BAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, OCTOBER 28, 2016 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Camp gone, homelessness isn’t Mike could sleep standing up. It wasn’t a parlor trick he’d learned to impress people, it was a survival skill. He’d spent much of his late teens and early twenties homeless and fi gured out that if he could fi nd a 24-hour laundromat and leaned up against the dryers while they ran, it solved two problems: 1) he could sleep in a warm, dry place, and 2) people would simply think he was waiting for his clothes to dry and not hassle him for loitering. I thought about Mike for the fi rst time in years as I nervously walked across the street hoping to talk with some of the members of a homeless camp that had been slowly grow- ing for three days. I’d been watch- ing mentions of the camp pick up throughout the weekend on a couple of social media sites and fi gured it was only a matter of time before the Keizer Police Department were asked to intervene. It turned out offi cers had talked with members of the group a few hours before I summoned up the guts to approach them. Like Mike, the man I met at the old Roth’s building, Wiz, has his own areas of expertise. He knows the warmth and security of sleeping next to a stranger on a frigid night, he knows that we could drown the predators of the world in the wells of kindness, and he knows that pride should be no barrier to starvation, which is a kind of pride all its own. Wiz teared up three times as we talked, but never over his own cir- cumstances. His eyes pooled in re- sponse to what he’d seen in others he’d met living on the streets. A very wise man once told me that pride and shame will keep some- one moving – even when they have nothing else to cling to. Once I learned this, I started see- ing it everywhere, in those with pres- idential aspirations to the men and women living on our streets. Pride and shame are the engines that drive us to wake up and face another day, and the only differences are the cir- cumstances we have to stare down in any given 24-hour period. The same man also told me that’s its our responsibility to heal the pride and shame of others when it is bruised or damaged – a lesson I try to hold close whenever I meet someone new. Keizer police are responding to a increased number of homeless com- munities springing up around the city, which means that the Roth’s camp was likely just the tip of an iceberg. That’s worrying for two reasons. First, it means that there is a larger, unseen homeless population just beneath the surface. Second, and more troubling, it might lead some to think that the “problem” has been solved because the most visible camp has dispersed. The sight of a homeless commu- nity in Keizer may be a shock to our values, but that in itself might not be such a bad thing. It’s what we choose to do about it that defi nes what we become. -EH Brown unenthusiastic choice Oregon’s not unusual in terms of embracing one major U.S. political party and then the other. Take the last eighty years, late 1930s to the present day, and the reader will fi nd that there have been eight Democrats and eight Re- publicans occupying the chief ’s offi ce in our capitol. It’s not like some elec- tions for governor have not been close. And, now, if GOP candidate “Bud” Pierce, a gen- erally moderate Republican, hadn’t stumbled badly in debate in Port- land when he discussed domestic vio- lence and sexual assault, showing lack of understanding of two societal issues and then not taking responsibility for what he said, the current race might have been much tighter. Meanwhile, as usual, with little chance to win, there are other candidates for Oregon governor through Libertarian James Foster, Independent Cliff Thomason and Constitution’s Aaron Donald Auer on the ballot. Regarding offi ce tenure, for- mer Governor John Kitzhaber proved to me, as expressed through con- cerns in earlier columns, that serv- ing more than two terms can result in an offi ce-holder who concludes he owns the people rather than that the people own him. For Kitzhaber it meant resigning in disgrace at the start of term-four under charges, yet unresolved, of infl uence peddling. He also jettisoned the public’s trust by surrendering his authority and re- sponsibility to a fi ancée. Meanwhile, in 2016, I borrow from The Daily Astorian when I re- port their “reluctant” endorsement of Kate Brown. Journalists there, edito- rializing about the election, view this state’s voters facing a “conundrum, having to choose between a sitting governor who lacks vision, visibility and leadership, or an inexperienced political newbie whose debate stum- bles showed he’s clearly not ready for prime time.” If developments go the way they’re expected to go, with Brown in the job for the next two years, it would seem high time for a Republican to take over the reigns of Oregon’s highest public offi ce. It’s surmised that some of the job holders in top state jobs have probably been there since Goldschmidt’s administra- tion which may explain why disturb- ingly often there’s a scandal among department heads. In the mean- time, Brown has proven herself some- what able to get things done by way of legislation on the minimum wage and sick leave. Questions, nevertheless, persist as to her lack of assertiveness in deal- ing with Democrat buddies in the Oregon Senate and House. A confession not having to do with breaking a law or committing a sin is usually easy to admit. Listening to two of them de- bate on October 20 concluded that Brown may be more likely to contribute the most as governor. Pierce is critical of everything while his solutions are vague, lacking in de- tail and prosaic. Further, he needs a speech coach to help him deliver an- swers as he too often talks like he’s reading from a medical encyclo- pedia while he speaks too fast and in monotone voice. Brown speaks clearly, using precise facts and action ideas and comes across as friendly and approachable. One could go on and on but the weight factors are in Brown’s favor; suffi ce it to say that, al- though I remain unenthused to date and await demonstrations of leader- ship, I’ll vote for Kate Brown. gene h. mcintyre Read between the lines on Measure 97 By DON VOWELL You can’t vote maybe. You can vote yes or no. If your life is guided by political campaign ads you must believe that a yes vote for Measure 97 dooms us to higher taxes, loss of jobs, and crippling burdens for some Oregon-based businesses. A no vote means a continuance of fail- ing schools, shortage of health care, and less funding for senior services. Who would vote for either of those outcomes? As members of a responsible vot- ing citizenry we are to make in- formed votes on issues. So I read the voter’s pamphlet. There were many of what seemed to be reasonable ar- guments in favor of this measure and more of what seemed to be reason- able arguments against this measure. The two things I took away from this are that the reasonable choice is to be for and against this measure, and that the effects of money being equated to free speech are being felt. There are some questions not asked and not answered in the voter’s pamphlet. The fi rst ques- tion is why must we vote on this? The Oregon State Legislature was elected to make a budget and justify it. They have a remarkable breadth of resources, experts in every fi eld, to guide them in shaping the form of revenue versus expense. As a re- tired guy in Keizer I don’t have any confi dence that I can possibly make a two year projection on how the state economy will devel- op. Even their own bud- get gurus cautioned that their forecast is iffy, very much dependent on eco- nomic events and trends that can’t be foreseen. The dire fi gures quoted with such repetition in campaign fl yers are only guesses, worst case scenarios. Another question left unan- swered is why would Comcast, Walmart, Farmers Insurance, John- son and Johnson, Wells Fargo, and a host of other mega-corporations be pouring millions into advertising to defeat this measure if they could simply pass through the costs of this measure to Oregon consumers. They could, but they don’t. Cable TV and toothpaste cost the same in Keizer as they do in Amarillo. If this measure increasing corpo- rate tax rates actually does raise the cost of life in Oregon then we could ask if the thirty-some year trend of reducing corporate tax rates in Or- egon resulted in a corresponding reduction in the cost of goods and services here. I don’t think I no- ticed that. Our corporate tax rate has shrunk from 18.5 percent down to the current 6.7 percent as a share of the total. The same shifting of tax burden holds true for property taxes. Corporate share is down, homeowners’ share is up. Again there was no expensive initiative cam- paign to protest this. It’s a one way street. Oregon consumers foot the bill regardless of corporate tax increase or decrease. Since I can’t vote maybe, I’ll vote yes. I do wish they’d aimed for a smaller increase and found a way to exempt smaller Oregon-based busi- nesses. If the Oregon Legislature is handed three billion dollars a year they may feel compelled to spend every cent rather than save any. Failure of this measure would leave them to magically solve some sub- stantial budget shortfall problems. Their history of overcoming inertia and partisan differences with bold legislation doesn’t bode well. The timing is horrible. Having just received our property tax bills we are reluctant to support anything that might cost us more. I can only hope that our legislators are not so different from us and will take se- riously using this new revenue for maximum benefi t to those who need it most. I wouldn’t begrudge that at all. Election. As always, I urge you to make sure to vote. I am not going to ask you to vote for me or anyone else in particular as this forum is really to inform you of the things I encounter as your state repre- sentative, not to convince you to vote for me. I just want you to vote! From the top of the ticket in this very strange and contentious presi- dential race to the furthest down the ballot you go, all of these positions and ballot measures are so very im- portant - and you have a vote, a vote that means an awful lot. Most of us know a veteran of some sort from some branch, some of them were wartime veterans and others were peacetime but all served and all sacrifi ced something to give to us the freedoms that we hold so dear. Voting is not just a right or privilege, it is a duty. One that no one should take lightly. In Oregon we’ve made it pretty darn easy, with the mail in ballot. Though I like to wait to fi ll mine out on Election Day, I urge you to not let it sit on the table or kitchen counter too long. Study the Voter’s Pamphlet or other guides that are out there and then fi ll out that ballot. This republic called the United States of America and this great state called Oregon needs every one of us to be involved. To all of the candidates I wish all the best and may God Bless America and Oregon! Bill Post Represents Oregon’s House District 25. would accept the results of the elec- tion and then did not,” said Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager. “He retracted his concession.” This, of course, is ridiculous, as the fact-checkers have shown. Gore’s call to Bush after midnight conceding the race actually showed how much respect he had for the electoral pro- cess. It was only after news organiza- tions withdrew their calls of Florida for Bush, depriving him of an Elec- toral College majority, that Gore de- cided a recount was called for. To this day, many Democrats view the Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 decision abruptly halting recounts and award- ing Florida to Bush by 537 votes as partisan and even lawless. Yet despite this, and even though Gore won the national popular vote by more than 500,000, he nonetheless con- ceded with exceptional graciousness. “What remains of partisan rancor must now be put aside,” Gore said, publicly congratulating Bush and urging the country “to unite behind our next president.” It’s very important to notice that Conway was effectively channeling the efforts of Bush partisans during the Florida struggle. They attacked Gore simply because he wanted a recount in an agonizingly close race. The Wall Street Journal’s editorialists spoke then of “a Gore Coup d’Etat” while Rush Limbaugh fl atly assert- ed that Gore was trying to “steal it.” Limbaugh also said this: “We know the whole thing has been rigged.” Yes, we’ve heard almost every- thing Trump and his minions are saying before. You wonder how much introspection Republicans will be capable of after all the votes are counted this year. E.J. Dionne’s email address is ej- dionne@washpost.com. Twitter: @EJ- Dionne. a box of soap It’s time to vote It’s so good to be a Keizerite! As I write this, I’ve just found out what you have no doubt already dis- covered, that we have a Winco/ Waremart gro- from the cery store com- capitol ing to Keizer! I couldn’t be more excited. This town Rep. has proved over BILL BOST and over that it can support more than one grocery store and I know this new one will be welcomed with open arms. I am certain that this will also help the existing Safeway store in many ways as competition makes business grow and offer more choic- es. Also, as I write this, we are two weeks away from the 2016 General Trump is not a Republican aberration By E.J. DIONNE JR. WASHINGTON -- The lies and distortions that Donald Trump’s campaign messengers deploy to ra- tionalize their candidate’s outra- geousness are more typical of the last couple of decades of our politics than we’d like to admit. Especially revealing and infuriat- ing are the efforts to use Al Gore as a human shield against the public in- dignation Trump aroused by refusing to say whether he would accept the verdict of a democratic election. To compare what Gore did in the after- math of the contested 2000 election with what Trump is doing now is like analogizing a fi re marshal inves- tigating the causes of a blaze to an arsonist. But fi rst, the larger lesson. As Trump has plummeted in the polls, more conventional Republicans who thought they could get away with supporting him have tried to pretend that Trump and his message were foisted on them from some dis- tant planet. On Thursday in Florida, Presi- dent Obama called the GOP’s bluff. “Trump didn’t come out of no- where,” he declared. “For years, Re- publican politicians and far-right media outlets had just been pump- ing out all kinds of toxic, crazy stuff. ... Donald Trump didn’t start all this. Like he usually does, he just slapped his name on it, took credit for it, and promoted the heck out of it.” Obama cataloged the craziness he had in mind: the “birther thing,” climate change as “a Chinese hoax,” and claims that “I’m about to steal everybody’s guns in the middle of the night and declare martial law, but somehow I still need a teleprompter to fi nish a sentence.” The headline news was about Obama taking on Sen. Marco Rubio for calling Trump “dangerous” and a “con artist” and then deciding it was still OK to endorse him. A race is on between now and Election Day: Can Republican candidates run away from Trump fast enough to keep their opponents from tagging them as enablers of the most dangerous candidate ever nominated by either party? Many politically vulnerable Re- publicans have tried to cover them- selves by condemning Trump’s re- fusal to say he’d accept the election’s outcome if he lost. But his election- rigging charges have a long history. Part of Trump’s rationale rests on accusations that the media are stacked against him. This has been a staple Republican talking point since the days of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew. And Trump’s insistence that Democrats win elections through “voter fraud,” mostly in big cities and minority neighborhoods, is the groundless, evidence-less rationaliza- tion Republicans have used for years to justify laws aimed at disenfranchis- ing those who are inclined to vote against them. In fact, voter suppression is a far graver danger to our democracy than the vanishingly tiny amount of fraud, as Ari Berman, the author of “Give Us the Ballot,” documented last week in The Nation. Which brings us to Gore. Know- ing the political trouble Trump’s bla- tant disrespect for the democratic process is causing him, the Republi- can’s defenders are relying on inno- cence by association. “I’m going to keep reminding everybody about the 2000 election when Al Gore said he Keizertimes Wheatland Bublishing Corp. 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, Oregon 97303 Lyndon A. Zaitz, Editor & Publisher POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Keizertimes Circulation 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, OR 97303 Beriodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon Bublication No: USBS 679-430