Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/526992
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 Sometimes there are so many ideas that pop into this little head of mine, that I am not able to focus on one theme for the weekly columns I write. Sometimestimeconstraints and travel get in the way, and sometimes I face what has been called "writers' block." This column is an attempt to piece together several brief ideas I have jug- gled around for a long time now, ideas that come from looking at road signs along the way from here to there, dumb news stories, and even dumber television. For example, we saw lots of road signs coming and going to Phoenix. On one stretch of road was this sequence: First, one sign said "Hock it for Hope" with the "O" in hope in the shape of a diamond ring. It was an ad for a pawn shop just before a turnoff to a casino. I was sure the next road sign, just appearing on the ho- rizon would be for a casino, and when I saw the large let- ters, "Hope Just Ahead" I knew I was right. The smaller print on the side of the sign, however, indicated it was pro- moting the Betty Ford Clinic. The very next sign was in- triguing, at least from a dis- tance. It proclaimed that "Ag- ing is an Option." I wondered if the fine print was promot- ing assisted suicide, or a mir- acle cure for aging you could buy only on line. I was wrong again, it was for a cosmetic surgery group located in the next large city. That sign reminded me of a curious ad I had seen on tele- vision before we left for our trip. One day, while I was on the treadmill at the gym I chuckled while I watched an ad that claimed the doctors could treat signs of aging that "even you cannot see." I won- dered, if I cannot see them, who spends more time looking at me than I do each morn- ing as I scrape the hair off my face? If I cannot actually see those invisible signs of ag- ing who could? Why should I care about what I cannot see? If I couldn't see them to start with, how would I know if I got what I paid for? There were lots of accusa- torial signs in the south val- ley; the signs proclaimed our indolent Congress had actu- ally accomplished something. The signs said "End this Con- gress Created Dustbowl." Maybe the signs should have been anti-state Jefferson proclamations instead, since the State of Jefferson may be less liberal with its water dis- tribution than the current dark powers that be. In any case, it was refreshing to see some are still so naive to be- lieve Congress can actually do something. I learned about a new dan- ger recently. According to an on line post: "Scientists have discovered a powerful new strain of fact-resistant hu- mans.... These humans ap- pear to have all the facul- ties necessary to receive and process information," Davis Logsdon, one of the scientists who contributed to the study, said. "And yet, somehow, they have developed defenses that, for all intents and purposes, have rendered those faculties totally inactive." Most of us know one or more of these strongly opin- ionated people who use their picked and chosen facts to support whatever opinion they want us to hear. Sometimes, two of them get in the same room together and use con- trary facts to support the same point of view. Sort of like the devil quoting scripture. The Washington Post uses an index that measures the "facts" that politicians want us to believe; it is called Pin- occhios, named after the fa- mous character whose nose grew longer and longer when he did not tell the truth. Both Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush earned four Pinocchios last week for claims they made... so politicians of all stripes are capable of manufacturing facts when convenient. One final anecdote. We at- tended a wedding Saturday night; the ring bearer was a young boy. When he was told he was going to be the ring bearer; when he was handed the box with the rings, he asked, "Where is my bear mask?" JoeHarropisaretired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. Joe Harrop Bits and pieces for the week Most of us know one or more of these strongly opinionated people who use their picked and chosen facts to support whatever opinion they want us to hear. Positivechangesat Veterans Service Office Editor: I had the pleasure of visiting the new Veterans Service Of- fice this week and it is totally awesome. It is a far cry from the old office, where you had to wait outside for your ap- pointment. I would like to thank the su- pervisors and everyone else in- volved. In addition, the VSO Kel- ley Osborne is a super star. She goes above and beyond every- thing and really cares. I have been dealing with the VSO for the past three years and yes- terday's visit was super. Thank you. — Sam Simpson, Corning Cartoon sparks analysis of state, nation Editor: The cartoon in Saturday's (June 6) Daily News is more of the same. Putting Americans out of work. What are they thinking? I listened to a man in Goleta who works for some technical business saying his company was hiring immigrants with H1B1 status to take over their jobs. They have to train their replacements to boot. Then the company will move to Mexico. The other day I Googled H1B1 and read briefly these immigrants are to be highly- skilled in their fields. There was so much reading, I didn't get too far into it. So what does this cartoon mean? Americans are too stu- pid to hold jobs in Disneyland? I complain to my sister of all the stupid things this state does and she said Arizona is as bad. I'd have lots to write about. Arizona is thinking of going to a 4-day school week and laying off teachers. Kids also are given a list of things to take to school their first day. Toilet paper, pencils, paper, napkins, etc. Basic ne- cessities. Union workers want to be exempt from H1B1 and from the minimum wage increase. As usual, nothing new there. I for one hope all union work- ers have their lives and liveli- hood squashed just like all the rest of us. Maybe then they'll wake up and kick these politicians out of their cushy jobs. June 1 I was in a local fast food eatery and had a long wait. Watching people. I was ashamed of myself of my thoughts. We have come a long way in the past 50 years and it isn't good. When you get dressed ev- ery morning if you're lucky enough to be working, look at the labels on all your clothes to see where they're made. I did months ago, nothing was made in America. This is crim- inal. We import much more than we export year after year. They know this and nothing changes. It's taken me several years to finally realize the two-party system isn't working. If a de- cent person gets into office, they're out-numbered espe- cially here in the north state. Maybe people who are opposed to the State of Jefferson should re-think their position. We're in a drought now, what will the north state be like when Governor Moonbeam builds the water tunnels. For years my brother-in- law complained of Califor- nia stealing Arizona's water. The Colorado River was al- ways low, I thought that was normal, which now it is but I know what he was talking about. It's happening here too only California is trying to take our water here in the north state. Maybe it's time people op- posed to the State of Jefferson wake up and re-think their po- sition. As for Disneyland, that's the last place I'd go. — Bernice Cressy, Cottonwood Science versus religion Editor: According to the PEW Re- search Center, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today. They predict it will overtake Christianity by 2100. Interestingly both religions put more stock in a book writ- ten thousands of years ago by unknown authors than scien- tific discoveries of the last five hundred years. I understand Muslims use a different book but their cre- ation story is essentially the same as Genesis. This book says God made two great lights, one to rule the day and the other the night. Forget for a second that the moon is not a light source, what about the billions of other stars in our galaxy many of which we are told are far greater than our sun? It tells us vegetation not only can survive but actually thrived without the light or heat of the sun. They can also survive after being immersed for a year under a fresh and salt water solution. The book tells us the sun goes around the earth not visa versa. Notice Joshua didn't command the earth to stop spinning around. And how about the 8 people stranded on a boat for a whole year with every kind of ani- mal in the world and both the door and window closed, and they don't go stark raving mad or get overcome by gaseous fumes. With all the absurdities and blatant contradictions in scrip- ture I'm finding it easier and easier to accept the theory of evolution. And its getting harder and harder to accept, much less justify Israel's claim to Pales- tine, especially since Judaism isn't a race but a religion like any other religion which peo- ple convert to or drop out of. — Orval Strong, Gerber Your opinions Cartoonist's take You don't need to check a screen to know how much time we're spending with them. Be- sides, surveys keep reminding us: total screen time for adult Americans is now just under 10 hours per day — roughly half in front of what we still call a "televi- sion," the rest spent with com- puters and mobile devices. But what caught my eye here in the Phoenix metro area, par- ticularly in vibrant, newly de- signed commercial venues, is the omnipresence of screens that seem to defy categori- zation. They're not personal computers or TV sets per se. Rather, they are a strange hy- brid of interior design and pop art. In Scottsdale's nightclub dis- trict the dominant elements are walls of video screens, pulsing frenetically with im- ages of fashion and graphic de- sign. From a single spot on Sad- dlebag Trail — a street that could not possibly be more conflicted in name and char- acter — you can see seven es- tablishments, each with a half- dozen or more giant screens, lighting up the night like a fierce electrical storm. Some screens are the size of Ping-Pong tables. They ap- parently provide a stimulat- ing recreational environment for those who already spend nearly 10 hours a day with other screens in their lives. At the Hilton near Sky Har- bor Airport, a recent renova- tion has conjured up a plethora of screens. Seats in the lobby are now separated by six-foot high partitions and each re- sulting pod has its own video screen, flickering 24/7 with- out audio on a channel that can't be switched by guests. It's video wallpaper. The remodeled Rennick's Restaurant has a dining coun- ter placed against a wall of in- dividual screens, with images as close to a patron's face as his plate of spaghetti. Ten miles north at the Half Moon sports bar, the massive array of high-definition screens is no surprise, but since our last visit three have been im- planted in each restroom. The private dining room now has a screen mounted just a few inches off the ground with a nonstop feed of logs burning in a faux fireplace — creating to- tal video immersion. Next stop, the landmark Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Arizona Biltmore hotel, where the gorgeous patio adjoin- ing the dramatic back lawn has inexplicably been defaced by three huge wall-mounted screens. The incongruity is even more jarring than a video fireplace on a 104-degree sum- mer day. So what's going on here? It's one thing to note our growing addiction to social media and connectivity via screens of all shapes and sizes, it's another to ponder the in- creasing presence in public places of screens that seem to serve as little more than video security blankets. It's as if someone had an ad- diction to sweets and, in ad- dition to overeating, enjoyed sitting among photos of ice cream and candy. The images themselves aren't fattening, but the environment is hardly healthy. Video tools can, in some ap- plications, bring us closer. But what I encountered here seemed to have the unintended consequence of screening peo- ple away from each other — and the world. Peter Funt is a writer and speaker. His book, "Cautiously Optimistic," is available at Amazon.com and CandidCamera.com. Peter Funt Video wallpaper is popping up everywhere PeterFunt Joe Harrop OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, June 13, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4