Our View: Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs up to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for signing into law last week a package of bills that will provide law enforcement with new tools to take on metal thieves stealing scrap metals from agricultural equipment, fire hydrants, utilities, manhole covers and guardrails (thefts familiar to local residents). One of the bills ends the pattern of quick cash for metal thieves by requiring recyclers to hold payment for three days, check a photo ID and take a thumbprint of anyone selling scrap metals. Another bill requires recyclers to take thumbprints of individuals selling copper, copper alloys, aluminum and stainless steel, and a third bill requires scrap metal dealers and recyclers to report what materials are being brought to their facilities and by whom on a daily basis. These property-destruction crimes cause millions of dollars in damages, and law enforcement needs the tools to combat it.

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Thumbs down to U.S. Rep. Wally Herger for ignoring his constituents and voting yes in last week's first vote on the $700 billion economic bailout package despite his constituents' desires to do otherwise. Herger prides himself on being fiscally conservative but cast a yes vote for the massive rescue plan, which appropriately went down to defeat. Herger told reporters that e-mails, phone calls and letters from his constituents "were running about 100 to 1 against it." (He voted yes as well on the later bailout bill that passed). According to Herger, "the easy vote" would have been to vote no on the package. It would have been the safe vote for Herger as well since he is up for re-election and would not want to appear to be ignoring his constituents. We're not looking for the easy vote, but the right vote. Borrowing money for lifelines to investment banks and Wall Street managers who made some bad investments is unwise. As Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas asked, "How can we have capitalism on the way up and socialism on the way down?"

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Thumbs down to the Bush administration for yanking the funding for a government program that tests pesticide levels in vegetables and fruit. According to The Associated Press, the $8 million-a-year food-testing program was deemed too expensive — a decision critics contend could make it harder to protect consumers from chemicals in their food. Data from the 18-year-old Agricultural Chemical Usage Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture were collected until this year, and the Environmental Protection Agency used the data to set safe levels of pesticides in food. The information was also widely used by university and food-industry researchers, including a University of Illinois program to help farmers reduce the amount of pesticides they use. At a time when consumers are increasingly concerned about chemicals, it seems imprudent to discontinue the testing and open the door for people to grow even more distrustful of their food sources. We're opposed to unnecessary government oversight, but this program has been in place since 1990, testing about 120 different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Insecurity about food safety could eventually prove more costly than the current program's price tag.

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Thumbs up to the inspiration set by Gene Miranda, the 82-year-old Browns Valley resident who continues to set weightlifting records. The self-described one-time scrawny kid who battled polio has won a number of awards in eight years of competition. His most recent achievement: Setting a bench press mark of 250 pounds for competitors age 80-84. Not only does Miranda win, he dominates; the nearest competitor during his record-setting event in Rancho Cordova managed just 136 pounds.