Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/400396
WespentthelasttendaysinArizona,enjoying some rain, some good sunny days, and spoil- ing two of our grandsons. What we did not en- joy was the extremely negative campaign signs and ads that inundated us at every turn of the road or dial. My guess it will only get worse as the election approaches; I hope the Arizona voters have a much higher level of intelligence than the ad makers seem to think. Itcanbediscouraginglis- tening to accusations, guilt by association remarks, and hints of impropriety about candidates. It also feels de- meaning to be read campaign statements that have no connec- tion with real- ity. That is why it was so refresh- ing to read the transcript of presentations by the candi- dates for the Red Bluff City Council. While reading the transcript is not the same ex- perience as being there dur- ing the candidate forum, it does allow the reader time to think about what the candi- dates actually said, and there was no finger pointing or name calling. It is good there are so many vying to serve on the council. We need all the will- ing warriors we can get to represent us and help the city out of its doldrums — dol- drums condoned by the pre- vious indolent City Council and bland city leadership. We need a "pick me up" to turn things around. We need coun- cil members who understand what must and can be done, council members who are willing to provide guidance and limitations to city man- agement, and council mem- bers who will not fall asleep at the wheel. Two incumbents think they should be reelected. While serving on City Council is a relatively thankless task, will- ingness to serve and serve again is not necessarily a good criterion for voting for a candidate or an incumbent candidate. It was interesting that the incumbents did not men- tion any accomplishments during their terms in office. One stated it was a learn- ing experience and that he was against big government, whatever that may mean. He said "I am for the working people of the city." He con- tinued, "I made my point many times in the coun- cil." He included allusions to governmental waste. The other incumbent expressed her excitement at serving and said "I believe I can make a difference." We need to use that can- didate's voting record to de- termine whether a difference was made. When asked what they could do to bring jobs to the city, the incumbents pro- vided some equally amor- phous answers. One said she was a good listener: "I can give them my ear and my sup- port and any help that they need to go out and get new businesses, new people and a happy, healthy economy for the city of Red Bluff." The sec- ond said, "[There is] no easy answer." He pegged the de- velopment of the interchange at the south part of town as a possible boon for the com- munity. When asked what the big- gest problems the commu- nity faces and how they were qualified to help deal with them, the incumbent mayor indicated she had overcome a problem with her learn- ing curve, the other incum- bent mentioned jobs, crime, and the impact of the home- less and derelict population on business. There were no suggested solutions by the in- cumbents, and little reference to real qualifications. The in- cumbent mayor said her lack of understanding was a big problem when she took office, but that she has a better han- dle on things now and that her honesty and loyalty will get things done. The other in- cumbent indicated he was a common thinker. Challenger Orville Knox described himself as a "first time" politician, admitted he had a lot to learn, and ex- pressed concerns about child safety. He said he was a good listener and wanted better paying jobs for our commu- nity. He was willing to learn on the job and had roots in our community. In contrast to the incum- bents, one challenger, Larry Stevens, addressed not only his qualifications, but also his accomplishments, and his vi- sion for Red Bluff. He gave concrete examples of issues he had dealt with in prior years of service to the city, a good analysis of some of the ex- isting problems, particularly with the city operations and management, and pledged to work toward serious solutions of those problems. He spoke about zoning issues, the pro- cess of approving new busi- nesses, the delays inherent in the current city operations, and the lack of vision. He listed important projects he had been involved in, and his willingness to serve again in these difficult times. When we came home Tues- day night we saw rain in Red Bluff. It was a good change in the weather. Now we need a good change on our City Council. I will be casting one of my votes for Stevens because we do not need more of the same. JoeHarrop A change in the weather and negative campaign ads Cartoonist's take In what has been a sea- son of jaw-dropping news, the largest bombshell seems like it was ripped from the pages of Mad Magazine. First, the terrorist group ISIS has now unquestion- ably emerged as a territory- gobbling group offering the same kind of brutal, merci- less murder of men, women and children that Adolf Hit- ler and the Nazis offered during the 20th century. Hitler had a country to back up and implement his ideological and racist blood lust. ISIS doesn't have a country — yet. Next, another shock: it turns out the Ebola vi- rus isn't just limited to Af- rica and largely contained. Deadly Ebola dominates the news — and fears— of Americans. Now the news media has a genuinely com- pelling story, and partisans have an issue they can use to point to and blame the other side for enabling or bungling. And then came a bit of jaw-dropping news that seemed as if it absolutely must be from The Onion, or written by news parody ge- nius Andy Borowitz. NBC was wooing — no joke, not kidding ya, 100 percent for real, really, I'm serious — Comedy Central's mega-talented Jon Stewart to host "Meet the Press," the longest running show in American television his- tory. They were willing to offer big bucks to do it and, according to the report that revealed the network's r-e- a-l mindset, had even been talking to Stewart's agent. The revelation — stun- ning to those who still cherish traditional news values — came in a must- read piece on New York magazines' "Daily Intelli- gencer" page. Gabriel Sher- man wrote: "One source explained that NBC was prepared to offer Stew- art virtually 'anything' to bring him over. 'They were ready to back the Brink's truck up,' the source said. A spokesperson for NBC de- clined to comment. James Dixon, Stewart's agent, did not respond to multiple re- quests for comment." Any journalist knows that when the subject of a story refuses comment it might really mean "no comment," but it usually means the tidbit is true and the sub- ject hopes not comment- ing will make the story go away. Which it basically did. Sure, for a few days cable and Internet pundits ex- pressed bemusement or dis- belief. But what happened here is a shocking revela- tion how little r-e-a-l jour- nalism is respected today when "the get" becomes the goal. How unthinkable would it once have been to seriously consider hiring a talented comedian to take over what has long been a solid news franchise? Toying with hir- ing Stewart to host Meet the Press brings back memories of another network's first big step in undermining the 1950s concept of broad- cast news as a sacred trust — when CBS in 1966 decided it wouldn't air government hearings on Vietnam and instead opted for "I Love Lucy" re-runs. Before cable, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, the big three broadcast networks would run government hearings on monster issues dominating the news. You could channel surf and see the same, exact live event on all of the networks be- cause all network bigwigs individually felt it was vi- tally important for broad- cast news in its role as a public trust to cover it. In 1966, CBS didn't pull back from undermining this once sacred tenet: it ran the pop- ular re-runs. And CBS paid an immedi- ate price for this first step towards a long slide down a slippery slope. It's deci- sion cost the network a leg- endary newsman: CBS News President Fred Friendly quit when he was told the hearings wouldn't be run and Lucy Ricardo would run instead because "house- wives weren't much inter- ested in Vietnam." In Stewart's case, NBC felt a host who could in- terview and offer some big yucks could reap big rat- ings and big bucks. What next? Could CBS try to get David Letterman to take over for "Face the Nation's" Bob Schieffer? Could clowns take over for members of Congress? Wait, that al- ready happened. NBC's choice of Chuck Todd means Meet the Press remains the show that for more than a half century has symbolized the phrase "broadcast journalism." For now. Joe Gandelman is a veteran journalist who wrote for newspapers overseas and in the United States. He has appeared on cable news show political panels and is Editor-in-Chief of The Moderate Voice, an Internet hub for independents, centrists and moderates. He also writes for The Week's online edition. CNN's John Avlon named him as one of the top 25 Centrists Columnists and Commentators. He can be reached at jgandelman@ themoderatevoice.com and can be booked to speak at www.mavenproductions. com. Follow him on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ joegandelman. Joe Gandelman Meet the Comedy Central press We need council members who understand what must and can be done, council members who are willing to provide guidance and limitations to city management, and council members who will not fall asleep at the wheel. GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD 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 Joe Harrop Assemblyman Dan Logue 150Amber Grove Drive, Ste. 154, Chico 95928, 530895- 4217 Senator Jim Nielsen 2634 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 879-7424, senator.nielsen@senate. ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown State Capital Building, Sacra- mento 95814, 916445-2841, fax 916558-3160, governor@ governor.ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug LaMalfa 507Cannon House Office Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 94104, 415393- 0707, fax 415393-0710 U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer 1700Montgomery St., San Francisco 94111, 510286-8537, fax 202224-0454 Contact your officials NBC was wooing — no joke, not kidding ya, 100 percent for real, really, I'm serious — Comedy Central's mega-talented Jon Stewart to host "Meet the Press," the longest running show in American television history. They were willing to offer big bucks to do it and, according to the report that revealed the network's r-e-a-l mindset, had even been talking to Stewart's agent. OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, October 18, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4