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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 2018)
2 Wednesday, September 5, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N Jonah Goldberg Welcome musicians and music lovers to the 2018 Sisters Folk Festival! Letters to the E/otor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Let- ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily 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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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: The August 29 edition of The Nugget car- ried an insightful article by Dr. Robert Collins on science education in Sisters, citing the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). He rightfully pointed out that science education in Sisters is strong and that it is well supported by the Sisters community. I would like to point out that the Sisters community has also shown tremendous support for its students who wish to pursue STEM education after they graduate from Sisters High School. Sisters Graduate Resource Organization (Sisters GRO) offers several STEM scholar- ships for SHS graduates. The physical thera- pists, high-tech retirees, scientists, dentists, doctors, and others have established schol- arships specific for those wanting to study STEM-related fields. This is in addition to the dozens of scholarships that do not specify a field of study but can be used to further an SHS graduate’s STEM studies. Additionally, through the generosity of the Roundhouse Foundation, Sisters GRO administers grants for elementary, middle and high school students in various fields, which include science and math camps and medical/ technology experiences. None of these would be possible without the tremendous support this community offers its students and graduates. We are fortunate to have a generous, caring community that funds these avenues of study (as well as many oth- ers). It is our hope that all Sisters students will avail themselves of the many opportunities this community presents. Tim Ross Sisters GRO Chair SistersGRO.org See LETTERS on page 22 Sosters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Mostly Sunny Sunny Mostly Sunny Sunny Sunny Partly Cloudy 87/53 88/49 83/47 75/41 77/43 73/42 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC 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. Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Easterling Graphic Design: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partners: Patti Jo Beal & Vicki Curlett Classifieds & Circulation: Lisa May Accounting: Erin Bordonaro Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Owner: J. Louis Mullen The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $45; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2018 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. I don’t know Rep. Ron DeSantis, the GOP nominee for Florida governor. I met him once. He seemed nice enough. I know he’s got an impressive resume. He went to Yale for his B.A. and Har- vard for his law degree. He enlisted in the Navy and was deployed overseas as an advisor to the SEALs, among other laudable things. I’m told he’s thoughtful and a decent family man. I’m inclined to believe all of that. I’m also inclined to believe he won his primary race by beclowning himself. His victory was achieved by signaling in every way pos- sible that no one loves Presi- dent Trump more than he does. His sycophancy sailed past icky to self-parody when DeSantis released an ad exploiting his family to prove his devotion. The ad opens with his wife, Casey, explaining that, “Everyone knows my husband Ron DeSan- tis is endorsed by Presi- dent Trump. But he’s also an amazing dad. Ron loves playing with the kids.” DeSantis is then seen encouraging his toddler daughter to “build the wall” with toy blocks. He reads from “The Art of the Deal” to his 4-month-old son. “Then Mr. Trump said, ‘You’re fired.’ I love that part,” DeSantis coos to the baby, behind a graphic read- ing, “Ron DeSantis: Pitbull Trump Defender.” Casey chimes back in, “People say he’s ‘all-Trump,’ but he’s so much more,” as her husband looks down at his baby son in a red “Make America Great Again” onesie. “Bigly. So good,” Mr. DeSantis adds. I thought it was all gross. That a conservative (claim- ing to favor federalism) running for governor would make being a yes-man to the chief executive of the fed- eral government his primary qualification is appalling. But it pales in comparison to using his own children as politicized props. I say all this to make it clear I am not a fan of how DeSantis ran or what he symbolizes in the new, Trumpified GOP. Still, unless there is some new evidence waiting in the wings, the effort to paint DeSantis as a racist is spec- tacularly, appallingly dumb. After winning the pri- mary, DeSantis went on Fox News to talk up his victory and his plans for the gen- eral election. He was asked about his opponent, the very progressive mayor of Tal- lahassee, Andrew Gillum. Mayor Gillum has aligned himself with the democratic- socialist insurgency in the Democratic Party. Gillum favors the abolition of ICE, a “living” minimum wage, single-payer healthcare and, of course, sweeping tax increases. DeSantis modestly praised Gillum, while add- ing that he was too liberal for Florida. “He is an artic- ulate spokesman for those far-left views,” DeSantis said. “... let’s build off the success we’ve had on Gov- ernor Scott. The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupt- ing the state.” And then the mainstream media lost its mind, insisting that this was a “dog whis- tle” to white racists. Why? Because Gillum is African- American and DeSantis used the words “monkey” and “articulate.” Was it a poor choice of words? Sure, but only because the media is so determined to weaponize every alleged misstatement — by a Republican. (Demo- crats get to make easily wea- ponized gaffes all the time.) I will admit, one of the most troubling things about a Trumpified GOP is that it makes it harder for conser- vatives and Republicans (not the same thing) to defend themselves in these situa- tions. Part of me is tempted to say, “You asked for this.” But such thinking will only worsen the problems afflicting not just the GOP but the country. Indeed, one of the reasons we are where we are is that the media has been “reporting” Demo- cratic talking points as news for years. Which is why the “fake news” battle cry has proven so effective. © 2018 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.
