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6A Daily News – Thursday, September 6, 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. 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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 Hunters and fishers take notice Editor: News by Mike Leggett Sept. 1 should be an eye opener for all hunters and fishers alike to take notice that they, too, are an endangered species as long as California is dominated by the likes of California State Senator Ted Lieu. Senator Lieu authored SB1221 "The Bear-Protection Bill" that would prevent the use of dogs for hunting bears and bobcats. The article in the Daily This isn't about the mountain lion," he says. "It's about me taking on the enviro-terror- ists. They want to take over this department, and it's any- thing they can do to (achieve that)." I believe that says it all in a nut-shell. Is there any hope for the He also wrote a letter to Dan Richards, then President of the California Fish and Game Commission, asking for his resignation after Mr. Richards legally hunted and killed a mountain lion in the State of Idaho where hunting lions is legal. Since then, his fellow commissioners have voted him out as president of the commission however, he is still a commissioner until the end of his appointed term. This should let everyone know exactly what the rest of the commissioners stand for. I quote from the (RBDN) "There is evil in their sub- terfuge," Richards says from his office. "They are chipping away at the sporting commu- nity's rights, and I'm not afraid to challenge them on it. These people who live in the asphalt jungles of the big cities where people grow up without a clue of where their food comes from and with their vision of wildlife com- ing from animated Disney movies and cartoons depict- ing wild animals as friendly touchy-feely want to be your friend creatures. The governor and legisla- tors of California control the Department of Fish and Game. The director and the commissioners of the Depart- ment of Fish and Game (DFG) are all appointed to their positions. The agenda and direction of the DFG is not necessarily that of the career personnel in the field. To change the agenda and direction of DFG make a change in those who make the appointments. As I see it, the only hope is for the various groups of hunters, hounds- men, archers, fishers and any- one who would like to see DFG be more of a friend than future? Very little, in my opinion, as long as the people in Southern and Central Cali- fornia vote for the likes of Senator Lieu. a foe toward those who buy hunting and/or fishing licens- es is to join the Tea Party movement and make a change of leadership in Sacramento. Les Wolfe, Red Bluff spectacle Editor: Well, it is time once again for the Nation's great Kabuki Theater, Circus Maximus and Puppet Show — your choice — replete with grandstand- ing, name calling, breast beat- ing, finger pointing, a real dog whistle, wedge issue, code word laced spectacle, routinely presented, along with hyperbole and empty promises, by Democrats and Republicans alike, as further proof that freedom and democracy is alive and flour- ishing. Agrand Your Turn ing firms. conducted by gas bags and talking heads, so called hosts, who draw multi-million salaries at FOX, MSNBC and other influential pro- paganda machines, is supplemented by the input of extremely expensive gurus and poll takers at public relation and consult- TV stations and advertisers are reaping windfall profits, but most importantly, pup- peteers and ring masters i.e. the usual suspects of banksters, Wall Street and the corporate sector, having dumped hun- dreds of millions of dollars into the fray, stand ready to collect its pre-arranged pound of flesh, sweetheart deals and expected lavish return on their investment. After loquacious kickoffs at both conventions, the ensu- ing national campaign is designed to gain intensity, by replicating the appearance of a WWE event, in which bile, venom and adversarial juices are encouraged to flow; in an all out effort to further widen the existing gap that separates both political parties and most importantly, its mem- bers and adherents. The airwaves are humming — professional cheerleading, What's in it for us? Regard- less of which side we align ourselves with, these excesses and liabilities will have to be funded by us, and our chil- dren and grandchildren. Obviously, divide and con- quer is the modus operandi here, and as long as we are willing participants and obe- diently acquiesce to our assigned role as each other's avowed enemy, even to our own detriment, expecting con- ditions and the status quo to change, will once again turn out to be just another decep- tion and empty pipe dream. Stay tuned. Joe Bahlke, 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 Capi- tol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacra- mento, 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: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2595 Ceanothus 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. Mirror, mirror on the wall who's the coolest prez of all? Commentary Barack Obama is probably one of the coolest presidents in American history. He reaches rock star status when cameras catch him sporting his Ray-Ban 3217's, which are, for all you squares out there, designer sun- glasses. stream and touch down in the Land of Oz. That Obama owns the word cool is nothing new, but it is quite unbecoming of the office he holds. If his "coolness" is authentic, the best thing the most powerful man on the plan- et could do is tone it down a bit, so the rest of us can feel better about ourselves. But he cannot help himself, or so it seems, which makes one wonder if his attempt to act hip is a thinly veiled intentional act distracting us from an exceptionally small man who is in over his head. I am reminded of a story about a man named Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs -- much better known as, "Oz" -- in author L. Frank Baum's multiple-book series on the Land of Oz. A circus magi- cian by occupation and supreme leader by chance, Diggs was raised to extra supercool status when fate allowed his hot air balloon to get caught in a jet First impressions are lasting. As the story is told, the people in the Land of Oz quickly elevated Diggs to top potentate because they thought Diggs' grand entrance was divine, and wor- shipped him as such. Under- standing he had large shoes to fill, and desperately desiring to look the part, Diggs shortened his name to an acronym using his initials: OZPINHEAD. Obviously, the acronym did not serve him well, so Diggs made the astute marketing decision to steer away from any references of "pinhead" by retaining just the first two initials; thereafter being fondly known as, the great wizard, of "Oz". was, Oz desperately desired to be all things to all people. Oz became a master of disguise -- appearing as balls of fire, big heads, and disembodied voices. Before long people realized this wonderful wizard wasn't as wonderful or as wizardly as they once thought he was, but rather a lovely little man more fit for the circus than political leader. The crackpot left town the same way he arrived, floating The aspiring politician he beneath a bag of hot air, which brings us to our cur- rent and very cool president. You see, fairy tales are for big people too, because they have an allegori- cal way of teaching us life lessons without all the drama. To be clear, America needs a lot of things in a president, but "cool" is not necessarily one of them. Authenticity would be a refreshing start. Cool is better left to cucumbers and drinks, not politics and presidents. To be frank, something is not… quite right… that the leader of the free world feels the need to puff himself up. That he uses media gossip outlets like People magazine and Entertain- ment Tonight to beef up his own "star wattage" as it is called, probably tells us more than we really want to know about the president's psyche. Really. While at an "NBA Heroes" fundraiser in New York City on August 22, Obama seemed, shall we say, visibly troubled that he was not the center of attention. "It is very rare," Obama jokingly poked, "I come to an event where I'm like the fifth or sixth most interest- ing person. Usually the folks want to take a pic- ture with me, sit next to me…talk to me". Susan Brown wall, who is the coolest guy of all". You are Mr. President. Now step aside to make way for some dull grown-ups to come in and clean up your mess. ----- Soldiers are being killed in Afghanistan, unemployment is his- torically high, the national debt swells, gas and food prices are on the rise, yet our president ponders puerile questions like "Mirror, mirror on the Susan Stamper Brown is an opinion page columnist, motivational speaker and military advocate who writes about politics, the military, the economy and culture. Email Susan at writestamper@gmail.com or her website at susanstamperbrown.com.