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4A Daily News – Wednesday, March 7, 2012 Opinion 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 Finding liberals 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 Editor: Regarding Jan Petersen's entertaining and amusing letter on Thursday March 1, "How do I spot the liberals." I would first like to remind her of an old adage, "never judge a book by the cover." That being said and judging from the letter's content she may need look no further than in the mir- ror for her answer. I will say again, it was a well written and entertaining letter. Jack Fennel, Red Bluff Gas prices Editor: An interesting perspective on gasoline prices. If I am not mistaken in my recollection, I went fishing on Lake Shasta the day after Bobby Kennedy was killed in 1968. I stopped in Redding to fill gas cans for my outboard motor. Gasoline was at 80 cents per gallon, and I was a bit stunned. I just used an online inflation program where you can plug in a year and a dollar figure and see what it would be in current dollars. I did that just now and the 80 cents is equal to today's $5.01. So, a per gallon price of $5, as predicted by alarmists, should not be that shocking — although I certainly won't be happy with it. I am also paying more than $4 for a loaf of bread. Can we also blame the president for that, or is that going too far? H. R. Merhoff, Red Bluff Obama and oil Editor: On Feb. 29, a letter was pub- lished authored by Mr. Neff blaming President Obama for the price of oil. Mr. Neff, like you, I have no great love of the president, how- ever I can not sit in silence and let you say things that are not true. No president has that author- ity, and the price of oil is con- trolled by the stock market. Bob Hogan, Red Bluff Liberal spotter Editor: In response to Jan Petersen's letter: How can I spot the liber- als? Well, Jan you can tell liber- als by their superior attitude. You can also tell them by their inability to deal with the truth. In a crowded room they're the ones letting everyone know how smart they are about glob- al warming, how smart Al Gore is and what liberal university they graduated from. As far as bumper stickers go, if you see an Obama stick- er on a car, chances are, there is a liberal driving it or their car has been vandalized. Jackets, ball caps and logos, etc., look for the sickle and hammer or the SEIU logos for starters. Restaurants, local stores, gas stations, banks and churches, all the above applies. Yale and other institutions of higher learning are more likely to be liberal than not. For example: conservative and Christian students are more likely to be denied the right to assemble or hand out their lit- erature on campus than the lib- eral students. As for the liberal lawyers, for example, Harold Koh, for- mer dean of the Law School at Yale University, a high-ranking legal adviser in the State Department, is an advocate of transnationalism. In other words, he does not support the sover- eignty of the United States and the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution as the law of the land. Here's another shocker: Koh supports the introduction of Sharia Law into the United States. This is just one of Obama's appointees; one only has to check out the rest of his cabinet appointees, the czars he has appointed and all he has surrounded himself with and see in what college they either were instructors or students, what courses they taught or studied and what their political views are to tell whether or not they're liberals, socialists or communists. This will prove that colleges are an assembly line producing all sorts of liberals, socialists and communists as well as lib- eral, socialist and communist lawyers. The spotted owl was falsely placed on the threatened list by the Sierra Club and other liber- al organizations to stop the har- vesting of timber. The valley long horned elderberry beetle was put on the threatened list in the very same way to stop bank protection projects along the Sacramento River by the Army Corps of Engineers. I really hope this enlightens you, because you really need it. Les Wolfe, Red Bluff More on liberals Editor: Your Turn Jan Petersen's let- ter of March 1 had a provocative title (written by the DN), "How can I spot the liberals." That title is reminiscent of the kind of articles Hitler would write in the '20s about Jews. Like the German Jews before Hitler rose to power, being a liberal is not a crime. Being a liberal is nothing to be ashamed of. And also like German Jews before WWII, liberals aren't exactly trying to hide or disguise their liber- alness. Call me a Liberal, I don't care. As a matter of fact, I'm quite proud of that classifica- tion. To me, being a liberal means you are more con- cerned with people than prof- its. You can call me a liberal any time. It's not Liberals but Con- servatives who believe we live on a flat earth that the sun spins around, it's our 2 in 1 political system completely controlled by stock market manipulators and it's a news media more concerned with entertaining than informing that stifles our progress. Orval Strong, Gerber 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. Ask the tax prep expert Commentary I've been self-employed for many years, which has made me an expert on tax preparation. With tax season upon us, my email queue is filling up with questions from readers. Q: My dog is panting heavi- ly. What could it be? -- North Dakota Norm A: You appear to have the wrong advice column, but it could be that your dog is self- employed and has fallen behind on his quarterly IRS payments. Contact the IRS and negotiate a biscuit installment plan imme- diately. Q: My wife says we can get a big deduction by donating our underwear to charity. True? -- Fred from Philly A: I remember news reports about the Clintons deducting boxes of old underwear back in the 1990s, but don't get your hopes up. It's doubtful your deduction will be as big as the one generated by Bill's boxers. Q: I am self-employed and earned $50,000 last year. I can make more working longer hours, but it seems like every extra dollar is taxed at 50 per- cent. -- Concerned in Colorado A: I hate to break it to you, but you are mostly correct. You are in the 25-percent federal income tax bracket. Social Security and Medicare total 15.3 percent (though there is a temporary 2 percent break). State income tax is 3.07 percent and local is 1 percent. Every dollar you earn beyond your current income is taxed at 44.37 percent. Q: My dog stopped panting, but now my wife is panting! -- North Dakota Norm A: Don't worry. Panting is a common affliction for Ameri- cans this time of year, as they spend precious hours comply- ing with complex tax laws. Give your wife some bourbon. Q: Someone told me that I am paying taxes on gasoline, utility bills, retail goods and many other things I am not even aware of. -- Perturbed in Penn- sylvania A: That is correct. If you were to calculate all the taxes you are paying, you would dis- cover that well more than half your income is funding one tax or another. If America doesn't get its spending under control, you'd better hold tight to your wallet, because taxes are going to get worse. Q: Didn't Franklin Delano Roosevelt say of Social Security that no damn politician will ever take it away? -- Curious in North Carolina A: FDR did say that and, boy, was he right. Politicians have expanded the program well beyond its initial focus and now the only thing politicians are taking away is our money. Q: This may sound dumb, but what is a tax bracket? -- Uncertain in Utah ments on the verge of bankrupt- cy. Come to think of it, America is more like Europe than Europe, so pre- pare to pay high taxes like they do in Europe. Tom Purcell A: A tax bracket is a heavy metal object that the govern- ment uses to hit you over the head every time you succeed in earning more money. Q: Americans need to pay higher taxes like they do in Europe. -- Determined in Delaware A: Do you really want Amer- ica to be more like Europe? Most European countries have high government spending, high unemployment, slow growth rates, high inflation and govern- Q: My wife is still panting, but we're out of scotch. What now? -- North Dakota Norm A: You'll have to go to the state-run liquor store and buy more -- and pay a big fat state tax markup in the process. Q: If people are sick and tired of pay- ing taxes, they should do what I did: Vote for Obama! I haven't paid a penny in taxes in more than three years! -- Out of Work in Ohio A: Now there's a thought. ——— Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e- mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com.