Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/6992
4A – Daily News – Thursday, February 18, 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. 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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 A few words of advice for all you anti-Obama conservatives out there. Quit it with the whole teleprompter fixation, would ya? Okay, okay, we get it, you don't like the president. And you'll throw the kitchen sink to attack him on everything under the sun; from being responsible for the recent rash of substan- dard Vermont maple syrup crops to the irksome infestation of grunge rock into country-west- ern music, all the way to wormy pears. Everything he stands for is bad, and everything he's against is good. Got it. But in order to avoid major mortification, you've got to stop with the "overly dependent on the teleprompter" charge. Please. Really. You need a new argument. And trust me, there's a veritable plethora of opportu- nities available. Why don't you make fun of the way he cocks his head and looks Messianically upward like he's trying to catch the whisper of God on an errant zephyr? Or you could profess incredulity at the global-cooling shade provid- ed by his overlarge ears or remark on how he's such a con- ciliator he probably clogs up the express lane for hours while dithering over the dilemma of "paper or plastic." I'm serious here, and only trying to help. You look like idiots. For one thing, everybody uses a teleprompter. No. No. No. Everybody. I'm talking CEOs, news anchors, dog-catchers, dog-throwers, late night talk- show hosts and every politician on the face of the planet. When Glenn Beck spits con- tempt at the president's lame reliance on a teleprompter he's reading his criticism… off a teleprompter. A teleprompter is a tool. Like rolling notes. It's the words that count. You might as well criti- cize cooks and chefs for their preposterous dependence on pots. What is it with firemen and their hoses? Ski poles are obvi- ously snow crutches and anyone using them at the Olympics should be disqualified. And shot. Or are you just emulating Emerson by eschewing the fool- ish consistency that is the hob- goblin of little minds? I assumed that the president's appearance in front of a group of Republican congressmen answering questions would put a stop to this ludiculous charge, since he skated for an hour and a half without benefit of notes or teleprompter or trans- mitter hidden under the back of his suit coat. But, no. You guys are like a pit bull with an invisible chew toy. At the recent Teabagger convention, which is like saying Republicans squared (uber elephants), Sarah Palin gave a speech mocking the president for using a teleprompter, while she was wearing crib notes inked on her hand. Talk about the Bering Sea calling the Chicago River moist. Hypocrite, or retro techno geek? After all, what are notes on a hand besides a fifth-grade teleprompter? Hey, Sarah, so how's that inky-palmy thing working out for ya? She had the words "energy," "tax cuts" and "lift American spirits" written in Sharpie right on her left god-given palm pilot. Apparent- ly, she wrote her core beliefs on her hand as a way to emphasize them. Either that, or she was trying to pro- vide her detractors and Katie Couric with indisputable proof that indeed she can read. Oh wait, I think I'm starting to get it. I guess I got a chew toy too. Will Durst is a political comedian who has performed around the world. He is a familiar pundit on television and radio. E-mail Will at d u r s t @ c a g l e c a r t o o n s. c o m . Check out willandwillie.com for the latest podcast. Will Durst's book, "The All American Sport of Bipartisan Bashing," is available from Amazon and better bookstores all over this great land of ours. The original Palm Pilot 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 Will Durst Raging Moderate 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 The article by Tang Lor appearing Tuesday's edition concerning the impact of use fees on youth sports at Red Bluff Union High School illustrates the complete lack of knowledge and understanding of the financial situation of the State of California and thus of all local school districts. The statements attributed to the Red Bluff Youth Football President Eric Coates, "...when the budget was good, the school didn't feel the need to raise the fee, but now the district is looking for money and thinks it can take it from youth sports" and "We're all nonprofits trying to give the kids something to do, and they're trying to run us out of town" show how little some people compre- hend the current economy, the role of schools in the community and the entire funding process for school districts. School districts' main obligation is to educate children. They are funded based mainly on the size of the school population and various other categories. Five years or so ago this funding sched- ule may have appeared adequate to meet the federal and state mandated goals. For the last couple of years, all Cali- fornia schools have been cut drastically in all areas. This means that, although the cost of oper- ating a school has gone up along with utility bills, food prices, material costs, etc., the school gets less money to operate. School districts are expect- ed to somehow pay more in operating costs than they receive in revenue. In most school districts the only means the dis- trict has of not overspending its revenue source is to lay off staff. This is what most all districts in the state are doing. The problem now is that even with enormous layoffs that drastically reduce staff to below minimum acceptable levels, school districts still will not have sufficient revenue sources to operate. Providing after school and extra curricular activities for community youth is a noble and vital service and my thanks go out to all who provide that service. But blaming a school district for attempting to abide by the law and fulfill its pur- pose and goal and demand that it, in essence, avoid its obligations is irresponsible. When school districts implement use fees they must take into account the total cost to the district of the use. Without get- ting into specifics, use includes all costs to personnel, equipment, materials, etc. In order to provide fields, etc., it is necessary to retain personnel and person- nel costs are more than hourly wages. These costs include benefit packages, health care, pensions, etc. If there is no additional revenue source, then this is impossible. When a district implements a use fee it is attempting to offer an option. If the public is not willing to pay the cost, then the activity is not necessary despite its desirability. No one likes to charge for youth activ- ities. They provide a welcome relief from today's problems, exercise, interaction, positive competition, opportunities for families to share time together and a mul- titude of benefits. It's time to realize that these ben- efits come with a cost. It's also time to wake up an see what is going on in California. We are in a state of change. Those things that we took for granted a few years ago are not neces- sarily available anymore. Take an active interest in what is happening. Contact your Assemblyman, State Senator and Congressman and tell them where your priorities lay. While schools may be best able to provide ser- vices they need to be funded in order to do so. Request your representatives to place schools as their No. 1 priority. Steve Meagher, of Red Bluff, is director of Region 4 for the California School Boards Association. Steve Meagher Guest View Schools must be top priority Concerns are laughable Editor: Your recent column by Richard Mazzucchi concern- ing the status of the Walmart super center was full of misin- formation. I have only fol- lowed the proceedings in the paper and have no dog in the fight, but some of his com- ments were ridiculous. This concern about added noise due to delivery trucks is almost a laugh seeing as how the proposed center is almost within spitting distance of the railroad track. Talk about noise. And all of the motorcycles and Oklahoma hot rods — it only requires a hole in the muffler to qualify — on Luther Road would drown out any trucks. Mr Mazzucchi's concerns about the employees sound more like a union shop stew- ard than a concerned citizen. He neglects to mention the benefit to all of us that go to Redding or Chico to buy what we need to be able to get it here in Red Bluff. Gee, it might be good for the local economy, also. I wish the paper would try to find articles less negative than his Positive point. Phillip Southern, Red Bluff Your Turn