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4A Daily News – Thursday, August 4, 2011 Opinion Little League 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 Editor: Here’s how I started the mid- dle of the week. “Don’t worry honey, we will figure it out.” That’s what credit cards are for. We will make it. Now I’ll I can say is wow. Wow to the Junior Spartans, 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 wow to the parents and grandpar- ents that have sat beside me since opening day in March. Wow to old friends, close friends, daycare providers, neighbors, and bosses that have excused are long absences. Wow to the kids. Wow to the coaches and the 10 p.m. practices, you have done and gave up so much. Wow to the ‘74 team and their fans. My son has come home with stories that you have told. It truly lives on in the history of Red Bluff. Red Bluff is a true communi- ty. As an All-Star parent this has meant so much. We have so much on our mind right now. Who will water the lawn? Who will watch the dog? Feed the cat? Who will pick up the mail? I can tell you after Sunday we don’t have to worry so much about the money. The line to the car wash on Sunday in front of Cornerstone Bank — thank you JB — was five cars deep on two sides for five hours straight — $50, $100, $5 and I did not see all the donations. But I thank you, Red Bluff. Right now as I write my hus- band is still on the phone saying thank you. I am crossing off my list of to do’s before we go but I had to stop and say thank you Red Bluff. These are truly our boys and “We figured it out.” Jennifer Pritchard, Red Bluff Tragedy Editor: I am writing regarding the tragic accident that happened on the Sacramento River last Sunday where a rafter was hit and killed by a boat. One of the first ques- tions that comes to mind is, “How can this happen?” I am surprised it doesn’t happen more often. We all recognize the responsi- bilities of the boat owner, but we sometimes forget the obligation of the rafters to themselves. Floating down the river on a low profile device designed to lounge in a swimming pool is not pru- dent. When the south wind blows hard, as it was that afternoon, a considerable chop builds on the river. That coupled with the after- noon glare, makes low floating items hard to see. Ask anyone who has ever hit a log in the river. The rafters have the responsi- bility to make themselves visible in all conditions, including chop and glare. In the incident last Sunday, the small raft was blue on white; perfect camouflage in white-cap conditions. When a boat tows an inner-tuber, an orange flag must be displayed at all times. This lets other boaters know there is someone low in the water. It is time rafters display a similar warning. It would be easy to put an orange flag on a four foot mast secured to a raft. This would greatly improve their chances of being seen. Further, people should only choose devices that are designed for the rigors of this very dangerous river. Swim- ming pool lounge chairs are not such devices. Finally, the best safety device for boaters and rafters alike is being aware. A constant look-out and positive eye contact with the driver of the vessel, is always the best way to acknowl- edge you have been seen. The normal practice on the Sacramen- to River is for both the boaters and the rafters to give a friendly wave. What happened was tragic. Hopefully we can all learn from this incident and make choices in the future that could help prevent something like this from happen- ing again. Ron Hale, Red Bluff Up in smoke Editor: Tom Purcell’s commentary on July 20 about cigars was an excel- lent article. Mr. Purcell was right on the mark. Cigar smokers are being targeted by the pleasure police whom cannot stand citizens enjoying their freedom of choice. The health issue is overblown, a distraction and a smokescreen. Your Turn I too enjoy those hour-long cigars. I usually smoke one a day. I am a live-in caregiver. A 24/7 job with no regular days off nor vacation time. My cigar break (outdoors) is a Godsend because it gives me that time I need for quiet relaxation, my downtime and away from the everyday stress and demands that a live-in caregiver must deal with. I do not recommend cigar smoking for everyone, but it works for me. Comedian/actor George Burns smoked four to six of those pre- mium cigars a day and lived to be 100 years old! George S. Williams, Red Bluff Picky eaters Editor: In regards to the letter printed July 7, 2011, titled “Food Give- away” by David McBath, Red Bluff: “Beggars can’t be choosers!” It’s a food give away, not a “Hey everyone please come down and pick what you want out of our fine selection of wonderful food because we can afford to feed everyone in Tehama County give away.” You say you are “disappoint- ed.” The one’s giving the free food away should be disappointed that there are people out there that do not appreciate a good deed. Justin Pelaiz, Corning 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; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Politics, reality show style Commentary The difference between a docu- mentary and a reality show is stag- ing. A documentary tells a story about real life. The subjects are normally not paid, aren't actors and the story is non-fiction. It's a quiet, illuminating and thoughtful genre (read: boring). Reality shows are like life, in that people on these programs do things people do in real life, (i.e. travel, date, lose weight) but the cir- cumstances are contrived. The con- testants are put in artificial situa- tions with heightened rewards and it's put on camera. The stakes are fake. The participants pre- screened. The episodes are script- ed. It's "reality" television. It's like reality...only augmented for drama and ratings. Enter the United States Govern- ment. Civics and public servants are usually a snooze fest. Rules and procedures and suit-fillers giving long speeches are not all that inter- esting. Sure there was the occa- sional duel involving a member of Congress in the last 235 years. Bill Clinton's enemies brought us a primetime sex scandal. But for the most part politics was watching history in the making, which is like watching anything else being made...slow and tedious. Think documentary. It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment politics crossed over into full reality show mayhem. These things usually happen in a "perfect storm" situation. Meaning: it wasn't just one thing. It was a couple of unforeseen events happening all at once — all horrifying to Republi- cans. One was the meltdown of the financial system in 2008. It was the moment Bush had to "abandon free market principles to save the free market system" with TARP. The other was McCain's concession. Go ahead and watch the speech again. The homogeneous crowd looks like they're at a wake for a Ralph Lauren and L.L. Bean mur- der/suicide as their candidate says Barack Hussein Obama will be his president. If deregulation and tax cuts had done what they was claimed they would do and not wreck the world's economy — then maybe having a guy whose middle name was the same as a Middle Eastern dictator we've spent trillions to take out, as the new president — wouldn't have seemed so drastic. But this is the moment when politics went from CSPAN to Jerry Springer. What happens when a guest on Springer gets accused of something and he's clearly at fault? He gets louder and starts throwing out desperate accusations. "How do I know you didn't give it to me?!" So instead of contrition — they opted for defensive blustering with something vaguely foreign-sound- ing to blame. This is the tea party: Freaked out Republicans. Lovers of unpaid-for tax cuts, unpaid-for wars and sat- urnalia on Wall Street were faced with the evi- dence that their ideas, when implemented, are terrible. So they took a cue from reality shows — they went full bom- bast. Then it was Obama (whose name also sounds like Osama) who passed TARP and doubled the debt (when that actually happened under the "compassion- ate conservative" Bush with a GOP Congress). And just like when reality show producers figured out backstabbing and borderline psychopathic con- testants meant ratings — during the health care reform debate the Republicans learned anything chanted by old people on television (no matter how nonsensical) domi- nates the debate. "Keep the govern- ment out of my Medicare!" For the last two and a half years politics has been trash television. We've had right-wing stars staying relevant through mudslinging and shamelessness. The tea party wouldn't be satisfied with just one Snooki. We've had fake stings by phony pimps and ideology-driven hoaxes. Astroturf is being sold as organic outrage. In short: it's staged. It's Tina Dupuy over-produced indigna- tion by interest groups that don't do as well in the dullness of documentary style politics and need the chaos of the ridiculous to keep progress at bay. Cutting government spending (think govern- ment jobs) during record unemployment? More tax cuts for the top 1 per- cent during record low tax rates and unprece- dented tax exemptions? Do these ideas sound like something people come up with when they're not just cyni- cally throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks? How many times do the cable news networks need to have a countdown clock up for congres- sional dustups that could shut down the government? We're being held captive by stunts. Choreographed stunts. This is not what deliberative govern- ment looks like. This is what deliberate turmoil looks like. Tina Dupuy is an award-winning writer and fill-in host at The Young Turks. Tina can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com.