It is, in a way, an odd thing to defend our country in wars far away.
The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our minds as old and wise. We see them as something like the founding fathers, grave and gray-haired.
But most of them were boys when they died. They gave up two lives: the one they were living and the one they would have lived.
When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands, fathers, and grandfathers. They gave up their chances to be revered old men. They gave up everything for their country, for us.
All we can do is remember. God bless all veterans, all around the world.
San Francisco police, happily, are finding out that a Harvard researcher’s conclusion is true. The Harvardite pointed out that relatively few people, living in a few concentrated San Francisco neighborhoods, were responsible for more than half of that city’s violent crime, including shootings and homicides.
Five neighborhoods were targeted for stepped-up enforcement efforts, and as a result the murder rate dropped 34 percent in those neighborhoods.
Most law-enforcement officers probably are not surprised at either the researcher’s conclusions or the outcome of the policing. That is because most cops know that most crime is committed by criminals who choose that lifestyle, and that if you put pressure on criminals and get them off the street, crime will go down.
This is so widely known, in fact, that one wonders why the San Francisco police officers hadn’t figured it out before.
Rudy Giuliani had figured it out when he was mayor of New York City, and turned that city from a crime-ridden pest hole into a relatively safe place — for an international metropolis, that is.
Giuliani took heat over the way he did it. Some people accused him of racial profiling, others accused him of exercising a presumption of guilt rather than of innocence. But he applied police pressure, and the law-abiding people of New York backed him, and were rewarded by being made to feel safer in their own homes and businesses.
There’s a general rule in law enforcement that if you put enough well trained and well equipped law-enforcement officers on the street — any street — you will make it safer for ordinary citizens and more dangerous for criminals.
But that costs money, and citizens have to be willing to pay for it. A city the size of San Francisco will have an easier time paying because it has more money than a city like Madera, for example. But even Madera can learn from San Francisco’s experiment.
The big news that has all our attention is the stimulus bill that was written to help our very sick economy. I believe we all agree that something has to be done. It’s scary when every time you read a newspaper or hear a newscast, you learn how many more people are out of work.
Now, we have a new president and a Democrat-controlled Congress. I believe the bill they wrote will help us in the short term and long term. I’m no economist, but I do believe I have some common sense, and it seems to me that we need a new approach to this economic crisis.
I’m so sick and tired of hearing from the right that the only way out of this mess is tax cuts. The trickle down economy theory, give the wealthy and powerful more tax cuts. This means they will allegedly take the money they don’t have to pay the government and they will use it to create more jobs, build more factories and services and we’ll live happily ever after.
Well, I lived in California when the so-called great Ronald Reagan began his Reaganomics. He carried this philosophy with him to Washington. Well, all I remember Reaganomics doing was making it tougher for the people on the bottom and the people at the top got richer and more powerful. This shameful and outdated school of thought is what has got us here.
It’s time for something new. Let’s help the people on the bottom get going first this time, then we’ll see if this new approach will work. The people who believe in Reaganomics are oppose to what they describe as “big government” intruding into our lives. I believe it’s “big corporations and conglomerates” that are the true destroyers of our economy.
The government was formed to protect all the citizens, not just the rich and powerful, but the poor too. It also protects the few from the many. Our government is here to regulate these corporations to insure the common man, the real small businessman, has a fair share in the market place, to protect us from monopolies and price fixing.
So. I’m backing President Obama and the Congress with the new Economic Stimulus and Recovery Act.
Today’s teenagers are going through life with the use of only one hand. The boys only have the use of one hand because they are holding up their pants, for what reason I don’t know. Maybe someone should buy them a belt. The girls only have the use of one hand because they have a cell phone glued to the other one.
As for the boys, they make you just want to come up behind them and pants them. What the heck, they can’t chase you down: They are too busy pulling up their pants from around their ankles to run after you. I saw a boy at Wal-Mart the other day in the check-out line reach for his wallet and he almost pantsed himself. It’s a good thing he didn’t because I might have had a heart attack from my over-zealous laughter.
They don’t hem their pants; they just wear them out by stepping on them. I would think that would be considered a tripping hazard. But they think they are “cool.”
As for the girls, it must be hard to sleep at night with their charger plugged in and that cord wrapped around them. They make and receive calls 24/7 from other friends even after they have gone to bed. No wonder they are so tired in the morning. Parental guidance is not happening here.
A few weeks ago my daughter came over with my granddaughter and one of her friends. We were sitting at the dining room table, with their cell phones, two feet away from each other texting each other, under the table, while we were talking and they thought they were cute, getting away with something. I thought they were downright rude. They do the same thing in the classroom. How can they be paying attention while doing that? They are not, so it’s no longer just dumb blondes, its dumb girls.
If I had the knowledge I would invent a device that would scramble or disable cell phones in the classroom, not the entire school yard, just in the classroom. That way you could sell more of them. One for each individual classroom. A nice seven- or eight-digit income.
Some liberals might say that would be infringing on their civil rights, but I don’t think so. Their parents are paying for this “free education” through their taxes. It’s not really free, and teachers should not have to be campus police. Teachers should not require so much homework. That doesn’t give a child much time to be one. If you have to learn it on your own, why bother to go to school?
Teachers assign homework with no interaction with other teachers, therefore they do not know how much of a load they are putting on the student. Give them a break! Teachers meetings should discuss this and work around the overload. Like history, yesterday was history, what happened 500 years ago is really no concern of theirs, they weren’t there, why should they care? Unless they want to be a contestant on Jeopardy!
Most of the stories you see out of Sacramento are about how the Republicans in the Senate are behaving like speed bumps, preventing the passage of the negotiated budget fix which would try to reduce the state’s $42 billion with a combination of new taxes and spending reductions. But let’s look at why the Republicans are behaving as they are.
The Democrats usually campaign for office by promising better services to their constituents. Generally silent in their rhetoric is the reality that delivering services usually costs money.
Republicans, on the other hand, usually campaign for office by promising to try to keep a lid on taxes, because they know Democrats will take care of raising them.
They generally know that most voters, given the chance, would keep taxes at a minimum unless they wanted to tax themselves or others for specific things such as school construction or construction of high-speed rail.
Almost nobody would say, “I want to pay another 12 cents a gallon tax on gasoline just to maintain the status quo.” Yet, that is what the compromise involves.
It also involves paying another 1 percent on the sales tax, which nobody would want either. Nor would they want surcharges on their income taxes.
The Republicans are so sure their constituents don’t want these taxes that they even fired our own Sen. Dave Cogdill as minority leader because he helped negotiate the compromise and agreed to be one of the three needed GOP votes for it.
I know Sen. Cogdill, and I know he wouldn’t have negotiated the budget compromise unless he thought it was a reasonable way to get the state out of trouble. He would be the last to want new taxes, but he also knows politics is the art of the possible, and sometimes you have to shut your eyes and get what you can.
The Republicans punished a good man. Let’s hope they know what they’re doing.
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. More than one message from the same caller during the same week will normally not be published.
A near record number of calls were received, including the initial 10 calls, in response to last week’s caller that wanted “cockfighting and bullfighting” in Madera. The majority of the messages reflected the following.
“I’m not racist,” began a man. “But it’s against the law. This is outrageous, people fighting animals.”
A woman “from Chowchilla” said “I pray to God this never happens in California. It’s disgusting. It’s immoral.”
A lady “proposed that this man (the caller) take his cock and bull and go back to Mexico.”
Many callers said, “No way. It is cruelty to animals and inhumane.” Several others were “appalled. Anyone that would deliberately inflict pain on helpless animals has got to be a cruel and heartless individuals.”
A man “was reading the article about hiring somebody for graffiti.” He said, “for about a week I followed the graffiti team around and instead of three people driving around doing nothing if they split it up and work seven days they could get rid of this graffiti thing before they took over.” (Note: a record amount of graffiti have been removed since the formulation of the graffiti removal teams.)
Graffiti is still a much-discussed item. “It is repulsive as you drive through Madera,” said a man. “Graffiti means gangs,” said another. “If I wanted to open a business or large company here and came to Madera to look around, the graffiti would immediately make me think to look elsewhere.”
Several callers suggested, “get rid of the gangs and you get rid of the graffiti. And,” said a man, “a lot of other problems like crime, and drugs.”
Another man said, “if you look at all the gang member’s names when they get arrested, and who does the graffiti, the drugs and crime? It is Mexicans. I have nothing against them, but why is it that they are the ones always doing this stuff? Just look at the names in Monday’s (yesterday’s) paper on the marijuana farm inside the city limits.”
A woman “wanted to mention,” she “saw a police car yesterday (Monday) morning driving around without the lights on. I thought, when it rained you were supposed to have your lights on. At least,” she concluded, “he wasn’t using a cell phone at the same time.”
A visitor to the Red Line online, self-identified as “Juan,” commented about the graffiti. He writes, “The problem is the ignorance of the parents and the passive nature of the school district. Give me a break. I was in high school once. I remember all the kids at school with tagging on their backpacks and binders. Confiscate the d-mn things, take pictures, match them with the graffiti around town (and) bingo — the problem is solved.”
A reader, “Angela,” writes, “What is Madera Post Office trying to say by leaving graffiti on their building? If the paint doesn’t match to cover it up, who cares? At least it would be covered. Looks terrible! It would match how dirty the rest of the building is, inside and out! Apparently they don’t care about that either!”
An Internet guest, “Brandy East,” wrote to the late Krista-Rae Pike. She writes, “I will always remember the good times and when you used to cheer me up during the bad. It’s been one year since we lost you. It hasn’t been easy without your smile or your giggles … I miss you spending the night, watching movies, roasting marshmallows in my backyard, and camping out back at my place just for the h-ll of it. I miss you and love you so much.”
Another friend of Pike, “beca,” writes, “I think of you always. Of all the memories from Spanish sophomore year (is) always getting the teacher going at us ’cause we would always be laughing. Even from Mrs. Scott’s class when she kept saying she was going to separate us if we kept laughing. All of the memories. The best is from Jacob’s sweet 16. We were being crazy having fun — the big dog pile we made on the couch. lol.”
An anonymous visitor reacted to a letter entitled “White folks have really become stupid.” The visitor writes, “This is probably the worst letter written to a newspaper I have ever read. Not only is it offensive, it is also amazing that someone would write a letter to a newspaper using the terms and statements used here. It is also amazing that a newspaper would print this without telling the writer to restate their thoughts in a less offensive way.”
A Web guest, “Lynn Goodman,” writes, “In regards to the funding of the Police Dept. mural, how dumb is that? Does anyone realize we are in a recession? Aren’t people getting laid off, losing their homes, and just barely surviving? And then we wonder how we ever got to this point. Duh!”
A reader, “Jim Pastro,” writes, “To tell you the truth… the proposed police station mural truly does not look good. It looks bad and out of place.”
An Internet visitor, “Sue,” responded to a letter about “rescue dogs” adopted from an animal shelter. She writes, “Guess I’m one of those ‘jerks’ who should never be allowed near an animal because I had one dog de-barked. Guess what, Lori? Neighbors don’t like dogs that bark all day and night, even in the house, even with walks, exercise and attention and no medical reason the vet could find. The alternative was to put the dog to sleep. You know what, the dog still barks, only super quietly.”
Sue’s comment sparked a reply from “Stating the Obvious,” who writes, “If you can’t stand a dog barking, which is what dogs do, among other things, you shouldn’t have gotten one as a pet.”
Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478, or by logging on maderatribuneredline.com
If you read the story today on Page A1 about the awful conditions under which some Mexicans are living — enduring the threat of random killing by drug gangs — you will see why some observers are saying Mexico will be the next Afghanistan.
Lawlessness is becoming the norm in Mexico. Last year, in that country of just 109 million people, some 6,000 were murdered in the drug wars alone. That makes the Mexican murder rate more than five times that of the United States.
As Americans, we might think we can ignore the approaching anarchy in Mexico, but we can’t. The war among drug gangs is over free and open trade routes into the U.S. — for illegal drugs.
The Mexican government, despite its best efforts, can’t get a handle on what is happening in its own country. The police are overwhelmed. Even the army isn’t able to restore order.
It sounds like drug-fueled Afghanistan, where President Obama just decided to send 17,000 American troops, and likely will send many more.
The question I have is, when will we have to start putting that kind of troop strength on our own border with Mexico — or even inside Mexico to protect ourselves? Will it be when the gang shootouts come here and the murderers turn San Diego, and Nogales and El Paso into killing fields? Will we consider that an invasion of our soil? Or will we wait until the murderers start taking over Interstate 5 and State Route 99.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about Mexicans who come here to work, and to seek safety and a better life. You can’t blame them for fleeing their home country. In a sense, they are refugees.
But those Mexican drug gangs are like armies. And guess who funds them. Your friendly local U.S. tweaker. If you think illegal drugs are wonderful, think again.
I am a 22-year-old resident of Madera. I was born here and have spent all 22 years of my life within the city limits. I have seen bridges built, hotels constructed and our city boom with business. I have also witnessed first hand the destructive side of Madera’s population. I feel that the graffiti issue that you are addressing is an issue that can easily be contained.
“Graffiti makes my blood boil as I drive around Madera.” (Sam Armentrout, mayor of Madera)
What you see when you drive around Madera is not graffiti, it’s tagging. The one- or two-color pieces you see is because there is not enough time and its a way they “stick it to the man”.
I have read an online article regarding the city’s choice to bring in an outside firm to gather information about select “vandals.” How much of the city’s money is being spent on this tactic, mayor? What has the city done to investigate alternative methods for controlling the graffiti problem?
Has the council heard proposals for a wall to be erected for graffiti artists to paint on? Think back, mayor, to before the skate park was created. Our City was plagued with skaters and the havoc they wreaked. Sidewalks were hazards due to the wax skaters applied for enhancing their tricks. Benches had paint scuffed off. It was a mess.
I now ask you, mayor, since the skate park as been built, how many complaints have you received from shop owners regarding skaters in front of their business or damages done to their properties? I propose the city create a space that is visible from State Route 99 where artists can paint. There would be no cost to labor, the city can use its Community Service Program.
As a tax-contributing member of the City of Madera I feel that the hiring of this firm is the wrong way to tackle this problem. I fear that the removal of one “vandal” will only motivate more to fight back in the only way they know how, to paint more around our city. I challenge the City of Madera to find an alternative method to solve this problem.
I was reading the other day that Vicks may not be good for you, and I thought, “Now you tell me.”
Mom used to put Vicks on me by the jars full when I had a cold, or bronchitis. She would rub it on my neck, and then put a big sock around the neck and pin it with a safety pin at the back so there’d be no way I could get it off. She would rub Vicks on my chest, then wrap a towel around me and pin it in place. I don’t recall whether the vapors made me feel better, but they got my attention and I knew something was being done for me, although I was never quite sure what.
These were in the pre-NyQuil and pre-Robitussin days when the treatment options for chest ailments were limited.
Mom also would put boiling water in a bowl on a table, put Vicks in the bowl and make me bend over the bowl and sniff it while she put a towel over my head. I hated that, but I have to admit it did make me feel better.
Even these days, once in awhile if I have a bad cold and nothing else helps, I’ll try the old Vicks steam in a bowl trick, and it will still be helpful.
Now, however, it turns out that Vicks isn’t really all that medically useful. It doesn’t help clear clogged passages, or soothe aching tissue. All it does, apparently, is make you think it’s working because of that powerful menthol smell that is its signature.
“Anything that smells like that must be effective,” your body tells itself, and it feels better as a result, researchers say. You can even breathe too much of Vicks vapors, they report, doing harm to some of the tissue those pungent, menthol-laden, slightly greasy Vicks vapors are supposed to be helping.
This is all very perturbing. What’s next to be less good for us than advertised? Peanut butter? Mom would have been very upset.
I recently took two of our great-grandsons, Issac and Nico, down the Vernon McCullough Trail, which starts near Tulare and Daulton streets. Both of them were riding their scooters, and I was riding my bicycle.
We all had a good time going down the hill under the bridge on Lake Street, also under the bridge on D Street and finally under the bridge on Highway 99.
I myself enjoyed it very much, the only thing that I didn’t like was all those refrigerators, microwaves, bicycle wheels, dryers, shopping carts and washing machines that were dumped there by the river.
I picked them up and put them in my pickup. There are still lots of shopping carts out there, but I didn’t have any more room in my pickup.
I remember a few years ago, I took a full pickup load of shopping carts that belonged to one store.
