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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2016)
OPINION 6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016 That Coke can is back on display 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 Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Larry Kaplan, from Essex, Conn., plays a song on guitar during Fish- erPoets at the Astoria Event Center on Friday. 7HOOLQJµ¿VKWDOHV¶ grounded in truth FisherPoets is a cultural icon A pproaching its 20th anniversary, FisherPoets Gathering has netted more fans and momentum with each passing year. Strongly woven from coastal experiences and emotions, it is a ³¿VKWDOH´JURXQGHGLQWUXWK Though it has been com- ened congressional awareness pared with cowboy poetry of harvest and habitat issues. events that enjoy popularity in “I love that the coastal the interior West, FisherPoets DQG ¿VKLQJ KHULWDJH LV VR has a liveliness associated with HPEUDFHG´RQHDWWHQGHHVDLG FRPPHUFLDO ¿VKLQJ¶V SUHVHQW At least when it comes to and future, not just its past. Astoria and surrounding com- Certainly, there is an element munities, she was right — we of nostalgia in celebrating the ORYLQJ ¿VKLQJ +RZHYHU ZH JORU\ GD\V RI 1RUWK 3DFL¿F all know that actual support ¿VKLQJEXW)LVKHU3RHWVLVDOVR IRU¿VKLQJLVVSRWW\LQWKHVWDWH YHU\PXFKDERXWNHHSLQJ¿VK- capitals of the West Coast — ing alive. the Columbia mainstem gill- 7KH ¿VKLQJ FRPPXQLW\ net ban is a prime example of owes gratitude to the organiz- DIRUPHUJRYHUQRUDQG¿VKHU\ ers and supporters of this valu- managers claiming to support able Lower Columbia event. ¿VKLQJZKLOHDFWLYHO\VDERWDJ- Fishermen and women are too LQJDFWXDO¿VKHUPHQ In incremental and sub- proud and tough to admit it, EXWLW¶VJRWWRIHHOJRRGEHLQJ tle ways, FisherPoets may be singled out as cultural icons one of the most effective tools LQWKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW7KLV that exists to convey an under- feeling of appreciation trans- VWDQGLQJ RI WKH JUDWL¿FDWLRQV lates into everything from DQGGDQJHUVRIWKH¿VKLQJOLIH better prices for American- and of the very real threats the produced seafood to height- industry faces. Thank you, Dirk Rohne LUN 5RKQH¶V LQWHQWLRQ WR retire as a Clatsop County commissioner is a reminder of how much has changed in eight years. Rohne joined the commis- sion in 2008, just as the Richard Lee era was fading. Lee and his colleagues had tried to make OLTXH¿HG QDWXUDO JDV ZHOFRPH in Clatsop County. Rohne ran as an anti-LNG candidate, and he defeated a pro-LNG candidate in the Knappa-Brownsmead district. 5RKQH¶VYLFWRU\ZDVRQHRI three ballot-box outcomes that WHOOVXVWKLVFRXQW\¶VHOHFWRUDWH is disposed against the concept of an LNG terminal on the Columbia River. Once seated RQ WKH FRPPLVVLRQ 5RKQH¶V colleagues treated him very EDGO\ +H ZDV D ORQH YRLFH But he would soon be joined by allies such as Scott Lee. In addition to two terms as a county commissioner, Rohne has served six years on the Clatsop Community College Board of Directors. Carrying D %LGHQLQDNHUIXIÀH women still have a long way Neither show definitively to go. Things have changed paints the accused as guilty EXWWKH\KDYHQ¶WFKDQJHG Courtney Vance, who OLLYWOOD, Calif. — or provides new answers. “It skillfully plays the late John- They were dramas that drilled ZDVQ¶W DERXW WU\LQJ WR OLWL- gate who was telling the truth, QLH&RFKUDQLQWKH);VKRZ into the most sensitive parts of the because at the time it was recalled how he was in national psyche, searing and divid- clearly unknowable and peo- Toronto making a TV movie with Tony Goldwyn when ing us with lurid sexual images ple have strong opinions about LWWRWKLVGD\´5LFN)DPX\LZD O.J. was acquitted. and racial grievances as old as the the director, told me. “When the verdict came Maureen nation. Yet reliving those hor- GRZQ,VFUHDPHGµ<HV¶DQG Dowd They both started out as narratives rible, maddening events KH VFUHDPHG µ1R¶ DQG WKHQ about the mistreatment of women reveals how resonant our race and gen- ZHORRNHGDWHDFKRWKHULQKRUURU´9DQFH but were swiftly twisted into parables der problems are, despite a black presi- WROG7KH+ROO\ZRRG5HSRUWHU³$QGZH dent and a Democratic woman running began the dialogue — the entire country about the mistreatment of black men. to succeed him. Things have changed began the dialogue. Everybody went to $QLWD+LOOZHQWWRWKH6HQDWHLQ EXWWKH\KDYHQ¶WFKDQJHG7KHFRXQWU\ their corners, and it kept coming up again, to testify about creepy sexual overtures still roils with gender and racial tensions. the same issue. Ferguson, what went by her former boss, Clarence Thomas, Black Lives Matter and #OscarsSoW- GRZQLQ&KLFDJRVKRRWLQJWKDWWHHQ but Thomas made it to the Supreme KLWHUHÀHFWWKHMDUULQJGLVVRQDQFHLQKRZ WLPHV,W¶VFUD]\$EVROXWHO\FUD]\´ Court by cowing the Democratic sena- blacks and whites see society. -XVW DV WKH GRFXPHQWDU\ RQ WRUVZKRZHUHVXSSRVHGWRSURWHFW+LOO Even Marcia Clark, the prosecutor +LOO ³$QLWD´ PDGH ERWK WKH VPHDULQJ Thomas claimed that he, not she, was the ZKR ZDV RXWPDQHXYHUHG ZKHQ 2-¶V Republican senators and sheepish Dem- victim. The senators were stunned and legal team played the race card, wrote ocratic senators look bad, so does “Con- silenced when Thomas accused them of Thursday in Vox that the recent police ¿UPDWLRQ´,WZDVDWLPHZKHQWKHPHQ¶V D³KLJKWHFKO\QFKLQJ´ shootings caught on cam- club of Congress viewed sexual harass- Four years later, O.J. era had “given me a deeper ment as droit du senateur, just a perk that Things understanding of why the came along with having ice delivered to 6LPSVRQ¶VODZ\HUVJRWKLP acquitted on charges of mur- African-American jurors \RXURI¿FH have dering the ex-wife he bat- viewed the Simpson case so Treat Williams plays Teddy Ken- tered, Nicole, by turning it changed GLIIHUHQWO\WKDQ,GLG´ nedy, as Dave Barry once wrote, with a into what The New Yorker’s You need only look at bag over his head, shackled by his own Jeffrey Toobin called “a civil but they the presidential campaign transgressions and unwilling to roar on ULJKWVPHORGUDPD´7KHODZ- to see the same emotional +LOO¶VEHKDOI haven’t EDWWOH OLQHV GUDZQ +LOODU\ In an uncanny impersonation of yers argued the football and movie star was framed by a appeared at a Baptist church Biden, who led the committee, Greg racist LA detective, which changed. in Columbia, South Car- .LQQHDU FDSWXUHV %LGHQ¶V LUUHVROXWLRQ made O.J., not Nicole, the ROLQD 7XHVGD\ ZLWK ¿YH in dealing with Republicans who were victim — another high-tech lynching. black mothers who lost children to vio- determined to win at all costs — even if it I wrote about both these explosive lence and the next night had to defend PHDQWGHVWUR\LQJ+LOO¶VUHSXWDWLRQ-HQ- cases and, like the rest of the country, herself when a black activist confronted QLIHU+XGVRQVWHDOVWKHVKRZDV$QJHOD was disturbed and mesmerized. Still, I her about her use of the word “super- :ULJKW7KRPDV¶IRUPHUHPSOR\HHDWWKH ZDVVXUSULVHGWRVHHWKHWZR¶VVFDQ- SUHGDWRU´EDFNLQ%HUQLH6DQGHUV Equal Employment Opportunity Com- dals turned into TV dramas over two IHDWXUHG*DUQHU¶VGDXJKWHULQDQDGDV mission, which, ironically, was charged GHFDGHV ODWHU 5\DQ 0XUSK\¶V ³$PHU- well as Spike Lee, who proclaimed that with investigating sexual harassment LFDQ &ULPH 6WRU\´ VHULHV RQ ); ZLWK ³WKHV\VWHPLVULJJHG´DQGSHRSOHKDYH claims. She went to D.C. to testify to Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J., kicked off this EHHQ³VROGWKHRNLHGRNH´0HDQZKLOH 7KRPDV¶SUHGDWRU\ZD\VEXWZDVQHYHU PRQWKZLWKDSDUWHURQKLVWULDOIRU Donald Trump at his rallies rails about called by Biden, who seemed more wor- the murder of Nicole and Ronald Gold- KRZ³RXUSROLFHDUHEHLQJDEXVHG´ ried for the dignity of the Senate and his PDQ$QGLQPLG$SULO+%2ZLOOSUH- Older feminists scolded young own reputation than putting a liar on the PLHUH ³&RQ¿UPDWLRQ´ D GUDPDWL]DWLRQ ZRPHQ IRU QRW VXSSRUWLQJ +LOODU\ DQG Supreme Court for life. RIWKH+LOO7KRPDVKHDULQJVVWDUULQJWKH WDNLQJ IRU JUDQWHG WKH SRVW$QLWD +LOO Simpson and Thomas have both appealing actors Kerry Washington and VWUXJJOHIRUJHQGHUHTXDOLW\+LOOFDQWDNH been silenced. O.J. is in prison in Nevada Wendell Pierce, mining old news clips some credit for the fact that colleges and for armed robbery and kidnapping, and as it debuts in the midst of a new slam- ZRUNSODFHV²LQFOXGLQJWKH¿OPVHWDWWKH Thomas is locked in his own muteness. down over the Supreme Court — this VWDUWRIPDNLQJ³&RQ¿UPDWLRQ´²QRZ But the rest of us are still arguing, stuck time with no nominee but still with Joe offer sexual harassment orientations. But in a din of mistrust and discord. By MAUREEN DOWD New York Times News Service the county and college board jobs concurrently was an enor- mous commitment for any- one, but especially for a dairy farmer with a young family. Announcing his retirement, Rohne told Kyle Spurr that with a balanced budget and a new manager hired, he felt good about the county. There is something to that. Certainly the county is a more stable gov- ernment than it was when suc- cessful recalls occurred during 5RKQH¶V¿UVWWHUP7KHVXEVH- quent Scott Somers adminis- tration was no less contentious. In a county of our popula- WLRQ VL]H ¿QGLQJ JRRG FDQ- didates to serve on our coun- W\¶VPDQ\FLW\FRXQFLOVVFKRRO boards, special districts, Port and community college can be GLI¿FXOW County government always will face new challenges. So will Clatsop College. Through that, honest leadership is essen- tial. We are fortunate to have a leader as knowledgeable and experienced as Dirk Rohne. H If Donald Trump changed genders By FRANK BRUNI New York Times News Service I magine, for a moment, the presi- dential candidacy of a rich, brash real estate magnate and reality TV star named Donna Trump. Quizzically coifed and stubbornly VXQNLVVHGVKH¶VRQKHUWKLUGPDUULDJH 7KHUH¶V FOHDU HYLGHQFH WKDW LQ¿GHOLW\ IDFWRUHG LQWR WKH GHPLVH RI WKH ¿UVW and among her children is one con- FHLYHGZKHQ7KH'RQQDZDVQ¶WPDU- ried to the other parent. +HUVH[XDODSSHWLWHVKDYHEHHQSUR- digious, at least according to her fre- quent claims and vulgar cant. And she has a tendency — disturbing on its own, even more so in someone who aspires to civic leadership — to talk about men as sirloins and rump roasts of disparate suc- culence. She denigrates those who dis- please her on cosmetic grounds: 6RDQGVR XVHG WR EH D EXW ZLWK that male-pattern baldness and desper- DWHFRPERYHULVGRZQWRD6RDQGVR WKLQNVKH¶VFRYHULQJXSWKDWSDXQFKZLWK baggy suits, but we all know better. +RZZHOOGR\RXWKLQN7KH'RQQD ZRXOGGRLQWKHSROOV"+RZIDULQWRWKH race would she survive? 7KHTXHVWIRUWKH:KLWH+RXVH has included ample exegeses on gen- der and plenty of talk about double standards, but most if not all of those KDYH SHUWDLQHG WR +LOODU\ &OLQWRQ ,V D raised, emphatic voice heard as some- thing more grating when it emanates from a woman? Is toughness perceived as something more pernicious when the hide and stride are female? But for an even more obvious, indis- putable example of unequal treatment, look to Donald Trump. A woman with his personal life, public comportment DQGSRWW\PRXWKZRXOGQ¶WODVWDQDQR- second in a political campaign — or, for WKDWPDWWHULQDERDUGURRP+HUQDPH RQDOLQHRIVFDUYHVZRXOGQ¶WEHWKHVHOO- ing point that his on a line of ties is. The moral judgments — in particular the sexual ones — that we make about men and women are utterly and unjustly dissimilar. This primary season, and the back stories swirling around it, have illustrated that anew. %LOO&OLQWRQ¶VVH[XDOEHKDYLRUEHIRUH and during his presidency surged back into the conversation, and I was struck again by the fact that a woman dogged by as many accusations of philander- ing as he was would never have won the :KLWH+RXVH And a woman who behaved as he GLGLQWKH:KLWH+RXVHZRXOGQ¶WQRZEH seen as someone who could lend a posi- WLYHMROWWRKHUVSRXVH¶VSUHVLGHQWLDOFDP- paign with frequent appearances on the WUDLO6KH¶GEHWXFNHGDZD\LQ ration, after he purchased the an attic somewhere, damaged Miss USA pageant, that he goods forevermore. wanted the “bathing suits to ,¶PQRWDUJXLQJIRUJUHDWHU be smaller and the heels to be FKDVWLW\LQPHQ,¶PDUJXLQJ KLJKHU´ for a fairer and more forgiv- More somber examina- ing attitude toward women. tions of Trump and sexism, ,¶P QRWLQJ DV , KDYH however, have been crowded before, what the journalist RXWE\UHÀHFWLRQVRQKLVGLD- Peggy Orenstein explores so tribes against, say, Mexicans forthrightly and explains so and Muslims. Commentators Frank well in her timely new book, have wrung their hands to Bruni Girls & Sex, to be published rawness over how a Trump next month. SUHVLGHQF\ PLJKW LQÀDPH WHQVLRQV RQ ³$ VH[XDOO\ DFWLYH JLUO LV D µVOXW¶ racial and religious fronts and what an ZKLOHDVLPLODUER\LVDµSOD\HU¶´2UHQ- intolerant portrait of America it would stein writes, acknowledging this as a project to the world. timeless dichotomy. “Now, though, girls But what about the way a Trump who abstain from sex, once thought of presidency would make the women of DVWKHµJRRGJLUOV¶DUHVKDPHGDVZHOO WKLVFRXQWU\IHHO"2UKRZ7UXPS¶VVH[- ODEHOHG µYLUJLQV¶ ZKLFK LV QRW D JRRG ual braggadocio would diminish the dig- WKLQJRUµSUXGHV¶´ QLW\RIWKHRI¿FHDQGWKHFRXQWU\" )HPDOHYRWHUVKDYHQRWÀRFNHGWRKLP in the same percentages as male voters, according to exit polls from the caucuses A woman and primaries thus far. And national sur- with Trump’s veys suggest that the Republican Party could be looking at an especially ruinous personal gender gap if Trump is its nominee. In a hypothetical matchup of Clin- life, public WRQYHUVXV7UXPSVKH¶GJHWSHUFHQW comportment RIZRPHQWRKLVSHUFHQWZLWKWKHUHVW going elsewhere or sitting on the fence, and potty according to a Fox News poll from OHVVWKDQWZRZHHNVDJR7KDWSRLQW mouth advantage for the Democrat would be greater than the one that Barack Obama wouldn’t last JRWLQKLVUDFHDJDLQVW0LWW5RP- a nanosecond QH\ SRLQWV RU KLV FRQWHVW DJDLQVW-RKQ0F&DLQSRLQWV in a political And we can presume that the gap LVQ¶WVROHO\DERXW&OLQWRQ¶VDSSHDO$IWHU campaign. DOOVKHORVWWKHZRPHQ¶VYRWHWR%HUQLH 6DQGHUVLQ1HZ+DPSVKLUHE\SRLQWV A young woman is supposed to To be fair to Trump, there are moments EH VRPH VH[XDO *ROGLORFNV ¿QGLQJ D when he has exhibited something more ³MXVWULJKW´EHWZHHQIULVN\DQGIULJLG$ than just a drooling interest in the opposite young man simply has fun. VH[$WODVWZHHN¶V5HSXEOLFDQGHEDWHKH 7KH 7UXPS FDPSDLJQ¶V VXFFHVV GHIHQGHG 3ODQQHG 3DUHQWKRRG VRPH- GRHVQ¶W VD\ DQ\WKLQJ JRRG DERXW RXU ZKDWDJDLQVWKLVULYDOV¶EODQNHWYLOL¿FD- progress toward gender equality, not tion of it by noting that “millions and mil- merely because he gets away with things lions of women — cervical cancer, breast that a woman never would but because cancer — are helped by Planned Parent- he thrives in spite of overtly sexist lan- KRRG´+HQRQHWKHOHVVVDLGKH¶GFXWRII guage and remarks that routinely objec- any federal funds to it.) tify women. But such bright spots of sensitiv- These have been duly noted in many ity are eclipsed by the creepy stuff, like compendiums, including an especially his repeated references to his daughter clever one by Andrew Kaczynski and Ivanka as someone who, in a different Nathan McDermott in BuzzFeed last situation, he might well date. week. They listened to hours of audio ³:KDWDEHDXW\WKDWRQH´KHWROG3DXO IURP7UXPS¶VDSSHDUDQFHVRQ+RZDUG 6RORWDURIIZKRSUR¿OHGKLPIRURolling 6WHUQ¶VUDGLRVKRZRYHUWKH\HDUVDQG StoneODVW\HDU³,I,ZHUHQ¶WKDSSLO\PDU- they unearthed such gems as his boast ULHGDQG\DNQRZKHUIDWKHU´ ² MXVW PRQWKV DIWHU 3ULQFHVV 'LDQD¶V Now put those words in The Don- death — that he probably could have QD¶VPRXWKLQVWHDG³:KDWDKXQNWKDW slept with her; his ratings of the attrac- RQH´VKHVD\VRIRQHRIKHUVRQV³,I, WLYHQHVVRIWKHFDVWRI³'HVSHUDWH+RXVH- ZHUHQ¶WKDSSLO\PDUULHGDQG\DNQRZ ZLYHV´RQDVFDOHRIWRKLVDVVHU- KLVPRWKHU´ WLRQWKDWKHSUREDEO\FRXOGQ¶WZRUNXS :H¶GQHYHUKHDUWKHHQGRILW$QG an erection for Madonna; and his decla- \HWZHKDYHQ¶WVHHQWKHHQGRI7UXPS
