Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/563189
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 Donald Trump is the first talk radio can- didate. Everything he says on the primary trail sounds just like what you can hear on conservative talk radio every day. When he's riffing about the failures of the political class in Washington, calling for an end to birthright cit- izenship or handling a me- dia heckler like Jorge Ramos at a press conference, Trump is talking straight to the hearts and minds of the talk radio demographic. He's not much of a conser- vative, or much of a Republi- can, for that matter. But as Trump forces many of the other timid GOP can- didates to address subjects they're otherwise too scared to address, he's echoing what millions of conserva- tive talk-show listeners have been yelling about for de- cades. I know. I used to be one of those talk show guys. I've heard what the silent major- ity yells and bitches at their radios about. Trump is an entertaining showman. Though he'd hate to admit it, he's also a natu- ral-born politician. He might not be likable. But he knows how to re- late to and communicate with his constituents. All he needs are catchy slogans, half-finished sentences, quips and shrugs. The Donald is authentic all right — to a fault. But be- cause he's immune to crit- icism from the media or other politicians, as a candi- date he has it easy. Like any conservative talk show host, he can say any wild-and-crazy thing about immigration or the Iran nu- clear deal he likes without paying a political penalty or having to explain his sketchy policy ideas. For example, he can prom- ise us over and over that the first thing he'll do as Presi- dent Trump is build a 1,900- mile wall to stop the illegals coming in from Mexico. But the wall is the simple part. Every conservative talk radio guy in North Ameri- can has been calling for a strong southern border wall for years. But what would President Trump do about the 12 mil- lion illegal immigrants al- ready living in the U.S.? And what about the millions of illegals who didn't wade across the Rio Grande to get here? Studies say as many as 50 percent of them came here legally but then overstayed their tourist or student visas and never left. More than 10 percent came from Asia. That "Great Trump Wall" he'll build on the Mexi- can border won't stop those kinds of "unauthorized" guests, no matter how tall it is. It'd be nice if Trump — or any of the genuine conserva- tive Republican candidates — had a few smart ideas about fixing our horrible le- gal immigration system. With its long wait times, Soviet-style paperwork, high legal costs and politicized selection process, it's the epitome of a Big Government bureaucracy. Last I heard, conservatives were supposed to be against such things. Meanwhile, a one-man party like Trump will not be able to fix immigration, le- gal or illegal. It's going to take a "bor- ing" career politician like John Kasich, Rick Perry, Chris Christie or Jeb Bush to accomplish that and ev- erything else Trump is talk- ing about doing in Washing- ton to "make America great again." As Republican governors, Perry, Kasich, Christie and Bush have proven track re- cords. Perry and Kasich have done all the right conser- vative things in Texas and Ohio. They've cut taxes, cut back government and created new jobs by encouraging eco- nomic growth. Poor Perry did all three, plus he dealt with the border and hun- dreds of thousands of illegal immigrants. Trump has many accom- plishments. He's a fabulous negotiator and builder. He's also stirring up Republican primary politics-as-usual in a beneficial way. It's really great that he's not afraid to say what a lot of conservatives in the coun- try want to hear him say. But as any talk radio guy can tell you, saying some- thing and getting something done are two different things. What Perry and the other governors actually have ac- complished in their states is what Trump can only es- pouse and promise if, by some miracle, he gets to Washington. Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press). He is the president of The Reagan Legacy Foundation. He can be reached at Reagan@ caglecartoons.com. Follow @ reaganworld on Twitter. Michael Reagan Candidate Trump is nothing but talk Cartoonist's take An official sign on I-5 when crossing Cottonwood Creek and entering our fair county reads "Tehama County where we honor veter- ans." It is a star- tling proclama- tion. It suggests that whereas Te- hama County honors vets, that perhaps other counties do not. However, investigation indi- cates that other counties, such as Shasta and Siskiyou have posted such signs. They were erected by Cal Trans as a re- sult of a 2006 bill sponsored by Doug LaMalfa authorizing same. I assume our Board of Supervisors ratified this ver- biage as readily as they did when backing the proposed separation of the State of Cal- ifornia. As resident curmudgeon, I have no objection to this proc- lamation, but it has occurred to me that we might honor other worthy entities in this fashion. With that in mind, I nominate an unsung group of professionals that are as pro- tective of life, and as reassur- ing to citizens, as perhaps a whole cadre of soldiers. A new sign, upon entering Tehama County, might proclaim, "Te- hama County where we honor Veterinarians." Our big dog, All That Jazz, has seconded the motion, and without congressional ap- proval. ••• The Tuesday columnist re- cently discussed illegal immi- gration and how many jobs are denied native born Amer- icans. If his numbers are cor- rect, "since the start of the Second Great Depression, the US has added 2.3 million 'for- eign born' workers." If verified, that is certainly an impressive figure designed to inflame Republican voters in the next go-around. I think Don might be get- ting a call any day now from Presidential hopeful D. Trump shouting, "You da man, Don!" or words to that effect. ••• Speaking of Trump, he has been getting a lot of mileage from the fact that he nearly filled a stadium recently with 30,000 people, but tis is not news worthy. When a circus comes to town, and free tickets are dis- tributed, it is reasonable to assume a large group of peo- ple will assemble to see the elephants. If he were to print tickets for another venue and charge for them, the results will be considerably different. ••• Another clarification ques- tion to talk show host Dr. Laura who educates people in God's Law: "I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?" ••• Wednesday's DN ran an ar- ticle urging local film mak- ers to submit entries in a Film Festival to be held Oc- tober 9 at the State Theatre. However, the article included the caveat that the films were not to contain profanity or vi- olence. The problem is that this edict takes a certain fla- vor out of home movies, and may cause the finished prod- uct to become mundane. I've made many movies over my long life, and for the most part, they did not include vio- lence. Well…one may have. Our family was up to Min- eral at our cabin years ago, and the kids were playing lawn croquet. Little Madalyn was competitive, but did not like it when her older brother Brandon hit her ball far off the playing field. To show her distaste for his thoughtless act, and while he was taking his bows to an ad- miring family gathering, she slipped up behind him and clunked him over the head with her mallet. So, it is true that some films may contain violence, but perhaps warranted if the violence can be construed to illustrate a message. Suffice to say, Brandon did not hit Madalyn's ball off the playing field again. ••• Claire McCaskill, a Demo- cratic Senator from Missouri, was asked by TIME "You write that workplace frustra- tion has pushed you to tears. Do you still cry?" She replied, "I don't cry as often as I did when I was a young woman. I think women live longer be- cause we cry more. Can women cry and be truly successful and compete? We can. Acknowledging emotion ultimately makes you stronger." Whereas many women will agree with her findings, few men would admit to shedding tears. There is something in our unwritten code that states that men are more stoic, and do not cry. This is nonsense, of course. Given enough motivation or sufficient tragedy in their lives, all men will cave to their emotions. Some will break up upon hearing cer- tain music or watching a touching movie. For most, there is a release point of emotion that is unstoppable. That's what makes us human. ••• One seldom sees the word "stupid" in print anymore… and yet there are an abundant number of stupid people in this world. Forget about the religious fanatics. They are merely deluded by their lead- ers into thinking they have been shown the one true light and that a better life will greet them after their martyr- dom is complete. No, I'm thinking of those who believe that ground up rhino horn will provide them with a more promising erec- tion. Sources say these mag- nificent beasts have been ren- dered unconscious and left with bleeding foreheads de- void of horn. This is certainly cause for authorities to apprehend the offenders and remove some- thing of theirs in return. And then follow up with prosecution of buyers of rhino horn who should be fined heavily and then released with possibly a packet of Vi- agra to show there are other proven ways to solve a prob- lem rather than the depletion of African animals. Tsk, tsk. However, if the Viagra shy would like to experiment, TIME magazine lists three plants that may provide a lit- tle encouragement for the user. The Ginkgo Biloba herb in a small trial has shown some promise, as has Gin- seng and Maca, a root vegeta- ble native to Peru may get the job done. Brief testimonials are wel- come, but only in good taste. ••• Last week we included a pun in lieu of a conventional joke. However, a second pun now adds to your misery: A policeman made the mistake of arresting a judge who went to a party dressed as a con- vict. The moral to the story is you should never book a judge by his cover. Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail. com. I say Giving honor where honor is due Like any conservative talk show host, he can say any wild-and- crazy thing about immigration or the Iran nuclear deal he likes without paying a political penalty or having to explain his sketchy policy ideas. Robert Minch StateandNational Assemblyman James Galla- gher, 2060 Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 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, Sacramento 95814, 916 445-2841, fax 916 558- 3160, governor@governor.ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug La- Malfa, 507 Cannon House Of- fice 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 Fran- cisco 94111, 510 286-8537, fax 202 224-0454 YOUR OFFICIALS OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, August 28, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6