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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2022)
2 Wednesday, January 19, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O Letters to the Editor… A call to action 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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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. Whose disinformation? To the Editor: I was simply mildly incredulous in read- ing a letter in this publication two weeks ago that asserted that 40-year-old Soviet propa- ganda was similar to <right-wing propaganda that has infected our country.= But, to find in another letter last week that there are, yet, apparently others among us who share such delusion is truly disheartening. The original writer said that the <right- wing (yes, not the left): applied incendiary labels to opponents, misleadingly lumps oppo- nents together, peddles lies, disinformation, blames opponents for things that they have little or no direct responsibility for, cynically exaggerates failures and ignores beneficial See LETTERS on page 8 Sisters Weather Forecast Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Jan. 19 • Mostly Cloudy Jan. 20 • Partly Cloudy Jan. 21 • Mostly Sunny Jan. 22 • Mostly Sunny 46/38 53/32 49/31 51/31 Sunday Monday Tuesday Jan. 23 • Partly Cloudy Jan. 24 • Partly Cloudy Jan. 25 • Partly Cloudy 54/35 54/35 51/33 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 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. N Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Easterling Creative Director: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partner: Vicki Curlett Classifieds & Circulation: Beth Jacobsen Proofreader: Kit Tosello 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, $70; six months (or less), $45. First-class postage: one year, $110; six months, $80. Published Weekly. ©2022 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. Sunset on Mt. Jefferson... Sisters Country has been treated to many evenings of magnificent sunsets over the past couple of weeks. PHOTO PROVIDED Got a great photo of life in Sisters Country? Send your high-resolution photo to editor@nuggetnews.com. By Monica Tomosy Guest Columnist To quote a favorite song- writer: <You don9t know what you got til it9s gone.= This message is a call to action. As bad as January 6, 2021 was, our democracy is in more danger today than a year ago. That was a day of physical chaos and coor- dinated internal pressure trying to overpower democ- racy. It was an attempt to reject our system of gover- nance by the force of violent extremists and a core group of treasonous masterminds. They planned to run out the clock before Congress could certify the election, have Congress reject the certifi- cation process, and replace slates of state electors with people of their choosing. Thankfully, it failed. But what is happening now, and what is unprec- edented in our nation, is a more systematic takedown of democratic rules by one of the political parties. The Grand Old Party is ditching democracy to gain and keep power. What is happening now is a slow-boiling insur- gency that, unless something changes, will culminate this coming November. This is not hyperbole; it is fact: The November 2022 election will determine if American democracy survives or not. As a result of misinfor- mation (simply wrong) and disinformation (intention- ally misleading; a.k.a. <The Big Lie=), 19 state legisla- tures (all GOP-dominated) passed 33 laws in 2021 that tilt the playing field toward their own control of the U.S. House, Senate, and White House in future national elections. This means that who can vote, who controls the counting of the votes, and who the election offi- cials are is controlled by the majority party in the 19 states. Election jobs that have always been nonpar- tisan can now be replaced with sycophants who have no problem with tossing val- idly cast ballots. These plots would not have to work in all 19 states to win the White House. We can look to the last two pres- idential elections: In 2016, Donald Trump9s Electoral College win was a result of only about 70,000 more votes for him over Hillary Clinton across only three States, and in 2020, Joe Biden9s Electoral College win was a result of only about 40,000 votes for him over Trump across only three states. Representative Cliff Bentz has been adhering to The Big Lie, since he decided he knew more about the Pennsylvania election system than state and federal attorneys in Pennsylvania. Bentz voted not to accept the Pennsylvania elec- toral college votes that Biden won, even after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that the results were in compliance with the Constitution, as did the Trump-appointed federal judges, and the Republican Pennsylvania auditor general! They all determined that all laws were upheld, including the bipartisan bill that reformed Pennsylvania9s election pro- cess and introduced vote-by- mail to the state. How would that sit with Oregonians if a Pennsylvania congressman decided not to accept our votes? Bentz9s incorrect claim is part of what is fueling extremist public sentiments and the current GOP-led insurgency. He is feeding the fire of the disinforma- tion that the 2020 election was not fair. By not admit- ting his mistake, Bentz is part of the current assault on the constitutional process, rather than being a protector of democracy. We the People must act. Democracy only works when enough people thoughtfully participate. We lovers of civility and democracy must make sure everyone we know is pay- ing attention and is ready to act with their voice and their vote. We need to understand the tactics and techniques of misinformation and disinfor- mation and teach our gull- ible neighbors and friends and family how those tac- tics worked to trick them into thinking the 2020 elec- tion was not fair. People of all parties and with no party affiliation will need to stop this future coup attempt, by securing federal voting rights laws that outlaw the authoritarian-style state vot- ing laws. We can9t negotiate policy issues we care about and, yes, disagree about, if American governance flips to authoritarianism. In other countries that once had democracies, they unraveled slowly& and then quickly&and then it was too late. Pay attention, speak out, and vote. Learn what the tac- tics of misinformation and disinformation are and let each other know. Views expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.