Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/648900
Thereareallkindsofaddictions.Cigarettes, alcohol, cocaine, pain killers and even the programs our own government creates can be the most addictive. AFDC,thestateofCalifor- nia's Aid to Families With De- pendent Children program, is an excellent ex- ample. Way back in 1967 when ac- tor Ronald Rea- gan was first elected as Cali- fornia's Gover- nor he was ap- palled to dis- cover there were already millions getting fi- nancial assistance on this program. Most of those were un- wed mothers and too many of them were black. More than 110 million citizens are now on some other welfare pro- gram in our country. Almost 40 percent of them are black. A book I enjoyed reading recently by Jason Riley, is en- titled "Please Stop Helping Us." It hits a bull's eye. I feel certain this book would prob- ably drive any presidential candidate like or similar to presidential candidate Sen- ator Bernie Sanders crazy. It is Riley's assessment of how he believes ultra liberals like Sanders make it harder for blacks to succeed. Riley writes that racially gerrymandered voting dis- tricts, affirmative action quo- tas and other government pol- icies do actually put minori- ties into a loosing category. I agree. I buy the fact that ev- eryone should be treated equally, but my take is that America must get beyond the never ending race challenge as soon as possible. Today, 10 states in America actually have more people on welfare than are employed. And, goodness sake, let us stop paying so much atten- tion to the reverend Al Sharp- ton on MSNBC-TV and also racial activist Jesse Jackson. I'm sorry to say it, but I think those two gentlemen are quite possibly racists themselves, in addition to wanting to redis- tribute America's wealth — in- come equality — that is. In 1976 the very first pro- posal I introduced after being elected lo the California As- sembly tried to change racial quotas. It was about the Al- lan Bakke Case. At the time, Bakke was a 35-year-old white man who had applied twice for medical school at the Uni- versity of California, only to be rejected because a black man was chosen as a student just so the university could reach the artificial govern- ment quotas. Unfortunately, my proposal totally failed be- cause California's legislature is always overloaded with lib- erals instead of those of a con- servative bent like me. A friend of mine, Demo- crat Congresswoman Maxine Waters from the Los Ange- les area, criticized President Obama a year or so ago for his lack of attention to eco- nomic problems of the black underclass. That was an un- wise move on her part when the President suddenly re- sponded by addressing the Congressional Black Cau- cus with the phrase "Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complain- ing. We are going to press on." I wonder if her invita- tions to the White House slowed down after that. Riley calls these welfare programs addictive because he believes when you get help from the government it be- comes the purest form of ad- diction. It becomes especially habit forming. I agree because my take has always been when you earn something yourself, you should be able to keep it. Please send your thoughts to me. Mytakeonthemovies My movie review this week fits this topic quite well. I highly recommend the film "Race." It is the story of Jesse Owens and his Summer Olym- pics victories when he won four gold medals in 1936 at Berlin, Germany. I think this film educates us all and helps bring today's race challenges again into clear focus. StanStathamserved1976-1994 in the California Assembly and was a television news anchor at KHSL-TV in Chico 1965- 1975. He is past president of the California Broadcasters Association and can be reached at StanStatham@gmail.com. Mytake The addiction to government welfare programs Riley calls these welfare programs addictive because he believes when you get help from the government it becomes the purest form of addiction. On the appointment of a superintendent Editor: The Tehama County Board of Education will deliberate and appoint a new Superinten- dent of Schools this month fol- lowing the cringe-worthy exit of the department's elected of- ficial. I appreciate the board's ef- fort to add transparency and wide input from the county, and I am still left with ques- tions and concerns in the ar- eas of qualifications and pro- cess. Is one required to be a resi- dent of the county or not? The application indicates in multi- ple places that Tehama County residency may be waived. Resi- dency is not listed, however, as a qualification for the office in the application document. In order to qualify to run for this office, one must be a registered voter in the county. I support this requirement. Local officials who govern and exert influence in this county should live in this county. I be- lieve the county deserves a Su- perintendent who meets and exceeds the election require- ments. I acknowledge this is an ap- pointment and not an elec- tion. It is, however, an appoint- ment to an elected position. I urge the board to appoint a local active citizen, one who has demonstrated local edu- cational leadership, one who has chosen Tehama County as home. — Barbara McIver, Red Bluff Facility needed, but in better location Editor: Regarding the Restpadd 16- bed psychiatric facility that has been recently presented to the Red Bluff City Council, the need for such a facility is ap- parent if you look around our community. My only question is does this facility plan to have things like a room for an emergency situations, private rooms for the occupants that are in a cri- sis? What about windows, they are important? Will there be a room specific to leisure time? If so, why would we want this to be on a busy road with very little space? How can we evaluate a human being in a stressful state that is in a fa- cility that is not conducive to mental, emotional and spiri- tual welfare? Now the question is why can't we as a community who sees the need for this think a little bigger and provide a long term facility to help our com- munity. We have many build- ings that are unused in this area with parking. I can un- derstand the issue with get- ting the funding to operate but we have many mental health grant monies that can be used, on top of writing new grants for such facilities. The belief that we are do- ing something for persons suf- fering mental health issues is good, but I pray we also re- member the biopsychosocial aspect of the person in their environment. It occurs to me that this is a start to break- ing down the nimbyism that has been so prevalent in this county. I would hope that this be- ginning is going to be the cat- alyst to a solution to a rising epidemic that mankind is fac- ing. I applaud those respon- sible for seeing the need, and hope for more humanity in the county of Tehama. — Karen Kemp, Red Bluff A whole world of volunteering Editor: Robert Minch seems to feel that you can't live happily if you retire at 65 and don't work. If you have the funds and want to quit at 65, go for it. There is a whole new world of volunteering that can keep you busy, happy, learning something new, meeting new people and many take this time to take classes or go back to school for their degree. No pay check but the satis- faction of a new way of life is more important. — Elizabeth Watson, Red Bluff Constitution bars religion from government Editor: The First Amendment argu- ably bars religious candidates from public office by declaring, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." Accordingly, autho- rizing either itself or the states to elect or hire religious gov- ernment administrators is un- constitutional. The problem with religious government administrators is they're susceptible to allow- ing their religious beliefs to af- fect their interpretation and enforcement of laws. A clas- sic example of this is Ken- tucky County Clerk Kim Da- vis' recently denying marriage licenses to gay couples, say- ing in doing so she was acting "under God's authority." In creating the First Amend- ment, our forefathers strove to separate church and state. That is, to preclude religion's wrongful isolation, punish- ment and execution of inde- pendent thinkers — particu- larly those obedient to logic, equity and science. After all, the contributions of such people profoundly en- hance the health, wealth and happiness of all. — Nathan Esplanade, Rancho Tehama Your opinions Cartoonist's take You can double-check me on this — but when Phil Har- ris recorded "That's What I Like About The South," he never once made mention of tornadoes. That's my way of introduc- ing the fact that the tornado- chasing operation that inspired the 1996 movie "Twister" is get- ting a reboot. According to USA Today, 40 scientists from up to 20 organizations will fan out across the Southeast, for the first time focusing on the so-called Dixie Alley (a re- gion with four times more an- nual tornado fatalities than the famed Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas "Tornado Alley"). We in the South have gotten quite used to stockpiling bat- teries and water, enduring ra- dio announcer lectures on the distinction between a "tornado watch" and a "tornado warn- ing", listening for a sound like a freight train and seeking ap- propriate shelter. Unfortu- nately, the move toward "the in- ternet of things" and "smart houses" will make for confus- ing times in the future. ("You think THIS is the sturdiest part of the house? Ha! You should've seen the joint the carpenter was smoking the day he installed these joists of mine!") We've already gotten away from our roots enough as it is. I remember Grandpa Tyree had a storm cellar that could be used for storing preserved foods or for keeping family mem- bers safe. Now homes are more likely to have a "man cave" — where nothing is safe. ("Chee- tos in the game console? A lit- tle Bud should wash that out. Hey, you still haven't pulled my finger...") I've had all the close shaves with twisters that I care to think about. During the "su- per outbreak" of April 3, 1974, a tornado ripped through my family's front yard, throwing my mother's rail fence into the street and twisting the tin roofs of outbuildings around utility poles. Yes, twisters could toss around garbage cans, cars — anything lighter than those & %$# clunky platform shoes we thought we had to wear in '74. To be fair, tornadoes have served as a sort of rudimen- tary GPS in small southern towns. ("You'll want to take a left where the tornado tore up the Piggly Wiggly in '02, then a right where Mrs. Luna's house burned down in '64 and a left where Stovalls' Garage used to be and...") Of course any discussion of tornadoes will elicit comments about mobile homes and their propensity for being demol- ished. There's probably a rea- son that trailer parks were not the main meeting place for the grassroots movement that re- sulted in major gains for the gay rights movement. ("We're queer, we're here and we're not going awaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy...") Congress has allocated $5 million for the project. It seems to be money well spent, if you compare it to the $5 million re- port "The Effect Of The War of 1813 On The Musical Tastes of Transylvanian Dung Bee- tles — Oh, Wait — There Wasn't A War of 1813, So I Guess We'd Better Settle For $4 Million." We are bravely trying to out- wit a Force of Nature. I know of another couple of guys trying that. ("Marco and I challenge you to release your tax returns. Here are ours. And our Perma- nent School Records. And some tear-stained old 'Dear John' let- ters. And a picture of those ir- regularly shaped moles. And our DMV photos and...Aw, come on!") I hope everyone will co- operate with the vital research. But skeptics abound. "Now if these fellers were figuring out a way to deep-fry tornadoes..." Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Danny Tyree Tornado research isn't just about whistling Dixie GregStevens,Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD 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 Stan Statham By Danny Tyree OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, March 3, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6