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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2020)
2 Wednesday, September 9, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O Keeping it safe local… N It’s time to change the paradigm By Michael Richards Guest Columnist PHOTO BYJERRY BALDOCK Sisters Farmers Market is coming to the end of its season. The Sunday event has managed pandemic protocols successfully to offer local produce and artisan goods to the local community. Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer¾s name, address and phone number. Letters 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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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 10 a.m. Monday. To the Editor: Over the last 3-1/2 tumultuous years I have asked many of my friends who happen to sup- port Trump, <What would it take for them to abandon their support of him?= Would it be his confrontational approach with China, N. Korea and other countries which demonstrate a very real threat to our democracy? His seeming support of Russia and President Putin? The weakening of our relations with NATO countries? His discon- nect in acknowledging the stark differences between the protests related to the Black Lives Matter movement and the far-right nationalist movement? His degradation of women and persons of color? His use of presidential authority and government institutions as a backdrop to his political grandstanding? His inability to appoint and retain top-level leadership in the White House such that key positions are left unstaffed? Never mind the moral turpitude that seems to run throughout his administration. (I recall the outcry during the Clinton administration that <character counts.= How is this outcry not relevant today when there are so many exam- ples surrounding this president9s character?) The repeated and proven examples of his outright lies and misrepresentations to the American Public for his own political and personal gain? The basic question, despite these consider- ations, is simply, <What would it take for you to abandon your support of Donald Trump?= In the past week it was reported that Trump referred to deceased military personnel as <losers and suckers= and has encouraged voter fraud by urging North Carolina voters to See LETTERS on page 24 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Monday Sunday Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Sunny Mostly Sunny 81/47 89/52 91/52 92/52 92/53 88/51 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Email: 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 Creative Director: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partner: Vicki Curlett Classifieds & Circulation: Lisa May 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, $55; six months (or less), $30. First-class postage: one year, $95; six months, $65. Published Weekly. ©2020 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is pro- hibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. 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 unconditionally 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. Problem: Reactionary demonstrations in Portland are negatively impacting Democratic Presidential campaign to elect Biden/ Harris in swing states as Trump touts law and order while consciously ignoring critical, underlying issues expressed in Portland and several cities across the U.S. Suggestion: Mayor/ Governor/State/Federal Oregon leadership to inter- sect and dialog with <lead- ership= of the Portland dem- onstration. In the absence of identifying leader, create one (group) as representing majority. Purpose: To first estab- lish 30-day moratorium on demonstrations in Portland to determine the specific list of rational actions that can be taken to address demon- strators9 demands. Realizing the nature and complexity of the current association of related but diverse issues being debated on the streets, seek group consensus of The Problem 4 forming consensus is not a simple act but in avoiding building one, nothing positive will come of the sacrifices made by so many to this point. As a point of departure, one needs only to refer to the spread of <labor= issues struck across the U.S. in the 1930s. Left to its own, the loosely associated labor unions and workers were quickly infiltrated by active foreign influence peddlers, drawing off local and regional focus, by intro- ducing draconian behav- ior which had the effect of militarizing the entire the- ater and all those players whether they be civil, state, private, or national actors. This process originated in the late 1920s, flagged forward for more than 10 years, interrupted by the invasion of the Hawaiian Navy Base on Oahu late 1941. The current circum- stances in Portland appear to be progressing without leaders on either <side= of the underlying civil actions and initiatives. Without leadership, demonstrations do not necessarily lead to legislation. In the absence of a progressive, ratio- nal process, potential for unregulated chaos logically follows. Unregulated reac- tive action opens the doors not only for Trump to make hay politically, it also opens doors to federal intervention on the streets in Portland and other places in the U.S., blurring the line between legal and unlawful as we continue to do the same thing for the past 90 days expecting different results, with little to show for the massive effort by dem- onstrators and local/state authorities leaving little to nothing resolved. Need: Change the para- digm. It is apparent the Trump administration is greatly benefiting from these mostly lawful, mostly non-violent acts in Portland. We need to change the dis- cussion 3 we need to change the tactic 3 we need to dem- onstrate that Oregon can indeed <handle= our own problems. We get it. We now need to do something that moves the city and the State of Oregon in a direction show- ing that our State is capable of solving this problem before it grows beyond our means to mitigate the perceived or manufactured damage that otherwise is hand-in-hand linked to our lawful right to peaceably assemble 4 our consti- tutional right and respon- sibility encoded in U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Bill of Rights. Recommendation: Achieve and announce a negotiated moratorium, stating objectives, empha- sizing not only the need to reevaluate state and local policing policies in particu- lar, to also address underly- ing issues that are extant in Oregon and within the pur- view and authority of the State Governing Authority, whether statewide, regional or local. Take, subsequent to 30-day moratorium, imme- diate action as an act of <good faith,= with prom- ise and plan to continue process as a measure to establish institutionalized state/local 8facility9 set- ting regional presence as a working prototype to dem- onstrate Oregon capacity to resolve Oregon problems without need for external intervention. We only need a federal system when that system is devoted to solving problems we cannot or will not solve on our own. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.