Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/730305
Wellnow,doyouthinkfemininehygiene products should be taxed? I definitely don't think they should be. President Barack Obama agrees with me. AlovelyOakRunneigh- bor of mine whose name is Christina "Nin" Simonis also is on our side. We have dis- cussed this tax and both think that all those hygiene prod- ucts are neces- sities. We do not believe they are luxuries. Since I am a man, I am somewhat guessing here, but I don't believe most women look forward to or even en- joy having a monthly period. I also don't know any man who really looks forward to that regular event. My own mother used to refer to it as "coming fresh." In my life I have even occa- sionally been told something like, "Not tonight, darling. I am having my period." That was never music to my ears. It was always fun for me to vote against a tax of any kind. However, my take on this is that it would be even more fun to protect feminine hygiene products from any kind of tax. If I were still an elected Assemblyman repre- senting Tehama County and eight other north state coun- ties, I would definitely be a no tax vote on this. Please tell me what you think of this tampon tax, es- pecially if you are a girl, lady or woman. I have even heard, in my almost eight decades of life, that some men actu- ally believe a woman's mood changes when she is having her "monthly visitor." I never went along with that as an accurate theory, but who re- ally knows. I have thought that if I was ever unfortunate enough to experience a pe- riod, I know my first reaction would be to say, "Oh, crap. Not again." This can't be good. And, it is too personal. I have always been too nervous to even do a survey on this topic. It would make me too nervous. How- ever, I know that it is just part of being human. Just on a whim I Googled the word hygiene. The words healthy and cleanliness popped up quickly. I know I will never be a woman and also that I love being healthy and clean. In which case, my take is that feminine hygiene products are not a luxury. I believe they are an absolute neces- sity, so I would never vote to tax those products if I were still elected to California's As- sembly. California and most other states do not tax tampons. However, stay away from Pennsylvania because they do. I have sometimes reflected in the past on how fortunate I was to be born a male in- stead of a female. When it comes to physical love and lust, I believe men are also on the more fortunate side of that deal. If I was a woman I would want to use those products. I would want them, need them and love them. Why our capitol in Sacra- mento even sees two sides to this tampon tax is beyond me. They should all have fun and kill this kind of unrea- sonable tax. Mytakeonthemovies My wife and I saw a box of- fice hit last weekend. Tom Hanks starred as Sully — Chesley Sullenberger — the guy who became a hero when he landed that US Airways flight in the Hudson River in January of 2009. Laura Lin- ney played his wife. This is yet another good movie directed by Clint East- wood. Please see it, especially if you like a good docudrama. 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 tampon taxes I have even heard, in my almost eight decades of life, that some men actually believe a woman's mood changes when she is having her "monthly visitor." I never went along with that as an accurate theory, but who really knows. Drug epidemic and our kids Editor: My name is Whitney and I writing this because I am ex- tremely concerned with the out- rageous rise of not only the adults but our children and drugs. Heroin and meth, as we know it, are on the rise and nobody can deny that Red Bluff is no longer a family friendly place to live. We have no outlets for our children, instead we have decided to build another Walmart instead of a youth outreach, a YMCA, some- thing. We are covering our eyes and hoping for the best. We have no voices because we are too afraid. I'm not. We need to come to- gether as a community and put an end to this. We put our kids in juvenile hall and send them to alterna- tive schools that have little to no success. We aren't fixing the prob- lem we are just masking it. An- other life will inevitably be lost tonight because we are building another Starbucks and making a bigger shopping center, instead of positive outlets for our future — our children. We are building more space for more inmates, do we not see a problem with this? I used to be able to walk my town, play in the street and go to school with- out much issue. Now, before we moved I was afraid to let my children step out the door with- out me. Do we not see an issue with this? We are burying our children and putting a label on them and giving them absolutely no hope for a better future. Please, we need to come together and fix this town, help our youth and build positive outlets to give our youth a fighting chance. Let's stop setting our children up for failure. Red Bluff is no lon- ger a retirement town. It's a town that is falling apart because no one is listening. We need to start standing up against drugs and gangs. When we start using our voice and standing up and refusing to take no for an answer, that's when things will start to change. — Whitney Fortier, Red Bluff Library project too expensive Editor: Have you seen what they have done to the Daily Planet? Looks like Clark got his arm caught in a sleeve as he was getting into the Sup-Suit and went berserk. They have stripped the build- ing down to the bare walls and floor. The roof is gone. It looks like all interior walls are gone. How did you ever manage to get a paper out with all the rain that must have washed through the old roof onto your desks and computers? What did you do for transport within the building? Canoes? Rowboats? Jet-skis? Lord; it must have been a horri- ble ordeal working in that place. Five hundred Gs so they could wreck the building and a $6 million budget to do it. I'll tell you the truth, that library will never get another dollar of my money. I'm not sure what role a book library is going to morph into in the next few years, but so much of what a library used to be used for has been obsoleted by the Internet. Don't misunderstand me, I love to read a book; one page at a time; enjoying the progress of the narration as it unfolds. But the picture of a student at a library table surrounded by stacks of research is an anach- ronism. It's just more efficient and also thorough to type in a sub- ject and start sorting through everything ever written on that topic. When I think of all the needs that society has in this county that could have been addressed by that $6 million it puts a new definition on waste. Nearly even rivaling our new governmental structure out on Walnut Street (which is state funded). Speaking of which. How was it decided that operating a courtroom from 10 a.m. to noon, and 2-4 p.m. was an efficient use of space? When was it found that a judge can only work dur- ing daylight hours? Whatever happened to night court? Why has justice been determined to be a luxury item? — Fred Boest, Red Bluff Wages, representation and taxes Editor: Consider all medicines have side effects. Some don't mix well with milk, grapefruit or other chemicals. Some incur hearing loss or other undesirable effects. Remember the strike at peak apricot harvest? Soon they were scarce, higher priced and im- ported. What will be the change with rapid increase in minimum wage and overtime pay? Flag salute and republic seemed to be ignored with the cry we're a democracy. Vot- ers approved one man, one vote in an attempt to improve de- mocracy. It appears rural ar- eas screamed rape by tyranny of the majority and we've lost most of our representation. Soon screams arose to split the state and form a new state. Insurance companies don't pay out all premiums immedi- ately. Some is put in banks, part invested in other corporations. When you pay insurance pre- miums you indirectly become a stockholder. Tax corporations more and see costs go up. Increased prop- erty tax passed on in higher rent and other business costs. Purchasers pay more with higher sales tax. Lowering demand to use tax dollars seems unlikely. In- creased skill and productivity may alleviate some of the pain for paying higher taxes. — Steve Kelsey, Red Bluff Your opinions Cartoonist's take Don't you get tired of try- ing to explain where you live to folks who aren't from around here? People refer to the San Fran- cisco Bay area as Northern Califor- nia, but you and I know there's a lot of California north of the Bay. In fact, there's even a lot more California that lies north of Redding. Most peo- ple just don't have a clue. And if you say you live in or near Red Bluff, then you can really forget about it — 50 percent will show a glimmer of recognition if you say it's near Redding. It's like telling people that the island of Saipan is near Guam. They re- ally have no idea. "Haven't you ever driven to Oregon or Washington," I ask. "Sure," they reply. "Then you drove right past us." And that's what they do — drive right past us. Of course, lots of folks stop in Redding or Red Bluff to get a bite to eat, or spend the night to break up their time on the road. I tell my friends "I'm just six short miles off I-5 above Red Bluff." So far only one friend with his family has taken the time to stop for a visit. Even my own daughter blew right past us the time she drove back to school in Seattle. "We needed to make time, Dad," she told me. Although in all fairness, she has made several trips spe- cifically to see us. I remember telling my son about the snowboarding on Mt. Shasta, hoping to gener- ate some excitement. Unfortu- nately, that happened to be the one year that the Mt. Shasta Ski Park never opened because of the drought. "Do you know Mt. Shasta," I might ask. "I'm not sure. You mean that huge snow-covered mountain we can see from I-5 above Sac- ramento?" "Yep. Mt. Shasta is just north of Redding." "Oh, okay — I'm with you now," they reply. I remember when I first saw Mt. Shasta up close on I-5 and it seemed to fill the entire windshield. It was easy to see why many consider it to be a magic mountain. We also get some notoriety because we are located in the proposed State of Jefferson. While the State of Jefferson is an interesting concept, I just can't see how it could be fis- cally sound. I think the citizens would have to buy in to a much different way of life. I can't see how the tax base could sup- port the infrastructure we have come to expect. I don't see how the construction of the new Te- hama County main library and courthouse would be possible with a State of Jefferson bud- get, although I have not per- sonally researched the num- bers. We at least have Jefferson Public Radio, which comes from the campus of Southern Oregon University. That sta- tion was a godsend to us for two years, as it was our only form of entertainment, aside from nature, during the times we visited our cabin. JPR is now an integral part of our daily routine. I especially love "The Best of Car Talk" on the weekends, hosted by the Tap- pet brothers. I wondered why the shows were all reruns un- til I found out that brother Tom had passed away in 2014. Many California folks are fa- miliar with renting houseboats at Lake Shasta, and most seem to know about Chico, because of the university. So if you tell them we're north of Chico, then they have some inkling of where we are. The important thing is that we know where we are — and most of us wouldn't be any- where else. Corky Pickering and his wife relocated from the Bay Area to Cottonwood in 2014. He recently retired from the federal government as an attorney advising law enforcement. He has been a rock and roll bass player and a Marine JAG. He can be reached at thecork6@ gmail.com. Corky Pickering Where the heck is Redding? Stan Statham Corky Pickering 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 OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, September 22, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6