Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/371338
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 By Joe Gandelman Shortlyafterheangrilyde- nounced the obscene behead- ing of freelance journalist James Foley by a member of the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a smiling Presi- dent Barack Obama was photo- graphed playing golf. And so it started — just like clockwork. Obama's not really work- ing... He's ignoring the coun- try's crises... He doesn't really care about Foley... The optics are bad. In reality, everyone knows the expressions of outrage over Obama's golf and smile were part of an ongoing media and political ballet. It's part of a dance with highly predict- able moves, even though some ostensibly go ballistic if it's called precisely what it is. You watch this ballet and wonder: why don't people just call this what it is? A ballet. Fox News filled lots of air time mentioning Obama's golf, reaching its crescendo with a suggestion by The Five co- host Greg Gutfeld, who won the Self Absorption Award of 2014: "Maybe he was not plan- ning on golfing after that grim press conference, but chose to because some expressed con- cern he would," Gutfeld said. "Does Obama golf because [Fox News] says not to? Does he do everything because FNC says not to?" Rush Limbaugh re- played his comment from 2008 when he had warned listeners that Obama was "cold" and "de- void of passion" and like a "pro- grammed robot." At least the conservative site Protein Wis- dom put its views in clever knock-knock joke form about the group that butchered Foley: "'Knock knock, Mr. President.' 'Who's there?' 'ISIS. Or ISIL. Your choice.' 'ISIS or ISIL who?'" The New York Times' Maureen Dowd did an excruciatingly trite take-off column having Obama do the Gettysburg Ad- dress as "The Golf Address." Forbes' 'Rick Ungar, who usually supports Obama, said Obama failed to grasp Amer- ica's collective pain. From the New York Daily News, to The Hill, publications ran sto- ries seemingly shocked about Obama playing golf after making the announcement. Buzzfeed ran seven photos of Obama playing golf. The Week reported that Democrats felt Obama was "tone deaf" when he went to play golf. The White House countered that Obama played golf to clear his head. Some realities: 1. All Presidents have had their leisure activities and didn't pursue them because they had nothing to do or weren't working. Teddy Roos- evelt rode horses, wrestled and boxed in the White House. JFK sailed. Ronald Reagan chopped wood. Dwight Eisenhower's golfing gave Bob Hope material for years. Yes, George W. Bush golfed. 2. The people going after Obama on golf know full well he wasn't halting his work and cared about Foley. They get political donations, read- ers, viewers and can hurt par- tisans on the other side if it's framed as a big deal. 3. There is a valid news story in negative reactions to him playing golf, but it got lost in the gleeful political, snark and derision fests. 4. Our politics is highly toxic and this underscores no matter how serious a subject, Americans can't focus on uni- fying on a big issue. The fun- and-games narrative itself be- comes "the ball" and obscures or belittles serious policy is- sues (like Obama's comments' actual content). 5. The bulk of Americans would not accuse any Presi- dent of not doing his job or car- ing if he played after making a grim announcement. But many Americans now take their cues (and many opinions) from what their favorite ideological talker or writer says or writes, or by a viewpoint communicated to them in a news story. You might now suggest that all of this will change because the partisanship and follow- the-narrative media stories are so excruciatingly predictable. And to that I say: Bolshoi. JoeGandelmanisavet- eran journalist who wrote for newspapers overseas and in the United States. He can be reached at jgandelman@the- moderatevoice.com. Follow him on Twitter: www.twitter. com/joegandelman. Independent's eye Areweteed off at Obama's golfing? The people going after Obama on golf know full well he wasn't halting his work and cared about Foley. They get political donations, readers, viewers and can hurt partisans on the other side if it's framed as a big deal. Cartoonist's take Labor Day is just around the corner. For most Americans, this means little more than the end of the summer social season. Kids and college students alike return to school, leaving relieved par- ents to grasp some sense of nor- malcy. Cookouts flare on and friends get together for cool drinks after some outdoor fun. Amid all of this action, ev- eryone seems to forget what the holiday is about. During the late 1800s, la- bor leaders decided that hard- working Americans deserved a special day of their own. The 1894 Pullman Railroad strike had such wide-ranging implica- tions that less than a week after peace broke out, President Gro- ver Cleveland signed Labor Day into law. Considering that both U.S. soldiers and federal law enforce- ment officers killed a number of strikers, this was the least that he could do. Prior to the organization of labor unions, blue collar work- ers were subject to gruesome employment. Their jobs in the mines, in the factories, or under the burning sun left them ex- posed to considerable danger. Minimum wage laws were a long way off, and if one thinks that health insurance is bad now, it was non existent then. Then there is the Gilded Age's near-total lack of workplace san- itation and fair pay standards. Thankfully, scores of long- pressed laborers eventually got together and formed unions. As individuals, they were all but powerless to bring about pos- itive change. In large groups, though, they managed to secure the American Dream not only for themselves, but generations to come. Throughout the twentieth century, Democrats typically fa- vored the interests of non-man- agerial workers, while Republi- cans catered to administrators and business owners. Radicals in both parties sometimes de- stroyed the chance for reason- able solutions to complex finan- cial problems, but moderate voices often prevailed. That should explain our coun- try's economic success for most of the 1900s. As of late, however, the Demo- cratic mainstream has grown to favor illegal immigration, which is sure to not only generate com- petition for already scarce jobs, but drive down wages. The Republican mainstream, on the other hand, typically stands against illegal immigra- tion, but favors measures like the privatization of Social Se- curity and cracking down on a worker's right to organize. In short, the American worker has very few true friends in pol- itics these days, and the list is getting shorter all the time. More than anything else, this is what we should consider on Labor Day. We ought to remem- ber that it was the best of lib- eral and progressive traditions which brought us said holiday. Of course, like any other po- litical schools of thought, lib- eralism and progressivism will cause major disturbances if al- lowed to run unchecked. Still, this does not negate the fantas- tic impact each philosophy had on improving the lives of aver- age Americans. Irrespective of our personal views, we ought to hold the lib- erals and progressives of yester- year in high regard. After all, if it were not for them, then Amer- ica would never have become the world's beacon of prosperity. The hardworking conserva- tives of today wouldn't have a day off, either. As a matter of fact, they'd be so busy — along with the overwhelming major- ity of us — toiling away in some mine, plant, or field that there would be no real time for leisure. A sober realization such as this should put Labor Day into an entirely different, and far more enriching, perspective. 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 In case you forgot, a historical perspective on Labor Day Another view By Rick Jensen The initial outburst of rage, simmering for years in a brick and pavement community draped in poverty was gen- uine, and for many today is still genuine. It didn't and will never matter to many in Fergu- son what Michael Brown did or did not do. What remains is a white man of authority gunned him down in the street and "the man" left his corpse in the open to rot for hours as men, women and children ogled, stared and raged from a distance. What are the Black Panthers doing in Ferguson? Why are vi- olent protesters and looters coming to Ferguson from Cali- fornia and New York? We know why Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are there. Jesse Jackson was booed by residents as he asked for do- nations. Yes, Jesse, the folks in Ferguson see right through you. It's taken awhile for peo- ple to say so publicly, but we've known you to be a poverty pimp for personal profit for some time now. Tell us again why Budweiser gave your son a Chicago distributorship that made him a millionaire. Ferguson's population is two- thirds black, and the general consensus among these people is that their lives are controlled by outside forces that do not have their best interests in heart. They see armored vehicles with police wearing armor and helmets and get no sense of community from these police. They see an author- ity bent on suppression. When State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson walked around Ferguson with residents, he assured them that his goal was to keep the peace. People around the Captain who grew up in the neighborhood felt re- lieved. That is, they felt relieved until the police were pelted with bottles and drew their weapons upon hearing gunfire. Now Malik Shabazz, leader of the New Black Panther Party, is leading people in chants calling for the murder of Ferguson Po- lice Officer Darren Wilson. Shabazz (on bullhorn): "Who do we want?" Crowd: "Darren Wilson!" Shabazz: "How do we want him?" Crowd: "Dead!" That's helpful. Democratic Governor Jay Nixon goes on national TV and excoriates Ferguson po- lice for the "over-militarization" of their force. He is received warmly among the liberal press and powerful leftwing sites like Huffington Post, Slate and Sa- lon. Then he sends in the mil- itary. The Missouri National Guard rolls in with armored ve- hicles equipped with gun tur- rets. That's helpful, too. The bad actors are upstag- ing the truly afflicted residents. Those bad actors are not merely the out-of-state agitators and race hustlers. Left-wing websites fill lap- tops and smartphones with sto- ries designed to make the po- lice seem evil, as though they created false scenarios around the innocent "gentle giant" Mike Brown who gently pushed around the convenience store clerk from whom he stole. Governor Nixon wasn't done playing politics by sending in the big guns and Robocop lookalikes, either. He has found an ego-mas- saging spotlight by criticizing the Ferguson police chief for the same decisions he himself made. "There are times when force is necessary, but we really felt that push at that time was a lit- tle aggressive, obviously, and those images were not what we were trying to get to," Nixon said on ABC's "This Week," re- ferring to the policing using heavily armored military vehi- cles. "And in those situations where folks are rolling up heav- ily armored and they're point- ing guns at folks, that's impos- sible to have a dialogue. Yes, those are the words of the same Governor Nixon who ordered his National Guard to roll up the streets of Ferguson heavily armored. Ferguson started out be- ing about residents crushed by over 13 percent unemployment and low wages for those who do work, enveloped in a world of crime where police are over- worked and unappreciated by too many of the people they try to serve. Frustration and anger has been simmering for years. The Democratic Party ruling the state, county and town (where the exception is the Republican Mayor) has no solutions. Now, instead of working to- ward meaningful solutions like creating real job opportunities and meaningful changes in ed- ucation in Ferguson, only the race hustlers and politicians are profiting. Rick Jensen is Delaware's award-winning conserva- tive talk show host on 1150AM WDEL and 93.7FM HD3. Con- tact Rick at rick@wdel.com, or follow him on Twitter @Jensen- 1150WDEL. What's Ferguson really about now? OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, August 28, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6