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4A Daily News – Tuesday, June 26, 2012 Opinion Plenty of G-20 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. Mission Statement We believe that a strong com- munity newspaper is essential to a strong community, creating citizens who are better informed and more involved. The Daily News will be the indispensible guide to life and living in Tehama County. We will be the premier provider of local news, information and advertising through our daily newspaper, online edition and other print and Internet vehi- cles. The Daily News will reflect and support the unique identities of Tehama County and its cities; record the history of its com- munities and their people and make a positive difference in the quality of life for the resi- dents and businesses of Tehama County. 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 And now, your report from the front lines of the G-20 sum- mit recently concluded in Los Cabos, Mexico. And the good news is… no knife fights. Very little broken furniture; and for the very first time in recent memory, the proceedings were judged to be more boring than watching varnish harden, which is considered a huge coup for the host country. So, Viva Mex- ico. The G-20 meets once a year and is made up of 15 or 16 of the top 20 countries with the largest economies in the world, excluding Norway, the Nether- lands, Spain and a couple oth- ers, but including the European Union and some other countries with special ties to the organiz- ers. You know, they always bring the Sangria. And come on: they're Spain! An important thing to remember is the huge, intractable distinctions between competing governmental con- ventions. The G-20 has absolutely nothing to do with the G-8, which is made up of eight of the world's top 10 economies excluding China and Brazil. And once in a while, the European Union wanders by, but that's about it. Don't even think of letting Spain in. We have our own Sangria, thank you very much. And we call it gin. school. If you help decorate Prom, you know who's compil- ing the guest list. like in high Of course, Spain is allowed to crash the festivities every year even though they're not actually members. Like the quarterback who gets suspend- ed for the food fight in the cafe- teria, everybody loves Spain and will sneak them through the back door of the party. Besides, Like the G-20, the G-8 also meets once a year and was orig- inally known as the G-6 and then G-7. So it would not take that great of a leap to put a cou- ple of Euros down on another eventual name change to G-9. G-Double Digits, right around the corner. twice a year and hopefully be as boring as Day Three of hospital pudding. This was the sev- enth meeting of the G- 20, and the politics involved were breath- taking in a stupendous- ly vapid way. Then nothing happened. And for nothing to happen on a global scale, with markets around the world as precarious as a glass sculpture above And, as everybody knows, the G-20 replaced the G-33, which itself superceded the G- 22, leading to speculation that the G-8 and the G-20 will some- day merge and produce a mutant love child to be known as the GG-28, which will meet nuclear test site locat- ed on an earthquake fault in a sandstorm, is exactly what everyone was praying for. An official declara- tion recognized that agreements may very well be forthcoming but not until a framework can be forged to accommodate international justifications to absolve inter- ested parties of any blame and/or responsibility. And Greece and Spain were never mentioned by name. But we all know who they are. Internally, it was heartily agreed that decisive action will a definitely be required. Some- day. By someone. But not now. And definitely not by anybody here. Then Asia and Latin Amer- ica quietly bailed out Europe, and nobody commented on the ignominy of it all, and they all retired to the big balcony overlook- ing the sea to dance and smoke and drink Sangria. Will Durst Raging Moderate The New York Times says Emmy- nominated comedian and writer Will Durst "is quite possibly the best political satirist working in the country today." Check out the w ebsite: Redroom.com to buy his book or find out more about upcoming stand- up performances. Or willdurst.com. Every Tuesday. Elect to Laugh! The Marsh. San Francisco. themarsh.org. Special $10 tix.Use code "vote." Will Durst is a political comedian who has performed around the world. E-mail Will at durst@caglecartoons.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. Heroic sheriffs, greedy unions, pols, PG&E Commentary As you may know by now, the Support Rural America Constitu- tional Sheriffs event was a huge success. The next one will be in Crescent City on July 14 at the fair- grounds (hint: good time for a trip to the coast); further information is at SupportRuralAmerica.com. Reported statements in nearby newspapers, including elsewhere in today's Daily News, accurately convey the determination of these heroic advocates for the rights, property, recreation and resources of their citizens and constituents. They face government bureaucra- cies and policies determined to impose outside agendas on rural areas and ways of life. Decades of spotted owl- inspired and wrong-headed anti- logging policies have wrought eco- nomic devastation and raised the fuel loads (tree overgrowth) to lev- els endangering mountain towns with death by conflagration. Thin- ly veiled dam removal plots, and arbitrary, exorbitant water fee hikes clearly designed to drive people to financial exodus, create the equiva- lent of a virtual war on rural Amer- ica. It is an existential struggle for survival that will require deter- mined opposition from "we, the people," our representatives and law enforcement. It will require new leadership at the top in Wash- ington by someone in the White House willing to reverse the anti- rural and anti-resource agenda now dominating the Forest Service, BLM, Fish and Game and water agencies. I owe anyone who attended the Sheriffs event an explanation of the sound and microphone difficulties that aggravated and irritated sever- al of us at the beginning. The wire- less mics would cut out after a few words, suggesting dead batteries. However, new batteries were installed the day before, and tested to assure they worked. The singer's microphone worked fine for most of an hour; however, we kicked off the program and both mics failed us. Out of exasperation, I removed digital recording devices, with their own small microphones, which were attached to each wireless mic, designed to provide a seamless digital record of the audio. Great plan in theory but, in fact, the voice activated feature and whatever else about the recording pods interfered with the radio signal from the mics to the antennae/amplifier, allowing a couple of words before seeming- ly dying. Thankfully, with devices removed, we had one fully func- tioning microphone for the sheriffs to use for the program. Whew! Technology's just grand, when it works. And now, some things that just get to me. In "Twilight of the Unions" by John Fund, searchable by title and posted at my blog, "Polecat News and Views" (don- polson.blogspot.com), we have an incisive analysis of the near-death spiral of public sector union power. San Diego and San Jose voters passed initiatives to curb public employee union benefits, univer- sally more generous than those available to comparable privately employed workers. Then there's the devastating (to union bosses) Supreme Court rul- ing striking down the practice of unilaterally jacking up union dues for political campaign spending. Yes, those forced to join unions can be assessed reasonable fees for ser- vices provided, depend- ing on state laws, but no more piggy banks for hard left union hacks to fund their candidates, which are coincidentally always Democrats. With the drastic decline in public employee union membership in Wiscon- sin after the ultimately successful measures by Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans, we may perhaps return to the standard that FDR and union leader George Meany held: public employees cannot unionize as they are negotiating against the taxpayers by proxy, through elected officials who often accept union contributions. Note two items, showing the irritating pattern of Sacramento politicians misappropriating our money, in the May 30 Daily News, "Calif. 9/11 fund raided for deficits" and June 21, "Supes warn governor on OHV funding." I have had a 9/11 special plate, "We Will Never Forget," on my van since they were first offered. Like many others, including those with rela- tives lost to those terrorist attacks, I considered that the money raised over and above the normal license fee was for a "California Memorial Scholarship Program." Instead, both Brown and Schwarzenegger raided the money for deficit reduc- tion, including "Millions [that] have been spent on budget items with little relation to direct threats of terrorism …" Tar and feathers, anyone? Don Polson The way I see it Similarly, politicians on the Resource and Transportation Subcom- mittee are trying to steal funds that come from the state gas tax, to spend keeping state parks open, even though the "Off Highway Vehicle Trust Fund" money is dedicated to managing "27 million acres of pub- lic land for OHV use. Tell prison guards and other public employees to cough up some con- cessions to keep our parks open, not the tax- paying drivers and off- road enthusiasts. PG&E is offering how you can "Save money with the special utili- ty plan." Really? By signing up for the SmartRate pricing plan, you can rearrange your life, sweat a lit- tle more and still get to pay 60 cents per kilowatt-hour instead of 13 to 35+ cents. Sounds "smart" to me. Not! Especially considering that the cost of our electricity has gone up about 10 percent per year for 3 years. Oh, and they lowered your baseline by 4 percent (bumps your kwh usage up to higher tier rates) and increased, as of January, the two lowest rates by 5 percent. Warm fuzzies toward PG&E, any- one? In the June 23rd Daily News, I read that Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.