Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/492559
Irememberveryclearly the times the rodeo came to town when I was a small child. My next-door neighbor, Ralph Hobbs, had a friend by the name of Dean Oliver who was a world champion roper, and he bunked at Ralph's home when he came to the Red Bluff Round-Up. I remember going to the Round-Up parade every year and seeing horses and politicians marching in the parade. I remem- ber watching as the pooper-scoo- pers cleaned up after all of them. I remember attending the wild and wooly street dances that were held on Pine Street. I re- member rodeo time at the Trede Brothers bar, the Crystal Tavern, the Palomino Room, the Blue Ribbon and the Iron Horse. Now that the statute of limita- tions has passed, I remember as a teenager sneaking into the rodeo with my buddies by climbing over a six-foot fence with barbwire on top. I remember spending $43.50 at a Round-Up carnival trying to knock down weighted milk bot- tles in order to win a $3 teddy bear for my then girlfriend, now wife. Unfortunately, I also re- member that she thought I was an idiot for doing so. I remember the decade of the '70s where each and every year we sat in the same seats with our same friends in the south arena and we watched rodeo stars like Jim Shoul- ders, Larry Mahan, Donny Gay and the Camarillo Brothers. I re- member the many barbecues we at- tended with friends and family af- ter a Saturday performance. I remember the year we left our seven- and four-year-old son and daughter with my mother while we went to the rodeo. When they both cried, my won- derful mother, who did not drive, walked them all the way to the Round-Up and back from South Jackson Street. The three of them enjoyed the Round-Up with a standing room only view. I remember how proud I was when I realized that not only is Red Bluff home to the biggest two-day rodeo in the world, it is also home to Joe Baumgartner, the best rodeo bullfighter who ever lived; and to Don Kish, who is arguably the best breeder of bulls there is. And I guess I am even proud of Red Bluff's Stock Contractor of every year, my friend, John Growney, who is mostly just full of bull. I remember when I first realized that the Round-Up Association was so much more than a group of good-old-boy di- rectors dressed in colorful shirts, 10-gallon hats and cowboy boots. Some 20 years ago the association began contracting with the Ro- tary Club of Red Bluff to handle the beer concession at the Round- Up. While they could have gener- ated far more revenue through a bid process, they recognized that by partnering with the Rotary Club they were ensuring that pro- ceeds were used to benefit the en- tire community. Because of this Round-Up and Rotary partner- ship, nearly $400,000 has been di- rected to scholarships and other youth-oriented programs within Tehama County. I remember when half a dozen years ago the Red Bluff Round- Up became one of the first ro- deos in the nation to feature the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign. Thanks to the Round-Up, Dignity Health and great program supporters like Rose Crain and Dan Davidson of the Haleakala Ranch, the cam- paign has generated well over $200,000 in support of local pro- grams designed to reduce the in- cidence and impact of cancer in the Tehama County community. I remember in 2011 when the Round-Up Association became aware that STFTA was buying the State Theatre. They were one of the very first to present us with a substantial check in support of our efforts to ensure the future of the theater as a performing arts center for future generations. These are but a few of the ex- amples of the great work done by the Red Bluff Round-Up Associa- tion. On behalf of the State The- atre and the entire community, I would like to thank its directors and the scores of volunteers who make the Red Bluff Round-Up the world famous event it is to- day. See you at the rodeo. ComingtotheState Theatre April 10 - Hevritage Film Fes- tival presented by Shasta Col- lege; May 9- Anthony Kearns Presented by Tehama Concert Series; 10 - Mothers Day Film- Sleepless in Seattle; 20-21 -Te- hama County Writing Celebra- tion, Department of Education; 30 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. BillCorneliusisalifelong resident of Red Bluff, a retired Chief Probation Officer, a champion of the State Theatre and an exceptional athlete. He can be reached at bill.cornelius@ sbcglobal.net. WilliamTells Itisrodeotime in Red Bluff I remember spending $43.50 at a Round-Up carnival trying to knock down weighted milk bottles in order to win a $3 teddy bear for my then girlfriend, now wife. Cartoonist's take This week the Justice De- partment announced it would not charge former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official Lois Lerner with contempt of Congress. Some members of Congress requested that Le- rner be charged with contempt after she refused to testify at a congressional hearing inves- tigating her role in denying or delaying the applications for tax-exempt status of "tea party" and pro-limited govern- ment organizations. Cynics might suggest it is not surprising that a for- mer government official would avoid prosecution for refusing to tell Congress about how fed- eral employees abused their power to help the incumbent administration. These cyn- ics have a point, but the prob- lem goes beyond mere parti- sanship. Government officials are rarely prosecuted for even the most blatant violations of our liberties. In contrast, fed- eral prosecutors routinely pur- sue criminal charges against whistleblowers. For example, the only American prosecuted and imprisoned in relation to the government's use of tor- ture was whistleblower John Kiriakou! While some officials like Lois Lerner who find them- selves at the center of a high- profile scandal or partisan dis- pute can expect harsh treat- ment from Congress, this is the expectation, not the rule. Ex- ecutive branch officials usually receive deferential treatment from members of Congress. I recall one hearing on govern- ment surveillance where a rep- resentative actually apologized to a government official be- cause Congress had the gall to ask that official to testify about the government's ongoing sur- veillance of the American peo- ple. In contrast, private citizens called before Congress are ha- rangued and even bullied. Congress should stop using the hearing process to intimi- date private citizens and start using it to intimidate those government officials who are threatening our liberty. For example, Congress should con- tinue to investigate the IRS's ongoing attempts to silence organizations that work to ad- vance free markets and indi- vidual liberty. My Campaign for Liberty organization has had to battle an IRS demand that it hand over personal information re- garding some of its top do- nors. The IRS is either ignor- ing, or ignorant of, the nu- merous precedents protecting the right of organizations like the Campaign for Liberty to protect their members' pri- vacy from government offi- cials. The IRS is drafting a new regulation that would em- power the agency to revoke an organization's tax-exempt sta- tus if that organization sends out a communication to its members or the general pub- lic mentioning a candidate for office by name sixty days before an election or thirty days before a primary. By pre- venting groups from telling their members where candi- dates stand on issues like Au- dit the Fed and repeal of the PATRIOT Act, this anti-First Amendment regulation bene- fits those politicians who wish to hide their beliefs from the voters. Since the IRS's power stems from the tax system, the only way to protect our liberty from this agency is to eliminate the tax code. Promising to end the IRS is a popular applause line for politicians wishing to ap- pear as champions of liberty. This week, John Koskinen, the current IRS commissar, re- sponded to these cries to end the IRS by pointing out that shutting down the IRS would deprive Congress of the rev- enue needed to fund the wel- fare-warfare state. Koskinen has a point. Congress cannot shut down the IRS until it en- acts major reductions in all ar- eas of government spending. Politicians who vote for war- fare abroad and welfare at home yet claim they want to shut down the IRS should not be taken seriously. Freeing the people from the IRS's tyranny is one of the best reasons to end the welfare-warfare state and return the federal govern- ment to its constitutional lim- itations. Ron Paul is a former Congressman and Presidential candidate. He can be reached at VoicesofLiberty.com. Ron Paul IRS, Congress hold our liberty in contempt Another view When I came to, I was on my back on the floor of my ac- countant's office. "What happened?" I said. "When I told you how much you owe, you went down like ton of bricks," said my ac- countant. "I owe the IRS again? But I set aside money every quar- ter!" "How many times do I have to tell you? As a self-employed writer, you have to set aside a big chunk of dough to pay your local, state and federal income taxes. Since you are your own employer, you have to pay your FICA (12.9 per- cent) and Medicare (2.9 per- cent) taxes. It adds up fast. Most of your income is being taxed at about 47 percent." "Forty-seven percent! That's unconscionable! I thought Re- publicans in Congress were going to fix this mess." "Remember that it was Congress that created the mess. Look, when the income tax became law in 1913, the tax code was 16 pages long. Today it is exactly 73,954 pages — every page more in- comprehensible than the one before it." "Why so complex?" "Because the government uses the tax code to do every- thing from paying back finan- cial supporters to redistribut- ing wealth to giving taxpay- ers incentives to buy homes, have kids, save money, spend money and on and on." "We should reform and simplify our tax sys- tem!" "There has been lots of talk about tax sim- plification. The last ma- jor tax reform happened in 1986, when the econ- omy was half as big and the Internet hadn't yet trans- formed commerce. The tax code is outdated." "Then how do we proceed?" "Well, there are lots of ideas to strip out loopholes in return for simplified tax brackets at lower rates. There is even some agreement on both sides of the political aisle to tackle tax reform. Robust debate is needed so that our politicians in Washington can hammer out a new approach that unleashes the economy and moves the country for- ward!" "Then why isn't it happen- ing?" "President Obama could take the lead on this one and build a consensus among both parties, but he doesn't seem terribly interested in income- tax reform. Some in the Sen- ate are pushing ideas, but at the moment that is all they are — just ideas. Besides, no small number of people like things just the way they are." "Who could possibly like our complex tax code?" "People who make good liv- ings helping people navigate our complicated tax code. You think these people want to give up this gravy train? These people have deep pock- ets and their money fills the coffers of the politicians who do their bidding." "You're depressing me," I said. "The truth is that every time a tax-reform bill is passed into law, the lobbyists get right on it and pretty soon all kinds of loopholes and complexities are added back into the tax code. The fact is, taxes keep getting more com- plex and income taxes keep going up." "And that's why I am miser- able this time every year." "You are not alone. Did you know it takes the aver- age American taxpayer 13 hours to gather and compile all the necessary receipts and forms to comply with the tax code?" "It figures. I'll bet most peo- ple have no idea how much they are really paying in hid- den income taxes because they aren't self-employed as I am. Still, there's got to be something I can do to avoid paying such high taxes." "One of my clients came up with a foolproof strategy. He doesn't owe one dime in taxes for 2014." "How did he pull that one off?" "He died in 2013." Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom at Purcell@ caglecartoons.com. Tax-time misery GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD 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@ redbluffdailynews.com Fax: 530-527-9251 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 Tom Purcell Bill Cornelius OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, April 8, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6