By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

The only lawmaker at the health-summit table on Thursday who made any sense was Sen. Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma. The reason he made sense is that he’s a doctor as well as a senator.
And, of course, hardly anybody listened to him.

Here are some of the points he made, in case you want to make a little sense out of the health-insurance reform debate:

(1) One of every three dollars we pay into the health care system doesn’t go toward actual care. That one in three dollars “doesn’t help anybody get well, and doesn’t prevent anybody from getting sick,” he said.

(2) Through rules and regulations, the government now controls 60 percent of the health care delivery decisions and activities in the country.

“If throwing money at it and creating new government programs could solve it, we wouldn’t be sitting here today,” he said.

(3) A large portion of the tests doctors order every day aren’t for the benefit of patients, they are for the benefit of doctors. “And the reason they’re there is because we are risk averse to the tort system and extortion system that’s out there today in health care.”

(4) On the whole, the health-care system does a great job of treating disease, but doctors have little incentive to prevent disease.

(5) Various kinds of fraud cost the health-care system more than $150 billion a year.

There was a guy standing outside Blair House while this summit was going on. He was carrying a sign that said, “Medicare for everyone.”

Has anyone really thought about that, or have the insurance company lobbyists permanently poo-pooed it? I guess my thinking is, if they hate that simple idea so much, there must be something to it.

Maybe Sen. Coburn and the sign carrier should get together.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

I don’t know about you, but to me, the governor’s race so far seems very odd.

First, there’s Meg Whitman, who so far is the champ in spending money. You would think she was a breakfast cereal the way she spends money on advertising, and the thing she advertises is that she used to run eBay. However, at no time does she say how that qualifies her to be governor.

Then, there’s Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, also a dot.com millionaire. While he hasn’t bought as much radio and television advertising as Meg Whitman has, there’s no question he will be able to. The real question, rather, is whether he actually will spend as much. Poizner’s advantage going into the race is that he actually has held public office.

And, last week, he received a welcome gift, the chance to cast a regulatory eye on Anthem Blue Cross for raising rates on some 700,000 California policy holders. If he takes Anthem to the woodshed, he will appear to some voters as one who knows what he is doing in Sacramento — a rare thing indeed, these days.

Both Whitman and Poizner probably mean well, but if you were a person from Mars, and came to earth to look at California’s gubernatorial race, it probably would occur to you right off the bat that the governorship of California is up for auction to the highest bidder. Sort of like a sought-after item on eBay. The person who bids high enough has the best chance at it.

However, the auction has a ways to go. Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown, who has been governor once before, hasn’t even filed for the job — but that is soon to change. Word has it that on Tuesday he will pay the $35,000 filing fee at the Alameda County Courthouse, making his candidacy official. Then, the bidding will really get hot. He has a big war chest, too.

I can understand budget cuts, I can understand the need to trim excess spending to make the bottom line number in the positive rather in the negative. I can understand that the state is still in a crisis and apparently there doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon. But here is what I don’t understand:
How can any of the board members or the superintendent find it acceptable behavior on their part to not notify any parents about the possibility of their children school closing?

Why did the board as well as the superintendent deem it right for children to be the vehicle of administrating the news to their parents. This is how I found out about the possible closure of Dixieland School (which now has been voted to be closed). It pains me to think that the board and the superintendent would find this way of notifying parents acceptable.

I ask the board members and the superintendent this question: How would you feel if it was your child coming home from school on Friday telling you that you have to go to a meeting at the high school cafeteria on Tuesday because they want to close my school?

I immediately called every news station as well as attempted to call my board of education trustee to ask these questions; the board member never called me back (I went to school with this person at Dixieland Elementary). I contacted the assistant to the superintendent and asked questions, her response was they posted it in the paper and on their Web site, and they don’t send out memos regarding board meetings. Yet they sent me three notifications on where I could go to get the H1N1 virus shot for my children.

My reply to her was, if it was your child, and their school, wouldn’t you want to be notified? I asked her where did the school district’s portion of the $23.3 billion from California Lottery go since 1989, her reply was for me to ask Sacramento. I said, so MUSD doesn’t get a portion of the money, and she replied, yes, we get a portion of it; where it goes I do not know.

I then asked her: How can the school board propose to close a two-year distinguished-award-winning school as well as a school that maintains high standardized test score? Her reply was that she wasn’t going to answer any more of my questions, that I could ask them at the board meeting.

So who loses here the most? The superintendent, the board members, the faculty, the bus drivers, the kids.

The superintendent doesn’t lose, he just received an annual increase in his salary as well as $900 a month for gas, as well as his wife’s health benefits along with his. The board members don’t lose — well, not yet. I am sure that when they chose to make this decision they realized that they just put their names on the chopping block for re-election.

Administrators in the district received a pay raise and yet they are going to close a school and cut programs. Here is an insight: If you want the community to back you and say there is nothing else they could have done, maybe, just maybe, giving yourself a raise isn’t appropriate in this crisis.

I heard on the news the district’s spokesperson saying that the superintendent’s pay raise wouldn’t be a drop in the bucket to the budget cuts they have to make to close the deficit; well, I say to him, its a start. If the superintendent as well as the board had any integrity to their job and the future of children, instead of pay increases they should have voted on a pay decrease.

Our superintendent brings in over $175,000 a year. I am sure that he could have spared a few grand from his salary.

When unemployment is high, MUSD is going to increase the numbers by giving pink slips to teachers, and supportive staff. Their livelihoods lost. But remember, the superintendent still has a job. Who loses the most? I have the answer in black and white, Mr. Superintendent and board members … the kids lose big time
These kids are now going to leave a school that they love to attend and are motivated to succeed; they are going to leave teachers, custodians, bus drivers, librarians, secretaries that they love because of this. They are going to be bused to a different school and have to start all over again. They are going to have to deal with increased class sizes because of this, which I am sure will lower their achievement status. They lose.

After analyzing all of the data, I have came up with this conclusion. If the superintendent and the board members want to change the lives of so many people and yet their lives haven’t been changed from all of this, then why can’t they suffer as well.

I urge all Maderans to begin the effort of a recall of our superintendent as well as every board member. If your child or school hasn’t been touched by these latest budget cuts, do not believe that you are not going to be affected.

Remember these are the people that would rather give themselves raises versus putting that money into our kids.

This time it was Dixieland and other programs; what or which school will be next on the cutting block is left to be seen. Lets get a new breed of board members and superintendent who will be devoted to our children and take a pay cut versus a pay raise.

Gina Alcott,
Madera

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

When Barack Obama was running for president, he used to call his health initiative “health care reform.” Now, he is calling it “health insurance reform,” which has been the point all along.

The country has a great health care system of physicians, pharmacies, nurses, hospitals, research institutions and other care-givers.

But the way we pay all these people has become goofy.

Thirty percent of the private health care dollar paid to insurance companies goes into those companies’ coffers to offset their costs of operation and provide them with a profit. This means that over the years, the cost of health insurance to most people who pay for their own is outrageous. To the companies and government entities who pay for their employees’ insurance, the cost for several years has been the fastest-growing of almost all their expenses of doing business.

The public pays for this insurance in added cost of the products they buy and in the taxes they pay to support the public agencies who in turn give the money to insurers.

There is also a secret cost — secret to the extent that most of us don’t realize we pay it when we do — and that is the money that paying customers shell out to provide medical care for the indigent. Hospitals are legally required to treat indigents when they seek care, regardless of whether those patients can pay. The cost of that care is born through higher fees for service that insurers and individuals pay when they write checks to hospitals and physicians.

The insurers aren’t necessarily the bad guys in all this. We all are to blame. We have made a once-simple system — “hospital insurance” which helped pay for hospitalization, surgery and other big-ticket treatments — into a crazy quilt of plans and entitlements that few can afford.

Does Obama have the solution? Probably not. But he is closer to defining the problem.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

When I was a lot younger and had a heifer ranch in Washington State, I had some Jersey cows, which I’d milk twice a day. I fed the milk to the calves, who lapped it up.

I lapped it up, too. I would handle the raw milk carefully, pouring it through a filter, first for me and the rest for the calves.

I took about half a gallon a day into the house. The container for the milk was a tall, stainless-steel pail with a lid and a handle, like one on a bucket. Before putting the raw milk into the refrigerator, I would let it sit for a few minutes in some ice water in a dish pan, a process which would cool the milk quickly. Then I would wipe the pail off and put it in the refrigerator.

The next morning, I would enjoy the best-tasting milk I can remember. The cream would have risen to the top of the container, and was almost as thick as butter. I would spoon most of it into a pitcher, add a little milk, and that was what I’d put on my Cheerios and in my coffee. Lord ’a’ mercy, it was good.

What made me think of this was reading about an effort being made in several state houses throughout the country to allow people to buy raw milk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the departments of agriculture of many states, including California, have worked to get raw milk out of dairy cases entirely. These good regulators say raw milk has the potential for carrying harmful bacteria because it isn’t pasteurized.

I don’t know about that. I do know that unrefrigerated milk can spoil quickly. But I also know that during the years I drank that delicious raw Jersey milk, I never once became ill because of it. Or if I did, I wasn’t aware that it was the milk that made me sick.

I would think that if you wanted to take the chance on raw milk, you ought to be able to. It is so good.

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

It would appear that in Madera, as much of the rest of the country, some teachers might be losing their jobs next year due to budgetary constraints.

Put another way, fewer dollars will be coming to the school district, and because of that and the fact that most of the school district’s expenditures go toward wages and benefits, there may be no other way to make cuts.

In other parts of the country, such reductions are a foregone conclusion, and school administrators have begun wringing their hands over which teachers to let go. They know that to some extent, their hands are tied. Most teacher contracts have seniority clauses — which is to say, “last hired, first fired.”

Administrators hate that. They would like to use this opportunity to get rid of older, more expensive teachers, rather than firing younger, less expensive teachers. School unions are resisting any change in the seniority language of their contracts.

“Unions say that seniority rules are the only objective way to carry out layoffs,” reports The Wall Street Journal in a story on the issue, “and that they protect teachers from the whims and bias of managers.”

School administrators would like to see seniority eliminated for another reason. They say seniority rules have protected poor teachers and rewarded them with years-in-service step increases.

You can’t blame the unions for trying to protect seniority language in their contracts. It has been good for their members. And, you can’t blame administrators for wanting to dodge the seniority speed bump when it comes to cost-cutting.

But the argument that seniority rules have protected poor teachers raises the question of why administrators didn’t move early on to identify and terminate less-than-adequate teachers. Perhaps the practice of winking at poor teacher performance is coming home to roost at a bad time.

Re: Jan Soto’s letter to the editor of Feb. 19.

The comment that individuals come to the United States with the intention of depending on public assistance is erroneous.

When a person considers moving to the United States, however the mode, the intention is to come and work, eventually start a family and live off the earnings of a decent job, either working in the fields, or working your way up into school and becoming a professional.

The reality is that in order to gain the privilege to become legal in the United States, an individual must prove to Immigration that he or she has been a law-abiding citizen, obtained and maintained gainful employment, and, more than anything, has not been a burden to society by depending on public assistance to support a family by the mere fact of having a U.S. citizen child.

As you mentioned, Ms. Soto, crossing the border illegally is violating a law, and one pays a fine of $1,000 that goes back to the state economy to support community services such as WIC, First 5, WTW, child-care assistance programs, victim services, after-school programs, substance abuse, in-patient programs, food banks, etc., available to all those eligible regardless of their legal status.

Those who do bring their Latin American children, bring them over with the intention to raise them with their means from employment and not rely on public assistance that they do not qualify for to begin with due to their legal status. These individuals are only eligible for Emergency Medical Services and it exclusively pays for “emergencies.”

I do believe that there are illegal individuals who depend on public assistance through their children to live, and claim that their ability to find employment is nearly impossible due to their status, but it is a matter of pride and responsibility to not raise your children with assistance other than your ability to hold a job. Yes, it is a matter of principle. As a Latina, I find it a shame.

There are those who consider taking a minimum-wage job, or working in the fields as degrading, when in fact an illegal or at times a legal permanent resident, classifies standing in line to request public assistance as degrading.

As far as the school system, I do agree that the U.S. school system is very poor. In Latin America, attending school is a privilege, not a right, as tuition is paid in Latin America from kindergarten to upper level. The level of academics in Latin America is much higher than the U.S. system. The school system at high school level (counselors) are not empowering the youth to attend college if they appear Latino. It seems as if the assumption is that by the mere fact of being Latino, the child does not intend to pursue a higher level of education. I feel I can comment on this as I came to the U.S. at the age of 11, and I was placed in 4th grade, when in fact in my home country, I had completed 6th grade.

I proudly say that I am a Latina that was undocumented, but worked my way up to become a U.S. citizen. I obtained a college degree that helped me to have the position I currently have. Being considered a hard worker, and not only because I am bilingual, is why I am rewarded with more work.

I can say being bilingual is a plus, and living in California is a necessity; this could be the reason why it is an elective in school as one doesn’t realize how it makes you marketable for a job later in life. It is unfortunate how individuals regret not learning the language when, at times, it was their primary language growing up, and now would be an advantage. I proudly say I enforce Spanish to be spoken in my home by my children.

I strongly support an immigration amnesty, as it would not only benefit those living in the shadows, but the economy. Their legal status would allow them to obtain drivers’ licenses, pay auto insurance and legally contribute, and seek the rightful services they are entitled to, such as unemployment benefits, when they are unemployed in the winter season, and be able to claim what belongs to them during tax season as they contribute the remaining part of the year.

Without the legal status, those working are contributing to an economy that does not give them anything in return for their hard labor, but yet they are contributing to pay for the benefits of public assistance to those who choose to claim a disability or inability to maintain a job, although their legal status to work is not an issue.

Additionally, about Madera turning into Mexico, it is impossible. This country is called the melting pot, because there are individuals from Latin America and all nations, not only Mexicans. As a Latina, Salvadorean, it is insulting to read or hear that individuals generalize a population as one.

Veronica Pleitez.
Madera

Short Video: Tom Mabe’s Cell Phone Prank

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Due to the Tribune’s move to its new location, at 2890 Falcon Drive, some calls may not have been received this week. We apologize if you do not see your message.

All comments are edited for length and content. Because of 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.

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The Red Line continues to receive a record number of calls about the Madera Unified School District. Too many to list individually, but the main concerns are reflected in the following calls.

A woman said, “I can’t understand why the school district and county did not have enough foresight to see what was coming. The city government has done a wonderful job in keeping jobs and services during these times. That is showing good leadership.”

“I went to that (school) board meeting last night,” said a lady. “It is funny how the superintendent just sits there with a geeky little smile on his face. Never says a word, but lets his underlings do all the work, presenting, answering questions, helping get out the questions. He just sits there and nowhere on the agenda is there anything about him giving back his astronomical raise.”

A man, “commenting on the school board cuts for the next three years, believes the cuts are coming from the wrong places. They need to start at the top with the superintendent and work their way down. Plain and simple.”

A lady had a message “for the parents of Madera Unified School District. Your superintendent wants to cut teachers and busing for your children. Do you have the time and the money to take them and pick them up every day? Start going to your school board meetings. All of you need to know what is going on.”

Another woman who attended last week’s school board meeting said, “I’ve never been so dismayed and disappointed and appalled at the people who have been elected and appointed to be the leaders of the educational community. They don’t know their budgets. They’re being led around by their noses and they seem to like it. To eliminate schools, programs, ask teachers to do more with less, do you realize the administration got almost a 30 percent raise last month? Where was that in the Tribune? Are you going to support the public? Do some research? What a wonderful school district it was when (superintendent) Julie O’Kane was there. Now look what it has become.”

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A woman “expressed her condolences to the family, and especially the children, of that puppy that was killed by that hit-and-run driver. Secondly, my condolences to the family of the dog that was murdered at the high school campus. I am saddened and sickened by these events that are happening to our poor animals in this community. I just don’t understand how some people can sleep at night knowing what they’ve done to these innocent, helpless animals.”

Another lady wanted “to make a comment about the cruelty to animals in the Feb. 9 edition. This isn’t an isolated incident. It happened a couple of years ago to my daughter’s cat. They live across the street from the high school. Either a security guard or a janitor caught some kids throwing it in the air, throwing rocks at it and kicking it. It turned out to be my daughter’s cat. I don’t know what is happening to the kids in Madera.”

A man called “about an ad in the paper under ‘handyman.’ It advertises tile, concrete driveways, etc. The law requires that person to state that he is a contractor’s member or state that they are not licensed.”

A lady responded to last week’s item about “the police mural. That money comes from Redevelopment, not the city’s general fund. The people of Madera do not realize that when the police department was built it wasn’t even built to the original plans. A lot of things were cut. There was a bond measure a couple of years ago that would have increased patrols. Everybody wanted it, but nobody wanted to pay for it. So you get what you asked for.”

A lady wanted to “thank everyone who came to the Madera Coyote Boosters dance Saturday night. We’re all in this together in trying to raise money for our kids.”

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

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Music Video: “Sorrow” by Flyleaf

By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune

Once again, I am heaving sighs of relief that I am not competing this year in men’s figure skating at the Winter Olympics. Figure skating looks easy, but not easy enough for me. I don’t like falling down on ice, and I believe I would be doing that a lot if I were a figure skater.

Also, I would be baffled by the Lutz, which is a jump in which the skater defies the law of gravity long enough to twirl around in the air two, three or even four times and not land on his patootie.

Depending on whose book you read, the Lutz was named either after an obscure Austrian skater named Alois Lutz or an obscure Italian skater named Tomas Lutz.

The Lutz is close to being a flip, in which the skater takes off from the ice, twirls around and lands. However, in the flip, the skater takes off from the back inside edge of the skate, while in the Lutz the skater takes off from the back outside edge.

The whole thing is confusing and incomprehensible, starting with who actually invented the Lutz. It sounds like the Lutz started out as a skating mistake, with the skater taking off on the wrong edge, and then excusing himself by saying he had just invented a new skating move. Then, he left town. Nobody could remember whether he was an Austrian named Alois or an Italian named Tomas, and so the legends live on, sort of like a double Lutz, depending on whether you are an Austrian or an Italian and on whether you give a darn.

So, you have your Lutz, you have your flip and you also have your triple axel-triple toe loop and your triple Lutz-triple toe loop.

Watching all these moves, I have a hard time knowing whether any of them is a triple or a quad. Try counting the rotations and you’ll see what I mean. And, you’ll get dizzy.

I feel good just by not falling off the couch.

What a wonderful thing attorney Kevin Schwin is doing. His pledge to donate 5 percent of his gross February income for Haitian relief is very generous and is an example for all to follow.

I am not in business, but I will donate 5 percent of my February retirement income for the very needy in Haiti.

Mr. Schwin is a fine example of the terrific people we have in Madera, and I join him in encouraging others to donate for the much needed relief for the people of Haiti.

Cal Crane,
Madera