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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 Itgoeswithoutsaying,but for most of us family members are the most important people in our lives. My wife, my chil- dren, and espe- cially my four grandchildren, are the reasons I wake up with a smile on my face each and every morning. Okay, that may be an exagger- ation. I wake up smiling most mornings. Actually, that is still an exaggeration. I am not a morning person, so I seldom wake up with a smile on my face; but if I were a morning person, I think I would wake up with a smile on my face be- cause of my wonderful family. Having said that, I know I am a lucky man. Not all of us are lucky enough to wake up smiling because of our fam- ilies. That's because as far as families are concerned, you get what you get and you are stuck with what you get. Friends, however, are a dif- ferent matter. Unlike family, you get to choose your friends. Not to brag, but I guess I am pretty good at choosing friends, as I have many more great friends than one man could ask for. I think most of us gravitate to friends who share similar interests and value systems. Because I was an exceptional athlete, many of my friends are former teammates. After graduating from col- lege in 1968, I returned to Red Bluff and began my 30-year career as a probation officer. At that time I also began play- ing city league basketball and fast pitch softball. In basketball I was fortu- nate enough to play a dozen years for the best sponsor ever, Tosh Mitome, owner of Hi-Si- erra Nursery. I guess we were pretty good, because we won several "A" league champion- ships. One year we were un- defeated in both the Red Bluff and Redding leagues, with a combined record of 30-0. As for softball, while our sponsors varied — Hi-Sierra, Wheelers, Brainerd's and Roy C. Ford — I played with the same group of guys for more than a decade. Our team played as many as 60 games every summer. In addition to Red Bluff, we also played in Chico and Redding. One year we somehow managed to win championships in all three cit- ies. We played in out-of-town tournaments every weekend, often stuffing six to eight play- ers in a room at a nearby Mo- tel 6, for which we each paid $2.15 per night. I can tell you that when you share a floor with a half dozen teammates several times a year for a de- cade or so, you get to know each other pretty well. While winning champion- ships seemed important at the time, I now realize that the real reward of having played on those teams is the life-long friendships I now enjoy with my former teammates. When I played for Hi-Si- erra, I played alongside great teammates like Larry Jant- zen, Steve Paulissen, Donny Martin, Doug and Fred Dreier, Jim Noll, Gene Branson and Rich Brownfield. Though we have since scattered around a bit, I still value my basketball friends a great deal. Our softball team was com- prised of players from Red Bluff and Corning. Under the leadership of our fiery little manager, Ralph Hobbs, play- ers from Red Bluff — myself, Bob Nott, Roman Gonczeruk, George Moran, Charlie Smith, Jerry Stannard, Joe Brown — formed life-long friendships with our teammates from Corning — Gary Burton, Bill Spaletta, John Jennings, Jim Jennings, Greg Russell, An- thony Flores and Gregg Has- sey. Amazingly, almost 40 years have passed since we boys of summer last laced up our spikes on Red Bluff's Frey Field or on Corning's Yost Park. As happens with most self-respecting old ball play- ers, my memory concerning the accomplishments of my team, and especially my own, admittedly become more and more impressive with the pas- sage of time. The quality of our friendships, however, can- not be overstated. While it would be wonder- ful if we could stay young and play silly games forever, life doesn't work that way. Shortly after disbanding, the youngest and maybe brightest member of our team Greg Russell sud- denly passed away. A decade or so later, my old neighbor, friend and banty rooster of a coach, Ralph Hobbs succumbed to a heart attack. A decade or so ago we lost two more members of my soft- ball family. While not neces- sarily blessed with the best pitching talent in the world, Bob Nott was a fierce competi- tor, and he won more than his share of games. Bob was un- questionably a leader within our softball team as well as his community. Tragically, we lost Bob to an automobile accident several years ago. Charlie Smith was our right fielder. Charlie was probably the best all-around athlete on our team. Charlie excelled in virtually everything he did, most especially in his role as a husband, father and grandfa- ther. Sadly, several years back we lost Charlie to a heart at- tack as he was playing golf on a beautiful course near Reno, Nevada; and now we have lost Greg Hassay. Gregg Hassey was our catcher. He was slow footed. My wife has a stronger arm than did Gregg. Gregg had no power, and could not hit a lick. But, Gregg Hassey didn't know this, and somehow whenever we needed a key hit to win a game Gregg would hit a 13-hop slow bleeder up the middle to drive in the winning run. Somehow, Gregg would always find his lollipop throw beating a runner as he slid into sec- ond base. I will remember always our Idaho hunting trips with Gregg, John Jennings and George Moran. Invariably, Gregg would win jackpot af- ter jackpot as we travelled through Nevada. Invariably, Gregg would take the first and biggest buck in our group. Gregg Hassay may have been a slow footed, weak armed, broken down old catcher who couldn't hit a lick; but if there truly is a Field of Dreams in Heaven, put me on his team along with Ralph Hobbs, Greg Russell, Bobby Nott and Charlie Smith, as each was a special friend on a special team, indeed. 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 Friendships with former teammates are unrivaled Cartoonist's take "Son, you're 18 now. As an American citizen that means you'll vote for the first time in the upcoming elec- tion." "Gee, dad, I can't wait to do my civic duty. How do you suggest I prepare?" "Well, son, a good place to start is to re-read the American Constitution to under- stand the basic principles upon which our country was founded." "It's been a while since I read it in school, dad." "Son, the Constitution is the highest law of the land. All new laws in our country originate from it or should. However, not all politicians buy into the Con- stitution. Some think it is old and outmoded." "Outmoded, dad?" "The Constitution establishes a framework for how our govern- ment functions. It establishes a system of checks and balances, so that none of our three branches of government — the legislative, executive and judicial — can be- come too powerful. Some poli- ticians hate having such limita- tions placed upon them, however. They want to do as they please with the taxpayers' money or im- pose laws on citizens without fol- lowing the constitutional process. So you'll want to know their po- sition on the Constitution before you vote." "OK, dad, I'll re-read the Con- stitution and be sure to research what each candidate thinks about it. What else should I do before I vote?" "You'll also want to study the Bill of Rights, son. The bill repre- sents 10 amendments to the Con- stitution designed to protect the civil liberties of individuals. For instance, the First Amendment protects the freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the right to petition the government and freedom of the press." "I remember learning in civics class that a free, objective press is essential to the survival of our republic." "Which is a worrisome thing, son, when you see how in the tank the major media are for one presidential candidate over the other. You'll also want to read the 17 other amendments. The 16th Amendment, for instance, was passed into law in 1913. It created the federal income tax." "I'm already very familiar with that painful amendment, dad. What else can I do?" "Well, son, it's important to study the issues. There's lots of disagreement in America and how to move the country for- ward. Some people think our government is too big and isn't following the limited-govern- ment spirit of our Constitution. However, other people think the government should double down and spend lots more." "More, dad?" "Yes, some people think 'the rich' aren't paying their fair share. They think we can impose massive tax increases on them and redistribute the money to others who don't have as much. But others think that would cre- ate a huge negative economic backlash that would end up hurting everyone, in particular the poorest among us." "So you want me to study the political promises each candi- date makes and then vote for the best person, dad?" "Yes, son, but that takes time and effort and too few voters are willing to do any due diligence on the candidates. Since many people get their information from the mass media, candidates who raise the most money to pay for the most negative advertising are often able to sway poorly in- formed voters." "That's disturbing, dad." "It surely is, son. A thoughtful, well-informed public is the heart and soul of a thriving republic. In my opinion, the candidates who best embrace our country's founding principles will be best able to tackle the incredible chal- lenges we face — debt, spending, government bureaucracy, a flat economy. Regrettably, however, few people think as I do." "Maybe so, dad, but you of- fer sound advice. I promise to be as well-informed as I can be- fore I pull a voting lever on Elec- tion Day." 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 Teaching the young how to vote As happens with most self- respecting old ball players, my memory concerning the accomplishments of my team, and especially my own, admittedly become more and more impressive with the passage of time. Bill Cornelius Tom Purcell Republican presidential can- didate Donald Trump's re- cent speech on immigration re- ally missed the point. I under- stand Trump's frustration over the U.S. government's inability to control the U.S. borders and keep out those who would come to this country illegally. Trump was right that the media ignore legitimate questions we have on our immigration policy and he is right that special interests have a great interest in main- taining the status quo. However when it comes to really solving the immigration problem he gets it all wrong. And instead of making us more free and prosperous, his solu- tions will accelerate our down- ward slide toward authoritari- anism. First let's consider his idea of building a big wall between the U.S. and Mexico. It is said that all one needs to get over an eight foot fence is a nine foot ladder. Or perhaps a shovel. So walls are never very good at keeping people out. But they are very good at keeping people in. Just ask the East Germans. The communist government claimed in 1961 that it had to build a wall around the por- tion of Berlin it controlled to keep the population safe from the evil capitalist wreckers and saboteurs. It didn't take long for the world to realize that the real threat to the East German leaders was that the people trapped in East Berlin would try to get out. We have all seen the horrific videos of East Ger- man civilians risking —— and losing —— their lives to escape that prison of razor wire and cinder block. Is this really what we want for our own future? What a wild conspiracy the- ory, some may claim. The wall would never be meant to keep us from leaving. Well ask the IRS. Under a tax enforcement provision passed in 2015, the US government claimed the right to cancel any American citizen's passport if Washing- ton claims it is owed money. Trump also made E-Verify the center of his immigration speech. He said, "We will ensure that E-Verify is used to the full- est extent possible under exist- ing law, and we will work with Congress to strengthen and ex- pand its use across the country." While preventing those here illegally from being able to gain employment may appeal to many who would like to pro- tect American jobs, E-Verify is the worst possible solution. It is a police state non-solution, as it would require the rest of us le- gal American citizens to carry a biometric national ID card connected to a government da- tabase to prove that the gov- ernment allows us to work. A false positive would result in fi- nancial disaster for millions of American families, as one would be forced to fight a face- less government bureaucracy to correct the mistake. Want to put TSA in charge of deciding if you are eligible to work? The battle against illegal immigration is a ploy to gain more control over our lives. We are supposed to be terrified of the hoards of Mexicans stream- ing into our country and thus grant the government new au- thority over the rest of us. But in fact a Pew study found that between 2009 and 2014 there was a net loss of 140,000 Mex- ican immigrants from the United States. Yes, this is a gov- ernment "solution" in search of a real problem. How to tackle the real immi- gration problem? Eliminate in- centives for those who would come here to live off the rest of us, and make it easier and more rational for those who wish to come here legally to contribute to our economy. No walls, no government databases, no bio- metric national ID cards. But not a penny in welfare for immi- grants. It's really that simple. Ron Paul is a former Congressman and Presidential candidate. He can be reached at the RonPaulInstitute.org. Ron Paul How to solve the illegal immigration problem OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, September 7, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6