Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/528042
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 By Dick Polman Whenwelastvisitedthe sorry state of Kansas, Gover- nor Sam Brownback — a for- mer short-lived GOP presiden- tial candidate — was showing us what happens when a right- wing ideologue tries to impose his utopian fantasies on the real world. Predictably, the re- sult has been disastrous. When Brownback took over in 2011, he indulged his inner tea party and promised Kan- sans "a real-live experiment" in pure conservative gover- nance. In thrall to the crack- pot supply-side theory that lost its luster in the Reagan era, Brownback ginned up mas- sive tax cuts for the upper in- come brackets, and vowed that the cuts would give the Kan- sas economy "a shot of adren- aline," create lots of jobs, and ultimately balance the budget. None of those things have happened. Kansas had a budget sur- plus when Brownback became governor. Today, its budget cri- sis is so dire, ($400 million in red ink) and crucial state ser- vices are so imperiled (be- cause of his revenue drain), that the legislature has spent the last 111 days trying to fig- ure out what to do (the longest session in Kansas history). Kansas job growth ranks 45th in the nation, the state has suf- fered three credit rating down- grades, and, all in all, Brown- back's mission to make Kansas a red-state model for the na- tion has become, in the words of the Kansas City Star, a "na- tionally embarrassing mess." With apologies to The Wiz- ard of Oz, Brownback is a mashup of the Scarecrow and the Tin Man — no brains and no heart. The impact of his revenue drain has fallen most heavily on school kids and the state's neediest citizens. For instance, education spend- ing has already been slashed, and if threatened cuts to the state Medicaid program actu- ally happen, those would be matched by federal cuts (be- cause federal funds are allo- cated on the basis of the state's commitment). Without getting into the policy weeds, suffice it to say that Brownback's solution to the mess he created is a recov- ery plan that protects the af- fluent and burdens everyone else. The main feature is a big hike in the state sales tax; as anyone with a brain knows, sales taxes are regressive, be- cause richer folks spend much less of their income on every- day goods (like food) than poorer folks do. But what about Brown- back's big tax cuts for the up- per brackets? Nope, those are sacred. So how about asking the state's business owners to share the burden and sacri- fice a bit? Since they currently pay no taxes on their income, how about adding them to the income tax rolls? Wouldn't that help to balance the bud- get — which, by law, has to be balanced? Nope, the business owners are sacred, too. Brown- back says that if the business owners are touched, he'll veto the whole recovery plan — and he'll engineer social service cuts across the board. What a clown car. And no tea-party paradise would be complete without this proviso: While the affluent Kansans stay burden-free, the fiscally- reckless governor is requiring that the poorest Kansans prac- tice fiscal discipline. In April, he and his legislative allies crafted a law that bars welfare recipients from spending relief money at swimming pools, the movies, the "jewelry store," the "tattoo parlor," or on "cruise ships." Although it's OK to spend the relief money on a gun. The law also slaps a $25 daily limit on ATM withdrawals using the welfare debit card — which is unfortunate, because now a recipient can't use the card for important stuff, like, oh, pay- ing the rent. There's a lot more. Brown- back has been warring with the state Supreme Court, and has taken steps to curb some of its powers. It's possible that his curbs are unconstitu- tional, and he knows that — because now he's warning that if any lower court rules that his curbs are unconstitutional, he will de-fund the Kansas ju- diciary. You read that right. What- ever happened to the idea that the judiciary is an indepen- dent co-equal branch of gov- ernment? It's amazing how a right-wing ideologue can vio- late the American values that he professes to revere. And in case you're wonder- ing why Kansas has become such an embarrassment, the answer takes only a para- graph. A state once known for its establishment Republi- can ethos — as demonstrated by (among others) Senate leader Bob Dole and Sena- tor Nancy Kassebaum — has been conquered by the wing nuts. In a series of intramu- ral battles over the past 20 years, moderate Republi- cans have been routed by the far right. Sam Brown- back is the lamentable re- sult. No wonder Dorothy pined for a life over the rainbow. DickPolmanisthenational political columnist at NewsWorks/WHYY in Philadelphia (newsworks. org/polman) and a "Writer in Residence" at the University of Philadelphia. Email him at dickpolman7@gmail.com. Commentary Just be glad you don't live in Kansas Cartoonist's take The Tea Party Patriots will host Mike Holtsclaw, chair- man of the Tehama County Re- publican Central Committee and holder of numer- ous present and former titles and positions in Re- publican and Tea Party circles. I learned, sec- ond hand from Assemblyman James Gallagh- er's staff member, Gary Merlo, that Tulare County has pre- vailed over state water officials. They've held that their water should not be subject to manda- tory restrictions, as it does not serve, via the Sacramento River, either farmers or Southern Cal- ifornia residential water users. The state was forced to agree. Are any Red Bluff officials or leaders aware of this? Red Bluff's municipal water comes, not from the Sacramento River, but rather from deep wells, the use of which has no impact on the users of river water. When people look at a brown Oak Hill Cemetery and hang their heads over the indignity of dead lawn surrounding their loved ones' final resting places, will no one fight for the water secured for our use by past city leaders, not by Sacramento pol- iticians and bureaucrats? A fabulously wealthy Hillary Clinton (re-) started her cam- paign, blathering about eco- nomic unfairness while she re- lies on hundreds of unpaid staff; castigating efforts to as- sure honest elections through voter ID laws; and railing at the "get rich quick" 1 percent while she and Bill have amassed hun- dreds of millions of dollars faster than any former First Couple in history. The New York Post labeled her "Rodham Hood" and placed her face in Robin Hood's costume. That same day, election hi- jinks were part of a Superman episode, "The Big Freeze." Crime boss, Duke Taylor, is discussing his plans to steal the election with henchman Little Jack. Duke: By summer, I'm gonna have this town in the palm of my hand. LJ: Yeah, provided Buckley wins as mayor tomorrow. Duke: He's gonna win; come here, look at this. I've got ev- ery one of these voting places marked off. I'm gonna have one of my boys stationed at each one of the joints. And besides that, I've hired a couple of thousand skid row characters and they're gonna vote just the way I tell 'em. LJ: Yeah, but some of the people in this town like Wil- son—you know, the square- headed mayor they got now. Duke: So what, them is all good citizens, and besides, most of these people, they don't even bother about voting. LJ: But Duke, I just thought of something you oughta con- sider. Duke: Like what, for in- stance? LJ: Superman! He don't like messin' around with the city election. Meanwhile, crooked Dr. Watts plots to freeze Super- man, leaving him impotent to stop it. Newspaper Editor Perry White discusses the election with Jimmy, Lois and Clark Kent. White: Now, that's the situation. We all know that Duke Taylor's going to rail- road Buckley into office; and his own city council. If he suc- ceeds, it will throw this town wide open for gambling and rackets of all sorts. Now, Lois, I'm expecting you and Kent to do something about tomor- row's election. Kent: Well, chief, the way I see it is to fill the paper with editorials to urge the people to get out and vote. Lois then says, "There's nothing to worry about because Superman isn't going to let anything hap- pen." Clark Kent, Superman's alter ego, simply says: "Some- times, Lois, it's not wise for people to depend on Superman to keep their own house in or- der." Kent's final editorial line is: "And so, Mr. Voter, it's up to you—it's your city; let's keep it a clean city." Another election-themed su- per hero story came later that same evening. In the Batman episode, "Hiz- zonner the Penguin," the vot- ing machinations of the tux- edo-clad, cigarette-in-holder and umbrella-in-hand villain, the Penguin, are a tongue-in- cheek farce. As the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB.com) summarizes it: "The Penguin appears to have gone straight. Not only that, he has emerged as the leading contender for mayor of Gotham City, thanks to a lit- tle-known provision of the city charter that permits felons to run for elective office. Mayor Linseed, facing almost certain defeat, convinces Batman to run for mayor. This displeases the Penguin..." His campaign involves a se- ries of shenanigans, starting with Penguin staging a stickup in front of the annual Gotham City charity fundraiser. Pen- guin conveniently stops the robbery by popping out of a car arriving in timely fashion and delivering a "WHOP!" to the bad guy via a boxing glove on his umbrella, in front of a po- liceman and a waiting photog- rapher. Penguin's (Hillary's?) entire campaign involves an endless parade of phony events and ral- lies ("bread and circuses"?), de- signed to endear him to easily- swayed, superficial voters. Free stuff and entertainment estab- lishes Penguin's (Hillary's?) flashy but deceptive image. Meanwhile, Batman presents a no-nonsense, while boring, candidate's image with sub- stantive, insightful addresses on the issues before Gotham City's voters. Not content to let his artificial antics stand alone, Penguin lures Batman and Robin into a trap, of course. IMDB.com: "After escaping the Penguin's death trap, Bat- man still faces an uphill run to defeat the Penguin in the race for mayor of Gotham City. The Feathered Fiend (Hillary?) uses every dirty trick he can think of to ruin Batman's reputation. But the Penguin (Hillary?) dis- covers opinion polls aren't what they are cracked up to be." How do you think it'll turn out? Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com. The way I see it Fictional truth on Hillary's run It's possible that his curbs are unconstitutional, and he knows that — because now he's warning that if any lower court rules that his curbs are unconstitutional, he will de-fund the Kansas judiciary. Sounding off A look at what readers are saying in comments on our website and on social media. Congratulations. I know how hard you all worked for this. Larry Stevens: On a preview of Red Bluff High School's new band uniforms. The part I find interesting and I do not live in Corning is that this only applies to landscaping. Not vegetable gardens which is great but not to orchards. I can see not to existing orchards but the are hundreds of acres of new orchards being planted. I am sure that takes much more water out of the ground that a small yard of grass. Dorothy L Kersey: On Corning instituting water-saving rules. Don Polson Penguin's (Hillary's?) entire campaign involves an endless parade of phony events and rallies ("bread and circuses"?), designed to endear him to easily- swayed, superficial voters. StateandNational Assemblyman James Galla- gher, 150 Amber Grove Drive, Ste. 154, Chico 95973, 530 895-4217, http://ad03.asmrc. org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 879-7424, senator. nielsen@senate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sac- ramento 95814, 916 445-2841, fax 916 558-3160, governor@ governor.ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug LaMalfa, 507 Cannon House Office Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Fein- stein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 94104, 415 393- 0707, fax 415 393-0710 U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, 1700 Montgomery St., San Francisco 94111, 510 286-8537, fax 202 224-0454 Local Tehama County Supervi- sors, 527-4655 District 1, Steve Chamblin, Ext. 3015 YOUR OFFICIALS OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, June 16, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6