Red Line (Nov 4)
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 Due to content or space limitations some comments may not be published.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 Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published.
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A woman called concerned with the conditions on “the Madera city transit buses. They are looking so bad I don’t even want to ride them anymore. Several other people I know were talking about somehow we have to get the word out. They were clean inside and out before, and I don’t know what the city has done, but they are nasty. They were well taken care of for a long time. Now, somebody needs to do something about it.”
A man had a similar comment. “These city buses, they are all full of bird feces and dirt all over. What’s going on they used to be so nice and clean?”
A man who “just received his property tax bill” was wondering “with property going down, if we were going to get a rebate.” He hoped “somebody would look into that because they (taxes) haven’t come down a bit.”
“A local, nationwide Chamber of Commerce supports illegal immigration,” said a man. “They are behind it all the way and they should be run out of every town and every city in America. They are with big business and big business wants cheaper wages.” He also mentioned a previous female caller’s comment that said, “they (illegals) take jobs Americans don’t want,” and said “that is wrong. They take all the jobs.”
A man wanted “to comment on the female that called in about the illegals and bad economy and blaming it on the illegals.” The man suggested she, “do her research and check her facts.” He mentioned several industries saying “there are big problems in this country right now. Financially, but definitely not from the illegals.”
Too many calls to list all were received in response to last week’s lady who said (columnist) Leon Emo was “sucking up to big wigs” on a recent desert tour and “wearing shorts early in the morning.” A woman countered, “There are no big wigs in Madera. They might think they are, but they’re not.”
“This is to the lady who is a member of Leon’s complaint club,” said a woman. “He has good looking legs and he wants to show them off that’s fine. He always wears nice clean shorts.”
Another man offered, “I’m a businessman and go into homes and wear shorts summer, winter, all year.” He concluded with “Leon, you keep wearing those shorts. I like those white, bony knees of yours.”
“This is for the lady always complaining about Leon Emo’s shorts,” began another lady. “Do you have such a pathetic life or are you just jealous that you always have to call the Red Line? If you don’t like it why don’t you come forward and tell him to his face. Quit hiding behind the Red Line. You might even get one of those famous hugs. Isn’t that what you really want?”
A woman called about “a help-wanted ad that says ‘Needed, 100 workers assemble crafts, materials provided $480 a week.’ With research we found this is American Family Publishing and we found online that this company has over a hundred pages of complaints that is reported to the Federal Trade Commission.” She “just wanted to let you know it is a scam and it shouldn’t be put in the Help Wanted.”
A few callers took exception with a letter by Sam Pistoresi stating that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. All the callers referenced Hawaii state officials who said, “there is no doubt Obama was born in Hawaii.” Once caller mentioned the Republican Governor of Hawaii (Linda Lingle) and said the “registrar or vital statistics personally verified the Hawaii health department holds Obama’s birth certificate.”
Another caller said, “the letter is another attempt at degrading a candidate without even attempting to seek the real truth. With a little research it would be easy to see that Obama is an American who was born in Hawaii. I started out to vote for McCain, but because of tactics such as these by his campaign and supporters I am voting for a Democrat for the first time since Kennedy.”
A lady called “regarding the letter to the editor by Mr. Gordon Skeels.” She said, “I worked with Mr. Skeels for many years when he was the former police chief and I held him in high regard, but after readings his comments referring to Obama supporters as quote ‘rabid’ as in rabid dogs my opinion has changed.” She had a message for the Obama supporters. “Do not take offense, just consider the source. And if you run into Mr. Skeels let’s try to reassure him that Obama supporters won’t bite him because I understand that rabies shots can be very painful.”
“Who do we talk to about getting some of these railroad crossings fixed,” said a man. “They are so rough. I’ve tried many times to talk to city engineers and I can’t get a call back, or nothing. I don’t know who to call. I don’t think the city can fix them.”
“It was so well organized I could not believe I was in Madera,” said a regular caller. “Kudos to the health department. The flu shot vaccinations at the fairgrounds today was well run, organized and efficient. Congratulations.”
A “proud freshman (football) parent,” called. “The newspaper can’t put this in and I thought it would be nice to let the readers know that the freshman football team once again defeated another Fresno (Central) school. This team has now only lost two games in three years. I am sure,” he also mentioned, “that the Madera Tribune will badmouth the Madera seniors (Varsity) tomorrow if they lose that game.”
A regular caller following Madera High football games left this message. “It doesn’t look like he (Coach Blankenship) is going to get his 200th win this year. Why don’t we let him go bless some other school with his legendary status?”
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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.



Stop the comments about Blankenship leaving Madera High. He is a coyote and will not leave!!