even if it be left blank. Such is the case in Austra- lia where a letter is sent to all apparent non-voters request- ing that they either provide a valid and sufficient reason for failing to vote or pay a $20 pen- alty. Should they fail to reply within the time period specified on the notice, the matter may be referred to a court. If the matter is dealt with in court and they are found guilty, they may be fined up to $170 plus court costs and a criminal conviction may be recorded against them. I am sure that among Tea Party members that believe there is too much guv'ment, this would seem ex- tremely authoritative and un- popular, but it also be an effec- tive means of getting the elec- torate off their asses and into the polling stations so at least the government we have can re- spond to the will of the people. Intheabsenceofcompellingcit- izenstovoteweareleftwiththe dysfunctionalvotingsystemwe havetodaywherethosewithfunds disproportionatelyprodsupport- erstothepollswithdistortedme- diacampaignsandattackads. Thisisthestuffthatoligarchies aremadeof,wherethosewith moneyandprivilege,likeDougLa- Malfacanexerciseundueinfluence andcontroloverthemajority.The conceptofoneman/onevotees- tablished50yearsagobyourSu- premeCourtiscorruptedifvoters areherdedlikesheepbypartisan interestswhileotherswallowwith indifference. I'm voting for statewide Mea- sure 41 (veteran housing) and 42 (open meetings) and against Measure A (cessation), Measure B (Supervisor pay increases) and Measure C (authority for Supervisors to fill vacated Su- pervisor positions). I'm voting Heidi Hall for U.S. Congress, C.J. Jawahar for State Senator, Jim Reed for State Assembly, and Harley North for County Superintendent of Schools. Whether you agree or disagree with these selections I beseech you to submit your ballot by 8 tonight if you haven't posted one already. In my opinion your views on ballot matters are oth- erwise irrelevant as it is time to put-up or shut-up. 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 spir- itual lifestyle and operate a bar- becue equipment and supply busi- ness. He can be reached at living- green@att.net. Richard Mazzucchi Putuporshut up at the polls this election Cartoonist's take My headline says it all. Off the top of my head, I'd have to say that, in my decades of providing and evalu- ating employment re- sumes, I've rarely per- sonally known of appli- cants "padding" their records in the sense of claim- ing things that weren't true. Many times I, or another man- ager, would confirm an appli- cant's dates of employment, but previous employers eventually provided nothing beyond mere dates, lest they place their com- pany in legal or employment commission jeopardy. Most man- agers or owners have encoun- tered curious "gaps" in some- one's history; upon inquiring, some are frank about having been housed and fed by, shall we say, the taxpayers in a se- cured facility. You could often sense a previous employer's tone of voice: drab, as in "Yeah, they worked those dates," or posi- tively cheery, as in "Wow, did we hate to lose (so-and-so)." I never placed one word on a resume that was not the lit- eral truth; however, I share with many the routine and noncon- troversial practice of emphasiz- ing the duties and accomplish- ments that were most relevant to the position being applied for. Throughout one's employment history, it is actually advisable to keep your resume current and flexible, no matter your job security (companies do go out of business), and to tailor your history so that someone with 25 seconds to scan what you've written quickly sees what they are looking for in a new hire. Over one's work history, it's just reality to have not only numer- ous employers but also more than one field. I feel safe to say that if some- one stated an inaccuracy that erred on the "inflated" side, and when such an inaccuracy (false- hood in a literal sense) accrued to their financial benefit, let alone provided minimal qualification for a position, that person, no matter his or her otherwise com- mendable and appealing per- formance—that person would/ should be terminated and asked to reimburse said employer for fraudulently obtained compensa- tion. That's not me being exces- sively harsh; it's standard proce- dure in the business world. Most employers will skip pursuing back pay; they're just happy to let the desk or office get cleared out. No one is above being truthful about their employ- ment history, whether it's using phony dates to hide one's job-hopping, 3 to 6 month stints, or claiming to have training not actually achieved, or mentioning an impressive learn- ing or business contact never re- ally contacted—or, in the case of a local candidate, claiming a de- gree never actually awarded. My tolerance is strained to the breaking point when I consider the relative ease of earning an actual Masters degree in an ed- ucation field from one of many reputable correspondence or on- line, study-at-your-own-pace, in- stitutions, when compared to an actual brick-and-mortar campus requiring fulltime attendance. Readers can hopefully read into this who will get my vote for Su- perintendent of Education. Back to last week's unfin- ished topic, "Ten Obamacare Promises Broken" (Cathy Burke, 12/29/2013, Newsmax). 5. "Obamacare won't add 'one dime to our deficits.'" On Feb. 26, 2013, the Government Account- ability Office issued a report pro- jecting that Obamacare will add to the long-term federal deficit by $6.2 trillion. 6. "The ACA will cost around $900 billion over 10 years." That's not even in the ballpark. Each round of cost projections have been higher than the previ- ous one, noted blogger Cam Har- ris; the then-current Congres- sional Budget Office's report of May 2013 pegged the real 10-year price tag at around $1.8 trillion. 7. "Families making less than $250,000 won't see 'any form' of tax increase." The Heritage Foundation found at least $770 billion in 18 separate tax hikes, fees, and penalties, many of which heavily impact the middle class. Among those are the in- dividual mandate tax, the medi- cal device tax, and new penalties and limits on health savings and flexible spending accounts. 8. "The ACA will keep health- care costs down." While the president's Council of Economic Advisors peddled this line end- lessly, the closest they can come to any quantifiable support is a so-called "reduction in the rate of growth," which even they ad- mit is unrelated to Obamacare. James Capretta, of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and American Enterprise Institute, wrote "Another Broken Prom- ise: Obamacare is Driving Costs Up, Not Down" (Weekly Stan- dard, 1 6/2013). The National Health Expenditure projections showed a slowdown in health spending that began long before the law was passed. HHS actu- aries conceded that the reasons for declining rates of health care spending growth are a result of the economy, fiscal policy, Medi- care cuts and slower growth in Medicaid, Medicare and other government programs—all unre- lated to Obamacare. 9. "You have a deadline and a mandate." The parade of squishy, malleable deadlines for individuals and businesses makes this promise nothing short of laughable. 10. "The state sites are work- ing great." Hello, Cover Oregon! Numerous state exchanges have produced epic failures and col- lapse, costing hundreds of mil- lions of wasted tax dollars. Experience and results since January 1 have only provided ever-mounting evidence that Obamacare is the fraudulent, de- ceptive and unsustainable boon- doggle conservatives said it would be. Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@ya- hoo.com. Don Polson Measure A—Yes to State of Jefferson; Show Dems our will! Should turn-out projections ring true less than half of the county's registered voters will cast ballots today meaning that our electorate is effectively ceding governance to those that don't give a damn. Sounding off A look at what readers are saying in comments on our website and on social media. ...it makes sense since they don't print there anymore. All they need is office space, that building housed the press & has a mail room, loading dock, storage bay they used for paper etc. Michael Perkins: On news the Daily News will sell its building to move into a smaller facility What he did was ridiculous. However, I did end up taking the rest of the day off and enjoyed the weather doing yard work. Becky Adams: On charges being filed in bomb hoax that shut town the courthouse, annex Richard Mazzucchi Don Polson No one is above being truthful about their employment history, whether it's using phony dates to hide one's job- hopping, 3 to 6 month stints, or claiming to have training not actually achieved, or mentioning an impressive learning or business contact never really contacted. OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, June 3, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6