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4A Daily News – Friday, August 12, 2011 Opinion Look back in anger 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 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 Wednesday was sobering. I had been out of the office for a week and it was probably the longest I’ve gone in more than three years without working, or even thinking much about work. Shorter breaks and those during which I sometimes check in at the paper aren’t much different when I return – there’s always a pile of e- mails and dozens of phone mes- sages waiting, along with an edi- tion that needs to get to the printer that night. Invariably, some of what’s waiting includes very angry words about something published during my absence. Whether or not I’m at my desk, I’m still responsible for the editorial content of the Daily News. The outrage fell into three cate- gories when I opened and listened to my messages Wednesday morn- ing. ished. 1) No good deed goes unpun- Nietzsche would call it active and reactive forces, but just about every time we report good news, somebody finds a way to get ticked off. The Red Bluff All-Stars Little League team won the state title and is well on its way to Pennsyl- vania for the Little League World Series. Support from the commu- nity has been impressive, and we’ve covered the team through- out all tournaments to date – more than any other media source in the area. Sports Editor Rich Greene even produced a series of profiles to help the community get to know each of the team’s players. The natural reaction, for some, has been to criticize our coverage and complain that a picture wasn’t good enough or reporting of scores wasn’t instantaneous. And there’s a groundswell of unrest over how donations made by the community have been spent. Don’t worry, we’ll cover the latter issue as it plays out. In the meantime, we’ll join the rest of the community in wishing our young athletes success on the diamond. 2) Report vs. recollection These calls come up all the time and spring from the police reports we publish each day on page 3A. Police reports generally document the consequences of poor decisions. The confusion among those complaining is the distinction between what was reported and what, in fact, happened in their minds. First, police reports are not absolute fact. They are, as the name suggests, what was reported by the police either in logs or press releases. When folks are caught doing something they shouldn’t – excuse me, reported to have done something they shouldn’t – they are outraged that we would publish the details without including their side of the story, which typically involves them doing nothing wrong. The answer is, almost always, that the informa- tion comes from law enforcement and if there is an inaccuracy in the report, we will run a cor- rection when confirmed by law enforcement. I don’t think we’ve ever run such a correction. One gentleman even com- plained that his minor criminal activity appeared on the front page of the paper, while the story about a previous, and much more heinous, crime he committed was on an inside page Chip Thompson 545 Diamond Ave. group of readers. Such was the case this week when a column included some pretty tough, and loose, analogies about those of a particular political ideology. I won’t defend this columnist’s state- ments, neither will I forbid him from mak- ing them. That’s the nature of an opinion page and I get just as many cries of foul for columnists that repre- sent opposing views. What do I think of the statements? It doesn’t matter. But I will suggest to the writer that the lan- guage and imagery he 3) Columnist gone wild It never fails, whenever I’m away one of our local columnists decides to spin the dial off the rhetoric meter and anger a large invoked in the column might be better suited for radio and televi- sion pundits, for whom shock is a commodity. Newspapers are capable of a higher level of discourse and analysis than that screeching non- stop out of electronic media. And that goes for all columnists. Chip Thompson can be reached at 527-2151, Ext. 112 or by e-mail at editor@redbluffdailynews.com. 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. Before the game is afoot Commentary The missus and son Brandon travelled to S.F. to watch the Giants lose another game, while I was able to view them losing in solitary splen- dor at home, on the telly, without admonish- ment from the missus as I fast forwarded the pre-recorded game. I am a fair weather fan. When they win, I savor every moment and even the endless replays when one of our boys hits a home run. When they are getting beaten like a gong by the opposing team, whose pitchers pitch a full nine innings and their insolent bat- ters not only get on base but move about the bases with the apparent approval of our pitcher, I fast forward while examining the box in top left of the screen until it indicates 3 dots mean- ing 3 outs rather than Morse Code for “Help!” It is not that we don’t have a good team…it is that our opponents have a better one. When we hit a line drive, it is directly to their short stop who will catch it without moving his feet while trying to stifle a yawn. When they hit a long fly ball it is either in the gap between 1st and 2nd, or it is over the wall and drops some- where near San Jose. And as our losses mount, the television crew becomes more prescient. When the umpire calls our pitcher’s strike a ball several times in a row, a camera does a quick pan to manager Bochy as he mutters an epithet directed towards the errant ump. When our pitcher walks a batter, the camera switches to Righetti, the pitching coach, who will be star- ing intently at our pitcher and be poised to walk to the mound to advise our pitcher how to “cor- rect his mechanics.” He will probably say, “You know, kid, when you throw that insider and it winds up on the backstop?” and our pitcher will say, “Yeah?” Righetti will respond, “Well, don’t do that again unless you’re homesick for Fresno.” However, it is a lovely game. It is a thinking man’s game… and I only wish our team would think a little more and hit into double plays a lit- tle less. * * * Sources say, by the end of this year, we will have a global population of 7 billion people. This is an increase of 1 billion since 1999 despite how many more Americans are killed in Afghanistan by Xmas. These are sobering sta- tistics exacerbated by a certain religious leader’s unwillingness to “sanctify” birth control via the pill. That, and lack of govern- ment support for a woman’s right to choose abortion, and we are well on our way to lacking a little elbow room in the not too distant future. We can no longer count on pesti- lence and famine to keep the world’s population in check. We need to modify that old saw “every life is precious” with the tag “if we remain at the status quo.” It is time for world leaders to take a stand. * * * You can check off colonic cleansing on your “to do” list. A new study concludes such irrigation doesn’t have any more health benefits than, say, attending a City Council meeting. * * * If you find yourself spending less, join the crowd. Sources say the rate of spending growth from 2003 to the 2007 was 14%...and after that, only 3%. Consumers are spending more for cell phone service, movies and hospital care and less at gambling casinos and veterinary clinics and for new autos. * * * Lariat Bowl, during National Bowling Week, participated in an attempt to set a new world’s record for games bowled in a 24-hour period. I was not invited to attend, perhaps because I do not bowl. My father was a bowler. Too small at 16 for sports at Alfred University in New Jersey which he attended for a year, he had little time for sports as he worked many jobs to put food on the table for his family once they arrived in California in 1918. However, as he prospered, he found time for tennis...and for bowling at Lariat Bowl. He once won a very small trophy and announced it meant more to him than his first Cadillac. * * * The drive way to our ranch is about a quarter of a mile off the highway and we are surprised to see almost daily a doe and two little fawns crossing it from a dry creek bed to the nearby prune orchard. They can’t be too spooked by our presence because, as the doe pauses to eye us suspiciously, the fawns take a moment to nurse. It is an endearing sight and makes one think, briefly, that life in general is not going to end any time soon. * * * Robert Minch I Say Last week’s quiz asked what major sports cities have teams of football, baseball and hockey all wearing the same colors. A hip few came up with Pittsburgh...but none figured Toronto into the mix. This week’s quiz: Where did the largest live audience, ever, witness an indoor tennis match, who were the partici- pants...and which player had swept the Wim- bledon Championships 4 years earlier? * * * An elderly nun was living in a convent next to a construction site. She noticed the coarse language of the workers and thought it her duty to help them correct their vocabu- lary. She decided to take her lunch, sit with the workers and talk to them. She put her lunch in a paper bag and, with a big smile, walked over to the group and asked, “Do you men know Jesus Christ?” They shook their heads and looked from one to another. Final- ly one worker called up into the steel works and yelled out, “Anybody up there know Jesus Christ?” When one of the workers called down and asked why, the worker yelled back, “‘Cause his wife is here with his lunch.” Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff and former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine. He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail.com.