Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/681000
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 Iamasportsnut.WhileI would love to tell you that I spend my spare time reading non-fiction ac- counts concern- ing the Revolu- tionary War or Eli Whitney and his cotton gin, the sad truth is that I prefer to spend my time playing or watch- ing sports. Because the ravages of time have now mostly robbed me of my one-time exceptional coor- dination, strength, mental acu- ity and self-confidence, I no longer excel on whatever play- ing field I choose. That said, I mostly get my sports fix by watching the best of the best on my 76-inch, self-calibrat- ing, 23,000 mega-pixel multi- function MitchandRichie wide- screen television. The fact that I know who Dustin Pedroia, AJ Almand- inger, the Bryan brothers, Laf- fit Pincay, The Flying Tomato, Parker Bohn III, California Chrome, Rhonda Rousey, Tim "Lumpy" Herron, Shirley "Cha Cha" Muldowney, Hope Solo, Jaromir Jagr and Andre the Gi- ant are should tell you all you need to know about my prior- ities in life. I am not proud of it, but I am a savant when it comes to unimportant sports trivia. While I find any and all sporting events worthy of my attention, it's the big three that keep me in a good or bad mood, depending on whom I am root- ing for. •••• I have been a loyal San Fran- cisco 49ers football fan since way back in the Y.A. Tittle, Hugh McElhenny, and R.C. Ow- ens days at Kezar Stadium. I can't stand the Oakland Raid- ers, and was obviously a happy camper during the dozen-year run of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Steve Young and so many other outstanding players coached by Bill Walsh and George Seifert. Over the years I have at- tended only a dozen or so 49ers games. Quite frankly, I always found watching football on tele- vision more enjoyable than sit- ting in row 137 of the end zone at Candlestick Park. As for my own football ac- complishments, I was a slow- footed 93-pound second-string freshman quarterback at Red Bluff High in 1960. The first- string quarterback was friend and classmate Bob Grim, who went on to become an All-Pro wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings. I also count among my good friends Corning na- tive and two-time Super Bowl champ Jeff Stover, 'nuff said. •••• While admittedly not much as a football player, I have probably spent well over 1,000 days on a basketball court, ei- ther practicing, playing pick up games or setting single game scoring records in the local Church League. Obviously, I love basketball. Because I was a fan of John Wooden and am an even bigger admirer of Doug Sale, UCLA has long been my favorite col- lege team. Unfortunately, they have been consistently incon- sistent for the past couple of de- cades. In 1985, the Kansas City Kings moved their franchise to Sacramento. Along with friends Buck Jones, Mark Black and Larry Jantzen, I held Kings sea- son tickets for about a dozen years. I have probably attended 100-150 professional basketball games. For the most part the Kings have never been particularly good, but there were a half dozen years around the turn of the century when they proba- bly should have won the league championship. In 2002, they were one game away from the league finals when they were "jobbed" by the referees. Because the team has been terrible for the past dozen years and because DeMarcus Cous- ins is an absolute jerk, I have done the unforgivable: I have switched my allegiance to the Golden State Warriors and the remarkable, game-changing Steph Curry. For that, I apolo- gize to no one. •••• In 1958, my uncle Bill took me to my first San Francisco Giants game at Seals Stadium. I watched Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepada, Wil- lie McCovey and Jimmy Daven- port. I was totally in awe, and it was at that moment I signed on as a Giants fan for life. I think I cried when Willie Mays was traded to the Mets. When I went to work at the Probation Department I wrote letters to the Giants' organiza- tion, and received free tickets for a van load of juvenile delin- quents, who cheered the loudest when their group name was dis- played on the giant scoreboard. I remember taking my wife and children to game after game at Candlestick Park; and because of the cold, having them all beg to leave by the fifth inning — over my dead body. I remember like it was yes- terday watching Juan Mar- ichal, in 1965, take a bat to Johnny Roseboro for nicking his ear with a throw back to his pitcher. I remember attending the second game of the 2012 World Series with son Cabe, and watching Gregor Blanco gun down Prince Fielder who was attempting to score all the way from first base. I also remember attending a Giants vs. Colorado game just a week or so ago on Mother's Day, along with my wife, daughter, son-in-law and our two base- ball-loving grandsons, Wyatt and Tait. Our tickets cost $190 each. My crab sandwich cost $17.50, and I washed it down with an $11 beer. The Giants lost 2-0 in what was a very bor- ing game. But you know what? For this sports nut, it was a beautiful day indeed. •••• Way back in 1937, a group of dedicated volunteers formed the Tehama County Commu- nity Concert Association, with the mission of bringing the highest quality performing arts programming to this commu- nity. Today, some 80 years and more than 300 performances later, the Tehama Concert Se- ries is jump-starting its 2016- 17 concert season by offering free admission to this year's fi- nal concert — The Axiom Brass, May 21 at 7:30 p.m., State The- atre — to anyone who becomes a 2016-17 member prior to the wonderful event. As a long-time member, I will tell you that for the sin- gle-member cost of $70, or the family membership cost of only $155, you will never find a bet- ter bargain for a total of six amazing concerts to be held at the historic State Theatre dur- ing the 2016-17 concert season. For more information, check out TehamaConcertSeries.org, or call 727-8727. BillCorneliusisalifelong resident of Red Bluff, a retired Chief Probation Officer, a champion of the State Theatre and an exceptional athlete. He can be reached at bill. cornelius@sbcglobal.net. William Tells How I became a life-long sports nut Cartoonist's take The U.S. Food and Drug Ad- ministration has got me smok- ing mad. Last week, the FDA released 499 pages of new reg- ulations that per- tain to the pro- duction and sale of tobacco prod- ucts in the U.S. that extended its control to the pre- mium cigar industry. The new regulations are the result of the 2010 Family Smok- ing Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which granted the FDA the authority "to regulate marketing and promotion of to- bacco products and to set per- formance standards for tobacco products to protect the public health." Here's the problem: They treat premium, handmade ci- gars over $10 in the same cate- gory as the little machine-made cigars and e-cigarettes that young people are smoking in big numbers. You see, premium handmade cigars are bought almost ex- clusively by middle-aged peo- ple who can afford 10 bucks or more a stick — which is why handmade cigars account for only 2.1 percent of the 14 billion cigars that are consumed in the United States every year. And that is why the FDA had the option to exempt premium cigars from its new rules — ci- gars that are supplied primarily by small, creative entrepreneurs who lack the thousands of dol- lars they will need to achieve FDA approval. According to some esti- mates, it will cost anywhere from $250,000 to $330,000 for a single cigar product to com- plete the FDA approval process — which will put thousands of the most creative blends out of business. Like many cigar aficionados, I like to try different cigars on a regular basis. My favorite hand- made cigar has its origin at the Leaf & Bean in Pittsburgh's Strip District. Created by "Is- land Jim" Robinson, owner of the Leaf & Bean, and Oscar Val- ladares, a cigar maker in Hon- duras, "Leaf by Oscar" has been a huge hit across the country. It's been followed by 14 addi- tional specialty blends, and the two have created jobs for more than 150 people. But if the FDA ruling stands, all of Jim and Oscar's cigars, and all of the jobs they create, will cease. While it makes sense for the FDA to regulate small flavored cigars and e-cigarette prod- ucts that are being consumed by young people, it makes lit- tle sense for them to do so for a premium product that is pri- marily consumed by mid- dle-aged adults — adults who should be free in a free country to enjoy the occasional vice of their choice. Besides, unlike cigarette smokers, moderate cigar smok- ers don't inhale the thick stogie smoke. They don't become ad- dicted to nicotine. And, at $10 a pop or more, premium cigars aren't likely to end up in the hands of underage kids. All I know is that cigar smok- ing is dang relaxing. I get some of my best writing down while enjoying a few tokes. Some of my most enjoyable conversa- tions with friends and strang- ers involve cigars and a snort of good bourbon. But the big hand of govern- ment will infringe on that free- dom. Many of the small hand- made cigar businesses will go out of business. The many won- derful entrepreneurs who travel the country with their newest blends will disappear. And, as is often the case when the government inter- venes in a big way, only the big companies will survive. The cost of complying with FDA rules will drive up cigar pro- duction costs — costs that will be passed onto me, the con- sumer. Look, it doesn't have to be this way. The premium hand- made cigar business is flourish- ing with lots of creative entre- preneurs who are serving the desires of a select audience of middle-aged people who choose to enjoy an occasional cigar. And now you know why the new FDA regulations got me smoking mad. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!" is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom at Tom@ TomPurcell.com. Tom Purcell Premium handmade cigars go up in smoke In 1958, my uncle Bill took me to my first San Francisco Giants game at Seals Stadium. I watched Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepada, Willie McCovey and Jimmy Davenport. I was totally in awe, and it was at that moment I signed on as a Giants fan for life. Bill Cornelius Tom Purcell For many of us concerned with liberty, the letters "NDAA" have come to symbol- ize Washington's ongoing ef- fort to undermine the U.S. Constitution in the pursuit of constant war overseas. It was the National Defense Autho- rization Act (NDAA) for 2012 that introduced into law the idea that American citizens could be indefinitely detained without warrant or charge if a government bureaucrat de- cides they had assisted al- Qaeda or "associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States." No charges, no trial, just disap- peared Americans. The National Defense Autho- rization bill should be a Con- gressional mechanism to bind the president to spend national defense money in the way Con- gress wishes. It is the nuts and bolts of the defense budget and as such is an important over- sight tool preventing the im- perial executive from treating the military as his own private army. Unfortunately that is no longer the case these days. Why am I revisiting the NDAA? Unfortunately since 2012 these bills have passed the House with less and less scru- tiny, and this week the House is going to vote on final passage of yet another Defense Authori- zation, this time for fiscal year 2017. Once again it is a terrible piece of legislation that does great harm to the United States under the guise of protecting the United States. Unless some last minute changes take place, this latest NDAA will force young women for the first time to register to be drafted into the U.S. mil- itary. For the past 36 years, young men have been forced to register with Selective Ser- vice when they turn 18 or face felony charges and years in prison. Under a perverted no- tion of "equality" some peo- ple are cheering the idea that this represents an achievement for women. Why cheer when slavery is extended to all? We should be fighting for an end to forced servitude for young men and to prevent it being ex- tended to women. The argument against a draft should appeal to all: you own your own body. No state has the right to force you to kill or be killed against your will. No state has a claim on your life. We are born with freedoms not granted by the state, but by our creator. Only authori- tarians seek to take that away from us. Along with extending draft registration to women, the lat- est NDAA expands the neocons' new "Cold War" with Russia, adding $3.4 billion to put U.S. troops and heavy weapons on Russia's border because as the bill claims, "Russia presents the greatest threat to our national security." This NDAA also in- cludes the military slush fund of nearly $60 billion for the president to spend on wars of his choosing without the need to get Congress involved. De- spite all the cries that we need to "rebuild the military," this year's Defense Authorization bill has a higher base expendi- ture than last year. There have been no cuts in the military. On the contrary: the budget keeps growing. The Defense Authorization bill should remain notorious. It represents most of what is wrong with Washington. It is welfare for the well-connected defense contractors and war- fare on our economy and on the rest of the world. This reck- less spending does nothing to defend the United States. It is hastening our total economic collapse. Ron Paul is a former Congressman and Presidential candidate. He can be reached at the RonPaulInstitute.org. Ron Paul New defense bill will boost war and tyranny OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, May 18, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6