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4A Daily News – Monday, December 12, 2011 Opinion Terror hits Tehama County and beyond 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 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 In the wee hours last Wednes- day a half dozen robbers wearing hockey masks and black "Police" shirts kicked in the doors of a mobile home in Cottonwood and proceeded to assault the occupants while demanding money and holding their two small children at gunpoint. The parents were bound with duct tape by these terrorists who left with a jar containing mar- ijuana and two unopened safes, one empty and one reportedly con- taining $3000 in cash. The miscre- ants then kicked in the door of another residence on the property before leaving when confronted by the occupant. Ten days earlier, at a home in Dairyville, six occupants were ter- rorized by three gunmen who kicked in their front door at 2 am, identified themselves as law enforcement officers, and ordered them to lie on the floor. One occu- pant was injured in a scuffle with the intruders before they left empty handed after firing a shot through a closed interior door. According to the Sheriff the moti- vation for this crime was likely to steal marijuana that was being grown at the residence, however it is unknown if these two cases are related. One thing is clear however, these home invasions, executed under the cloak of darkness, on unsuspecting victims by gun tot- ing thugs are evidence of real threats that are hard to fathom and protect against. These local inci- dents are sadly a part of the human condition, where disenfranchised criminals resort to terrorism in misguided efforts to support them- selves and/or acquire drugs. Such tactics are not far removed from threats and acts by Al-Qaeda and over fifty terrorists organizations bent on wrecking havoc on Amer- ican soil. I'm at a loss as to how to end these threats other than to mitigate the root causes by loving our ene- mies and holding the moral high ground as we striving to under- stand their perspectives and addressing or allaying legitimate concerns to the extent possible. That said it is also vital that we do all we can to condemn violence and threats of violence as we remain vigilant and immediately report terrorist activity in its plan- ning stage so that law enforcement can blunt threats before they come to fruition. However I believe it is more imperative than ever to bal- ance anti-terrorism efforts so as to not sacrifice our freedoms and rights as American citizens by cow-towing to thugs and terrorists. For this reason I ask you to encourage President Obama to veto the defense appropriations bill now on his desk because Con- gress inserted language allowing our military forces to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens as suspected terrorists, without bringing charges, allowing bail, access to attorneys, or other constitutional due process guarantees. If passed into law our military will be the police, judges, and jailers of American citizens with- out recourse. This is a case where the proposed solution is far more cor- rosive than the problem, particularly for a coun- try where men and women have risked and given their lives in the fields of battle to defend against such tyranny. Our military's record in such tasks is far from reassuring based upon the hundreds of "sus- pected terrorists" held at Gitmo and unknown numbers at other "hold- ing facilities" that have been released after years in torturous detention having no connection to terrorism, other than being fingered by some- one to obtain bounty or political favor. Even Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and FBI Director Robert Mueller are opposed to these provisions because they are cumbersome and ultimately coun- terproductive. Nonetheless over- whelming Republican support derailed an effort to strip these dra- conian appropriation bill provi- sions in the Senate, 61-37 with both of our senators voting in the minority. While we cannot and do not Richard Mazzucchi Positive Point condone the efforts of terrorists at home or abroad we must not let criminals rule the day by depriv- ing American citizen's of funda- mental civil liberties, guarantees of due process, and rights to trial by a jury of peers. Consequently, the presi- dent must veto the appropriations bill to keep us from abandon- ing our core values in an unwinnable war against terrorism wherein we paradoxically apply a form of domestic terror- ism to prevent terror- ism. Rather than sacri- fice our rights and tie up resources for an overzealous witch hunt of Americans we are better served focusing efforts resolving the root causes of terrorism that include disenfranchisement, eco- nomic and social injustice, pejora- tive ignorance of historical and ongoing oppression, and intoler- ance, demonization and disrespect of fellow human beings. Richard Mazzucchi is a retired research engineer specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He makes his home in Los Molinos, where he is striving to manifest a sustainable and spiritual lifestyle. He can be reached at living-green@att.net. 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@gover- nor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2595 Ceanothus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 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. War on rural America; jobs propaganda Commentary You may find it relevant to remember that the Tehama County Tea Party Patriots, who number in the hundreds and regularly pro- duce nearly a hundred to attend meetings, between Red Bluff and Corning, have an ongoing slate of topics, action groups and speakers, many of which will fit one or another of your personal fields of interest. Last week, we saw the video panel of California and Ore- gon sheriffs, including our own Sheriff Dave Hencratt, addressing the Defend Rural America summit held in October in Yreka. It cen- tered on the outrageous efforts of federal and state agencies to remove dams on the Klamath River and jack up water fees to punitive, extortionist levels, all designed to destroy livelihoods, property values and rural economies that have thrived in national forests and mountain locales. These agencies have an agenda, have been inexorably pur- suing it, regard local officials and law enforcement as impediments, and expected to roll over their opponents; that is, until Tea Party Patriots joined with other defend- ers of rural American lifestyles and economies, to expose the extra- constitutional goals and methods involved. Tuesday's meeting will feature Frank Caltabiano of Tuchan Out- doors, speaking about gun laws and hunter safety. The website is http://10ring.net. Any gun owner will recognize the reference to a target in that name. Folks, this will be the last informational meeting of the year, and, while your hunt- ing trips are fresh in mind, for men or women, it'd be worth your time to review not only gun safety, but also the threats to your Second Amendment rights to hunt and carry firearms. The Patriots plan a casual social get together on December 20, ask- ing that attendees bring a dessert to share. If you have not been among the weekly group for a while, do attend and enjoy the fellowship. Regular meetings will resume on Tuesday, Jan. 3rd; so if you can tear yourself away from the Sugar Bowl on ESPN, plan to start the year off with your fellow Tea Party Patriots at the Westside Grange that night. Last week, I pondered on news reporting, and asked if it was "remotely rational that the unem- ployment rate actually 'dramatical- ly declined,' as" Obama and his mouthpieces have asserted. Since nearly 3 times as many people were arbitrarily removed from the pool of the unemployed (having "given up" the job search) as there were jobs created (315,000 to 120,000), don't you find it irra- tional for the unemployment rate to have declined? As numerous econ- omists not serving as water-carriers for the Democrats have calculated, using the same size labor pool as existed when Obama became Pres- ident, the current unemployment rate is actually 11 percent. Which figure makes sense, or rather con- forms with known facts? For instance, we were told that that rate dropped to 8.6 percent, but the labor participation rate fell from 64.2 to 64 percent, meaning a smaller portion of adults were even involved in the job market. How is that good news? It's not! Combin- ing underemployment into the picture, you have a nearly depres- sion-level of under-and- un-employment of 15.6 percent. Finally, the employment-to-popula- tion ratio (people work- ing divided by gross population) has remained around 58 per- cent for over two years, meaning there has been no real progress growing the economy and jobs to match the growing pool of workers during Obama's entire term. Hard numbers from the Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics confirm that fact: "Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Sur- vey" states that 141 million Amer- icans were working in early 2009; 141 million Americans were work- ing last month. Net is nearly zero, meaning an actual decline given population growth requiring 125,000-150,000 new jobs per month to keep up with new work- ers. Is America, as a labor force, better off than three years ago? The numbers don't lie, and liars use phony "jobs created, saved or sup- ported" to paint a rosier picture. Just to rub it in deserving faces: there were 136+ million Ameri- cans employed in 2002 ("Annual" figure from chart) and, after Presi- dent Bush's tax cuts were in effect for 5 years, there were over 146 million employed – a gain of nine and a half million jobs. Over 9,500,000 new jobs under Bush's tax policies! Remember these facts when you hear or read partisan hacks spout false talking points gleaned from lib- eral propaganda outlets. If they lie about hard facts, they'll lie about anything. Don Polson The way I see it Readers may have noticed that a critic lobbed a heaping, steam- ing load of written excrement my way last week, full of vitriol, character assassination, ad hominem attacks and insults because, to the writer, I'm an apparent unapologetic hypocrite for having protested the Vietnam War while sup- porting current wars. If you find that line of argument of any inter- est, you may wish to go to "Polecat News and Views" in the blog sec- tion of the Daily News online (DonPolson.blogspot.com) and scroll down the right side to the "Critics" label. There you will find 5 entries from two and a half years ago, June through July, when this person last unloaded virtually the same slime, to which I responded and refuted, disproved and decon- structed every reprehensible line of attack. For what its worth (sigh). Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.