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4A Daily News – Friday, November 16, 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 Sore winners and sacred cows A few weeks back I wrote a column lamenting the fact I receive so many letters to the editor from the same handful of folks expressing the same opinions over and over. I challenged the other more than 15,000 of you to try your hand at submitting letters for the opinion page for the sake of better representing the community as a whole. Turns out all I needed to do was write a column about the flag and one man's use of it to express his reaction to the recent presidential race. In case you've been living under a rock and missed it, the volunteer caretaker of the flag that flies in Downtown Red Bluff decided to raise that flag the morning after the election in a way that indicat- ed the country was in peril. For my part, I acknowl- edged that his chosen protest was thoughtful, temporary, caused no real harm and fell within his rights of free speech. As political protest goes, it was clever and harm- less. took exception with my words, and a few offered sup- port — split with precision between those who won the election and those who lost. Not surprising. Regular trips through the wringer come with the job. But I would like to clarify that the piece I wrote was, as is this, a personal column, signed by me and bearing my mug. It was not an editorial, which represents the opinion of the newspaper. That said, I'll stand by A good number of readers what I wrote and happily pub- lish the letters of those who disagree with it. So far the letters have gotten far more ink than the original column, and I think that's great. spectrum, along with govern- ment bureaucrats, cops, attorneys and school administra- tors. The flag is nothing to be trifled with, as evidenced by the number of folks who suddenly become experts on flag eti- quette when they per- ceive it to be mis- treated. Chip Be assured, I mean no disrespect to the flag, just as I'm sure the caretaker, an Army veteran, meant none. Newspaper editors fall at the other end of the fair game Thompson 545 Diamond Ave. by time worrying about whether everyone agreed with what I write in my column, I'm not sure you'd ever see another. So let me have it, the community con- versation will be better for your efforts. If I spent much Chip Thompson can be reached at 527-2151, Ext. 112 or email at editor@redbluffdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @EditorChip. 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. Have you been tracked? Commentary You may think you possess an indepen- dent mind and therefore no one can know how you voted. However, there are firms, known as "trackers" that can tell by what you do and where you go how you will vote. For example, a study by Civic Science reveals that if you eat at Red Lobster, like George Clooney, have cats, stay up late, watch NBC and listen to smooth jazz, you are likely to be an Obama supporter. Con- versely, if you drink Sam Adams, pay for groceries with a credit card, go to Olive Gar- den, watch Fox, love action movies and fol- low college football, you are more likely to prefer Romney. Another firm projected that if you are a white male, married and earn more than $90,000 annually, you are pro Romney. And yet, if you are Jewish, live in L.A., are a journalist, drive a small car and don't believe in God, you are in the Obama camp...especially if you watch the Daily Show, love Letterman, shop at Target far more than Walmart. These are all generalizations, of course, walking in his stocking feet during a rain- storm, paused to peer into a garbage can at Main and Walnut. Finding something of interest, he pulled out a plastic con- tainer with straw attached and took a healthy swig of the contents therein. He did not remove the lid to view the refreshment; he just gulped down the coke or whatever, wiped off his mouth with a dirty sleeve, and proceeded down the street as a knight of the open road. *** Art Neufeld, a pharma- cologist, has written about that elusive subject, hair. He asserts that humans are but according to the pros, you, as a voter, are predictable. As I decided not to vote for either Obama or Romney, I must be in a dif- ferent category. When informed of my dere- liction, B. Bundy wrote that I lacked guts. I replied that I am not sheep-like in voting the party line. He retracted his original assess- ment but assured me that by not voting, I voted for Obama by default. Burt should know as he is politically savvy and a former (and future) Tehama County Supervisor where, when in harness, he assured me there was no party line involved in decision making. enough evidence to invoke the death penal- ty. Hultgren is long gone, but the memory, and his instruction, linger on. Robert Minch I Say If it is true I have no political acumen, then it follows I am out of step in other cat- egories as well. Take the world of entertain- ment. The S.F. Chron publishes a section titled "Ovation", in which the reader is told where certain "artists" are plying their wares. However, the names of these groups give little clue as to their performance. For example, we have, for your pleasure, Air Supply, Tower of Power, Dogcatcher, Grown Kids Radio, Mount Kimbie, Catch The Sea & Cake and so on. All this being foreign to my aged ears and a far cry from our high school dance band known as the Rhythm Rascals...which told you all you needed to know of our group. *** Sightem: A chap wearing a shawl, and the only creatures with hair rather than fur, and that 90% of the people on earth have black or dark brown hair. He avows that "head hair gives humans an opportunity to demonstrate that they have free will," and yet I assumed that balding fellows, who shave their head of all hair, are the ones demonstrating free will. Art continues, "The onset of male pattern baldness might have once signaled a young man's fitness as a mate, since it would have coincided with the flourishing of his reproductive capaci- ties." That may be, but that all balding men I have known have longed for a full head of hair. Fortunately, a non-hirsute fellow today can just wrap a rag about his head and be considered hip. Or so I have been told. *** tion and presented to six Union Army vol- unteers. Last week's quiz was answered first by L. Brown who reported that the Medal of Honor was authorized by Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and the first recipient was Private J. Parrott. However, there is evidence that the first medal was the Navy Medal of Valor, which was signed into law by Abe. An Army Medal of Honor was approved by Congress 12 July 1862. In 1863 it was made a permanent decora- *** This week's quiz: In the TV series "Route 66," what auto was the vehicle of choice used by the actors to tour the coun- try, who rode along with Paul Revere in addition to his horse, of course, and what was Liberace's first name? *** Worth a repeat: Issac was sitting at a bar looking miserable. A customer on the next stool asked, "Excuse me, but you look depressed. What's the problem?" "You may well ask," replied Issac. "My mother died in June and left me $10,000 dollars." Received notification from the State Department of Corrections, Office of Vic- tim and Survivor Rights and Services, that John Borg, convicted of murdering our mother, is still behind bars at Folsom Prison where he received a sentence of Life with- out Parole. That was in 1989 when he was 35. That would make him 58 today. There is some satisfaction in knowing that he has spent nearly half his life in prison. Some would think that punishment enough, but justice would have been better served if he had been executed forthwith. But then, his bloody handprint in the hallway of her house might not have been conclusive enough for Judge Richard Hultgren who instructed the jury that there was not "Gee, that's tough," said the customer. "Then, in July, my father died and left me $50,000." tomer. "Losing both parents in two months. No wonder you are depressed." "And last month my aunt died and left me $15,000." "How terrible," said the customer. "3 family members gone." "Then this month," moaned Issac, "Noth- ing." Robert Minch is a lifelong resident of Red Bluff, former columnist for the Corning Daily Observer and Meat Industry magazine and author of the "The Knocking Pen." He can be reached at rminchandmurray@hotmail.com. "I'm really sad to hear that," said the cus-