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4A Daily News – Friday, September 23, 2011 Opinion Fair's fair 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 Fair week means extra pages, longer days and ramped up pro- duction here in the newsroom. It also happens to be the week of the second most demanding project the service club to which I belong undertakes each year. So why do I enjoy fair week 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 so much? Extra pages – There isn't an editor out there who doesn't long for larger editions. Yes, they take more time to fill, but when you're the type that thrives on news and information, the more the merri- er. It's a luxury we don't often enjoy due to the decline of adver- tising volume over the years. More ads mean more pages, sim- ple as that, so I'm eating it up. Longer days – Sure, I miss a bit of free time, and my dog's let- ting me know he's not cool with it. On the other hand, I'm lucky enough to spend much of my work days this week taking in all the best our community has to offer at the Tehama District Fair. Not a bad tradeoff. Ramped up production – For reporters this means writing sometimes twice as many stories as they endeavor to feed news and fair beasts each day. Twice the stories means twice the edit- ing and twice the layout. But fair coverage is a treat. We can have fun with it and give readers a taste of the whimsy and success the fair celebrates. Again, worth the extra work – but I can only speak for myself on that one. As for the fundraiser at the fair, that may be my favorite part of the week, even though it means ending an 11-hour day at the office to start a 5-hour shift flipping burgers. If you belong to a service club, you know the projects are where you really get to know and bond with your fellow members. Meetings are fun, but there's nothing like spending a few hours together accomplishing something that benefits your community. We all find ourselves with more things to do than we have time to do them, but I entreat you to take a few hours or a day and spend it at the Tehama District Fair. Ride the rides, if that's your speed, take in a show, stuff your- self with carnival food or just stroll through the exhibits and admire the formidable talents of your friends and neighbors. You'll leave with more energy to take on the tasks that stand before you. Heck, buy a ticket for a chance to drive a car in the Destruction Derby. Now wouldn't that be a story for the grand kids? *** Credline A reader called me on a mistake I made in placing a headline on a letter to the editor in Wednesday's edition. The headline chosen was weighted and dis- missive, to some extent, of the writer's points, and for that I apologize. This calls into question my credibility. The letter came describe the letter's content was influenced by my interpretation of the content, rather than the writer's intent. That's a no-no. Chip from a regular contrib- utor to the section who, without exception, criticizes our president in her letters. I typed the headline "Bashing Obama." I could make a good argument that that was the gist of the letter, but in the age of rhetorical news delivery on a 24-hour cycle, the term bashing has taken on a con- notation of being unflinchingly critical without tempering an argument with the whole of the facts. So my using the term to Thompson 545 Diamond Ave. Probably could have written "Obama unac- ceptable" or "I blame Obama" and conveyed the gist of the letter without the negative connotation. I thank the reader who called me out over this. It's a good reminder that you are all paying attention. As a side note, let- ters to the editor almost always carry headlines written by me or, when I'm out of the office, Sports Editor Rich Greene. This isn't an attempt to censor writers who provide their own headlines, but they are generally too long for the constraints of column width so we replace them. If you take issue with a headline, now you know who to call. 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: governor@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 Mont- gomery St., Suite 240, San Francis- co, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Theology 101 Commentary Penn Jillette is a popular entertainer and, along with his sidekick Teller, has produced humorous magic shows as well as TV specials which debunked various establishments, cults and the like. However, in a SF Chron interview he was asked, "You write that being an atheist is simply saying I don't know, but it certainly sounds as if you do know that there is no God. Isn't 'I don't know' more of an agnostic phi- losophy?" He replied, "If I asked you, 'Is there a God?' and you answer 'I don't know,' then you are an agnostic, because you are answering an episte- mological question, not a theological question. But if I say to you, 'Do you believe in God?' that's a very different question, because I am asking for the state of your faith. And if you answered 'I don't know' to the previous ques- tion, when I ask you 'Do you believe?,' unless you are crazy, the answer is no. You don't believe in things you don't know." The article continues with Jillette giving precise and provocative answers. If readers are into this type of discussion, I can provide a copy of the interview. However, a more detailed discussion of secularism and its dis- contents, titled "Is That All There Is?" can be found in the New Yorker issue of August 15 and 22…and I could give you a copy of that also, but you really ought to get your own copy by subscription, for they can use the money, and reading same will help you cope with your personal philosophical demons. *** Helping to deflate my occasional display of ego, D. Hamill checks in and questions why I wrote in last Friday's effort, " …to wreck havoc," when it should have been "…to wreak havoc." She gave me the benefit of it possibly being a typo, but I confessed to my gaffe and wondered why Ye Editor did not pick it up and flog me with it. *** A recent recap of the police log revealed that a man in his 40s or 50s had pulled down his pants and placed his butt in the window at Prime Cinemas. In my opinion, that act just goes to show you that we live in a small cow town where critiques of movies take a different form than in the big cities. Roger Ebert, for example, would never express his discontent in such a manner…even if he managed to hoist his butt into the window. He hasn't been well, you know. *** Now that the SF Giants are winning again, I can find amusement in their game when they refer to their menagerie. The nickname for Pablo Sandoval is Kung Fu Panda, and for Brandon Belt it's the Baby Giraffe. I there- fore found it charming, while watching a Tarzan movie fea- turing Gordon Scott, in which he was chasing the bad guys on foot, he decided to hitch a ride on a grazing baby giraffe. Not a good movie...but per- haps a good omen. *** the answers. The tenor on the Jack Benny radio show was Kenny Baker early and later, Dennis Day. Mary Livingston was on the show as Benny's wife (and in real life as well) who sang occasionally on the early shows. Fred Allen's Robert Minch I Say Lee Pitts in his Tehama County Farm Bureau column writes that he is of the old school of cowboys that never cuss in front of women, kids and horses, all of whom are sen- sitive about such things. I am of that school and I blanch when the young not only express their offensive vocabulary in mixed company, but display it on their T shirts. But euphemisms for cuss words can be utilized for good effect. The young may not be familiar with the shoe polish "Shinola," but they could substitute it for their favorite 4-letter word. And "frog" works well in such commands of "Shut the frog up!" Our late daughter Madalyn, when coming out of the anesthetic after one of the many times she endured surgeries, replied to her mother's ques- tion of how she felt, "I feel like...Ca ca." As nei- ther of us understood her garbled remark, I made the mistake of asking her again. This time she replied more succinctly with the 4-let- ter word, which, under the circumstances, car- ried much more weight. I guess the moral to the story is that one should use the mildest of oaths when expressing displeasure, but hold in reserve the more pungent as when the Giants, for example, hit into yet another double play. *** Last week's quiz was not answered com- pletely and correctly until the fine piano player G. Fiedler dropped by the office and rattled off wife was named Portland. This week's quiz: Who wrote "The Cremation of Sam McGee," who estab- lished "Alice's Restaurant," and did the Japanese destroy- er that rammed and sank Lt. John F. Kennedy's PT 109 have a name? *** C. Larimer submits the following illustrations of humor in the south: A man in North Carolina had a flat tire, pulled off on the side of the road and proceeded to put a bouquet of flowers in front of the car and one behind it. A passerby studied the scene, stopped, and asked the fellow what the problem was. The man replied, "I got a flat tahr." The passerby asked, "But what's with the flowers?" The man responded, "When you break down they tell you to put flares in the front and flares in the back. I never did understand it nei- ther." A Tennessee State trooper pulled over a pickup on I-65. The trooper asked, "Got any ID?" The driver replied, "'Bout whut?" The sheriff pulled up next to the guy unload- ing garbage out of his pick-up into the ditch.. The sheriff asked, "Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch? Don't you see that sign right over your head." "Yep," he replied. "That's why I'm dumpin' it here, 'cause it says: 'Fine For Dumping Garbage.'" 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.