Don's Tuesday Column

THE WAY I SEE IT by Don Polson     Red Bluff Daily News 5/13/2025

        Season’s over but smiles remain

A reminder: tickets for the upcoming Republican Red, White, and Blue Dinner can be reserved and/or purchased at https://givebutter.com/TehamaGOP . It’s at the Red Bluff Community Center this year, on June 7 at 5 PM; details at the web site.

As part of the “Make California Golden Again” theme, the guest speaker is Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco. He is affiliated with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and is a candidate for governor of California in 2026. The highlight of our local political year, the dinner and auction raises funds for scholarships, and local and state causes.

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We look back fondly on local events like the Farmers’ Market, with fresh-from-field produce, crafter-made items, and the local crowds swaying to the musical backdrop. Alas, our summers go slowly by, from one lakeside campground to RV parks and state (of Oregon) parks fronting rivers, estuaries and a nearby ocean with sail and motor boats, crab fishers and folks we’ve befriended in past years. It’s our “gypsy-ing” lifestyle in our condo-on-wheels.

A quick look back at our other lifestyle, our just-ended ski season: It’s elevating, delightful—the thrill of “shushing” and carving turns down groomed slopes of powdery, even firm or crusty, snow. We take the half-hour trip up to Mount Bachelor several times a week. It’s been 4 months of skiing, and stopping at our favorite spots to gaze on the peaks and valleys from 6,000- to 8,000-feet elevation.

The Cascade peaks are visible north up to 13 miles without the befouled air from the “flatlands.” “On a clear day” you can see past the nearby ridges down to the 4,000-foot valley, home to Bend and Redmond, and east to the Blue, the Steen, and even the Ochoco mountains. The smiles never leave our faces; we hope other recreations like boating, fishing, or golfing, with its endless frustration, can say likewise.

There’s much to reinforce our faith and love of America and its people, as the families, and groups of ski- and board-loving friends, radiate their expectations of joyful camaraderie while they don their gear and make their way to the lifts. Bachelor is a friendly mountain; unlike some places we’ve skied where no one talks to you, folks are easy to chat with on the lifts, and they’ll say “hi” if you stop next to them.

Our favorite “apres-ski” activity is to just park ourselves where we can lift a brew to the view of the mountains and runs, and take in the “vibe” and ambiance of arriving and departing folks. We just prefer our own company, listening to “oldies” music, and reviewing the day. I hope readers can find their own vacation or recreational bliss, and leave behind travails, conflicts and controversies.

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It’s appropriate that Gov. Newsom pulled a posted ad touting California’s economy which included some warehouse and office footage showed Ukraine and Estonian locations, not California ones. The problem with boasting about our state’s economy is that, just like the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, government spending and transfer payments count as a “product” when they produce nothing that wasn’t extracted from working taxpayers in the first place.

“California doesn't need more headlines about GDP rankings. It needs leadership that focuses on making life affordable, safe, and sustainable for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected. If you have to spin ‘4th largest economy’ as proof of success while millions are suffering in your state, you’re disgracefully out of touch.” (Steve Williams, Redstate.com, 4/29)

I welcome anyone to itemize the problems that Gavin Newsom has solved—how life has improved—in his 30-year run as S.F. supervisor, Mayor, Lt. Governor, and Governor. I’ll wait. To his credit: “With Eye on ‘28, Newsom Limits State Workers’ Remote ‘Work’ Fun” (Newsmax.com, Michael Reagan, Michael Shannon). Again, I’ll wait to see results.

I’m also waiting to see AB 379 get Newsom’s signature, including felony punishment for sex trafficking of 16- and 17-year-olds—without “caveats” watering it down to “protect” transsexuals and “older” boyfriends selling younger girlfriends for sex. Spare me blather about “protecting children” by those refusing to make it a felony to sell minors for sex.

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News that directly affects your wallet: 1) CA filed a sweeping climate lawsuit against six oil companies and the American Petroleum Institute in 2023, which won’t lower any prices; 2) “California gas prices could soar 75% to $8.43 per gallon in 2026 due to shutdowns of two major in-state refineries [and regulations], according to a recent analysis by USC Professor Michael Mische”;

3) A study by the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute (PRI) has found that California’s green energy scam will cost households a staggering amount (between $17,398 and $20,182) to fund the transition to unreliable alternative sources. PRI released its findings in a paper titled “The Cost of Going Green.” (Wokespy.com, Martin Tribe, 5/7)