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4A Daily News – Saturday, February 18, 2012 Opinion Minch column 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 Editor: Mr. Minch drew an intriguing analogy in his column (Feb. 17). His horse King, a rather indignant, probably somewhat arrogant old fella showed his displeasure at not being fed at his normal dinner time. Mr. Minch on the other hand, 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 showed his indignity and proba- bly somewhat arrogance at not being "noticed" when returning an item at Walmart. I just have one question: Which end of old King does Mr. Minch resemble the most? Tom Robinson, Red Bluff Good kids Editor: On Friday afternoon, Feb. 10, I was sitting in front of my antique store on Main Street, when three young people, a boy and two girls, and a beagle dog came down the sidewalk. The big dog needed to go poo poo. He did a good job of it. He needed two spots. I was wondering what they would do with the byproduct that was left on the sidewalk. The three discussed it between them. The young man went into a store and got a plastic bag and gave it to one of the gals, she cleaned it up. I was proud of what they did. So many people just leave it for the merchants to clean up. As they came by where I was sitting, I complimented them on their actions. The cleanup person said "thanks." We blame our teens for a lot of negative things, and sometimes they need it, most are good kids like these three. Ralph Ehorn, Red Bluff Unions Editor: On Thursday, Feb. 16, a letter by the learned Mr. Joseph Neff was printed in the Daily News regarding school waste. This is an interesting concept. However it remains just that — a concept. It must be admitted that no school district has achieved per- fection. But Mr. Neff's ramblings do nothing to correct the problem. First and most pronounced is his anti-union stance. Now Mr. Neff must have been well educat- ed on this issue. So it must be explained by the fine gentleman, 1) what is a union? 2) how is it formed? 3) what are its goals? 4) how does it form a contract, thus union contract? Every union member can answer the above with ease, so can you answer them to the general public so they will know what you are talking about. It is well known that both China and India are eating our lunch in education. This is done simply because they both have one national educational standard and are funded from a single source. While we here in America have 50 different states with as many standards. Further complicated by the multiple school districts, basically funded by property taxes and fed- eral and state funding in accor- dance with the amount supplied by the local property funds. How does this give an equal education to the student in east Los Angeles with that of the student in Beverly Hills? Bob Hogan, Red Bluff Daily News Editor: When the announcement came from the editor about there being no more Monday Daily News edi- tions because of the lack of adver- tising and subscriptions are down I got to wondering about how this newspaper might be able to not only survive but thrive. What does it mean to me to have delivery and availability of the Red Bluff Daily News? Like many people I have read newspapers from all over the world. It's not that any of them were really bad (some were and are) what I have found is that the Red Bluff Daily News is actually really easy to read and enjoyable. But the one thing that really makes me want to read it is the interest in its own community. It is obvious that they are very com- munity oriented. They feature arti- cles from various writers about activities, meeting and other events. Like most newspapers there are articles in there that I may not agree with, they don't hesitate to allow opinions from all sides more than other papers I've read. I like the reporting from their reporters. They are friendly and I appreciate their promptness. The Daily News also publishes events about the youth in our community. For me this is the most important kind of news. There are quite a number of youth organizations that work with our youth a lot. It's another form of mentoring. Mentoring is what's going to save our future; mentoring chil- dren and adults who are strug- gling. Most of us have struggled with some issue in our own life and a few of us have been able to wiggle through those issues with- out much help. But there are a lot of people in our community (kids and adults) who need help. Men- toring really doesn't cost much, if anything. It's just giving your time. The Daily News is a partner for many of the organizations that deal with our youth as well as other interesting organizations and businesses in our community. I hope businesses reevaluate their partnership with the Daily News and that the community reconsid- ers their subscriptions and deliv- ery of a good newspaper to their doors. I look forward to it every morning that it is delivered. John Minton, Red Bluff 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. The Sunday comics Commentary Usually I start the day with a cup of coffee while attacking the newspapers. First I read the sports section checking on local as well as Bay Area teams. Even in the off season I try to keep up on the sports news. On Sundays I next look at the book review of the SF Chroni- cle, checking out current best sell- ers and seeing what is new. On Tuesdays through Saturdays I read the news section of the Daily News; I pay particular attention to the crime blotter to see if I know the people who have been arrested or sentenced. Sometimes on Sun- days I get to read the comics before we are off to Sunday school and church. Last Sunday we got up early enough to take time with the entire Sunday paper before we left for church. A few things caught my attention; they seemed to speak to our times. Walgreens had a quarter page advertisement on page A17 of the SF Chronicle with a header asking "Paternity Questions?" The prod- uct being pitched was a DNA Paternity Test Collection Kit. At first I thought it was a joke, like I did when I first saw an ad for the cosmetic use of Botox. I was wrong of course; this was just like CSI. There was no price mentioned in the ad, but the label on the prod- uct stated there would be an addi- tional $129 lab fee for processing the kit. I did not know that there would be a market for such a prod- uct; whoever must have decided to create this kit may have had some demographic data to justify the production, packaging, and mar- keting necessary to bring in enough revenue to anticipate some profit. Maybe it's a sign of our resurgent economy or the reluc- tance of males to claim credit these days. DNA is short for Deoxyribonu- cleic acid, but these days it seems these days that DNA has acquired a new meaning: Do Not Admit. While I am not sure that the need for DNA kits is great locally, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Healthy Counties survey, only nine other counties have a higher teen age birth rate than Tehama County. Only three coun- ties have a higher percentage of children living in a single parent household. These statistics may or may not indicate a market for the DNA kit locally. It was a little over 50 years ago that President Dwight Eisenhower warned us about the military indus- trial complex having sway over our political, economic and social lives. He said, [the] "conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, [and] even spiritual —is felt in every city, every State house, [and] every office of the Federal govern- ment. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.…In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwar- ranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the mili- tary industrial complex. The potential for the dis- astrous rise of misplaced power exists and will per- sist." In 2012 some would rename Ike's label "the military, industrial, and security complex". A good example of this growth industry is the fact that in Afghanistan the number of contracted employees is greater than the number of troops by about 23,000. eral Partner's capital commitment to the fund." In other words there is no relationship between a partner's investment and the amount of car- ried interest he can receive. It is like a bonus. One econ- omist likens it to the tip you give your wait per- son. Joe Harrop Candidates of all par- ties tout their support for an even better defense, while Congress appropriates money for weapons the military says it does not need. Ike may have had it right. Taxes continue to be con- tentious, but there was one article about a specific kind of tax which might provide common ground for concern by both the hard working Tea Party Patriots and the so-called Occupy folks. That tax is the one imposed on "carried interest". Carried interest is a share of the profits that is distributed to the partners in a fund. One fund site defines it this way: "The Carried Interest is a share of fund net prof- its allocated to the General Partner that is disproportionate to the Gen- Under current law carried interest is taxed as long term capital gains, at a rate of 15 percent. The author of the article compared this form of income to tips received by a wait- er; the waiter must pay the same tax rate on both wages and tips. Congress tried to change the tax rate for "carried interest "since it clearly does not follow the nor- mal definition of long term capital gains, but allegedly Senator Charles Schumer (Democrat of New York) stopped that effort in apparent response to his Wall Street constituents. Now, apparent- ly Schumer has changed his mind. Both the Tea Party and the Occupy folks feel the government is out of the control of the common citizen and the common working person does not get a fair shake; in this case they may both be right. 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.