Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/696189
Justwhenwethinkthereisenoughtoworry about, North Carolina has a new and contro- versial law that basically says you must use the public restroom in that state that denotes the biological sex you had when you were born. WhenNorthCarolina'sGov- ernor Pat McCrory signed this law it immediately became na- tional news. It especially ad- dresses citizens who have had surgery and re- assigned their gender. As you may have noticed, be- ing a transgender seems now more common place. The United States Depart- ment of Justice is suing North Carolina. They say this new law is a violation of America's Civil Rights Act. North Carolina has already responded by saying the DOJ is "over reaching." Comedy Central's The Daily Show reported accurately that North Carolina could actually loose up to $2 billion in educa- tion money for their schools be- cause of this law. Host Trevor Noah jokingly said "There is no one I would not let use the bath- room if I knew it might cost me $2 billion. In fact, I would be the bathroom for $2 billion." That's funny material, but it makes me think government should stop meddling so much with our lifestyles. Many cit- izens are properly concerned about complete privacy in pub- lic restrooms. My take is that if a person is paying so much at- tention to others in any bath- room, I just hope I don't have occasion to run into them. I remember when I was first representing Tehama County in the California Assembly. At that time, in the late 1970s, there was a caucus of like- minded people called gays. That caucus became known as LGB, which rather quickly be- came LGBT and is now the LG- BTQ caucus. For clarification, LGBTQ means lesbian, gay, bi- sexual, transgender and queer. I thought Democrats and Re- publicans had enough chal- lenges, but apparently not. And by the way, don't forget Califor- nia's legislature already has ac- tive Hispanic and black cau- cuses. As our politics evolve, it becomes rather easy to see why there is so much division. My take is that California's government in Sacramento should now consider creating a Neutral Caucus. I would be happy to join that one. My first solution to this possible prob- lem would have been to take all gender designations completely off all the doors of public rest- rooms. All those gender sym- bols could simply be replaced with very secure locks, along with red or green lights outside that would reflect whether the facility was presently in use. The only thing I think I have learned so far is that women need more time in restrooms than men. I think men and women al- ready have sufficient challenges simply dealing with each other. My wife Roleeda thinks this new public restroom system might put women in danger un- der certain circumstances. For instance, if a man posing as a transgender gains close proxim- ity to a woman in one of those newly labeled restrooms. This has become a danger- ous and troubling world. Try- ing to protect everyone from everyone else is not an easy task, but a majority in the North Carolina legislature and its Governor have decided to give this new system a try. Would you have voted for it? Please give me your take. Mytakeonthemovies I saw only the first hour of the new movie "Warcraft." It was very well done, but not my kind of film. I should have at least watched a trailer first. It's a fantasy film based on a video game. That was a bad choice for me. 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. StanStatham My take on the public restroom controversy My take is that if a person is paying so much attention to others in any bathroom, I just hope I don't have occasion to run into them. Cartoonist's take No matter how dark or evil the moment, love wins. It always has. But evil wasn't part of the original plan. "In the beginning God created..." Earth and man and woman and plants and an- imals...and every last bit of ev- erything he created...was good. God said it was good...perfect... love-filled...free. Because there was freedom there was also free choice. So man and woman were created with the ability to freely choose between right and wrong...dark- ness and light...good and evil. And that's how we arrived at the very dark moment in the early hours of June 12 in Or- lando, Florida when evil mo- mentarily prevailed. A man filled with indescribable hate did the unthinkable, killing 49 fellow humans, beautiful hu- mans, that God created. That's what hate does. And we actually have legisla- tors who believe this kind of un- utterable hate, a heart problem, can be controlled with man- made laws. Evil does not need a Sig Sauer rifle to accomplish a damnable deed. Does anyone really believe those with that much evil in their hearts would care about laws or regulations? Even if the left hit the jackpot and every gun was confiscated, evil would still find a way. It's largely illegal to own guns in China. Because the Chinese government values human life about as much as Planned Par- enthood values babies, it's pretty obvious gun laws weren't de- signed to protect anyone. They also banned knives after a spate of deadly knife and cleaver at- tacks on school kids that left 20 dead and 50 wounded. Even with knives banned, a crazy, knife- wielding Chinese man went on another stabbing spree at an ele- mentary school awhile back. Take away guns and hat- ers will use knives. Take away knives and they'll find some- thing else until we're all forced to eat steak with teaspoons. Evil always finds a way. But so does love. The world should note the two groups liberals currently court obviously cannot coexist while the one it demonizes, Christian- ity, always comes to the rescue. Christian organizations like Franklin Graham's Rapid Re- sponse chaplains and the Ameri- can Red Cross always show up in times like this. Chick-Fil-A even opened up on Sunday to feed those making blood donations. A Chicago man named Greg Zanis, who heard about the Or- lando massacre, stayed up all night building 49 white crosses. He drove 1200 miles to Orlando, delivering them, with no pomp and circumstance, in the mid- dle of the night, slipping out of town before sunrise, a Tennes- see newspaper reported. He built crosses because that symbol of death is really a symbol of life for those who understand that this sometimes nasty, horri- ble, awful place that we currently dwell is not all there is to life. The good news is there's good news. Love won finally and foremost when the one God sent died on a cross for us. No matter where we currently find ourselves, in a gay bar, behind bars, or sitting self- righteously in a church pew, God desperately desires that we give ourselves to him. This life is dreadfully unpre- dictable. Odds are, not one of the 49 people killed in Orlando had even a passing thought that the song they danced to in the Pulse nightclub would be their last. For me, a recent morning's run might have been my last when a mother moose and two babies stepped out of the woody shadows of a trail and onto my path. She charged me. My dogs charged her back as I jumped over a guardrail. And then, in a split-second, it seemed as if an invisible wall of protection sur- rounded me and my dogs. There is no other explanation. She re- treated, I gathered my dogs and ran the fastest two-and-a-half miles ever, back to my SUV. I was okay, but even if I wasn't, that would be okay too, because I know where I'm headed next. What about you? Susan Stamper Brown lives in Alaska and writes about culture, politics and current events. She was selected as one of America's 50 Best Conservative writers for 2015. Contact her by Facebook or at writestamper@gmail.com. Susan Stamper Brown In the Orlando massacre, love still wins Another view By Danny Tyree What's it like to be a child in your state? A six-year study by the An- nie E. Casey Foundation as- sessed states on factors such as economic well-being, education, health, family and community. According to the philan- thropic organization, the five best states for being a kid are: Minnesota, Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire and Connecticut. The five worst states are... largely populated by people with an eagle-like eye for shoot- ing the messenger. So you can Google the USA Today story for yourself, if you're curious. The Annie E. Casey Foun- dation is focused on improv- ing the well-being of Amer- ican children and ensuring that they have better pros- pects later in life. This dove- tails nicely with the focus of state governors and legisla- tors, who think one of the best possible prospects for the chil- dren is to someday be able to vote for THEM for president. ("Remember: I balanced the state budget —— except for the medical bills for tendonitis from sticking my hand out for federal funds all the time.") The foundation's "Kids Count Data Book" is a valuable resource, although sometimes it's glaringly obvious what constitutes good states and bad states. Signs you're living in one of the worst states: 1. Graduating seniors guf- faw, "You mean there are other states? You're pullin' my leg, mister!" 2. Children playing with the garden hose sustain ma- jor concussions from particu- late matter. 3. Speed traps are set up to entrap toddlers taking their first steps. ("Ma-ma, da-da? What kind of foreign talk is that? I'm keepin' an eye on you, boy!") One of the reasons for the survey is to shame states into taking decisive action. One state, tired of continually be- ing near the bottom of the rankings, decided to do just that. ("We've hired a PR firm to campaign for statehood for Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Gotham City...") I'm sure many people will use the rankings to make im- portant decisions about which states to relocate to in order to start a career and a family. ("Oops. The brochures forgot to mention that the minerals around here mess up fertility rates like a son of a gun.") Doubtless, some states will ignore the foundation's find- ings. But others will go to great lengths to impress citi- zens with how progressive (or how rock-ribbed conservative) they are. Among the more progressive states, we'll hear things like "We're the 'Mom, this home- less guy followed me home. Can we keep him?' State." And let's not forget esteem-build- ing exercises such as "Tut tut. Don't get the idea that the Just For Participating trophy is all you're going home with. It can share space on the mantel with the coveted Just For Once Having Been A Gleam In Your Father's Eye award." Some states will go to the opposite extreme and be more business friendly, say with laxer regulations for lemonade stands. ("You say you want your lemonade shaken, not stirred? Perfect! You can build your flimsy structure right along this earthquake fault line.") What if future surveys fo- cused more on what the children themselves think makes a good state? Would the highly publi- cized arts and crafts festivals suddenly be transformed into Arts and Minecraft festivals? Most states will scramble to do well in the next survey ("The road ahead is challeng- ing...really challenging...with narrow lanes and potholes and debris...Did we really have to spend all the 'infrastruc- ture' money on the governor's spouse's flowerbed?") Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol. com and visits to his Facebook fan page Tyree's Tyrades. Best and worst states for children revealed 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, 728Main St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Stan Statham By Susan Stamper Brown According to the philanthropic organization, the five best states for being a kid are: Minnesota, Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire and Connecticut. OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, June 23, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6