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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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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
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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.