Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/811830
Dependingonwhereyouen- ter the city limits of Red Bluff, the population is either 14,076 or 14,025. That discrepancy made me wonder where the miss- ing 51 people went and if they were kidnapped by aliens. Who knows? I am sure, however, there are more than 51 new potholes around town and I am also sure I will need to see the dentist fairly soon to repair newly loos- ened fillings. The number 51 is associated with the almost mythical mil- itary area outside of Las Vegas where allegedly top secret mis- sile testing takes place. From time to time there are reports of alien sightings in Area 51 as well. The other mythical 51 is the State of Jefferson, which is sym- bolized by "XX" on the flags of its proponents. The true Roman numeral for 51 would be LI. Theunfriendlyskies I am not sure that people will believe they can "Fly the Friendly Skies of United" any more after a doctor was literally dragged off one of their flights because United Airlines needed space for one of its employees. The brutal event was viewed by millions after it was posted on line and featured on national news. A major concussion, bro- ken teeth, and sinus damage were initially reported. The ini- tial official response to the in- cident made Sean Spicer seem warm and fuzzy. The CEO of United made this statement to the situation: "I apologize for having to re- accommodate these custom- ers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened. We are also reach- ing out to this passenger to talk directly to him and further ad- dress and resolve this situation." — Oscar Munoz, CEO, United Airlines "Re-accommodation will never mean the same thing to any of us. "The airline has a seldom- read contract of carriage that permits it to force passengers off planes, like it did recently in Chicago. Bare feet. Appear- ing intoxicated. Smelling bad. United Airlines can remove pas- sengers from flights for dozens of reasons. And each provision is detailed in the nearly 37,000- word document called a "con- tract of carriage" that every pas- senger accepts when buying a ticket." Perhaps we should bring legal counsel with strong eye- glasses when we purchase our airline tickets. I am sure that booking, ac- commodating the needs of em- ployees, and deciding how to make room for those employ- ees is not a trivial matter. In this case, the airline separated a pas- senger from his wife, did not ac- cept his concerns about the pa- tients he needed to see after the flight, and it enlisted some rough treatment to "re-accom- modate" him. The case was fur- ther complicated by a change in planes assigned to the flight. There will be a lot of ques- tions to answer before "The Friendly Skies" seems a reality again. Surprises I have felt very generous lately, giving up the opportu- nity to win $1,000,000, vari- ous trips around the world, and the chance to pay off my college debt. Many of those phone op- portunities disguise their phone numbers with a seemingly lo- cal caller id. Some of the robot callers are getting more sophis- ticated, but some still have that telltale pause before they re- spond to anything you say, giv- ing you time to hang up. New discoveries This week we discovered that NATO which had been declared obsolete in January, was now not so; we learned that China was not a currency manipula- tor after all; we also found out that Steve Bannon, whom late night shows had mocked as the "phantom" president, was on the outs. Our Governor declared that the drought was over, at least temporarily. For now, not all well owners are so sure since ground water levels have still not recovered in many places. We also learned that al- most all the known chemical el- ements are found in Saturn's rings and that a not too distant star has seven earth sized plan- ets revolving around it within the "habitable" zone. Locally we are discovering the beauty of spring. For me it includes reactions to the pollen in the air, but I wouldn't trade living here for anything. Of course, the most excit- ing discovery happens on Eas- ter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Even though the First Easter was over 2,000 years ago when He ush- ered in a new world of grace, salvation, and hope, each Eas- ter is a time of individual rebirth and rededication. JoeHarropisaretired educator with more than 30 years of service to the North State. He can be reached at DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. JoeHarrop The number 51, surprises, new discoveries Cartoonist's take The confluence of Easter and Passover at mid-month will find many people, stressed more than usual by the state of world affairs and the chaos of do- mestic politics, seeking answers from their faith. It's hard to imagine any- one on the world stage more gifted at articulat- ing a course for humanity than Pope Francis. Beyond his re- sponsibilities as leader of the Catholic Church, the Pope, at age 80, has become a beacon of common sense, most emphati- cally in his devotion to the eco- nomically disenfranchised. "The world tells us to seek success, power and money," he observes. "God tells us to seek humility, service and love." His words are powerful, even for those like myself who are not Catholic. During the four years of his Papacy he has boldly directed many of his remarks at govern- ments and world leaders in ad- dressing the needs of a trou- bled planet. Here are my favorite state- ments by Pope Francis: - "The measure of the great- ness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need, those who have nothing apart from their poverty." - "Responsibility for the poor and the marginalized must be an essential element of any po- litical decision, whether on the national or the international level." - "Working for a just distri- bution of the fruits of the earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy. It is a moral ob- ligation." - "Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow hu- man beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society." - "Climate change is a global problem with grave implica- tions: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It repre- sents one of the principal chal- lenges facing humanity in our day." - "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian." - "The problem of intoler- ance should be dealt with as a whole. Every time a minority is persecuted and marginalized, the good of the whole society is in danger." - "Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity." - "To change the world we must be good to those who can- not repay us." A few weeks ago, the Pope spoke about encountering beg- gars on the street. "There are many excuses" to justify not giving them money, he noted. Perhaps it will be spent on al- cohol or drugs. But giving something to someone in need "is always right," he explained. And look- ing them in the eyes and touch- ing their hands must be the way one reaches out to a per- son asking for help. Study people's faces as you go along the street, the Pope has advised. Too many are wor- ried, closed in, a smile is miss- ing, tenderness is missing. In an era of social media, true so- cial friendship is missing. And here is my favorite quote from Pope Francis. Per- haps you, too, will consider it as food for thought at your hol- iday table. - "You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That's how prayer works." Peter Funt is a writer and speaker. His book, "Cautiously Optimistic," is available at Amazon.com and CandidCamera.com. Peter Funt Some thoughts for the holidays Another view During the Trump Care Melt- down, when the same Republi- cans that chanted "Repeal & Re- place" for seven years folded like a broken down lawn chair in a cate- gory 5 hurricane, we learned about a couple myste- rious Republi- can Congressional Caucuses instru- mental in torpedoing the AHCA. These two groups come from such opposite sides of the polit- ical spectrum they undoubtedly have dartboards with each oth- er's pictures tacked to the middle. The Freedom Caucus is made up of members that formerly self- identified as Tea Partiers but changed their name to interact with civilized people. Of course, we're referring to those unsung heroes of the Democratic process: forced to trudge the minefields of ego and weather the storms of unconscionable incompetence, those brave patriots that soldier on in relative obscurity as Con- gressional staffers. Way over on the other side is the Tuesday Group, moderate Re- publicans, which in the 1960s were known as the Wednesday Group. Seriously. You got to won- der if there's a "2nd Thursday in Months that Don't Have an R in Them Group" because if so, they haven't been much of a factor lately. Most citizens aren't aware of these special interest caucuses flying under the radar like spar- rows through cable ducts, plot- ting and lobbying and exerting influence and stiffing caterers all over the greater D.C. Area, com- plete with secret handshakes and hazing rituals. "Last one to raise 200 thousand by next Monday has to pay for the double tray of 'Dogs in a Blanket.'" One of the nearly 200 official groups is the Mental Health Cau- cus, ostensibly charged to study the multitude of mental health problems plaguing the country. The lucky part is the wealth of raw material available without ever leaving the Capitol grounds. The bipartisan Heroin Task- force doesn't actually use heroin, but they know where you can get it. The Congressional Asthma & Allergy Taskforce meets when pollen counts are low, or not. And the Electromagnetic Pulse Cau- cus is rigorous about backing up the minutes of their meetings onto multiple hard drives. There's the Congressional Can- nabis Caucus that one likes to think gets together every Fri- day at 4:20. And of course, the Friends of Kazakhstan Caucus. Or is it the Friends of Lanie Ka- zan Caucus? Always get those two mixed up. Don't know if The Brother- hood of Liver Transplant Recip- ients, the 3rd Wives Elimination Group, Tiny Hands Union, The Elvis Caucus, a group of South- erners whose meetings feature a fried banana and peanut butter sandwich buffet or the Floss With Domestic Licorice Advancement Group exist, but they could. The Blue Dog Coalition is a group of conservative Democrats and totally different than Yellow Dog Democrats, so enamored of their party they would vote for a yellow dog if it were on the Dem- ocrat ballot. No Purple Dog Dem- ocrats or Plaid Dog Democrats, yet, but the chroma- kennel is definitely growing. The Congressional Values Ac- tion Team exists, but hasn't spread its sphere of influence very wide. Everyone get honorary membership in the Mirror Appre- ciation Society, and undoubtedly, there's a Beelzebub Friendship Network and Bipartisan Flunky & Bootlicker Support Group that operate under different names. While the vast majority of cau- cuses are not much more than ex- cuses to drink with friends in pri- vate, the most useless and inef- fectual group that occasionally meets but accomplishes abso- lutely nothing is a group you may know as the Democrats. Will Durst is an award-winning, nationally acclaimed columnist and comedian. Go to willdurst. com for info about his new one- man show "BoomeRaging: From LSD to OMG," and the documentary "3 Still Standing." A covey of political caucuses State and National Assemblyman James Galla- gher, 2060 Talbert Drive, Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 895-4217, http://ad03.asmrc.org/ Senator Jim Nielsen, 2634 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico 95928, 530 879-7424, senator. nielsen@senate.ca.gov Governor Jerry Brown, State Capital Building, Sacramento 95814, 916 445-2841, fax 916 558- 3160, governor@governor.ca.gov U.S. Representative Doug La- Malfa, 507 Cannon House Of- fice Building, Washington D.C. 20515, 202 225-3076 U.S. Senator Dianne Fein- stein, One Post St., Ste. 2450, San Francisco 94104, 415 393- 0707, fax 415 393-0710 U.S. Senator Kamala Har- ris, 501 I St., Ste. 7-600, Sacra- mento 95814, 916 448-2787, fax 202 228-3865 YOUR OFFICIALS Will Durst Peter Funt ChipThompson, Editor 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. 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