Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/40544
6A Daily News – Monday, August 29, 2011 Opinion Are we doomed to extinction? 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 "No one knows why the One God let the White-Eye take our land. Why did there have to be so many of them? Why did they have so many guns, so many horses? For many years, the One God made me a warrior. No gun, no bullets, could ever kill me. That 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 was my power, now it is over. Now maybe, the time of our peo- ple is over." These are the prophetic words spoken by the great native warrior Geronimo after his final surrender to the U.S. Army on September 4, 1886. He died 22 years later a prisoner in Florida after having been promised a return to the Apache reservation as a condition of his surrender. Sadly such is the shameful history of the United States treatment of its native popu- lation that was decimated and con- tinues to be marginalized to this day. In August of 1911, shortly after Geronimo's death, Ishi "the last wild Indian" descended out of hid- ing by floating down Mill creek pretending to be dead amongst his assassinated Yahi brothers. each man but for the cultures they represented. As Geronimo pre- dicted, each stood on the brink, one was in danger of losing some- thing vital, the other in danger of disappearing altogether. Ishi became doubly civilized Near starvation he appeared in Oroville to be whisked away by train to San Francisco to meet Alfred Kroeber, one of the fathers of American anthropology. When Kroeber and Ishi came face to face it was a momentous event, not only for having his own culture and adapt- ing to that of modern America in the protection of his notoriety. Kroeber on the other hand didn't count on how deeply working with the man would lead him to ques- tion his own profession and civi- lization - how it would rekindle a wildness of its own. Like Kroeber, I am ashamed of the arrogant mis- deeds of many "White-Eyes" who violated the spirit, consciousness, and civilization of indigenous peo- ples to claim their part of God's creation as their own and decimat- ed the native population. It doesn't take much research or reflection to understand how arro- gance, selfishness, greed, and racism propelled our culture and economy since the "discovery" of America 519 years ago at Ply- mouth Rock. This is not to say that all non-natives are to blame, but that as a class there is no ques- tion that the vanquishing and forced relocation of indigenous peoples to isolated reservations was an egregious assault upon those that rightfully claim this land as their own. The fact that tribal treaty rights are still at issue to this day as federal and state govern- ments dictate what may and may not be con- ducted in supposedly sovereign Indian Nations speaks to the over-reaching and disingenuous actions of the United States of America. As if karma is rear- ing its ugly head, it appears likely that with the over-population, resource depletion and environmental damage of our culture that our presence in this land will be relatively short lived. Rather than Richard respect this land's frag- ile and sacred nature as did our Native American prede- cessors, our culture is driven to ever more comfortable, affluent, and unsustainable lifestyles of copious consumption and rampant materialism. Any objective observer can see the planetary struggle to sustain such a large population demanding ever more resources, damaging its ecosys- tems, and altering its climate. Governor Perry, Congress- woman Bachman, Congressman Herger and their following of cli- mate change deniers do not recog- nize mankind's ever increasing toll on planet Earth, nor do they appar- ently appreciate the wisdom of indigenous Americans who lived here far longer than our culture is likely to last. Instead they seem driven by capitalistic dreams of a society where the almighty dol- lar and self-righteous indignation reigns supreme and those that are outside the main- stream are to be dis- counted and marginal- ized. Mazzucchi Positive Point Please take a moment to consider that it was only a century ago this month that Ishi came out of hiding and just a quarter century earlier Geronimo laid down his arms with thirty-four remaining members of his tribe defending their birthright to our great land so non-natives could marshal in a new way. Unfortu- nately, it appears to me that arro- gance and ignorance continues to blind the immigrants that fol- lowed, who without a resurgence of respect for native values and suspension of planetary trans- gressions are soon doomed to extinction. Richard Mazzucchi makes his home in Los Molinos and can be reached at living-green@att.net. 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: governor@gover- nor.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 Mont- gomery St., Suite 240, San Fran- cisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Administrator, candidate, congressman, oh my Commentary Note to readers: This is the time of year for vacations and, for my schedule, columns were written weeks before being published. I used the most recent information when I wrote this, for your enjoy- ment. First, please note that the only Tea Party group that an over- booked Congressman Wally Herg- er was able to fit into his schedule for a town hall meeting has turned out to be (drum roll, please) Tehama County Tea Party Patriots. One of our ladies consulted with other groups and found them all wanting to attend. For that reason, the Elks Lodge has been reserved tomorrow evening, Tuesday, for a 6 p.m. meeting. The public is wel- come and, within standard guide- lines, is invited to pose civil ques- tions to the Congressman. The Tea Party Patriots had a couple of guests on the 16th: Bill Goodwin, Chief Administrator, and Gregory Cheadle, Republican Candidate for U.S. Congress in 2012 (www.CheadleFor- Congress.com). We heard from Mr. Goodwin how they have made many adjust- ments to the declining revenues from sales taxes and (as I men- tioned last week) reduced property values. They have made actual cuts in spending (unlike the phony "cuts in the rate of growth" they use in Washington) with creative mea- sures including: not filling vacan- cies, sharing personnel between departments and using in-house IT, or tech support, wherever possible. He mentioned the l-word, laying people off, which told me that there is some real hardship among local government employees. Various responsibilities of local govern- ment are driven by state and feder- al mandates, he explained, and there are not always funds to sup- port those tasks. My honest impression of Mr. Goodwin is that I genuinely like the guy and find him to be fairly straightforward in his presentation, and forthcoming in answering questions. Over the years I've heard criticisms and occasionally antagonistic questions, but I just don't see the beef some people have. There might be something I take exception to in the future, but the Tea Party Patriots can ask pointed questions, and he handled them well. Mr. Cheadle (no relation to Don Cheadle, the actor) is a unique indi- vidual in terms of people that I have come across, and I mean that in a good way. He hails from Oak- land originally, is degreed (MPA, JD) with an emphasis in health care administration, and an emergency room volunteer for more than 10 years. He has extensive personal experience with the health care system by way of a child that underwent more than three years of chemotherapy for cancer. He describes himself as a Con- stitutionalist, Republican and Con- servative. Quoting his "Where I Stand" platform, he is: "Pro-Con- stitution, -Private Property Rights, - Life, -2nd Amendment, -Energy Independence, -Transparency in Government, and Pro-Personal Responsibility. Anti-Obama Care, -Illegal Immigration, -'Big Broth- er,' –Reckless Spending, -Unbri- dled Regulatory Agencies, - Amnesty, and –Bailouts." One could say he has a hill to climb in his pursuit of a congres- sional seat, and he may have it in him – keep your eye on him. He is a very engaging man of deep convictions. Anyone wanting a less-than-conservative perspective on our local Tea Party Patriots should chat up a prominent local who introduced herself to me, Sue Gallegher, a name familiar to readers of this page; she's very involved in the elections board and the teachers' union, so you know where she's coming from. Her "Obama 2012" bumper sticker was a unique sight in the parking lot – celebrate diversity, I say. I am introducing my first install- ment of "Perry (or possibly Rom- ney) Derangement Syndrome." I give credit to Charles Krautham- mer, Washington Post columnist, Fox News contributor and MD, for originally coining "Bush Derange- ment Syndrome" to describe what he, as a psychiatrist, was observing among the more fervent and unhinged of President Bush's crit- ics. It morphed into "Palin Derangement Syndrome," (a rather obvious mutation) and, recently, "Tea Party Derangement Syn- drome." I first cite the political cartoon appearing Monday, August 15, above my column, wherein a near- ly Frankenstein monster-ish carica- ture of Texas Governor Rick Perry, endowed with oversized hands, held the Congressional building with an outsized steeple and cross. Don Polson The way I see it The completely un-sub- tle message was that this fanatical Christian would not be content to personally worship, but would impose (that seems to be the visceral fear of the Christ- and Christian-haters) funda- mentalist beliefs and worship on America. Give me a break! Cartoons have liberties but do you think any cartoonist would simi- larly caricature Joe Lieberman, for instance, for his devo- tion to Judaism? We know that no such car- toons were printed den- igrating the Muslim faith of Min- nesota's Rep. Keith Ellison, who used a Koran for his congressional swearing-in. Then, we have the (supposedly) straight news reporting of AP on August 17, "Treasonous to print money." First, Gov. Perry actually disagreed with the idea of seces- sion. Then, Perry actually said, 1) "printing more money" to 2) "play politics" at 3) "this time in Ameri- ca's history" would be "almost treacherous or treasonous." The word "treasonous" might be intemperate, but will anyone step forward and state that 1), 2) and 3) are desirable or commendable? Really? How would you personal- ly feel if your wallet, checking account or income lost value because the Fed printed money, causing inflation? Don Polson can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.