By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Madera Community Community Center is starting on a new teaching facility to train mechanics. The state-of-the-art department will be ready in about a year, according to Dr. Terry Kershaw, the college’s vice chancellor.

This is good news, especially in light of other news, reported last week by the Wall Street Journal that demand continues to rise for skilled workers in trades. Mechanics, machinists, welders, carpenters, plumbers, steamfitters, and electricians all are being sought by manufacturers and builders.

The problem is, there’s a shortage. Students hesitate to go into the trades because they have been brainwashed into thinking something is wrong with you if you are a blue-collar worker — that you are of a lower class.

As a result, a lot of youngsters find thmselves in a college where they are ill-suited for success instead of in a trade school where they might excel.

If students could have met a couple of my friends a few years ago, they could have had a different outlook.

First was Mike the plumber. He was a member of the first chamber of commerce I belonged to. He worked hard and ran a little plumbing business mostly from a bruck. One night, we had a chamber committee meeting at his house. My eyes almost fell out. It was about 5,000 square feet on a bluff overlooking a harbor. Mike was not hurting.

No. 2 was Eldon, the drywaller. He, too, had a small business, employing about five. He worked as a subcontractor, installing drywall in homes and offices. It was typical for him to take home $250,000 a year.

Skilled tradespeople earn as much if not more than most college graduates. They enjoy their lives and often are more independent. Let’s see, what’s wrong with that?

What a waste of taxpayer money and all because of a whiner that can’t get elected to the school board. Did it ever occur to Mr. Uranga that the majority of voters thought someone else was more qualified?

If they win this lawsuit, he still may never be elected.

I also do not want to be discriminated against, and I will be if they were to prevail in this lawsuit. I would have to vote for some candidate who lived near me instead of who I thought was the best candidate, no matter where in the school district he/she lived. They would be taking away my freedom of choice. Baldwin Moy, of the CRLA, is now threatening the city with similar action.

I was surprised to read that Hanford lost a similar lawsuit, because it is no bigger than Madera, and I do not believe Madera Unified is big enough to be broken up into districts and even if it is it would still limit me as to who I could vote for and that is wrong.

Nothing was mentioned about the other two involved in this lawsuit. I presume they are Uranga supporters and lending their name to the lawsuit.

There also seems to be some disparity in using 44 percent Hispanic voting age population and 81 percent Hispanic student body population. I believe the 44 percent is too low, and is probably over 50 percent now, which should make Hispanics an unprotected class.

Frank Bradford,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

A San Francisco developer is selling condominiums of about 250 square feet for $279,000 as first-time-buyer homes.

Nothing surprises me any more about San Francisco, which is a city from another planet. It is a nice place, and an economic powerhouse, and full of a lot of nice people, but how can it be that they charge $1,000 a square foot for a place that isn’t as big as my garage?

I would think the National Guard would be called out to put a stop to it. But no, people are buying those little boxes, 98 of which are arranged in a bigger box that looks like a Premium Saltine container on its end, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. (In Madera right now, for that much money, you can get 2,000 or more square feet of
nice house.)

Mrs. Doud and I could not live in a 250-square-foot condo, because there would not be enough room for all our stuff. We are the sort of people who can’t find it in our hearts to throw anything away except actual garbage, and I’ll tell you, there are plenty of debates in our house over whether something is garbage or whether it is something we should hang onto. We don’t keep vegetable and fruit peelings, or anything like that, but if something comes in a nice container, we will hang onto the container on the off chance
that one of us will bake cookies and need something to put them.

If we baked as many cookies as it would take to fill all those containers, though, we would have enough to send cookies to every one of our soldiers in Iraq, and that isn’t
going to happen. Perhaps we could just send empty containers with little notes expressing
our gratitude for their service and let them guess what might have been in them.

We could get them postmarked in San Francisco, and the soldiers probably would think it made perfect sense.

After watching “60 Minutes” (that left wing wacko TV program), maybe Gordon Skeels could write a Madera Tribune commentary regarding the present administration’s leaking of a C.I.A. operative’s name to the press because her husband told them that Iraq was not buying uranium from Niger to build a nuclear weapon.

After Ken Starr spent $40 million investigating Slick Willy, including wiring Linda Tripp then Linda invited Monica for a cocktail or two after work, maybe Madame Pelosi could find somebody to spend $40 million of taxpayer money to find out how much Dubbya knew about the leaking of Valerie Plame’s name to the media.

I don’t think Rush or Sean would be talking much about that.

Peter Openshaw,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Restaurant chains are reducing the amount of food they put in their portions in order to preserve profits in the face of rising costs. For example, the Burger King Whopper Jr. hamburger patty is going from 2.2 ounces to 2 ounces, the McDonald’s doublecheeseburger will be a little less cheesey, and the Chuck E. Cheese pizzas will have moister and thus thinner mozzarella.

Mrs. Doud won’t mind this because she is a dainty eater.

She especially won’t mind the changes at Chuck E. Cheese, because we haven’t been to one of those torture chambers since the kids were little. Chuck E. Cheese is a place where pandemonium meets desperation, and you want nothing more than a shower once you leave. You know the Russian army that just overwhelmed the country of Georgia? It would take that army to get Mrs. Doud (and me, for that matter) back into a Chuck E. Cheese.

As for McDonald’s and Burger King — take away a little bit of burger here, a little bit of cheese there, and soon you will just have buns on which somebody has spread a little beef-and-cheese flavored ketchup. The double cheeseburger will become a double wheezeburger, and the Whopper Jr. will be a Flopper Jr. — at least they will if you are an eater who goes for plenty of beef and cheese, which for some folks constitute the two major food groups.

The Wall Street Journal says these reductions are helping the companies be more profitable, but you can only reduce so much.

Americans are used to getting big portions in restaurants, which may be why as a people we tend to be a bit overweight.

When it takes two people to bring a plate from the kitchen, we figure we’ve hit the jackpot. Seeing those portions reduced will take some getting used to.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

The issue: San Francisco, which wanted to take out thousands of parking spaces and replace them with bicycle lanes, has put the plan on hold because of environmental concerns.

The reaction: The law of unintended consequences remains in force. Bicyclists in San Francisco had eagerly pushed for the increased number of bike lanes, saying they were saving fuel and helping the environment by not driving cars in the city. That argument seemed logical to the city supervisors, all of whom have their own parking spaces in a city hall garage.

But a San Franciscan who doesn’t drive but nevertheless hates bicycles sued to stop the plan and won — at least until an environmental report is completed.

His argument, reported by The Wall Street Journal, is that if you take away the parking spaces you will have thousands of cars driving around while their drivers look for places to park, which will add to pollution, making it worse instead of better, and hurt the environment. One fact about pollution from automobiles and trucks is that much of it comes from cars going slowly or idling. The court bought his assertions and granted his request for an injunction against the plan.

Nationwide, we are seeing more bicycle riders, especially in cities, and we’re also seeing resentment against them grow. That is primarily because bicyclists don’t always observe rules of the road. They dart in and out of traffic, they ride on sidewalks, they don’t stop for traffic signals. Not surprisingly, most of the accidents in which they are involved are their faults.

Motorists aren’t blameless, either. Many lose patience at the sight of a bicycle, and won’t yield right-of-way when a bicycle is due it.

There really is no proof that bicycling helps the environment. But it saves gas.

According to the article in the Aug. 2 edition of the Madera Tribune which described the fire that destroyed the Pepper Tree Office Complex at Yosemite Avenue and North I Street, city Truck 7 and City Engine 6 responded to the alarm, along with county Engine 3 (from Avenue 18 1/2 and Road 26) and county Engine 2 (Chowchilla), as well as a CalFire engine each from Raymond and Bass Lake.

Does this response tell anyone besides me that the City of Madera is under served when it comes to fire apparatus and fire suppression staff?

The City of Madera has two (2) fire stations. Does it worry anyone, other then me, that our city fire department is unable to handle a major file like this without needing so much additional help, especially having to call for assistance from Raymond and Bass Lake?

Let’s also be clear. I am, in no way, calling into question the ability, qualifications and dedication of our fire staff, just the staffing and equipping of the department.

The National Fire Protection Association recommendation for fire protection staffing and equipment is one, fully staffed (3 firefighters) fire engine for every 15,000 population. Madera City limits signs purpose a population of over 50,000 people. That simple math indicates to me that we don’t have enough staffed fire apparatus serving the population of Madera.

Calling on support and getting it from county fire apparatus and fire fighters is a good thing. Having to call in support from Bass Lake and Raymond brings to mind the question, has the city fire service been ignored?

Michael Purl,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

The news: The board of directors of a small school district in Texas has decided to give teachers permission to bring guns to school for protection, and the governor of Texas has given the idea his stamp of approval.

Gov. Rick Perry says he supports the Harrold school district policy to allow teachers and staff members to carry guns at school as long as they are adequately trained in gun safety.

“I’m pretty much a fan that if you’ve been trained and you are registered, then you should be able to carry a weapon. Matter of fact, there’s a lot of instances that would have saved a lot of lives,” Perry told the Austin Statesman.

The reaction: Perry is pretty much right. “Pretty much” is the key phrase, though, because you can’t compel some gun owners to be trained any more than you can compel some car owners to learn to drive and carry auto insurance.

Still, let’s assume the teachers and staff members of the Harrold school district all are trained in the use of firearms, with an emphasis on safety, and that they start bringing guns to class strapped on their hips — open carry.

If that were to happen, you would see student discipline problems plummet. Teachers would have a new air of authority, and most of the students would take notice.

Many students also might feel safer, protected against other students or outsiders who bring weapons such as knives and perhaps even guns to school.

Would teachers be tempted to pull their guns on unruly students, and maybe even pull the trigger? If they’re properly trained, they probably wouldn’t have to. But you can expect a lawsuit to keep it from happening any time soon.

A few years ago the freon we used in air conditioners in our automobiles was outlawed, and strangely enough they already had a new replacement for it. We hadn’t heard anything bad about it until this took place.

Does it look like it’s a money thing? Oh, I’ve invented a new A.C. coolant, so let’s outlaw the old so I can make money.

Is the reason for electric cars really necessity or is it a money-making scheme? Maybe we should use windmills to blow our cars down the road or pedal them. That would help our obesity problem also. I do believe windmills are good for electricity, but oil-drilling bans should be lifted by Congress, and that alone will drop oil prices as it has daily since President Bush dropped the presidential ban. Since it means we wont be dependent on the people we now pay outrageous prices to. They don’t want to lose us as customers and they’re not stupid. If you look at the news, the prices dropped daily after the ban was dropped. Wake up, Congress.

Another thing I’d like to bring up is that the TV media are our worst enemies. Why do they tell what our military is doing? About plans to take troops from Iraq to Afghanistan? Why are they allowed to tell anything about our military?

Years ago, servicemen weren’t even allowed to discuss what was going on with their families. It was kept private and it worked better.

Remember the two-day war that President Reagan didn’t tell Congress about, and it was over so quickly it was almost unbelievable? Also, when Kaddafi’s property was targeted with missiles and when his son was killed? He was no longer a threat.

J.A. Willingham,
Madera

All comments are edited for length and content. Due to content or space limitations some comments may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published.

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In reply to a letter by Baldwin S. Moy, a Web reader self-identified as “Concerned” writes, “I want to send a strong message of encouragement to Mr. Moy, who has set the standard very high for future letters to the Red LIne. Congratulations sir, and I hope you’ll contribute more letters in the future.”

She also suggested that those complaining about “the colors of the buildings” downtown are more bothered by “the people in the buildings.”

An online visitor, self-identified as “Sue,” responds to Moy’s letter, “While many parts of his letter are valid he misused a phrase to try to back up his point and failed. The phrase ‘when in Rome…’ does not mean you move to a country and attempt to change it into what you want. The phrase means when you are in a new place live according to the customs and mores of that place. The phrase is attributed to St. Ambrose who in a letter to St. Augustine advised him: ‘When you are in Rome live in the Roman style; when you are elsewhere live as they live elsewhere.’”

She then expressed her unhappiness with the passing out of “food vouchers paid for with taxpayer funds” at the Farmer’s Market, and said she “won’t be back.”

An Internet guest, self-identified as “Sophia,” writes, “In regards to the Farmer’s Market, while I agree it targets a specific group (WIC participants), not all within that group are Latino or illegal immigrants. To suggest such horrific tactics as alerting immigration to this event is disdainful. The Farmer’s Market was created in an effort to bring something new to Madera. It might be starting out a bit rocky but if we coalesce as a community, it can become much more.”

An Web visitor, self-identified as “Floydy,” writes, “The reason downtown Madera has taken on the look that it has is because the business owners who operate in the area don’t owe anything to people who spend all of their money at Wal-Mart. The white, English-speaking population has all the strip-malls they could ever possibly need, and more on the way. That’s how you all wanted it, right?”

He later responded to the Red Line published Aug. 5, “Race was brought up by the people that constantly like to refer to downtown as ‘little Tijuana.’ In my opinion, it makes more sense to have the goal for that decaying part of town be to look like Tijuana than to throw stucco on the buildings in a desperate, failed attempt to look like Clovis.”

Another commenter, self-identified as “Cookie Cruz,” writes in reaction to the same Red Line, “People need to stop being so racist in this town. It makes me sick to my stomach to read some of the stuff people write here, especially the part about illegals aliens and getting free stuff. They write as if they are better then everyone. They need to write about more important stuff like how to fight a war on gangs and drug dealers, and preventing teenage pregnancies. Instead they write stuff about others to make them feel better about themselves I guess. Come on people, real issues please!”

An Internet guest, self-identified as “Sue,” writes, “Recent events by the Tribal Council of this tribe, make it very difficult to continue to support the casino project on Highway 99 here in Madera. Within the past three months, the former tribal chairwoman was removed from office, and then along with another Tribal Council member had their tribal membership suspended, the new tribal chairwoman appointed her brother-in-law to the Tribal Council, the tribal administrator resigned and then this week the Tribal Council suspended the Election Board.

“How is this tribe going to operate a casino when they can’t operate themselves? I am changing my mind about supporting this tribe and the casino. I believe the county residents should take another look at this casino.”

A Web surfer, self-identified as “Forrest Lavelock,” writes to the “Blue Man” Paul Karason, “If you want to be nice to him pass along that there is a simple cure for his dermatitis. Most non-fungus or bacteria-based skin conditions can be cleared up with a few weeks of high volume enema treatments. Any good book on enema therapy will tell him all he needs to know. He can do it at home for 20 bucks. May clear up the blue skin condition also as metal depletion becomes a danger after a month of enemas.”

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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.