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 Due to content or space limitations some comments may not be published. More than one comment from the same person during the same week will normally not be published.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.

A woman “was wondering if you guys were going to be covering the girls Stallion flag-football game.” She gave the date and time of the game. (Note: We did.)

A woman called about a doctor’s office and one particular person who works there “that has no personality whatsoever.”

A man responded to a comment made last week about the letter by Eddie Chapa. “I personally appreciate those articles (letters) by Mr. Chapa. I hope he continues to write them.” He also commented about the lady who wrote in about Fred Thomas’ letter. “I think they were right on.”

A lady said she didn’t think it was very important but wanted to comment about a nail salon. “The people that do our nails are the best. They speak English. They don’t use their language among us (their customers) and I can certainly recommend them.”

A woman “just read that article by Tami Jo (Nix), and I am almost speechless except for this call. Mother Teresa would have had a problem with Tami growing up with Tami not having very good things to say about kids. Again, I am so sorry I read that. It just changes my image, Tami.”

“In his column Wednesday (May 6) your writer, Leon Emo, saw fit to visit a Mexican basketball tournament,” began a woman. “If he likes the people on that side of town so much, and they like him, why doesn’t he just move over there?”

She also suggested, “He said he was at Relay For Life too; wearing shorts, I suppose, and giving hugs to everyone. He needs to grow up.”

A man said, “look at the Supreme Court.” He mentioned several decisions through many decades the court and said, “basically they have a very poor record. The only thing they do is interfere with the legislative and executive branches of the government. They ought to shut up, sit down and start interpreting the Constitution as written in flexibility.”

“Why is it that some city business offices use a recording?” asked a woman. “You call and get a recording. You leave your name and phone number and they say they will get back to you. We never get that call back, and it goes on all day long. What in the world do they do?”

A man said, “I’m not a Democrat,” but “wanted to comment on Chuck Doud’s editorial of Friday, May 8. I think he kind of got it all wrong. He said the reason the Republicans are having problems is because they do a lousy job of articulating their vision.” The caller said, “I think they articulate quite well. It’s their vision that’s wrong. Nobody wants to hear the kind of values the Republicans are espousing when they are afraid of losing their jobs, or afraid of losing their homes.”

“There’s not enough good things that happen in Madera in the Red Line so I’m telling you about a wonderful time on Mother’s Day,” said a lady. “My husband took me to breakfast at the Elks Lodge Sunday morning. It was a great treat. The Elks prepared a great breakfast and we sat around afterwards talking and making new friends. I am already looking forward to next year.”

An online visitor identified as “Concerned” replied to a letter about the Madera Tea Party: “Where were you Tea Party-goers when Bush was leading us into socialism with his bailouts?

“Look at the facts … these Tea Parties are a response to having a Democratic majority, and the fact that the president is black. No two ways about it. Otherwise we wouldn’t have the guilty conscience statements on your posters and t-shirts. ‘It’s not about race, it’s about politics.’ It’s a line of cr-p all around.”

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.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

It’s becoming evident that under President Obama, the War on Drugs will turn into a holding action, if not a retreat.

Gil Kerlikowske, the new White House drug “czar,” is likely to be more of a drug “educator-in-chief.”

He says the idea of a War on Drugs is no longer pertinent. “We’re not at war with people in this country,” he said during his first press interview since being confirmed.

He said dealing with drug use will be more a matter of public health initiatives than law enforcement.

That represents a sea change from policies of the past, in place for 40 years.

Kerlikowske says he doesn’t support drug legalization. He has been a drug undercover agent, has run police departments, and knows the ill effects of drug use.

He says, though, that he would focus more on treatment and trying to reduce drug demand through education.

That language has a certain appeal, but it probably translates into a movement toward tolerance of drug use if not outright legalization.

Which may not be a bad thing, given the fact that the War on Drugs seems to be little more than a holding pattern against an enemy which has an endless supply of new troops financed and tolerated by the very people who supposedly are being protected.

According to information from the Department of Health and Human Services, about 11 percent of the population nationwide occasionally or regularly uses marijuana. This is actually up from a decade ago, when it was about 9 percent. That general percentage has been fairly constant since the War on Drugs began in earnest in 1969.

Other drugs have far less use: Cocaine, less than 3 percent of the population; heroin and meth, less than 1 percent.

It could be argued that without the War on Drugs those percentages would be higher, the harm from drug use much greater. Apparently, we are about to find out, through experience, whether that is true.

By Tom Elias
California Focus

There’s good news and bad news on the higher education front in California these days, but so far the bad news is trumping the good.

First the good news: California high schools over the last few years graduated tens of thousands more students eligible for admission to a University of California or California State University campus than ever before. The 11 percent increase in eligibles is a sign of major progress in the state’s elementary and high schools, playing out at the university level.

It’s even more impressive since the increased academic performance crosses all ethnic lines. Improvement was especially remarkable among Latinos, where the number of high school grads eligible for the state’s public universities leaped by 55 percent between 2003 and 2007, from 18,300 to 28,300. As an aside, if there were any remaining doubts about the benefits of the 1998 Proposition 227, which ended most bilingual education programs in the state, this ought to end them.

But now comes the bad news: All the improvements are likely to produce is a corps of thousands more frustrated young men and women.

Because just as the number of eligible students increased — 13.4 percent of all high school graduates are now eligible for the University of California and 32.7 percent qualify for Cal State — the two university systems cut back the number of students admitted for next fall.

Because of the state budget crunch, Cal State campuses will have 10,000 fewer students this year than last, while UC has been less specific, but also has reduced enrollment on most campuses.

“Our public higher education systems face a growing challenge of accommodating more students with reduced state funding,” said Murray Haberman, executive director of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, as he released the new numbers on university-eligible graduates.

It’s not just the lower number of slots available on the state’s university campuses. There will be more demand for financial aid, too, because higher numbers of eligible students also mean higher numbers of needy students applying. So long as admissions remain “need-blind” (conducted without regard to applicants’ finances), a larger pool of applicants will always translate to a need for more scholarships. Add to that the fee increases likely to come over the next few years.

But money for much-needed scholarships may be scarce for the next few years, if only because state legislators seeking ways to cut the budget almost invariably make universities a prime target.

That’s an especially nasty prospect now, as a report from the San Francisco-based Public Policy Institute of California concluded a few months ago that the state’s economy could falter over the next 20 years because not enough college educated workers are moving here and the state can’t graduate current residents fast enough to meet employers’ likely upcoming needs.

The PPIC claimed California needs to nearly triple the number of highly skilled immigrants coming here from other states and countries or many businesses will locate elsewhere. This study is strong evidence that cutting university budgets in times of economic stress is both shortsighted and anti-business. That’s highly ironic when the leading advocates of cutting higher education are usually the same politicians who claim to be most pro-business, the ones concerned about industries and jobs migrating out of state.

Example: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who talks ad nauseum about boosting business, proposed a $132 million cut in university funding as part of his budget-balancing plan late last year. The Schwarzenegger plan got nowhere, but not because of the proposed higher education cuts.

Of course, just because more students qualify for university admission at the precise time that universities are closing many of their slots does not mean students must quit learning. To the contrary, they can use community colleges as stepping stones, the way Schwarzenegger himself did when he attended Santa Monica College in the 1970s.

But it’s sheer pretense to claim that most junior colleges can offer the stimulation and quality of faculty available at university campuses.

So even if the newly-eligible, but now turned away, students do not desert higher education out of frustration, they will nevertheless lose because of the budget crunch.

And that will be a long-term loss for all Californians, which is the worst thing about the good news/bad news scene in higher education today.
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For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

The city of Madera by itself has very little money to spend on business and housing development, but with the aid of its redevelopment agency, it has racked up an impressive record of accomplishment in helping the city move forward.

In its annual report, made public Wednesday, the agency showed what hard work and visionary thinking can do for a city that is willing to make a commitment to improving itself.

Most cities have a redevelopment agency, which allows local governments to sell bonds for development purposes and pay for them with so-called tax-increment financing. The increment is the difference between what a property might have been worth before it was developed, and after.

For example, if substandard housing is redeveloped into good, affordable housing, the new housing will be worth more. The difference between the old tax value and the new tax value can be used to retire bonds.

This has led to substantial redevelopment activity in Madera. In the last year alone, the Crossroads Shopping Center was opened, a project between the private developers and the Madera Redevelopment Agency working to take under-used and blighted property at the corner of Yosemite and Tozer and turn it into a shopping center that is a credit to the community.

The agency also:

– Assembled the land necessary for the courthouse relocation project, for which it will be reimbursed by the state.

– Provided major funding for the new John W. Wells Youth Center, now under construction.

– Worked to clean up and improve several substandard properties in east Madera, turning old houses into desirable dwellings.

– Improved streets, sidewalks and other infrastructure in many neighborhoods.

– Helped enforce city codes.

The City Council and the agency and city staffs deserve much credit.

Our office receives the Tribune. I look forward to the recipes each week. I have cut more recipes from the Trib than from any other paper.

This past Saturday I made the Mandarin Orange Cheesecake and the orange Jello salad. They were wonderful. I used Splenda instead of sugar.

Thank you, again, for this service.

Janene Flad,
Madera

During an economic slump is the absolute worst time to pull back on enthusiasm, publicity, promotion and advertising in any business.

Now is a critical time for increased creativity, energy and, yes, expenditure, by those who wish to sustain success and competitive advantage.

With that and the current and likely future economy in mind, there are two possibly mutually exclusive proposals afoot which purport to address the needs of Madera County. Both seek to derive revenues from the lodging industry.

Although both certainly have validity, one is clearly an investment and the other, obviously an expense.

(1) A voluntary self-assessment (the Business Improvement District/BID) with all funds channeled exclusively into promoting tourism in Madera County.

(2) An increase in the Transient Occupancy Tax (per ballot measure D), with proceeds being homogenized into the County General Fund.

Choice #1 (The investment) is akin to paying into a mutual benefit marketing fund from which you pay yourself back with profit. Choice #2 (The Expense) is akin to paying into a general welfare fund from which government may re-distribute to others.

If a choice must be made, my personal opinion is that now is a time to cut back on expenses, not investments.

Ray Krause,
O’Neals

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Proposition 1C is supposed to help the state get out of its budget mess, but maybe before you vote you should ask a guy I saw at the Mobil station.

The other day, I was there getting some gas and decided to go inside and buy a bottle of iced tea. As I was carrying the tea to the counter, a guy ran in from outside and said, “Quick, give me a lottery ticket.” He slapped a dollar and a piece of paper with numbers written on it on the counter, and the clerk punched in the numbers and gave him the ticket.

“Thanks,” the guy said, grabbed his ticket and headed back outside.

When I stepped up to the counter, I thought briefly about buying a lottery ticket, too, but then thought better of it. I went with the tea instead, and was glad I did. I was thirsty, and the tea tasted good.

It has been a while since I bought a lottery ticket. I’ve just about stopped buying them altogether, except for when the prize gets way up there, and a colleague here at the office goes around and collects $5 and $10 from all who will pony up, and she goes and buys several dozen lottery tickets. The idea is that if we win, we will split the pot and all retire rich.

I don’t know why we think it makes more sense to buy lottery tickets when the pot is huge than it does when it is a mere few millions. The odds of winning are the same.

I once read that the lottery is a tax on the mathematically challenged, and I can testify to that. All the lottery tickets I have bought have won me nothing. Some say the chance of being hit by lightning is greater than winning the lottery. I wonder if anyone has been hit by lightning just after winning the lottery. That would certainly be a thrill and a disappointment.

If Prop. 1C wins, the guy at the Mobil station probably will pay more to win even less, and he might wind up being hit by lightning, too.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

I was thinking the other day about opening a Twitter account, but I have decided against it for now.

I’m not sure Mrs. Doud would approve of me Twittering with all those kids who use the service; nor would she approve of my seeing all that pornography.

It turns out that quite a few people who post photos of themselves on Twitter use pictures that show them without many clothes on. I would not post photos of myself barely clothed. In fact, I might put on a turtle-neck sweater, a heavy coat and a hat before having my picture taken. No sense in getting everybody all excited.

I certainly would not be happy if Mrs. Doud posted photos of herself scantily clad, either. All those young men who wear hardly any clothes in their photos might see her photo and get the wrong idea.

Also, Twitter only allows 140 characters per tweet. Tweets are what Twitterers call the messages they send. That doesn’t leave room for much.

The preceding paragraph is 140 characters exactly. As a result, most people who send tweets restrict them to subjects such as:

“I am standing here by myself on the sidewalk waiting for the wait-walk signal to change. It is certainly taking its own sweet time about it.”

That, too, is a 140-character tweet, and one of the deeper ones I read when I looked at some tweets over the shoulder of one of my colleagues who has a Twitter account.

Politicians are jumping on the Twitter bandwagon, trying to get their messages out to voters whose thoughts only span 140 characters. Apparently, there are quite a lot of these voters — in the dozens of millions. Which may explain why the Democrats did so well in the last election, the Dems having emerged as the Twitter-masters.

Republicans have a hard time trying to articulate anything in 140 characters. But one tweet — “Stop with the new taxes!” may become popular in a couple of years.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

One thing the Republican Party needs to do is redetermine its role in American politics. Without doing that, it will remain in confusion.

The party’s reason for being is to elect candidates. That is done by knocking on doors, meeting voters, and building organizations at the local level. Every precinct committee member is important, every precinct committee meeting is vital. Libraries of books on how to win elections agree with this.

The GOP isn’t a religion, answerable only to God. As soon as Republicans get to thinking that way, they wind up like the GOP did last year, and as it is behaving this year — on the fringes of American political activity.

The Republican party isn’t a debating society. Philosophical debates may, and do, occur, but as soon as such discussions turn into winner-take-all disputes, the party becomes like a family reunion where everybody gets drunk and goes home mad.

Some people who call themselves conservatives say the Republican Party belongs to them, and all others should find somewhere else to go.

A true conservative would not say that. A true conservative believes first in liberty, and believes liberty requires bottom-up government — not top down — with wide participation.

Conservatives by definition tend to resist change. They know the principles on which their nation was founded, and they don’t want to alter that. When rules have to be made (and they often do) they are made only after great deliberation, and then they are not broken unless and until further deliberation results in better rules.

Conservatives may look on the Republican Party as the one which can best help candidates who share their view. But if the GOP flubs its job, conservatives will go somewhere else. Then, watch the Libertarian Party grow.

It’s interesting that when votes on budget issues are coming up, especially when the California Legislature wants to raise my taxes, that the first thing they say is “we’re going to cut police, schools, and firemen.”

I thought those three groups were well represented by powerful unions.

Why doesn’t the Legislature cut the programs the taxpayers actually want cut — those well funded, but unnecessary agencies such as commissions? Cut their budgets first, not public safety.

I searched the California State website and found more than 10 pages of listings for commissions. I wonder why those folks don’t experience the big cuts our governor recently said would affect the firemen if the poorly-written propositions didn’t pass in the upcoming election?

It looks to me like another scam, to scare the voters that they will suffer, all the while the political cronies continue to get fat salaries for attending meetings. Vote no on all propositions.

Jerry Kazynski,
Madera