Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/67133
6A Daily News – Thursday, May 24, 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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The NRA was founded in 1870 and for its first hundred years it was for gun control and didn't mention the Second Amendment as their cause. Adam Winkler points out in his delicious book, "Gun Fight," what we call the "wild west" had some of the strictest gun control laws we've seen as a nation. The shoot out at the OK Corral took place, after all, because Wyatt Earp was trying to disarm the out- law Cowboys in accordance with a Tombstone ordinance. The KKK was among other things, a gun control organization. They were trying to keep guns out of the hands of newly freed slaves … but still gun control. The part of the Second Amendment omitted from the NRA's slogan is: "A well regulat- ed Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…" Yes, well regulated—it's in the Consti- tution! Now, to some, guns are as sacred as scripture. If you ask, again, this typical hyper-political gun owner why they need to stockpile assault rifles, you will get an answer much like Pat Flynn's, a recent candidate for a Senate seat in Nebraska. "Really, we have our guns to protect our- selves against the government, number one," Flynn said in a debate right before the primary. "Hunting's number two. But pro- tecting us against our government is number one." Remember, Flynn was trying to land a job in the government (he didn't win his party's nomination, by the way). The idea is that we have to be just as armed as our government in order to be safer or have more liberty (or something). The U.S. government has unmanned drones armed with supersonic laser-guided anti-armor Hellfire missiles, "bunker busters," and nuclear weapons. Are far-right politicians saying we need civil- ians to have shoulder-fired anti- aircraft missiles "for protection?" Of course they're not. They actu- ally do want limits on ownership. And if you ask the most vehe- ment gun rights advocate why gun owners shouldn't have nuclear weapons, I'd bet you'd get the same answer as to why we don't want every country to have the capability: "Because they could get into the wrong hands." So weapons-grade plutonium should be limited. But the ever- handy semi-auto Glock pistol with a 30-round high-capacity maga- zine is an absolute right? A recent gun buy- back drive in Los Angeles resulted in someone turning in a rocket launcher. Com- forting. man didn't have a gun, 16-year- old Trayvon Martin would be alive. So we're not actual- ly talking about limited vs. unlimited. We are talking about degrees of weapon ownership. Guns fall into the wrong hands all the time. More guns and fewer requirements for ownership does- n't curb this. George Zimmerman was the wrong hands. Zimmer- man, a Florida man now infa- mous for shooting an unarmed black teenager at close range after a 911 operator told him not to engage the alleged suspect and wait for police to arrive, is now being defended by said hyper- political gun owners. There's no reason a Neighborhood Watch captain should be patrolling his block with a criminal record and a pistol. Zimmerman was a cata- strophe realized. Even in the wake of new evidence about this case, the fact remains if Zimmer- Tina Dupuy of the gun lobby. Completely unsupported by data or logic. A falsehood. The United States is number one in the world in civilian gun owner- ship. And since we're not last in gun vio- lence (we're the 14th highest in deaths— way higher in just injuries) it's safe to assume that increasing the number of guns doesn't decrease the number of gun deaths. Just like cutting taxes doesn't increase rev- enue—making gun ownership unlimited doesn't make us safer. It's a lie. A fairy tale So unless you think all Ameri- cans should get Daisy Cutters this Christmas—you believe in regu- lations as to who gets a weapon, what kind and where they can have it. tyranny—as the family of Trayvon Martin can testify to—a de-regulated militia is. Gun control laws are not Tina Dupuy is an award- winning writer and fill-in host at The Young Turks. Tina can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com. 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. Obama meets the French version of himself Commentary It could be said a narcissist's best friend is the reflection he sees of himself in the mirror. No other relationship comes close -- unless the narcissist has the unique opportunity to meet another version of himself, which happened last week, dur- ing the recent Group of Eight (G-8) summit at Camp David. "President Obama, this is Obama used "Hope and Change" and Hollande, "Change is now." Does it actually matter? Not really. Except for the fact that both cases show us how people are willing to compro- mise core beliefs when times get tough. new French president Francois Hollande. President Hollande, c'est le president americain Barack Obama." "Tweedledum meet Tweedledee." If, as they say, a picture paints a thousand words, then it is obvious it was amour at first sight for Obama and Hollande -- ahem -- as compared to snap- shots taken of Obama with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which Obama's body language expressed he'd be more comfortable sitting next to a rattle snake. It isn't every day an Ameri- can president hits it off so jovial- ly with a staunch socialist leader, but these are strange days we are living in. Ignoring the obvious is supposed to be the norm. Obama and Hollande share much in common including the way each coasted to victory rid- ing on the winds of social unrest and economic uncertainty while using slogans promising change. At the G-8 summit last week, both leaders left German Chan- cellor Angela Merkel as the lone voice promoting the common sense approach to fixing Europe's economy by living within one's means. Instead, the not-so-dynamic duo promoted a plan for "growth." The same kind of "growth" America expe- rienced after implementing the stupid stimulus bill which grew the deficit instead of "shovel ready" jobs. The type of "growth" Hol- lande and Obama espouse trans- lated into layman's terms means: The government has license to steal money from job creators so it can spend like hell. Obama calls it "paying your failure saying, "Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected," which was about as funny as Obama admitting he's in over his head. Obama later joked about his admit failure, Obama white- washed over his "Hope and Rather than Change" slogan and replaced it with the word "Forward." Despite obvious failure, Obama wants us to proceed forward, in lemming like lockstep, over the cliff. Just like an addict promising that one more hit will be his last, it's time to admit Washington has a spending habit that cannot be fixed with another fix. fair share." Hollande calls it "socialism." Simintics, seman- tics. Thanks to a tip from a reader named Ted, I discovered the "forward" shtick has a dark side. According to Russian immigrant Svetlana Kunin who writes for Investor's Business Daily, Obama's new slogan, "Forward," is the same motto (when translated) used by a Russian anti-capitalist left movement founded in 2005 which merged with the "Social- ist Resistance" in 2011. You can see her enlightening article here or online at: http://tinyurl.com/cph2yef. To the unaware, Hollande's plan for "growth" includes rais- ing taxes on job creators from 41 percent up to 75 percent. Lord knows what will happen here, should Obama be entrusted with a second term. Susan Brown We're not in Kansas anymore, and it will take more than clicking a pair of ruby shoes together to get us home. Blindly proceeding forward into the unknown is a dumb idea when you know you've lost your way. The best thing you can do is go back to a point of familiarity and then pro- ceed with caution. ----- Once upon a time, personal responsibility ruled the day and living within one's means was honorable. Purchases extended on credit were the exception to the rule, and saving for a rainy day ensured per- sonal "bailouts" in cases of emergency. But that was then. In the meantime, we're already hearing talk about the need for additional stimulus spending to fix those rickety roads and wobbly bridges the first stimulus bill failed to repair. 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 her website at susanstamperbrown.com.