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6A Daily News – Saturday, November 10, 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 Hello my name is Maggie Sheppard. I am 13 years old and I go to Vista Middle School in Red Bluff. Prop. 30 Editor: I'm writing you this letter because I believe that, as a cur- rent student of California, a child's education is more impor- tant than paying less taxes. Many Californians voted "no" on Prop. 30, I am personally very upset and I really think that the people who voted "no" should have considered their child's education first. If I had been able to vote I would have voted yes because I would not want an undereducat- ed person as my doctor or my lawyer or even my child's teacher. So please, next time, put your child's education first. Maggie Sheppard, Red Bluff While I am not surprised by the action and lack of judge- ment by the person who flew the American flag upside-down and at half-mast on Red Bluff's Main Street in his designated position of caretaker, I am very Outrageous Editor: surprised at the editorial deci- sion to place the huge photo and wacky story front-page and top- of-the-fold. A little respect, please, for the reelection of our president by the legitimate majority in this democratic republic. We have all been unhappy with election outcomes. How we handle our response may be the true test of the patriot. Barbara McIver, Red Bluff Flag story Editor: remove the flagpole from down- town Red Bluff. When it was erected it was to honor and be a memorial to those who defended our nation, but it has become a symbol of disrespect to both The United States of America, and the flag which represents it. It seems the time has come to News would glorify such a dis- honorable act. Brett Henderson, Red Bluff I'm disappointed the Daily Editor: I was trying to figure it out today — how many times I have been served by the hun- Raley's dreds of people who have staffed Raley's in Red Bluff over the 27 years we have lived here, and the dozens that serve us now. I wonder how so many in our commu- nity could possibly believe that 7,000 people would rather be striking than working. While I don't know everything about the 15 months of contract negotiations, nor do I believe anybody else in this communi- ty does either, I do know that this was not an easy decision and that they would much rather be working. But some- times you have to stand up for what you have earned and believed in — and even more importantly, sometimes you have to stand up for one anoth- er. the picket lines or to make this a referendum about whether you believe in unions or not. I am asking only that you honor these people who are our neighbors and friends — who are just like us — with families to support and bills to pay. I am asking you to support the 7,000 men and women that I am not asking you to join Your Turn are on strike, and their families, by not shopping at any of the more than 100 Raley's, Bel Air or Nob Hill stores until the strike is over — which would happen a lot more quickly if nobody crossed the picket lines. We are a small community that is being given the opportunity to make a big difference — why not sup- port them? Why not be part of the solution? inconvenient to have to shop somewhere else for awhile, let us choose to treat these 7,000 human beings as we would want them to treat us. We will all be the better for it. There is never a time when kindness or respect are choices we regret. And while it might be Kim Noreen Anderson, Red Bluff Editor: In regards to the announce- ment, in the Nov. 2 edition, of Capt. Jess Darnell USMC, he is also my son, Vickie Linnet, and I am so proud of him. Vickie Linnet, Corning Military-Darnell 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. Democracy? by the numbers Commentary I have written and spoken about the Electoral College before, and the eve of a Presidential election seems to be a good time to reflect on it again. I chose to write this piece before the election results on Tuesday; I thought that if I did not know the results I might be able to comment on the Electoral College system with a little more detach- ment. We often refer to ourselves as a "democracy"; however our Consti- tution does not say anything about democracy; the Preamble is sim- ply: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, pro- vide for the common defence [sic], promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitu- tion for the United States of Amer- ica."The word "democracy" does not appear anywhere in the Consti- tution or in the Amendments to it. The Constitution does state: "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government." A republic is defined generally as a state "in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by the body of citizens either directly or indi- rectly by them." Some definitions include that a republic does not have a monarch. Democracy is often associated with the direct election of leaders and the direct participation of vot- ers; we recall town hall meetings where the citizenry would meet as a group and take a vote on matters, with the majority determining those matters. At the state and local levels we do have democracy in action; majority votes win those elections. We also have direct elec- tions to the Congress and Senate, although it took over 100 years to have the direct vote for U.S. Sena- tors. For the Presidency we have something else. As you know, when we cast our vote in the Presidential election we are not, in fact, voting for a candi- date. We are actually voting for a slate of electors who, in turn, cast their ballots for a candidate, pre- sumably the candidate who received the most votes in our state. The system was developed when our Constitution was drafted over 200 years ago. There are many rationales about why it was creat- ed. Some felt afraid of true democ- racy and were wary of mob rule as it had occurred during the French Revolution; some wanted to pre- serve the maximum influence of smaller states; of course, there was no simple way 200 years ago to tally votes and declare a winner nationally in a timely fashion. In any case, the Electoral College has been with us with a few modifica- tions since the Constitution was adopted. There has been a lot of grumbling about it recently, so I thought I would crunch some num- bers and see what happens. As you probably know, each state has a number of electors based on the total number of Con- gressional Representatives and Senators; for small states such as Alaska, Delaware, Montana, Ver- mont, South Dakota, North Dako- ta, and Wyoming this is 3 electors; the District of Columbia has the same number of electors as the smaller states, as specified in the 23rd Amendment to the Constitu- tion adopted in 1961. Within this group the number of electors varies from one Elector per 187,875 resi- dents (Wyoming) to one per 329,117 residents (Montana). Thus, even in this group of relatively sparsely pop- ulated states, a voter in one state has 1.76 times the voting power of another state. To put it another way, the seven small states and the Dis- trict of Columbia have a total of 1.9 percent of the total population of the United States, but account for 4.46 percent of the Electoral College elec- tors. For the larger states the Joe differential is even more dramatic; California, with a population of over 37 million has one electoral voter per 677,344 res- idents, while Rhode Island has one elector per 263,141 residents. Cal- ifornia has 12 percent of the popu- lation but 10 percent of the Elec- toral College votes. In other words, a vote in Rhode Island is worth over two and one half times a vote in California. Harrop improbable. Nevertheless, to put another light on this, a candidate could receive 100 per cent of the vote in 39 states and the District of Columbia, but lose all of those big 11 states by only one vote each, and not get to 270 Electoral Col- lege votes. In other words, the candidate who theoretically won those big states would be elected, in spite of the fact that he/she received votes repre- senting over 221 mil- lion fewer residents than the loser! Candidates need 270 of the 538 electoral votes to win the election. There have been many scenarios in which a Presidential candidate can win the popular vote and lose the election. Most recently George W. Bush lost the popular vote by about 550,000 votes, but won the Elec- toral College vote by 270 to 269 in the year 2000. You may recall that Ralph Nader garnered 2.8 million votes in that election; he received no Electoral College votes. Hypothetically, if a candidate can carry the 11 largest states, he or she would garner 270 Electoral Votes. The political diversity of these 11 large states makes this ment, state governments, and local jurisdictions. Sometimes they disagree with each other; that is one reason we have so many lawyers. It is also the reason why we have problems in deciding if and under which conditions a per- son can use or grow marijuana, for instance. It is also why we do not have national educational standards; it is also why some states can make it more difficult for some to vote in national elec- tions; or why gasoline formula- tion may different from one state to the next. There is a constant tension because of these differ- ences; whether or not that tension is good has yet to be determined. Nevertheless, I am pretty sure we wouldn't trade our citizenship for that in any other country. America is unique; it has a federal govern- 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.