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6A Daily News – Saturday, January 14, 2012 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 Overpaid for motorcycle Editor: Although I live in the county I am quite interested in the city's budget problems as published in the Daily News. 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 I found it quite interesting and a bit baffling when I read that the city had purchased a Harley Davidson motorcycle for the police department. After going to Kawasaki's website I found quite a bit of information on police motorcycles. Kawasa- ki has been building police motorcycles since 1975. A Con- cours 14 ABS Police costs approximately $2,000 less than a comparable Harley Davidson. The Kawasaki Concours ABS Police is based on the Concours 14 (Sport Tourer), which is based on the ZX-14 — one of the fastest production motorcycles in the world. Motorcycle Consumer News published some information on police motorcycles such as repair costs. To repair the clutch on the BMW R1200 RT-P (Police) costs around $1,500, the Harley Davidson FLHTP (Police) costs $1,200 and the Kawasaki costs $400. The Kawasaki also comes with a 36- month warranty. For some reason the city chose to purchase, with our tax dollars, a piece of equipment that costs more to purchase and maintain not to mention the fact that the Kawasaki would out- perform the Harley Davidson. If it is a question of buying American, Kawasakis have been made in Lincoln, Nebras- ka since 1973. Just the savings alone on the initial purchase would pay for the gas for prob- ably two years. According to Kawasaki all the maintenance and parts could be handled at the local Kawasaki dealership right here in Red Bluff. If the city has overlooked the savings of a piece of equipment such as the police motorcycle, the question begs to be asked, what else have they overlooked? Chuck Ferrell, Red Bluff Economic solution Editor: Liberals and Conservatives strongly disagree on just about everything except on how bad our economy is. We all can agree that this is a big problem. One huge factor is our fuel bill. We can allow more off shore drilling to lower our dependence on foreign oil. But that solution comes at a tremendous risk. Another possibility is to follow Canada's lead and legalize the production of hemp. Now before you get all blustered you should know that all hemp plants are not alike. Some haven't the capacity to pro- duce THC or Tetrahydro- cannabinol. Just how would legalizing hemp improve our oil inde- pendency? Glad you asked. A number of universities and private enterprises have been developing this technology and achieved a number of milestones. Production esti- mates of 80 to 130 gallons per ton of biomass make this technology very attractive. Grown for oilseed, Canadi- an growers' yields average about 400 lbs. per acre. Cannabis seed contains about 28 percent oil (112 lbs.), or about 15 gallons per acre. Production costs using these figures would be about $35 per gallon. Your Turn Some varieties are reported to yield as much as 38 percent oil, and a record 2,000 lbs. per acre was recorded in 1999. At this rate, 760 lbs. of oil per acre would result in about 100 gallons of oil, with production costs totaling about $5.20 gallon. This oil could be used as-is in modified diesel engines, or be converted to biodiesel using a relatively simple, automated process. One other little detail I would like you to consider is that hemp seed is one of nature's most perfect foods: high in protein, rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids — with an uncannily perfect ratio of omega-6-to- omega-3, almost too good to be true — rich in chlorophyll and like the best green leafy vegetables it is low in carbs and sugars, high in fiber. Canada made $10.38 mil- lion by exporting hemp prod- ucts in 2010. A good portion of those exports came our way. Why do we have to be so stubbornly ignorant and para- noid about this plant? Orval Strong, Gerber 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: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2595 Cean- othus 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 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Doom and gloom Commentary In 1089 William the Con- queror commissioned the Doomsday Book which was not completed until after his death. The book was actually two vol- umes which contained detailed surveys of all the lands and holdings under his rule. One observer at the time said, "There was neither single hid nor a yard of land, nor indeed one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was left out."The comprehensiveness of the information in the survey led some people to compare it to the Last Judgment, or Dooms- day when the details of each per- son would be written in the Book of Life to be presented to God for judgment. Since the early 19th century Americans have been busy thinking about the end times. Many different sects and denominations sprang from the Great Awakening and the decla- rations of William Miller on the second coming of the Christ. Predictions of the end times have flourished over the years. We haven't heard much from Harold Camping lately. You might remember that he had pre- dicted the end of times for us last year. He had also done so in 1994 before he predicted the end on May 21 and then revised his star gazing and proclaimed the end would come on October 21, 2011. Apparently the third time was not the charm for Camping, who decided to retire after a stroke. Camping, of course, based his predictions, aka prophecy, on a special number he used to cal- culate the course of time, 722,500; based on his corrected findings, on October 21, 2011 approximately 2.8 percent of the world's population would have been caught up in the rapture. Camping also dated the creation at 11,013 B.C., and the flood mentioned in Genesis at 4,990 B.C. Whether or not he will be a major figure in history of Amer- ican born religions is still to be determined. In the meantime, I do not suggest you use 722,500 in picking lottery numbers. As you know, some have focused on the Mayan calendar which allegedly predicts an apocalypse on December 21, 2012. The scientific basis of this interpretation of the Mayan cal- endar is most likely about as good as that Camping used in his forecasts; nevertheless, the true believers among us have pounced on it as the latest proof we are all going to the bad place and pretty soon. The so-called long count Mayan calendar ran for 5,216 years, beginning in what we call 3114 B.C. and ending on the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, December 21, 2012. I used to have a perpetual calendar that I could tweak every month to make it agree with the actual date; however, it only had room for 31 days at a time; apparently the Mayan long count calendar only had room for 5,216 years. Even so, an action packed movie with spec- tacular computer graphics has been made about the calendar's so-called dire predictions. Hol- lywood, however, is not known for its scientific accuracy or his- torical knowledge, just fast paced, commer- cially successful, entertainment. A more scientific group of concerned people established a Doomsday Clock in 1947. The clock was set at seven minutes to midnight, the time at which the concerned scientists at the Bul- letin of Atomic Scien- tists felt humankind would blow itself up. Since 1947 the clock has been reset based on the proliferation of nuclear weapons and world political ten- sions. For example, in 1991 it was reset to 17 minutes before midnight after the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed. Since 1991 the world has become a far more stressful place, and last week the clock was reset to five minutes before midnight. The number of "nuclear powers" has grown, with Israel, India, North Korea, and Pakistan joining the atomic club, and of course there is con- cern about Iran. (Libya gave up its nuclear aspirations a while back.) Joe Harrop gy, spoke often of his "doom", that is his fated mission. Psy- chologists have recently com- mented that those enraptured by such books, and others like the Harry Potter series, the Eragon series, the Foundation and Robot Series, the Dune Series, and oth- ers, enjoy becoming engrossed in the histo- ry of the fictional regions they read about. In some ways this enticement to ven- ture into the unfolding history of a fictional setting is a surrogate for our longing in real life to understand where we are in the context of time and where we might be going. The world we live in is far more complex and interrelated than that of any work of fiction. It would be nice if we could fig- ure out the code of life, the hid- den future, and the "real" past, but we are where we are and we have to work to make things bet- ter rather than surrendering to the "fate" or "doom" so many ranting people proclaim. Things are not the best they can be, but each of us can work to be the best we can be, and that will make a world of difference. Those of us who enjoyed the Middle Earth books of J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1960s and 70s recall that Frodo, the Ring Bear- er of the Lord of the Rings trilo- Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net.