Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/522801
Ihadonlyonepersonalconversationwith our 42nd President Bill Clinton. It was in the White House in 1993. I was one of about two dozen legislators there to discuss get- ting help from our federal government on our Golden State's persistent financial woes. Yes, it's the same today. Some things do not change. Now,30yearslater,Ithink Mr. Clinton is still brilliant, charismatic but actually scary. I believe the one thing President Obama should do is watch restless and ambi- tious Bill Clinton at all times. Do not believe Clinton's latest diatribe. I think Bill Clinton must have been addicted to political power since he was born in 1946. We legislators were waiting for almost an hour before Mr. Clinton entered the room to which we had been escorted to wait. As the President en- tered the other side of that room, unescorted, I saw him eagerly talk with each Cali- fornia legislator. He eventu- ally arrived to shake my hand and bowl me over. Nervously I said; "Mr. President, I'm Stan Statham from the most north- ern part of California." He re- sponded almost immediately with; "Tell me about the wa- ter situation in your part of California, Stan." He did not release my hand or even look elsewhere. Well, I was then just another regular guy who got caught up in his magic. It kind of gives you a hint as to why Hillary has not divorced "Slick Willie" yet. I think you'll find it inter- esting that when I returned to my hotel room later the same day I sat down and drafted a press release on my personal visit with Bill Clinton. I sent it to my staff in Sacramento and told them what I had writ- ten was probably too flatter- ing. I told them to modify it if they thought I was too glow- ing in my assessment of Presi- dent Clinton. Thank goodness they decided to modify it be- fore releasing it to the Daily News and the rest of our great North State media. I remember reading one of those kiss and tell books once a long time ago that said "re- liable sources" confirmed that Hillary literally threw a lamp at Bill upstairs at the White House when he recanted and told her something like, "Sorry, dear, I guess I kind of did have sex with that woman." I don't know if he had yet uttered the words "it depends on what is is." Is that not scary? Even he apparently could not spin his adultery ef- fectively. What is interesting now is that Politico is reporting Hill- ary is taking some different positions on issues from the ones her husband had taken during his administration and over the years. I believe Mr. Clinton is scary enough to give her that advice. Now, for obvious reasons, Hillary is getting closer still to Pres- ident Obama and his posi- tions. I know Hillary is say- ing that she is not running for a third Clinton term. I believe Bill will never be too far in the background. Please give me your take. It is going to be one long elec- tion before America gets its 45th President. Mytakeonthemovies I saw Disney's "Tomorrow- land." I highly recommend the entire family enjoy this one. Keep an eye out for 13-year- old actress Raffey Cassidy. You will love her face and act- ing ability. Additionally, the film stars George Clooney and Hugh Laurie (Dr. House) to add to your pleasure. Even if you don't really care for sci- ence fiction mysteries, please see this utopian movie. 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. Mytake Former President Bill Clinton I know Hillary is saying that she is not running for a third Clinton term. I believe Bill will never be too far in the background. Concert was a joy to behold Editor: Those who did not attend the Red Bluff Union High School Band Concert May 7 at the Per- forming Arts Center not only missed a Sousa Palooza by the concert band, but an outstand- ing set by the Jazz Band. The execution of the score, in addition to the musical matu- rity of the band is a tribute to the hard-working students and their skillful, exciting director Gabriel Sakuma. A word to the wise: Don't miss next year's concerts. I, for one, plan to be there. — Ann Forward, Red Bluff Appreciates what columnist has to say Editor: I really like Robert Minch's columns. Unlike the other col- umnists, he has a wry wit that sometimes gets a chuckle or two. I even came in second one time with his little contests to see who can answer questions, like who was the person with red hair who starred in some 1950s TV show, for example. Also, he is the only columnist who says what Tehama County used to be like with some little tidbit of information. Does he pay for the "Passing Parade" I think it's called. That was written by his father but it too describes old Red Bluff and the passing events. So if he's paying to put that column in the paper he shouldn't be. Thanks for publishing the only column that's geared to us locals and thanks to Mr. Minch for his remembrances. — John Allen, Red Bluff Columnist tone is arrogant, sneering Editor: In Robert Minch's column re- garding Stan Statham's mention of therapy sessions, Mr. Minch refers to psychoanalysis in an arrogant and sneering way. He brags that he has never needed this type of therapy, he is very fortunate that this is true. Many very troubled people have been helped by psycho- analysis. However Mr. Minch's sneer- ing insult to these people as sheep because they sought help by seeking an analyst or joining a church shows his stupid ideas about receiving counseling for a problem. And then he rests his case by quoting the first line of the 23rd Psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd." This shows his igno- rance of the 23rd Psalm. He is putting himself in the same category as the godless ACLU who are determined to remove any sign of Christianity from the Earth. I do not know if he believes in any religion, but he is putting himself in the group that wants even the cross and the Star of David removed from the graves of our soldiers in the cemetery. In the government of the United States there are those leaders who have refused to allow them to have bibles in hospitals or in their belongings on military as- signments. These leaders are proving themselves to be atheists in their threats to chaplains, they can not mention Jesus Christ or they will be court-martialed and be removed from any mil- itary service they are a mem- ber of. This has already happened repeatedly. They are stripped of their military rights, their mili- tary pensions and given dishon- orable discharges. They also cannot say "In Je- sus' name" at any time in a mil- itary funeral of a Christian sol- dier that has died serving and carrying out his oath to serve and protect this country. One of our Commander in Chief's advisors even has the audacity to say that Christian soldiers and sailors should be charged with sedition and trea- son — that Christians are the same as terrorists. This shows that a large sec- tion of our government and mil- itary leaders are biased and hat- ers and are unfit to serve or hold the jobs they have. — Jean Clayton, Red Bluff Amazed by the news Editor: I read in amazement your ar- ticles about the drought, Red Bluff city budget, Cal Fire drills and the Givens Road project just in the May 7 paper. As for the drought, why is there no study being done on the planting of new orchards in Tehama County. In the past 10 years alone the increase in trees planted and the decrease in lo- cal water levels has been tre- mendous. Yet the Moonbeam in Sacramento and his local fol- lowers are concerned as to how much I water my lawn. The Red Bluff city budget is far out of sight and mainly due to salaries and pension bene- fits. About 30+ years ago the city manager was informed by the then fire chief and police chief the increase in pension cost would be prohibitive 10-20 years in the future. We are there today. Cal Fire at this stage of the game should know that weed abatement is a primary prob- lem in Tehama County. A lesson would have been the Antelope Slough Fire. The slough area is growing back thickly, so get ready. I wonder what the newly hired inspector's duties are and who supervises? Why after so many years is the Givens Road project a prime concern. So many other streets need attention and just putting some yellow paint down to see where the center is would be helpful. Walnut Street at Bidwell School the lines are almost gone and South Main Street from Lu- ther Road is a good trip to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital. I guess what this letter is all about is setting priorities and spending dollars wisely. — William Hendrix, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take "Magna Carta? Wasn't that the show Tom Selleck was on before 'Blue Bloods?'" *Sigh* In fact, Magna Carta (Latin for "Great Charter") is one of the most significant doc- uments in history, drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make peace between King John of England (infamous from the Robin Hood legends) and a group of rebel barons. The provisions of the char- ter were agreed to on June 15, 1215 at Runnymede — meaning Magna Carta will soon be cele- brating its 800th birthday. Too bad modern media didn't exist to record the goings on. The warring factions would have made for great pay-per-view. ("Putting the feud into feudal!!!") Of course one of the claims to fame of Magna Carta was that it was the first formal document stating that a king had to follow the laws of the land. (Previous informal documents included, "Y'all ought not be doin' that kind'a stuff. What would your momma think, bless her heart?") Yes, Magna Carta declared un- abashedly that the KING is not above the law. You'll find that as Number 7 in Barack Obama's book "10 Reasons Why I Wanted To Be President." If you think of Magna Carta at all, you probably think it has a long unbroken history. In fact, both sides violated it almost im- mediately, modified versions were issued in 1216, 1225 and 1297 (let's not even get into the XP, Vista and Magna Carta 8 versions) and only three of the 63 clauses still remain in English statute law. In fact, Pope Innocent III an- nulled the whole thing almost immediately, declaring that King John signed it under du- ress. ("If you don't stop mak- ing people do things under DU- RESS, I've saved a special corner of hell for you, where you will wail and gnash your teeth for all eternity....what are you rolling your eyes about?") Technically, John did not sign Magna Carta, instead affixing the royal seal (as was the cus- tom). Historians did, however, find one copy wherein John tried to have the last word by inserting a handwritten "I'm rubber and you're glue..." We now take the provisions of Magna Carta (such as trial by jury and due process of law) for granted, but they were not orig- inally intended for the common people. The barons were just look- ing out for themselves. In fact, one of the clauses in Magna Carta was that if the Crusades were suc- cessful, the Holy Land would be renamed One-Percenter Land. Magna Carta had a tremen- dous impact on the U.S. Con- stitution and Bill of Rights, the French Revolution and our cur- rent foreign aid and immigration policies. (No, wait — the latter two didn't come from the Great Charter. They were devised un- der the influence of old Charter.) Amazingly, after all these cen- turies, four of the 13 original copies of Magna Carta are still known to be in existence. An- other four copies met a sad fate. Cheech and Chong bought them early in their careers and the vel- lum looked soooo much like Zig- Zag papers in the dim light... The British Library is conduct- ing grand ceremonies for the an- niversary. A mock trial for the barons is being held July 31. I wonder what the original participants would say if they could see us now? ("Y'all, we never said nothin' about a guar- anteed right to drive on the wrong side of the road! What would your mommas think, bless their hearts?") Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Danny Tyree The 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta is coming up 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 We now take the provisions of Magna Carta for granted, but they were not originally intended for the common people. OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, June 4, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6