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6A – Daily News – Monday, March 22, 2010 Opinion Coffee, tea or me D NEWSAILY 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 No I’m not an airline attendant 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 offering your favorite libation or a carnal retreat — I’m a progres- sive columnist offering you a new choice in political movements. The Tea Party Patriots of the ultra-conservative right are now balanced with the Coffee Party Loyalists on the liberal left to help our government truly reflect the will of the people. If you don’t wish to align yourself with either of these activist groups, you can always choose the lonely party of Me, Myself and I and watch as others control your destiny. Mark your calendars for Wednesday, March 24 to attend a kick-off meeting for our local Coffee Party from 5-7 p.m. at the Round Table Pizza, 116 Belle Mille Road in Red Bluff between Food Maxx and the CVS Phar- macy. Some of your liberal stal- warts, including Orval Strong and this intrepid columnist, will be there to help energize this party of Yes. When I asked Orval what the Coffee Party stood for, he said they are basically for everything the Tea Party is against. How’s that for balance? Annabel Park is the founder of Coffee Party USA and a docu- mentary filmmaker whose feature film, 9500 Liberty, is playing at film festivals and awaiting release. She is working on her second fea- ture film, 2010 Okinawa, about the controversy over U.S. military bases in Okinawa, Japan. She reminds us of the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a president and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the vot- ers of this country.” When she began the Facebook fan page Join the Coffee Party Movement, Park had no idea what would transpire. It was about 1:30 a.m. Jan. 26, and she was very frustrated with the end- less news coverage about the Tea Party and the growing narrative that it represented America. She was driven by a question, a curiosity: If I build it, will they come? She mused, “Would any- one respond to my call for civility in our political discourse and cooperation in government?” Much like the baseball players in the movie Field of Dreams, they came, at first virtually as more than 155,000 joined the fan page in fewer than six weeks. But were they real people? On March 13, she got her answer with reports of more than 350 events held for National Coffee Party Day in at least 44 states; even Americans living abroad gathered in Italy, Panama and Indonesia. People from all walks of life and all political dispositions sat together as fellow Americans to discuss their concerns about our politics: accountability, corporate influence, health care reform, edu- cation reform, the econ- omy, immigration reform, filibusters, etc. There was a generally shared anxiety for many that corporations were gaming the political process. There was passion and excitement about what the Coffee Party could become politically and personal- ly. Here was a chance for open- minded people to have a voice in our government and hope in our future. In just a few weeks, the Face- book page became a virtual town square where people could meet, talk, learn, engage, share, serve and be part of a positive commu- nity at http://www.face- book.com/coffeeparty. Now the people of Northern California have an opportunity to meet face-to-face and work together hand in hand practicing democ- racy at the local level and creating a place to feel at home in the pub- lic sphere. Richard Mazzucchi Positive Point It is my hope that the gathering this Wednesday will be the wellspring of a sustain- able movement of helpful and hopeful American loyalists working together to protect and defend the constitution of the United States as we perfect our government of, for and by the people of this won- derful country. Richard Mazzucchi is a retired research engineer specializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He has travelled extensively and now makes his home in Los Molinos. He can be reached at living-green@att.net. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), 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), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 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; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Sensible candidates and loony liberals Commentary It’s a tribute to self-governance, in my opinion, that even in a rela- tively minor, rural county like ours, candidates for various offices are sensible, reasonable and knowl- edgeable. The Tea Party Patriots groups from Redding to Corning have entertained numerous folks vying for office and we have yet to observe a candidate that can’t be taken seriously. The Corning Patriots group, meeting last Thursday, had the pleasure of hearing from Mr. William Murphy, candidate for Superior Court Judge, and Mr. Kenneth (Ken) Miller, who is run- ning for District Attorney. Mr. Murphy, who previously appeared before the Tea Party Patriots in Red Bluff, conveyed a wide range of experience, including county coun- sel, and appeared quite informed and willing to address the ques- tions of attendees. Mr. Miller, a practicing attorney with a background in criminal defense, recounted his time and experience on the law enforcement side as a California Highway Patrol officer who served the pub- lic from Southern California to the North State. He also conveyed competence and knowledge suffi- cient to impress those who came out in Corning to listen. Make plans to drop by the Tehama County Tea Party Patriots meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. (see Local Calendar, page 3) to see this week’s slate of candidates: Todd Bottke for Superior Court, Leroy Anderson for Auditor-Controller, Dave Hencratt for Sheriff/Coroner, and Dennis Garton for Supervisor. The timely format provides each with 10 minutes to address the spe- cific issues raised by the Tea Party candidates committee; only after they’ve all spoken do they return to answer questions from the audi- ence. You are free to ask any respectful question but are not allowed to make statements or mini-speeches to the candidate. It’s been working well and makes for a reasonably quick and pleasant evening. Loony liberal, Exhibit A: Someone, seeing a Tea Party Patri- ot registering voters and getting petition signatures outside Grocery Outlet on South Main St, felt com- pelled to hurl the N-word, calling a elderly lady a Nazi. Just how does it come to pass that some presum- ably younger, obviously unintelli- gent and uninformed, person can muster their analytical processes and political acumen, and call a slight, curly-haired old woman a Nazi? What historical idiocy does someone carry around that they find any comparison whatsoever between such a person doing the most basic of citizen activism – signing up voters and filling a peti- tion to allow public employee union members to keep more of their money – and Germany’s National Socialist Party? Nazism and Fascism stood for, to simplify things, leaving much of the econo- my in private ownership but with so much regulation and control that corporations and businesses were effectively extensions, and at the mercy, of the state. That certainly has nothing in common with Tea Party principles of smaller, less- intrusive government, but might have some echoes and similarities with other governing philosophies currently in vogue. Loony liberal, Exhibit B: Tom Hanks, the actor, producer and one-time Red Bluff-ite. With all due respect for one of the more level-headed Hollywood figures; with great respect for Hanks’ work in "Saving Private Ryan," "Band of Brothers" and, now on HBO, "The Pacific," (all remind us of the noble sacrifices and accom- plishments of generations past) – ignorant, wrong- headed pronouncements are not excused. Quoted in Time maga- zine, Tom Hanks said "Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as ‘yellow, slant-eyed dogs’ that believed in dif- ferent gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was differ- ent. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were differ- ent. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what’s going on today?" Well, it wasn’t what went on then, and it’s absolutely not "what’s going on today"! Before the Japanese, intent on regional conquest, made their sneak-attack on Pearl Harbor, history shows a WWI Japanese/American alliance against Germany, large Japanese immigrant communities in Ameri- ca and no interest in "annihilating" that nation. Ask the Chinese, Burmese and Philippine people who remember, about the "annihi- lating" tactics used by the Japanese against their countries. Ask those "different people Don Polson The way I see it with different gods" how they felt about America fighting and sacri- ficing to free them from brutal, sadistic Japanese domination. After the regrettably necessary destruction of Japanese cities to induce surrender by a foe that would have killed millions of American soldiers and Marines in a fight-to- the-death defense, after a very culturally respectful ceremony of surrender, after Ameri- ca rebuilt Japan physi- cally and governmental- ly – an alliance formed and lives to today. Ask the "different people with different gods" in Bosnia, Somalia, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan about their liberation and/or protection from tyran- ny afforded by Ameri- ca’s military. Reduc- ing enemy combatants to "things" that must be killed before they kill you is not evidence of Amer- ican racism and I would have thought that Mr. Hanks’ high school history classes had taught him better. Perhaps they did, before he drank and breathed the anti-American water and air in elite Hollywood. Go to "Polecat News and Views" at redbluffdailynews.com. and scroll to "Does Hollywood Make You Stupid?" Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@yahoo.com.