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Columbia Gorge News
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
5
OPINION
LETTERS
Continued from page 4
again face economic hard-
ship. Make no mistake, the
town of Maupin faces an exis-
tential threat to its identity as
the gateway town to a healthy
river that many people love.
Now we can enlist an
accomplished elected official
who is ready to fight for our
river. Arlene Burns has the
experience and passion to
make a difference in Salem.
She knows Maupin’s fate is
locked to the Deschutes and
she’s a bona-fide river per-
son who has committed to
helping us with the fight for
cleaner colder water. She is
the correct choice for voters
who want a healthy 100 mile
stretch of river. Maupin resi-
dents and river lovers need to
set aside political differences
and unite to send Arlene
Burns to Salem.
Steve Mounts
Tygh Valley
Campaign
money
Well, its that time of the
election year where we
need to pay attention to the
money that is funding the
campaigns of people on the
ballot who want our vote in
November. Lets take a look
at Anna Williams, running
to be re-elected as state
representative. When she
first ran for office two years
ago, her biggest single donor
was the Oregon Trial Lawyers
Association, who shelled out
over $43,000 to help her get
elected. Recently, Anna pock-
eted another $17,000 from
them.
Now that we know who
her high-dollar friends are,
lets see how the money may
be influencing her votes in
Salem. Virtually every busi-
ness association in Oregon
has been asking the legisla-
ture to pass liability protec-
tions that would shield them
from frivolous lawsuits they
may encounter due to being
open for business during the
COVID-19 economy. School
districts have also asked for
similar protections if they
bring students back to the
classroom.
The legislature has had
two special sessions in recent
months to make budget
adjustments and distribute
federal support awarded
to the state. But they have
refused to take up the issue
of liability protections. Why
not? Well, maybe its because
Anna’s friends the Trial
Lawyers are strongly opposed
to Covid-related liability
protections? They are on re-
cord saying they are just fine
with current situation. More
lawsuits mean paydays for
their members. OTLA is one
of the major donors to the
Democrat super majority that
runs Salem. They and Anna
love the big checks that fund
their campaigns.
I don’t know about you but
I’ve had enough. I’ll be voting
for Jeff Helrich for state
representative. I know he will
stand with us and not sell
out to the Salem high rollers
who just want to line their
pockets.
Christina Dowden
Hood River
Fagan for
Secretary
In Oregon we’ve been vot-
ing by mail successfully for
more than 20 years. As State
Senator Shemia Fagan con-
tinues to strengthen, expand
and defend our vote-by-mail
system. Vote-by-mail is the
way of the future and many
states are following our lead.
Fagan’s legislative record
also shows her support for
workers and families voting
for paid sick leave, investing
in our public schools and
healthcare system, and advo-
cating for small businesses.
She also supports the U.S.
Postal Service and recognizes
the vital role the post office
plays in our communities,
especially in rural communi-
ties, and in our elections now
and in the future.
Oregon’s nurses, firefight-
ers, and teachers support
Shemia Fagan in the Oregon
Secretary of State race. Fagan
also received endorsements
from the Oregon League of
Conservation Voters, and The
Oregonian.
Fagan’s opponent in this
race, State Senator Kim
Thatcher is endorsed by the
Timber Unity Political Action
Committee (PAC) and the
Oregon Coalition of Police
and Sheriffs (ORCOPS).
Corporate and timber
interest and law enforce-
ment — the status quo
— are Thatcher’s primary
endorsers. This tells me a lot
since Timber Unity opposes
climate change legislation
and represents corporate and
timber interests. In addition,
Thatcher’s record has not
supported making it easier
for Oregonians to vote by
mail.
From my point of view
Fagan has worked hard and
earned her way to running
for Secretary of State. A native
Oregonian raised in rural
Oregon Fagan had her own
struggles growing up in an
unstable family situation.
She worked her way through
college and law school, and
served on her local school
board before serving in the
Oregon legislature.
Fagan’s history of ser-
vice and record are clear
and transparent in favor of
workers, families, strength-
ening voting rights and
our public institutions and
infrastructure.
There’s a clear choice in
this election between the sta-
tus quo fanned by corporate
interests, and someone who
has a longstanding record
support ordinary Oregonians
and the public good. Shemia
Fagan has earned my vote for
Oregon Secretary of State in
the Nov. 3 election.
Pam Starling
Mosier
Where to start?
Where do I even start?
Perhaps I should start
with the fact that our duly
impeached president’s histo-
ry-making, precedent-shat-
tering, non-response to
the novel coronavirus has
come back to bite him in the
derrière. As a result, he is
going to die sooner than he
would have otherwise, and
he has only himself to blame.
Thoughts and prayers, etc.
Or I could talk about how
Trump’s obsession with
optics has put his security
detail at risk to the point
where members of the secret
service have spoken out
anonymously.
Or maybe I should write
about how right wing terror
groups were thwarted by the
FBI in their efforts to kidnap
and potentially murder
Michigan governor Gretchen
Whitmer in a vain and mis-
guided attempt to overthrow
the state government. I
would hypothetically follow
that up by writing about how
“Cheeto Mussolini” attacked
and placed blame on Gov.
Whitmer in the aftermath of
the thwarted terrorist effort;
Or maybe I should write
a letter about The Bunker
Inspector’s proposed “pa-
triotic education,” which
amounts to no less than
modern day book burning.
Or maybe I should write
about how Trump’s tax
returns reveal a man who
has mismanaged everything
on every level, and deserves
to see the inside of a jail cell
for the rest of his mercifully
short life.
Or perhaps I could spend
some words talking about the
abysmal debates, and how a
fly landed on Pence’s head,
because flies are attracted to
rotting garbage.
I haven’t scratched the
surface of the horror show
that has been this year. Get
out and vote. Vote blue, vote
Biden, and vote as if you
could stop the Holocaust by
doing so. Get out and protest,
write letters, make art, and
spread compassion, for
compassion is the enemy of
fascists like the Republican
Party under Trump.
Benjamin Sheppard
Hood River
Benjamin Sheppard is em-
ployed as a social worker.
For Beutler
Congresswoman Jaime
Herrera Beutler stepped up
and helped her constitu-
ents in times of crisis. She
has worked in Congress to
expand access to health-
care, advocated for better
service for residents trying
to receive unemployment
in Washington and Oregon,
and now she is trying to force
Congress to get to work and
reauthorize the Paycheck
Protection Program to save
millions of small businesses
and jobs. Attacks against her
are partisan garbage that puts
the party over effectiveness.
I am proud to cast my vote
for Jaime Herrera Beutler,
a member of Congress that
works by and for the people
of southwest Washington.
Dion Hess
Ridgefield
Williams for
House
Politicians say all sorts of
things. What they actually do,
how they actually vote, can
tell you more about whether
they deserve your continued
support.
Consider Republican Jeff
Helfrich, running to unseat
Anna Williams as a state rep-
resentative from District 52.
As a self-professed family
man (and former law en-
forcement officer) Helfrich
voted against HB 4145 in
2018.
HB 4145 prohibits “con-
victed stalkers” from possess-
ing a firearm if they are under
a restraining order to protect
a family member or domes-
tic partner. The legislation
passed.
Two years later, Helfrich’s
successor, Williams, co-spon-
sored HB 2013, which estab-
lishes statewide protocols
for firearm removal from
domestic abusers.
So, who is doing more to
protect Dist. 52 residents?
Williams is. Vote for Anna
Williams for state representa-
tive from District 52.
Cindy Allen
Hood River
Retain Beutler
Our Congresswoman,
Jaime Herrera Beutler, has
worked across the aisle to cut
the cost of prescription drugs.
Meanwhile, Carolyn Long
has run around promising to
do like Jaime. However, it’s
unclear how Long’s going to
accomplish this when she
appears to be bought and
sold by big Pharma. It’s been
recently reported that her
family has hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars in retirement
from big pharmaceutical
companies.
If you think she’s going to
go toe-to-toe with the big
pharmaceutical companies
who are paying for her cushy
retirement, think again. Don’t
let Carolyn Long pull the
wool over your eyes.
Kathleen Hartson
Vancouver
Moving along?
Recently I saw a Hood
River Police Department
officer trespass a houseless
man from a business. The of-
ficer mentioned that this was
the third time he had been
called to different businesses
to trespass this same young
man. The young man, for his
part, explained that he need-
ed to use the bathroom. The
interaction was professional
and calm and I’m sure an
everyday occurrence in our
community.
I also recently listened to
a Hood River City Council
meeting in which the council
voted to move forward with
planning for a new police
station to be built on the
Columbia lot in downtown.
This plan includes a 20-year,
$14 million levy, on top of the
Hood River County public
safety levy. During the same
meeting, the City Council
heard about the difficulty
of finding a space for 15
mini-shelters to keep folks
warm and safe for just a few
months over the winter.
I can envision in 20 years’
time, a Hood River PD officer
leaving a spacious and high-
tech new police station, to
respond to yet another call to
move along a man who lacks
housing or even a safe place
to use the bathroom because
Hood River has no shelter.
If police are the only thing
we will invest in today, police
are the only tool we have in
the future. What future do
you want to envision?
MariRuth Petzing
Hood River
state representative. They
appropriated the TU name
and threatened the original
loggers with legal action if
they tried to continue to use
the name. The PAC’s major
donors include log trucking
companies, agricultural and
mining companies, right-
wing militias, and Rob Freres,
owner of Freres Lumber and
the link between TU and
Trump.
It’s election season, and we
need to know not only who
is running, but who is paying
and why. TU is funding
candidates who will do its
bidding for its corporate fi-
nancial benefit. That includes
undercutting measures to
address climate change, and
continuing to push the false
choice of jobs vs. reducing
carbon emissions. This
comes at a time when the en-
tire West is being incinerated
by megafires due in part to
the effects of climate change.
Recognize Timber Unity
for what it is, a self-serv-
ing corporate PAC. Do not
sacrifice our children’s
future to climate change.
TU is not grassroots, rural,
nonpartisan, or interested in
supporting working fami-
lies. If Timber Unity had our
interests at heart, there’d be
no need for its deception. Be
wary of the candidates TU
supports. Climate change
should be front and center for
every voter.
Samuel Taylor
Hood River
Broadband
for all
home.
As restrictions ease, our
dependence on reliable high
speed internet won’t fade.
Let’s use current funding
opportunities to work toward
bringing fiber optic cable to
all.
Megan Sheffels
White Salmon
Vote
Richardson
I wholeheartedly support
Dan Richardson for City
Council of The Dalles. His
work with landowners and
natural resource manage-
ment issues exemplifies his
ability to deal with com-
plex issues similar to the
problems that come to city
council. He is an openmind-
ed listener with a good sense
of fairness and discernment.
When it comes to being a
council member, it’s not the
person who says they have
the best idea at the start of
the meeting, it’s the person
who supports the best idea
at the end of the meeting, no
matter who proposed it, who
makes government work for
everyone.
Philip Brady
The Dalles
Propaganda
explained
Few progressive mod-
ernists can imagine a future
scenario which they do not
control, and propaganda has
proven an ever reliable fea-
ture of the socialist state The
purpose is to alter thinking
from one based on reliable
evidence and reason to one
based on anticipated power.
Propaganda purposely
creates a thinking vacuum
which is then filled with
uncertainty and even fear. A
safe, secure, and equitable
society is promised, of this
sort or that, but only high-risk
has historically been deliv-
ered. The left, despite historic
disasters, never recognizes
the mistakes and dangers
inherent in social planning.
This blind-spot is common to
big-government Republicans.
A prime example is found
in North Korea, a “mature”
socialist state whose citizens
suffer under an organiza-
tion formally named the
“Propaganda and Agitation
Department.”
Propaganda is seduc-
tive and drives people into
competing camps and keeps
them there, at least while
they remain useful to those
who define the cause. Its
aim is to establishes a dou-
ble-standard which demol-
ishes competing opinion
and worldviews. This process
lets the propagandist off the
hook for having to defend
their ideas. Some years back,
We have come to rely on
the internet as a critical part
of our personal and profes-
sional lives. Many now work
from home, our kids are
doing distance-learning, and
we are increasingly aware
that internet services that
were maybe “good enough”
before the pandemic are
falling short.
We need broadband inter-
net for all. Two roadblocks
to this are affordability and
availability.
In terms of affordabili-
ty, grant programs exist to
pay for the internet for low
income families who don’t
already have it. This safety
net doesn’t go far enough. It
doesn’t cover enough peo-
ple, and it doesn’t address
accessibility. Grants fund
I’m seeing “Timber Unity” the cheapest option and also
(TU) on yard signs and on
do not cover improving the
donor lists of a lot of conser- speed or bandwidth of cur-
vative candidates in Oregon, rent coverage. We can’t take
including Jeff Helfrich here in advantage of grant funding
House District 52. Supporters unless providers run fiber
claim TU is nonpartisan, but optic cable all the way out
it’s the number one listed
to more rural areas for the
“affinity organization” on the offered amount. The quality
OR-GOP website. Other TU
of internet access in many
features are deceptive as well. homes, due to accessibility,
TU presents itself as “regular affordability, or both, cannot
folks,” but allies with militias keep up with the demands of
and QAnon. It presents itself working and learning from
See LETTERS,page6
as “rural” but its leadership
is Portland-based. It presents
itself as “grassroots” and for
the benefit of “working fam-
Quality vitamins and supplements.
ilies,” but is in reality a PAC
and two corporate entities
controlled by conservative
wealth. Why the deception?
Back in 2019, some log
truck drivers started a small
group called TU, opposing
climate legislation because
of concerns about fuel prices
increasing. That didn’t last
long. The group was taken
over by corporate interests
one regular priced item.
headed by Andrew Miller
(CEO of Portland-based
Stimson Lumber) and Julie
918 12th St | Hood River, OR | 541-386-7328
Parrish, formerly a GOP
Whose ‘Unity’?
DANIELS
health & nutrition
10% off
TRASH TALK
Q. Are used paper plates, constructed
Call your locally owned independent mortgage broker today.
QA
of uncoated recycled paper, and wiped or rinsed to
remove gross food waste, recyclable in the blue
bins for pick-up? John, Odell
A. John, once paper is ‘soiled” with food, it’s
‘contaminated’. Yet uncoated paper would do well in backyard
composting. Most kitchen compost tends to be rich in nitrogen.
So that paper (along with paper towels, napkins, tea bags and
coffee filters) provides that balance of carbon nourishment.
Ron Kurahara
Mike Ellsworth
Lorena Salgado
James Nygren
541-490-4077
541-490-2832
541-806-0107
541-892-8808
nmls 38028
questions to:
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11 3rd Street, Suite 101, Hood River
541-436-4706
Company Nmls #1851593
hoodrivermortgage.com
(541)-506-2636 www.tricountyrecycle.com