Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/74098
4A Daily News – Thursday, July 12, 2012 Opinion Press the damn green button 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 again." "And then Tim told Teresa that way." "Ma'am, you need to swipe your card she wasn't invited." "Ma'am, your card." "I know I can't stand him any- firm ma'am." "He'll never get married, no "Press the green button to con- woman could." "Hang up the phone and push the damn green button will ya!" tion like that yet, but man I hope I'm in line when some cashier final- ly breaks and does what all of us good-mannered people want the cashier to do. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm talk- ing about those individuals that refuse to hang up their phones or even set them down when completing a transaction with a cashier. It happens everywhere, grocery stores, gas stations, even banks and it's getting ridicu- lous. I haven't witnessed a conversa- Everyone likes to reminisce about how great life used to be. While there are many things we can blame, on this one we have to point the finger at ourselves. Cell phones have been a world-changing invention allowing us to communicate on lev- els we would have never dreamed. Yet, we're forgetting how to communicate on the most basic level — with the person right in front of us. Rich Greene Other human beings deserve respect. Right? At least respect enough to look them in the eye and recognize that they are breathing oxygen along with you. You don't have to fall in love with them or anything like that, but if you take the time to talk to a real live human being, you'll find out humans are pretty cool. We have interesting stories, inter- esting laughs. We do amazing things like put a man on the Moon and invent cell phones. about Tim and Teresa either. I don't. In fact, it actually might be time to divide Of course this cell phone rude- ness doesn't affect just cashiers. I'm willing to bet none of the other cus- tomers in the store want to hear Cashiers are people. Registers are not. So unless you're standing at an ATM or self-ser- vice register chances are there's a real life human being standing in front of you operat- ing that machine. up businesses into cell phone and non-cell phone use areas the way there used to be smoking and non-smoking sections. I think I can reasonably argue second-hand chatter is harmful to my mental well-being. I'm not saying using a cell phone at any time in public is rude. If you're in the dairy aisle and you forgot whether your honey asked you pick up cot- tage cheese or sour cream, then by all means make a quick call. That's the world we live in now, where half of the people you see appear to be talking to an invisible friend. I'm just saying let's not to be invisible to each other. Connect with Rich Greene at Facebook.com/richgreenenews or call him at 527-2151, ext. 109 — just don't do it while standing in line. Founding Fathers Editor: Facts wrong about our veered from fact to fantasy. Here's a quote from his July 10 column: "...our Founders and Constitutional Framers were almost all men of the cloth." Once again Don Polson has Your Turn Oh, really?Well, I guess if you include as a Founder and a Framer every minister, preacher, priest, bishop, rabbi and ecclesiastic who spoke in favor of the Revolution and the Constitution you could say Polson is correct. Otherwise, he's really quite off the mark. While space does not permit an evaluation of all the Founders, consider those commonly consid- ered the leaders of our Revolution and Constitutional Convention. They include John Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, Jay, Jefferson, Madison, and Washing- ton. None of them were men of the cloth. Indeed, though Adams' and Franklin's parents touted the church as a career for their sons, both men rejected such a course. Let's hope Polson gets it right the next time he tries to give us some facts. David Janott, Red Bluff 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. Predictable outrage over health care ruling Commentary We can all stop pretending continued Republican anger about the Affordable Care Act is news. Some figured a Supreme Court ruling would settle things. And since the GOP said it was unconstitutional with the same fervor as people who've read the Constitution—it was easy to assume a decision from the nine justices in the highest court in the land—regardless of the out- come—would chill them out. They would say things like ping the board over and stomp- ing away. "We are a nation of laws." Things they say when they agree with the law—however unjust it may be (i.e. immigration). No, instead there are calls for revolt. The perennially reason- able Senator Rand Paul (R-Ken- tucky) said in a written state- ment: "Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be 'consti- tutional' does not make it so." And then added, "The whole thing remains unconstitutional." Which is akin to saying just because something is a law doesn't make it legal. Or just because they have hair on their face doesn't make them mam- mals. The court, not some junior senator from a small state, ulti- mately decides what is or what is not constitutional. But uncon- stitutional is the word conserva- tives use for illegitimate. In chess this move is called flip- But it also feeds into the right-wing narrative that they are history's most frequent vic- tims. To them, the more egalitar- ian the country becomes the more persecuted conservatives are. The sentiment can be traced back to 1845 and the founding of the Know Nothings, a nativist group concerned the country was being overrun with German and Irish immigrants. The cur- rent tea party finds its sympa- thies much more inline with the Know Nothings than anyone who ever threw tea in the Boston Harbor. They're each backlash movements sparked by "change." The Know Nothings became split on the issue of slavery and in the southern states morphed into what we identify as the Confederacy. Here you have a region of the country that quite literally fired the first shots of what was to be the bloodiest war in American history and to hear them tell it, it was the "war of Northern aggression." The Civil War for many did- n't settle things so why would we assume a 5-4 decision could? Conservatives are still mad about the New Deal, even though it worked to pull the country out of the Great Depres- sion. They're still miffed about women suffrage, the Civil Rights Act and Roe v. Wade. In fact any movement for- ward giving more peo- ple more rights and greater acceptance is a point of contention with conservatives. Gay rights is framed as Christians losing their rights to vilify whomever they want. Women not being forced to pay for birth control out-of-pocket is the government restricting the freedom of religion institutions to dictate policy to the government. Conservatives in the current incarnation of the Republican Party think rights are a zero sum game. If one group gains accep- tance, it means another falls out of favor. The cornerstone of trickle down economics is that a rising tide raises all boats—but not when it comes to social change in the right-wing mind- set. Then there are winners and there are losers. And conserva- tives on some level have to lose to prove their preexisting condi- tion: They're not bullies but martyrs—always hanged in the public square for their belief that only they should benefit from the Bill of Rights. The Affordable Care Act is a law of social change. It insists on greater equality for women in health care. It stands up for the sick over the bottom line. It's a step forward for human rights (finally) in our medical system. And it mandates personal responsibility (as with most laws). It's Tina Dupuy from perfect, and as with anything it can stand improvement— but does that make it an affront to Republi- cans? far licans, going all the way back to Nixon, have touted as a way to avoid socialized medicine in America. So naturally its imple- mentation is a major loss for their team. Now more Americans can get private medical insurance and insurance companies have to spend a higher percentage of premiums on actual health care—but most importantly con- servatives get to be the victims of "a communist plot to kill our freedom." Tina Dupuy is an award-winning writer and fill-in host at The Young Turks. Tina can be reached at tinadupuy@yahoo.com. In a word: Yes. It's health care reform policy, Repub-