Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/632406
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 Ialwaystrytowritemycol- umn a week or so ahead of my Daily News-imposed deadline. I suspect most of my self-esteemed columnist col- leagues wait un- til the last mo- ment to craft their column in hopes of cap- turing relevant and timely in- formation concerning matters of critical importance. While I am guessing that any col- umnist worth their salt would choose to be both timely and relevant, these are traits that have for me remained toward the bottom of my list of prior- ities. Frankly, if I am able to fulfill my obligation to submit 1,000 words on a weekly basis, I couldn't care less whether it is timely or relevant. Take today's column, for instance. It is Monday, January 18, and I am sitting at the computer in my office. The office fea- tures a large window overlook- ing the driveway leading away from our 13-acre parcel that is mostly hidden from the rest of the world. In the 15 minutes I have been sitting here, I have looked out that window at a half dozen deer milling around the front yard, only to be re- placed by a dozen turkeys with a couple toms strutting their stuff with their chests puffed out. Just now a small forked horn buck joined the group. He has shed one side of his rack. Writing is pretty easy when you do it in Shangri-La. In keeping with my policy of making much ado about noth- ing and to prove that old peo- ple have lives too, I would like to share with you highlights of my very busy week of January 9 through January 16. On January 9, friends Bai- ley and Amy Peyton of the Mill Creek Ranch sponsored a highly entertaining concert at the State Theatre featuring a trio of country music's most talented songwriters, Allen Shamblin, Jessi Alexander and Paul Overstreet. The concert was followed by a surprise 60th birthday party for Mr. Peyton, with a couple dozen Texans fly- ing in for the event. On Sunday the 10th I camped out on the couch, and pitched a fit when the Se- ahawks stole that game from the Minnesota Vikings. On Monday morning, Janu- ary 11, I met with State Theatre board president Bob Douglas at the new From the Hearth res- taurant in order to discuss the agenda for our upcoming re- treat at which we will review the strengths and needs of the State Theatre. After the meet- ing, we adjourned to the the- ater where we met with an electrical contractor regarding upgrades that we are planning for the near future. Later that afternoon Billie and I attended 11-year-old grandson Wyatt's basketball game in Cotton- wood. Due to his superior gene pool, he was the best player on the floor. Early the next morning it was back to the State Theatre to meet with another electri- cal contractor regarding the aforementioned upgrade. At noon I attended my weekly Ro- tary meeting, where a mem- ber of the Redding City Council reported on a city of Redding strategy to deal with their bur- geoning homeless population. Because there was a break in the rain on Wednesday the 13th, I stacked a pile of fire- wood that was soaked, and then proceeded to Tractor Sup- ply to purchase a tarp with which to cover the wood. Boy, are flimsy little tarps expen- sive these days. Later that af- ternoon we traveled to Cot- tonwood for another basket- ball game. After the game I dropped Billie at home and headed to town to attend our monthly State Theatre board meeting. I finally arrived back at the house after 8 p.m. On Thursday, January 13, the State Theatre was home to a second terrific concert in four days with the appearance of Pam Tillis. Ms. Tillis is a very talented singer and a terrific person as well. She finished performing at 9:30 p.m., and remained at the theater signing autographs and taking photos with every single member of the audience, until finally leav- ing sometime after 11 p.m. Because Billie and I are long- time members of the Tehama Concert Series, Friday the 14th had us returning to the State Theatre for a third time in six days. We thoroughly en- joyed the Acoustic Guitar Mas- ters concert, and highly rec- ommend that readers join the Tehama County Concert Asso- ciation. The entertainment is exceptional, and the price to join is ridiculously low. Early on Saturday the 15th we were off to Anderson High School to watch our other grandson, 9-year-old Tait, par- ticipate in a city-sponsored bas- ketball game. Like his older brother, Tait takes after his grandpa, and was the best player on the floor. After re- turning home to wolf down a peanut butter and jelly sand- wich, we returned to Anderson to root for Wyatt, whose team inexplicably lost the game to a far inferior team. After a full day of basket- ball, I dropped Billie off and headed to the Community Cen- ter where I had volunteered to serve as a bartender, along with Tom Amundson and John Enos, at the annual St. Eliz- abeth Community Hospital Auxiliary Crab Feed. As usual, those who attended went home fat, dumb and happy, largely due to the hard work provided by members of the auxiliary. Under the more than ca- pable, no-nonsense, take-no- prisoners leadership of board member Linda Ezzat, the 40-member auxiliary oper- ates like a well-oiled machine. At the risk of being stereotyp- ical, it appeared to me that ev- ery member of this dedicated group of ladies is cut from the same cloth. While most mem- bers appear to have lived life for a long, long time, I would say each has lived it well. With- out exception, each appeared to be exceedingly well scrubbed; each smelled awfully good, and each appeared that they had their hair done that very morn- ing. Congratulations to the hard-working, dedicated auxil- iary for a job well done. I had hoped to finish this column by tying it all together with some clever little ending, but unfortunately for both you and for me, I got nothing, ex- cept to say writing isn't easy, even in Shangri-La. •••• Coming to the State Theatre Feb. 11, Collin Raye and Red Bluff's own Chad Bushnell. William Tells Aweekinthe life of a DN columnist Cartoonist's take Boy, it's cold outside. It's so cold, politicians are picking their own pockets ... peo- ple are flocking in- side the U.S. Capi- tol for the blustery hot air... relations between Presi- dent Obama and Republicans have been upgraded from chilly to lukewarm. The cold, dreary weather makes me feel blue this time ev- ery year. Though, truth be told, my symptoms have worsened ev- ery winter since 2009 — when Democrats took control of the White House and Congress and began spending money like teen- agers with somebody else's credit card. Weeks after President Obama had campaigned on hope and change, he signed an $830 bil- lion "stimulus" into law under the guise that it would have a significant impact on reducing the unemployment rate by fund- ing "shovel-ready" jobs. Well, it didn't do much to spur job growth, but it shov- eled plenty of you know what. We borrowed nearly $1 trillion to pay off Obama's supporters by funding some awfully nutty proj- ects. According to The Wall Street Journal, "$783,000 was spent on a study of why young people con- sume malt liquor and marijuana. Some $92,000 went to the Army Corps of Engineers for costumes for mascots like Bobber the Wa- ter Safety Dog. And $219,000 funded a study of college 'hook- ups.'" What's worse is that the spending surge, says The Jour- nal, "helped drive federal outlays from less than $3 trillion in 2008 to $3.5 trillion in 2009, where federal spending has roughly re- mained ever since." That's one of the reasons fed- eral debt will have doubled to nearly $20 trillion during Presi- dent Obama's eight years presid- ing over the country. So affected have I been by our spending and debt, I just want to sit in front of the fireplace binge eating Hostess Ho Hos and sip- ping whiskey-saturated hot co- coa. The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 was supposed to prevent another financial collapse. But its rigor- ous rules and regulations have had unintended consequences on small, community banks that America's small business rely on. To wit: Many community banks and credit unions are un- able to afford the increased com- pliance costs — the need to hire more staff to demonstrate com- pliance with onerous regulations — but the big commercial banks can and are winning a growing share of the loan business. This is having a direct neg- ative impact on entrepreneurs. Community banks are better able to evaluate "soft risk" at the local level. For instance, smaller banks may evaluate entrepre- neurs on their past dealings and integrity when reviewing loan applications — something na- tional chains aren't likely to do. That means startups are fac- ing increased difficulty obtain- ing credit. Which partly ex- plains why American entrepre- neurship is in decline for the first time since the U.S. government started measuring it — and why, according to Jim Clifton, chair- man and CEO of Gallup, "the U.S. ranks 12th among developed nations in terms of business startup activity." It makes me so depressed, it makes me want to sit in an out- door hot tub as I drink several pints of dark, Irish brew. In more recent years, my win- ter depression has been exacer- bated by the worst economic ex- pansion since World War II; the massive increases in my insur- ance premium because of Obam- aCare; the unbelievable mess that our failed leadership is caus- ing in the Middle East; the worry that as baby boomers retire in giant numbers in the next 10 years, our entitlement costs are going to explode; and the over- whelming sense that our coun- try is adrift with nobody at the controls. Yeah, the cold, dreary weather is really getting me down this year. It makes me so depressed I want to pull my covers over my head and pretend that our prob- lems don't exist — just as our po- litical leaders are doing in Wash- ington. Tom Purcell Surviving the winter blues Later that afternoon Billie and I attended 11-year-old grandson Wyatt's basketball game in Cottonwood. Due to his superior gene pool, he was the best player on the floor. Bill Cornelius Tom Purcell While the Washington snow- storm dominated news cover- age this week, Senate Major- ity Leader Mitch McConnell was operating behind the scenes to rush through the Senate what may be the most massive trans- fer of power from the Legislative to the Executive branch in our history. The senior Senator from Kentucky is scheming, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham, to bypass normal Senate procedure to fast-track legislation to grant the president the authority to wage unlimited war for as long as he or his successors may wish. The legislation makes the un- constitutional Iraq War authori- zation of 2002 look like a walk in the park. It will allow this pres- ident and future presidents to wage war against ISIS without restrictions on time, geographic scope, or the use of ground troops. It is a completely open- ended authorization for the pres- ident to use the military as he wishes for as long as he (or she) wishes. Even President Obama has expressed concern over how willing Congress is to hand him unlimited power to wage war. President Obama has already far surpassed even his predeces- sor, George W. Bush, in taking the country to war without even the fig leaf of an authorization. In 2011 the president invaded Libya, overthrew its government, and oversaw the assassination of its leader, without even bother- ing to ask for Congressional ap- proval. Instead of impeachment, which he deserved for the disas- trous Libya invasion, Congress said nothing. House Republicans only managed to bring the sub- ject up when they thought they might gain political points ex- ploiting the killing of U.S. Am- bassador Chris Stevens in Beng- hazi. It is becoming more clear that Washington plans to expand its war in the Middle East. Last week the media reported that the U.S. military had taken over an air base in eastern Syria, and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that the U.S. would send in the 101st Airborne Division to retake Mosul in Iraq and to at- tack ISIS headquarters in Raqqa, Syria. Then on Saturday, Vice President Joe Biden said that if the upcoming peace talks in Ge- neva are not successful, the U.S. is prepared for a massive mili- tary intervention in Syria. Such an action would likely place the U.S. military face to face with the Russian military, whose as- sistance was requested by the Syrian government. In contrast, we must remember that the U.S. military is operating in Syria in violation of international law. The prospects of such an esca- lation are not all that far-fetched. At the insistence of Saudi Ara- bia and with U.S. backing, the representatives of the Syrian op- position at the Geneva peace talks will include members of the Army of Islam, which has fought with al-Qaeda in Syria. Does anyone expect these kinds of people to compromise? Isn't al-Qaeda supposed to be our en- emy? The purpose of the Legisla- tive branch of our government is to restrict the Executive branch's power. The Founders under- stood that an all-powerful king who could wage war at will was the greatest threat to life, lib- erty, and the pursuit of happi- ness. That is why they created a people's branch, the Congress, to prevent the emergence of an all- powerful autocrat to drag the country to endless war. Sadly, Congress is surrendering its power to declare war. Let's be clear: If Senate Major- ity Leader McConnell succeeds in passing this open-ended war authorization, the U.S. Constitu- tion will be all but a dead letter. Ron Paul Congress is writing the president a blank check for war OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, January 27, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4