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4A Daily News – Thursday, September 1, 2011 Opinion Agreement 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: I take this opportunity to express my gratitude and com- mend Mr. Ken Rice on his bold- ness in expressing his thoughts on "State of the US" article to the edi- tor of the Daily News of July 21 and Kathy Nelson's article of Fri- day of signing of SB48. 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 In Rice's opening statement he refers to an old saying that Jesus is not only coming soon but he is also mad. I believe that the return of Jesus is eminent and is very dis- appointed in all those that distort his teaching of his Holy instruction book for righteous living. Many do so to justify their live style and some do so out of unbelief in his word which has contributed to the removable of God from our public schools. Mr. Rice makes the statement that it is a fact that the majority of Americans are Christians. It would be interesting to know just where that proven fact originated. The majority may profess to be Chris- tians by word of mouth but fail to demonstrate so by action. I do believe that United States of America was founded and based upon true Biblical Moral values that led to a strong principal in freedom of worship. Those morals, however, has diminished over the latter years Worship of our Creator God has given way to the worship of things he created. One only has to compare the prob- lems that brought the Roman Empire to its knees to understand what is happening to the USA today. The recent law passed in Cali- fornia mandating the teaching of the history of homosexuality is only the latest example of elimi- nating the moral law of God from our schools. I have not read the context of the law but I doubt if anyone can find written in that law where the Holy Bible can be uti- lize as one of the Text books. This California law will undoubtedly, be responsible for the increase enrollment in private schools throughout the state and possibly the country by not only professing Christian families but other con- cerned parents. Mr. Rice certainly character- ized the situation correctly when he used the term "social engineer- ing" being implemented to mold our young children into something unrecognizable. Kathy Nelson's statement about adding sexual preference to the history books won't make them honest but more laughable is certainly true and I would add unbelievable. Yes, Mr. Rice, some will refer to you as a bigot as well as those that stand for Christian values. In doing so, they also place that label on Christ our Lord. Creator God is and will always be a God of Love but he hates sin. Sin will not go unpun- ished. We will reap what we sow. Jim Moore, Red Bluff Pensions Editor: Legislators and the media have been taking pot shots at public employees and retirees for quite a while now. After reading the recent article in the Daily News titled "Hybrid pension plans would save billions," I have finally been spurred to respond. I am a retired employee of the County of Tehama, and I can tell you that our teachers, fire fighters, social work- ers, law enforcement officers and other public employees are not to blame for the economic woes we are now experiencing. It was Wall Street and the wealthy who gamed the deregulated financial system to make huge profits. Their specula- tion in home mortgages triggered the recession - and then they took bil- lions in bailouts from the govern- ment. Public employees in California earn modest, middle class pay and benefits. The California Public Employees Retirement system, CalPERS, reports that the average CalPERS retiree receives a pen- sion of $25,000 a year. Half receive less than $16,000. Employee contributions and returns from CalPERS invest- ments account for 78 percent up to 90 percent of pension costs. According to the State Dept. of Finance, pension costs are only 2.58 percent of California's bud- get. Changing to a hybrid pension system, with half of each pension converted to a 401 (k) type plan would destroy CalPERS. It would save very little in the short term and cost Californians a great deal, as citizens and as investors, for a very long time. Employees in the private sector can attest to the fact that 401(k)'s can be a risky and expensive proposition. CalPERS has grown to be American capitalism at its best. It benefits all member employees and employers. It benefits the cor- porations and companies in which Your Turn it invests and all the investors of those entities.and the communities in which they exist, in other words, the entire economy. CalPERS has recouped more than 70 billion investment dollars in recent months in this down economy. Let's leave the investing to the experts, and stop blaming public employ- ees and retirees for the financial crisis we are in. Mary Peachman, Red Bluff Gullibility Editor: Gullibility: Defined as being prone to deceit and fraud. The American public takes the cake in that category. Falling for the professions of these politicians demonstrates it profoundly. These are the same people that put this nation in the dire straits it faces today. Do you still believe they have an inkling to what it will take to alleviate the problem? The democrats and republicans have demonstrated consistently they don't have a clue. But let's put them back in office, Better yet let's send all of them to replace our military and reduce their pay to that of the GI. Then let the kids run this country. I'll wager they will do a job worth the America they fought for. Time to wake up America, the time is running out. It has been said never pose a question without a solution. I think this is a dandy. Thad Blanchard Sr., Gerber 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. The case for separation of church and weather Commentary The Moche lived in northern Peru from about 100-700 A.D. Their molded ceramics are still a highlight in the annals of human accomplishment. If you walk through a museum of pre- Columbian art, it's easy to spot a Moche piece – the faces are so realistic you expect them to wink at you. Around 500 A.D., the world was experiencing some drastic cli- mate changes. There was a super El Nino weather phenomenon on the west coast. Cataclysmic floods were followed by drought. The Moche, like most ancient peoples, are thought to have been very reli- gious. They wanted to thwart this devastation and improve the weather by trying to appease their gods. So they sacrificed masses of their citizens. Just slaughtered hundreds of people in hopes of saving more. Does this sound like religious extremism? Yes. Because it is. Negotiating with nature is a very ancient thing to do: Pre-sci- ence, pre-wheel, pre-written lan- guage. As a species, we've always seen patterns in natural events and taken it personally. Floods are because of sin – droughts are because of witches. Earthquakes are God's anger towards women's suffrage and Chinese immigration, etc. But now we know better. At least, some of us do. Sort of. Now we know the Earth's crust shifts. It always has. All our continents used to be one; scientists refer to it as Pangaea. We know that contin- uing shift results in earthquakes. Instead of hurricanes just appear- ing all of a sudden as a result of moral shortcomings, we can now track them via satellite for days. There is also a growing under- standing about how global warm- ing has intensified weather pat- terns, hurricanes have been made worse by pollution and the extrac- tion process for natural gas known as "fracking" has caused earth- quakes. Yes, we have a greater knowl- edge of weather and seismic activ- ities than ever before. So when the East Coast experi- enced a rare earthquake – there was an archaic response from reli- gious leaders. It wasn't that these things happen on this planet we all live on - it was because of gay marriage. Rabbi Yehuda Levin told his YouTube audience, "[We] are starting to see the connection." As if the earth never moved before cake toppers had two grooms. It's ghoulish opportunism. Just like in the wake of the quake that nearly leveled Haiti and killed thousands, televangelist Pat Robertson claimed it was because Haitians made a pact with the devil to liberate themselves from slavery 200 years ago. So Robert- son's devil ran an 18th century anti-slavery Caribbean underground railroad? Wouldn't that be a good thing? He has an odd religion. He also chimed into the "what did we do to deserve a non-fatal earthquake in DC?" discussion by claiming a crack in the Washington Monument meant something beyond why not to build a 555-foot marble obelisk on swampland. Then there was a hur- ment. And religion isn't a Doppler radar. Tina ricane in the same area within a week. For capitalizing atmospher- ic interpreters – it's show time. Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann told a rally in Florida – the state with the highest propor- tion of elderly (think Social Secu- rity and Medicare beneficiaries) and hurricanes in the country – that these events are a warning about government spending. Because weather is a quid pro quo with God and the Republican Party's agenda. It's time to build a wall (or a levee) between church and weath- er. Natural disasters aren't punish- In 1693, the Massachusetts colonists thought a hur- ricane there marked the Apocalypse. In April 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perry issued an official proclamation for Texans to pray for rain for three days. Rain has yet to come and it's categorized as a D4 Drought (there is no D5). Dupuy What does this mean? Nothing. It means church and weather should get a divorce and block each other's numbers. Since church and state are no longer the same thing - church should secede from cli- matology. It's not for the sake of the weather – it's really for the sake of the church's credibility. Because really, we could stop letting gays marry, eat all our veg- etables, never cheat on our spous- es and get to church three times a week – it won't stop the weath- er…or the world. Tina Dupuy is an award-winning writer and fill-in host at The Young Turks. Tina can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com.