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6A Daily News– Wednesday, August 29, 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. 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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 his religion Editor: I have heard that many people worry about putting a Mormon, Mitt Romney, in office as President of the United States. I would like to tell you some of what The Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter-day Saints believes. We have 13 Articles of On Romney and Faith 1. We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. 2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression. 3. We believe through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel 4. We believe that the that first principles and ordi- nances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. 5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. 6. We believe in the namely apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth. 7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revela- tion, visions, healing, inter- pretation of tongues, and so forth. 8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the book of Mormon to be the word of God. 9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the King- dom of God. 10. We believe in the lit- eral gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent, that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and , that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. 11. We claim the privi- same organization that exist- ed in the Primitive Church, lege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privi- lege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. 12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying honoring and sus- taining the law. 13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevo- lent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men, indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praisewor- thy, we seek after these things. We also believe that the Constitution of the United States was given to us by Almighty God, and should always be the law of the land. We have our own Word of Wis- dom: Eat fruits, vegetables, grains, and meat. No alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco, or hard drugs. Then God gives us a promise: you will run and not be weary and walk and not faint, and you will live longer, be healthier and happier. We believe in strong families, one man, one woman, and chil- dren. would be a great President. Vonnie Lallatin, Red Bluff re-elect Obama Editor: It's becoming quite clear that the GOP wants to see President Obama re-elected. The sheer audacity of the RNC to prop up a candidate similar to the current occu- pant of the White House will not soon be forgotten. Both Obama and Romney agree on government health- care, continuation of endless GOP wants to I believe Mitt Romney wars, love the Federal Reserve, big bank bailouts, extension of The Patriot Act, need for the National Defense Authorization Act, assassina- tion of American citizens, persecution of whistleblow- ers, suspension of Habeas Corpus, and both have Your Turn I refuse to vote for the con- tinuation of recycled evil, courtesy of both parties. It is time to erase the letter after the name and inspect the indi- vidual without interference of political party nonsense. If another four years of President Obama scares you and your solution is to elect Mitt Romney in his place, then you are part of the prob- lem. failed policies. I have often been reminded that I should vote for the lesser of two evils, but my response remains that a vote for the lesser of two evils, is still evil. proven record of voting against the Constitution. We have no choice this election, only a continuation of more of the same a Both parties are hell bent on continuing more of the same failed policies and fur- thering us deeper into debt enslavement. It is time to stop voting in fear and vote instead on prin- ciple. As Voltaire once said many centuries ago, "It is dif- ficult to free fools from the chains they revere." Nelissa Goedhart, Orland 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. Trials, tribulations as only boy at all girls school Commentary The Daily Beast article brought back several painful memories of my experience as the only boy at an all girls school. school, the Academy for Girls Too Smart to Study with Boys — an experience that haunts me still. According to the article, a public middle school in West Virginia is being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for separating boys and girls into single-sex classrooms. School directors, motivated by research that shows single- sex education can improve learning, have been experiment- ing with the concept. The ACLU, though, says that teaching kids differently on the basis of gender defies Title IX, a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educa- tion program or activity receiv- ing Federal financial assistance ..." the ACLU on this one. You see, in the late 1970s, I became the first male student to attend an all girls boarding I'm going to have to side with me at first, so I filed suit. Since the school accepted public funds, the judge ruled that it had to let me in. The school refused to admit mitted to sleep or shower with the others. My female classmates harassed me from the beginning. They said I was a wimp. They printed up T-shirts: "152 debu- tantes and one dork!" One night, while sobbing myself to sleep, the girls stormed my room and stole my athletic supporters. I still wake in cold sweats with memories of them running off with my most private possessions. The school's administrators were out to get me, too. They forced me to follow school regu- lations to a T. Do you know how hard it is, wearing a plaid dress and Oxford shoes, to outrun neighborhood bullies? To be honest, though, that dress, combined with a pair of boxers, gave me a freedom and comfort I haven't known since. My teachers treated me harshly, too. I got an "F" in physical education. Sure, I was the strongest and fastest in my class, but my baton work was hideous and I never could do a split. live in separate quarters. Despite my frequent pleas, I wasn't per- What's worse, I was forced to issues in America is education and that schools should be free to experiment with a variety of techniques to find the most effec- tive ways to teach children to "learn how to learn." The stress finally caught up with me and I got into a fight. One girl said I was a jerk. I told her she was immature. She told me to get a life. I told her she was a spoiled brat. Finally, one of the den mothers broke it up. I know that boys and girls are But then again, there are other studies that say single-sex education is sexist and wrong-headed. Tom Purcell different — that today's political correctness makes us pretend that there are no real differences between the sexes. I know there are many studies that show that boys and girls can perform better in school when the other sex is not present — that different techniques can be used that can generate real results. I know that one of the biggest again suffer the humiliation I did as the first male to attend an all girls school. That way, no kid will ever Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e- mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com. ——— So I think we ought to close our minds and use the might of the courts and federal law to ban experimenta- tion with single-sex schools altogether.