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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@ 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 Mytakeonjokesis"bring 'em on." That's the reason I have made it a habit over the years to watch Johnny Carson, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, etc. Jokes can win people over. They can also be very powerful and even diffuse a difficult situation. Television shows like these are what I call "infotainment." That would be information and entertainment. It usually feels like fun to me. Recently, someone asked me if I wanted to hear an off color joke. Not my fa- vorite, but I said okay. Let me start with that joke and see what you think. I think the punch line will surprise you. This award winning salesman was attending a convention at a beautiful five star hotel in San Fran- cisco. However, he was not able to sell anything and got so disappointed he de- cided to treat himself to a night cap. In the hotel bar he politely engaged an at- tractive lady in conversa- tion. To make a long story short, two hours later they were both in his hotel room upstairs. To make an even longer story even shorter, the next morning he was the first one to awaken. He was so scared and alarmed that he had cheated he woke her up with an apology. But she immediately said; "Please don't apologize. I have never ever done anything like this before either. I am the real sorry one." Then he said that he wanted her to again answer a question he had asked the night be- fore. She urged him to ask anything. So he said; "You told me last night you do not have aids." She quickly replied; "Absolutely not. Relieve your mind. I was just examined a week ago. I certainly don't want to get that again." Funny yes, but it does make a major point. Hu- mor can also be very at- tention getting. A joke can also give you time to arrive at the real thing you actu- ally want to say. I used a joke in a political speech one time in reply to some- one who had spent al- most five minutes ask- ing me an almost impos- sible question during that speech in Chico. The lady's question was presented in such a mean and an- gry manner that when I fi- nally got a chance to an- swer I was beyond angry. So I said; "Ma'am, I can hear and see the adrenalin you are feeling. So let me tell you I have determined two things. One, you obvi- ously think you have very few faults, but the thing I really want you to remem- ber is two, you really do make the most of the ones you have." I had taken a gamble, but the audience was already on my side because she had been so abrasive. No person really likes to see "mean." I was pleased when that lady approached me after the speech and actually apolo- gized. Yes, humor can be among human beings' most valu- able weapon. My wife thinks I often joke too much, but I think it has served me well. After all, gravity is on its way to get you and me anyway, eventu- ally. Please tell me what you think of jokes. Mytakeonmovies Now it's time for this week's movie review. I think Disney Studios has another classic. It is the remake of "Cinderella." It is more than a kid's movie. It is the story with which we are all famil- iar, and done superbly with an excellent cast. The audi- ence laughed and applauded at many of its captivat- ing moments. Let me know what you think. StanStathamserved1976- 1994 in the California Assembly and was a television news anchor at KHSL-TV in Chico 1965- 1975. He is president of the California Broadcasters Association and can be reached at StanStatham@ gmail.com. My take 'Bring 'em on' when it comes to humor I used a joke in a political speech one time in reply to someone who had spent almost five minutes asking me an almost impossible question during that speech in Chico. Disappointment in the Round-Up Editor: As I look back on the Red Bluff Round-Up that I attended on Sun- day, disappointment is the word that comes to mind. The stock and the cowboys per- formed their job very well. We read about all the top cowboys that were going to be there but that was not the case on champi- onship Sunday, where you would think the cream of the crop would be performing. No disrespect to the performing cowboys and cow- girls that were there. The flag cer- emony was great as always, too. The part that let the paying customers down was that directly handled by the Round-Up com- mittee itself. The clown act was next to nothing, I saw the same little act performed 40 years ago by two young men in the very first at- tempt at being rodeo clowns. I do think that Pete and Brian pulled off the monkey act back then with more crowd pleasing entertain- ment than the "3 years in a row clown of the year" did Sunday. The most entraining person there was a guy that paid to get into the rodeo wearing a pink le- otard and pink tutu. Other than that the clown was not around until the barrel was needed in the bull riding, at which point he was out done by a remote car with a little hat on it speeding around the arena. It was controlled by someone else because it was here last year and this was the first year for the clown. That leaves the food booths. In the past local civic clubs and res- taurants had booths serving food. The money they raised was given to local youth in the way of schol- arships. If you wanted a corn dog there were plenty of carny type booths offering them, but a ham- burger was not to be had any- where in the main grandstand area. I have found out the reason that the local venders no lon- ger provide a place to buy food is that the committee asks for a per- centage rate of the sales so high that the locals cannot make any money for their programs. The Round-Up is a non-profit organization that makes a lot of money during the week, but no one knows what they do with it. In a week or two you will see the Round-Up donate a large check to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital for the Tough Enough to Wear Pink program. The fact is the Taco Bell here in Red Bluff deserves all the credit for buying the auction item at a very high bid and donation. She is the one to thank for the large check, not the committee. I hope the committee looks at the entertainment and services they provide for their paying cus- tomers and not the almighty dol- lar in the further years or possi- bly the rest of the stands will look like the North Arena bleachers do now, pretty bare. — Jim Ross, Red Bluff Offended by LaMalfa email Editor: I received a somewhat offensive e-mail from Representative Doug LaMalfa today. In the missive, he takes issue with the inheritance tax — or, as he prefers, the "death tax." Here is a taxpayer supported congressman who, over the course of several years, has re- ceived almost $5 million in gov- ernment — read taxpayer — sub- sidies. Now, he would like to be able to pass that fortune along to his heirs without any repayment of the fortune to those of us who have provided those subsidies. It would be difficult to come up with a better example of chutz- pah. — Hugh Merhoff, Red Bluff Link between Social Security and fed Editor: Paul Blank's recent letter about Governor Christie's plan for So- cial Security raises an interesting question about the program and its separation from the rest of the federal government. It is true that Social Security is off-budget. This means its tax in- come and benefit expenditures are separate and not considered as any part of the General Fund. However, since the program's in- ception, the excess Social Security Trust Funds have been loaned out, through Treasury securities, to other parts of the federal gov- ernment. Right now that totals about $2.7 trillion. By 2020 Social Security's ex- penditures will begin to ex- ceed its income and those excess Trust Funds will be tapped to en- sure benefits are fully paid. That money will come from the rest of the federal government and it will come from general tax reve- nues. So there is definite linkage between Social Security and the federal government as a whole. Use of the excess Trust Fund dollars to meet benefit obligations will be very modest at first. How- ever, the Social Security Trustees believe such use will rise through- out the 2020s and, if no financ- ing changes are made, the Trust Funds will be exhausted by 2033. At that point Social Security will have only its current tax revenue to pay benefits. It is estimated those dollars would pay out about 77% of actual benefits due. Christie's plan for Social Secu- rity is deeply flawed. He wants to raise the minimum age for retire- ment benefits from 62 to 64. Ask- ing white collar workers to stay on at the office two more years is not unreasonable. However, ask- ing those who do physical work and those in the construction trades to stay on the job until at least age 64 is unrealistic. If the governor seriously be- lieves he can lead the nation as President, he needs to do a much better job at suggesting revisions to a program that directly affects virtually every family in America. — David Janott, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take When I was a 6-year-old lad lusting over the "ant farm" ad- vertisements in 12-cent comic books, I had no idea how ahead- of-their-time those ads were. According to the April 10 Newsweek, entrepreneurs, res- taurateurs and farmers are scrambling to cash in on us- ing processed insects for food. Buoyed by a 2013 United Na- tions report and funding from the United States Department of Agriculture, they hope to re- invent Americans' idea of desir- able food sources and get a leg up — six legs up? — on the com- petition. Companies are conducting expensive research in hopes of gaining GRAS (Generally Re- garded As Safe) certification. To be fair, most of the things we blithely ingest have only ASNLF (Aw, Shucks, Nobody Lives For- ever) certification. Scientists still need to do ex- haustive testing for allergens and toxins. But I'm more wor- ried about the old "You are what you eat" adage. A steady diet of insects could certainly compli- cate couples counseling. "Your wife says you don't communi- cate anymore." "How can I? My legs are so stiff I can't rub them together." No matter how safe or nutri- tious insects are proven to be, marketers will still have to over- come the "Yuk" factor. When I asked one Harvard sociologist how he overcomes the "Yuk" fac- tor, he explained, "I just have a stiff drink, close my eyes, go eenie-meenie and pull the voting lever — oh, you mean the creepy crawly 'Yuk' factor. Oh, that one's easy." I know kids can do some gross things, but there may still be push back if parents try to sell them on insect-based snacks. Father's Day might see a bunch of "(Third) World's Great- est Dad" mugs. I'm sure Madison Avenue will come up with some really per- suasive slogans for the new diet, like "Got exoskeleton?" and "Cricket flour, for biscuits that molt in your mouth." Let's not forget "Still a few bugs in the (digestive) system? Try Ex-Lax." But some of the "buzz words" of the advertising trade will fall flat. Touting something as "free- range dung beetles" is akin to putting lipstick on a pig. It will be important to de- velop units of measure that are not distressing. People accus- tomed to an ounce of caviar or a pound of ground beef might not take to "a plague of locusts." I hope someone has consid- ered the obstacles to using in- sects in school menus. Soon the real mystery of "mystery meat" will be "What will the ACLU tol- erate?" If a cafeteria uses pray- ing mantis meat, it will at least have to alternate that provoc- ative dish with Wiccan wasps and atheist aphids. Yes, our reluctance to change is just a silly, irrational cul- tural thing. Insects would pro- vide bountiful protein and iron, require less feed than mam- mals and not transmit viruses. But while we've learned not to think about our veal having re- cently been a calf, it's unsettling to think that our steak also re- cently pollinated our salad. Can the American diet really undergo such a metamorpho- sis? Will the cliche one day be "Tastes just like chitin?" A few years ago I would have expected my fellow "beans 'n' taters" southerners to resist di- etary paradigm shifts to the death. But they've surprised me, welcoming Americanized Mex- ican and Chinese dishes. In- sects just have to be presented properly. "I don't know about all those compound eyes and anten- nae and things. What? It comes with bottomless sweet tea and gravy? Super-size that maggot mush." Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Danny Tyree Are you ready for a diet of insects? Stan Statham OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, April 23, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6