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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2017)
PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 24, 2017 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM A healthy city The wheels of government turn slowly. In many cases that is a good thing because government bodies need to assure that policy making and bud- geting have many moving parts and all interests and consequences need to be considered. There are times when the wheels of government do not need to slow to a crawl, especially when it concerns free money. The Healthy Eating Ac- tive Living (HEAL) Cities Campaign, funded by Kai- ser Permanente and other partners, is designed to play a role in reversing the trend toward sedentary behavior (think watching TV and playing vid- eo games for hours on end) and high calorie counts. The project supports cities in ef- forts to improve the physical envi- ronment and give residents more opportunities to be physically active and eat healthful foods. Keizer is a fairly healthy community already— there are the many youth athletic or- ganizations, plus the sports programs in all the schools. We are home to a number of running events. Even with one grocery store, a majority of Keizer residents have access to healthy food with WinCo, Walmart and other large stores in Salem. There is always room for improve- ment in the drive to be the healthiest community Keizer can be. To that end the city council needs to stop nitpicking the HEAL Healthy Cities program, approve applying for the designation, move for- ward and apply for a grant. We suggest the Keizer Parks and Recreation Ad- visory Board, the council and the Public Works de- partment work on exercise kiosks erected around city parks. Exercise kiosks are informational signs that have illustra- tions of how to do specifi c exercises for runners, walkers, specifi c ages. They can also include information about heart rates, pulse numbers and general information. These types of kiosks are found in public spaces all around the nation. It is not just signs; many cities incorporate equipment made from natural materials such as logs. The equipment is used for leg work, bal- ancing, push-ups, any number of ex- ercises a runner or walker may do. Our former First Lady led the “Let’s Go!” fi tness campaign. Let’s go, City of Keizer. Let’s take the free money (even if it must be matched, half of it is still free) and be as healthy as we dare to be. —LAZ editorial Some good bills, some not so good The past three weeks in the Or- egon legislature have been fascinat- ing. In my second term as your state representative, I should never be sur- prised by some proposed bills, but I still am. For instance, in recent days there have been bills to: make mari- onberry pie the offi cial pie of Or- from the egon; change the words of our state capitol song, Oregon, My Oregon; a tax on Rep. coffee and a tax on cars over 20 years BILL POST old; an offi cial dog of Oregon; a ‘no dogs on lap while driving’ bill and many others. Both parties are guilty of some pretty “frivolous” bills. Just because a legislator can write a bill doesn’t mean they have to. The cost to the taxpayers is enormous for each one and that’s why I’ve said from day one “I’m not going to do that.” I have in- troduced seven good ideas that either reduce or remove bad laws or bring about more freedom for Oregonians. You can see all of them at my legisla- tive website: oregonlegislature.gov/post. There has been some misinforma- tion about some of the bills, though. For example, House Bill 2365 calls for a task force to study the transfer of federal lands to Oregon. I am a chief sponsor of that bill because I believe a task force is a good idea. Let’s study this issue since so many in Oregon on either side of the fence, are interested in it. I am not calling for the transfer of lands, just a study. Meanwhile the serious work that needs to be done in the Capitol is fi nding a way to balance a budget while not raising taxes or cutting edu- cation, health care or public safety. I am very interested in what will come in the next few weeks and months. At this time there are at least 30 or more tax bills that I know of. Orego- nians spoke loud and clear (they voted 59 per- cent-41 percent against Measure 97), yet the son of Measure 97 is one of the bills intro- duced. It must be noted that Or- egon’s revenue has increased by over 30 percent in the past three biennium (2011-2017), yet we are told there is a “shortfall” in the budget. I am fully aware that infl ation is a reality but state government must learn to live within its means. We cannot continue to spend at the same rates as we have been doing for the last several years. Lastly, I continue to fi ght the dreaded “emergency clause” that is on so many bills (meaning the bill would not allow for a ballot measure). It’s still a big problem as well as is the fairly new tactic of introducing “committee bills” with no name attached. I am in favor of open and transparent govern- ment and have called on my fellow legislators to think along those lines. Thank you for allowing me to serve you in the Oregon legislature. Please stop by and say “hello” some time. Food bank thanks Keizer dollar we receive, we can buy three dollars’ worth of food. Core foods that we like to keep on our pantry shelves that offer basic nutrition are peanut butter, tuna fi sh, macaro- ni and cheese, pasta, pasta sauce, canned fruits and vegetables, soups and cold cereal. Donation barrels can be found at Uptown Music and Tony’s Kingdom of Comics. For more information call Curt at 503-871-9100. Curt McCormack, director Keizer Community Food Bank (Bill Post represents House Dis- trict 25. He can be reached at 503- 986-1425 or via email at rep.bill- post@state.or.us.) letters To the Editor: On behalf of the Keizer Community Food Bank I want to thank the Keizer community for their con- tinued support of the food bank dur- ing the 2016 year. Special thanks to Uptown Music, Tony’s Kingdom of Comics, Keizer Elks (both men and ladies), Habitat for Humanity Recycle Store, Safe- way, 7-11, and you, the community. We are continually grateful for the ongoing support of our food minis- try program. In most cases, for every Keizertimes Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGING 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 America’s sacred fi re must not be doused By MICHAEL GERSON “Well, I preach the Church with- out Christ,” says a vivid Flannery O’Connor character named Hazel Motes. “I’m member and preacher to that church where the blind don’t see and the lame don’t walk and what’s dead stays that way.” At the heart of Donald Trump’s public rhetoric is a similar emptiness. He is a president who preaches America with- out exceptionalism. He is the leader of the free world who seldom mentions free- dom. He belongs to a politi- cal faith in which America’s political miracle is only for us, and dissidents and demo- cratic activists are on their own, and those who are oppressed stay that way. Trump’s rhetorical rejection of in- ternationalism is an aberration from America’s bipartisan, post-World War II foreign policy consensus. It is also a culmination of recent trends. During the Barack Obama years, America retreated from internation- alism in practice. At fi rst, this may have been a reaction against George W. Bush’s foreign policy. But Obama’s tendency became a habit, and the hab- it hardened into a conviction. He put consistent emphasis on the risks of ac- tion and the limits of American power. In the revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, following the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, as Russian in- fl uence returned to the Middle East, America inaction was taken as accom- modation. “The fear of making things worse has paralyzed the United States from trying to make things better,” said Russian dissident Garry Kasparov in recent congressional testimony. This geostrategic retreat is con- sistent with a broader political trend. Summarizing recent survey data, re- searchers Roberto Stefan Foa and Yascha Mounk conclude: “Citizens in a number of supposedly consolidated democracies in North America and Western Europe have not only grown more critical of their political leaders. Rather, they have also be- come more cynical about the value of democracy as a political system, less hopeful that anything they do might infl uence public policy, and more willing to express support for authori- tarian alternatives.” This is a sobering development —the deconsolidation of support for liberal democracy itself. Both America and Europe are seeing the rise of lead- ers who have chosen to ride this trend rather than buck it. Trump’s version of strongman democracy and his aban- donment of the language of liberal democracy are only imaginable in this environment. This shift has outward-facing con- sequences. Dissidents and democratic activists—often driven by a stubborn, defi ant passion—are not going to give up because America loses its ideo- logical nerve. But regimes tempted to crack down on them have greater confi dence in impunity. America is now less likely to criticize their “way of life,” even when these regimes evan- gelize with the gallows. This shift also has inward-facing other views consequences. A nation that ceases to speak for human rights may become less confi dent in civil rights. This type of relativism—this neutrality between freedom and authoritarianism—is eas- ily imported across the border. But we are not there yet. And the Trump administration itself is divided on these matters. Stephen Bannon cer- tainly has the president’s ear and con- trol of the speechwriting shop, which is strategic high ground. His ethno- nationalists are anxious to get a run- ning start on the road that would take America toward dishonor and failure. But the Defense and State Depart- ments are headed by committed inter- nationalists who understand that the growth of freedom and the spread of prosperity are essential to long-term global stability and American security. The tools of internationalism—a strong military, strong alliances, strong international institutions, strong sup- port for global development and de- mocracy promotion—have a consid- erable cost. “Such investment,” said Kasparov, “is far more moral and far cheaper than the cycle of terror, war, refugees and military intervention that results when America leaves a vacuum of power.” In assuming this calling of leader- ship, it is not ethnicity that grips the American imagination and justifi es sacrifi ce; it is the animating ideals of the country. And it is a national ad- vantage that our deepest beliefs are in accord with the durable hopes of hu- manity. We will not fi nd security, only dark- ness, by dousing America’s sacred fi re. (Washington Post Writers Group) One agreement is fi rst step to a functioning country February 20 was President’s Day. On this day in 1792 the Postal Ser- vice Act was signed into law by George Washington. It was felt that a universal and affordable delivery ser- vice would help to include everyone in participatory democracy. Universal delivery was mandated with the specifi c idea of all citizens having equal access to news and in- formation regardless of income level. Getting information about current affairs through the US Postal Service seems quaint in the smartphone age but the idea of everyone sharing in the cost of having an informed citizenry seems more important than ever. My thirty years in the postal service made me believe it is a microcosm of America. Postal em- ployees are mainly a hard-working, decent bunch of men and women trying to provide timely and accurate service. There are conservatives and liberals. There are religious beliefs of every stripe and some without. There are lots of outstanding employees and some that drain on the performance. There are cheerful employees and crabby. All that is set aside toward the common cause of getting the mail delivered. The recent presidential elec- tion showed all that we, as a nation, have lost in sharing a common cause. Though we have been willing to form up sides and despise each other I doubt there is much difference in what a “liberal” and a “conservative” want for their families and future. What is it that has put us at each oth- er’s throats? First and most important is the realization that Congress has aban- doned us. Since we’ve let stand the idea that money is free speech it is money that is heard in Washington, DC, not speech. If money is speech then without money you are speech- less. If Congress is infl uenced by the voices with money then legislation will always be crafted to protect and increase wealth of the one percent. President Trump was elected as angry reaction to the abandonment of middle class America by Congress. Hillary Clinton was rightly perceived as ensuring more of the same. There is no explanation for voters’ belief that a bil- lionaire would somehow be the champion of the working man. The ap- pointment of a full deck of Wall Street tycoons and billionaires to Cabi- net positions does not bode well for increasing the fortunes of working class America. During the course of the recent election it seemed like wishful think- ing that simply choosing the right president could fi x things. The Presi- a box of soap dent has a lot of infl uence but it is Congress that has brought consensus government to a grinding halt in fe- alty to their largest donors. The Pres- ident can bluster and name names but legislators seem unaffected as long as campaign donations keep rolling in. It’s hard to see how we might regain the attention of our legisla- tors short of storming the walls with pitchforks and torches. As long as we are paralyzed by our divisions so will Congress be. Are there some things that we all agree would make Amer- ica remain great? We’ll never know unless we talk to each other as equal partners. That is the defi nition of par- ticipatory democracy. That means we must trust a shared source of infor- mation. That is no longer delivered by the Postal Service. There is no longer a universally trusted source of national news. That is pulling us apart. (Don Vowell gets on his soapbox regularly in the Keizertimes.)
