Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/472801
GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIALBOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS AfewweeksagoI sat down with the es- teemed leadership of the Daily News to dis- cuss the possibility of my writing a col- umn a couple times per month to extol the vir- tues of the State The- atre. It was my hope that with this added bit of exposure, the community would not only continue its amazing finan- cial support of the theater, but would attend our terrific events in droves. Frankly, the Daily News' response was one of those "be careful what you wish for" deals. According to the DN brass, this community enjoys hear- ing from weekly columnists like Jean Barton, Stan Sta- tham, Don Polson, Joe Har- rop and even the self-esteemed Robert Minch. They went on to say, while schmoozing with me over a two-hour, three-Bud light lunch, that Wednesdays were open for a weekly col- umn, and because I am a life- long resident of the commu- nity they were hoping I might possibly fill this weekly slot with stuff about the State The- atre, as well as my view of the community at large. Because I have been mar- ried to the same lucky lady for 47 years, I explained that I would have to go home and get permission from the wife be- fore I signed on to be a scribe for the Daily News. That eve- ning over a box of wine I ex- plained that I wasn't sure writ- ing a weekly column suited me, because for the most part those who had a column in the paper seemed to be old, opin- ionated, self-important blow- hards who have nothing better to do than sit around talking about stuff they really know very little about. The wife, in her own special way, re- sponded that if that is the case I would be absolutely perfect for the job. So the next morning I called the big deal editor of the paper and I told him that I would take the job as long as the public was able to un- derstand that when I write anything referencing the State Theatre I am officially representing its hard work- ing 17-member board of di- rectors. When I write about anything else in the commu- nity I am speaking only for myself, as even the wife re- fuses to stand behind any- thing I have to say. In hopes that Mr. Editor might better understand who I am and what he is getting the paper into, I also shared with him a few basic facts: my cup is always half empty; there is at least a little bit of truth in everything I say; I feel strongly both ways; and last but not least, I am ex- actly the kind of per- son I can't stand. I also explained that the first time a reader says any- thing negative about me I would likely re- sign, as I can't stand criticism. As a distinguished member of the Daily News team, I think I must ask that you readers call me by my given name, William, rather than Bill. Now back to the more im- portant business: the State Theatre. When STFTA made a decision in 2011 to purchase, restore and enhance the pro- gram component at the his- toric State Theatre, we fully realized that the future of the theater rests in a significant way with the youth of Tehama County. We make a concerted effort to offer youth-related programming whenever possi- ble, and are deeply indebted to our partners within the com- munity who sponsor such pro- gramming at the State The- atre. Two such partners have stepped up for the past several years in support of such pro- gramming. Last Saturday, Feb. 28, the Exchange and Soroptimist clubs of Red Bluff brought back to the State Theatre their annual "Search for Talent" show featuring extraordinarily talented Tehama County youth. Speaking from expe- rience, there can be no bet- ter time for a parent, grand- parent, a friend or neighbor to sit back in the Lindauer Audi- torium and proudly watch as these very talented youngsters strut their stuff on the Haleak- ala stage. Thanks goes to the hard working volunteers from these wonderful organizations, and especially to those tal- ented kids who made the the- ater look so good. Next Saturday, March 7, the community-minded Tehama County Arts Council will bring "Blackbeard the Pirate" to the theater, a production headed by Missoula Children's The- atre. For the past decade the folks at the Tehama County Arts Council have brought Missoula to town. Its job is to conduct a week-long audition and practice period for local children, with a formal per- formance at the conclusion of the seven-day visit to Te- hama County. What an experi- ence for the youth of Tehama County, and what an experi- ence for you if you happen to be in the audience that Satur- day evening. BillCorneliusisalifelong resident of Red Bluff, a re- tired Chief Probation Officer, a champion of the State Theatre and an exceptional athlete. He can be reached at bill.corne- lius@sbcglobal.net William Tells Myhopesfor this new column Cartoonist's take Late Friday night, Congress passed legislation funding the Department of Homeland Secu- rity for one week. This vote fol- lowed weeks of debate over ef- forts to attach a prohibition on funding President Obama's exec- utive order granting amnesty to certain illegal immigrants to the Homeland Security funding bill. Despite the heated rhetoric from both sides, no one seriously be- lieves that Congress will allow Homeland Security funding to lapse. Most in Congress believe that, without the Department of Homeland Security, Ameri- cans would be left unprotected from terrorists and natural di- sasters. As with most areas of bipartisan agreement, the truth is the exact opposite of the DC consensus. The American people would be much better off if Con- gress transferred the few con- stitutional functions performed by Homeland Security to other parts of the government and then shut down the rest of the department. Many Americans associate Homeland Security with the color—coded terrorist warning system and the "if you see some- thing, say something" public re- lations campaign. These pro- grams were designed to inspire public confidence in the depart- ment, but instead they inspired public ridicule. Ironically, the best case for shutting down this department is its most well-known compo- nent — the Transportation Se- curity Administration (TSA). More terrorist attacks have been thwarted by airline passengers than by the TSA! The TSA may be ineffective at stopping ter- rorists, but it is very effective at harassing innocent Americans like Lucy Forck. Three-year-old Lucy, who uses a wheelchair, not only had to endure an intrusive screening from TSA agents, but the agents also took away her beloved stuffed animal. When not abusing children who use wheelchairs, TSA sub- jects airline passengers to rules that seem designed to make air travel as unpleasant as possi- ble. For example, TSA recently forced a Campaign for Liberty staffer to throw away a jar of Nutella she had in her carry- own luggage. I am sure all air- line passengers feel safe know- ing that TSA is protecting them from sandwich spreads. Ending the TSA would return responsibility for airline security to airports and airlines. Private businesses have a greater incen- tive than a government bureau- cracy to ensure their custom- ers' safety. Those conservatives who think this is a radical idea should try to think of one area where they trust government bureaucrats to do a better job than private business owners. Another agency within Home- land Security that the Ameri- can people could do without is the Federal Emergency Manage- ment Agency (FEMA). Having spent fifteen years in Congress representing a coastal area sub- ject to hurricanes and floods, I have seen first-hand how FEMA places adherence to bureau- cratic rules ahead of aiding vic- tims of a natural disaster. As a result, it is not uncommon for disaster victims to wait months or even years for assistance. FEMA not only fails to pro- vide effective relief to disaster victims, it also impedes private disaster relief efforts. FEMA even hinders disaster victims' efforts to help themselves. While in Congress, I heard stories of individuals being threatened with fines or even jail time if they returned to their property without FEMA's permission. One individ- ual in my district was threat- ened with arrest if he removed a tarp that FEMA put on his house — even though FEMA was supposed to have put it on his neighbor's house! Ten years after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, it is clear that this de- partment has failed to protect our security, but has infringed on liberty. If Congress really wanted to enhance our security and our liberty it would shut down this unnecessary, uncon- stitutional department. Ron Paul is a former Congress- man and Presidential can- didate. He can be reached at VoicesofLiberty.com. Ron Paul What is Department of Homeland Security good for? Another view Get this: The federal government is trying to explain things to citizens in plain Eng- lish. In 2010, you see, Pres- ident Obama signed the Plain Writing Act into law. It requires that all federal agencies use "clear gov- ernment communication that the public can understand and use." In 2011, Obama took the plain-language initiative a step further. He issued an executive order (No. 13563) that demands that government "regulations are accessible, consistent, writ- ten in plain language, and easy to understand." Too bad these actions came after ObamaCare, which Nancy Pelosi said Congress had to pass so we could find out what was in it. Of course, bills written by lobbyists, who are paying off members of Congress to make laws that enrich them, are poorly written on purpose. Don't ask me — ask ObamaCare consultant Jonathan Gruber. "This bill was written in a tortured way to make sure (the Congressional Budget Of- fice) did not score the mandate as taxes," said Gruber. "If CBO scored the mandate as taxes, the bill dies. ... Lack of trans- parency is a huge political ad- vantage. And basically, you know, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, re- ally critical to get the thing to pass." Besides, politicians don't write the actual rules and regulations. All they do is write and pass the bill. Then it is then sent to government regula- tors, who review the bill and, based on their inter- pretation of it, write the rules and regulations. These are the most power- ful people in Washington, D.C. They work in more than 50 dif- ferent regulatory agencies and each is empowered to create and enforce rules and regula- tions that are backed by the might of federal law. Individ- uals and organizations can be fined or thrown in jail for vio- lating them. Being somewhat fearful of being fined or thrown in jail, I prefer that we have fewer rules, not more of them. Consider the complex rules and regulations that pertain to the IRS. The IRS itself doesn't understand half of them. Call two different agents with a tax question and you'll likely get two different answers. Regrettably, rules and regu- lations are growing at a rapid clip. According to The Heritage Foundation, the number of ma- jor federal regulations issued by the Obama administration in its first five years was 153.2 per- cent higher than the number is- sued by the George W. Bush ad- ministration during its first five years. The Heritage Foundation says a major federal regula- tion is defined as "any rule that the Administrator of the Of- fice of Information and Regu- latory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget finds has resulted in or is likely to re- sult in: (A) an annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more; (B) a major increase in costs or prices for consum- ers, individual industries, Fed- eral, State, or local government agencies, or geographic regions; or (C) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, inno- vation, or on the ability of the United States-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises in domestic and ex- port markets." Or, to put it in plain Eng- lish, a major rule is a pain in the patootie! And Obama is- sued 157 major rules in the first five years of his presi- dency, compared to 62 major rules added during Bush's first five years. Today, the Federal Register runs to nearly 80,000 pages a year — quite an increase since 1935, when it was about 2,000 pages. I'm grateful that our govern- ment is trying write rules and regulations in plain English, so that we citizens can read and understand them and stay out of the clink. But let me be clear: I'd rather have fewer regulations that are poorly written than the zillions of clear ones we have now. Tom Purcell, author of "Misad- ventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor col- umnist. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Overreaching in plain English Bill Cornelius Tom Purcell OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, March 4, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6