Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/6457
4A – Daily News – Saturday, January 30, 2010 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. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. 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 Freshmen males of my gen- eration in college often felt like the proverbial kid in a candy shop with all those frosh women around. They were a continual distraction from con- centrating on the texts required in freshmen classes. It was only when they read Andrew Mar- vell that poetry took on some meaning, and many believed they had discovered a new tool for success with the opposite sex: Andrew Marvell's To his Coy Mistress. Marvell's wis- dom is to cut to the chase and not continue to waste time and energy. Who can forget his opening lines? Had we but world enough and time, This coyness, Lady, were no crime. The approach was direct, simple, and earnest. "You know how I feel about you. We are meant to share pleasure. Now is important, why wait for some indefinite future?" Every college man thought it was the key to becoming a suave lothario. It was sure to work, and, of course, it didn't. The attitude of the stereo- typical freshman male is akin to the general attitude of the American public today. It is shortsighted and refuses to acknowledge the complexity of issues; it does not recognize variables that can't be con- trolled, and that time is not always measured in the usual way. Look at how we have react- ed with anger and frustration at the politics in Washington. For whatever reason the country voted for the Democratic Party in 2008; change was in the air, and, at least for a while, many were looking forward to an improved America. Accom- plishing improvements is a slow and tedious endeavor. Sin- cere campaign promises cannot always be delivered. There are many obstacles. George W. Bush learned early in his administration that just because he wanted to do something did- n't mean it would be done. Bar- rack Obama has learned this as well. Reality has a way of interrupting plans. Even simple changes are more complicated than they seem. I remember talking with our Representative Wally Herg- er about the wisdom of Forbes' proposed simplified tax plan a few years ago. Herger remind- ed me that there are so many complications in the tax code that simplifying it would step on too many toes. He cited a couple of examples that would apply to many ordinary people, e.g. IRAs. Furthermore, many who would be affected by change use as many resources as possi- ble to minimize its negative impact on them. Lobbyists have been very busy thwarting so called health reform. It is reported that the banking industry spent $3.4 million on lobbying last year. Not only that, but those with "fringe" or tangential issues are able to piggyback their pet point of view into the process of decid- ing about the main issue; abor- tion became an important issue in the failed health reform attempt. Sometimes, as in the case of the senator from Nebraska, stubbornness pays off with special deals. These, in turn, anger many people, and attitudes change. Compromise is difficult when some have gotten away with drawing a line in the sand. Senators and Representa- tives, who are in a constant state of reelection, feel tremen- dous pressure not to alienate significant constituencies or contributors; they are afraid to step out of their comfort zone when change is sug- gested. The result is government by incre- mentalism, not by rad- ical shifts. This can lead to relative stabili- ty, but when there are core problems that are not addressed, it pro- motes cynicism, anger, and frustration. Other events inter- vene: scandals, earth- quakes, attempted ter- rorism, deaths, eco- nomic disruptions, bad news, etc. These events cannot be planned for. They divert everyone's attention. Bad news makes good press, and takes on a life of its own, overwhelming the focus on only one issue at a time. The public soon learns that doing business in Washington does not change from adminis- tration to administration or from one party in control to the other. It still requires tedious procedures, back door deals, and compromise. This is partic- ularly true when massive legis- lation is attempted, and the cur- rent health reform legislation is a good example. Senators and Representative publicly claim they haven't had time to read the legislation. Our rational mind often views organizations as mono- liths that just require leader- ship; however, our government is not a cooperative system where everyone works toward the same ends. The federal government is a conflict system where people and entities have differing goals, and where par- ticipants come and go. This results in incremental changes rather than radical leaps forward or backward. Starting out with the assumption that incrementalism is realistic, a more fruitful approach to health care legisla- tion, for example, might have been to start out with a nar- rowly focused bill regarding pre-exist- ing conditions, for example, in place of a 2000 page behemoth. The one issue bill could be debated and voted on in a relatively trans- parent manner. It would be hard to piggyback tangential issues on a single issue bill, and the bill could stand alone. In a similar manner bills about some of the other core issues could be considered one at a time. The other advantage of this approach is that it does not make overblown promises to the public which has unrealistic expectations based on cam- paign rhetoric. This approach would require constant public pressure to make sure each important issue is addressed by Congress. Vig- ilance is not a common trait of the American public; we tend to fickleness after we elect our leaders and begin complaining soon thereafter. Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. World enough and time 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 Joe Harrop 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 Tired of being talked down to Editor: I don't know about anyone else out there but I am getting tired of being lectured to by the "liberal with a pinch of Social- ism." In his normal condescending tone from above, Mr. Mazzucchi has derided and rebuked us on everything from politics, envi- ronmental awareness, govern- ment provided hearth care to water management. He has enlightened and instructed us on what toilets and clothes washers to buy, what trees to plant, removing our lawn, brushing our teeth, shaving and washing our car. We shouldn't use gas powered lawn mowers and must "…con- sider improvements we might make in our homes and business- es to live with the natural flow of the universe." Also, who we should elect. Not satisfied with a weekly column to impart his wisdom he submits an article to the paper on what Christmas tree to have. If, because we are obtuse, and superficial, we choose incorrect- ly, how to dispose of it. Anti business, as Socialists tend to be, Mazzucchi chastises Crystal Geyser for endeavoring to expand their water bottling. That water, he feels might better be used for domestic and agricul- tural needs. Surprisingly I have not read anything from him about the fields left fallow, virtual dust bowls in the Klamath Region and Central Valley. Farmers losing their homes and business because the environmentalists shopped for a judge to declare that water needed to go to sucker fish and Delta smelt. Mazzucchi feels that job cre- ation and economic development poisons the debate and panders to constituents. Notwithstanding the afore- mentioned, the column I found most insulting to and denigrating of the people of Tehama County was on Jan. 11. Here Mazzucchi addresses his perception of our xenophobia. With the usual supe- riority he begins by " it may be instructive to examine…" He then goes on to compare our opinions with those with more worldly concerns. He writes he doesn't mean to disparage or malign the validity of our concerns, then goes on to disparage and malign us as a pop- ulace. We are not as educated or make as much money. We are not comfortable with those of higher education levels, higher income or diverse popula- tions. Because we have a sparse population we are more judg- mental and less accepting of oth- ers. If you think we have a "per- ceived" concern over the erosion of social order and family values you need to absorb the news. While it is of a lesser degree in our community it is prevalent in the esteemed high population areas you have visited in your worldly travel. Would you consider for a moment, Mr. Mazzucchi, that it may not be because of our world- ly challenged views or education level or household income but may be due to the following: for those of us born and raised here, as we were growing up murders, stabbings and drug manufactur- ing and distribution were infre- quent. Gangs, graffi- ti,gang violence and drive by shootings were unheard of. Our surrounding areas were not replete with marijuana gardens tended by illegals. We probably aren't accepting of people, be they caucasian, black, hispanic, red or green, who come to our community and murder, stab, steal, push drugs or involve themselves in gang vio- lence. Some of us might not be accepting of someone lecturing us on a weekly basis on how to live our lives. Like Mr. Mazzucchi, I am educated, have college degrees and hundreds of hours of formal continuing education, but I don't much care for those who flaunt it and talk down to those who don't. J.R. McCollister, Red Bluff Your Turn