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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2020)
Wednesday, July 29, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon In the PINES By T. Lee Brown Oregon is not a TV show Last week, I promised to come back with more word- nerdery about the roots of words like <cakewalk= and <taking the cake.= Instead my attention was diverted to Portland, Oregon, just over the pass and up I-5 apiece, where I lived for some 20 years. When the President of the United States of America wants the public9s attention diverted 4 from plagues and pandemics, mischief and mayhem 4 he sure knows how to do it. That9s what a real- ity TV guy brings to the Oval Office: the spectacle and outrageousness one expects from fake-real tele- vision shows. For those who believe the line that the protesters are <bussed in= from elsewhere, please adjust your reality goggles from <what someone on TV told me= to <actual real- ity.= Real live human beings in Portland, folks I know, tell me that they and their friends and neighbors4 genuine Oregonians, true Portland citizens4are out there protesting. Some are demonstrat- ing on behalf of the Black Lives Matter movement. Some, like the Wall of Moms and their ancillaries, the leaf-blower dads, are deliberately creating a sea of protection between unwel- come federal paramilitaries and local protesters. Yep, seriously. Moms of tod- dlers are out there sucking tear gas to support the Bill of Rights for their fellow citizens. Others are generally infuriated that their city has been invaded by the White House9s private army: Have a story idea for The Nugget? heavily armed <goons,= to quote a Sisters local who carries an American flag and a handmade sign on Cascade Avenue. These goons spray rubber bullets, send teargas into the streets, and leap from unmarked vans to kidnap innocent citizens4not just in the small area of Portland that sees regular intense protest action, but wherever the heck they feel like nabbing people. According to a pretty darned convincing Facebook post, they surrounded an interpreter heading to work at the Multnomah County Courthouse. Six armed men intimidated and swore at Felipe Nystrom, a U.S. citi- zen with Costa Rican ori- gins, asked for his ID, then refused to allow him to get his wallet. At that moment, some- one Nystrom had interpreted for in a grand jury case hap- pened to walk by. The goons tried to wave that poten- tial witness away 4 but whoops, it was a Deputy District Attorney. <For doing nothing more than going to work while being a U.S. citizen but brown I was very close to being taken and the worst part is that I have no idea by who or where I would have been taken,= Nystrom posted. Combined with the virus, at first glance my old town looks like a dystopic fantasy movie about an authoritar- ian regime taking over the USA. The spectacle makes one wonder what, exactly, the TV producers are hoping we fail to notice elsewhere. Anything interesting out there? Let9s see: the U.S. COVID death rate is awful; when confronted by a jour- nalist on Fox News about it, the President lies. Attorney General William Barr gets U.S. attorney Geoffrey Berman fired for investi- gating the President9s pals (remarkably, Berman refuses to step down). Nothing to see here, folks! Pay no atten- tion to the man behind the curtain! Those TV guys sure are good at focusing our atten- tion, aren9t they? Impressive. Too bad this isn9t a tele- vision show. It9s our coun- try, our state, and our fel- low citizens4including my smart, beautiful stepdaugh- ter, whom I pray will not be shot in the head (even with <less lethal= munitions) for daring to walk down the street, peacefully exercising her First Amendment rights. That9s what happened to Donavan LaBella, described by a friend as <completely nonviolent,= someone who helps <de-escalate situations.= No wonder they shot him. They9re not interested in de-escalating anything. The feds are in town to esca- late. They9re in town to amp 2020 THOR MOTORHOME 24 ft., V-10, generator, sleeps 5, large slide-out, only 2K miles. $100,000 new, our price, $68,900! Best Price! No Hassles! CARFAX Certifi ed! 68,900 $ Bring us your trade-ins and low-mileage consignments! the national anthem on the Portland State University campus, harmonizing with a Black opera singer who walks by and asks to join in. Hundreds of moms in yellow and white T-shirts march along looking inno- cent and hopeful, if tired. None of these people look like hyped-up extras in an apocalyptic sci-fi movie. They don9t look like celeb- rity contestants on <The Apprentice.= They certainly don9t look like the anar- chists or America-haters the President claims to think they are. They look like me and you. Everyday people. Oregonians. Americans. What do they want? Freedom. Justice. The pur- suit of happiness4not just for TV personalities, not just for White people, not just for rich people, but for every- body. And the federal gov- ernment wants to shut them down with unconstitutional violence. Doesn9t that take the cake? Camp Sherman Open Wed.-Mon., 1-9 p.m. 541-595-6420 F LL TODAY E IN OR CA OR YOUR E C N A R U S FREE I N ISON! COMPAR COM 541-588-6245 257 S. Pine St., #101 | farmersagent.com/jrybka AUTO • HOME • LIFE • BUSINESS Sisters Car Connection 541-815-7397 192 W. Barclay Dr., Sisters SUMMER CAMP WHAT PANDEMIC? W ’ getting We’re tti pampered d with ith h room service i h happy hour, ice cream sundaes, and popcorn for the movies. WE L OV E IT HERE! We9d love to hear it! Send an email to editor@nuggetnews.com up fear, intimidation, blood, conflict4all the stuff that makes American television so entertaining. A few protesters look to be young people who want to light fires and make big noises. They9ve got some- thing to prove, just as many of us did when we were 18 or 20. Maybe they, like their President, just really, really want attention. Maybe blus- ter and violence are the only tools these kids, like their President, know how to wield. If you click past the dramatic front-page pho- tos, things in Portland look downright sweet. Common people post their phone footage online. It shows the B-reel, the unspectacular video snippets that com- pose the bulk of our lives. These show the hard, dull work being done by enor- mous waves of everyday citizens, taking to the streets because care about their country, their city, their fel- low citizens. A White singer belts out 7 Spots still open in Camp Ponderosa. Sign your camper up today! For more details visit SistersRecreation.com SPRD’s ability to off er summer programs is contingent on current local and State restrictions due to COVID-19. SNO CAP 411 E. Carpenter Ln. • TheLodgeInSisters.com 541-549-5634 MINI STORAGE Sisters Industrial Park 157 Sisters Park Dr. • 541-549-3575 www.SistersStorage.com • State-of-the-art Security Technology • Sizes from 5x5 to 12x40 • Individual Gate Codes • Long-term Discounts • On-site Manager