OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015
Founded in 1873
STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager
Fake Willy, meet
Bruce the Shark
F
Noel Thomas —
for The Daily Astorian
GUEST COLUMN
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ake Willy, the o rca imposter, has been entertaining
crowds in Astoria and media from around the world
with its mistake-prone attempts to scare off sea lions. Its
frequent capsizing has elicited groans and laughter from
onlookers.
Worse, the sea lion horde
appears unmoved.
Fake Willy and its handlers
should take heart from another
simulated sea creature.
When Stev en Spielberg set
out to create a movie about a
4,000-pound shark that terri-
fies the tourist island of Amity,
he wanted realism. Plopping a
scale-model boat and rubber
shark into a studio wet tank
wouldn’t do. The 27-year-old
director wanted a mechanical
shark that could swim in ocean
waters, leap into the air, and
chow down on swimmers and
fishermen.
Spielberg hired special ef-
fects guru Bob Mattey out of
retirement. Mattey, known for
creating the giant squid in the
1954 film “20,000 Leagues
Under the Sea,” promised to
deliver a monster fish.
However, on its first day
of filming, the 25-foot me-
chanical shark dubbed Bruce
quickly sank to the bottom of
Nantucket Sound. Within days,
salt water eroded the shark’s
electric motor, requiring a ret-
rofitting with pneumatic hos-
es. And every night after film-
ing, Bruce had to be drained,
scrubbed and repainted.
All worked out in the end,
as we know. “Jaws” turned out
to be one of the biggest movie
blockbusters of all time, setting
Spielberg up for future fortune
and fame. And Bruce became
one of the most terrifying vil-
lains of the silver screen.
We hope Fake Willy eventu-
ally lives up to its star billing.
Would be a whale of a tale if it
did prevail.
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
In this June 6, 2013 file photo, a sign stands outside the National Security Agency campus in Fort Meade, Md.
A major victory
for privacy rights
I
By RON WYDEN
t is not an exaggeration to say
Americans won the greatest
victory for their privacy rights
in nearly 30 years last week.
The USA Freedom Act ends
mass surveillance of ordinary
Americans under the Patriot Act
and introduces some long-over-
due transparency into our intel-
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ligence programs. And it passed
Congress with overwhelming,
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bipartisan majorities in both the
riday morning there might bases in the bottom of the sev- House and the Senate.
have seemed a sense of enth and it took skilled defense
The National Security Agency’s
inevitability about the 2A/1A and a double play to secure the program to collect the phone re-
B aseball State C hampionship win.
cords of millions and millions of
game.
What makes the achieve- U.S. citizens was hatched in secret,
Knappa was due to play in ment of 27 wins in a row par- depending on a secret interpretation
Keizer’s Volcanoes Stadium ticularly pleasing was that of the law that Americans were not
that afternoon and, as this seniors Tyson Burnard, Justin allowed to see. I have spent nearly
year’s only undefeated team in Dragoo, Andrew Miller, Chase DGHFDGH¿JKWLQJPDVVVXUYHLOODQFH
OSAA high school baseball, it Rusinovich, Ryan Simpson ¿UVW ZRUNLQJ WR EULQJ WKLV VHFUHW
dragnet to light and then working to
might have seemed like all the and Nate Truax were to walk
bring it to an end.
Loggers had to do was show in their graduation ceremonies
Only four years ago, I spoke on the
up to collect the trophy.
the following day. It was their 6HQDWH
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That’s baloney, of course. last game together in Knappa that the Patriot Act was being inter-
Coach Jeff Miller, in a pre- uniforms. As in many small preted in a way that would astonish
game interview with our sports school districts, the students most Americans. Despite that warn-
ing and bipartisan support from allies
writer Gary Henley, was cau- played football and basketball, like U.S. Sen. Mark Udall of Colo-
tious. Knappa had already de- too, and their teams had fallen rado and Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand
feated No. 1-ranked defending this year at the semi- and quar- Paul, the Patriot Act was reauthorized
that year by an overwhelming vote.
champions Monroe/Alsea 11-5 terfinal levels.
The end of this program stands as
in a March non-league game,
But throughout the baseball a true endorsement of the principle
but everyone knew this would season, Knappa players have that Americans do not need to sacri-
be different. “We feel like we shown equal measures of cool- ¿FHWKHLUOLEHUW\WRKDYHVHFXULW\(Y
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belong here,” Miller said, but ness and consistency; coach HU\ERG\ZKRKDVVXSSRUWHGRXU¿
for surveillance reform over the last
added, “they are certainly the Miller was not to be denied his two years is responsible for our vic-
tory.
team to beat.”
278th career win.
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After three scoreless in-
This year’s senior mot-
Americans’ constitutional rights
nings, the Loggers got their to was apt: “Do not follow against government overreach is far
breakthrough in the fourth, where the path leads; rather, from over.
then added two runs in the go where there is no path and
Plugging loophole
fifth. At 3-0, the game wasn’t leave a trail.”
I’m committed to plugging the
over. With a KHS victory in
KHS seniors’ corps has backdoor search loophole that the
sight, the Dragons loaded the done just that.
government misuses to review Amer-
Loggers show
their consistency
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I’m committed to plugging the
backdoor search loophole that the
government misuses to review
Americans’ communications
without a warrant
icans’
communications
government, and do far too
without a warrant. The
little to protect that infor-
mation against misuse.
Director of National In-
That’s why 55 securi-
telligence has told me the
ty experts, academics and
NSA, FBI and CIA are us-
technology groups wrote
ing a law designed to target
that the bill would do little
foreign threats to scoop up
to protect against hackers,
and search for Americans’
while opening up a huge
emails and other commu-
new avenue for the govern-
nications without getting
ment to obtain Americans’
a warrant. This is nothing
U.S. Sen. Ron
private information with-
less than an end-run around
Wyden, D-Ore.
out a warrant.
the Constitution.
Of course the threats to privacy
I want to beat back a proposal by
FBI Director James Comey to require that are already public are the easiest
companies to weaken encryption and WR¿JKW0\WLPHRQWKH,QWHOOLJHQFH
build security weaknesses into our Committee has taught me to always
electronic devices. He proposed cre- be vigilant for secret interpretations
ating magic keys that only the gov- of the law and new surveillance tech-
ernment could use to get access to niques that even Congress does not
know about.
information with a court order.
Americans were rightly outraged
The problem is there are no magic
keys. Weakening encryption inevita- when they learned that U.S. intelli-
bly creates security holes that hackers gence agencies relied on secret law to
and foreign governments can exploit. monitor millions of law-abiding U.S.
That trade-off makes our information citizens. The American people are
less safe and our country less secure. now on high alert for new secret inter-
Along with U.S. Rep. Jason Chaf- pretations of the law, and intelligence
IHW] RI 8WDK , DP ¿JKWLQJ WR PDNH agencies and the Justice Department
sure the government doesn’t turn our would do well to keep that lesson in
cell phones into tracking devices. Our mind.
I always go back to a lesson my
bill, the GPS Act, would require the
government to get a warrant before father taught me: the only way to
tracking Americans’ movements elec- protect our liberty is by asking tough
questions. Our victory this week cer-
tronically.
And starting as soon as this month tainly gives me more ammunition to
the Senate is expected to take up a cy- watchdog the government and intel-
bersecurity bill that is really surveil- ligence agencies. Winning these bat-
tles, though, requires the support of
lance legislation by another name.
Oregonians and Americans who are
Threats to privacy
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I strongly support going after
I want to thank everyone who
hackers and taking strong steps to stood up and said that liberty and se-
protect data held by companies and curity are not mutually exclusive. As
the government alike. But the bill my friend Martin Heinrich said this
proposed in the Senate would let week, Ben Franklin would be proud.
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companies provide large amounts of
private consumer information to the JRQ¶VVHQLRU8QLWHG6WDWHVVHQDWRU
Where to write
• U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D): 2338 Rayburn HOB,
Washington, D.C., 20515. Phone: 202- 225-0855. Fax 202-225-
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verton, OR 97005. Phone: 503-326-2901. Fax 503-326-5066.
Web: bonamici.house. gov/
• U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D)+DUW6HQDWH2I¿FH%XLOG
ing, Washington, D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224-3753. Web: www.
merkley.senate.gov
• U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D): 'LUNVHQ 6HQDWH 2I¿FH
Building, Washington, D.C., 20510. Phone: 202-224-5244. Web:
www.wyden.senate.gov
• State Rep. Brad Witt (D): State Capitol, 900 Court Street
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• State Rep. Deborah Boone (D)&RXUW6W1(+
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OR 97110. Phone: 503-986-1432. Web: www.leg.state.or.us/
boone/
• State Sen. Betsy Johnson (D): State Capitol, 900 Court St.
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• Port of Astoria([HFXWLYH'LUHFWRU3LHU6XLWH
$VWRULD253KRQH(PDLODGPLQ#SRU
tofastoria.com
• Clatsop County Board of Commissioners: c/o Coun-
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Phone: 503-325-1000.