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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, 728Main St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Iama71-year-oldman,and I have lived in this commu- nity my entire life. I am not exactly sure how I came to be 71, but I did. At this point there is nothing I can do except hope that I become a 72-year-old man, to be followed by 73 and then, you get the picture. One of the best things about residing in a small town for 71 years is that sooner or later you cross paths with just about everyone in the commu- nity. The downside of cross- ing paths with just about ev- eryone in the community is that none of us are immortal. The older we get, the more of- ten we open the morning pa- per to find that another one of our friends or relatives are, as they say, now in a better place. Over the past several weeks we have lost far too many folks who were a special part of this community. I am guessing that this will make sense only to me, but each time I learn of the passing of someone whose life has inter- sected with mine, my mind immediately paints a picture of the person I will remember forever. When I think of Dianne Benefield, I see her and hus- band Don playing softball at Frey Field. I see her sweet daughter Julie, who is such a great friend to my niece Cindy, and I see her grandsons Nolan and Drew. When I think of William Leddy, I see a long-time fel- low county worker. I see his daughter Kathy, who was a great next-door neighbor for so many years; and I see his son Billy Leddy, with whom I played softball so very long ago. When I think of Ray Mor- ris, I see the quiet, hardwork- ing principal at Bidwell School who was great to work with when I was toiling away as a deputy probation officer. When I think of Doreen Tatro, I see her standing in her front yard near the Sunny- side Market. I see her wonder- ful daughters Vicki and Mi- chelle, who were such great friends as we grew up to- gether in that special high school neighborhood. When I think of Dick White, I see Bidwell School. I see a coach and a referee, and I see an athlete. Mostly, I see a really nice man. When I think of Annie Teis- seire Gould I see her daughter Jean and I think about how hard it is to lose one's mom. When I think of Pete Peter- son, I see a kind man who for several decades was part of a legendary golfing group com- prised of him, Doug Sale and Bob Stoufer. When I think of Ralph Scott, I see him jogging down Walnut Street side by side with Gregg Avilla, and I will forever wonder what they were talking about. When I think of Bob Ker- stiens, I will always see him as the perfect example of "small town boy makes good." I will also remember him as the lucky man who captured the heart of his just about perfect wife, Ursula. •••• I grew up with Clyde Price. I am not sure if Clyde was ever in the military. I am not sure if he ever gave college a try. What I am sure of is that Clyde Price was a friend to ev- eryone who knew him. Clyde was a grocery store checker back in the day when check- ers were paid a handsome wage. I will always remember Clyde for how clean and well groomed he was as he deftly worked a cash register and chatted with every customer at the same time. Clyde was a gambler. When payday arrived, Clyde often found himself headed for a weekend in Reno. A couple de- cades back Clyde hung up his name tag and moved to Red- ding, I assume to be closer to Win-River or a bigger card game. Clyde was a good man. He was my friend, and I shall miss him. •••• Don Young was my den- tist for over 40 years. A man of high moral character, Don never failed to inquire about my job, my sporting activities, and most especially my family. The only problem I ever had with Don Young was his propensity for waiting 'til my tongue was completely numbed and my mouth full of every dental instrument avail- able to mankind before then asking me a question. It got so he would ask a question and my answer would come out as "Ta rapo @# v son te &%# mah hoo," to which he would an- swer, "That's what I thought." Don Young was a terrific den- tist, and a better person. •••• I have always had a spe- cial place in my heart for my coaches. Bernie Gleason was no exception. Bernie was a terrific basketball coach. I say that because he had the good sense to almost never ever put me in to play. Bernie was so much more than a coach. In addition to coaching, Bernie taught speech to thousands of students dur- ing his 30-year career, and he was the favorite of many. Ber- nie and I were both gifted golf- ers, and it was over an occa- sional sarsaparilla at the 19th hole that I got to know the real Bernie Gleason. Bernie seemed to know everything about ev- erything; he had a terrific sense of humor, and he loved his family deeply. A few months back Bernie called to talk about one of my columns. After telling me he had little use for local colum- nists, we went on for about an hour discussing sports and community and family and life; a conversation I shall value forever. •••• Rest in Peace, Diaane Bene- field, William Leddy, Ray Mor- ris, Doreen Tatro, Dick White, Annie Teisseire Gould, Pete Peterson, Ralph Scott, Bob Kerstiens, Clyde Price, Don Young and Bernie Gleason. Each and every one of you mattered, a lot. •••• The world famous Glenn Miller Orchestra will be per- forming at 7:30 tonight at the State Theatre. 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 Memoriesof those recently departed Cartoonist's take Get this: According to The New York Times, some wives are threatening to divorce their hus- bands if the fel- lows vote for Don- ald Trump. The Times fea- tured one couple, a male dentist and a female a doc- tor, who had never talked much about politics before. When the wife learned her hus- band was for Trump, she threat- ened to divorce him and move to Canada. Sheesh. It makes one long for the good old days when a fellow had to run off with a cocktail waitress before his wife called in the lawyers. The Federalist shared some in- teresting insights on The Times article. Journalist Denise C. McAllister argues that in 2016, "you are who you vote for." "Why are voters not merely being associated with Trump, but actually and essentially be- ing identified with him, sharing the same characteristics of rac- ism and sexism that have been attached to him (justified or not)?" she writes. And why, she ponders, do some voters who loathe Trump for what they perceive to be his negative characteristics give Hillary Clinton a free pass with hers? Hillary does have a long his- tory of habitually telling tale tales. She failed to be a good feminist by aggressively attack- ing the women her husband was caught having dalliances with. Even an ardent Hillary sup- porter has to concede that she used her power in the State De- partment to dole out favors in re- turn for massive contributions to the foundation she and her hus- band own. "Looking at Clinton's sordid history of political and personal corruption, we have a profile of a person who is deeply untrust- worthy, selfish and motivated by money, not the general welfare of American citizens," writes McAl- lister. "Yet little, if any, stigma is attached to those who are voting for her." So why is Trump getting hit so hard whereas Hillary is largely given a free pass? McAllister ar- gues that it is a reflection of the pathetic state of our culture. "In our society, the Left has ef- fectively shifted our culture's val- ues away from traditional mor- als to a specified group of behav- iors they deem intolerable above any other," she writes. "The new commandments are: Thou shalt not be a racist. Thou shalt not be a sexist. Thou shalt not be a ho- mophobe. Anything else is ac- ceptable." Being a middle-aged Cauca- sian male with libertarian lean- ings, I know I'd be wise to not comment on this matter. But McAllister offers some compel- ling points. Free and open societies are supposed to talk freely and openly about common issues and ideas — but a fellow can be run out of town on a rail if he is on the "wrong" side of an issue or holds the "wrong" idea. Too many of our universities, which were founded to foster free and open debate in the pur- suit of truth, are now in the in- doctrination business. Rather than teaching students how to think, too many are teaching them what to think. Ironically, it is because of the politically correct groupthink that has infected our culture that Trump became the Republi- can nominee. Time and again, during the primaries, he outmaneuvered the groupthink tactics that de- stroyed many Republicans be- fore him. Many found Trump's anti-PC persona refreshing. He's faltering in the general election, however, and one of the reasons is that lots of other- wise well-educated and thought- ful human beings see him as the devil incarnate at the same time they're able to look blindly be- yond Hillary's peccadilloes. So if you're a husband who plans to vote for Trump, you better lie about it — unless you want your wife to divorce you and move to Canada. Tom Purcell, author of "Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood" and "Wicked Is the Whiskey," a Sean McClanahan mystery novel, both available at Amazon.com, is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist. Send comments to Tom@TomPurcell.com. Tom Purcell Yet another regrettable outcome of the 2016 election — divorce I have always had a special place in my heart for my coaches. Bernie Gleason was no exception. Bernie was a terrific basketball coach. I say that because he had the good sense to almost never ever put me in to play. Tom Purcell Bill Cornelius For all the hand-wring- ing about the threat to liberty and constitutional government posed by the major party pres- idential candidates, there is lit- tle discussion of how this threat is due to the political class's long history of supporting ex- panded presidential power. There is also little talk of how the imperial presidency is just as much a creation of Congress as it is of power-hungry presi- dents. Since war is the health of the state, it is not surprising that presidential power expanded in tandem with the expansion of the warfare state. Perhaps the best, and most terrifying, exam- ple of how "national security" has been used to justify giving the president dictatorial powers is the Defense Production Act. This law, which is regularly renewed with large bipartisan congressional majorities, grants the president broad powers over the economy. For example, it ex- plicitly authorizes the presi- dent to tell manufacturers what products to make, impose wage and price controls, "manage" la- bor relations, control the use of natural resources, and even al- locate credit. All the president need do to exercise these powers is declare a national emergency. The Defense Production Act is hardly the only example of congress's complicity in the growth of presidential power. For example, Congress rarely, if ever, insists that the president seek a formal declaration of war before commencing military action. When I attempted to force Congress to vote on a dec- laration of war against Iraq, a prominent member of Congress, who was considered a constitu- tional scholar, told me that the constitutional requirement that Congress declare war was an "anachronism." Many neoconservatives claim that the president's status as commander in chief gives him the inherent authority to take whatever actions he deems nec- essary for national security. This turns a limited grant of power intended to preserve ci- vilian control of the military into an unlimited authorization for military control of civilians. Presidents have hardly lim- ited their abuse to foreign pol- icy. Ironically, many conser- vatives who (correctly) oppose abuses of presidential authority in the domestic sphere support giving the president unlimited authority over "national secu- rity." These conservatives fail to realize unfettered presidential discretion in foreign policy will inevitably lead to presidential usurpation of Congress's au- thority in domestic matters. Modern presidents routinely use executive orders to cre- ate new laws or rewrite exist- ing statutes. President George W. Bush regularly usurped congressional authority via signing statements listing the parts of congressionally- passed legislation he would re- fuse to enforce. In his 2014 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama actually bragged about his intention to use his "pen and phone" to go around Con- gress via executive orders and regulations. Some members of Congress do criticize presiden- tial usurpation of congressional authority. However, few mem- bers of Congress raise concerns about presidential overreach when the White House is occu- pied by a member of their po- litical party. This suggests that most legislators are more con- cerned with partisanship than with protecting their constitu- tional authority. Ron Paul is a former Congressman and Presidential candidate. He can be reached at the RonPaulInstitute.org. Ron Paul Election 2016; Liberty loses no matter who wins OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, August 24, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4