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BRIK McDILL: Our damaging role models: Examples of rich and famous

Brik McDill

When you reach an age at which two generations of retrospect is possible, certain things can be seen more clearly and no longer through a glass darkly. One of those things are the examples set by our role models and the standards they shape, and, by their example, teach. Sports and entertainment are the two areas where their teaching touches the hearts and souls of our children most deeply. And therein lies a risk.

WALLACE KLECK: We haven't been especially good stewards of our planet

Wallace Kleck

We humans just passed a population of 7 billion with little notice and no alarm. We, as a species, also made a choice, and that choice is how human population will be controlled, for it will be controlled! We made our choice while paying little attention: increased infant and elder mortality, increased mortality due to disease, war, and starvation leading to a major population crash.

In addition, we have chosen to continue the overuse and degradation of quality farmland, and the continued degradation of our greatest source of high-quality protein -- the shallow ocean waters of Earth. Because of those activities, we have chosen that our population crash will be significantly worse and last longer than necessary.

KATIE PRICE: We're finding the courage to address bullying in our schools

Katie Price

Sam came in to my office in tears. I'd never met this freshman before, but I could tell there was something terribly wrong. As I gently prodded him to tell me what was bothering him, he began rocking back and forth, wracked in sobs. "They won't leave me alone," he said. "And I can't take it anymore!" Eventually Sam -- not his real name -- opened up to me and admitted that for the entire first quarter of school, he had been bullied relentlessly in his gym class. I was the first adult he had confided in. His mom wasn't even aware of the problem. "They keep stealing my clothes and tennis shoes and throwing them in the shower," he cried. "And when they're behind me, they kick me in the back of my knees so that I almost fall down." As I listened, and became more and more angry, I said a prayer of thanks that this little boy had at least told someone about his daily torture. As his counselor, I explained that this behavior wasn't OK, that we would make sure it stopped -- and that if it didn't, the boys involved would be in some very big trouble. And it did stop, but I shudder to think what might have happened if Sam hadn't had the courage and resolve to tell me about it.

Bullying is just one of many issues that school counselors deal with throughout the course of the school year. And as we celebrate National School Counseling Week Feb. 6-10, I think it's important to reiterate all that local counselors do for your students. School counselors work hard each and every day to ensure that our students are placed correctly in courses, treated fairly by other students, prepared for college or careers. and aided in times of emotional distress. That's pretty amazing, considering counselors in the Kern High School District, of which I am a part, are often responsible for 500 students per year. The national standard, by the way, is less than half that. I point this out because the average person probably doesn't know what is considered an appropriate counseling "load." I must say that the KHSD does value counselors and has more of them than many districts in California and other parts of the country. In fact, many districts (including some local ones) have done away with counselors altogether.

MIKE MILLER: Remembering four who gave all

Mike Miller

In just a few precious minutes on an angry and foreboding sea there happened a most hallowed example of faith, courage and compassion.

Gerhard Buske was an eager first officer on the initial combat voyage of U-223. In January 1943, orders were given by Adm. Karl Donitz to the Kriegsmarine: "Seek out and destroy American merchant ships in the North Atlantic."

BOB WOODS: John Rawls and the real cost of executive greed in America

Bob Woods

One of the brightest minds of economic philosophy was John Rawls of Harvard, who died in 2002. His greatest work, "A Theory of Justice," contained a number of principles that influenced greatly the economic policies of this nation. Unfortunately, over the decade since his death, one of his primary measures of an economically just society has been forgotten. He contended that while inequalities were unavoidable, all inequalities should work to the benefit of the least well-off in society. In simple terms, Rawls maintained that captains of industry were free to amass as much money as they could, so long as doing so did not cause a disadvantage to the least well-off member of a society. In the age of what is being called "vulture capitalism," Rawls is patently ignored and rejected.

Ironically, the type of greed one sees today is a large part of our economic malaise, and is a self-defeating approach to income and wealth. This was driven home by the Associated Press article "Romney's wealth among greatest of presidents," published Jan. 29 in The Californian, which noted there are more than 8,600 people in this country who earn $10 million per year or more. Some, indeed, earn vastly more.

NESTA AHARONI: Parade lesson: Graciousness and courtesy enhance this city

Nesta Aharoni

I can't imagine living anywhere else at this time in my life. I am old enough to recognize what is truly important, and Bakersfield offers me those things in abundance. For example, I want to live amid kindness and grace, and you reveal those qualities to me every day. Your December Christmas parade is my exhibit one.

I arrived to my new city in October, and in early December I was still feeling the newness of it all. I was excited to attend the parade and hang out with the local population. I was eager to discover if I would fit in. My husband and I brought folding chairs and staked a claim about three rows back from the curb, careful not to intrude on space that belonged to the indigenous people.

PAT PERSON: Medi-Cal cuts mean job losses when we can least spare them

Pat Person

It is both ironic and tragic that while every politician, from president to city council, is focused on job creation and our economy, the state and federal governments have made a joint decision that will cost California jobs right now, when we can least afford to lose them.

Because of the decision made by the governor and the state Legislature, and approved by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to yet again cut back reimbursement rates in Medi-Cal by 10 percent, physicians, dentists, optometrists and pharmacists throughout our state will have no choice but to stop participating in the health care coverage program. Worse, many clinics and pharmacies servicing rural communities will have to close their doors altogether.

MARC HAIUNGS: Don't balance budgets at expense of public servants' pensions

Another View

This is in response to syndicated columnist Dan Walters' Jan. 24 piece, "Civil service unions in denial on pension costs." I have been in law enforcement since I was 20 years old. I will be starting my 25th year in law enforcement this year. All Californians are struggling through this recent recession. Why is it that the media and politicians immediately target public safety and public employees' pensions to balance the budget?

There is this misconceived notion that all public safety employees retire with pensions of more than $100,000 a year. The facts are, statewide, less than 3 percent of public safety retirees make that much a year. They are the few that were fortunate enough to promote through the ranks, remained healthy enough to have a 30-plus-year career, and retired as captains or chiefs. The fact is 78 percent of CalPERS retirees make less than $36,000 a year.

TERRY PHILLIPS: Silence during flag salute was misrepresented in CEO's column

Another View

Mark Twain once said, "Get your facts first, and then you can distort 'em as much as you please."

As a lifelong journalist, I am dismayed when colleagues get their facts wrong. It's particularly troublesome when I am the target of false reporting. That was the case in the Jan. 25 "Bakersfield Observed" column by Richard Beene.

DIANE BRILEY: Those 'nonsense regulations' ensure the safety of patients

Community Voices

I have been a registered nurse since 1963. Patient safety has always been one of my passions. Because of that, I would like to take issue with some of the comments made by local cardiologist William Bezdek in his Jan. 25 Community Voices article, "The government agency that's holding our hospitals hostage." The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is trying to promote patient safety in our hospitals, at least for those hospitals that enjoy CMS contracts. What Dr. Bezdek refers to as "nonsense regulations" are actually changes instituted to promote the safety and welfare of patients, and not just a waste of time.

According to Bezdek, the following requirements are nonsense:

MANUEL FUDERANAN: A university degree means something, as well it should

Community Voices

Some time ago, a news item in The Californian disclosed a shocking revelation -- that only 15 percent of Kern County residents are college graduates. I did not bother to dwell on the issue until recently, when hiring or promotion practices of a local government unit were alleged to be inconsistent with its presumably existing or supposedly adopted policies.

This disclosure, considering our resources and accessibility to education, might be surprising but it was not totally unexpected. Telltale signs in our work environment betray the lack of professionalism, ethics, correct grammar and academic skills that one normally learns within the confines of the traditional school system.