Opinion

April 23, 2013 — I know my opinion on this topic will probably stick hard in the craw of many gun owners here in Lassen County, but I don’t care — I’m wading out into these swirling, controversial waters anyway.

Last week, a bill that would have expanded background checks for firearms purchases failed in the U.S. Senate by a 54-46 vote, with supporters falling just six votes short of the required 60-vote threshold. More on that later.

I know it’s hard to talk with National Rifle Association supporters about the topic of gun control. For the most part, I’ve found them hard and fast in their response and their beliefs, and they won’t budge a bit from their constitutional right stance. And, believe it or not, I completely understand the slippery slope basis of many of their arguments.

April 23, 2013 — Our legal system and the rule of law are alive and well right here in Lassen County.

The case of recall proponent Tom Hammond seeking a writ of mandate to compel Lassen County Clerk Julie Bustamante to move the recall process for Lassen County District 5 Supervisor Jack Hanson forward plainly reveals the adversarial nature of our legal system.

On one side, Bustamante and Lassen County argue the recall proponents used a form the clerk had previously rejected, and therefore the signatures on those forms should not be counted.

April 16, 2013 — A few people in Lassen County think I must be the most biased, unprofessional journalist of all time on the planet — nay, in the entire universe. They have a right to their opinions, and I doubt there’s much I can do to change their minds. I won’t lose any sleep worrying about this, I promise, but I wanted to add my perspective to the conversation.

When I first landed here at the Times about 14 years ago some people thought I was an unwanted newcomer in town on a mission to take down the good old boys. I was the wringer wordslinger (I share a name with a professional writer from New York) brought into town just to launch the revolution. Some said I was a student radical from Berkeley, even though I never went to school there. Still others said someone like me had no place in conservative, Republican Lassen County.

April 16, 2013 — Early morning is my favorite time of day. I like the sights, such as the mist that sometimes hovers above Walker Lake; I like the stillness and solitude found before the world begins to move; and the taste and smell of rich coffee.

In Psalm 5, King David says he met with God in the morning and so do I. Like David I can say, “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up,” (Psalm 5:3). It is what I do first.

Mornings are hopeful, mornings hold promise. I wake with a heart of expectancy.