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FEBRUARY 22, 2019, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 Opinion The ‘fakes fi rst’ media By L. BRENT BOZELL III AND TIM GRAHAM The left would expect mere mortals to under- stand that as opposed to them, the left rises above the rumormon- gering and misinfor- mation of social me- dia. As with so much else regarding the left, that’s nonsense. It cuts, pastes and amplifi es the unsubstantiated ar- dor of liberal Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at will—if it advances the narrative. See the case of Jussie Smollett, actor/singer in the Fox hip-hop drama Empire. Smollett’s “MAGA country” hate-crime hoax is just the latest example. Coming on the heels of the smears of Covington Catholic High School MAGA hat-wearing teens, we must conclude the left is too blind, or too stupid, or maybe just doesn’t give a hoot. Nothing says “viral” like a black gay celebrity claiming he was beaten by Trump- ster thugs. For two weeks, the left went nuts. Celebrities took to the celebrity talk shows, politicians to the political talk shows and the “news” media to the “news” me- dia to denounce racist conserva- tive Trump World. Now the actor’s “modern-day lynching” narrative, as Sen. Cory Booker declared it, has imploded. As we’ve come to ex- pect, the arrogant defenders of the “high-quality news organizations” are once again refusing to take re- sponsibility for the gasoline they tossed on the fi re. See Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter of the so-called “Facts First” network. He claimed, “ultimately, this is not about the media, or about politicians or activists, or any other people that might have been fooled. It’s about Jussie.” Translation: It’s all about the fooler ... not the fools. Later, in his email newsletter, Stelter asked: “Was it newsworthy when the police opened an inves- tigation into Smollett’s accusation? Yes. Did high-quality news organi- zations approach the case with cau- tion? Yes.” This is pure nonsense, and Stel- ter knows it. The national media jumped into the allegations like children jump into a mud puddle. Only ABC, CBS and NBC have devoted 157 morning and eve- ning minutes to the Smollett fraud. Some of these stories call the fraud “alleged.” Some didn’t even bother. Compare. Two years ago in that same city, there was another attack. Four black thugs bound and gagged an innocent, defenseless 18-year-old mentally disabled white man. He was beaten, kicked, made to drink from a toilet bowl and bloodied from cuts to his scalp. The sus- pects laughed at him and shouted, “F--- Trump” and “F--- white people.” The entire attack was captured on video—and streamed live on Facebook. They were ar- rested; he went into the emergency room. “If it bleeds, it leads”? Not on your life, not something like this. The networks gave the story and all its gore a whopping 27 seconds that night. Smollett’s story collapsed short- ly after ABC’s Robin Roberts gave him an embarrassingly supportive interview. Call the show “Good Fawning America.” Roberts did not approach with “caution.” She chose not to use the word “alleged.” It was true because he said so, and she wanted to believe him because she believes this is what Trump sup- porters do. She asked, “What do feel people need to hear the most from this story?” Smollett said, “just the truth.” Her most ridiculous ques- tion was this: “If the attackers are never found, how will you be able to heal?” Oh, he knew the attackers. Very well. Kudos to Michelle Malkin, who called out the media early for not asking these obvious questions: How many racist homophobes wander around an upscale neigh- borhood of liberal Chicago at 2 a.m. carrying rope and bleach and yelling about “MAGA country”? How many racist homophobes have heard of “Empire” and could recognize Jussie Smollett from his gay character on the show? Red fl ags were visible every- where, including the fact that the Chicago police told Malkin they initially hadn’t heard the “MAGA country” claims. Early claims that Smollett had broken ribs were false. President Trump, no doubt ad- vised not to mutter “fake news” about the story, called the story “horrible.” But in the end, it un- derlined why so many conserva- tives feel the “news” business isn’t defi ned by the maxim “Facts First.” It’s “Fakes First.” I-5 Crossing at Columbia River have been bought by two different investor groups from Califor- nia. All of us have been seething over the rent increases in the last sev- eral years. Over the last three years our space rent has been increased a to- tal of $150 a month over an already high space rent. What’s worse is water and trash used to be includ- ed and now none are. The rent is at least $220 a month above the two highest parks in the area. Af- ter researching, I found that the two highest parks are also owned by the same group of investors. Some of the residents in this park are 85 to 90 years old and most are on Social Security fi xed income. The tenants here own their own homes and many thought they could live out their days with minimal space rent increases in a senior park. Several of us are trying to sell our homes and the space rent is so high that homes are sitting on the market for months. As soon as prospective buyers hear what the monthly space rent is, they walk. If we can’t pay the high rent and can’t sell, what are we to do? Is their intent for us to just leave and then take our homes? Something has to be done through our state legislators to put a ceiling on rent increases in man- ufactured home parks, as well as apartments and other rentals, with a lower cap on senior rentals who are mostly on fi xed incomes. We are all captives and are like sitting ducks. Let’s get the word out, appeal to our legislators, lobby for this cause and fi x this atrocity. It has now gone beyond a problem. It is become inhumane and should be considered crimi- nal. Sure, if this would cause a hard- ship, a senior could fi le for Medicaid with the state, but how long would that take and should our state pay, once again, while the greedy fat- cats get richer on our backs? Help people. Let’s do something! Debra Martinez Keizer guost opinion (Croators Syndicato) lottors To the Editor: Presently, there isn’t enough money available to replace the aging I-5 bridge in the manner currently envi- sioned. But there still might be a way to build the badly needed replace- ment by constructing a new crossing in stages. Phase one: Build a northbound span. Include an emergency access lane. Phase two: Open the new north- bound span and convert the exist- ing steel bridge to southbound only traffi c. This change will immediate- ly cut the traffi c fl ow over the old bridge by one half which will greatly extend the life of the bridge. Provide for emergency access. Phase three: Construct a new southbound span when future fund- ing becomes available. Include an emergency access lane. Phase four: In time, dismantle and remove the existing and worn steel bridge. Or adapt it to accommodate light rail to create an experimental light rail link between Portland and Vancouver. By building the new crossing in stages it may be easier to align ex- isting and new roadways and lanes which will minimize the need for right-of-way purchases. Designers and planners will argue that there is no project engineering economy by having to mobilize for construction more than once and in an ideal situation this would be cor- rect. But realistically, there may be no alternative to constructing the project in phases. There simply isn’t enough money available to build a complete replacement all in one step. Jim Parr Keizer Senior park rents out of control To the Editor: Well, they’ve done it this time. This mobile park and many others The emergency? Triviality of politics By E.J. DIONNE When House Speaker Nancy Pelo- si learned that President Trump would declare a national emergency to shift around money to fi nance his border wall, her denunciation was predictable. But her way of expressing outrage was not. The issue she used to make her point was important on many levels. Observing the “un- ease” even among many Republicans over Trump’s abuse of his power, she noted that “if the president can declare an emergen- cy on something that he has created as an emergency—an illusion that he wants to convey— just think of what a president with different values can present to the American people.” And then she recalled the slaughter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, 2018, when 14 students and three staff members were gunned down. “You want to talk about a national emergency?” Pelosi asked. “Let’s talk about today, the one-year anniver- sary of another manifestation of the epidemic of gun violence in Ameri- ca. That’s a national emergency. Why don’t you declare that emergency, Mr. President? I wish you would.” Our nation’s deadly permissiveness toward fi rearms was very much on Pelosi’s mind because the House Ju- diciary Committee had voted 21-to- 14 the night before to send a bill re- quiring background checks for all gun sales and most gun transactions to the House fl oor. It was the fi rst serious vote on a gun-reform measure since 2013, when the Senate fell six votes short of the 60 needed to advance a back- ground-checks bill proposed by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pat Toom- ey, R-Pa. It was also the most signif- icant gun-sanity measure to move though the House Judiciary Commit- tee since 1993. Yet as important as this step was, it received scant media notice. The drowning out of news that mattered tells us a great deal about our political moment. It also un- derscores the challenge con- fronting those speaking for the vast majority of Ameri- cans who want action in the face of what Pelosi was right to call a national emergency on gun violence. In counting the many costs of the Trump era, we focus too rarely on the president’s success in pushing divisive trivialities and self-interested contriv- ances to the center of national con- cern. He manufactures crises, and then uses his manufactured crises to create new ones. There is no crisis at our nation’s border. To the extent that there are border problems, his wall would do little or nothing to set things right. And Congress’ decision not to fi nance Trump’s monstrous waste of money in no way justifi es his seizing of national emergency powers. His vast overreach really does create a crisis, which dom- inates the news and shoves aside all other concerns. But it is all part of the Triviality Feedback Loop that is the Trump presidency. In the meantime, problems that should engage our energy are forced to the back of the queue of public at- tention. The normal constitutional ap- proaches to governing -- bills passed through committees, compromises reached in conferences involving both parties and both houses of Congress -- othor voicos are no longer respected. And no matter how much jour- nalists investigate and expose Trump’s misconduct (we should be grateful for this), his I’m-The-Only-One-Who- Matters approach to politics fi ts well with the needs of modern media, both social and traditional. Clicks and page views and ratings encourage everyone to dwell on individuals more than on issues. This aggravates a profound pre-ex- isting cynicism about the possibilities of political action. And defeatism is especially damaging when it comes to guns. For decades, as one massacre cas- caded into another, the gun lobby beat back even the most modest ef- forts to control access to fi rearms. The sense of doom about any progress is so deep that it obscures overwhelm- ing evidence that the politics of guns has changed. Even the most moderate Democrats made opposition to the gun lobby a key component of their campaigns in 2018 -- and in district after district, they prevailed. These victories led directly to last week’s Judiciary Committee vote. Or- ganizing worked. Elections mattered. Public sentiment prevailed. Democra- cy made a difference. This is why what happened in the House last week on guns deserved far more coverage than it got, and why Pelosi was right to use Trump’s pho- ny emergency to highlight a real one. The only cure for political cynicism is to show that the steady and painstak- ing work of grassroots action can bear fruit. And the only alternative to a pol- itics of spectacle is for elective offi cials and the media to lift up problems that actually need solving. (Washington Post Writors Group) Speaking lies and untruths in D.C. One of the earliest life lessons I learned was that, if fear and self-loath- ing were to be avoided, it was best to tell the truth the fi rst time any delicate subject was broached. The matter of not telling the truth, however, seems to be frequent in far too many hu- man exchanges nowadays: Its presence for example has become an annoying condition of the president of the United States—his lies, half truths and down- right fabrications too of- ten in abundance. Take the recently de- clared national emergen- cy at the southern U.S. border by President Trump. While an- nouncing it, he commented that the rapid construction of a wall was not necessary, simply his preference. What? Trump said, “I’ve built a lot of wall. I have a lot of money, and I’ve built a lot of wall.” Facts disclose he’s built no new walls. Any wall construction to date has simply replaced existing walls, fences and any other barriers. Addi- tional construction will get underway soon. It will entail 14 miles of fencing in Texas along the Rio Grande River but results from money approved by Congress a year ago. Trump said, “There’s rarely been a problem (with declaring a national emergency) presidents sign it; nobody cares. And many of those are far less important than having a border.” Facts disclose that previous national emer- gencies were mostly inconsequential and did not involve a former president overriding the Congress with its pow- er over spending. The previous four presidents used the national emergen- cy to deal with overseas crises that de- nied terrorists access to federal funds and nations abusing human rights. Trump said, “The big drug loads don’t go through ports of entry. When you listen to politicians—cer- tain Democrats—they say it all comes through the Port of En- try. It’s wrong. It’s just a lie.” Facts disclose that the Trump administration it- self says illicit drugs come mainly through ports of entry. The U.S. Drug En- forcement Administration reported last year that the most common technique by criminal organizations is hiding drugs in passenger and trac- tor-trailer vehicles driven into the U.S. at border crossings. These and other means are not stopped by any form of border wall. Trump said, “Take a look at our federal prison population. See how many of them, percentage-wise, are illegal aliens. Just see. Go ahead and see.” Facts disclosed by Bureau of Jus- tice statistics report that the majority of foreigners being held for immigra- tion violations did not commit violent gono mcintyro or property crimes. What about other false claims by President Trump. Well, in the last seven days alone, truth checkers report that he made false claims 25 times. His false claims record since sworn into offi ce as president add-up to 4,350 ex- amples. On the subject of Trump’s na- tional emergency: 30 percent approve, 70 percent disapprove. It is diffi cult to relate to or under- stand why President Trump fi nds it so diffi cult, if not impossible, to address matters of national importance with- out lying about them. What happened to him that resulted in an inability to be anything other than mendacious. Was he never given “time out” as a child, never confronted by other per- sons who threatened with a “knock it off!” His ego-fi rst and country last not only subverts the Constitution’s prin- ciples and design but sabatogues our democracy and the best of our values. (Gono H. McIntyro sharos his opin- ion froquontly in tho Koizortimos.) Share your opinion Submit a letter to the editor, or a guest column by noon Tuesday. Email to: publisher@keizertimes.com Keizertimes Whoatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chomawa Road N. • Koizor, Orogon 97303 phono: 503.390.1051 • wob: www.koizortimos.com • omail: kt@koizortimos.com Lyndon A. 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