Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/34053
6A Daily News – Wednesday, June 15, 2011 Opinion Response Editor: 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 At the risk of being labeled an anti-Semitic bigot I feel obligated to give a short rebuttal to Mr. Wil- son’s pro-Israel column of May 31. 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 First let me assure you that I harbor no animosity towards the Jewish or any other race. People are people the world over whatev- er other label is put in front of them. Most are warm generous and loving but some in every race and creed are obnoxious arrogant jerks with no regard for anyone else. The vast majority of people want to live in peace and see their children grow and prosper. The Palestinians are no exception. Although technically speaking there “has never in history been a Palestinian state,” there has been a place called Palestine even in Bib- lical days as referenced in Joel 3:4 and people have occupied that stretch of land for thousands of years. Jews and Muslims had lived peaceably in that part of the world for many years until Zionist Jewry decided that part of the world should be exclusively theirs. I dare speculate most Palestini- ans don’t hate Israelis because they are Jews, they resent them for forcibly taking their property and the lives of their love ones, and for making life a living hell for them. Palestinians are not restricting day to day activities of Israelis but the Israelis have harshly regulated Palestinian life for many years. Mr. Wilson speaks of “Justice.” Where is the justice in allowing one group of people to devastate another simply because they claim to be related to Abraham? By the way, Jacob/Israel was not Abra- ham’s only grandson. Yes, Palestinians have used unethical techniques — suicide bombings — but tell me who start- ed this conflict in the first place? Finally, to compare the Pales- tine struggle with Hitler’s “final solution” is frankly uncon- scionable. Orval Strong, Gerber Seats available Editor: I am writing to thank our com- munity and to invite all to attend what could be the show of the year. The Murder Mystery Dinner Theater project has been a tribute to the success of this community’s ability to work together in a focused effort to support our future economic vitality. From donated time, resources and cold hard cash, people from all walks of life, from all types of businesses have con- tributed to our effort. Seats are still available, con- trary to www.ticketforce.com, all tickets can be purchased through the Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce office at 527-6220. We found that more tickets were sold through word of mouth rather than advertising, therefore, reducing the need to sell online via the ticketforce tool. What better way to spend a Fri- day or Saturday night than watch- ing local community members including Greg Stevens, Johnnie Drocco, Robert Schmid, Gerry Gray, Beth Maxey, Clay Parker, Terri Bauer, Liz Foresburg, Chip Thompson, Dennis Murray, Roger Weigel, Annemarie March, Cori Dittner, Tammy Davidson, Sarah Swaggarty, and yours truly, make fools of ourselves in an effort to support the future of our commu- nity? Kristin Behrens, Red Bluff What is an incumbent Editor: An incumbent is a politician who, of course on more than one occasion told his electorate, or rather made many promises to them that if elected they were going to concentrate on keeping a balanced budget, improve educa- tion, create jobs, improve health care so that it is available to all, and most importantly abide by their sworn oath of office to uphold and protect our consti- tutional freedoms. Of course there already is a problem with that description of an incumbent politician, because if he or she is an incumbent running for a second or third term, (some in office as long as 20 years or more) cannot in their current run for office continue to make those same claims or promises that they made in their first run for office, simply because as we know at this point in time that they have failed in all regards. Our current crop of incumbent politicians as we should be well aware of by now have literally, and are continuing to turn America into a thirds world nation. It appears that they have inten- tions to turn all aspects of society into the hands of private for profit corporations. School vouchers, taxpayer dol- lars going to private for profit schools with teachers being appointed by corporate CEOs, and I suspect with a religious doctrine. Most of our military has been privatized. there is something unnerving about that fact that we have to rely on private corpora- tions in order to wage war. Again taxpayer dollars going to corpora- tions that lobby politicians to wage never ending wars Blackwater a mercenary private army paid for with taxpayer dol- lars, yet not accountable for war crimes committed in our names. A lot of our intelligence appara- Your Turn tus is farmed out to private compa- nies, that should raise a few eye- brows. Had they gotten their way and privatized Social Security it would have been wiped out in this last financial melt- down. The thought that they could so easily put millions of dis- abled, and elderly seniors only source of income in jeopardy, a virtual gamble in the stock market, says a lot about just how much they are looking out for the peo- ples best interest. As with all elections this next one is going to more important then the last, in fact much more important then ever. Might I suggest that we put all of party affiliations aside and unite with a plan that will assure that we maintain the ability to control our own destiny. Let’s show washington that it is we the people that own Amer- ica. And lastly, though it is seri- ous, I can't help but chuckle when I think about how we all give our congress critters a 13% approval rating, better still and more fitting would be to give them a 87% disapproval rating, and yet at election time we are at each others throat like cats and dogs saying my guy is bet- ter then yours. Joseph D'Aiello, 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. Kids’ summer ain’t what it used to be Commentary It was the first time in my childhood when I had an excuse for being late for din- ner, but nobody -- not even the cops -- would believe me. In the summer of 1972 or thereabouts, when I was 10, Tommy Guillen and I built a dam in the creek on the other side of the Horning Road tun- nel that carries cars below rail- road tracks. We'd been building up the dam for days to create our own three-foot pool in which we chased after crayfish and min- nows -- our own cool spot to while away the hot summer afternoons. We'd just completed adding another row of blocks to the dam when I heard my father's voice booming from a few blocks away, calling me home for dinner. That was the rule for kids then: We were free to roam the hills and fields, ride our bikes and build shacks and dams, but God help us if we didn't respond when our parents called us home for dinner. Just as Tommy and I were clawing our way up the bank of the creek, we heard a motor racing and tires screeching. Then we heard what sounded like a spectacular crash. As we got to the top of the hillside and began running toward the tunnel, we saw a lime-colored Plymouth Road- runner, a popular muscle car, roaring away from it. The driver was young -- 20 or so -- and had long, greasy hair. I'd seen that car and driver before and figured the fellow lived nearby. When we ran into the tunnel, we saw Grandpa Naylor's Cor- vair convertible smashed against the wall. Grandpa Naylor always did drive slowly. He told us that as the impatient greasy-haired fel- low passed him, he was forced into the wall of the tunnel. He and his elderly wife were pretty shaken up, so Tommy and I ran up the street to his son's house to tell the son what had happened. By the time we returned, the police had arrived. I tried to get their attention but they weren't much interested in what a lousy kid had to report. "Did you get a license plate?" said the cop. "No, sir," I said. The cop grunted and turned his attention back to the adults. I got home for din- ner 30 minutes late and, boy, was I in trou- ble. I tried to explain what had happened -- how Tommy and I had run to get help and had tried to be good citi- zens by reporting what we saw to the police -- but they would have none of it. It never occurred to my parents to check with the Naylor family or call the cops them- selves. We children were guilty until proven innocent then, and parents had zero interest in finding out if we were inno- cent. And, boy, were we lucky to grow up when we did! With summer upon us again, the media are publishing a spate of articles that offer tips to parents on how to make their kids go out and play. The articles generally sug- gest that adults organize and participate in the activities -- today's overly coddled kids aren't allowed to do much play- ing on their own. Nor are many kids these days free to fig- ure things out for themselves -- a skill that comes in handy in adulthood. Tom Purcell God forbid if a kid were to spend a few hours with his best friend, damming up a creek and witnessing a hit-and-run acci- dent! I got grounded for being late for dinner, but a few days later I was back at the creek -- and keeping an eye out for the license plate number of that lime-colored Plymouth Road- runner! 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. ———