Letters for June 7, 2012

Local history in context

Re “Butte County gets a New Deal” (Cover story, by Ken Smith, May 31):

Congratulations on a truly outstanding article! I found it not only very well written, but also very well researched! Ken Smith did a great job, and I learned quite a bit of 1930s local history I didn’t know.

I also really appreciated how clearly and carefully he set the local Chico history in the larger national context of the Great Depression and the confusing welter of New Deal agencies, taking the time to distinguish the WPA from the CWA, PWA, FSA, etc. The larger context is extremely important, but that is usually what’s missing from most newspaper coverage of local history.

I’m adding your article to my local-history clippings file—it’s a keeper!

Michael Magliari
Chico

Not much of a choice

The May 24 edition of CN&R reported that congressional candidate Sam Aanestad told a gathering of 20 or so Paradise Tea Party Patriots that, “Yes, I believe Obama is a Muslim.” Really?

One of his opponents, Doug LaMalfa, advertises that he “is one of us.” Who is the “us,” and, more important, who are the implied “them”?

Thanks to the ill-advised “open primary” initiative, it is likely that in the general election we North Staters are going to have a choice between “Obama is a Muslim” and “He is one of us,” ensuring an appropriate legacy to a quarter-century of the back-bench, ineffectual, right-wing extremist “representation” of Wally Herger. Great.

Stephen W. King
Chico

Republicans wrong on Medicare

This is an open letter in response to Wally Herger’s mailing about Medicare that I received today:

Thank you for your letter regarding the impending doom of Medicare. As a long-term resident of Butte County and as a retired person, I too am concerned about the future of Medicare. However, as a reasoning, thinking citizen, at this point in history I don’t believe you or any other Republican would ever have anything meaningful to add to the conversation or any credibility.

As we are facing a difficult economy and the loss of millions of jobs, you and your party are busy taking away women’s health care, passing legislation to take away a woman’s right to choose, and banning contraception.

At one time, the Republican Party had a legitimate point of view, albeit one I didn’t agree with. Now you are all lost in a Tea Party agenda over issues that were resolved 50 years ago. I don’t believe your summation of the Medicare problem and will fight against any Republican solution.

Chuck Samuels
Chico

Move the market

Re “Revamping the market” (Newslines, by Melissa Daugherty, May 24):

The farmers market should pay for the use of the city parking lot just like any other organization that wants to use public land at market rates. If there isn’t enough space for more farmer vendors, then kick out the non-farmer vendors who just compete with downtown businesses.

The CCFM has outgrown the current downtown location and should relocate to the parking lot behind City Hall, where there is lots of grass and shade and room.

Now to the survey conducted by the classes of Chico State professors LaDona Knigge and Richard Gitelson: It was so biased and incomplete that its results are misleading.

Dean Montague
Chico

Karmic blowback

U.S. “corporatocracy” is the word John Perkins uses in his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man to describe how countries are now controlled by a coalition of the U.S. government, banks such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and U.S-based international corporations.

He had a lot of courage to write this book, considering that heads of state who have not gone along with our government and the U.S.-based international companies’ suggestions have met with an early death defined as accidental.

He describes his experience of going into other countries like Indonesia, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other strategically located countries and convincing them to take out huge loans for infrastructure and making sure that U.S. corporations were used for the construction. The huge loans will probably never be repaid, but the countries came under the control of the U.S. government, World Bank and other U.S. aid agencies.

Tools used were: exaggerating benefits (which went mainly to the top people in the money chain), fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex and murder.

In many cases the environment was permanently damaged.

His book gives a good brief history of our intervention in other countries’ well-being and suggests our actions make a lot of people hate America and could even lead to some of them becoming terrorists.

In the final pages he suggests the actions you can take.

I expect Iran to be next on the hit list because of its strategic location, water and oil resources.

Norm Dillinger
Chico

Step out, atheists

Re “Fruits of the same tree” (Guest comment, by Ronald Angle, May 31):

I appreciate the thoughts of Ronald Angle, causing me to reflect on these issues of “democracy.” I’d like to add a voice for the atheists who represent the next line of battle for equal rights. There are millions of “closet atheists” who are long overdue to find courage and speak their truth. And there are many more non-believer registered voters than one might suppose. I hope their voices will join the chorus against bigotry, hatred, fear and plain ignorance.

Tanya Henrich
Greenville

As good as gods

Re “Let’s talk about it” (From This Corner, by Robert Speer, May 31):

Agreed re: the lack of political will to address climate change, but there seem to be two very substantial obstacles to any useful sort of dialogue, let alone political action. On the one hand there’s the absence of any sort of consensus, even among the so-called experts and “believers,” on what can or should be done. And even much of that often ends up as basically just “scolding” everyone who can’t afford to eat organic, go solar or buy a Prius!

On the other hand there are the climate change “deniers” who, underneath all the bogus arguments and petro-funded “facts,” are simply in willful denial mostly due to paranoia at the possibility of “control” and “regulations” impinging on their idea of “freedom” (especially on a “world guvmint” scale … cue the black helicopters)!

For what it’s worth, I tend to agree with the pragmatic point of view of Stewart Brand, the founder of the Whole Earth Catalog: “We are as gods and we might as well get good at it.” Or as Brand now puts it in his most recent book, Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto: “….. “We are as gods, and we have to get good at it!”

Mat DelFave
Paradise

Rudy celebrated in style

“Celebrating Rudy” on May 26 at the Sierra Nevada Big Room was a huge success. The room sold out beforehand. Our fundraising goals exceeded expectations, thanks to the many community members who volunteered their time, money and expertise. A wide selection of raffle prizes donated by local businesses and individuals were gleefully accepted by winning participants. Twenty-three local musicians donated their amazing talents while the dance floor jumped to their soulful tunes.

Go to www.celebratingrudy.com to view re-caps of the event. Updates will be posted throughout the coming year.

Rudy hoped that loved ones would not dwell on his death. We celebrated his birthday and his incredibly rich life instead.

Rudy hoped that his photos would find homes in the community. Ninety out of 95 of his photo images were silently auctioned.

Three young aspiring students of the arts each will receive a $3,333.33 award as a result of fundraising efforts in memory of an extraordinary human being.

Cheryl Giscombe
Chico

Correction

Ken Smith’s May 24 Newslines article incorrectly stated that Harvey Milk Day observations included working in the Jesus Center garden. The volunteer gardening effort took place at the Community Garden, 395 E. 14th St.