Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/335597
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 Ring,ring. "Hello, this is Tom." "Hello, Tom, this is the federal government. We are going to audit your taxes and want to see all of your records for 2011." "Sorry, federal gov- ernment, but my com- puter crashed in 2011. All of my emails, electronic receipts and financial records were lost." "We're not buying that, Tom. Anybody with half a brain would back up his data to a backup drive. And many peo- ple pay a measly 60 bucks a year to a service that automat- ically backs the data up online. Surely, your 2011 data still ex- ist." "Nope, sorry, no backups were ever done. When my com- puter crashed I lost all the data I created from 2009 to 2011." "Then give us the crashed hard drive, Tom. We have ex- perts here who know how to retrieve data from crashed drives." "I'd love to help you, but it is my policy to recycle crashed hard drives." "Well, what about emails you sent to your accountant, Tom? They surely exist. Email exists not just on hard drives but on the networks of the email pro- viders." "Nope, sorry, the emails are gone forever, too. My accoun- tant's computer also crashed. And the email provider we were using went out of business." "That sounds awfully fishy to us, Tom." "Why should it? It is the very same defense the IRS is using. The IRS says it is unable to re- trieve specific information and emails from specific IRS em- ployees who are accused of us- ing the IRS to target conserva- tive groups." "What are you talking about, Tom?" "According to Politico, the IRS told congressional investi- gators 'that the emails of (Lois) Lerner, the former head of the tax exempt division that was found to have singled out conservative groups for additional scrutiny, were lost from 2009 to 2011 in a computer hard drive crash in early summer 2011.'" "So what of it, Tom? Computer crashes hap- pen all the time." "Politico says 'the time frame is significant because the tea party targeting began in the spring of 2010, and Republi- cans think if there was a smok- ing gun connecting the Obama administration to the IRS treat- ment of conservative groups, it could be found during that pe- riod.'" "Come now, Tom. Govern- ment agencies follow specific processes for disposing of bro- ken hard drives. Bad drives are sent to companies that recycle them. There is absolutely no ev- idence that operatives in the White House had anything to do with the targeting of conser- vative groups." "This is a matter of grave im- portance, I hope you agree. Us- ing the IRS to attack or perse- cute political opponents is what every single American fears. And many Americans think that our government is not coming clean on the entire tea party matter." "That may be what you think, Tom, but we think that many Americans are more con- cerned with Kim Kardashian's new baby than they are about confusing government scan- dals." "Look, it is hard to believe that the email records of six people involved in this scandal are somehow lost forever due to a series of convenient hard- drive crashes. It's awfully coin- cidental, don't you think?" "You sound paranoid, Tom. You must be one of those con- servative kooks. Besides, none of the IRS scandal with conser- vative groups has anything to do with you." "Sure it does. For starters, it speaks to the integrity of our government. Has our govern- ment gotten so big and messy that citizens now have to live in fear of it? Besides, if govern- ment officials can defend them- selves by stonewalling on infor- mation and records, then why can't an average American do likewise?" "Nice try, Tom! Why don't you go ahead and attempt the same defense during an IRS au- dit and see what happens to you!" TomPurcell,authorof"Misad- ventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor col- umnist. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Tom Purcell A defensive response Using the IRS to attack or persecute political opponents is what every single American fears. And many Americans think that our government is not coming clean on the entire tea party matter. Democratpartisanship Editor: Columnist Richard Mazzuc- chi, with his decades of liberal Democrat representation in Sacramento, is clueless about the frustration of one-third of California's voters who lack state and federal representa- tion. The State of Jefferson move- ment represents frustration with liberal Democrats' un- willingness to represent cen- trists and conservatives. Cali- fornia legislators, as evidenced by Sacramento Bee articles, are proud of their efforts to ex- clude Republicans from legis- lative representation on any spending bill. California Democrat legisla- tors only seem to understand tax and spend and tax some more. Companies are forced to leave the state to escape over taxation, over control, over regulation and over unioniza- tion. — Joseph Neff, Corning Beware the double cross Editor: Be cautious about jumping on the Jefferson bandwagon. Beg your Supervisors to get more information. Teachers and staff can kiss their jobs goodbye when al- most 80 percent of school funding disappears. There goes public education as we know it. Living in the poorest state in the nation, we can kiss our California property val- ues goodbye. Goodbye to Cal Trans and Cal Fire. Getting rid of taxes won't pay for fire protection. How high will property, liability and fire in- surance rates rise? You can kiss your jobs good- bye if you work for the city, county or state. Proponents of the State of Jefferson claim their reshuffle means less gov- ernment and that means you. In Jefferson, only the sher- iff's department will provide law enforcement. If you don't work for the sheriff, kiss your job goodbye. Business owners: Use cau- tion. Who will be able to pa- tronize your business? That is anyone who hasn't left already. The Chamber of Commerce should analyze this nebulous proposal. So far the Jefferson mob, whoever they are, feel no ob- ligation to give information about what will happen to us, our families, our property, county services or our business community. — Sue Gallagher, Los Molinos Rainmakers and other con- men Editor: About one hundred years ago, San Diego officials con- tracted with a rainmaker to solve that county's drought. The rainmaker held huge parades with cannons shooting into the sky, which they usually did, and most of the residents approved. We no longer have those crooks, but now we have the Jefferson Declaration Commit- tee promising jobs and joy and freedom to everyone. Don't like taxes — there will be no taxes. Mad at your school — no public schools, dislike law enforcement, no police. Angry at the fire fee — it will be gone. Everything will be free and without regulation and they will build an anarchists' dream state where the politicians will work for free — if you believe all this, there may be a rain- maker you should hire. Oh, and it will be financed by selling all public lands, never mind if the US government dis- agrees, or the state of Cali- fornia. There will be logging, fracking, mining and sale of public water to pay for every- thing. There are a few small prob- lems — fracking and mining use huge amounts of water and heavily pollute it, logging de- stroys watershed and the fed- eral government and the state of California own those lands. But the Jefferson people hold the best parades, and everyone joins, even our Supervisors. The rainmakers were run out of San Diego and not paid, the problem was not that it did not rain, but that there was the worst flood in the history of San Diego, a total disaster. — Diana Thompson, Red Bluff Trapping mammals during nesting Editor: I've been receiving a lot of calls from people who have trapped mother mammals during mating season and want me to re-locate them. This has caused a chain of events that result in the death of the infants. The result- ing vacuum pulls in another mammal in its place. Wildlife became pests when your home becomes its source of food, water and dens. Re- location is illegal because it spreads disease from one site to another. It is also difficult for the animal to survive be- cause of competition and loss of knowledge about food re- sources. When you relocate a mother and infant, the mother runs away and the infant is left to die. Adults have been known to return home from 35 miles away. The best strategy for home- owners is to stop supplying food and dens. Do not leave cat and dog food outside, es- pecially at night. Close up en- trances and exits under your home. Eliminate wood piles and denning sites outside. Predator-proof your chicken coop. The young grow up quickly. They will be gone in a few weeks. It is illegal to take, includ- ing trap, mammals unless you have a depredation permit from the California Depart- ment of Fish & Wildlife, or if sick or injured. There are li- censed trappers who will catch and euthanize wildlife dam- aging property or crops in the Yellow Pages. Unfortunately, they may take the mothers and leave the babies who can't survive on their own. Contact me, a licensed wild- life rehabilitator for Tehama County, at 347-1687 for more information. — Karen Scheuermann, Cottonwood Your opinions Cartoonist's take Since the 1980s, the GOP has been wracked with conflicting opinions on immigration policy. Political correctness-prone pun- dits and big business-backed pol- iticians strongly support not just amnesty for illegal aliens, but far more generous migration pro- grams. On the other hand, na- tionalistic commentators and like-minded public servants op- pose liberalization measures full- stop. A great many find themselves somewhere in-between, usually following perceived public senti- ment or special interest pressure rather than personal conviction. No longer can one deliver mealy-mouthed sentiments de- signed to quell national conser- vatives, yet satisfy open borders advocates. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor dis- covered this the hard way. His landslide primary loss to an ob- scure economics professor caused finger-in-the-wind Republicans to run away from amnesty like it was radioactive waste. The chattering class — on both sides of the aisle — believes that congressional Republicans must support an amnesty bill to win Hispanic votes during 2016. Of course, granting legaliza- tion to unlawful immigrants is nothing more than building the Democratic base. The over- whelming majority of illegals are economically destitute, ill-edu- cated, eager to receive public as- sistance, and trained only for me- nial jobs; the sort which millions of Americans need yet find in short supply. What can be easily said is that illegals are primed for our coun- try's emerging leftist movement. Should amnesty happen, this front's reliance on ancestral iden- tity and victimhood politics will make it an ideal home for pres- ent-day illegals. How can the Republican brand, with its focus on fiscal re- straint and Anglocentric Protes- tant social values, compete with this? The obvious answer is it can't. At the same time, the GOP is unable to become a mellower version of the Democratic Party. Not only would virtually all of its current members bolt, but Dem- ocratic constituencies wouldn't budge an inch. After all, why go for a cheap imitation when you can get the real thing? So how can Republicans forge ahead, especially when it comes to presidential races? Ultimately, the GOP has little future here, and what it does have boils down to sheer misery. Even if amnesty never passes, demographic shifts and progressive political trends are leaving Republicans in the dust. On social matters, the Re- publican base, dominated by fundamentalist Christians, won't compromise. They would sooner abandon politics than vote for a viable candidate who might, in their view, anger Je- sus. As for economic policy, both hardcore Republicans and libertarians won't accept so- cialism-lite. Without these groups, Republi- cans don't stand a chance nation- wide. Mitt Romney is living proof of this. Three million Republi- cans stayed home for the 2012 general election. Analysts deter- mined that most of these folks were Christian conservatives. Romney went as far right on so- cial issues as he could, but this wasn't enough for some. Since 2012, the nation has only become more progressive. In order to stand electable, a Republican nominee must tack to his left in 2016. This poor fellow might as well try making gold bullion out of goat's milk. Rather than waste time in the presidential arena, Repub- licans should focus on winning both chambers of Congress. Aside from securing a lead role on Capitol Hill for generations to come, the GOP would fi- nally deal with its internal dis- putes and make advantages out of them. Pro-choice and anti- abortion congresspersons can sit side by side, along with free marketeers and trade protec- tionists. Different wings of the GOP could finally go their own way while agreeing to disagree. Who cares about winning the White House? Leave that head- ache to the Democrats. Joseph Cotto is a historical and social journalist, and writes about politics, economics and social issues. Email him at joseph.f.cotto@gmail.com. Joseph Cotto The Republican party is in serious trouble Tom Purcell OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, June 25, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6