Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/6263
Monday, January 25, 2010 – Daily News – 5A 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 It was just a question posed to Rep. Wally Herger's field repre- sentative, Dave Meurer, inspired by a conservative friend's com- plaint that Herger was working with far-left Democratic Sen. Bar- bara Boxer. Facts and information are always helpful, so this was an opportunity to shed some light on the issue that my friend was alarmed over. I asked Mr. Meurer "What can you tell us about Congressman Herger working with, of all people, Barbara Boxer on establishing greater federal control over the BLM land in the Bend area of the Sacramento River?" He was forthcoming in explain- ing that, for many years, it's been an appealing idea to give some sta- tus and recognition to the natural beauty, features and recreational uses of the vast swaths of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) acreage surrounding the Sacra- mento River between Red Bluff and the Shasta County line. The idea appeals to our county officials, as indicated in the Jan. 19 article by Daily News reporter Geoff Johnson, "Sacramento River Bend Area comments requested," announcing a public meeting on Feb. 3, 6 p.m., at Bend Elementary School. As reported, "Tehama County officials hope (it) will draw tourists" if the area has a different name, national recognition and increased funding, as Senator Boxer's bill purportedly does. "The county is looking for a bill that will preserve the activities already allowed on the property," the article said, but "rejected an earlier proposal from Boxer's office" over fears that conservation would dominate land usage. The hitch is that without "a copy of the latest version available … the details of the bill are unclear" to anyone, including Administrator Bill Goodwin. Also, having county representatives included in the "formation of an advisory council … would (allow) more control over the land use than the county has now." Can we be cautiously optimistic? We'll see. Back to Herger's work with Boxer over the years. As Mr. Meurer explained, there have been efforts to come to a meeting of minds, goals and priorities for the 17,600-acre Bend BLM land in companion bills in the House of Representatives (by Herger) and the Senate (by Boxer). It might not surprise you to know that Herger's emphasis was on protecting recre- ation and property rights; Boxer's proposals always gave importance to language emphasizing conserva- tion. Only last month, Herger dis- continued his efforts to come to agreement with Boxer over those issues. I know there are some readers wondering why anyone would object to emphasizing conserva- tion. I would say that there is no dispute, if by conservation you mean not wasting or despoiling nature while using or enjoying it. It may be news to you that the con- cept of conservation has been, in the realm of policy, regulation and law, hijacked by those whose ulte- rior motive, or hidden agenda, is to deprive us of our legiti- mate access rights to the public lands we collec- tively own. Their idea of conser- vation is more akin to preservation, and is best understood to mean min- imizing, even eliminating such things as ATV use, hunting and grazing, even equestrian usage. Interpretations and opin- ions aside, when a law or regulation includes the word "conservation," it will be used by what I call "big environmental- ism," backed by the deep pockets of rich liberals, entertainers, and activist groups like the Wilder- ness Society, to file lawsuits and wield the legal clubs I wrote about last week. Hence, the wariness by our county officials and Mr. Herger over the actual language that Ms. Boxer's bill may contain. First, mark your calendar on Feb. 3 to attend the meeting, listen and speak out; secondly, if you are part of a group that uses or values pub- lic access and enjoyment of the BLM land, call 515-2137 or email donplsn@yahoo.com. Also, plan to attend the Tehama County Tea Party Patriots meeting, Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Westside Grange, to learn more than can be included in this column. The BLM has a National Landscape Conser- vation System designation that, if applied to the Bend BLM land, could poten- tially treat grazing, hunt- ing, ATV and other recreational uses as threats to the "conserva- tion" of the "landscape." Finally, Mr. Meurer gave us a brief update on what the Wall Street Journal called "The Worst Bill Ever," the O b a m a / P e l o s i / R e i d health care reform bill, as well as several of the Republican proposals that were suppressed by Democrats: tort reform, making health insur- ance portable in a national market, and medical savings accounts. With the election of Republican Scott Brown as senator in Massa- chusetts, many of us are singing "Ding, dong the bill is dead." For more post election commentary, go to the "Polecat News and Views" link under "Blogs" above, or enter DonPolson.blogspot.com in a search window, scroll down to last Thursday's section and look for "Hey Keith, Obama: how do those tea bags taste?" Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com. Right to use our own land threatened 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 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 Don Polson The way I see it Olly olly oxen free (and similar spellings) is a catchphrase used in the children's game of hide and seek to indicate that players who are hiding can come out into the open without losing the game. It is thought to derive from the phrase "All ye, all ye 'outs' in free," i.e., all who are "out" may come in with- out penalty. For those that are frus- trated with the present political deadlock halting any real reform please take heed, and come out of hiding without penalty. Specifically I entreat the 9,910 registered Democrats in Tehama County as of January 15, 2010 to join with their Independent allies to extend Medicare benefits to all Americans. The Republican Party opposition to such a simple pop- ulist solution to the health care cri- sis is now minority. With only 13,384 out of the 30,052 registered voters in the county, it is time that the rest of us confront the "party of no" with an up and down vote of this immediately available pre- scription for the ailing American health care system, which is in actuality a sickness care system for too many of us. How many more must be forced into bankruptcy, chronic disability, and expensive emergency medical care before preventative health care is provid- ed to all? The situation here in Tehama County is dire, with many young, low income and unemployed resi- dents without preventative health care and no real hope of coverage short of The County Medical Ser- vices Program. CMSP provides health services for low-income indigent adults in 34 primarily rural California counties. In my experience this program is superi- or to Medicare, having no co-pays, premiums, and coverage for basic dental, vision, and prescription drug services. However because of the stringent requirements recipi- ents must be either disabled or indigent to qualify. So many of our hard working neighbors are caught in the gap between CMSP and privately pur- chased or employment related coverage. It seems very harsh and counter-productive to me to leave them to suffer, and have CMSP pick up the expenses of emergency or indigent care when we might help those in need to maintain their health and employability. Certain- ly a country with one of the most educated and productive popula- tions in the world can do better to stem the greed and profiteering of self-serving insurance, medical, and banking interests. This won't be accomplished however unless Democrats and Independents work together to overcome the Republican prefer- ences for unbridled capitalism and deregulation. History has shown that human greed without regula- tory constraint and compassion leads to fascism – the merging of industrial and political influence. The recent Supreme Court ruling to treat cor- porations like individu- als with free speech rights sends chills up my spine as elections might now be bought by the highest bidders without repercussion. It is now more important than ever that the electorate vigor- ously express them- selves so as not to be drown-out by moneyed self-aggrandizing oli- garchs. For this reason, I encourage you to learn more about the California Democ- ratic Party by going to www.cadem.org and particularly the Progressive Caucus at www.ProgressiveCaucusCDP.org. If you are tired of our so called Representative Wally Herger's ninety plus percent Republican party line voting history visit www.reednow.com to learn more about James Reed, the Democratic Party candidate destined to be our new representative in the U.S. Congress who promises to repre- sent all of us, regardless of his party affiliation. After all what pre- cisely has Wally done for us lately, except gain notoriety as the "Worst Person in the World" by brashly endorsing extremist rhetoric, and for his denial of any human responsibility for environmental dam- age, and his service as a loudspeaker for Repub- lican Party talking points. It easy to play Wheres Wally, simply look to the right. Before closing let me express my appreci- ation to Karen Bernal, chair of the California Progressive Caucus and attorney James Reed for their addresses at the January meeting of the Tehama County Demo- cratic Central Committee. If you wish to help build a coalition for progress please attend the upcom- ing monthly meetings at 5:30 p.m. at the M&M Ranch House on March 18, April 15 and May 20. For further information contact the Membership Chairwoman Sue Gallagher at 384-2945 and suedan@saber.net. Richard Mazzucchi is a retired research engineer specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He can be reached at living-green@att.net. Ally ally in come free Richard Mazzucchi Positive Point