NOVEMBER 16, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5
Opinion
What kind of Thanksgiving
will your household have?
By LYNDON ZAITZ
The holiday season kicks off next
week. Due to how the November
works this year Thanksgiving seems
very early though we
will celebrate on the
fourth Thursday of this
month.
I don’t lament stores
creating
Christmas
displays or rolling out
merchandise; I don’t
lament radio and in-
ternet stations playing
Christmas carols—if people wrote
good, catchy Thanksgiving songs,
we could hold off White Christmas
and We Three Kings for a few weeks.
We could be humming along to
songs with titles like Grandma’s
Coming to Dinner or I Smell Turkey
this week, but I guess Thanksgiving
doesn’t elicit the same creative juic-
es as Christmas.
Thanksgiving has morphed into
a strange holiday in America. It is a
holiday with one meal at its core.
We bake for days before, we rise
early to prepare a feast that will end
up as leftovers in the refrigerator for
many days after. We clean and dec-
orate our homes for the benefi t of
any guests we invite to dinner.
Many Americans decide they
must share themselves with more
than one home on the holiday.
Blended families can result in a stop
at one parent’s home (with their
spouse), a stop at the other parent’s
home (with their spouse) and per-
fects a few other stops. That’s quite
a progressive dinner.
Everyone has their favorite
Thanksgiving tradition or memory.
Who didn’t grow up with a kid’s
table at Thanksgiving at some point
in their life? In many homes get-
ting dressed in one’s Sunday best is
the tradition; other households opt
for a more casual come-as-you-are
mode. It is quite a sight to see chil-
dren, all spic-and-spanned, dressed
in their fi nest, waiting patiently for
a plate full of turkey and fi xings.
The best memory of Thanksgiv-
ing takes place mid-morning when
the aromas of the meal start wafting
from the kitchen: a turkey roasting,
pies baking, Brussel sprouts sim-
mering. The aroma of a Thanksgiv-
ing has to be right behind cinna-
mon rolls as man’s favorite scent.
There is the tradition of the sit-
ting down to the meal. A reveren-
tial saying of grace followed by the
obligatory sounding off of what
each person is grateful for. The an-
swers to that are as varied as the
people sitting around the table—
some are profound, some are ob-
vious. Whatever anyone is grateful
for is as viable as anyone else’s. It’s
too bad that we don’t nor-
mally think of what we’re
grateful for except on a
day dedicated to feasting.
Gratefulness is a trait that
should be encouraged all
year ‘round.
Me? I’m grateful for my
family. Mom and dad are
still traveling and enjoying
life. My Los Angeles brothers doing
well and are a ready source of in-
spiration and intellectural material.
My Oregon brother continues to
be a dynamo. My extended family
of nephews and nieces are a source
of familial pride, none fell far from
the Zaitz tree.
There has not been a true Zaitz
family Thanksgiving celebraton in
years, being spread out as we are and
involved with our lives, we mark
the day in our own way. When I
was younger I swore to myself that
I would never eat at a restarurant on
that day. My how things change as
one gets older. Opting for a restau-
rant for Thanksgiving makes so
much sense to me now—no cook-
ing, no dishes. What’s not to like?
Some of my favorite Thanksgiv-
ings were spent with friends. Those
dinners are memorable because the
dinners became a haven for friends
without family in the vicinity. The
camraderie was heartwarming.
It is a day of thanks that is marked
on a Thursday with rituals that sup-
posedly go back to the time of the
fi rst settlers in the new world. The
day is mixed up with tales of a meal
enhanced by the contributions of
the local natives.
It doesn’t matter how anyone
celebrates Thanksgiving, there is
not one right way to do it. Turkey
doesn’t even have to be the main
course. It is day about families get-
ting together in all their blend-
ed, colorful glory—screaming at a
football game on television, nap-
ping, gaming, cleaning up and for
some, being thankful they have Fri-
day off from work.
This week begins the six-week
holiday season. The people who
enjoy the holidays most are those
who embrace them with all their
absurdities, crassness, benevolence
and hope. That’s what I’m going to
do.
on
my
mind
(Lyndon Zaitz is publisher of the
Keizertimes.)
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Clash shows how polarized we are
By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
President Donald Trump and
CNN reporter Jim Acosta were
made for each other. Both are mas-
ters at kicking up outrage.
Acosta is a very likable guy, but
he rarely asks actual questions. In-
stead, he uses press conferences
and briefi ngs to argue with Trump
or press secretary Sarah
Sanders.
Acosta started his
non-question at Wednes-
day’s postelection press
conference in the East
Room by saying he
wanted to “challenge”
Trump.
“Here we go,” Trump
muttered.
Acosta then informed the pres-
ident that it was wrong to use the
word “invasion” to describe the mi-
grant caravan heading toward our
southern border. “You demonized
immigrants in this election,” Acosta
added.
It was the kind of moment
Trump relishes. He got to mix it
up with a CNN reporter whose
politics are unquestionably on
the left—which no doubt is why
Trump called on him. Every time
Acosta interrupted the president of
the United States, you just know
the GOP base seethed inwardly.
When Trump told Acosta to put
down the microphone, Acosta did
not comply. An intern tried to take
the mic from Acosta. She went into
his space; he resisted. A torrent of
outrage on Twitter was spawned.
Later, the White House yanked
Acosta’s White House press pass.
The White House, Sanders said in a
statement, will “never tolerate a re-
porter placing his hands on a young
woman just trying to do her job as
a White House intern.”
Sanders also tweeted a
video apparently edited
by the right-wing con-
spiracy website Infowars
to back the claim that
Acosta placed his hands
on the intern.
On the left, there was
outrage at the White
House for manufacturing
an excuse to punish Acosta. On the
right, partisans fumed that Acosta
used a karate chop on the intern.
The
whole
episode
showed how polarized American
partisans have become. It was a
quick collision. Nobody was hurt.
Yet people were fuming.
In 2018, the best way to get
ahead is to be a victim.
Trump keeps mixing it up with
reporters who wear their liberal
politics on their sleeves precisely
because he wants to don the mantle
of victimhood.
For his part, Acosta has increased
his visibility by sparring with Sand-
ers and Trump. The more the White
House tries to check him the
brighter the CNN star shines.
When the White House Corre-
other
voices
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The wrong way to operate a university
“Wrong way Corrigan” stories
stir the imagination. Douglas Cor-
rigan was so nicknamed in 1938
after he fl ew from Long Beach, Cal-
ifornia to New York City. But then,
although his fl ight plan was a return
trip, he fl ew instead to Ireland.
Remembering Corrigan’s sto-
ry was inspired by news out of the
University of Oregon where
the Board of Trustees an-
nounced an increase to Pres-
ident Michael Schill’s annual
salary of $60,000—on top
of his $720,000 base- along
with a three-year retention
bonus of $200,000 and an-
nual performance bonus of
$200,000. His housing and
car are free while he enjoys a sizable
staff to act on his university duties
and responsibilities.
So, what’s “wrong way” about
this news? The way his salary was
determined and bonus, too, was
likely based on fi ndings by Schill’s
own staff, not by a recognized re-
search business with reputation for
integrity. The fact is UO ranks at
#102 among other U.S. universities;
hence, that President Schill’s sala-
ry and bonuses must rise to a level
equal with the highest-ranked in
America is bogus.
The University of Oregon is a
public-owned university, supported
in large measure by the taxpayers
of Oregon. However, the people
of Oregon have no control over
it. The 14-members of the Board
of Trustees are appointed by Ore-
gon’s governor: the Trustees advise
the UO president who actually tells
them what to do while regularly he
wines and dines them. This makes
the governance of UO a political
enterprise and a sham. Research
fi nds about half the Trustees are
wealthy, meaning $60,000 is prob-
ably “peanuts” to them. The others,
about half work directly or indirect-
ly for UO.
What reasons justify big taxpay-
er dollars to the UO offi ce of the
president? A UO write-up on rea-
sons for Schill’s salary inform us
that he provides “incredible leader-
ship” while the Board of Trustees is
“thrilled with the vision, enthusiasm
and stability he (Schill) has brought
to the University.” This writer is an
avid reader of Oregon media: Not
one word about Michael Schill’s
contributions
to
UO or to the peo-
ple of the state of
Oregon is known.
The per annual
median household
income in Oregon
is less than $60,000,
meaning education
beyond high school
is unaffordable unless one is will-
ing to incur debt and, depending
on a student’s area of study, possible
unemployment upon graduation.
Meanwhile, interviews with degree
holders fi nds them reporting that
their university education had no
impact on their careers, except to
secure interviews. What’s become
most important to graduates is their
acquired written and oral commu-
nication and critical thinking skills.
In other words, skills that could be
learned without going to an ev-
er-increasingly expensive university.
gene
h.
mcintyre
Keizertimes
spondents’ Association protests—as
it had to do when the administra-
tion pulled Acosta’s credentials—
the Trump base translates that pro-
test into the belief that the White
House press corps is monolithic
and anti-Trump.
In 2012, when reporter Neil
Munro of the right-leaning Dai-
ly Caller, shouted out a question
to President Barack Obama as he
spoke in the Rose Garden, Politico
reported the episode as a “surpris-
ing breach of etiquette” in which a
reporter heckled the president.
Reporters just didn’t treat
Obama that way. On the oth-
er hand, Obama generally treated
the press with respect, unless they
worked for Fox News.
That’s no defense of the White
House’s decision to pull Acosta’s
pass.
As someone who covers this
White House, I know that Trump
often rewards reporters who shout
questions with long answers. This
sudden umbrage at Acosta is too
arbitrary. Methinks Trump picked a
fi ght with the CNN reporter be-
cause the GOP lost the House and
Trump wanted to lash out.
But if this stunt works this time,
it will be used again—perhaps to
punish someone for asking incon-
venient questions. And if Trump
can do it, the next president can do
it, too.
Modern day universities are
anachronistic, including the UO.
The university in America was a
place for scholars; however, since it
was popularized and everyone ex-
pected to attend, hardly anyone goes
now for that purpose. Instead, they
go to become a “professional” and
thereby secure a high-paying job.
It’s argued that a general education
could be satisfi ed by high school
daily attendance, going to class and
committing time to studies.
Those Oregon youth and young
adults who want to learn how to
do something to earn a middle class
income and embrace the American
dream should enroll in one of the
state’s community colleges. The
few who seek a profession will like-
ly fi nd a university appropriate but
one that’s relevant-to-our-time-
and-challenges-enough to make the
time and cost pay off in graduate
pursuits such as medicine and law.
The “wrong way” is too often gob-
bling up the available dollars which
now too often go to support the
president’s offi ce, its Board of Trust-
ees, and athletic fi eld glories.
(Gene H. McIntyre shares his
opinion frequently in the Keizer-
times.)