Opinion

April 30, 2013 — Time marches relentlessly forward, and we are quickly losing what’s left of America’s Greatest Generation.  We all should pause and take the time to recognize each of our friends and neighbors born in the years after World War I who suffered through the Great Depression only to find themselves involved in a World War after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

That attack marked our country’s entry into World War II, and in less than four years the United States and its allies totally defeated the fascist regimes in Europe and the island imperialists in the Pacific.

April 23, 2013 — A year before my mother turned 50 she decided she was going to run a marathon. She had never been a runner, but she said if Oprah could run a marathon, so could she. So she bought several books and a new pair of running shoes and began running every day. I listened to her laugh about how slow she was, how she could barely finish her distances without stopping to walk, how runners in their 80s passed her on the trail, but she kept at it and, like anyone who keeps practicing anything, she got better.

I’ll never forget the summer night in her living room when she found out she had been invited to run the New York City Marathon with the American Cancer Society. We screamed and danced in circles around the couch. A few months later, I had the incredible and unforgettable experience of cheering on my mother as she crossed the finish line in New York City. It was the first of many magical racing experiences for both of us.

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.