By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

The latest General Motors rescue plan would give the United Auto Workers 89 percent of the company, and the government 50 percent. Present stockholders would own only 1 percent. This must be the new capitalism. The new company will be worth 140 percent of the old company.

Or, maybe there’s something I don’t understand.

Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, has testified under oath that he was told last year by then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke to keep his mouth shut about the true state of Merrill Lynch, which BofA was in the process of acquiring.

Lewis said he was essentially told to keep his mouth shut or be fired, along with his board of directors. More of the new capitalism. The government can fire you and your board just by forcing you to take a loan you don’t want, and then telling you what to do with it.

Or, maybe there’s something I don’t understand.

Actually, Mrs. Doud will tell you there’s a lot I don’t understand. I had thought last year that I might buy a few shares of General Motors when those shares dropped into the $2 range, and she happened to mention that I would be crazy if I did that.

“They are having too many problems,” she said.

I figured GM would solve its problems in time to make us rich — well, maybe worth a few bucks more than we were then. But I never got around to buying any of that stock, because there was no way I could hide the purchase from Mrs. Doud.

But that was in the days of the old capitalism, when companies fought their way back from hard times and made money again. A small-timer like me could buy low and sell high — at least with a few shares.

Now those days are gone. I guess I’ll never understand this new capitalism.

Please join me in voting no on Madera County ballot issue D. This 2 percent increase in transient occupancy tax (T.O.T.) comes at the wrong time for Madera County. Our hospitality industry is currently trying to create a business improvement district (B.I.D.), which would vastly improve tourism promotions and increase overnight stays in Madera County. The B.I.D. requires a 1-2 percent commitment from our hotels, which they can only afford if the T.O.T. is not increased.

After researching this issue at length, I truly believe that the B.I.D. will bring far more revenue to Madera’s businesses and government than an increase in T.O.T. ever could. In fact, a successful B.I.D. would make the County’s total T.O.T. collections increase anyway, because total number of overnights visits in Madera County would substantially increase. Please make the right choice for business in Madera County and join me in voting no on D.

KC Pomering,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

President Obama, like presidents before him, has tried his best to cram a lot of activity and thought-provoking oratory into his first 100 days, and he deserves credit for action and intelligent discourse.

Whether those actions and words will make a difference in the life of the nation is too early to tell.

Obama’s critics are saying he has taken us into socialism, but that isn’t true. That journey started when President Bush, in the waning days of his administration, began the bailouts which have morphed into public financing and public management of huge private enterprises such as Wall Street banks and auto manufacturers. Obama and his administration have merely continued down the path Bush blazed.

Where will it lead? What companies will next find themselves in bed with the federal government?

Don’t be surprised if firms that write medical insurance policies are next on the list. Obama, in step with many other Americans — perhaps even a majority — is determined to make sure every American has medical coverage. That can only be done by federalizing the health insurance business, either by forcing changes in how that business is conducted, or by setting up a competing system supported by the taxpayers, on the order of Medicare.

Obama’s willingness to use the public purse as a rescue vehicle for the economy isn’t all that original, but he can make it original if he knows when to stop.

His willingness to move more troops into Afghanistan enjoys widespread support, but he has to be sure Afghanistan doesn’t turn into a tar baby for him, as it did for the Soviets and the British before them.

And, yes, he got his family a puppy. Bo, the Portuguese water dog, has captured the country’s imagination. As long as Bo doesn’t bite him, Obama’s honeymoon with the American people will last quite a bit longer.

Thank you for your generous publicity of the Madera Tea Party and for your unwavering support of the ideals our founding fathers set forth in the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and many other historical documents.

We will continue to stand firm against the encroachment of big government. We will continue to speak out loudly and boldly against infractions that undermine our freedom and liberty. We will continue to embrace the Christian principles, ideals, and values that have carried this great nation for over 200 years.

Travis Taylor, treasurer,
Madera Tea Party Team

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio) has come up with a good way to save the earth — at least as good a way as anybody else has come up with, including the green gangs that want to cap and tax carbon emissions.

Sutton has decided to back “cash for clunkers” legislation, which would pay people from $1,500 to $5,500 if they trade in their old cars for new ones.

Sutton had been against the legislation unless it restricted the payments to those buying made-in-America cars. But as it turns out, hardly any car is made altogether in America any more — except, oddly enough, for a model of Honda built in Ohio.

Other backers of the legislation are from states where auto factories ar located, and you can’t blame them for getting behind the effort. They want to help more new cars find their ways into the hands of consumers, keep the car factories humming and the taxes rolling in.

There’s a good argument that subsidizing purchases of new cars might be more effective in saving the auto companies than just handing money to the corporations that own them.

But the side benefit — maybe one as worthwhile as helping the car firms — would be that any new car would be less of a polluter than just about any old car. Most air-pollution-control people will tell you that getting clunkers off the road would be the quickest and most effective way of cleaning up the air. Also, most new cars tend to be more efficient, model for model, than older ones, and driving them would cut back on carbon dioxide emissions, all other things being equal.

Apparently, the clunkers would just be recycled and turned into paper clips.

So, if Uncle Sam is going to throw money into the car business, it wouldn’t hurt to toss some of it to car buyers, and make everybody happy.

For the past three months I have sat back and watched what our president has said and done since Jan. 21. This man is amazing. Not only did he inherit the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes, a trillion-dollar deficit, and had to propose a multi-trillion dollar assistance to keep the county moving forward, there were historical amounts of home foreclosures and small family business failures.

He had to ask the American people for $700 billion of taxpayer money to bail out the morons and the greedy to keep Wall Street afloat, or the entire banking system would’ve collapsed. General Motors and Chrysler needed $28 billion to keep their operations going. Then he announced a $780 billion stimulus bill to help Americans get jobs and to stimulate the economy.

Iran and North Korea decided to test Obama, and now throw in the Pirates of Gulf of Aden. I observed some of the some of the so-called tea parties. In my opinion it was nothing more than groups of people attacking President Obama’s policies.

In reality he actually lowered taxes for most of us, and you will be getting a bigger tax return this year. I challenge the tea-party participants to give their returns back, since according you, he’s raised your taxes. Any intelligent person following this understands the President has done more in three months than the previous administration did in eight years.

I would now like to leave with a scenario. I was so impressed with the way President Obama handled the pirate situation. All our intelligence agencies, the military and the state department were working as one. The president had 17 briefings on the situation and had given the military commander on scene orders to shoot to kill if Captain Phillips was in imminent danger. There was no bravado, no Rambo or bluster by the president. He was heavily criticized by the tea-party attendees for not commenting on the situation.

We now know the truth. The president was on top of it, and made a very hard decision to issue shoot-to-kill orders. Captain Phillips could have been severely injured or killed. My hat is off to the Navy Seals, job well done.

Now imagine Sept. 11, 2001. Our country had just been savagely attacked, The entire world wanted justice. Just think, if someone had waited a day or two, gathered all his intelligence agencies together with the military and the State Department. I’ve been told that our special forces knew exactly where Bin Laden was. They had him in their sites. It would’ve taken 10 to 20 shots (justice done, game over), but instead we have a war that has dragged into its 8th year, with 4,274 of our brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers killed, also 678 more murdered in Afghanistan.

So, all you right-wing gun fanatic tax protesters, you have no reason to worry. The president isn’t going enforce any new restrictions on your ability buy and own guns.

And all the rhetoric about deficit spending began with a man named George, not Barack, so it appears to me you right-wing, conservative, tea-party-attending citizens have a serious case of amnesia.

Fred Thomas,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Congress last year was criticizing banks for lending too loosely, giving mortgages to folks who couldn’t repay them, even though previous Congresses had passed laws enabling and even requiring such loans in certain circumstances.

Now, Congress is getting after the banking system for being too tough, and is threatening to make rules which would prohibit banks from raising fees on credit cards.

If you have a credit card, you may have received a missive from your bank telling you that rates for certain transactions — such as cash advances on your card — are going up. The same missive, or perhaps another, may have informed you that your credit limit has been lowered.

These terms may have been dictated even though you pay promptly and do not use your card irresponsibly.

Some people take umbrage at the requirements being imposed on them and immediately write their represen- tatives in Congress to complain. Those representatives, who also may have received such letters from their credit card companies, figure they have nothing to lose if they put the card grantors — aka banks — on the grill and turn up the heat. They hold hearings, they propose legislation that would make it harder for banks to make changes in credit card arrangements.

Even the Federal Reserve has gotten into the act, anticipating what Congress might do, imposing new regulations.

Credit card users have options, of course. The first and most logical is, don’t use the card of a bank that has rules you don’t like. Second is pay off the balance as fast as you can, to avoid higher interest rates. Third is, budget the higher fees into the cost of buying with a credit card (maybe you’ll decide to put off the purchase). Fourth is borrow money from your bank — if you qualify for the loan.

Since taking office in January, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has prioritized renewable energy, put the brakes on the Bush administration’s full-steam-ahead approach to destructive oil shale development and cancelled oil and gas leases on the edge of Utah national parks and historic sites on nearby public land.

Yet Salazar’s measured approach has provoked a backlash by the oil and gas industry that had enjoyed a privileged status during the eight years of the Bush administration.

Secretary Salazar’s understanding that he is a steward of our public lands and not the servant of the oil industry is a breath of fresh air.

With the Obama administration placing conservation and renewable energy issues high on its agenda, these first steps should be the first of many more towards the reforms needed to make sure the oil and gas industry doesn’t wreck more of our fragile western landscapes.

Secretary Salazar should continue the agency’s shift from giving the oil industry what it wants to insisting on balance on lands that belong to everyone.

Richard Spurgeon,
Madera

There is no organization that is more committed to making Madera its highest priority than the Madera County Arts Council. Yet, a caller on the Red Line (April 21) complained, “They’re doing an art show at the Circle Gallery comprised of sculptures made by lady prisoners and the money, which will come from Madera people that buy the sculptures, is going to a program called Read Fresno. I can’t believe that the (Madera County) Arts Council would agree to these proceeds going to a Fresno organization.”

Dr. Pamela Beecher, executive director of the MCAC, commented, “I wish the caller had phoned me. I could have explained the entire process to her.” In fact, according to Beecher, the proceeds from sales usually stay right here in this county.

The popular show uses the vast majority of the money locally. There are advertisements and other forms of publicity to be paid, opening reception expenses, food and beverage cost, etc. Once expenses are accounted for, the MCAC takes its percentage, just as it does with our other exhibitors.

Then, local charitable and community service organizations call on the Arts Council to donate works for fund-raisers, like silent auctions. The Red Line caller can see some of these items at the upcoming Farm Bureau and Rotary Club festivities. Finally, a portion of the money is used to provide more raw materials, like clay, to the Central California Women’s Facility Arts and Education Program.

A little more than three years ago, the women who turn out such beautiful pottery at the CCWF were given the opportunity to decide where the remainder of the funds would go. By state law, they may not profit from their own works. So, they chose to turn the few residual dollars over to causes that were personal to them.

In 2007, the money went to the Madera Rescue Mission, according to Beecher. That benefited local citizens. The following year (2008), Madera’s facilities for battered women were the recipients. This year, the women chose Read Fresno to supply books for children who need to wait in order to see their mothers at the jail.

In each case, the amounts are quite small compared to the expense of staging the exhibit. Beecher’s goal is two-fold: first, to help to advance tourism in Madera, and the Arts Council will be involved with a tourism event on May 21 in Oakhurst. Second, she would like to see our county build a significant permanent art collection. That, she says, is necessary if we are ever to have a Madera County Art Museum. For more information, interested persons may phone the Circle Gallery at 661-7005.

James A. Glynn,
past president, MCAC

All comments are edited for length and content. Due to content or space limitations some comments may not be published. More than one comment from the same person during the same week will normally not be published. Please limit calls to two minutes or less.

“I ride down Yosemite Avenue by the railroad tracks quite a bit,” said one lady. “I was just wondering how long it’s going to take before the tennis shoes hung on the power lines are taken down. It has been over two months. Everyone wants us to take pride in Madera, but it’s hard sometimes.”

A lady called in “Tuesday morning to report to the Madera Police Department and Animal Control that I saw two stray dogs walking down Yosemite at 9 o’clock. I was told there was no one on duty until Monday. Six days from now. A city of 50,000, and no animal control officer on duty? I was told one was on vacation, one on disability and one on maternity leave. How can someone be allowed to take vacation when there’s no one else to cover? Who’s watching the store here in Madera? No one.”

A woman was “a little upset and concerned that the Tribune did not have anything in the paper today (Wednesday, April 15) about the sergeant that was killed in Iraq and was a Madera High graduate, yet the Fresno Bee had his picture and big article. I can’t understand why the Tribune wouldn’t honor this soldier who gave his life for his country.” (Editor’s note: We were not contacted by the military or the family, and had difficulty initially in gathering information on the death.)

A gentleman read the Thursday, April 16, issue of the Tribune and “thought it very disrespectful that Sgt. (Raul) Moncada got a lower right corner of your front page… How did the Tea Party get more coverage than our hero from our community? … Why don’t the editors walk up to the family and say I’m sorry.” (Editor’s note: We put together Thursday’s article late and there was little time by then to redesign the front page of the newspaper without delaying the printing and delivery of that issue. However, we published a more extensive front page article, “Maderans mourn soldier,” on Saturday, April 18.)

A woman “just wanted to say thank you for your coverage of the Tea Party. We had a good turnout and everyone was very well behaved. Those who were interested in fiscal responsibility, I think, were the ones that were there. All of our officials from local to federal should really listen to us.”

Another caller “was a little disappointed because your writer never mentioned what TEA in tea party stands for. It means Taxed Enough Already. He should have put that in there.”

Yet another said, “despite your lengthy coverage and photos of the Tea Party, thank you, your columnist Leon Emo, in his Friday (April 17) Musings, summed up the event and feelings of all that attended in just one excellent paragraph.”

A lady called about Leon Emo’s column, “Mo’s Musings” on Wednesday, April 15 “making fun of Maryland charging sewer taxes. I’m not sure what world he lives in. I think he needs to take a deep breath and clear his ’60s brain. But he lives in Madera and when his home was built there was a charge for hooking up to the sewer. In addition, if he looks at his city bill he will see that he pays a service fee. As he should because he is a user of the sewer.”

A woman said she knew “a couple of people that work in that new restaurant and was reading about some people working there with green cards. We have a friend that works at the new restaurant and it’s true. Not necessarily the waiters, but there are people working there with green cards.” (Editor’s note: A “green card” is slang for a United States Permanent Resident Card. It serves as proof that its holder is a Lawful Permanent Resident and has permission to reside and work in the U.S.)

A man “just received Madera County’s sample ballot” and said, “What a slap in the face to all the veterans who kept this country American. It’s printed in Spanish and English. If they can’t read English then what the heck are they doing voting?”

On a different subject, the caller asked, after reading “the story of the Robotics Team that has gone further than ever before. You had a picture, but you did not have their names. That is really a disservice to those kids. They worked really hard for this and I would appreciate if you listed their names.”

“Once again, Madera gets the short end of the stick,” began a lady’s call. “They’re doing an art show at Circle Gallery comprised of sculptures made by lady prisoners and the money, which will come from Madera people that will buy the sculptures, is going to a program called Read Fresno. I can’t believe the (Madera County) Arts Council would agree to these proceeds going to a Fresno organization. The next time the Arts Council comes with their hat in their hand needing money for one of their many, many projects tell them to go to Fresno because that’s what they are doing sending charitable money to Fresno.”

An Internet reader, self-identified as “Tired of these people,” writes on the Red Line online, “Instead of watching some lady steal mail from the drop box and record it in their memory to complain about on the Red Line, the caller should have done something about it on the spot.”

Thank you for your comments. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24 hours a day by calling 674-4478, or by logging on to www.maderatribuneredline.com.