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4A Daily News – Wednesday, May 25, 2011 Opinion 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 Ide Adobe 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 Editor: Mr. Rice's letter regarding Ide Adobe was exactly right. The corruption in political finance is amazing. If you have a budget of say, $500,000 — cheap I know, just an example — and you only spend $400,000 of it for your needs, the system forces you to spend all of it or you won't get your full budget next year plus your arbitrary 10 percent increase. Like all government pro- grams, they punish good prac- tices and reward bad. I knew that Moonbeam 2, the sequel was going to be bad. This is nothing. Just hope and pray he doesn't get his way with Prop 13. That will the death blow for this state. Not that it will take much. We are already on life support and Jerry has his hand on the power cord. I know that Red Bluff is hurting like everyone else financially. Same for the coun- ty. But I hope someone can come up with a way to save Ide Adobe Park at the local level. Maybe have trustees handle maintenance. Volunteers from the local historic society could conduct tours. Sell refresh- ments. I'm too far away to help. But surely there are locals who can do something to keep this piece of Red Bluff history alive for our kids to enjoy. Robert Staton, Jr, Patterson DUI checkpoints Editor: I think that using DUI check- points for only checking for drunks is stupid. If you are breaking the law, you are brak- ing the law. In other words, what they are saying is if you are talking on the phone, not wearing your seat belt or you have no license, it’s OK because you are not drunk. This is stupidest thing I have heard. What if they did let you go and you killed somebody, who would you blame? The person they kill may be your child or grandchild. Maybe next time they will get a license like the rest of us. Just let the cops do there jobs Richard Hine, Corning Uncommon heroes Editor: Concerning our teachers and the Department of Education I'd like to say that we can not live without them. They are uncom- mon because of what they do and how they do it. Teachers make us who we become. I'm certain most of us have heard about the story of the king who wanted to find the greatest person in the land to honor them. His advisers found a soldier, a scholar, a cop, a lawyer, a parent, a president, a senator, all of whom were the best and well-known people across the land. One of them was to be honored as the top cit- izen in society. The land was searched high and low. The king wanted to know which one of them was the very best of them all so he wondered what they all had in common. This "best of the best" citi- zen was a teacher who had taught them all. The teacher taught them manners, respon- sibility, how to achieve success, how to rear a child, how to dress properly, punctuality, how to study, how to communicate effectively, how to treat others and how to lead by example and then some. Teachers, of course, are not in it for the money. Normally, they are not in it for the power. Teachers all have one thing in common: Children. Some teachers are better at it than oth- ers, like other professions. But teachers are the ones who must put up with disruptive and unruly children and sometimes their parents. They guide and lead by their own examples. They care about their students’ lives at home. They see a lot of the unhappi- ness in a child's face. Teachers also must put up with school boards. School boards must figure out how to keep teachers employed under the best and worst of circum- stances. If I had my way in how our national budget would be spent I'd go with national defense first Your Turn but education would be right next to it. Education is most likely the answer to all of our problems in society. Recently, I heard some well-meaning folks say that our citizens, including youth, who do drugs should all be locked up and the key thrown away. If this is so, then why is jail and prison called the Department of Corrections? It may be because that sounds nice and politically cor- rect. But is it correct that there is little or no educational pro- grams in the DOC that helps those who are guests there? Is it really cost effective? Talk about a captive audience. Teachers visit jails, juvenile halls and prisons because they have the desire to share their knowledge with everyone, even those who didn't figure it out the first time around. Even the sec- ond and third. Teachers are life-savers just as much as emergency services personnel. I've asked the kids in the two programs I'm involved with to make sure they thank their teachers for all that they do to make sure that this pat on the back came from someone who will one day remember them as a super human being who made a difference in their lives. Who else does what a teacher does? Teachers are uncommon because they teach us all how to behave. Thank your teacher today. John Minton, 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. Can't fuhgeddaboud Christie Commentary Yo, Chris Christie, governor of New Joisey, how ya doin'? What's this I'm hearin'? Peo- ple are beggin' you to run for president and all you can say is “fuhgeddaboudit?” Well, you need to fuhgedda- boudDAT! Look, smart guy, you surely see what a mockery Republi- cans are makin' of their presi- dential nomination process. Yeah, it's early. But what's with Trump takin' the media for a ride? Fox News took the goof seriously. Here we got real problems, and that guy had us talkin' about birth certificates! The rest of the field isn’t much better. There's Mitt Romney, two- term governor of Massachu- setts. Sure, he's got a lotta dough and a well-run organiza- tion. But as governor, he passed a health care plan that stinks almost as bad as the one Presi- dent Obama rammed though -- that thing's hangin' around Mitt's neck like a rottin' side of beef! Tim Pawlenty, two-term gov- ernor of Minnesota? Seems like a nice enough guy, with an OK enough record as governor. Trouble is, we need a bold, knock-your-socks-off candi- date. Pawlenty's about as inspi- rational as a toll collector on the Joisey Pike. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, the lib- ertarian guy, has some sensible ideas about reinin' in our out-of- control government. Then again, there's some- thing a little nutty about the guy. I prefer him in Congress -- where we can keep an eye on him. That brings us to Rick Santo- rum, the social conservative. Wasn't he the guy who tried, when he was a U.S. senator, to get the federal government to fund a program to support marriage? Ain’t marriage in enough trouble without Washington muckin' it up? Newt Gingrich is a smart guy. But he's really steppin' in it lately. What was he thinkin', turnin' on fellow Republican Paul Ryan's plan to reform Medicare? Besides, he’s mighty polariz- ing -- the opposite of what we need right now. John Bolton, our former U.N. ambassador, is a smart guy, too. But he ain't got a prayer for the nomination. Americans can’t handle a guy who speaks the truth so abruptly. And some in our coun- try aren’t ready for a president who looks like Mark Twain. It doesn't look like former governor of Alaska Sarah Palin is gonna go for it, but between you and me I’m afraid she wouldn’t beat President Obama - - and she’s almost as polarizing as Gingrich. So the press is lookin' to beat up anoth- er Republican woman. That would be U.S. Rep. Michelle Bach- mann – she has some good things to say but hasn't thrown her hat in the ring yet. I was really hoping Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana, would jump in, but he’s out. That’s a shame, too, because he has his state in sound fiscal order and firing on all eight cylinders -- exactly what our country needs. novice. Thanks to Obama, nobody's in the mood for anoth- er political novice. It's real simple, Gov. Christie. Tom Purcell The country is in a mess. Spending is out of control, unem- ployment remains high and we’re head- ed for a fiscal col- lapse if we don’t get our act together. We need some- body like you to tackle that thing -- spending. We need some- body like you to beat the federal government into shape -- just like you're doin' in Joisey. But the Republican field has got nobody like you. We need you to reconsider, The most interesting pol in the lot is Herman Cain. He's one of those guys who makes every- thing he touches turn to gold -- which is why he was so success- ful in business. Trouble is, he's a political Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e-mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. big boy -- and we’re not gonna fuhgeddaboudit. ———