No matter what happens in the upcoming presidential election, the Bush administration will no longer govern our great nation. In some ways that will be a very sad day for me.

When George W. Bush was sworn in as president early in this decade, I consulted my stockbroker for financial advice that would prepare me for what lay ahead.

Without hesitation, his recommendation was to buy as much Chevron (CVX) as I could get my hands on. So, I did. At that time it was trading at 31.5. Recently it closed at 95.5. For those of you who need help with the math, that is over a 300 percent gain. Now, that’s what I call performance.

I also made modest investments in Marathon Oil (MRO), First Energy Corp. (FE) and Sempra Energy (SRE), all for which had similar gains.

For some it is a burden that gasoline is priced over $3 a gallon, but for some it is not.

See ya at the pump!

David Boyle,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Newspaper columnist H.L. Mencken had a low opinion of voters and politicians. I was reminded of this when a friend forwarded this quote from one of Mencken’s more famous columns, and whether we agree with it or not, it seems interesting in this time of presidential campaigning:

“When a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental — men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion, and whose dominant emotion is dread of what they cannot understand.

“The presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents more and more closely the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their hearts’ desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

Mencken, who died in 1956, wrote that for the Baltimore Sun on July 26, 1920. He had a great following, although people seldom took him seriously. They got a chuckle from his being unafraid to express publicly what they sometimes thought privately — that politics in many cases is a fraud perpetrated on the stupid by the venal.

Of course, politics had its uses. It gave him something to write about.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

The tap water in Los Angeles again has won a taste test against tap waters of other cities, which isn’t surprising. A good part of Los Angeles’ water comes from north of Owens Lake in the eastern Sierras, near where at least one water-bottling plant is located. The water there is great.

Many people in Los Angeles probably don’t believe their water is that good. They buy bottled water in huge quantities in that city, which goes to show how easy it is to put one over on some people.

The same thing happens here. People go into grocery stores and buy cases of bottled water to take home, paying dearly for what they can get from their home taps for free.

I sometimes buy bottled water just to see if any of it is better than what comes out of the tap in Madera, and I still haven’t found one. Only once in a while, when there is turbidity in the water and a bit of chlorine has been added, will Madera water taste a bit off.

The one thing bottled water has going for it is the bottle. The bottles are easy to carry around, to put in the fridge, to swig while you’re out walking or engaging in sports. I like the little green glass bottles that one brand of water comes in. When I have drunk one of them dry, I will refill it with Madera water many times. If I keep the cap on tight between swigs, it won’t spill if I knock it over.

In fact, I have one of those bottles on my desk right now, and even though the bottle came from Italy the water is pure Madera.

Another good reason to live here in the heart of California.

All comments are edited for length and content. Due to content some comments may not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of comments and space, some may not be published.

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“Downtown is doing great,” said a woman. “They’re busy, they’re making some money and I think it’s great. Downtown is fantastic. It has a lot of people down there shopping. Who cares about the bright colors?”

“Thank you, Bill Coate, for Pieces of the Past,” said a woman. “Is there any way we can have more articles on Sheriff Barnett? It seems that present Madera doesn’t interest me a bit with the crime and filth downtown. The Social Security building is so filthy with gum all over the front walkways, and the post office, yuck.”

“All you have to do is go down to the county offices,” said a lady about “the restaurant on Road 26, and you’ll see there are permits for that restaurant.”

“I am livid,” began a lady’s call. About “a teacher at Madera High referring to a female student as a skank. There were other students around that heard the remark. Shame on you, you give all teachers a bad name. I hope the parents of this student step forward and do the right thing.”

“I just want to say something positive in the Red Line. There are too many negatives. All the callers have complaints, but no answers,” said one caller.

“I read Mr. Emo’s article this morning (Tues. Feb. 19) concerning the trust fund established for the Hollier family home remodel, so they can move back in after that terrible homicide. I think it is great of those volunteers to help. I moved here from a much larger city and this wouldn’t have happened there. I hope the people of Madera contribute to the trust fund set up for the home and the family at Citizen’s Bank. I will be.”

A man wanted a follow up on the proposed train station on Road 26 near Club Drive. “It has been at least two years since the city and county got together and spent taxpayer’s money on property. What became of that? A lot of people would like to ride the train.”

After reading “the article on the (Madera Unified) school district and the plan to put a 36-1 ratio in the classroom again, and 33-1 in kindergarten. I think that is the worst decision they could make concerning the budget. They have so much at the top they could cut with the administration. There are people they really don’t need at the district office.”

A male caller commented on the district’s saying it may close a school, “Where is our leadership at? It’s ridiculous. They brought in portable (classrooms) because they had overcrowding, now they want to shut schools down. Maybe they should just get rid of the portables. … (Also) they are thinking of getting rid of security and hiring a local security company. Come on.”

A man called saying he “just witnessed in front of Millview school one of our illustrious Madera police officers. It’s raining; he had his windshield wipers on and no headlights. This is a law in California. How do we enforce it when our local law enforcement don’t abide by the laws?”

“And the local Sheriff’s Department saying they don’t have to wear seat belts. Excuse me,” he said rather firmly, “I think they’re the one that should be setting the example.”

A woman who was looking at the Tribune’s feature “Madera County at Work, and you have a picture of our triplet mom.” She said, “you have the wrong name with the picture.” She gave the name that she thought was correct.

A man who said he “called a few weeks ago,” and asked again about “the state lottery and the Tribune doing an investigation on where our money is going. Why don’t you be the little paper in this big state and make them open up their books?”

A lady “just wanted to comment on whoever cut the trees at the Catholic church. They really butchered that one beautiful Genko tree. It is so upsetting. I’m sure they get enough donations. They charge enough for that school, and everything, you would think they would be able to afford a decent gardener. It’s kind of sad.”

Webmaster’s note: The tree you mention was trimmed by my father who is a very experienced tree trimmer. Your response is a common first reaction to his work but by springtime I suspect your opinion will be quite different. That also is a common occurrence. My dad has been doing this work for decades and truly cares for trees. He knows what he is doing.

“I wanted to thank the Farm Bureau for putting on a wonderful water conference on Thursday, February 21,” began a man. “It was interesting to see four directors from the Madera Irrigation District were there.” The caller “wondered where were all these people that ran for these (election) seats?”

Webmaster’s note: I could be mistaken, but I believe one of them, Fred Nix, was at the bedside of his wife, who was in the hospital.

A man called about a pizza establishment “in Madera that advertises ‘hot and ready’ for five dollars. They got one out of two right,” said the caller. “But you have to be ready to wait for 25 to 20 minutes. … They should advertise hot and ready to wait.”

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A visitor to www.MaderaTribuneRedLine.com — “Darlene” — writes, “They need to find a different place to drop off or pick up South High students instead of the parking lot by the stadium. … The high school kids are standing on the sidewalk and won’t move. … We should be able to walk our kids to school without going into (the) road to get there.”

An online reader, “Janet Campbell,” writes, “I can’t believe you are gone (Melina Sandoval). I miss your laughter, your crazy makeup and just knowing that you and Shandi are safe in Fresno shopping. You were a joy to have in my life and I’m glad I met you. I would also like … to say, know if your driver is sober — if not call someone else — I wish she would have called me.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478 or visiting www.MaderaTribuneRedLine.com.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

State Sen. Dave Cogdill has been elected Senate Republican leader, and that puts Madera County in an unusual position: two of its four legislative representatives are minority leaders of their respective chambers. (Assemblyman Mike Villines is Republican leader of the California Assembly.)

Cogdill is a former Assembly member who is in his first term as a senator. Villines is in his second term as an Assembly member.

The Republicans in the Senate and Assembly obviously have a high opinion of the skills and character of both these citizen politicians, who do a good job of fostering the interests of their party, as well as the interests of their constituents.

Cogdill represents the 14th Senate District, which runs generally east of state Route 99 along the Sierras from Kingsburg up to Lodi. He has district offices in Fresno and Ripon, and has lived in Modesto since 1979. He is a former member of the Modesto City Council, and is a real estate appraiser.

Villines represents the 29th Assembly District, which encompasses the eastern portion of Fresno County and a pocket of southern Madera County, which includes the city of Madera. His home is in Clovis. His district office is in Fresno. He was an aide to Gov. Pete Wilson, and was chief of staff to former State Sen. Chuck Poochigian, whose senate district Cogdill now represents. Before being elected to the Assembly, he owned a small business in Clovis.

Both these leaders reflect the good judgment of Madera County voters.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

A tip of the hat to the city for a good job done on the remodeling of City Hall. The space that became available when the police department moved from City Hall to its new headquarters on C Street has been put to good use.

The finance department, which handles accounting for city funds and collections for utilities, has become much more user-friendly. That department now has its own entrance (the former police entrance), and plenty of windows for customer service, so people don’t have to stand in line for long periods just to leave their money. The employees of the finance department now have adequate places to work instead of being scrunched into inadequate cubicles.

City attorney Richard Denhalter and his staff now have offices in City Hall instead of half a block away at the Madera Housing Authority.

The city planning department now has a lobby counter to help people who are seeking permits. People seeking help from that department used to have to crowd into a small space not much bigger than a walk-in closet to get waited on.

City Clerk Sonya Alvarez now has a counter where people can be waited on, which is an improvement not only for customers, but also for the clerk, who used to share office space with the vault.

City Administrator David Tooley and the City Council spent the minimum amount necessary to make use of the space — saving the city money while substantially upgrading work spaces and services for citizens. They deserve credit for a good job.

Regarding the opinion piece by faculty advisor Warren Starr of the M.S.H.S. student newspaper, “Stallion Stampede,” published Feb. 19:

I am pleased to see the students of Madera South High School have taken an active interest in the workings of our nation’s election processes, as is evidenced by their articles on the opinion pages in the latest issue of the Stampede. What is troubling, however, is the opinion piece on page 2 by faculty advisor Warren Starr.

As a mentor to journalism students, Mr. Starr must be careful to teach his students to be fair and unbiased in their reporting of facts. As is listed in the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists (http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp), journalists should: “Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.”

Given, the article in question is an opinion piece, but I found myself wondering where Mr. Starr came up with his information.

Take, for example, his reference to the constitution of the state of Texas: “The people of the great state of Texas, in their constitution, made it illegal for a former minister to be governor.”

Having never heard this before, I decided to do a little research. From the online Web site of the Texas Legislature, one can click on a link to the text of the Texas Constitution. In that document, in Article I, Section 4, the following statement can be found: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.” (http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/ txconst/ sections/ cn000100-000400.html)

I would be interested in the source of Mr. Starr’s information. Without that reference point, we are left to assume, at best, that he has not checked his facts, and at worst, he is inventing historical information to bolster his own personal political argument. I would like to see proof that these assumptions are misinformed.

There are multiple other items in his article that I could take issue with — his apparent distaste for Christians in politics, his oversimplification of Huckabee’s political stances, his complete misinterpretation of the First Amendment, etc., etc.

However, once again acknowledging that his article was an opinion piece, I will sum up by saying to Mr. Starr, please be sure to check and double check your facts. There are students watching and emulating you.

Kristi Peifer,
Madera

How many of you know what a “super delegate” is? The Democrat party has about 800 of them, and they and not the voters in the respective primaries and caucuses which have been held to date may decide who their presidential delegate will be.

They are not accountable to anyone, and many are just congressmen, party leaders and even an ex-president. As close as the Democrat race is now, it is entirely possible that these people may make the decision based not on the will of the electorate but rather on their own personal preferences.

This opens the door for good, old-fashioned smoky back room politics in which the Clintons are well versed. According to two of the super delegates who were interviewed recently, the Clintons are already pressuring them for their support. This means that even if senator Obama comes into the convention with more delegates and more popular votes, he could lose the nomination.

Of course the opposite could also be true but the Clintons have a distinct advantage with more experience in the world of down-and-dirty politics. It really makes little difference to me personally who wins or how they do it, but fair is fair, and this system is not.

I happen to like Sen. Obama on a personal level, even though I think he is dead wrong about some things, especially the War on Terror. I just believe that if he is in reality the choice of the people of his party he should have a chance to compete for the office of president and not be cheated out of that opportunity by sleazy politics.

Gordon E. Skeels,
Madera

All comments are edited for length and content. Some weeks, due to the number of comments and space, some may not be published.

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“It’s garbage day today,” began a woman, “and all up and down Schnoor, there’s trash everywhere. With the wind blowing it blows all over the street and the garbage people don’t do anything about it.”

A man had the same problem as last week’s caller who said, when she went to vote, “her party affiliation had been switched. I have never registered as a democrat and when I went down to vote they had me as a democrat. “I’ll be watching,” he warned, “to see if this happened to anybody else.”

Another caller suggested to “all drivers of Madera to wait at the light.” He admitted, “I also am guilty at waiting at a light when it turns green. I’m guilty of waiting five seconds. The reason I wait he explained, “is because of the idiots that try to beat the light. By waiting it might keep me from getting killed.”

“I agree,” said a woman about the “letter today (Thursday) from Steven Ingle regarding the changes in the city.” She wondered, “if the mayor of Madera is listening to this or reading this letter. Something needs to be done to clean up this place.”

A gentleman called about the timing of the recent meeting by the school district concerning possible budget cuts and adjustments. “They hold the meeting at 4 in the afternoon on a Friday. Most people are still working. Then hold it on a Friday before a three-day holiday. Is it any wonder many of us didn’t make the meeting and were not able to give our opinion?”

“How do you like the newly painted orange building in downtown Madera?” asked a woman. “Evidently our city managers, if we have any, could care less about the appearance of our town. All we need now is a bright red one and a yellow one to further beautify the surroundings.”

A man had “a comment about the article concerning yard sales.” He believed “that most of the people that have yard sales should not have more than four a year. If they are, they are buying things and selling them and not paying taxes on any of that money. They are professional yard sale people.” He said he knew “from very reliable people, that sell at the swap meet at the fairgrounds and the drive-in, these people do not pay taxes on any of that money. They are getting away with highway robbery. Four yard sales a year. Any more than that, you should be fined. Pay your taxes,” he concluded.

“There are young kids crank-calling our home,” said a woman. But she had a warming. “They will be caught because I am setting up caller ID. These kids need to get professional, medical help because when they grow up they will do worse crimes.”

A man asked, “could the Tribune please find out why the city authorities are not enforcing the codes?” Referring to the “proliferation of so-called roach coaches on Country Club Drive, Road 26,” he said, “there is sometimes four parked along the road. One even looks like they built a restaurant with tables and chairs for dining. They are in code violation and possible health codes.”

As did a caller last week, he also referred to the “mobile home park on Avenue 17. It’s still there. The mobile homes have been rented out. A bunch of trailers, and who knows where the sewage is going. This was printed in the Tribune,” but, he asked, “could you do follow up stories on these items.”

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A “concerned citizen” who visited www.MaderaTribuneRedLine.com wrote, “I was driving down Raymond Road this past weekend and could not help but notice the enormous pot holes throughout the entire road. As I swerved around them trying to avoid these holes, I found myself also trying to avoid oncoming traffic … Its ridiculous that there are no lights out there and the city should consider this when re-paving new roads that don’t even need fixing.”

A “supporter of a clean city and the arts” proposed a few solutions to the city’s struggle with graffiti before writing, “So, maybe as the last and probably best/easiest solution to this problem is to have a legal graffiti wall somewhere in the city or barely outside of the city limits. The city, or whoever maintains the location it is in will be able to charge for its use and that money will either go towards the city or towards some other cause. Just look at the legal graffiti walls in Venice Beach and in Calwa. These both cost money to be able to use and great works of art can be seen on both constantly. Maybe it is not really cameras and more lighting that are needed to solve this problem in our city and at Town and Country Park.”

Reader “David Soto” expressed concern about the proposal by North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians to build a casino in Madera because, he said, “The Madera Indian census is on the Internet and the American Indians in the Madera city area were Yokuts and not Monos. I believe that the Yokut families in the city of Madera during the earliest times are not even in the North Fork Mono tribe. It would appear that the North Fork Monos are claim jumping another tribe’s area for a casino. The North Fork Monos are doing this because if they constructed a casino in their traditional tribal area it would not be profitable to them. So this whole casino deal is not because of tribal pride, but only for casino profits.”

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478 or visiting www.MaderaTribuneRedLine.com.

By John Rieping
MaderaTribuneRedLine.com

Flipside Christian church in the Madera Ranchos tried an unusual method earlier this month to engage and encourage locals to try its Sunday services … they offered shot glasses both via invitation cards and through a local pub.

Meanwhile in New York, 500 teenagers protested in Times Square against the entertainment and media industry. While a much smaller group of counter-protesters worked hard to drown them out with megaphones, the teens presented their own efforts to “recreate” pop culture through song, dance, graffiti art and video. The teens, who were participants in a New Jersey “Battle Cry” 3-day event attended by 10,000 teens, are members of Teen Mania Ministries, which organizes “Battle Cry” and “Acquire the Fire” rallies across the U.S.

Whether near or far, Christians seem more willing to directly engage U.S. culture in the public square. Some welcome the new approaches, while others attack them as radical and unsettling — either because of the method or because of the Christian message.

What do you think?