APRIL 9, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A9
It ain't over 'til it's over
More than 100 million Americans
have now received at least one dose of
a COVID vaccine—2 million in Oregon
Editorial
alone. Regardless of vaccination lev-
els and a decrease of infection rates in
some states, the picture is not all rosy.
Multnomah, Clackamas and four other
Oregon counties were shifted back to
the High Risk category. On top of that,
infection rates for COVID variations are
increasing through six states.
Warmer weather and positive news
about vaccination rates can make the
public believe the worst of the pan-
demic is over. Yet, there were more than
30 more COVID-19 related deaths in
Oregon on Tuesday this week.
Wishing COVID away will not make
it so. The coronavirus that causes
COVID is still as infectious and virulent
as ever. The variants and mutations add
a frighening element to the pandemic
we all hoped was getting under control.
We all want our favorite attractions
to open. We all want to attend music and
sporting events again. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention updates
restrictions weekly—we must remember
that as research continues, new informa-
tion begets new rules.
Every person over 16 years of age will
be able to get a vaccine later this month.
The CDC reports that if a person is fully
vaccinated there are many things they
are to do, but it warns that precautions
still need to be taken. Masks should not
be discarded even if one has been vac-
cinated. Social distance is still the order
of the day..
We think everyone should make an
appointment to be vaccinated. COVID is
still a matter of life and death. Everyone
needs to protect themselves and others.
COVID-19 is not gone. The pandemic
won't over until it's over and an "All
Clear" has been issued.
—LAZ
Cancel the culture
By ROBERT L. BECKNER
Who is the cancel culture ? Whoever
these “elites” are — they are forcing their
agendas, values, ideas, beliefs on the
basic fabric of American culture. They
are attacking history, language, statues,
founding fathers, anthems, the flag, books,
mascots, Title IX, law and order, right and
wrong, male, female, gender roles, cartoon
characters, toys and on and on with no end
in their sights. Everything is open and fair
game for cancellations with more on the
way.
One of the latest cancels is, breast milk.
Okay, cow’s milk, goat milk, camel milk,
whale milk—milk is milk, it all comes from
mammary glands on mammals. So, what
should human milk now be called? Man’s
milk — ouch ! Don’t think so. These cancel-
ers must have flunked Biology 101 let alone
have any real world experiences or com-
mon sense. All these cancellations have
commonalities: everything old as well
as history is bad, intolerance of diverse
values, lack of respect for others, lack of
common sense, and distractions from real
American social issues or problems.
No matter the history — good, bad, or
ugly — it can’t be changed — don’t spin it,
rewrite it or cancel it. History is history,
deal with it, then learn and grow from it.
Canceling just means man just falls back
into the same old pitfalls and mistakes of
humans. Oops, that’s history.
Cancel culture seems to be the current
Guest
COLUMN
“in thing." The current cool, fashionable
fad, the vogue. If given their way, they will
rewrite everything, all must “think” like
them. 'Group think,' like sheep — no think-
ing for yourself. Sink holes, quick sand,
under tows, whirlpools take us down- not
good paths to be in or follow. That’s where
America is headed. The so called “know-
it-all elites," the cancel culture will soon
cancel even themselves out.
Common sense and life-wise peo-
ple must speak up and speak out, oth-
erwise cancel culture will continue to
cancel American culture. Values, truths,
traditions, freedoms and beliefs that built
America. Soon, if not already, they will
even cancel God. Many cancel culturists
have never opened the Bible's Book of
Proverbs- the Wisdom book. I dare the
“elites” to study Proverbs.
Americans wake up. Now is not the
time to be silent. Rise up, speak up, speak
out to “cancel” the cancel culture. If not
they will destroy America’s history and
destiny. After all we’re all Amer-I CANS,
because we as American’s CAN!
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There is more agreement
than not in legislature
House Republicans are currently slow-
ing down the Oregon Legislature which
is trying to rush passing more than 4,000
wide-ranging bills in a pandemic ses-
sion. I felt it was important to explain the
reasoning behind this while addressing
some of the concerns that the media por-
trays as well as the concerns from my col-
leagues in the House Democrat caucus.
I believe we are all familiar now with
the difference between the Constitutional
requirement to “read the bills” in their
entirety and the traditional “waiving” or
“suspending the rule” on reading. What
may not be known is the “why” behind
the reading of the bills or the suspension
of the rules.
While most bills will have bipartisan
consensus like the budget, there are still
about 10% of the proposals that are par-
tisan, and I believe could make life far
worse for Oregonians. This bipartisan-
ship is something Oregonians can be
proud of but unfortunately the media
does not often report on this important
fact. The media constantly reports on the
10% or so of the bills that are controver-
sial. When one party is in a majority or
even more a supermajority, those 10% can
be very contentious. I am asked often by
my colleagues from across the aisle why
we won’t suspend the rules when what
we are currently voting on is not contro-
versial. It is precisely the 10% that creates
the need for a way to “slow down the pro-
cess”. The statement is often made “this
is the will of Oregon voters, they put us
in the majority”. That may be true, but
let’s turn the tables for a moment…
What if Republicans were back in
control of the House? I would assume
the minority party would do everything
in their power to stop what they would
consider to be extreme, partisan legis-
lation, including the reading of the bills
and even the nuclear option: walk out,
which they’ve used before.
This past year has been a tough one
for Oregonians. They need a unified
Legislature to provide them with imme-
diate help on the most pressing issues
they’re facing. That’s what Republicans
are calling for, and that’s why we will use
every legislative tool at our disposal to
encourage this kind of bipartisan con-
sensus on relief measures.
FROM
THE
Capitol
By BILL POST
No legislator was elected to this posi-
tion based on that 10% of the bills. No
legislator, when campaigning, really pro-
posed any of the 10% controversial bills.
We each were elected because we were
able to connect with the voters who chose
us because we represented their values
better than our opponents. I believe it
was because of the 90% of legislation that
passes out of this chamber. I would hope
that, especially in a pandemic session,
we all would keep our eye on the prize
of helping to heal Oregon, not promote
divisive legislation promoted by special
interest groups that is not important to
the vast majority of Oregonians who
only believe and desire that we should all
work together to help our state.
(Bill Post represents House District
25. He can be reached at 503-986- 1425
or via email at rep.billpost@oregon-
legislature.gov.)
(Robert L. Becker lives in Gervais.)
K EIZER times
PUBLISHER
& EDITOR
Lyndon Zaitz
publisher@keizertimes.com
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