All comments are edited for length and content. Due to content some comments may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Some weeks, due to the number of comments and space, some may not be published.

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A woman called about “the eighth grade graduations. A lot of the (school) board members graduated from eighth grade and a lot of those kids looked forward to it. If you graduate from eighth grade you’re bound to graduate from high school because they are proud of themselves.”

A man responded to the caller last week who complained about the use of Spanish in his sample ballot. “That’s all it is nowadays is Spanish and all that. What about the Italians, the Chinese and the Filipinos and all that? You don’t see that in the papers.”

“I’m calling in response to the man who is sick of everything being written in Mexican (Spanish),” said a woman in response to the same caller. “I say ditto. I am sick of it too. I thought our language was English. If these people want to live here that come here illegally, let them learn how to read, write and speak our language and quit cluttering up our schools because they are slowing down our children’s progress.”

“Is it just me?” began a lady’s call that unfortunately was not entirely understandable. She continued and said, “the status of our schools, prison overcrowding, law enforcement, social services, water and gasoline usage, electrical usage and hospital emergency room usage and people injured or killed in traffic accidents would be less if the 20-million illegal immigrants in this country were not here.”

A man wanted “to make a couple of remarks on the Madera High South baseball team.” He mentioned the team’s (losing) record and stated, “I think it has a lot to do with our coach. If he was a good coach these kids would play baseball.”

He also said the coach “shows a lot of favoritism. They have the wrong kids in the infield. They’re the ones giving up all the runs. They don’t even help our pitcher out. He’s got good kids sitting on the bench just watching the game.”

A gentleman called, “concerning the tragedy in Myanmar and the fact they are turning down U.S. aid. It seems like that money could be well put to use in the United States; such as New Orleans and for our own people.”

“I read, and saw the photos, in Emo’s column (Mo’s Musings) on Friday (May 9) and found it egotistical and arrogant,” said a man. “We all had mothers. I am sure some died of cancer or other disease. What makes Mr. Emo’s (mothers) so important?”

Another man called about the same “column by Leon Emo” and said he had read it to his wife. “We are avid readers of his column and the paper, but in this column we immediately saw it was much different than his usual entertaining work. Your writer showed a side of him rarely viewed in his writing or public. It was a jewel, as I am sure all his mothers were. It brought back wonderful memories of our own mothers. What a wonderful gift for Mother’s Day. Thank you, Mr. Emo.”

A woman wanted “to thank The Madera Tribune for having the Red Line so everyone can share their feeling and comments.” She said she “just wanted to make a couple of quick comments. I love the fact that Maderans are getting out there and cleaning up the graffiti. I hope they catch the people that are doing the graffiti.”

She later concluded by speaking about the use of Spanish in Madera government notices. “When my grandparents came over to the United States they had to learn English. They wanted to be Americans and the Americans spoke English. It was very important to them. It is so sad to see these kids in schools from different cultures that think they are entitled to all this free stuff. As Americans, if you come to this country, you should come legally.”

A caller said, “Every year, in Madera County, the (animal) shelter kills thousands of dogs. And yet, out there on Road 28 … three or four times a year, at a house out there, they put up a big red sign that they are breeding and selling Chihuahua puppies. That is an absolute sin.

“There are hundreds of Chihuahua puppies that are put to death by the shelter each year. It is why this community should get behind and write letters to their representatives at the state to pass AB1634 to stop the puppy mills and get these people to spay and neuter and then become a registered breeder.”

An online visitor to the Red Line, self-identified as “Thomas Meador,” writes, “I saw your article on-line labeled ‘Western homage for a steel horse; Local invents ‘cycle spurs’ and I saw that he sells items over the Internet. The name of his company is Wild West Motorcycle Accessories, but I have been unable to locate it on the Internet. Can you help me find his Internet site?”

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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 by visiting www.maderatribuneredline.com.

The following short computer animated film is apparently meant to promote superhero comic books, especially the Marvel brand. If you’re interested at all in superheroes or action, the triple cross-over of superheroes is worth a watch and a chuckle.

All comments are edited for length and content. Due to content some comments may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Some weeks, due to the number of comments and space, some may not be published.

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A visitor the Red Line online replied to a letter to the editor by Sonya Roach of Madera about her pet dog being attacked by someone else’s in a park. “A concerned dog owner” writes, “I am so sorry that this happened to you, your daughter and your dog. Shame on the owners for acting like it was no big deal. Also, shame on everyone else at that park who could have and did not help (kudos to the gentleman who did).

“I have noticed that there are a lot of dangerous dogs running around our parks and in our neighborhoods. It is a horrible thing. I wish that the owners were more responsible when it comes to their dogs. My dogs (one whom is a very small dog) is tormented by bigger dogs who are just trying to hurt it.”

Another guest also replied to the letter. “Bitbybit” writes, “Unfortunately, your story is far too common Sonya. We are tracking too many stories filled with very similar details… Have you put up posters around the park? I would canvas the park with fliers with a description of the dog, the owners, time of day and any other relevant details.”

An online reader, self-identified as “King,” wrote at length about a problem with a malfunctioning gas pump and cashier in a Madera County foothills town off of state Route 99. The person writes, “All in all, I paid over $200 for my gas. The next day, on April 29, I called the company to try a mediation for any kind of refund. No way for them to listen to me and they denied my story. According to them, it is not possible that their machines were deficient, as the manager told me ‘our customers pay for the gas and get their fuel’ ”

The visitor hoped that The Madera Tribune might write an article about the incident.

An Internet guest, “Darlene,” had a vaguely similar problem with a Madera fast food franchise restaurant that she said refused to override a glitching cash register’s faulty math. She writes, “In times like these when families are trying to save every penny just to make the fuel bill to go to work, how can these operations take advantage of customers. This is not the first time I have been overcharged, but it is the first time I have been refused a correction.”

A friend of the late Krista-Rae Pike, self-identified as “Bree,” writes to Krista, “It’s just not the same without you here with me. Without your wonderful giggle and your amazing smile. Remember the time we called Brandon and he was in the tub just singing his heart out?! We laughed forever about that one… Life’s just not the same without my sister anymore. I was thinking about you last night and it was as if you were there with me.

“I’m making a scrap book for my senior project and you’re in there! I had to, it just wouldn’t be a scrap book without you in it. I miss you so much and I hope heaven is everything you wanted it to be. I miss you so much.”

An online reader, “Darrin Ross,” writes, “As everyone knows baseball and softball season is well under way. Why does people think it OK to race on the back side of the park by the softball fields? … our young kids and parents are put in danger every night with these reckless and dangerous races.

“And where is the Madera Police? … I have not seen one car patrolling this area and something needs to be done before one of our precious kids are hit or worse killed by these cars.”

A Sacramento visitor — “Bob Segalman, Ph.D.”— writes on our Red Line site, “The State Senate may want to consider the budget impact of SB1608 before voting. This bill protects business owners by complicating the process of filing lawsuits for disability access violations such as not putting in ramps or disabled parking, etc. In establishing such obstacles to disability access lawsuits, the bill appears to violate the ‘equal rights’ clause of the U.S. Constitution. … Such violation opens the door to very expensive legal challenges which could drain state coffers for years to come.”

A woman responded online to a Red Line complaint about Spanish-language ballots that was published May 6 in The Madera Tribune. She writes, “You know life is tough at times and if you don’t like it, oh well! You people who have nothing but negatives to write about us (Mexicans) need to seriously get with the program.”

An online reader, “Charles Altekruse,” responded to another Red Line comment published on the same date. He writes, “You have to love the woman who lived on Ave. 18 1/2 complaining about the casino saying ‘build it somewhere else… they didn’t ask us and we were here first.’

“To begin with, we should by now know by now who was here first unless we just don’t give a darn about history or reality. Second, we really didn’t ask the Indians about where they wanted to live either when we put a $50 bounty on their heads in the 1850s and forced them off the resource-rich coast and foothills to live in reservations in the Central Valley.

“And guess where the reservation set aside for the North Fork people was? Yes, pretty much right where the city of Madera and proposed location of the casino is today.”

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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 by visiting www.maderatribuneredline.com.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

If you want to know how important it is to live in a free society, consider the plight of the poor people in Myanmar who were in the path of Cyclone Nargis. That country’s military government, which is made up of idiots who happened to own guns and aren’t shy about using them, refuses to let other nations of the world, including the U.S., deliver aid to those who need it.

The government is willing to sacrifice the lives of its hapless citizens rather than change its rigid policies, which are designed to isolate their country and keep the junta goons in power. Like all totalitarians, they are paranoid, afraid that if their citizens come in contact with ordinary people from elsewhere in the world, they will realize they are being held in what amounts to slavery.

“By rejecting the U.S. aid offer,” says The Associated Press, “the junta is refusing to take advantage of Washington’s enormous ability to deliver aid quickly, which was evident during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.”

Thus, it is likely some 100,000 people either are already dead, or will be dead soon because aid can’t reach them.

Those who rule Myanmar, aka Burma, are basically communist thugs, who promote the drug trade while discouraging foreign investment and refusing to invest in the country’s infrastructure.

Under British rule, until 1948, Burma was a thriving country. But once the communists took over, the country went downhill fast.

Because the Cold War has been over for more than a decade, we tend to forget the horrors of communism. This awful tragedy in Myanmar reminds us of them.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

As of this writing, Hillary Clinton still is thumbing her nose at Democrat pundits who want her to quit the presidential race and deed it to Barack Obama. She did this by opening the Clinton family bank account and lending her campaign millions of dollars — investing in the family business that in the long run has paid off for the Clintons.

They showed a gross income in excess of $20 million last year, and basically all they’ve ever done, besides a few short stints as legal practitioners, is seek and hold office. So, politics has been good to Hillary Clinton and her husband. But the way hasn’t always been smooth.

During the Monica Lewinsky affair, you might recall, it appeared Bill Clinton would have to leave the White House in disgrace. But they hung on, and it paid off. Now she is a United States senator, a multimillionaire, and a candidate for the presidency. Not quitting has brought her a long way.

So, it’s no surprise she is hanging on, even though each day brings a little more bad news, with Barack Obama gathering more strength, making her ordeal more difficult.

There’s a saying in politics, though, which is that no seriously dedicated politician has ever won office by quitting a race. On the grassroots levels, you see it all the time. An underdog who keeps campaigning turns up a winner.

The media pundits who preach Clinton’s political obituary, by the way, aren’t working a tenth as much as she is, or as Obama is, for that matter. The media analysts don’t shake the hands of the public, or hear the cheers and suffer the catcalls. They just collect their paychecks, smug in the self-delusion that they know more than the candidates.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

By now, everybody knows almonds and pistachios are good for you, and that you should eat some every day.

The problem I have is that eating them is no small undertaking. One has to watch one’s consumption, or one will start to fill out in places where one doesn’t want to. You’ve heard of a double chin? Well, too many almonds or pistachios will give you a double tummy.

No offense to our many almond growers, but it’s too easy to find almonds in highly consumable forms. One can buy almonds that have been smoked or made to taste like candy. They have been unburdened from their shells. You can eat them by the handful without having to do much more than chew and lick your lips. The average recommended dose of shelled almonds is about one-fourth of a cup. One can inhale that much in about 30 seconds.

But they make one want to eat more, and soon one is signing up for waddle-a-thons instead of jog-a-thons. One finds oneself joining a gym, although one doesn’t go there very much.

Of course, one can buy almonds in the shell, and they will give one a workout just getting to them. Nature has deemed that almonds are hard to get to. Which would be all right, but almond shells by their nature tend to get all over everything within a radius of 20 feet. If one is at a computer, one has to keep blowing everything off with canned air.

Pistachios are a little better. Nature has arranged it so they arrive partly open. One’s fingers get raw, however, and the shell liners fly all over. It’s eat a nut, grab for the canned air. Hire a small boy to pick up after you.

It’s such a trial to stay healthy.

All comments are edited for length and content. Due to content some comments may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Some weeks, due to the number of comments and space, some may not be published.

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A man who said he “was raised in Madera, called “about the Hall of Fame (dinner) for Madera High School.” He suggested, “we go back and look at some great, great hall of fame people.”

In his lengthy message he listed many athletes of Madera High “back in 1938, ’39 and early ‘40s” that had gone on to be outstanding athletes in college. The caller thought it was “a mistake to go ahead of all those (earlier) people that so deserve their day in court.” However, he did conclude by saying, “thank you for creating something that is needed and well deserved.” (Note: Future Hall of Fame inductions will continue to include former athletes of Madera.)

A man said, “the announcement of (Gov. Arnold) Schwarzenegger’s signing of a compact with the Mono Tribe was to be expected.” He went onto say that “the chief lobbyist for Station Casinos (Las Vegas) was “best man” for the governor’s chief of staff. “Got the connection?”

A woman who said she “lives out here, off (Avenue) 18 1/2, near where the new casino is going. They never came out and asked us. We don’t need it. Let them find some other place to put it. We were here first and I’m tired of people saying what a wonderful thing it is.”

Another lady said, “finally, there is some hope that money will again be coming into this county and city. They can’t build the casino fast enough. With over 1,000 jobs and payroll, let’s hope they hire a lot of local people who will spend their earnings here in Madera.”

A lady “who was driving on Riverside noticed, right by the walkway, there’s a sprinkler spraying the street.” She was concerned because of all the talk “about always saving water.” She pulled her car around to the sprinkler “and washed my car.” Afterwards she wondered, “all this water going to waste, what about the city?”

Another was “just wondering why, at the Department of Corrections, our county jail, they (the inmates) have HBO (television). How can the county afford that? Isn’t there a better use of money for the citizens of the county than providing inmates of the jail with HBO?”

A man called “about the article in the paper about the railroad police stopping the lady for stopping on the tracks and that she didn’t know it was illegal.” He asked, “lady, what do you do when you’re on the tracks and the lights start flashing and you have nowhere to go?”

Another call, a woman, “applauded the railroad police for citing the violators at the railroad crossing at Gateway (and) Cleveland. Whoever designed that intersection was a moron. Now I wish the police would come out to Parkwood. There it is 25 mph (speed limit) and where 9 out of 10 people are exceeding it.”

A woman saw “a fight at Courthouse Park on Yosemite near Gateway” and “called the police department. On the way back, I saw Zak’s security instead of the police department.” She wondered, “what we pay our (city) police department for.” (Note: Courthouse Park is a county park) She was “very concerned over who is paying for this.”

A man was “very upset” after he received his “sample ballot in the mail.” He said, “98 percent of it is printed in Mexican (Spanish). I am so d-mn sick and tired of this. Print the d-mn stuff in English and let them worry about how to read it.

“This is a bunch of garbage, and I hope you print this verbatim. I want to hear some replies.” (Note: The message was too lengthy to print in its entirety.)

A man called concerning what he thought was “the biggest waste of tax dollars that I’ve seen in a long time. The traffic signals at Stadium Road and Pecan Avenue are going out to bid again, for upgrades. Those traffic signals have never been put into full operation. They are brand new. If they are so brand new, why are they needing to be upgraded already? Why weren’t they put in right in the first place?”

A man who “just read Friday’s (May 2) letter to the editor with recollections of the writer about her family, Sheriff Barnett and Dr. Ransom,” had this follow up. “She probably knows that Dr. Ransom lived on North C Street, but I wonder if she knows where John Barnett lived during the time he was sheriff. If not, stay tuned.”

A gentleman called in regards to a newspaper (not the Tribune) printing a photo that showed “our American flag upside down. A Mexican rally has our flag upside down. They put the flag upside down and they print it.”

“Shame on you, Madera Unified School Board,” began a woman’s call, “for taking away 8th grade graduation ceremonies and replacing them with daytime, school hours, recognition events. But, more importantly, shame on us, the voters, to elect a school board with so little understanding of the students and families that they serve.”

A lady who gave her name said, “I know you can print some things more important and enlightening to put on your front page than a bunch of fools tormenting animals.”

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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 by visiting www.maderatribuneredline.com.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is urging Congress to take additional steps to help homeowners “avoid preventable foreclosures,” which, he said would be in everybody’s interest.

Bernanke is right. Some homeowners now facing foreclosure might want to keep their homes and keep paying their mortgages if they could get a bridge to help them over the rough places in which they find themselves. Perhaps a government-backed bridge loan, which could be used to catch up on mortgage payments, then paid back over a period of time which the borrower could handle, might help.

It also might make sense for some mortgage companies to lower interest rates which have reset, resulting in payments which homeowners can’t handle. These adjustable-rate mortgages were fashioned to allow some marginal buyers to purchase homes they might not otherwise have been able to afford. When the rates reset at a higher rate, the mortgage company was supposed to be paid back for low-balling the earlier payments.

It might make sense for the mortgage companies to wait longer for payback instead of winding up with a lot of properties on their hands that can’t be sold for enough to retire the mortgage. If loss is inevitable, why not let the original buyer stay in the home, and both could possibly recoup down the line?

These strategies would make sense, because the real estate market will normalize eventually. People still are being born. The population of the country is continuing to expand. The demand for housing will bring prices back up.

The tragedy is that those who choose to walk away from their mortgages will have a tough time getting another mortgage, and eventually will wind up dealing with a subprime lender, which will start the spiral over again.

A parody of the 1966 hit song “Cherish,” which was performed by The Association and written by Terry Kirkman. The parody is written by Marcy Shaffer.