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4A Daily News – Saturday, September 1, 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 Cleanup success Editor: Red Bluff day turned out quite amazing. Watching all those fine Red Bluff folks young and old, descending on the River Park area, up and down Main Street and Antelope Boulevard was quite a sight to behold. Thanks to all the people responsible for this day to come together: The organizers and those who donated items for use that day. The ones who hauled all the litter, debris and grass and tree cutting to county waste facility. Talk is of having another of these days at a later date as well. But in the meantime we citizens of Red Bluff can help out by doing things on our own. If every single household just monitored the litter it their own neighborhood, we'd have a litter free city. So take a look as you drive your neighborhood or a busy street to your favorite shopping centers. It if looks like it needs The recent Cleaner Greener some attention, take on the task. Or talk to a few neighbors and have your own small clean up Red Bluff morning or after- noon. If you have a neighbor who is unable to keep up their mow- ing or weed eating help them out. There are many things we can do as proud citizens of Red Bluff to help our city and our fellow man. Thanks again Cleaner Green- er Red Bluff organizers and those who donated items. And, this being said, thanks again to the nice comments from the young woman in the yellow pickup on Paskenta Road. Linda Clawson, Red Bluff Threat to I commend Tehama County Supervisors George Russell and Greg Avila for their supportive position on November's Schools and Local Public Safety Protec- tion Act — Proposition 30. schools Editor: fiscal crisis of 2008, public schools statewide have experi- enced unprecedented cuts in rev- enue. Is it not shocking to realize educational funding reductions and revenue deferrals now total more than $20 billion in our Golden State? California's public school system is now ranked 47th of 50 states in per-pupil spending. More than 40,000 edu- cators have lost employment from public school districts since 2008. Without the revenue increase that Prop. 30 will provide, dis- tricts will be allowed, by necessi- ty, to reduce the already-reduced number of instructional days by an additional 15 days. California will then rank with Colorado for the shortest teaching year in the union. Since the onset of California's effects in student retention, achievement and performance. I support reform of wasteful Your Turn and inefficient government. But I find it cynical to hold hostage the entire California public education system while pointing to the "Train to Nowhere." Let us work for reform while realizing we have students – right here and now – whose educational opportuni- ty cannot be deferred. It should be obvious to us that each and every reduction of rev- enue and time impacts precious student learning, and this impact will have long-term negative The Tehama County Board of Supervisors, specifically Bob Williams and Ron Warner, has missed an opportunity to lead the public to support our county's schools. George Russell does not exaggerate in his statement "…we are so worried about paying a lit- tle more in taxes we're willing to let everything go down the tubes." Prop. 30's impact on each of us will be minimal. The impact on our public education will be meaningful. We're the adults here, and we need to step up for the benefit of our children. Barbara McIver, 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. Words, words, words Commentary Congress which claims to be a good listener convinced the Justice Department to bring Roger Clemmons to trial for allegedly lying to it regarding the use of performance enhanc- ing drugs. For most of us this was old news and hardly the most important thing we feel Congress had on its plate. Nev- ertheless the trial took place, three years after the alleged offences. The trial was nine weeks long, and probably not an inexpensive use of tax dollars. In June Clemmons was found not guilty, as opposed to innocent. As far as I know no one has ever put Congress on trial for lying to us, and I imagine it could come up with some technicality or tricky turn of a phrase to assert their total ignorance, I mean innocence. There may be a sub- tle legal difference between lying and deception, and it hinges on the use of words. The current political scene reminds me of a scene from My Fair Lady, a musical loosely based on Pygmalion. Eliza Doolittle, to whom Professor Higgins is trying to teach the "king's English" so she can pass in "society," is frustrated at all the talk, and in reaction she blurts out the song Show Me: Words! Words! I'm so sick of words! I get words all day through; First from him, now from you! Is that all you blighters can do? above; If you're in love, Show me! Tell me no dreams Filled with desire. If you're Don't talk of stars Burning on fire, Show me.... None of our candidates seem to be showing us anything, let alone fire. This in an age when we know that actions speak louder than words. We get turned off by all the words being tossed around by the candidates and the spin doctors. Every time we turn on the news there is nothing but words, words, words from both sides of the campaign. It's not that we aren't listening. It's that our ears are full of the false echoes of rhetoric designed to tell us what some highly paid consultant thinks we want to hear. Speaking of words, senatorial hopeful Todd Akin introduced a new phrase to the common lan- guage: "legitimate rape". Some commented on the unusual use of the word "legitimate" and others were very blunt in response to the concept Akin was trying to espouse. Neverthe- less, wiser heads prevailed, and people of all stripes immediately backed away from Akin; fellow Republicans asked him to drop out of the race; women's groups castigated him for ignorance, arrogance, and being one more example of "manthink." One commentator, in a lukewarm attempt at softening the blows from right and left, in a lame attempt at humor, mentioned that Akin had never been accused of rape as had a former President. Neither of the two major presidential candidates are good at humor; nevertheless, in a bit of lame humor in his home town in Michigan Mitt Romney said no one had ever asked him for his birth certificate. The Democ- ratic response was almost nuclear; accusing the candidate of joining the "birthers", a fringe group that still maintains the President was not born in the United States. Give Mitt a break; only a fool would take his joke as a serious poke at the Presi- dent. The currently popular word "bully" was used recently. After Richard Grennell, a gay activist, left the Romney campaign, rumors were spread that Rom- ney had bullied a gay student in his high school days. Whatever the facts, the really important fact is that most of us have grown up since high school. I would hate to be held to account for behavior I hope to have out- grown. Alleged cruelty to animals even made the "news." Similarly Romney was given grief for putting his dog on top of his car while his family drove to Canada in 1983. That was almost 30 years ago. My guess is the car was pretty full with his wife and five sons and all the impedimenta needed for their trip. The President, however, was unable to stay above the fray and made a lame joke about this incident. I may be mistaken, but I thought a presidential campaign was serious business. We do have some serious issues that need to be addressed in the near future. Congress keeps kicking the can of Social Security down the road. Delays in simple moves have made future fixes more and more difficult for politicians to implement. For example, according to Stephen Ohlemacher, an Associated Press correspondent, applying the Social Security tax rate to all wages instead of first $110,100 two years ago would have taken care of 99 percent of the projected short- fall in Social Security revenue; doing that now would eliminate 72 percent of the shortfall. Other options concerning Social Security have become just the potentially less effective as well because our leaders have been afraid to take action. Joe Harrop ing more oil through more drilling and using Mexico and Canada as suppliers. Curiously he has not mentioned "clean coal", a common oxymoron, or alternative energy sources. The President touts our current record of pumping more domestic oil than ever before oil and talks about alternative energy sources, but is short on specifics as well; he does, how- ever back higher automobile fuel efficiency. The vague language of both In another example of telling us what we think we should hear, consider the candi- dates' position on energy dependence on imports. There is a serious concern about creating a self suffi- cient energy program for the United States, both from a cost standpoint and a defense standpoint, not to mention the issue of environmen- tal stewardship. Rom- ney talks about ensur- parties keeps us from nitpicking proposals and plans, but it does- n't help us decide how to vote. The parties' approaches to keeping us informed remind me of a saying attributed to a H. L Menken, "Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule--and both commonly suc- ceed and are right." 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.