Opinion

Barbara France

Managing Editor

bfrance@lassennews.com

Jan. 18, 2011 — Have you ever felt like turning around and heading back in time to the most idyllic time you can remember? I know I can’t really do that. Those times really only exist in my dreams, but I must say 2011 has not started off the way I’d prefer. The truth is the longer I am on this planet, the more death I see and have to process. Death is the juxtaposition to living, but for the first four days of the New Year I had a friend or acquaintance die.

On Jan. 1, a dear old friend of 88 died. He had been living in a nursing home for the past few years, and his health had been declining. We called him Grandpa Vern because he and his lovely wife Lila willingly would watch my youngest when we had youth pastoring events to go on. He was always smiling, and I know if he could he would say, “I’m home with Jesus; rejoice!”

Jan. 11, 2011 — Today I was reminded of the words to a song I considered my “theme” when I was younger. I have not thought about this song from the musical “South Pacific” in years.

The lyrics are: “Happy talk, keep talking happy talk; Talk about things you’d like to do; You gotta have a dream, if you don’t have a dream; How you gonna have a dream come true?”

Jan. 4, 2011 — It might be hard for some voters to believe, but today is Election Day. The race for the California 1st Senate District seat, formerly held by Dave Cox, who died unexpectedly July 13, will be decided today in a Special General Election held across Northeastern California.

California Assemblyman Ted Gaines, a Republican, squares off against Rancho Cordova Mayor Ken Cooley, a Democrat, in the special election.

Barbara France

Managing Editor

bfrance@lassennews.com

Dec. 14, 2010 — So it seems President Barack Obama has fallen from glory, and this doesn’t surprise me. The far left and the far right are so polarized at this time in history that the word compromise doesn’t seem to be in either one’s vocabulary.

However, for the first time there might be a light at the end of the dark tunnel coined the Great Recession. If all goes well, the middle-class gets to keep the Bush-era tax cuts, meaning it gets to keep more of the money it earns and those who are unemployed get to keep benefits for another 13 months.  Of course, the debate lies with the middle compromises such as extending tax breaks to the richest Americans and with the extension to the unemployed.