PAGE A16, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 25, 2022
PUBLIC SQUARE welcomes all points of view. Published submissions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Keizertimes
Rally can't be stopped
The Reawaken America Tour, sched-
uled to be held at Volcanoes Stadium in
early April has caused an uproar in some
quarters of Keizer. An hour of this week’s
city council meeting was taken up by cit-
izens addressing either their support or
opposition to the gathering.
Scheduled to come to Keizer are for-
mer Trump National Security Advisor
Mike Flynn and Mr. My Pillow himself,
MIke Lindell.
The tour was relocated to Keizer after
the city of Redmond denied the use of
their exposition center. The denial in
Redmond had nothing to do with con-
tent, message or personalities, it was
because organizers said they would not
adhere to mask mandates then in place.
Some were asking why the city of
Keizer was allowing the group to hold
a rally, on city property, no less.The
city has no say in what happens or who
comes to the stadium.
Due to a waiver implemented at the
time of its creation, the owners of the sta-
dium are not required to get permits for
events other than baseball games. The
stadium is private property, leased from
the city.
Editorial
City leaders follow Oregon’s free
speech laws, which are quite muscular.
The city couldn’t stop the Reawaken
America Tour even if they wanted to.
Some of those speaking before the
council cited their concerns about vio-
lence. The Keizer Police Department is
not expecting clashes outside the gates
of the stadium, but as Chief John Teague
said, the police will respond if needed.
As former city councilor Brandon
Smith said in his remarks before the
council, “This is a great country, where
people can express their opinions.” Yes,
and that’s a reality that gets lost in too
often in our current political climate.
Everyone has the right of free speech.
Everyone also has the right not to go to
a gathering whose message they dis-
agree with. Don’t like the message of the
Reawaken America Tour? Then don’t go.
— LAZ
Who pays?
To the Editor:
Russia is destroying the infrastructure
and human habitat of Ukraine as well as
polluting the countryside, the streams
and soil. It will all have to be cleaned
up and rebuilt. The cost to do so will be
enormous.
Hopefully, someone is keeping a list
of the inflicted damage. Send the repair
bill to Vlad Putin. Let him pay for the
restoration.
Jim Parr
Keizer
Rally in Keizer
To the Editor:
Sadly, there will be no carnival rides at
KeizerFEST in August. Thrill shows are
all booked.
But, not to worry, stomach churn-
ing excitement is coming to town even
sooner—in April.
Letters
The Q-Ship of Fools Conspiracy
Propaganda Big Lie Tour plays Volcanoes
Stadium on April 1 and 2. Fox faves
and Breitbart blabbers—live in Keizer.
Mike “The Turncoat” Flynn, Roger “The
Supremacist Fop” Stone, Mike “Pillow
Stuffing” Lindell, and more, all presented
by The River “Church."
The Too Cookoo for Redmond Expo
will surely cement Keizer’s spot as a
Mega MAGA-lopolis. $250 tickets, we’re
told, are selling like guns and ammo.
Expect longer than usual lines at In
And Out.
Martin Doerfler
Keizer
WHEATLAND PUBLISHING CORP.
142 Chemawa Road N, Keizer, Oregon 97303
Phone: 503.390.1051 • www.keizertimes.com
PUBLISHER
& EDITOR
Lyndon Zaitz
publisher@keizertimes.com
FOLLOW US
ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
NEW DIGITAL
SUBSCRIPTION PRICING:
$5 per month, $60 per year
PUBLISHED
EVERY FRIDAY
Publication No: USPS 679-430
YEARLY PRINT
SUBSCRIPTION PRICING:
$35 inside Marion County
$43 outside Marion County
$55 outside Oregon
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to:
Keizertimes Circulation
142 Chemawa Road N.
Keizer, OR 97303
Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon
Congress, take the lead
By MARC A. THIESSEN
The most important and overlooked
words in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s
address to Congress last week were:
“Members of Congress, please take the lead.”
Zelensky clearly understands where the
momentum is in Washington for helping
Ukraine—and it’s not at 1600 Pennsylvania
Ave. The fact is, at every step along the way
President Biden has been repeatedly pushed
into doing more for Ukraine thanks to bipar-
tisan pressure from Congress.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., points out
that Biden opposed a ban on Russian oil, but
then “we came out strong for an oil embargo.
Next thing you know, they backed off it and
then they did it their own through execu-
tive action.” The same was true for revoking
Russia’s “most favored nation” trade status.
“The administration pushed back on us and
said, ‘Don’t do it,’” Panetta says. Then bipar-
tisan legislation began gaining steam in
Congress, and “next thing you know, they
come out and say, ‘Oh no, we’re for removing
them.’”
On Wednesday, Biden announced a
new arms package for Ukraine, including
800 additional Stinger antiaircraft missiles,
2,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles, 1,000 light
anti-armor weapons, 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor
systems and 100 armed Switchblade drones.
The question is: What was Biden waiting
for? Ukrainians are fighting for their lives.
He could have delivered every element
of that package to Ukraine weeks ago and
saved countless innocent lives. But he didn’t
act until after Zelensky made his plea to
Congress.
On everything since the war began —
from sanctions to military support—it has
been Congress in the lead. Now Zelensky
is hoping that Congress can lead when it
comes to providing MiG fighter jets.
In his address, Zelensky invoked the ter-
rorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, “when evil tried
to turn your cities . . . [into] battlefields, when
innocent people were attacked, attacked
from air.” He then showed a heart-wrench-
ing video of the destruction Russia has
wreaked from the air over Ukraine—missiles
hitting high-rises, buildings in flames, dead
children, babies crying, bodies being pulled
from the rubble. It moved many to tears.
“Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into
a source of death for thousands of peo-
ple,” Zelensky said. “You know how much
depends on the battlefield on the ability to
use aircraft, powerful, strong . . . aviation to
protect our people, our freedom, our land.
. . . You know that they exist, and you have
them, but they are on earth, not . . . in the
Ukrainian sky . . . I need to protect our sky.”
How, in God’s name, can we deny him the
planes he says he needs to do so?
But the Biden administration continues
other
VOICES
to claim that Ukraine does not need the
MiG fighter jets. Well, if that is true, why is
Zelensky spending so much time and polit-
ical capital pressing for them? Why did he
make them a centerpiece of his address to
Congress? Why did he tell the Canadian
Parliament earlier this week: “Give us
planes, we tell our partners. They answer:
Soon. Be patient a little. Everyone is deeply
concerned. They just don’t want to.”
The administration says MiGs are
less effective, and more provocative, than
Stingers. That makes no sense. If they
are less effective, how can they be more
provocative? The fact is, Russian President
Vladimir Putin doesn’t want us to send
MiGs to Ukraine for a reason -- because, like
Zelensky, he knows they would help stop
Russia from destroying Ukrainian cities and
killing civilians.
“I cannot stress this enough,” Panetta
says, “They need to provide them with
those MiGs.” There is bipartisan support in
Congress to do so. On Sunday, the 58 mem-
bers of the Problem Solvers Caucus urged
Biden to facilitate the fighter jet deal.
Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Amy
Klobuchar,
D-Minn.;
and
Richard
Blumenthal, D-Conn., traveled to the Polish-
Ukrainian border last weekend. Afterward,
Blumenthal said Biden should provide
the planes. “Ukrainians can win a fair
fight on the ground. Right now, they have
encountered a reign of terror in the skies.”
Klobuchar agreed, saying “I’d like to see the
planes over there.”
On CNN’s State of the Union, Portman
said of the MiGs: “What we have heard
directly from the Ukrainians is they want
them badly. They want the ability to have
better control over the skies in order to give
them a fighting chance. So, I don’t under-
stand why we’re not doing it.”
The most likely reason is that Biden
seems more afraid of provoking Putin than
he is of letting Ukraine lose. He slow-walked
military aid, clearly not expecting the
Ukrainians to last this long. But now it looks
like they could not only survive but also pre-
vail. So, it’s time to stop worrying about what
Putin thinks and start giving the Ukrainians
everything they need to defeat him.
Just as they pushed Biden to impose the
oil embargo, revoke Russia’s trade status
and provide Ukraine with more weapons, it’s
up to Congress to make that happen.
(Washington Post)