Don's Tuesday Column

THE WAY I SEE IT by Don Polson          Red Bluff Daily News 4/15/2025

The Republican Dinner; A Republican Passing

Our prayers and thoughts go to family and friends of long-time Red Bluff Republican, Republican Central Committee member and leader, and, in his working life, an accomplished engineer who actually had something he participated in developing find its way into space, Ken Say. He and his beloved wife, Val Say, relocated to Boise, Idaho some years ago, where they were closer to relatives. A case of pneumonia found the hospital accommodating him in his home for treatment until it became more serious. He was about 89; God rest his soul.

We often made time, in our trips to the Stanley area and lake in Idaho, to visit and catch up on their doings. The first visit in our motorhome, without a space in an RV park, we found them happy to let us occupy their driveway and plug into their house current. It was warm and it took some maneuvering to back in properly; the chip and seal street was a bit disrupted. Please offer a prayer for Val as it is an understandable shock to lose her lifelong companion.

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The annual Republican Red, White and Blue Dinner is scheduled for Saturday, June 7, at the Red Bluff Community Center on South Jackson Street. This year’s theme, “Make California Golden Again,” dovetails with the Make America Great Again message from President Donald J. Trump and our leaders in Washington. Tickets are at https://givebutter.com/TehamaGOP. Single seat and table prices, and reservation and purchase links, are at the web site. Phone: 530-949-2761.

Regular readers of this column are well-informed of the litany of what in normal, especially Republican, states would be outrageous, even abominable events, policies and decisions by California’s political class and Democrat-run governments.

Let California counties, all of which moved to the right in last year’s election, and wisely set the standard for for common sense voting—such as Tehama County’s nearly 70 percent vote for Donald Trump—take heart that many citizens are waking up to the need for Republican leadership in Sacramento and elsewhere.

Los Angeles and Southern California, in particular, have hopefully had a wake-up call over the catastrophic fires that were, to no small degree, exacerbated by the failed Democrat leadership that left hydrants and reservoirs empty, and fire-fighting resources ill-advisably misplaced from where they were needed most.

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Not too far from here, at a Christian church in Roseville, a “Hate Crime Against Christians” occurred, as an “Iraqi Man was Convicted Over Bomb Threats Targeting Churches” (Dailywire.com, April 7).

“A Muslim man who hated America and Christianity was convicted of targeting multiple churches with fake bomb threats while collecting bomb-making materials, the Justice Department announced. The DOJ said Friday that 45-year-old Zimnako Salah was convicted of targeting four churches across Arizona, California, and Colorado with fake bomb threats.

“At the same time, the FBI said it found evidence that Salah was constructing an actual bomb in a storage crate he was renting, according to a criminal complaint.” Salah tied a backpack to a toilet in the Roseville church men’s restroom, intending to scare the church goers into thinking they may be victims of a bombing.

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Sexual exploitation and murder of a young soccer player, Omar Hernandez, alleged against an illegal alien, Garcia Aquino (who entered the country several years ago) is raising questions about how Garcia came to be a certified soccer coach. “Garcia was arrested last year for sexual assault of a teen boy but was not prosecuted and allowed to keep coaching.” (@Breaking911, ktla.com 4/09/2025).

“According to Hernandez' parents, Omar took the LA Metrolink train from his home in Sun Valley, in the northern San Fernando Valley, to his coach's home in Palmdale, in the Antelope Valley, on the day officials believe he was killed. Authorities say the purpose of that trip was to ‘visit’ his coach.” The boy’s body was found in the Oxnard area.

Bill Essayli, newly-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, told Fox News’ Bill Melugin: “This was an avoidable crime and the result of failed border policies. We cannot and will not tolerate illegal aliens who flout our nation's immigration laws and prey on children. Federal law enforcement will continue to be very aggressive in locating, apprehending, and prosecuting criminal illegal aliens.”

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Other news: “CA Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara Used a Phony Campaign Slush Fund to Help Pay for Lavish Dinners” (Redstate.com, April 10).

“Audit Bombshell: California Flunks Federal Oversight on 7 Programs” (Drewberquist.com, April 6).

“Thousands of Victims, One Lawsuit—This County Is Paying a $4 Billion Settlement” (Jeff Charles Townhall.com, April 10). “The $4 billion settlement is to address almost 7,000 victims of sexual abuse in Los Angeles County juvenile facilities.”

“Do-Gooders Gone Bad: SoCal Foodbank Leaders Accused of Living the High Life Off Millions of State Dollars” (by Bob Hoge, Redstate.com, April 9).

Next week: an update on the Orange County first-grade girl suspended for writing “all lives matter” on a drawing of Martin Luther King, Jr.