Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/5712
4A – Daily News – Monday, January 4, 2010 A MediaNews Group newspaper 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. 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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 Opinion 2010 will bring, I believe, some earthquakes in our political culture. The wholesale overturn- ing of Congressional power from Democrat to Republican hands might happen – more likely in the House of Representatives than the Senate. We Californians may see the forced retirement of Senator Barbara Boxer, and none too soon for the vast majority of Tehama County voters, when Republicans Chuck DeVore or Carly Fiorina beat her. While that remains to be seen, there is another political earth- quake brewing in California over an initiative called by supporters "Unplug the Political Machine." A product of the California Tea Party Patriots, the initiative would simply turn the decision by public employees to con- tribute to the political coffers of powerful unions, from the union to the employee. Currently, union dues are taken from public workers and spent by the unions for one polit- ical party, regardless of the wish- es and sympathies of the employee who earns the money. Procedures that would let the employee "opt out," as they say, are onerous and designed to keep the money flowing. If and when "Unplug the Political Machine" is passed by voters, that will stop. The money currently taken will revert back to the individual to spend as they wish to support whatever candidates or causes suit them. Sounds pretty fair and respectful of American princi- ples of liberty and individual responsibility, doesn't it? Not if you are a union boss, political activist or hack that regards forced employee contributions as your political piggy bank to advance liberal, Democratic pur- poses. Hopefully, this campaign to enrich workers by letting them keep more of their own money, will be conducted on the merits, and not on the basis of intimida- tion, lies and dirty tactics by the unions that stand to have their cash cow cut off. We'll see. Tehama County Tea Party Patriots will resume weekly meetings this Tuesday, at 6 p.m., at the Westside Grange on Wal- nut Street, will welcome new- comers with orientation sessions to answer questions and explain our purpose, and will be adding the above initiative to the roster of issues being acted on. If you find yourself wanting to do more than listen to the radio, yell at your television or computer screen, and air your grievances to the spouse, the dog (or cat), your equally frustrated buddies, friends or coffee/tea mates – come on down. You'll find encouragement among political and cultural allies, and make some new friends and acquain- tances at the same time. I find it to be a special kind of stench that criminals can't be content to remove money and possessions from people and businesses without engaging in unnecessary and gratuitous vio- lence. The convenience counter clerk injured in just such an armed robbery, as reported, offered no resistance, as all who tend cash registers are admon- ished to do. That such violations have been with us for most of a century (a Daily News item "90 years ago…" recounted armed robberies from back then) is no comfort to victims. My wishes for a speedy physical and emo- tional recovery are extended. During the ten years I managed restaurants, I had numerous incidents of criminal mischief and violence to deal with. A fellow night manager at a Taco Bell in SoCal's San Fernando Valley was shot dead when he attempted to pre- vent an armed rob- ber from leaving with his ill-gotten gains. As a newly trained night man- ager at an Arby's restaurant in Mis- sion Hills, I found myself look- ing at the business end of a rather large kitchen knife one night, wielded by a non-English-speak- ing young man. After he came to the back to get my attention, I followed him to the registers he obviously wanted opened, and briefly considered that a hot french fry basket over his head would probably end his criminal venture that night. I then remembered my friend, the dead Taco Bell manager and watched as the robber was so nervous and ignorant that he grabbed mostly ones and fives, leaving the twenties under the trays. By the time I brought him the cash drawer from the drive- through, he was out the door, into his waiting car and headed for one of three nearby freeways. One homeless guy, asked to leave the Red Bluff Burger King and shown to the door, actual- ly took a swing at me, which I neatly ducked. Seeing me put down my ever-present clipboard, he thought better of any fur- ther fist-swinging and wandered off to wait for the soon-to-arrive Red Bluff PD. Such a swing- and-miss was not my fate at a Redding Burger King, however, after I made efforts to urge a homeless woman to leave. As I turned to make the call, I felt a firm fist make hard contact with my back. Another current stench I feel compelled to point out is when a liberal writer criticizes and accuses a conservative writer of "religious bigotry" and "immi- grant racism." Can't we debate the issues without name-calling? Happy New Year! Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com. Looking ahead, back and at today's stench Commentary N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY 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 Don Polson The way I see it STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), 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), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 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; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Your officials Jurisprudence and California corrections Looking through the list of 176 persons held in the Tehama Coun- ty Jail this New Year's Eve and the charges that they are there for was for me a lesson in judicial impru- dence and corrections mismanage- ment – see www.tehamaso.org. Folks of all sorts are intermingled, some not yet charged or awaiting trial who may be guilty or innocent, others serv- ing sentences for non- violent drug or property crimes, along with some guilty of violent assaults and murder. Only one demographic group is not often found there – the wealthy. This is a dangerous and dysfunctional situa- tion that puts the safety and rehabilitation of the inmates at risk, and makes one question the fairness and effective- ness of our judicial and corrections systems. Some of the inmates will be found innocent of any misdoing but are exposed to hardened crimi- nals with treacherous habits. It is not surprising that one inmate was nearly beaten to death in his cell by other inmates given the mix of per- sonalities and the limited number of correction officers available to control them. All this is due to unrealistic bur- dens California legislators have placed upon the police, prosecut- ing attorneys, judges, corrections officers and wardens of our jails and prisons. No one wants to be seen as soft on crime, so ever stiffer and longer sentences are being pre- scribed, such as the three strikes law and other mandatory minimum sentences that overload our prisons and put immense pressures on correctional officers and prison support staff. Prisons should be for those that are dangers to society, not non-violent drug offenders or those only guilty of property crimes. For some jail or prison has become a home of last resort, given the lack of mental health ser- vices, half-way houses and diver- sion programs to offer a way out. Once a person is a convicted felon, which is not hard to do these days if one uses drugs or hangs around with the wrong types of people, it can be very difficult to regain employment and the trust of the community to excel – leaving limited opportunities to overcome the allure of drugs to ease the pain and sense of loss, recover from underlying depression or other mental illnesses or otherwise avoid lives of crime. So the cycle continues for many, and often spirals to greater levels of addiction, mental illness and criminality until they become institutionalized and a permanent burden on society. What can we do about these unfortunate souls and realities? It would seem we have little alterna- tive but to more carefully triage people that we introduce to our jails and prisons – differentiating as well as possible among those that are violent threats to others that must be incarcerated, those that are guilty of property crimes or fraud that must be taught a lesson by fac- ing consequences that may include extended time behind bars, and those that are in need of rehabilita- tion, counseling, training and other assistance to get back and stay on track. By so classifying, housing and treating defendants and criminals we might avoid the exposure of these different breeds of cat to one another, and provide treatment and training programs targeted to mini- mize stereotyping and maximizing the chances of reentry into the gen- eral population as functional adults. This may seem a simplistic solution to a complex problem but there are simply too many people being housed at great expense in our over-burdened prison system, and we have neither the revenues to support them, nor the will to do so. I think we must strive to divert people from crime by using more carrots and fewer sticks, with pro- gressive counseling, mental health services and training programs that help novice criminals improve their lot, rather than condemn them to lives in captivity. At least such investments can facilitate real change and individual progress, rather than continue apparently futile efforts to intimidate criminals into compliance. It may sound trite and seem inappropriate, but a pinch of sugar may accomplish more than tons of salt when addressing the frailties and foibles of the human condi- tion. If you agree with any of what I have to say please tell your elect- ed officials, so they might better defend not always being hard on crime and brave using more effec- tive approaches to address the problem where warranted. Richard Mazzucchi Positive Point