Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/8196
6A – Daily News – Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Opinion 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 Story was inappropriate Editor: 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 I couldn't believe my eyes on the front page on March 19. Local law enforcement and SWAT team drills at Reeds Creek Elementary School using children in the "Mock and Load" scenario. This event was entirely inap- propriate on many levels, not the least of which DN's photo of children being marched in line by armed men with hands clasped behind their heads. Is this legitimate disaster planning, or the indoctrination of children citizens to accept and acclimate to police-state government authority? We the people need to wake up and hit the free Republic reset button. And to those who would minimize the implica- tions and of this drill being no big deal and a necessary thing to keep people safe, I would invoke the warning of one of our founding fathers who said that whoever surrenders liberty in the name of security deserves neither. Accepting the police state style of control is the first step toward tyranny. Just open a his- tory book about the USSR or pre-WWII Germany. Shame on local law enforce- ment and shame on the DN for using children in this mock sce- nario. Ann Minch, Red Bluff Behind THC Editor: How about taking a look behind the THC ads? Consider: 1. Quantity and quality. 2. Chemical equivalent and therapeutic equivalent. 3. Toxic dose and lethal dose. 4. Eleven cups of coffee may contain a toxic dose and drink- ing too much water quickly may be lethal. Knowing the forego- ing isn’t likely to guarantee that a person treating himself won’t have a fool for a patient. 5. The three Ps in a pod — patient, physician and pharma- cist. 6. Perhaps plant elm trees to remember E-L-M-S: ethical, legal, moral, standards, also action can create desirable con- sequences. Steve Kelsey, Corning Senator speaks Editor: Small business owners are under assault in California from unelected and unaccountable government bureaucrats who aggressively use the California State Labor Cods to levy fines or just bully business owners Into submission. Business own- ers who have attended a series of job loss forums tell me that a hostile bureaucracy is one of their biggest problems, That's why I’ve created s spe- cial "Bully Bureaucrat Hotline" on my State Senate Web site and introduced legislation designed to amend the California State Labor Code. I would encourage business owners from every corner of Cali- fornia to visit my site and use the hotline if they’ve been harassed or bullied by one regu- lator or another. California regulators and bureaucrats should be in the business of educating and help- ing our small business interests. There is a right way and a wrong way to conduct the busi- ness of regulation in California. The hotline on my Web page will help tell us just how exten- sive this problem is. If your readership has a story to tell about one one meetings - or if they’ve been fined for a violation of codes they did not understand or were not aware of — would like to hear from them. Please visit my Slate Senate Web site at www.senca.gov/aanestad and report this abuse. This State Legislature needs to understand that small business is the eco- nomic engine that drives Cali- fornia. Sen. Sam Aanestad, Grass Valley HR 4054 Editor: Your Turn Since there are so many serv- ing this country from our area as shown in the “In The Military “ page of this paper, I thought there should be some interest in Rep. John Sarbane’s bill HR 4054. Actually the bill has nothing to do with active military person- al. It only affects veter- ans, disabled veterans to be more precise. You see right now a wounded veteran can receive a 100 percent disability rating from the Veterans Admin- istration and yet be denied Social Security disability benefits. This has happened to many veterans, including yours truly. There is no real good reason for Social Security to deny those vets because the same determi- nation procedure is done in both entities. If Rep. Sarbane’s bill becomes law, Social Security will no longer be able to deny benefits to those who sacrificed so much for this country. Presently this bill is in the House Ways and Means com- mittee, of which our own Wally Herger is a member. Please encourage him to look favorably upon this piece of legislation, even though it was proposed by a Democrat. Orval Strong, Gerber 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. Health care reform is a tough call Commentary The health care bill has final- ly passed and will move on to President Obama for a signa- ture. Whether or not this is good news or creates a creeping sense of dread depends on a few vari- ables. Doctors who treat Medicare or Medicaid patients will be seeing a decrease in payouts without something to replace the practice’s lost income and will still have long-standing patients who need care. Many older doctors are mumbling something about early retire- ment. Their headaches with insurance providers and govern- ment care will increase, not decrease. Their income levels will be inversely proportionate to the hassle factor. However, those of us, and this would include me, who have pre-existing conditions will have a better chance at get- ting insurance and therefore treated for that condition that could kill us. Children will not be able to be turned away for the same reason and it’ll be harder for insurance companies to cap treatment and treat human beings like we have an expiration date stamped on our foreheads. Those were the real death panels. Here’s the kink in all of this, though, and the reason why so many people are protesting so loudly. There’s a price tag for all of this and while it’s going to decrease the deficit over time, that doesn’t mean it’s a cost saver for everyone. And, no, it’s not the ultra-wealthy who will be picking up the slack. Families in particular who make over $250,000 per year will see an increase in taxes and that’s a bitter pill to swallow at a time when everyone is worried about losing a job and protect- ing their diminished retirement account. Now a lot of Ameri- cans will have to add paying for someone else’s bills to their monthly budget. It feels a little like the giant bailout but this time from the bottom up. Notice it’s still the middle that’s getting squeezed. The public option, which would have made it possible for everyone to become insured, was deleted as too controversial and expensive to the average taxpayer. However, going to be expensive to the average taxpayer and at least this way we would have known that everyone who needed cov- erage was getting it. There is a balance to democ- racy that dictates entrepreneur- ship mixed with an even dose of charity toward others. It’s the balance that’s now out of whack. Big corporations, which should have been in the entre- preneurship category, were treated as charity cases and after they had the cash went back to behaving like independent busi- nesses to the taxpay- ers’ detriment. That’s what generally hap- pens when those who caused the problem are bailed out. They learn nothing and are only relieved at not having to pay for their mistakes. it’s still Those who could use some help to recover such as dis- placed homeowners or small business owners or charities big and small got very little assistance or nothing at all. That means the roots of our economy in America have not been watered but the blooms at the top look great. It’s all an illusion though and without a solid base consisting of a healthy middle class the recov- ery isn’t going to hold, regard- less of our health insurance sta- tus. Most of this can not be laid at the Obama administration’s door. The seeds were planted in previous administrations from both parties who deregulated the financial markets, disregard- ing why the regulations were needed in the first place. Then, in 2005 when sub-prime mort- gages began to be traded like they were actual gold, the Great Recession became an inevitable consequence. What’s more sur- prising is how little has been done to reign in the excess. Wall Street appears to have learned nothing more than how to ignore the jeers from the regular taxpayers while they keep cashing their bonus checks. Martha Randolph Carr That leads to the big looming question about the new legisla- tion. The ones who will end up paying for this new bill for the most part are small business owners, the backbone of the econ- omy who employ more people than all of the large corporations combined. Just how long will they continue to pay for other people’s mistakes before they have finally had enough? The answer will probably come in the mid-term elections and will have far more to do with the unemployment rate and the GNP than the health insurance coverage. Visit Martha at www.MarthaRandolphCarr.com or send her an email at Martha@caglecartoons.com.