Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/589905
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 Ibelieveeveryonehasatleasttwofamilies. By that I mean we all have the family we love best and that one that is somewhat troublesome. If you are honest with your- self it is probably the same darn wonderful, yet challenging family. Ibelieveeveryonehasat least two families. By that I mean we all have the family we love best and that one that is somewhat trou- blesome. If you are honest with yourself it is probably the same darn won- derful, yet chal- lenging family. I suggest you do what I have done and take out two pieces of paper and do not be afraid to put all your fam- ily members on those sheets. Make one list entitled the "good helpers" and another of what you can title the "trou- blemakers." You can chose your own nomenclature. Ob- viously, any good family member can never really dis- like you if you put them on the good list. That is probably not going to occur with those troublemakers. Make certain these lists are what I call "non-fiction" to the best of your judgement. The lists you write might even contain certain behav- ioral habits. It can include what I call "actions and con- sequences." I have always be- lieved the very best way to deal with life is to use polite but accurate "non-fiction." I once had a family mem- ber I called Uncle Jim, my brother. He died a few months ago. That was sad, but it happens to all of us sooner or later. Uncle Jim was intelligent, but very dis- pleased with everyone and everything. He surprised me when he once told me there were actually three lev- els of intelligence. I asked him — but I was just play- ing — which level he thought I was on. He "seriously" told me that I might have been on level two occasionally, but he thought usually I had spent most of my life being on the bottom level, number one. My other brother, Uncle Bob, started out loving the opposite gender to the ex- treme. He could have been defined as a womanizer. He once told me I should get at least two dates each night of the week. He said I would only have to think of an ex- cuse to leave the first date a bit early so I could get to the second one. Uncle Bob is now a Mormon and a significant leader in the Church of Latter Day Saints. Should one ad- mire his progress? Please let me know what you think. The question that I some- times enjoy asking when I discuss the family unit is something like; "Should someone who shares your DNA be more important and more loved than any other stranger out there?" I think most people would say fam- ily members are more impor- tant, but I do not agree. I think when it comes right down to it, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are probably very similar good human be- ings, yet I feel certain they do not share DNA. They are both very ambitious and smart. During my eighteen years of service as an elected mem- ber of California's Assembly, I was often asked to define the difference between Dem- ocrats and Republicans. In truth, it is probably not very much. In real truth everyone wants a world that is first just like them. To hell with every- one else. All those politicians are just one big happy family, right? Not really. Mytakeonthemovies Now, on the movie scene, I would suggest you see the new film "The Intern." If you are a successful young woman or a retired busi- nessman, you will love it. It's also a special treat because it stars two of Hollywood's best actors, Robert DeNiro and Ann Hathaway. "The Intern" will stay with you after you leave the theater. 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 Taking on both our families Make one list entitled the "good helpers" and another of what you can title the "trouble- makers." You can chose your own nomenclature. RV ordinance is bad policy Editor: I attend the Board of Super- visors meetings often. At the Oct. 20 meeting Sean Moore, Planning Department direc- tor, brought forward a new ordi- nance to restrict what you can do with a Recreational Vehicle on your very own land. You will now have to get a use permit that costs more than $1,400 to be able to live in an RV for a maximum of 90 days a year. Four of your County Super- visors Burt Bundy, Steve Chamb- lin, Dennis Garten and Bob Wil- liams voted for this. What does this mean to you? Example: If you have Uncle Fred living on your property in the county, who earns only $500 per month, even if he is hooked up legally, and you feed him and drive him to doctors and take care of him, he can no longer live there. Even if he can afford to pay the permit fee of $1400, he could only live there 90 days out of the year. He will be home- less. Without the permit fee you cannot live there at all. This is only one example, how many will be homeless? When are we people in this county going to stop these su- pervisors from assessing fees, fining and taxing for everything you do? I don't remember seeing any- thing in the paper, no hear- ing, no town hall on this. Just a short public comment period and in that same meeting four supervisors passed it 4 yes, 1 no, despite the pleas of Supervisor Candy Carlson stating there will be unintended consequences to those below the poverty level. She voted no. — June Cooper, Red Bluff Social Security, SSI not the same Editor: A recent letter writer lumped Social Security and Supplemen- tal Security Income (SSI) to- gether as one "hybrid insurance and socialistic program." This characterization is inaccurate. While both programs are han- dled by the Social Security Ad- ministration, the two are quite separate in purpose and fund- ing. As the contributor noted, So- cial Security is essentially an in- surance program. It is funded by taxes paid by workers, self-em- ployed folks and employers. The amount of one's monthly bene- fit is directly proportional to the amount of money paid into the system. On the other hand, SSI is a program that makes payments based on an individual's need. It is designed to provide a guaran- teed income to those over 65 or blind or disabled who have lit- tle or no income and very little in assets. SSI considers existing in- come and adds a check to bring the total income to a specified level. As the other income rises and falls, the SSI payment is ad- justed to keep the total income the same. In California, SSI is funded by general tax revenues from the state and federal governments. No Social Security tax dollars are used to pay SSI benefits. In fact, the Social Security Admin- istration is reimbursed by the federal government for all work performed in the administration of the SSI program. — David Janott, Red Bluff Letters show politics is circus Editor: The latest postings of Diana Thompson and Les Wolfe pro- vide a perfect example of why politics is described as a circus in the United States. Each in their respective lib- eral and conservative rings, sharing their views of reality with us. Both, as they perform their act, ignoring the most im- portant, or just wrong. Dance and jump through the hoops of the distractions from the real is- sues. My act is not allowed nor rec- ognized in the common cir- cus we are exposed to. I seem to have to operate outside the tent itself. What to distinguish me from any other of the con men barkers standing behind their little tables? The issue is private debt. The issue is the failure of the pre- vious economists' attempts to eliminate the aristocratic drain on a productive economy via their rent, interest collection. The more money that goes up- stairs to the aristocracy, the less to be spent on industrial produc- tion or research, or to even buy the products produced. The Wizard of Oz told most of it. All though Baum forever denied the satire it overwhelm- ingly seemed to be. It is very simple. Then and now. The only difference is that people knew the difference then. Not now. If there is not enough money to go around, money must be borrowed. Period. What has happened since 1980? Oh, money was created, yes. But who did it go to? The banks. Wages have stagnated and the populace has gone into debt. Is this rocket science yet? But not all have borrowed. The aristoc- racy, through the banks, have lent out the $8 trillion they have accumulated while the populace goes further into debt to Wall Street. The five or six big banks are the issue. Because they use debt, not to invest in the economy, but to drain money out of it to themselves. Most people would do the same if they had the power to do so. No one is to blame. But ev- eryone is responsible. Private dept, Wall Street, the big banks are the vehicles that have changed the tax and other laws, and the very belief system of this country, to accommo- date increasing their wealth and power. A small but very good short education is provided by Mi- chael Hudson at: http://michael- hudson.com/2015/10/the-para- dox-of-financialized-industrial- ization/. Please don't trip over the Marx — as in Karl — word. Just because he identified critical economic issues does not mean we have to be communists. In fact, it means we don't have to be. — James Bryant, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take According to the National Re- tail Foundation, Americans will spend $6.9 billion on Halloween this year. To the untrained ob- server, that sounds as if the au- tumn celebration will be around forever; but I am concerned for the long-term health of the hol- iday. So I have assembled a group of experts to offer their advice for keeping All Hallows' Eve relevant and vibrant. (Be fore- warned that some personal prej- udices and agendas may creep into the discussion.) Mark: I think before Ameri- cans answer life-changing ques- tions such as "Trick or treat?", they should do some soul- searching and ask themselves, "How would the Founding Fa- thers answer that?" And not just the ones who took a slanted view because they had wooden teeth that got all gummed up with candy. Brad: Bah! What we need is new bone-chilling, spooky sound effects records — like a busi- nessman handing his child the keys to a family-owned business, or someone somewhere pinning on a military insignia or a high- powered toilet being flushed or... Sabrina: Let's not forget to make generous donations to Planned Parenthood. I can't think of a single other place where parents can get candy x- rayed for razor blades, can you? George: Let's modernize and make everyone dressed like a hobo accept bitcoin. Sam: I'm fine with the clas- sic Friday the 13th and Night- mare On Elm Street stuff; but for Texas Chainsaw Massacre costumes, can't we have a wind- mill-powered chainsaw? Dylan: And can't we change the name from Halloween to In- digenous Ghosties and Ghoulies and Long-Legged Beasties Day? John: No! Let's not only keep the name but put the wean back into Halloween. Instead of toi- let-papering trees and houses, we could cover them with termi- nation-of-welfare notices. Hey, anybody wanna help me spend my Earned Income Credit after the meeting? Jason: Doesn't all this talk about the Great Pumpkin bother anyone? Let's make sure that all the pumpkins get a gold star. Frank: I think we need to build a wall to keep out the brown M&Ms. Theo: We all need to be hon- est. Yeah, maybe the Grim Reaper claimed your grandma and grandpa; but deep down, the real reason people hate him is because of the hoodie! Admit it, man! Tyrone: We can't let good ol' superstitions, omens and bad luck fall into disuse. Join the "Black 9 Lives Matter" move- ment! Gretchen: We've got to stamp out cliches. The Bride of Fran- kenstein needs an annulment from that inarticulate Creature. She should be the Bride of the Naughty Librarian. Carl: Vampire bats or vampire drones — honestly, which says 21st century to you? Luke: Remember how the Vandals sacked Rome? Obvio- ulsy, today's ubiquitous candy bags are a chilling reminder of violence and oppression. And did you ever notice how "fun- size" sounds a lot like "gun- size"? Need I say more? Paul: Let's make sure the In- visible Man is really transpar- ent — and not just someone say- ing, "Nothing to see here, folks. Move along..." Zeke: Actually, it's all a moot point. The world is going to end before Halloween. It's because the moon is going to turn red — or Orion's belt is going to clash with his sandals, or the Big Dip- per is going to run away with the spoon or something. You'll have to ask my preacher. *Sigh* Did you realize that Americans spent $6.9 billion on Millard Fillmore's birthday un- til I convened a panel on how to keep Millard Filmore's birthday relevant? Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Danny Tyree Can the experts rescue Halloween? Stan Statham OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, October 22, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6