Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/811101
ChipThompson, 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: Daily News 728Main St., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS AsInowenjoymylateseventiesIseemto be spending more time reflecting on experi- ences which are long gone. When I think of my past my first two thoughts are: Boy, would I like to do that particular situation over again. And second: Maybe I should just take a big breath and enjoy the only day I really have, which is today. Today,ifIwasabletoactu- ally start over, I hope I would be able to exercise better con- trol over my life with an even better result. I hope the al- most eight de- cades of my life have given me experiences and knowledge enough to live it more successfully if I got to go around a second time. My first marriage did not work out that well, except for the two great kids I got, Devin and Jennifer. My second mar- riage to a thoughtful, tender and loving woman has been a far more fulfilling experience in all ways. She has taught me about trust and compatibility. Oh yes, there have been some modest disagreements, but I think that is normal. And, I don't think I have to give any- one a bulletin on how some marriages turn into a "War of The Roses." Maybe that's just part of our human condition. My only condition is that I would like to take the experi- ences and knowledge I have today with me so my actions would have a better chance of success the next time. Just for openers, I would never smoke again. How I ever decided to use my mouth as an ash tray is beyond me. However, I do remember as I grew up that all the me- dia seemed to advertise ciga- rettes and all the stars in our favorite movies were smok- ing. I guess I had been uncon- sciously talked into thinking that was sexy. I know today, having seen "Mad Men" on AMC with all those actors puffing away, that must have resulted primarily in huge purchases of breathe mints. I have always been sur- prised when I ask any close neighbor or friend if he or she would like the opportunity to do their life over. I remember that most of them don't take too long before they say if they could do it over they wouldn't change a thing. I think they must be kidding me and themselves if they wouldn't want a second try. At a minimum, I think most people should or would say they would exercise more just to stay in shape and not use as many nasty words their next time around. At the moment I bet that ultimate celebrity twosome, Brad and Angelina, must want to do their lives over. And, I know we all must feel confident that Bill and Hill- ary would like to start over. Maybe I'm writing about just Mr. Clinton here. He must want to do at least that intern situation differently. Ya think? What is your opinion. Let me know and I promise to re- ply to you. A close friend told me that if a person could go back and change everything they think they might have done wrong they would probably just be erasing parts of themselves. How would that turn out? Mytakeonthemovies I guarantee you will enjoy "Going in Style" as Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin play three lovable retired guys who decide to put some pizazz into the winter of their years. Ann Margret adds nicely to their many laughs. 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. Stan Statham Mytakeon doing life over I have always been surprised when I ask any close neighbor or friend if he or she would like the opportunity to do their life over. I remember that most of them don't take too long before they say if they could do it over they wouldn't change a thing. Gas taxes Editor: I'm in strong opposition to any new taxes on fuel or auto registration fees. We already pay the highest in the nation and our roads are in horrible condition due to out governor and legislature wast- ing road repair money to sup- port liberal social programs. Any increases should be on a ballot for the citizens to vote on just like any other taxes, in- stead of just arbitrarily in- stilled because someone in gov- ernment wants more money to waste. — Walter Jonas, Corning The complexity of health care Editor: Well thank God they couldn't pass Trump Care. How about we start by get- ting rid of those two titles? No more Obama Care or Trump Care. What we have is the Af- fordable Care Act. It is flawed for sure, but it is fixable. So our two cantankerous par- ties need to get together and fix those flaws. What we the people want is when we get sick or in- jured we go to a medical facil- ity and the medical facility fixes our problem. Of course the only problem is how do we pay for this kind of insurance policy. We have one government pro- gram in this country that is working quite well at this time. It also needs some fixing, but that one will be easy. It's called Social Security. Another pro- gram that is applicable is Medi- care. Medicare needs to be ex- panded so it covers everyone. How it is paid for has to be on a plan similar to Social Security. Part of your taxable income has to be set aside for future needs. There are people who are to- tally opposed to this type of plan. It infringes on their right to make their own decisions. They know better than anyone else how to spend their money. That's the problem. It's not their money. At least they shouldn't think of it as their money. When I was in the labor force I considered my money to be what was left after taxes and all other deductions — i.e., insurance, pension contribu- tions, etc. My budget was based on the money I could put in the bank. But there was another bank that I knew was there, but never considered to be part of my income. I always over al- located my tax deductions so in April I got a bonus. And, of course there was always my So- cial Security investment that assured my retirement. That ac- count would always be there no matter what happened in the investment market, or my busi- ness going broke or my being sued for all I was worth. My So- cial Security account would al- ways be there for me to use when I needed it. Why shouldn't I have a med- ical account that works the same way? I know, there are those that want to privatize Social Secu- rity. That means that the we would again be relying on those bankers that have fixed our fi- nancial institutions. You know. The guys that every now and then crash the markets so they can buy in cheaper again. Never mind that our savings accounts have disappeared, and in their privatized Social Secu- rity program so would our re- tirement security. — Fred Boest, Red Bluff What kind of jobs? Editor: Trump wants to produce jobs, but what kind? Tax dol- lar producing or tax dollar con- suming? Tax dollar producing jobs are non-government jobs. Some tax dollar consuming jobs circulate produced tax dol- lars by donated labor rather than adding new tax dollars to the system. How can other consum- ing tax dollars be reduced? Im- proved health of recipients? Less Crime? More volunteering? Maybe just more nonsense written for entertainment. — Steve Kelsey, Corning Cartoon misses cause of high gas prices Editor: The four causes of Califor- nia's high gas tax, compared to average US prices, are to- tally missed in the gas tax Daily News editorial cartoon of April 11. Until two years ago, it cost only 25 cents more per gal- lon for California gas than US gas. Last year and this year, the difference is 50 cents, and soon it will be 75 cents. Sim- ilar state legislative actions cause PG&E electricity to cost 25 percent more than Midwest power. The four primary causes in- clude a Democrat-controlled governor and legislators ig- noring tax payers; a legislative mandate for special blend Cal- ifornia gas, not used in other states; additive layers of leg- islated taxes and diversion of gas taxes from roads and bridges to inefficient rail and bus transit. Bus and train rid- ers are unwilling to pay more than 15 percent of the cost to buy, operate and maintain their subsidized ride. A fifth supporter of high gas taxes is the powerful diesel truck lobby, unwilling to bear the burden of their road and bridge damage. The annual ton-miles of a typical highway truck is more than 300 times that of a gasoline fueled car, yet the diesel fuel tax is not even triple that of the California gas tax. California Democrat legisla- tors, and special interest lobby groups that support their re- election, are the 90 percent cause of California's highest to- tal taxes in the nation. — Joseph Neff, Corning Your opinions Cartoonist's take It's funny how many enter- tainers are still with us. Even those that have passed on. I saw a DVD set the other day that had 20 of John Wayne's top films. This makes it pos- sible for folks born long after his death in 1979 to still discover The Duke. My wife loves Floyd the barber on the Andy Griffith show. She was so disappointed when I told her that he had died 49 years ago. I've always enjoyed listening to Car Talk on NPR. Those two crazy brothers laughing and car- rying on and occasionally solv- ing an actual automotive prob- lem was always so entertain- ing. One day I noticed that what I was listening to "The Best of Car Talk." I thought that maybe they were no longer recording any new shows. And indeed they weren't, as Tappet brother Tom had passed on in 2014. Never- theless, their voices continued to entertain us every single week. Each day, our TVs are flooded by shows starring actors and actresses long gone. Folks that many of us knew and loved for years when they were still alive. My mom still watches Perry Ma- son every day — she has always had the hots for Raymond Burr. One Saturday I listening to an interview with Mary Ty- ler Moore on NPR. It sounded so fresh and interesting. She had just died the week before. I couldn't believe it when they said the interview had been re- corded in 1995. It was like I had stepped out of a time machine. And that is what electronic media is today, a time machine of sorts. The actors can always be found alive and vibrant and at the peak of their craft. They will never die. My bad luck was that there were no video cameras or VCRs when I was a rock musician in the sixties. We performed on a number of TV shows, and toured with some big acts, but I have no video of any of it. Just mem- ories. If I had had any brains I would have gotten someone to shoot some Super 8 film or something. But we never had a movie camera. Pooh. As a new Netflix subscriber, I'm just getting into shows that many of you saw years ago. I started watching Spartacus about a month ago, and liked it, even if all the gratuitous sex was pretty much over the top. I thought Andy Whitfield made a terrific Spartacus. When I first started watching the show I saw a recommendation for a film documenting Whitfield's battle with cancer. And I vaguely re- called seeing him on some TV talk show discussing his illness. Once I completed the first sea- son, and as an addicted binge watcher, I started watching sea- son two. "Why are they doing a pre- quel," I asked myself, once I re- alized that the episodes pre- dated Spartacus. Then I real- ized that this might be because he was busy fighting cancer. So, I skipped ahead to season three. There among all of the former characters was one new face. And then someone called him Spartacus, and I knew. Thanks to Google, I imme- diately learned that what I had suspected was true. Andy had died. I then watched his doc- umentary, "Be Here Now." It was heartbreaking seeing his hope and optimism while all the while knowing that it was com- ing to a tragic end. How heart- breaking. But Andy will always be here, alive and well on our personal big screens, available anytime we want to watch. But for me, the show ended with season two. Andy Whitfield was Sparta- cus. There could be no other. 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 They're still with us: Our favorite entertainers live on Stan Statham Corky Pickering OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, April 13, 2017 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4