THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015
Nasty drone policy
W
hen Hamas sends a
rocket into an Israe-
li city, it’s labeled terror-
ism and “deplored” by all.
When President Obama or-
ders team CIA to take out
a target, it’s also terrorism.
Historically, there has never
been a drone strike where
innocents were not killed.
Maybe the administration
feels that their lives are of
little importance since they
live in the Third World.
At least in the days of
James Bond a “license to
kill” was required, but now-
adays a drone operator in
Langley, Va., doesn’t even
need a driver’s license to
kill dozens of individuals.
Obama’s drone policy dis-
gusts me.
LARRY BRANDT
Cathlamet, Wash.
None of the above
D
avid Densmore’s col-
umn, “Put the pride
back in the Port” (The Daily
Astorian, April 14), added
to over a decade of criticism
of mismanagement at the
Port of Astoria, expressed in
numerous editorials, copi-
ous letters to the editor, and
uncountable words of pro-
test from our county’s resi-
dents. Densmore concluded
with a suggestion, “Maybe
it’s time to vote ‘None of
the Above’ for the Port com-
missioners.” I agree, except
for his word “maybe.”
The current batch of Port
commissioners oversaw the
most recent Port fiascos: 1)
suddenly announcing they
would close the boatyard;
and 2) duping the county
and (unsuccessfully) try-
ing to pressure Astoria into
co-sponsoring the Port’s
enterprise zone, which of-
fered no ability to incentiv-
ize business expansion that
we don’t already (equiva-
lently) have, but could have
forced us to squander future
tax waivers on businesses
which we would not have
otherwise chosen to subsi-
dize.
Yet the three incumbent
Port commissioners who
are running for reelection
now are unopposed. That
is not surprising, though. It
is daunting to run against
moneyed interests who
benefit from continuing
the current administration,
and it is dismaying that so
many voters unquestion-
ingly vote for incumbents.
But that leaves us now with
three unopposed Port Com-
missioner incumbents who
are stubbornly serving their
personal ideologies instead
of serving the public’s best
interests. Given that, what
is the best we can do in this
current election?
When diligent voters re-
alize they are faced with
unacceptable but unopposed
candidates like these, they
often do not mark a vote
in those races at all. Un-
fortunately, that would be
indistinguishable from apa-
thy, and would thereby only
further discourage potential
good candidates in the fu-
ture.
However,
darkening
the write-in box and writ-
ing next to it “none of the
above” would demonstrate
there are voters who know
and care about what’s go-
ing on at the Port, and who
would have been pleased to
vote for candidates willing
to carry out the duties of
a public servant. The total
number of write-in votes in
each race is reported by the
county clerk’s office as part
of the standard election re-
turns.
Please write in “none of
the above” for the three Port
of Astoria commissioner
races, and urge others to do
the same. It’s the best option
available to us right now.
SHEL CANTOR
Astoria
Sea lion dock
S
ome have proposed
building a dock espe-
cially for the sea lions as
a way to mitigate the costs
incurred by the Port of As-
FRIDAY EXCHANGE
Remembering Nora Eldora Burkett
M
y cousin Janice Reid and I would
like to thank Matt Love for fea-
turing our grandmother’s inscription
in his article “The Maritime (Poetry)
Memorial” (Coast Weekend, April 16).
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poetic and unique.
To complete the story about Nora
Eldora Burkett (1915-1998), we recall
her many nights coming home from
toria due to their presence;
yet, then who pays for this
dock?
I think there might be an
economic incentive to build
such a dock. I think tourists,
and others, would like to get
closer to the sea lions, and
would be willing to pay to
do so. Could a dock be built,
with a secure barrier on it,
for people to stand behind,
so tourists can get within a
couple of feet of these great
creatures, and pay for the
privilege to do so?
Could such a dock gener-
ate enough revenue to justi-
fy its creation?
M. ALEXANDER
“SASHA” MILLER
Astoria
Secular government
G
rowing up, as a young
girl, we said the Pledge
of Allegiance every morn-
ing before class. It went like
this: “I pledge allegiance to
the flag of the United States
of America, and to the re-
public for which it stands,
one nation, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.”
When the Constitution
was written, there was a di-
vision of church and state.
Judging by what is going
on around the world, I think
that was very wise.
I want governance with-
out someone telling me
what I need to believe in, or
being beheaded for not hav-
ing the same belief.
CORDIE RIDDLE
Astoria
Time for change
S
ea lions, elk, cormorants,
owls, wolves, coyotes,
cats — the list goes on —
all victims of scapegoating
so that we may avoid having
to suffer the inconvenience
of change. We have ravaged
the land and water, destroy-
ing habitat and one species
after another. When we have
nearly destroyed one, we
lash out at any others daring
to try to “share” the rest.
People talk about these
animals as though they
are deliberately and mali-
ciously interfering with us,
our jobs, and our property.
How does one even begin
to back that up? We breed
animals to destroy them,
and then ask for the “right”
to kill others that interfere
with our killing. For what?
Money? A perceived sense
of entitlement? Where does
it end? When we are the
lone species on the planet,
we will quickly see that we
cannot survive.
The common denomina-
tor in all animal vs. human
conflicts is, well, humans.
We deny other species the
right to exist in their natural
environment, and condemn
them for encroaching into
what we see as our spaces.
We fail to see that we are the
ones creating the conflict,
with our inability to share
and our lack of forethought
and tolerance. It is way past
time we started exploring
the many options available.
The animals have none, so
we should think carefully
each time we build, recre-
ate, or engage in a liveli-
hood dependent on natural
resources.
A special note to those
responsible for the recent
spate of sea lion killings,
and for those whose ven-
omous words condone such
acts: I am sorry for you. Be-
cause you succumb to fear,
and to your basest and most
vile human instincts, rath-
er than exercise the higher
qualities of creativity and
Visit us online at
www.DailyAstorian.com
her work at the cannery in Astoria. She
would drop her clothes at the door and
head for the tub and perhaps a whiskey.
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department. She enjoyed Don Ho, clam-
ming, and talking on her party line.
The inscription came from her retort
when the phone would ring early in the
morning calling her in to work. She
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compassion you were born
with.
To blindly cling to out-
dated ways of life and
thinking will doom us all,
and one day we will be the
ones being culled.
RITA SMITH
Hammond
Pick Rickenbach
I
first met Jenna Ricken-
bach in 2005, when we
both volunteered to be in-
volved with the Tapiola
Playground Project. She
was a member of the plan-
ning team, and was also the
chairwoman of the child-
care committee. She or-
ganized other volunteers
and planned quality activi-
ties for the children of our
building volunteers. She ran
the equivalent of a childcare
center, serving as many as
60 kids a day during build
week. She was an integral
part of making that play-
ground a reality for our
kids.
A year later she invit-
ed me to join the board of
directors for the Astoria
Children’s Museum. During
most of the years I served
on the board, she was our
president. She was always
looking for ways to improve
the museum, and eventually
led us through a strategic
planning process, a merger
with the Indoor Play Park
and a move to Gray School
to create the Port of Play. I
now get to work alongside
ing a large, 6-foot long eel. However,
although she was highly skilled (we
have this on video) she disliked shak-
ing crab. Thus, “don’t call me for crab”
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Thank you for visiting her and for
remembering her and others during Na-
tional Poetry Month.
TRACY KLEIN
Ocean Park, Wash.
her as a parent, volunteer
and sometimes judge for
the Tsunami Skipper’s Jump
Rope Team.
These are just a few of
the many ways she is in-
volved in contributing to
the lives of children and
families in our community,
but this is how I’ve come to
know her well. She is not
afraid to dig in and do the
work nobody else wants,
and she is gifted at bringing
diverse groups of people to-
gether to get things done.
She dreams big, is calm
through adversity and has
the ability to stay focused
on goals. In my perspec-
tive, a recent Daily Astori-
an article painted a picture
of her as someone with a
partisan agenda (“Health
center project sways Astoria
School Board race,” May
1). She and I do not always
agree, in fact we did not
agree on the health care is-
sue in 2013.
Still, I know her to be a
real advocate for children
and their parents. I know
I can count on her to work
hard, do her research and
make thoughtful, educated
decisions. Please join me
and vote for Jenna Rick-
enbach for Astoria School
Board.
MOLLY ALBRIGHT
Astoria
Kochs attack union
I
read with great interest
the letter detailing the
Koch Brothers ownership
connection to the Georgia
Pacific Wauna Paper Mill.
Being the largest single em-
ployer in Clatsop County,
this relationship is critical.
I think most people were
aware of this connection,
and the fact that the Koch
Brothers are the largest sin-
gle contributors to a right
wing ideology, that in my
opinion, is hugely detrimen-
tal to the working middle
class.
What I think most peo-
ple don’t realize is the cru-
cial role that the union has
played in keeping Wauna an
employer with real family
wage jobs. This maintains a
motivated, happy workforce
that consequently keeps
the Wauna Mill as one of
the most productive paper
mills in the world. I have
many contemporaries who
are now retired, enjoying a
justly earned pension, after
having given their entire
working career to the Wau-
na Mill.
Nonetheless, since be-
ing acquired by the Koch
Brothers, all aspects of the
collective bargaining agree-
ment have been under at-
tack, and significant erosion
has occurred. The Kochs
would undoubtedly like to
see Wauna mirror the paper
mills all across the South
that pay barely above mini-
mum wage, with little or no
benefits. The greed is palpa-
ble. Collectivity is the only
factor that gives the puny
7A
David, the Clatsop County
workforce, a chance against
the Goliath billions of the
Kochs.
CHRIS CONNAWAY
Astoria
Celebrate animals
I
n response to “For 100
years, celebrities have
helped urge animal kind-
ness” (The Daily Asto-
rian, April 29): In early
May the nation will mark
the 100th anniversary of
the most successful and
longest-running
com-
memorative week in U.S.
history, “Be Kind to Ani-
mals Week” which is May
4-10. This special week
has taught generations of
American children the en-
during value of treating
animals with love, care
and compassion.
We’ve come a long way
over the past 100 years, but
there’s more to be done to
change the world for bil-
lions of wild, companion,
and farm animals still in
need. This is why the Amer-
ican Humane Association
is launching an ambitious
year-long campaign called
“Kindness 100” (www.
Kindness100.org) to teach
children the value of caring,
and set the stage to create
a more humane world for
animals over the next 100
years.
The need has never
been greater, and the time
has never been better to
start a new Compassion
Movement. To help all of
the creatures of the world,
big and small, we encour-
age every American to
celebrate “Be Kind to Ani-
mals Week” not only for a
week, but all year round.
By teaching our children
the value of kindness, we
may together build a better
world for our animals and
ourselves.
ROBIN GANZERT
President and CEO,
American Humane
Association