Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/74351
4A Daily News – Saturday, July 14, 2012 Opinion 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 responsibility Editor: I would like to ask all American citizens to please exercise one of your most sacred freedoms — vote. I worked as an election clerk at the polls for the first time in June. I was surprised at the amount of people that wanted to change political parties on election day. Here are a few things to remember: If you have moved —even if it's just across the road or down the street — if you have changed your name for any reason, if you want to change parties or if you will be 18 on or before election day, you need to re-register or register by Oct. 22 to have those changes in effect for the November election. We do have voter problems — one thing people can do to help is to notify the elections department if you've had a family member pass away or move. This prevents extra bal- Voting is a lots being mailed out, which in turn reduces cost and reduces the chances of voter fraud. If anyone has encoun- tered any problems with vot- ing, please call the elections department at 527-8190 so the problems can be corrected. I believe this is the most important election of my life- time. No matter what your party affiliation — America needs informed voters, we need people to care about what happens and what laws are put into place, we need people that are willing to let their voices be heard. In my opinion voting is not only a right, it's a responsibil- ity. We can't trust our elected officials to do what's best for our country when they don't listen to the voters. They are suppose to represent the peo- ple, not make decisions for the good of the people. Please, research the candi- dates, research their voting records, and research the new bills coming forth. Vote responsibly. Patty Smith, Paskenta Thank you Councilwoman Daniele Jackson for your dissenting vote. Three new posi- tions in our police department, why? This entire area is inundated with law enforcement. Be it the Sheriff's Department, Highway Patrol, local police, or Fish and Game to name a few. Our local officials seem to Public safety Editor: have public safety confused with control of the public. Yet crime continues. Your Turn we the public have become sus- picious characters. We as a community need to pay attention to our local offi- cials we elect in the future. The well being of the people and not control of, needs be first on their agenda, don't you think? Joseph Ostrowski, Red Bluff Not the drunk on the bicycle or the unsavory-looking person with a backpack. Minor crimes, treated with major enforce- ment. Two squad cars for one bare foot guy on a bicycle. While a daylight robbery on Main Street is just one of those things. Rather than melding into the community, this intrusive atti- tude separates them from we the public they swore to protect and serve and for the most part Editor: As we know, Cliff Larimer is quite adamant about punctua- tion, grammar and the headlines he reads. Larimer of July. However, I must remind the "word merchant" that arguably the most significant cultural event of the 20th centu- ry — Woodstock — actually didn't happen in June. It was held in the middle of August. Maybe he's not quite the stickler for facts. Oh and it took place in the state of New York, in case you were won- dering. His story was nice on the 4th Richie Mehling, 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. Nostalgia versus reality Commentary This statement appeared on this page in a local column "…it is based on the fact that our Founders and Constitutional Framers were almost all men of the cloth;" the writer used this myth to go on about the interre- lationship of Christianity and our country. There may be such a relationship, but the facts are that of those who signed the Declaration of Independence only two were ministers, and one of those was also a physi- cian. Only one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention was a "man of the cloth." This information is readily available at the National Archives. In their study of church histo- ry in the United States, The Churching of America, Finke and Stark point out, "Americans are burdened with more nostal- gic illusions about the colonial era than any other period in their history." Our first President, George Washington, rarely attended church and avoided taking com- munion. Our third President, Thomas Jefferson, was so turned off by organized religion that he created an edited version of the New Testament; he was pro- claimed an atheist during the heated election campaign against John Adams in 1800. Washington's administration negotiated a treaty with Tripoli which was ratified under John Adam's administration that stat- ed, "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion…." "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." As one wise person has said, It is popular to proclaim the sanctity of the Founding Fathers; they lived a long time ago, but we tend to breathe into them the breath of our own bias- es. Although important to the creation our present circum- stances, the Founding Fathers were just human beings like we are. We are important in creating our future. lack of cooperation from the first party. The bickering and posturing is chronic, and most of us are becoming tired of it. Nostalgia has a way of creep- ing into our public discussions. We long for the more idyllic past, a past that certainly is not the way we think we remember it. These days I tell all sorts of funny experiences during my days in the army. My wife recalls the letters full of com- plaints about the service, and wonders just what I am laughing about now. The term "nostalgia" was originally used in the 17th cen- tury to describe a kind of home- sickness exhibited by Swiss mercenaries while they were fighting in the lowlands of Europe, far from their mountain- ous homeland. While we are surrounded by the cacophony of political noise, it is easy for us to want to go back to our own "homeland". That may make us susceptible to such claims that our Founding Fathers were men of the cloth. I believe that politics seems We have to remem- ber that our Founding Fathers were not sure about democracy as a political system; that is one reason they referred to our new country as a republic. They felt the shadow of the French Revolution and the chaos and destruction that it brought as well as the disruption to the estab- lished order of that country. That is why there was originally no direct election of the Senate and the use of the Electoral College to elect the President; initially the selection of Electors to the Elec- toral College was at the discre- tion of each state; some states had popular votes, others used the state legislature to appoint Electors. In any case voting was restricted; only six percent of the population was eligible to vote when Washington was elected the first time. Joe Harrop I spoke of the whirling dervishes and their attempt to concentrate on God through their discipline. As voters, we need to develop the discipline to concentrate on our country, stop the moaning and groaning, and prepare to solve real problems, not the ones portrayed to us by commenta- tors and politicians. cians treat us like an ignorant mob when they continue their rants and finger pointing. Some- times I feel that no matter how much attention I pay to issues, I cannot begin to understand the behind the scenes maneuverings that take place when new laws and regulations are created. If we want our democracy to work, we need to pay atten- tion, prepare to vote, listen to claims with care, and make deci- sions based on facts and reality. Last week to suffer from the "Happy Days Syndrome," a hope to return to a different time and place when everything was just fine. One party tells us just how bad things are and points the finger of blame at the other party. The other party says the bad things are not its fault, and it is trying to do all it can to improve things even though it is hindered by males with property could vote, but poor people, women, Native Americans, and enslaved African- Americans could not vote. For some of our Founding Fathers true democracy was akin to mob rule. Many of the Founding White Fathers worried about the vagaries of public opinion, the ebb and flow of attention spans, and the ease with which the mob can be manipulated by the unscrupulous. page Tuesday grabbed my attention. It proclaimed, "Lack of fireworks is on each of us." Perhaps we should write a sim- ilar headline for the current political malaise: "Proliferation of political fireworks is on each of us." On the surface, at least, it is our fault that we let our leaders treat us as they do. Get rid of the remote and prepare to vote. A headline on the editorial Sometimes I think our politi- Joe Harrop is a retired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net.