Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/43696
6A Daily News – Monday, October 3, 2011 Opinion Prom-queen anguish 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 It's human nature. We mostly 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 want what we can't have. Grass is greener. The romantic lure of the unattainable. Knowledge that high school girls have long- since weaponized. Nothing entices a hormonally imbal- anced freshman like flouncing down a crowded hall, laughing through a gaggle of friends with a flip of the pony-tail and nary a backwards glance. Of course, a short skirt doesn't hurt. Same holds true in politics. A short skirt doesn't hurt. No mat- ter how many dance partners the Republicans convince to attend their courtship gala, you'd swear their head was on ball bearings the way they keep swiveling to the door to see who might be lurking outside. Wait- ing for the bad-boy rock stars to finish their smokes in the park- ing lot and make a grand entrance. Or spin out to the highway spitting a rooster tail of gravel. Can't blame them. The Right is just getting over its relation- ship with an older man, which ended badly, and is hungering for some excitement. The rea- son they can't get excited about the geeks and dorks and stal- warts like Huntsman and Paul and Santorum and Cain. Oh sure, they're tolerated and mar- ginally encouraged, but with an enthusiasm one normally asso- ciates with favorite dish towels and serviceable oil filters. Library boys. Not the smooching kind. But to the GOP's dismay, all the heartthrobs have left the building. Donald Trump flirted extensively this spring, but then ran away with his true love, reality television, that tramp. Ms. Popular Transfer Student, Sarah Palin, dragged out her coquettish tease so long even the most bewitched of beaus lost interest. On the rebound, blush- ing and gushing, Michele Bach- mann accepted a corsage, but shortly after was discovered cheating with a corn dog, and jittery suitors fell out of love faster than a college girl with Justin Bieber. After extended entreaties, Rick Perry triumphantly waltzed in to the fanfare of a conquering quarterback, and was immediately voted Home- coming King. No more calls, we have a winner. For about a week. Then, the Texas governor unraveled like a badly knitted letter-sweater caught in a threshing machine. A series of threshing machines. Seven to ten. Even he admits he may have stumbled in debate class. Yeah. "Stumbled" being a polite way of saying, "Dug a hole deep enough to hide at least half of those very threshers of which ear- lier we spoke." The more the cheerleaders saw of Captain Hair- cut, the more the bloom vamoosed the rose. Zero to 60 in 5.6. With the dance but a couple months away, conservatives are fran- ticly whining and pining for a savior to rise from these streets, turning their attention east to woo another governor, Chris Christie of New Jersey. They're Crazy for Christie. The right Mr. Right. Too big to fail. Flat- tered, Christie toned down his persistent "not interested" to a titillating "let's wait and see." Oooh. Shivers. Christie clearly relishes the Will Durst Raging Moderate role of vamping vixen, but con- tinues to dither, aware that his date is a bit fickle, having tossed prospective partners like Kleenex in the midst of a bad cold. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney patiently waits, dressed in his gown, standing at the door. Wondering when the GOP will settle down, come to their senses and get their philandering over with. Might want to change out of those heels; and while you're at it, a short skirt doesn't hurt. The New York Times says Emmy-nominated comedian and writer Will Durst "is quite possibly the best political satirist working in the country today." Check out the website: willdurst.com to find out more about upcoming stand-up performances or to buy his book, "The All- American Sport of Bipartisan Bashing." 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. Tea Party Patriots: Two years — here to stay Commentary Sometime between the delight- ful macaroni and potato dishes, cold or hot, and the smoked tri tip, so tender you didn't need a knife, the camaraderie and fellowship shared by the dozens of Tea Party Patriots conveyed a deep sense of purpose and accomplishment. It was casual with little beyond the recognition of our veterans, and the Pledge of Allegiance salute to the flag, to differentiate their anniver- sary potluck from a large family reunion. And yet, the sense of hav- ing common ideological beliefs, shared goals and projects did have an element of family for the famil- iar faces of the gathered Patriots. We were fortunate to have Supervisor Bob Williams join us to break bread and share a few anec- dotes of the Alice in Wonderland, through-the-looking-glass, experi- ences he has had interacting with the denizens of California's own Emerald City, Sacramento. What most impressed me was hearing how he had managed to open some minds and hearts to how very dif- ferent the problems and experi- ences with government are from a rural county's perspective. Most legislative officials and their staffs see little beyond their city environs, their liberal- and urban-centric world views, and truly don't get that their world exists because resources, food and fiber get grown, extracted, logged, harvest- ed and transported to sustain their part of civilization. That last concept says much about what drives your local Tea Party to carry on. We Tehama County citizens, with our large national forests, rolling foot hills, rural parcels, orchards, pastures and crops, are often looked upon by federal and state agencies and officials as inconsequential to their agendas and quests for determin- ing what is best for everybody. We see privately owned stretch- es and patches, from the valley floor to the forested mountains, as the productive, wealth-creating portion of our county, which, through wise use and reasonable conservation, will continue provid- ing for the foreseeable future. They see trees, birds, bugs and water resources completely dependent upon their preservationist ideolo- gies and policies, seeking inex- orably to remove humans and human improvements from said land. We see dams providing essen- tial water diversions for crops and livestock, and electricity to sustain modern life; they see impediments to fish swimming where only an environmental elite demands they return, at the expense of nearly century-old ranching spreads. We see a cloud of dust from a tractor turning soil to produce sustenance; they see particulate matter and diesel exhaust going into the other- wise pristine atmosphere (which it most certainly is not) crying out for onerous measures to capture what would otherwise harmlessly dissi- pate. So it came to be that Tea Party Patriots found the efforts of forestry agencies, whether subtle or blatant, to go beyond estab- lished wilderness areas and restrict public access on tradition- al forest service roads, to remove dams that had provided water and power for generations, to arbitrar- ily designate watersheds – all of that and more, as part of an agen- da. In the north state and throughout rural, forested counties all over the west, Patriots have gotten informed and teamed up with willing elected officials to push back, using the law. So it is that, at the urging of our Tea Party Patriots, Sheriff Hen- crat, and Supervisors Garton and Williams, learned that county offi- cials have a tool to force federal agencies to work with the locals. It involves putting the demand in writing to the Forest Service or BLM, that they shall "coordinate" what they do with said officials. As good timing would have it, our officials were prepared to provide just that form of notice over the so-called "Beegum watershed," designated in southwest Shasta County, but arbitrarily extended into north- west Tehama County. Certainly, identifying a water- shed sounds innocuous enough, unless you know, as many have found, that once authority is estab- lished for an entire watershed, everything human-related comes under microscopic scrutiny. The fervid imaginations and desires of federal biologists are the only lim- itation – tempered, in this case, by the common sense of our officials to say what is in the best interests of our county. Another keen interest of some members has been to cast an Don Polson The way I see it inquiring eye on Tehama Coun- ty's finances. For that purpose, Administrator Bill Goodwin was gra- cious and patient to entertain questions about the $120+ million budget. One remarkable element became obvi- ous: three-fourths of that amount comes, not from local taxes, but from Sacramento and Wash- ington, complete with hard guidelines for how it will be spent. It's almost demoralizing to think that the basic gov- erning unit that our Founders anticipated for self-rule, has become anything but. Finally, if you want voters to have the final word on SB 48, and decide at the ballot box if we want children to be exposed to instructional material and classroom lessons on homo- sexual, bisexual and transgender propaganda, you can go to "StopSB48.com" to download, print, sign and mail petitions. Do it now because, even if you don't stand somewhere with a clip- board, you can sign up family and friends until October 15. Certain- ly do it for our children; do it also to send a message to San Francis- co's Mark Leno, who arrogantly deigned to write our paper to chastise a local woman for her objections to his agenda. Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.