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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2015)
2 Wednesday, January 21, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N Rachel Marsden American Voices letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not neces- sarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: With the latest controversy from City Hall it appears that Mr. Transparency, A.K.A. Ex-Mayor Brad Boyd, has once again slid in under the radar. It certainly appears to me that he took advantage of his relationship with Eric Porter, the City of Sisters senior planner, by having Mr. Porter not submit the request to the plan- ning commission. Mr. Porter was quoted in the December 23 issue of the Nugget Newspaper in an arti- cle by Jim Cornelius: “We collectively (the community development department staff) didn’t feel it would be controversial.” Really? Has Mr. Porter and the staff been oblivious to the outcry over the proposal that went on for many months on Cascade regarding food carts? It certainly appears that the good old boy interests and connections are still alive and well in Sisters. Grady Brown Editor’s note: According to City records, Brad Boyd’s application was not the only one that was not referred to the planning commis- sion. There were 12 Type II decisions made in 2014. Of these, only two were forwarded on to the planning commission; one was called up for review by the planning commission. See story, page 1. Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday thursday friday Sunny Slt. chance rain Partly sunny 42/26 47/31 49/35 saturday sunday Monday Partly sunny Partly sunny Mostly sunny 52/36 54/36 52/na The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Publisher - Editor: Kiki Dolson News Editor: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Williver Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken Advertising: Lisa Buckley Graphic Design: Jess Draper Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Accounting: Erin Bordonaro The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $40; six months (or less), $25. 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As a member of the French media, and as a French resident and immi- grant, the terrorist attack in Paris targeting the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo hit home literally and figuratively. Hopefully the political climate in the after- math of the deadly attack can be leveraged to enact change on several fronts — change that, up until now, has been resisted. France has a cultural problem: one of entitlement. In some cases, it simply leads to whining; in others, to jihad. The prevalence of various ethnic subsets within the French population is a matter of ongoing debate, with increasingly extremist voices perceiving this multi- culturalism as a problem spi- raling out of control. What’s being viewed as an ethnic problem is really, at its core, an entitlement problem. Should the makeup of France be controlled by more selective immigration? Yes, and by basing immigra- tion on merit, regardless of ethnicity. France has long fostered a policy of disproportion- ate mass immigration from terrorism-plagued, French- speaking African countries (called the “Francafrique” sphere) in exchange for eco- nomic and diplomatic coop- eration. France is also able to use the militaries of these African nations as proxies, as we’re currently seeing with the French counterter- rorism initiative Operation Barkhane in Mali and four other African nations, for example. Enough foreign aid is flowing into these countries from France that their citizens shouldn’t be exempt from demonstrat- ing a basic level of actual achievement before being considered for integration into French society. Right now, it’s enough to just be related to someone. Islamic terrorists living in Europe tend to fall into two categories: rich entitled trust funders, or hoodlums with a sense of entitlement. Merit- based immigration would exclude both. I say this as someone who was mugged four years ago in the Paris subway by two punks who felt entitled to relieve me of my iPhone. Many of these kids from well-to-do families (like some of the 9/11 hijackers, for example, and the com- munist guerrillas from a pre- vious era) and these thugs without jobs are essentially bored, and so they often seek trouble. They’re bored enough, in some cases, to start fantasizing about ways in which they could com- mit spectacular suicide- by-SWAT in a shortcut to infamy. To some of them, going out in a blaze of self- perceived glory is a more attractive option than putting in the time, effort and hard work to make their lives meaningful. It’s worth noting that the brothers who perpetrated the Charlie Hebdo attack were not immigrants. Their enti- tlement was homegrown. They were bored, entitled hoodlums who happened to identify with a French sub- culture that co-opts elements of radical Islam, rap music and the bastardization of the French language to foster an identity. Many end up in prison, where they’re further fueled by like-minded radi- cal Islamists. Their vacation plans take them to jihadist tourism destinations. Meanwhile, French left- ists are quick to shout down, marginalize, fire or pros- ecute anyone who might infringe on the self-esteem of these thugs. At least French intelligence services aren’t handicapped by the “civil liberties vs. secu- rity” debate that exists in America. Otherwise, the sit- uation would be far worse. How to remedy the prob- lem? Start with the relentless official denunciation of any kind of thuggish or jihadist behavior, and the full pub- lic support of anyone who speaks out against it, how- ever awkwardly. There can be no equivalence between denouncing jihadism and speaking out in support of it. The idea that any democ- racy must entertain calls for jihad under the guise of free speech is absurd. Don’t like it? Then move to a coun- try more aligned with your jihadist values. I am Charlie. And hope- fully the Charlie Hebdo attack inspires the French leftists currently in power to enact some real reforms. © 2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.