Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/63365
6A Daily News – Thursday, April 26, 2012 Opinion DAILYNEWS 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 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 Shaking the fleas off the dog his own staffer said Mitt Romney had the convictions of an Etch-A-Sketch? Well, stand back, because as we speak, the former governor of Massachusetts is being flipped over and shaken so hard the fillings in the back teeth of his whole family are starting to rattle and cascade like some great crumbling Utah Butte. Remember way back when Fear not the rubble, little ones. This simply means we're entering general elec- tion territory, so anything Mitt Romney might have said up during the primary… no longer applies. We're begin- ning anew. Re-shuffling the deck. The winter of our dis- content has been made glori- ous summer by this Son of Dork. We're not even playing the same ballgame anymore. Fast-pitch hardball has mor- phed into beach volleyball before our very eyes. And the sand's been replaced with money. Unlike the previous six months, the object is no longer about how hard you hit the ball, rather how long it stays in the air. On your side of the net. You may recall this from pre-video game child- hood as Keep Away. A Republican primary is consumed with hard right angles. No quarter asked for, servative former governor has turned into a moderate kind of a regular guy. Mr. Hyde sunk behind the lab island and Dr. Jeckyll rose to walk forward with an outreached hand. Mister "It's okay to call Susan Fluke a slut" is now the soul of Chivalry. And the "War on Women" no quarter given. The general election is much more soft focus. Nice, round, spongy contours. Less muscular retorts, more sly evasions. Gauze is being spread over the lens and next comes the two fingers of Vaseline. Best keep a towel handy. Already the severely con- was instigated by Obama. Never mind the hundreds of bills written and enacted across the country restricting the rights of women, whole- heartedly endorsed by the candidate. Never mind his previous statements on Planned Parenthood and birth control. Never mind he thinks Lilly Ledbetter is an affliction of his youth successfully repressed. All that silly suffragette bashing has been offset by a single Democrat suggesting Ann Romney might not be qualified to be her husband's economic strategist since she spent her working life run- ning a tycoon's household. Maybe Alice from the Brady Bunch shouldn't be Secretary of the Treasury. The outcry was so loud a million apple pies shook off of shelves and the president of the United States got tangled in a War on Moms Web. Was this an exceptionally sticky birthday gift to a two-Cadillacked woman or what? Apparently the presumptive nomi- nee is taking a page straight out of the Karl Rove Hand- book and plans to run one of those "I know you are, but what am I" cam- paigns. Later to be partnered with the auspicious "I am rubber, you are glue" ploy. Republicans love this third- grade playground strategy. You indict the other guy for exactly what you're guilty of. Go back to 2004, when a bor- derline deserter successfully accused a war hero of being a traitor. The theory being: If you can't convince the people, confuse them. As the right is so fond of preaching: There's a fine line between educated and confused. It's only a matter of time before the challenger accuses the incumbent of being a fat - at tool of Wall Street. Totally out of touch with normal peo- ple. Belongs to a funny reli- gion. With a long his- tory of extreme insensitivity to dogs. And he has cooties. The New York Times Will Durst Raging Moderate says Emmy- nominated comedian and writer Will Durst "is quite possibly the best political satirist working in the country today." Check out the w ebsite: Redroom.com to buy his book or find out more about upcoming stand- up performances. Or willdurst.com. Will Durst is a political comedian who has performed around the world. He is a familiar pundit on television and radio. E-mail Will at durst@caglecartoons.com. Check out willandwillie.com for the latest podcast. Will Durst's book, "The All American Sport of Bipartisan Bashing," is available from Amazon and better bookstores all over this great land of ours. Don't forget to check out his rooftop comedy minutes at: http://www.rooftopcomedy.com /shows/BurstOfDurst. 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. Dumbing down the American Dream Commentary Young Americans received unwelcome news this week when an April 23 AP report found 53.6 percent of college graduates under the age of 25 are jobless or underemployed, and there is little hope for improvement in the near future. This news is grim for young Americans as well as an admin- istration in reelection mode. President Obama attempted to dull the pain young Ameri- cans are feeling when he recent- ly told a group of college stu- dents in Florida he "wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth" then went on to blame the mess we're in on capitalism. He described capitalism as a "bro- ken down theory." Obama's "broken down theo- ry" statement is wrong on many levels, but chiefly because his statement conveniently erases a significant chunk of American history. -- that time when Ronald Reagan inherited the worst recession since the Great Depression. It is the "worst" because Reagan and Obama inherited extremely similar recessions, but Reagan's was coupled with double-digit infla- tion and a 20 percent prime interest rate. Reagan did a lot of things right, including lowering taxes, and before long, the econ- omy boomed. executed what many describe as "anti-Reagan" economic poli- cies that have largely failed. His latest tax the rich scheme, the "Buffett Rule," was defeated by the Democrat-controlled Senate last week. The Wall Street Jour- nal, says it would have added "$793.3 billion to the deficit over the next decade" I reiterate: it would have increased, not decreased, the deficit. In sharp contrast, Obama has It is as if liberals are caught up in a constant love-hate rela- tionship with the successful, the job creators, and the "rich" -- in that they despise their success, but know full well they'd be unable to spread the wealth around without their money. At this point in time, Obama ism." At least he said it with a smile. For the unaware, Ayers was can't help himself because he has surrounded himself with people that share the same anti- Capitalism value system. One of those people, Bill Ayers, was recently caught on camera at an Occupy Wall Street rally in New York saying, "I get up every morning and think today I'm going to make a difference, today I'm going to end capital- involved with a group which bombed the U.S. Capi- tol and Pentagon dur- ing the Vietnam years, and openly admits he's a "radical, Leftist and small 'c' communist." Ayers has wasted much of his life polluting the minds of naïve college students, similar to what Obama appears to do when he stands before young audi- ences cherry-picking history and belittling the American Dream. How disillusioned this group, who flocked to the voting booths en masse for Obama in 2008, must be. Most had no idea Obama's "hope and change" would mean they'd not have the resources to pay for the federal deficit he's piled on their backs, as well as the student loan debt they're drowning in. They never dreamed "change" meant the end of their freedom of choice because Obamacare mandates that all must purchase health insurance, period. Most did not anticipate a lack of ample-pay- ing jobs would force them to live in their parents' basements post- graduation. Susan Brown deserve better and need to understand that the noise coming from the Left is just that. Statements sug- gesting that capitalism is "a broken down the- ory" are meant to dumb down their expectations to encourage them to exchange the hope of silver spoons for plas- tic forks. Frankly, the Democratic Party's message of perpetual mediocrity is discour- aging to young Americans who have a whole future before them and deserve the opportunity to pursue their version of the American Dream. ----- Young Americans Susan Stamper Brown is an opinion page columnist, motivational speaker and military advocate who writes about politics, the military, the economy and culture. Email Susan at writestamper@gmail.com or visit susanstamperbrown.com.