Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/545345
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 RemembertheStatueofLibertyquote: "Give me your tired, your poor, your hud- dled masses yearning to breathe free." I am sure that most Daily News readers, like myself, are familiar with that, but also had nothing personally to do with be- ing born in this America. Weare,ofcourse,nothing less than the United States of America. It was actually just circumstance and happen- stance that made our birth happen here. We lucked out. We got a ter- rific deal. We are not better than immigrants or any other category of people. We are just luckier. I think our cups run- neth over. I was pleasantly surprised when I recently learned that immigrants do not commit as much crime in our country as we American citizens do. We are more like Hollywood ste- reotyping when we presume that we are the good guys and immigrants are the bad guys. It's like: "Look out for the Mexicans. They must be the trouble." Oh, please shut up about that, Mr. Trump. We might want to put all the bad guys on the other side of an enormous wall that will cost us billions of dollars as soon as possible, but I don't think that will solve our immi- grant challenges. Apparently they are not all Bandidos. At first, I thought we Amer- icans must simply be spoiled. Those immigrants are appar- ently more than happy to be here. They get a chance to be- come the next American suc- cess story. I have occasionally thought that if I had lived in Tijuana, I would do whatever was necessary to move here to good ol' Red Bluff and do that for myself. My own father came to this country in the very early 1900s and after 50 years he had still not become a "doc- umented" American citi- zen. However, as I grew up, he would still get quite upset when I and my two brothers would not stand up properly whenever we heard the na- tional anthem. He thought we should have been a whole lot more patriotic. That beautiful song was played every day on black and white television as the broad- cast day began and ended. This year is turning out to be a banner year for immi- grants in our Golden State. Even Governor Jerry Brown has created a new advocate position. California will soon have a Director of Immigrant Integration. Today I learned that Brown also is opposing the removal of a statue of Father Junipero from our capitol building in Sacramento, while others are trying to put a statue of Astro- naut Sally Ride in its place. Junipero is the man who helped establish the first nine of 21 missions in our Golden State. Thus, I agree with the Governor's position on the statutes. Maybe they can put Ride at California's Women's Museum. Let us not be so afraid of the immigrant citizens from other countries. I think they are basically fleeing a lesser place that does not offer the rights and protections of our great land of the free. Join me right now as we all say God bless the USA. Mytakeonthemovies The movie I saw and en- joyed this week was "Ant Man," starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas. I did not think I would en- joy it, but I was wrong. I rec- ommend it to you. It is about one of the Marvel Comics high octane super heroes. Try to see this one in 3-D. If you do, don't leave when it's over, because it isn't. Great plot, in addition to a couple of laughs. Many clever things will follow the credits on screen. StanStathamserved1976- 1994 in the California Assembly and was a television news anchor at KHSL-TV in Chico 1965-1975. He is past president of the California Broadcasters Association and can be reached at StanStatham@gmail.com. My take Ontheissue of immigrants We lucked out. We got a terrific deal. We are not better than immigrants or any other category of people. We are just luckier. Border and animal control Editor: Read with interest Saturday's opinion page letter by Nathan Esplanade regarding Hispanic neighbors tormenting him with their hounds. I own property near Hillman Court in the county. I wonder if Esplanade's neighbors' relatives recently moved into our once peaceful neighborhood. They sound identical. These renters now have five dogs including a king German Shepherd barking machine. They have absolutely no regard for the homeowners in this area. They seem to enjoy flaunting their annoying dog pack. The once nice yard, bordering my house, now looks like a goat farm. Obviously, these people enjoy confrontation and try to lure you into it. I think it's part of their culture. Talking to the Sheriff's De- partment is useless. "It's the county and people have a right to have dogs," is the response. Tehama County needs to ad- dress this issue of obnoxious dog owners giving you no peace be- cause the law protects their un- accountability for ruining your peace. The city can cite those yo-yos for the noise. The county just doesn't want the trouble of dealing with this obnoxious fac- tion in my opinion. Just remember, people like these might rent a house next to you someday. — Terry van Dyke, Red Bluff Nathan Esplanade letter Editor: Gee, why doesn't Mr. Espla- nade just tell us how he really feels about Mexicans? As I was reading his letter, one name came to mind: Hitler. — Beatrice Garay Hearn, Los Molinos Donald Trump for president? Editor: When Donald Trump hinted he might run for president I thought it was a joke. When he did announce, I began listening, really listening. After the first few interviews of him blowing his own horn, which by the way is probably the truth, he settled down and really impressed me. For once we have a candidate who isn't in anybody's pocket and doesn't need to kiss any- body's behind. Hopefully, that is. These days, you really never know until they're voted in such as the King of Transparency in office now. But we have to trust someone. I like Walker, Rubio, Cruz but I really am looking at Trump. He seems to have the cour- age to push on problems and doesn't need to pander to either side. Both parties are totally worthless except a few newcom- ers. Maybe he'll be able to put term limits for those elected of- ficials, which is badly needed. Look how long many of them have been in office. What does that tell you? Longevity is their main goal with all the benefits at any cost. Forget the good for our country, protect the job. Re- ally disgusting to me. And the jokes about his hair goes with the territory. Any- thing to discredit him will do. Liberalism as usual. Of course Hillary is taking a lot of heat too, but well deserved in my opinion. As Rand Paul joked a few months ago, one plane for Hillary and her staff, the other one for her baggage. I had no idea of how devious and ruthless she is. Now in the news threats to take money away from sanctu- ary cities. I didn't know they even got money. San Francisco gets $30 million a year and there are hundreds of those cit- ies throughout the US. We spend billions trying to secure the bor- der, agents are killed doing so and then if the undocumented can get into this country to a sanctuary city, they're pretty well protected. Yes, protected. How did this happen Congress? Draw me a picture. Do we or do we not want to secure the border? The answer is not really. Why go through all these exercises then? Why do our citizens die for this, what's the purpose of it all. I know the democrats want votes but it's hard to believe they would go to this extreme. Ann Coulter's book titled "Adios America" tells it all. Haven't read it yet but I will. So much we don't know. Our representatives are selling us out to the highest bidder. They don't realize that their kids and grandchildren will have to live long after they're all gone. I was dreading the long pro- cess of the election but no more. This ought to be interesting. — Bernice Cressy, Cottonwood Adopt ObamaCare tax to fund program Editor: During the 45 year work ca- reer, the employee and employer pay 2.9 percent of the employ- ees gross salary into Medicare. Those funds are untouched un- til the employee reaches age 65, and fully funds 80 percent of their hospital and doctor visit costs for the average last 20 years of life. Since ObamaCare costs are totally welfare subsidized through taxes paid by others, from birth through age 65, it makes sense to establish a 9.4 percent ObamaCare tax to be shared equally by the employer and employee until age 65. That is the ratio of 65 divided by 20 times 2.9, or the same propor- tional tax as Medicare patients pay. The ObamaCare tax would end at age 65, to be substituted with the current continuing Medicare Insurance cost. Everyone, who has a job, and is below age 65, should fully pay for their ObamaCare costs through a tax on their income, while continuing to pay their Medicare tax. That will allow everyone to fairly pay for their ObamaCare and Medicare, with- out a need for Federal subsidies. Provisions need to be made to continue the ObamaCare and Medicare tax payments for those who retire before age 65. — Joseph Neff, Corning Your opinions Cartoonist's take "Sharpen 'em if you got 'em." Once upon a time, people looked upon permission to par- take of nicotine as a golden op- portunity to relax. Now mil- lions fight stress in a more col- orful way. According to the July 12 "Pa- rade" magazine, coloring books for adults have gone main- stream — with grown-ups mer- rily embellishing books of pais- leys, botanicals, animals, en- chanted forests, celebrities, decorative fans and more. There are million sellers among the more than 150 books available. (That doesn't count the 10-volume set that failed miserably in its attempt to calm down Donald Trump's hair.) When I was a little kid, both my mother and paternal grand- mother benefitted from the paint-by-numbers craze. The world is even more nerve-rack- ing now, so I can understand why so many folks are eager to relax with this childhood-rooted pursuit. My friend Dinsdale, however, tends to overanalyze everything and countered all my praise. I told Dinsdale that being im- mersed in the world of coloring lets people travel back to a sim- pler time of life. ("Yeah, back when they imagined hypoder- mic needles to be 10 feet long, the monsters under the bed civ- illy debated whether youngsters taste better with mustard or mayo and their pet dog abruptly decided to retire to the country after the kid heard screeching tires and a thump outside the house. Good times.") Looking back at the "Parade" article, I remarked that the op- portunity for creativity makes many fans feel like they're a co- creator with the designer of the coloring book. ("Yeah, except that they're the collaborator who doesn't get the money, the fan mail or the podcast inter- views. Sounds like the makings for the breakup of a rock band. You know, 'It used to be about the turquoise, man!'") I thought surely Dinsdale couldn't argue with the value of coloring as a form of therapy or meditation. ("Right — that's why you always see the Dalai Lama traveling the globe promoting peace, harmony and the chance for Crayola to make a boatload of money.") I mentioned that enthusi- asts recommend coloring above other leisure activities because it offers complete absorption, engaging both hemispheres of the brain. ("Won't that be con- fusing? When it's winter in one hemisphere, won't it be summer in the other one?") No one ever said Dinsdale was the sharpest crayon in the 64-pack. I cited the feeling of accom- plishment that colorists get from bringing something beau- tiful into the world. ("Yeah, but they get carried away with their accomplishments, just like the over-achieving garden-sharing neighbors. It's all 'Here come the Lawsons with more geo- metric designs for the refriger- ator door! Quick — start firing the Druckers' excess zucchini at them!'") Coloring is largely a soli- tary hobby, but many practitio- ners display their work via so- cial media or join groups that are described as being like old- timey quilting bees. ("Quilting bees were a distraction from delivering your 14th child or hitching up the mule and plow- ing the South 40. These mod- ern gatherings are a distrac- tion from, I don't know, the seven bazillion OTHER things you could be doing in 20-blee- pin'-15!") I hope Dinsdale won't object if I invite my readers to explore the world of adult coloring and to send coloring books as gifts to the appropriate friends. "Just don't be surprised if they ignore the coloring book and play with the empty box!" *Sigh* Another coloring book, please. I just ripped that one in half. Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Danny Tyree Are adult coloring books right for you? Stan Statham OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, July 23, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4