Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/623197
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 Iamcongratulated,almost daily, on the success of the State Theatre project. Some- one tells me, al- most daily, how cool it is to drive by the theater and see the beau- tiful neon S-T-A- T-E blade blink- ing in the night- time sky. Someone tells me, almost daily; that they en- joyed a concert they recently at- tended. Someone tells me, al- most daily, that not only do they appreciate local program- ming, but also nationally-rec- ognized entertainment such as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jake Shimabukuro, Pam Tillis, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Colin Raye. I sort of pinch myself, al- most daily, in order to affirm that this wonderful little com- munity believes so strongly in what is taking place at the his- toric State Theatre. In five short years we have been able to purchase the build- ing, undertake and complete significant restoration projects, and increase the number and quality of concert programs available to the Tehama County community. Our membership is strong, and continues to grow on an annual basis. Our bank account is sound, and continues to grow on an annual basis. In short, we are doing very well at the State Theatre. While justified in pat- ting ourselves on our collec- tive backs for our successes, as with any business, the State Theatre has areas that need to be improved if we are truly to reach our potential as a pre- ferred performing arts venue in the north state. In the inter- est of non-profit transparency, I would like to discuss the per- forming arts product at the historic State Theatre. Rentals: the State Theatre is available for use by any per- son or group on a rental ba- sis. Graduations, recitals, pri- vate parties, talent shows and the like can be held at the the- ater for about $1,000 per day, depending on program needs. We love rentals because in- come is guaranteed, and at the same time local programming is made available to the public. State Theatre-Sponsored Programming: calendar year 2015 marked the first year of our State Theatre Sponsorship Program. Participants con- tribute amounts ranging from $2,500 to $25,000, for which they receive a wide variety of sponsorship benefits. We are so pleased to have Haleak- ala Walnuts, Tehama Angus Ranch, Dignity Health, Rolling Hills Casino, Mill Creek Ranch, Wheeler Logging, Growney Motors, and PJ Helicopters as our 2015-16 program year sponsors. With the financial backing of this fine group of sponsors, STFTA made a commitment to increase both the quan- tity and quality of concert pro- gramming offered at the State Theatre. While we are pleased with the overall community re- sponse to our programming efforts, you should know that ticket sales alone currently fall short of covering program- ming costs at the State The- atre. State Theatre-sponsored programming generally falls into two categories. We often book talented tribute bands, singers, bluegrass groups, co- medians, and other entertain- ers that generally cost us from $3,000 to $5,000. Ticket prices for these performers gener- ally average $20, meaning that we need an audience of at least 200 to break even. Al- most without exception, audi- ence members attending these events rave about these per- formers; but unfortunately there have been times when we have had 75-80 folks in atten- dance. The second level of enter- tainment offered at the theater involves nationally recognized entertainment such as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Big Bad Vodoo Daddy. Without go- ing into specifics, by the time we pay for the group, housing, marketing, etc. we have often committed $20,000 to $25,000 to bring each group to the State Theatre. At $40 to $50 per ticket, we need more than a 500 paid attendance merely to break even. Unfortunately, there have been times when we failed to meet that target. Yes, we are doing very well at the State Theatre, and we thank you all so much. Keep in mind that if you want to see us continue to grow our product that will happen only if you, your friends, and the rest of the community attend our con- certs. I promise you won't be sorry when you do. ••• Speaking of wonderful con- certs, this Saturday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. the State Theatre will host the Songwriter Showcase on the Haleakala Stage. A cou- ple of years back, good friends Bailey and Amy Peyton, who hail from the state of Texas and were then new owners of the Mill Creek Ranch, discov- ered the historic State Theatre, and immediately signed on as one of our principal sponsors. The first time they set foot in the State Theatre, they indi- cated that they had attended a concert in Texas featur- ing three country singers and songwriters who would be per- fect for the State Theatre. True to their word and at considerable personal expense, the Mill Creek Ranch is bring- ing Paul Overstreet, Jessie Al- exander and Allen Shamblin all the way from Nashville for this single California appearance, with 100 percent of all proceeds going directly to the State The- atre. Collectively these songwrit- ers, who are terrific singers and performers in their own right, have written well more than 200 songs that have been re- corded by virtually every top country singer in the good old USA. Probably the coolest thing about this intimate concert is that these songwriting geniuses will share with the audience the real stories behind your fa- vorite songs, and then perform each as originally intended. Log onto www.statetheatreredbluff. com for a more comprehensive concert description and to pur- chase tickets. ••• Many of you are once again busy making resolutions that you have absolutely no chance of keeping. Let's face it, you've been down this road before, several times, and instead of losing that extra 10 pounds, which is really 15, you added another 5-10 this past year. My advice is that you do as I do. I do not make resolutions, nor do I go on diets. Life is a full-time resolution. Life is a full-time diet. I eat kale and soymilk and other stuff that tastes bad all year long, and I exercise by walking all the way to and from the toilet three or four times ev- ery night. Boy, do I look good. ••• Coming State Theatre At- tractions: Jan. 14, Pam Tillis; Jan. 15, Tehama Concert Series presents Acoustic Guitar Mas- ters with Scott Kritzer. Call 529- 2787 for additional information. BillCorneliusisalifelong resident of Red Bluff, a retired Chief Probation Officer, a champion of the State Theatre and an exceptional athlete. He can be reached at bill. cornelius@sbcglobal.net. William Tells Almost daily reminders of State's success Cartoonist's take The state of the American male is in shambles, and I cite three pieces of evidence as proof: Exhibit A: Purses. The mod- ern male eschews a wallet in fa- vor of a high-style satchel — purse — to hold his body spray, hair goop, diary and what- ever other junk he thinks he needs to tote around. Exhibit B: Makeup. Eye- liner for men — "guyliner" — is a growing male trend, as re- ported in The Washington Post. Exhibit C: Clothing. As The Wall Street Journal recently re- ported, "The fashion industry is blurring the line between mas- culine and feminine ... as men's fashions stretch to include bold floral prints, piping accents and skirts ... ." Skirts? Hey, men, a little ad- vice: If you ever get caught wearing a skirt, you better be carrying bagpipes. I'm not certain how the Amer- ican male has evolved to such a sissified state, but I have a hunch. It dates back 40 years or more, when the feminist move- ment kicked into high gear. Yes, feminism brought us many good things. Women de- served equal opportunity and they're doing better than ever these days. But some weren't content with just that. Some wanted to transform the mas- culine American male. He is considered closed- minded, archaic, misogynis- tic and sexist, after all. He has been pressured to get in touch with his feminine side and his feelings. And, boy, has he responded. Today, the landscape is pol- luted with sensitive new-age guys. Touchy-feely guys with soft voices and caring eyes — fellows who get misty at baby showers and clap heartily the first time junior uses the john to go number two. Well, nuts to that. Look, men, we need to get hold of ourselves. Women are different from us. It's best that way. It's best that we distin- guish ourselves from them in our actions, manner and dress. Here's a solution, then: We need to become more like our fathers and grandfathers — the fellows we have been told to shun. Here are a few examples as to how we can get started. Men, when your wife comes home from the mall with a bag of new clothes for your son — a bag filled with color-coordi- nated knickers and suspend- ers and matching saddle shoes, you must say what our fathers would have said had our moth- ers attempted such a move: "No son of mine is going to wear any damn knickers!" Men, you must participate in the naming process of your sons. Ashley, Shelby and Mi- chelle are not appropriate names for boys. Men, we must stop shopping at the mall with our women. Our dads and granddads never went along with this. When our mothers dragged our dads to the mall, they made a scene: "For goodness sakes, Betty, will you buy something so we can get the heck out of here!" Sure, our dads and grand- dads were imperfect creatures. They were not very good at un- derstanding our feelings or ex- pressing themselves. But in the process of remaking the mod- ern male, we've tossed out the baby with the bathwater. Our dads and granddads had trouble telling us they loved us, but they were awfully good at showing us through their ac- tions. They kept an eye on us and protected us — the men who dated my five teenage sis- ters feared my father with good reason. They worked their tails off to provide. And they asked nothing in return except that we become good, respectable citizens who live moral lives. These are the masculine traits we need to re-embrace — or the day may come when we're all wearing knickers, suspend- ers and saddle shoes that our wives made us buy at the mall. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom at Tom@ TomPurcell.com. Tom Purcell Modern men need to embrace their dads, granddads Bill Cornelius By Ron Paul Those who advocate ending, instead of reforming, the welfare- warfare state are often accused of being "impractical." Some of the harshest criticisms come from libertarians who claim that advocates of "purism" forgo op- portunities to make real progress toward restoring liberty. These critics fail to grasp the numerous reasons why it is crucial for liber- tarians to consistently and vigor- ously advance the purist position. First, and most important, those who know the truth have a moral obligation to speak the truth. People who understand the need for drastic changes in for- eign, domestic, and, especially, monetary policy should not pre- tend that a little tinkering will fix our problems. Those who do so are just as guilty of lying to the public as is a promise-break- ing politician. Attempting to ad- vance liberty by lying is not just immoral; it is also a flawed strat- egy that is doomed to fail. The inevitable failure of "re- forms" that do not eliminate the market distortions caused by government intervention will be used to discredit both the freedom philosophy and its ad- vocates. The result will be in- creased support for more wel- fare, more warfare, and more fiat money. Thus, those who avoid discussing the root causes of our problems, not those they smear as impractical purists, are the ones undermining liberty. For example, many Obam- acare opponents refuse to advo- cate for true free-market health care. Instead, they propose vari- ous forms of "Obamacare lite." By ceding the premise that govern- ment should play a major role in health care, proponents of Obam- acare lite strengthen the position of those who say the way to fix Obamacare is by giving govern- ment more power. Thus, Obam- acare lite supporters are inadver- tently advancing the cause of so- cialized medicine. The only way to ensure that Obamacare is not replaced by something worse is to unapologetically promote true free-market health care. This is not to suggest libertar- ians should reject transitional measures. A gradual transition is the best way to achieve lib- erty without causing massive so- cial and economic disruptions. However, we must only settle for compromises that actually move us in the right direction. So we should reject a compromise bud- get that "only" increases spend- ing by 80 percent. In contrast, a budget that actually reduces spending by 20 percent would be a positive step forward. Those who advocate a so- called extreme position can of- ten move the center of political debate closer to the pure liber- tarian position. This can actually increase the likelihood of tak- ing real, if small, steps toward liberty. More importantly, the best way to ensure that we never achieve real liberty is for liber- tarians to shy away from making the case for the free society. Sometimes ideological move- ments are able to turn yester- day's "fringe" ideas into today's "mainstream" position. Just a few years ago it was inconceiv- able that a significant number of states would legalize medi- cal, and even recreational, mari- juana or that a majority of states would have passed laws allowing citizens to openly carry firearms. The success of these issues is not due to sudden changes in pub- lic opinion, but to years of hard work by principled advocates and activists. Ron Paul is a former Congressman and Presidential candidate. Ron Paul Purism is a practical movement Tom Purcell OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, January 6, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6