Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/418554
Apparently, you're pretty busy. I'm a little surprised that you have time to read the paper, frankly. And you're not alone. Only 36 percent of our countrymen both- ered to vote in the midterm elections. A lot of people were busy that day. Unless we are prepared to admit that control of con- gress will be determined largely by non-voters, we need to take a fresh look at reinvigorating the basic cur- rency of democracy—voting. And that's exactly why Ver- mont Senator Bernie Sanders wants to make Election Day a national holiday. Turnout in the midterm elections hasn't been this low since 1942, and back then my grandmother was busy changing my now 72-year-old dad's diaper. Grandpa Stanford was busy, too, fighting fascism in Eu- rope. So if turnout was a little low in the middle of World War II, I'm willing to give the Greatest Generation a pass. But a lot has happened since then. We lowered the voting age, passed the Civil Rights Act and the Vot- ing Rights Act, and, with the Motor Voter Law, made it easier to register to vote. The United States has sys- tematically welcomed more and more Americans into the fold, and now what? Vot- ing? Eh, who has time. Turnout was down in 2014 compared to the usual poor job Americans do. In some places—such as Alaska, Col- orado, Maine, and Wiscon- sin—competitive statewide elections led to increased turnout. But if we're pre- pared to say that Maine's high-water mark of 59.3 per- cent is a success, then we need to take a hard look at ourselves. If the whole coun- try voted like Maine, the United States would rank 143rd in the world, right be- hind Russia. Nope. And if our best isn't good enough, then our worst is downright awful. Georgia had competitive elections for both governor and sen- ate, and turnout fell 6 points from 2010 to 34.1 percent. That's almost half the voter turnout rate in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Many on the left are rightly pointing to the num- ber of Americans who couldn't vote because of new voting restrictions. The Brennan Center for Justice found that the number of people kept away from the polls by these new laws ex- ceeded the winning margins in close elections. For exam- ple, the Brennan Center es- timates that 100,000 North Carolinians were unable to vote because same-day reg- istration was outlawed. On Election Day, Sen. Kay Hagan lost by 48,000 votes. But voting restrictions disenfranchise people who want to vote but can't be- cause of unfair laws. In the North Carolina example, the people unable to vote be- cause same-day registra- tion wasn't available only amounted to 3.5 percent of the vote, or would have had they voted. We need to get rid of those voting restric- tions, but that won't solve our largest problem when two-thirds of Americans are skipping elections. That's where Sanders' idea comes in. The biggest reason people don't vote is that life gets in the way. When asked by Gallup why they didn't vote, 45 percent of nonvoters cited schedule conflicts with work or school. Another 34 per- cent said they were too busy, sick, out of town, or forgot. Only 20 percent cited general disgust with politics or apa- thy. You could have Jesus de- bating healthcare with Satan, and people would still have to show up to work or get fired. That's why Sanders thinks we should make Election Day a holiday. He's got a bill ready and plans to file it when the lame duck Con- gress reconvenes. "While this would not be a cure-all, it would indicate a national commitment to cre- ate a more vibrant democ- racy," said Sanders. Sanders proposes calling this new holiday National Election Day. And while I like his idea, I would amend it to make sure Sanders is never in charge of naming things again. His idea isn't just about getting more people to vote. It's about getting people to remember that they are in charge. We should call it De- mocracy Day. The chances of Congress passing this law are lower than zero. But, c'mon they've got a lot on their plate. You get it, don't you? We're all so busy these days. JasonStanfordisaregu- lar contributor to the Austin American-Statesman, a Dem- ocratic consultant and a Tru- man National Security Proj- ect partner. You can email him at stanford@oppre- search.com and follow him on Twitter @JasStanford. JasonStanford Make Election Day a holiday Cartoonist's take If you would like to see and hear the newly elected Superintendent of the Tehama County Department of Educa- tion, the Tea Party Pa- triots will host Charles Allen in the 6:30 p.m. portion of their 6 p.m. meeting tonight at the West- side Grange, 20794 Walnut St. in Red Bluff. A mild suggestion: Any- one with concerns or animos- ity over Common Core should be aware that Mr. Allen has, in all likelihood, nearly zero ability to nullify it for our county schools. The controversy and out- rage over MIT economist Jonathon Gruber's surpris- ingly frank and revealing statements should inform our view of the formulation, leg- islation and implementation of Obamacare. Obama's apol- ogists, defenders, spinners, liars and apparatchiks have no credibility whatsoever if they try to minimize Gruber and his statements. To summarize, for those with blinkered viewing lim- ited to the networks and non-Fox news sources, and who don't either listen to conservative talk radio or read the many legitimate conservative blog sites, here's what Mr. (or is it "Per-fess- er") Gruber had to say: 1) "If you had a law which said that healthy people are go- ing to pay in…and sick peo- ple get money—it would not have passed;" 2) "Lack of transparency is a huge politi- cal advantage. And basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter, or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical for the thing to pass." 3) "Americans are too stupid to understand the dif- ference" (when Democrats al- tered the language of the bill to gather public support). 4) (Per Rich Lowry, na- tionalreview.com) "Gruber crowed about the exertions undertaken to make an un- popular tax on expensive health-insurance plans, the so-called Cadillac tax, more palatable. It was levied on employers instead of employ- ees. No one (i.e. voters) real- ized, Gruber explained, that the tax would be functionally the same even if not directly imposed on workers." 5) Gruber dismissed as the writings of "my adolescent children" concerns about the law such as: "ballooning costs, increased taxes, bureaucratic outrages, shabby facilities, dis- gruntled providers, long waiting times, lower- quality care, special inter- est nest-feathering and de- structive wages and price controls." Far from the im- mature expressions of chil- dren, those were written by John McClaughry, a former Vermont state senator and adviser to President Ron- ald Reagan, "who (Mr. Mc- Claughry) knew something about health care systems." 6) Gruber bragged and showboated to "Frontline" in a June 13, 2012 interview about his role in an Oval Of- fice meeting with several ex- perts, as well as President Obama. White House visitor logs for July 20, 2009, have Gruber meeting with Obama in the West Wing for almost four hours. Gruber: "The next time I see him (Obama) is summer 2009. The big is- sue there is that he really wants to make sure I'm mov- ing forward on cost control. [Coverage looked good] but he was worried on cost con- trol. So we had a meeting… on what can we do to get credible savings on cost con- trol that the Congressional Budget Office would recog- nize and score as savings in this law." Gruber then explained that when employer-pro- vided health insurance is not taxed, unlike wages or sal- aries, it is effectively a "tax subsidy" and they all, includ- ing Obama, brainstormed for ways to get some of the "$250 billion per year in (lost) tax revenue" into the CBO calcu- lation. "And Obama is like, 'Look, I can't just do this… politically. The bill will not pass. How do we manage to get there through phases and other things?' And we talked about it. And he was just very interested in that topic." Review, please, #4 above to understand that Obama was part of, if not the inspiration for, the duplicitous machi- nations to turn a direct tax into "savings" that employ- ers/insurance companies would pay. Gateway Pun- dit Jim Hoft: "Obama was at the center of this deception. He specifically ordered Gru- ber and other 'healthcare ex- perts' to find ways to game the CBO numbers so that the bill would pass…Gruber has clearly identified President Obama as the source of the lie behind the Cadillac Tax. The story is…about the delib- erate lie the President used to pass this monstrosity of a healthcare law." Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.: "The strategy was to hide the truth from the American people. That is a threat to the American republic." Gru- ber's comments confirm what we on the right have criti- cized for 5 years regarding "the ethos of modern pro- gressive liberalism—smarter- than-thou zealotry masquer- ading as for-the-greater-good pragmatism." (Ian Tuttle) "Complexity is a staple of liberal policymaking. It is a product of its scale and reach, but also of the imper- ative to hide the ball. Taxing and spending and redistrib- utive schemes tend to be un- popular, so clever ways have to be found to deny that they are happening. (Obamacare's) supporters didn't want to straightforwardly admit how much the law was raising taxes and using the young and healthy to subsidize ev- eryone else." (Rich Lowry) Moreover, Jonathan Gruber typifies the policy wonk/rent seekers that attach them- selves to the progressive ma- chine. The New York Post's Kyle Smith chronicled the largess from taxpayers that found its way into Gruber's hands: $392,600 from the HHS pay- roll; $400,000 of Obamacare money from Minnesota; an- other $400,000 each from Wisconsin and Vermont, in addition to sums from West Virginia, Maine, Colorado and Oregon. He wrote numerous op- eds without disclosing that he was "on the take." Gruber, Obama (Care), Pelosi, Reid— frauds all. Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com. The way I see it Fooling the American voters When asked by Gallup why they didn't vote, 45 percent of nonvoters cited schedule conflicts with work or school. Another 34 percent said they were too busy, sick, out of town, or forgot. Only 20 percent cited general disgust with politics or apathy. Don Polson Editor's Note DuetoaprintingerrorsomecopiesofTuesday'seditiondidnotcon- tain the opinion page. Its content is reprinted here for those readers affected. The Daily News regrets the error. LEGALNOTICE NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE TS No. CA-14-630430-RY Order No.: 140149050-CA-VOI YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 9/27/2004. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. A public auction sale to the highest bid- der for cash, cashier's check drawn on a state or national bank, check drawn by state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal sav- ings and loan association, or savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 to the Financial Code and author- ized to do business in this state, will be held by duly appointed trustee. The sale will be made, but without covenant or warran- ty, expressed or implied, regard- ing title, possession, or encum- brances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) se- cured by the Deed of Trust, with interest and late charges there- on, as provided in the note(s), advances, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, interest there- on, fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee for the total (at the time of the initial amount (at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale) reasonably estimated to be set forth below. The amount may be greater on the day of sale. BENE- FICIARY MAY ELECT TO BID LESS THAN THE TOTAL AMOUNT DUE. Trustor(s): WILLIAM R DANIELS AND CHRISTINE L DANIELS HUS- BAND AND WIFE AS JOINT TEN- ANTS Recorded: 10/5/2004 as In- strument No. 020773 in Book 2576 Page 583 of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of TEHAMA County, California; Date of Sale: 12/15/2014 at 1:00 PM Place of Sale: At the Main Entrance to the Tehama County Superior Court, 633 Washington St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Amount of unpaid balance and other charges: $192,358.35 The pur- ported property address is: 19600 RUSSELL RD, COTTON- WOOD, CA 96022 Assessor's Par- cel No.: 004-040-25 NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should under- stand that there are risks in- volved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not auto- matically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, be- fore you can receive clear title to the property. You are encour- aged to investigate the exis- tence, priority, and size of out- standing liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder's office or a ti- tle insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one mortgage or deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be post- poned one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that in- formation about trustee sale postponements be made availa- ble to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call 800-280-2832 for infor- mation regarding the may mation regarding the trustee's sale or visit this Internet Web site http://www.qualityloan.co m , using the file number as- signed to this foreclosure by the Trustee: CA-14-630430-RY . Infor- mation about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immedi- ately be reflected in the tele- phone information or on the In- ternet Web site. The best way to verify postponement informa- tion is to attend the scheduled sale. The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any in- correctness of the property ad- dress or other common designa- tion, if any, shown herein. If no street address or other common designation is shown, directions to the location of the property may be obtained by sending a written request to the beneficia- ry within 10 days of the date of first publication of this Notice of Sale. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder's sole and ex- clusive remedy shall be the re- turn of monies paid to the Trust- ee, and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. If the sale is set aside for any rea- son, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Pur- chaser shall have further deposit paid. chaser shall have no further re- course against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, or the Mortgagee's Attorney. If you have previously been dis- charged through bankruptcy, you may have been released of personal liability for this loan in which case this letter is intend- ed to exercise the note holders right's against the real property only. As required by law, you are hereby notified that a negative credit report reflecting on your credit record may be submitted to a credit report agency if you fail to fulfill the terms of your credit obligations. QUALITY MAY BE CONSIDERED A DEBT COLLEC- TOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. Date: Quality Loan Service Corporation 411 Ivy Street San Diego, CA 92101 619- 645-7711 For NON SALE informa- tion only Sale Line: 800-280-2832 Or Login to: http://www.qualityl oan.com Reinstatement Line: (866) 645-7711 Ext 5318 Quality Loan Service Corp. TS No.: CA- 14-630430-RY IDSPub #0073182 Publish: 11/19/2014 11/26/2014 12/3/2014 i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià | OPINION | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014 6 B