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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2017)
4 A ❘ WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ FEBRUARY 15, 2017 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR Opinion ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respecting an estab- lishment of religion or prohibiting the free exer- cise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. LETTERS F RUITFUL START I want to thank you Siuslaw News and the City Lights Cinemas for the wonderful experi- ence of “Ace In The Hole” and the “Fake News” discussion this past Sunday afternoon (Feb. 12). ‘I was sorry I could not stay for the discus- sion afterward, and hope it was fruitful, but the remarks before the show were excellent and having a full house was rewarding — knowing so many people care. Thanks again, Carol Strenkoski Florence A NGER IS THE GREAT ORGANIZER First, I will describe an experience that formed my attitude regarding anger and organ- izing. In the 1980s, my daughter, who has an intel- lectual disability, was thwarted in her desire to become independent. In school the resistance came when she asked to be included in classes with her friends, rather than being placed in seg- regated classrooms. After graduation, resistance came from the adult services when she asked to be supported in a community job, rather than doing piece work in a segregated sheltered workshop. My outrage and anger grew. Later, I heard a speaker call for consumers of services to get on the boards of service agencies that made decisions about their lives. We start- ed with a direct action by many angry people with disabilities who came together at a board meeting to demand they have a seat on the board. The demands spread to other communities in our state, into the courts, and finally the change was accomplished in the state legislature. It took two years to make it happen. Today, I see a parallel to what I experienced with my daughter in the 80s. We find ourselves angry over the actions of our new President and the lack of action by our Republican and some Democratic members of Congress to check him. This anger drove millions of people to march here in Florence and throughout the country and the world. It is anger that brought these people together. Now we are at the stage of channeling this anger into a meaningful resistance. To me, the best advice is offered by Indivisible, a group formed by ex-congression- al staffers. Based on its experiences, it devel- oped guiding principles and organizing tactics. It has recommend forming local groups that will engage directly with members of Congress at L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR P OLICY The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor concerning issues affect- ing the Florence area and Lane County. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters should be limited to about 300 words and must include the writer’s full name, address and phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaran- teed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Libelous and anonymous letters or poetry will not be published. All submissions become the proper- ty of Siuslaw News and will not be returned. Write to: Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com USPS# 497-660 their offices, town meetings and political events. These tactics are being used by angry citizens all across the country. It may take a few years, but through our sus- tained anger we will take back America. Michael Allen Florence E RR ON THE SIDE OF PROTECTION Mr. Mayor and members of the Florence City Council, immigration enforcement in the United States is a critical issue regarding national sovereignty, particularly regarding our language, culture and borders. The President has rightly said a country with- out borders is no longer a country. Recently, a signed executive order was made known to the nation empowering local authorities to protect the public by helping enforce legal versus ille- gal immigration. Understandably, our Mayor and other city officials posited the idea that according to Oregon State statute, the President’s order would be countermanded by the state and there- fore become null and void. At this time in Oregon and American history, would it not be wise in the protection of our State and local citizenry to err on the side of protection and defense rather than process and procedure? Instead of making a definitive statement by quoting what many feel is an ineffective and archaic law, why not lobby our local legislators and the state Attorney General to help change the law in the name of protecting the public? We do not need to recount the number of undocumented aliens in this country that have done harm to American citizens in order to know it’s better to be pro-active on this issue. Action is what is needed here in Florence and I hope that it will be action that the good citi- zenry of Florence receive. God bless Florence and yes, God bless America. Joel Marks Florence S INS OF OMISSION “The “Fake News” discussion held Sunday at City Lights Cinemas hosted by Jared Anderson I N RESPONSE I would like to take this opportunity to make some observations in regard to the recent letter by Mr. Ray (Feb. 11) in the Letters to the Editor section. Regarding jobs: Times have changed. If peo- ple want their children “to be able to support their families” then we need to start when they are in middle school to assess their talents, skills and interests. See that they pick correct classes in high school, vocational school or college that allows them lucrative and satisfying careers. Jobs are no longer as “pletinful” as they once were. Regarding terrorism: Why would one suc- cumb to the constant publicized fear that people from the seven countries on President Trump’s list will do us harm when not a single person from any of those countries has performed an act of terrorism on our shores? How about Saudi Arabia, where the 911 ter- rorists came from? Why is that country not on the list? How about the gun terrorism that plagues our domiciles, schools, places of wor- ship and businesses? Shouldn’t we be more frightened of unregu- lated firearms in the hands of felons and the mentally unstable which kill thousands of inno- cent citizens each year? Regarding Air Force One, Two and Three: The Air Force and Secret Service control the President’s transportation; He does not commis- sion an airplane for his family dog. Also, Air Force Three is a military transport jet and not a comfortable jet airliner, certainly not the first choice of any First Lady. But I think we should think about the fact that the cost of keeping Melania Trump in her luxury New York Tower, should she decide not to move to Washington, will be costing tax payers more than the annual budget for the National Endowment of the Arts — a program President Trump has said he wants to do away with. Regarding protesting: Protesting, marching and resisting the current political situation is not called “insurrection.” It is a Constitutional right of the American people as written in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Regarding the National Debt: President Obama did not raise the debt by himself, the Republican Congress had to approve it. Also, remember what the economic situation under the Republican President Bush was like in 2009. We were literally on the brink of another Great Depression, where people were loosing their jobs and homes at alarming rates. President Obama stemmed this tide and when he left office our unemployment rate was 4.8 percent. Mary DeCeault Florence Copyright 2017 © Siuslaw News Publisher, ext. 327 General Manager, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Marketing Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $71; 10-weeks subscription, $18; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $94; 10-weeks subscription, $24; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $120; Out of United States — 1-year subscription, $200; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: www.TheSiuslawNews.com WHERE TO WRITE Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. John Bartlett Jenna Bartlett Ned Hickson Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry and Ned Hickson was a tremendous beginning to an important ongoing conversation. Electricity filled the air. 4 hours seemed like 40 minutes. Now I think we need “part two” in order to answer the more gnarly, and possibly, the more critical aspects of news. And that is: What is not reported (which falls into the category of a “sin of omission”) and what is only partially reported (leaving out the catalyst that changes the meaning and then falls into the categories of both “sin of omission and sin of word.”) I am impressed with how the Catholic Church covered the bases of what constitutes a wrong doing: It can be what you do, or not do, and in what you think, say, or do. Great playwrights knew this, so ought not the press? What we did not come up at the meeting, or was lost in the noise, is that much of the large press is owned by corporations that can keep certain aspects of the news quiet. Names need to be named because our minds, our bodies and our planet are being poisoned by malnutrition, devious titration or flagrant destruction of all three of these valued life forms. And this is all being done for profit and with our money. If we know who is doing it, they and their products can be boycotted. The fingerprints of corporate greed is on many of the health issues being faced by our nation. This is not a red or blue issue; it is a people issue. It would be good to have further conver- sations about how the press has been lured into this net — and what can be done about it. Nan Harvey Florence Pres. Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, OR 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us