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PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Up. Down. Tied. Media’s fascination with presidential election polls has gotten out of control. Every large media outlet, including big daily news- papers and all the broad- casters—cable and regular television. Sometimes when results of the latest poll are an- nounced with ‘breaking news’ imme- diacy, a caveat will be added: that the poll is just a snapshot of the campaign right now. Hillary Clinton was leading Re- publican Donald Trump handily for the weeks after the Democratic convention. She was leading in most battleground states and even in some red states that very rarely vote for the Democratic nominee. Trump’s new campaign team seemed to have per- suaded the Republican to be a more traditonal candidate—using a Tele- prompter (that he derided President Obama for overusing), reaching out to demographic groups he needs to win the presidency. At the same time Clinton spent her time going from one high dollar fund raiser to the next. She had not held a press conference in months until she spoke with the members of the press who were allowed to fl y on her plane (fi nally)—hardly a setting for a good old give-and-take with reporters. The result, according to current polls is that Trump has narrowed Clinton’s lead. For now. Turning today’s poll results into news does nothing good for the pro- cess; it’s an inside the beltway game consultants and reports love to play. Reporting on today’s poll of an elec- tion that is still nine weeks away takes away from any serious reporting on what should matter in presiden- tial elections; where a can- didate stands on important issues and what they want to do if they get into the Oval Offi ce. National polls mean nothing at all. The presidential election is really 51 separate elections—the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Five hun- dred thirty eight Electors will be se- lected on Nov. 8; they vote for presi- dent. That’s a fact. It is also a fact that some states are intractably red and some are intractly blue. Some of the reddest states may turn a little purple this year as certain demographics in- crease their numbers, especially His- panics. The only true poll taken during a presidential campaign would be the poll that is taken in all 50 states and D.C. When polls are conducted by com- puter people without a land line are excluded. Only manually conducted polls dial cellphones—this tends to skew the poll results. Who has land lines? Older voters who tend, as a whole, to be more conservative than the population at large (and also vote more reliably that other age groups). Reading presidential election polls can be fun and a topic of discussion but it does not truly refl ect what will happen on election night. —LAZ editorial In memory of Sept. 11, 2001 By ART BOBROWITZ On September 11, 2001 I watched the world change in real time with no editing or special effects. I was getting ready for work and talking to my wife. It was one of those surrealistic moments when the world seemed to slow to a crawl. The news media was frantic with speculation as smoke came off the top of the fi rst World Trade Center building. I still re- member how austere it looked against the cloudless New York sky. And then the second plane hit. It was at that moment that I knew America, and our workplace, would be different. There was no need for further speculation or the possibility of an accident. I knew that those tow- ers represented in other parts of the world was hated with such passion and depth, that evil had taken control of the digital age. That day something in America began to die. It was some- thing we had taken for granted far too long. We were losing a way of leading, thinking, learning and working. It was a message to the rest of the world. Media interviews created some very interesting conversations. People started to say how they had found new meaning in their lives. Voices stated how they wanted to strengthen rela- tionships, and that quality of life was important. People wanted to have say-so and speak their mind. They had a deep need to estab- lish a quality of life after the event. Relationships became a priority. They wanted to know that if anything happened to them that their life was not in vain, nor the lives of those who were victims of Sep- tember 11th. We had experienced the ugliness of radical anger thrust into our lives and social conscience. How we respond or choose not to respond would defi ne who we were and what we could have been. I am not seeing that from our leaders. The United States of America needs to be a beacon for the world to guide the workplace and the human spirit. We are facing the challenges of global hatred and arrogance coupled with cultural and academic insecurity. Whether we want to or not, America and the workplace are on a very steep learning curve. Our focus needs to be on re-defi ning what is education and what we want our children, citizens and employees to know. Authentic leadership needs to be the product that makes the difference. The chal- lenge facing 21st century communi- ties and businesses will not be renew- able products or the fi eld of renewable energy. It will be defi ning and creating a model for moral, ethical and renew- able leadership. Uniform display missing at fair I strongly believe the uniforms should be dis- played at the Fair to hon- or veterans and current military. What better way to offer some education to the coming genera- tions. I would like to see the uniforms return to the Fair. I don’t think the veteran’s organization that manages the uni- forms should have to pay for their space. They have proudly served our country and many have already paid the ultimate sacrifi ce. Kari Williams Keizer guest column (Art Bobrowitz lives in Keizer. He is an author and public speaker.) letters To the Editor: I was very disappointed to learn that U.S. military uniforms were not on dis- play this year at the Or- egon State Fair. I heard that they were expected to pay for space if they wanted to be there. From what I understand they did not have to pay in the previous years to share their wonderful display of veteran’s uniforms. Many veterans volunteered at the display booth over the years to talk to fair patrons about the uniforms and their history. Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com SUBSCRIPTIONS NEWS EDITOR Eric A. Howald editor@keizertimes.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Derek Wiley news@keizertimes.com One year: $25 in Marion County, $33 outside Marion County, $45 outside Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY ADVERTISING Publication No: USPS 679-430 Paula Moseley advertising@keizertimes.com POSTMASTER Send address changes to: PRODUCTION MANAGER Andrew Jackson Keizertimes Circulation graphics@keizertimes.com 142 Chemawa Road N. LEGAL NOTICES Keizer, OR 97303 legals@keizertimes.com EDITOR & PUBLISHER Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com BUSINESS MANAGER Laurie Painter billing@keizertimes.com Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon RECEPTION Lori Beyeler facebook.com/keizertimes twitter.com/keizertimes High medicine prices due to greed If you live in a congressional dis- trict anywhere in America, then you are part of the problem. Scotta Cal- lister spoke of the Mylan/EpiPen thievery (EpiPen is mighty—but only for those who afford it, Keizertimes, Sept. 2). I was struck because I am a large part of the problem. There will be no “market fi x” for astronomical drug pricing in America. If there are to be any boundaries on the pharma- ceutical industry or any other facet of the health care industry they must be set by Congress. Until you and I demand action they will continue on with the important business of call- ing each other names. Even when modest efforts to bring costs down are made, Congress resists them. Congress created Medi- care Part D drug coverage while in- cluding language that stripped them of the power to negotiate drug prices. There are some legitimate con- cerns about simply asking Medicare to bargain hard with drug companies. When you see that other countries charge prices much less than ours for identical medicines you should rec- ognize that those countries are not asked to share in the research and development costs of new medicines, most of which is done in the United States. Many times those countries may actually harm their citizens by waiting for price drops before sup- plying new medicines proven effec- tive from the outset. In many countries, and even with our own Veterans Admin- istration (VA), there is the option of simply saying no to a drug company that refuses to negotiate costs. Medi- care doesn’t really have that option. If that drug company has a drug not available elsewhere then Medicare must provide it to covered patients and has no recourse if the provider simply refuses to lower its price. The EpiPen pricing is the perfect crystallized result of our decision to ignore the needs of patients in fa- vor of corporate/shareholder profi ts. With all the confl icting informa- tion and arguments it is still easy to see that Mylan is making the phrase “business ethics” into an oxymoron. Epinephrine is a generic drug with all development costs long since re- covered. Mylan’s patent stranglehold is on the injection pen, not a ter- rifi cally complex device. Mylan had nothing to do with EpiPen until it purchased the rights in 2007. Since then the price has gone from $57 to over $600. The only number grow- ing faster at Mylan is the CEO’s pay, now surpassing $20 million. a box of soap Claiming the need to maximize shareholder returns Mylan bought a pharmaceutical company with oper- ations in the Netherlands and nomi- nally moved corporate headquarters there. Relieved of much of their U.S. tax burden they nonetheless asked for U.S. protection from a hostile takeover by an Israeli pharmaceuti- cal company. Even in Keizer you can smell the stench from this deal. I am taking a newish drug called Esbriet priced at about $94,000 a year. Take that, EpiPen. I have Medicare, private supplemental, and a non-profi t organization that have teamed up to make my cost zero. Esbriet/Perfenidone is available for $2,000 per year in other countries where it was already in use. Because I am selfi sh I am glad I don’t have to pay $94,000 a year but I understand that because it was paid, everybody in the country must then share the burden. If health care costs are already affecting all of us then we already have “socialized medicine.” If we ever tire of paying twice as much as every other industrialized nation for health care maybe we could learn something from them, even insist that Congress join in. (Don Vowell gets on his soapbox regularly in the Keizertimes.) Will Turkey become USA’s next Iran? A reason our government gets it- self into so many diffi culties overseas is due to the way it so often conducts business with other nations. A case in point is our most recent problem with Turkey. After surviving the recent coup there, President Recep Tayyip Er- dogan demanded the U.S. hand over the man the Turkish president says was responsible for that putsch. The demand could result in a cri- sis in U.S.-Turkey relations as the United States is unlikely to honor the request without “hard evidence,” whatever constitutes it by the fl exi- ble ethical standards of anything goes in Washington. However this turns out, it could affect Turkey’s role as a long-time key ally, including the fi ght against ISIS and the handling of refugees fl eeing the civil war in Syria. Erdogen has said, “I call on the United States and President Barack Obama: Dear Mr. President, I told you this before, either arrest Mu- hammed Fethullah Gulen or return him to Turkey. You didn’t listen.” Who is Gulen? He’s a reclusive cleric who leads a popular move- ment called Hizmet. The 75-year old imam went into self-imposed exile when he moved from Turkey to the U.S. in 1999, settling in Saylors- burg, PA. American media informs us that he maintains a loyal following in Turkey, known as Gulenists who subscribe to the Hizmet movement. Hizmet is a global movement in- spired by Gulen who espouses what has been described in the U.S. as “a moderate, pro-western brand of Sunni Islam that appeals to many well-educated and professional Turks.” Non-governmental orga- nizations founded by the Hizmet movement include secular co-ed schools, free tutoring centers, hospi- tals and relief agencies which address many of Turkey’s social problems. In Turkey volunteers in the Gulen movement own television stations, the largest-circulation newspaper, gold mines and at least one Turkish bank. In a statement directly after the coup, Gulen denied any connection with the coup attempt and further suggested the whole thing could had been staged (even though 161 Turks were dead in the end). Yet, an- other coup was attempted in 2014 and Gulen’s sup- porters were blamed for it. Again then, Gulen denied any involvement in it. It may not be too great a stretch to surmise that this guy Gulen wants to be the next president of Turkey So, the beat in this matter goes on. Secretary of State John Kerry has re- ported no formal request for extradi- tion from Turkey. Kerry said, “Give us evidence, show us the evidence, we need a solid, legal foundation that meets the standards of extradition in order for our courts to approve such a request.” In reply, Turkey’s duly elected President Erdogan has said, “I call on you again, after there was a coup attempt, extradite this man in Pennsylvania to Turkey.” History reminds us of a similar overseas episode that took place in 1979 when the U.S. refused to extra- dite the Shah of Iran after the revo- lution against his rule. The U.S. said he was undergoing medical treat- ment in the U.S. The refusal set off outrage in Iran, culminating in the taking over of the U.S Embassy in Tehran and the taking of 52 Ameri- can hostages for 444 days. The fallout gene h. mcintyre from that affair has continued to im- pact U.S-Iran relations to today. The situation in Turkey risks developing into a major crisis in relations should the U.S. continue to ignore Turkey’s entreaties to act on its behalf. Our capital is notoriously nowa- days run and controlled by money. So, it would come as no surprise to learn that the Obama administration and members of Congress have re- ceived huge and persuasive contri- butions from Gulen to prevent ex- tradition. This modern day story is an- other example of strongly suspected corruption that that takes place ev- ery day in our nation’s capital. What’s predicted will happen in this case is that Turkey will ultimately be refused its request, we’ll lose another ally as we’ve lost so many since our leaders jettisoned traditional Ameri- can values, and it will ultimately cost the lives of American service men and women who will be sent to their deaths because, through revo- lution, the Turkey of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, he who sought to establish and maintain a secular country, will ultimately fall to Islamic overthrow and the U.S. will, by NATO treaty, be forced to protect Bulgaria, Ro- mania, Greece and others from inva- sion by fanatical Muslims. (Gene H. McIntyre’s column appears weekly in the Keizertimes.)
