Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/51035
4A Daily News – Friday, December 23, 2011 Opinion 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 Facts distorted Editor: Mr. Polson, I must admit is a 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. 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Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Lost and found Commentary Murray Clyde was seated on his front porch bench and gazing towards our grove of giant oak trees. I squeezed in beside him and asked, "Are you in your stoic or sad mode?" He continued his gaze and replied, "Sad. I've been thinking of those we lost this year." "I empathize with your mood, but you should concentrate on the good things, not the bad. Tennyson wrote, 'The world is full of a number of things and we should all be as happy as kings.'" "Tennyson is a strange name for a dog." "He was not a dog, he was a poet and known as Lord Tennyson." "Are we going to be talking about reli- gion again?" "Nope. The Lord in his name was a title he was given by Queen Victoria. But the point is we can't live exclusively in the past and bemoan the passing of our family and friends." "I don't know. I seem to moan a lot. I miss them." "Well, sure, we all do… we have bitter- sweet memories of them." "I don't like 'bitter,' do I?" "It is just an expression. We are reminded of our loss…and yet take solace in what good things they brought into our lives before they passed on." "I'm confused," said the big dog. "My friends at the ranch come and go… and I never know if I will see them again." "I feel the same way…especially as I get older, but that is the way of the world; here today, gone tomorrow." Murray Clyde shifted in his bench and said, "I prefer the here and now." I stroked his leonine head and murmured, "So do we all, kid…so do we all." *** The book about my life and hard times in the meat business will probably go to press at the end of the year and therefore miss the holiday last minute shopping scene. I say that in jest because I don't anticipate any great demand for same. It will be priced modestly to help defray some of the pub- lishing cost, but obviously will not appear on a best seller list. I discussed this with C. Larimer, The Word Merchant, and he said, "A few will buy to satisfy their curiosity, many will demand a free copy, and you will be left with a stack of door stops." However, when it comes to his book…still in its forma- tive stage, he expects greater interest. His book will also be non-fiction, but from an ace reporter standpoint, whereas mine will be a series of portraits of workers and animals culminating in the dis- mantling of what was once a profitable and long standing venture. In any case, we won't be doing the book signing table bit. I will be glad to autograph my book if pre- sented by adoring fans, cough, cough. After all, we do have our obligations. *** *** Oscar Levant's wit: "There are two sides to every question: my side and the wrong side." "Once he makes up his mind, he's full of indecision." "I once said cynically of a politi- cian, 'He'll double cross that bridge when he comes to it.'" *** Robert Minch I Say The auto industry is apparently revving up, and perhaps we will see activity on the north end of town one of these days. B. Brown purchased the former Helser GM parcel on Adobe Road, and hopefully we will see some courageous person invest in the former Price Ford agency a little further north on Main. And yet, investors and users are still casting wary glances at the perfor- mance of our leaders in Washington…and may elect to sit on their pocketbooks this coming year. *** I have observed that an oak ball, dropped to the ground, courtesy of a mighty Valley Oak tree, bears a striking resemblance to a singular horse dropping, once the latter has weathered. Coincidence? I think not. Evi- dence of natural selection? Perhaps. Evi- dence of divine intervention? Despite the holiday season, I don't think we can make that leap of faith. As G. Stein might have put it, "Oak ball is an oak ball is an oak ball is an oak ball." That pretty much sums things up. *** John Baros' precocious granddaughter, Olivia Fambrough, age 8, suggests that ideal gifts to the needy this holiday would be shoes and socks for children. This is a prac- tical solution to a problem that we seldom address. Good for you, Olivia. Last week's quiz was answered correctly by J. Angelo and F. Boest. We asked for five of our U.S. Presidents who managed to avoid war during their watch. J. volunteered J. and J.Q. Adams, Z. Taylor, Fill- more, Grant (unless you count the Indian war at Little Bighorn) Cleveland and J. Carter. To round out the 15, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Buchanan, A. Johnson, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleve- land, Taft, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover and Ford all had peaceable tenure. This week's quiz: What animals do you identify with via these adjectives: Cervine, Colubrine, Hircine, Larine, Ovine and Viverrine? *** A man had been stranded on a desert island for 10 years and had not seen a single person in all that time. Then one day a beau- tiful woman stepped out of the ocean wear- ing a wet suit and scuba diving gear. "How long has it been since you had a cigarette?, she asked. The man said 10 years and she unzipped a waterproof bag and offered him a smoke. "And how long", she asked, "since you've had a taste of whiskey?" Again he replied 10 years and she gave him a flask of whiskey from a pouch in her suit. She then began to unzip the front of her wetsuit and asked, "How long has it been since you've played around?" The fellow could hardly believe his luck. "Don't tell me you've got a set of golf clubs in there." Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff and former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine. He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail.com. very talented writer. He really has a knack for distorting facts. His assessment of the tax bur- den of the wealthy almost makes you want to send a care package to the Rockefellers. I may not know much about their taxpaying habits but I do know the super rich are getting richer faster than ever before. Also except for the Social Security safety net, the poor are in the worst shape they have ever been. I also know that when the top tax rate was a lot higher and banks had stricter regula- tions we had a robust economy. According to David John- ston, a 2001 Pulitzer Prize win- ner and author of two best- sellers devoted to our tax codes, "Total income was $2.74 tril- lion less during the Bush Presi- dency than if incomes had stayed at the 2000 levels." But do you really need statistics to tell you how well off or pathet- ic our economy is? In spite of their increased generosity, toward the IRS, data suggest that wealth is concen- trated more than ever on the one per centers. In 1983 the wealthiest 20% owned 81.3 percent of everything in this country. Reading newspapers keeps one informed Editor: By 2004 they increased their holdings by 3.4 percent. In that same time peri- od the share of the poorer 40 percent of our population lost 7 percent of this country's wealth, going from 9 to 2 per- cent. Somehow I don't think Bill Gates needs my puny dona- tion. One more thing that puzzles me is how we can afford to pay Congressmen from $174,000 to $223,500 pensions, and ex- Presidents $450,000 , but can't afford social programs. Orval Strong, Gerber It is amazing the number of people who rely on highly censored and sensationalized TV news, Facebook News based on rumors or a single totally leftist, centrist or conservative newspa- per. Informed decision making requires reading many opinions. As an information junkie, four daily newspapers, and about 30 monthly or weekly aviation, space, manufacturing and vehicle technology, energy, economics, financial, and gen- eral interest magazines, enter our home. These include the Wall Street Your Turn Journal for the global political and financial news, the Red Bluff Daily News and the Corning Observer for local and state news but of necessity, limited national news, the Indianapolis Star for a centrist and conservative local, state and national view, and the Sacramento Bee for the liberal Democrat view. Without cable TV, the evening local and national highly dilut- ed and sensational- ized news is mini- mally valuable. The weekday half hour Business Review, Public TV channel, provides excellent daily finan- cial and economics news. Readers should be very con- cerned about the declining financial strength of excellent newspapers as Facebook and limited scope electronic news reporting becomes the new information standard. Joseph Neff, Corning