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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2021)
A4 THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, JANuARy 16, 2021 OPINION editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher DERRICK DePLEDGE Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager GUEST COLUMN The time for mink farms has passed C ontagious not just to people, COVID-19 is devastating captive mink populations across the world. Prominent veterinarians and scientists believe mink are almost uniquely capable of animal to human transmission. There is even concern that such transmission could create a mutant strain of COVID that would be resistant to the vaccine. Clatsop County is home to two mink farms, both legal businesses. The Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture dis- closed that a mink farm was placed in quaran- tine in November after a farmer and several mink JOSHUA tested positive for the MARQUIS virus. The state has not publicly disclosed the location of the farm, citing medical pri- vacy reasons. While the state veterinarian said there was “no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is in circulation or has been established in the wild,” others pointed out that makes it appear infected mink escaped. In December, The New York Times reported on the extraordinary events related to mink farming and COVID-19 cases from Denmark: “Not only are mink the only nonhuman animal known to become severely ill and die from the virus, they are the only animal known to have caught the virus from humans and then passed it back. What terrified Danish offi- cials was that the virus that jumped back to people carried mutations that seemed as if they might affect how well vaccines work, although that worry has faded.” In response to a series of outbreaks from Denmark to Greece to Lithuania, European countries have conducted mass slaughters of thousands of the animals, with an astonishing 17 million mink killed in Denmark alone. The Netherlands has taken it a step fur- ther. There, the government has banned all fur farming effective in March. While concerns over animal cruelty were fac- Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix A breeder holds up a mink after police forcibly gained access to his mink farm in Denmark in October. ‘MINKS ARE SuPERSPREAdERS OF THIS VIRuS. THEy ARE ALSO WILd ANIMALS, ANd THEy dON’T BELONG JAMMEd IN CAGES ON FACTORy FARMS.’ Wayne Pacelle | president of the Center for a Humane Economy tors in the original discussion, the impetus for the expedited action was the concern about mink farms becoming superspreader venues. The concerns about mink farming and COVID-19 warrants immediate action in the U.S., just as we’ve seen in Europe. But even without that perilous circumstance, there are plenty of good reasons to ban fur farming. It is an outdated business, much like ivory harvesting, Styrofoam packag- ing and cigarette advertising. As we are told in a widely accepted text of spiritual wisdom, “For everything there is a season.” For our health and out of respect for the nearly universal aversion to animal cruelty, government should begin a buyout of all mink farms, fairly compen- sating the breeders and permanently end- ing the practice. This process has been used in other parts of the world to discour- age farmers of plants like coca and pop- pies that are easily made into cocaine and heroin. The world is replete with examples of past practices considered commonplace, if considered at all, that for reasons relat- ing to health, the environment or changing sensitivities, are simply no longer appro- priate. There is no need to engage in moral virtue signaling, either by condemning those who wear mink, or by refusing to acknowledge that mink farming has been a legal industry. As Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy notes, “Minks are superspreaders of this virus. They are also wild animals, and they don’t belong jammed in cages on factory farms.” Joshua Marquis, a former Clatsop County district attorney, is director of legal affairs for Animal Wellness Action. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Great promise fulfilled moderately cynical Democrat friend from abroad called to congratulate us on President Donald Trump’s fulfillment of the promise to make America great again. First, his personality and leadership style produced the House of Represen- tatives a Democrat majority; secondly, his actions with respect to the election in Georgia threw the Senate back to the Democrats; and thirdly, he delivered the White House back to the Democrats for at least the next four years. Only Trump could have achieved that. ERHARD GROSS Astoria A Wondering wonder if President Donald Trump would accept immunity from all prose- cution in exchange for the public admis- sion that he lied to the country about COVID-19 and about voter fraud. DONNA LEE ROLLINS Astoria I Duty to perform e still don’t know exactly who stormed the Capitol and vandalized the building, left pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., and searched for the vice president and members of Congress in order to hold them hostage, or maybe harm them. But we do know that they were a violent mob, maybe even terrorists, encouraged by the president. One problem now is that the mob escaped, and have returned home or are still on the run. Most of them look like us, and appear like regular folks and some are Oregonians. Some of the mob are openly proud of what they did, and others are keeping quiet. The law-abiding citizens of this country have a duty to perform. We must report the mob to lawful authorities. We would do this any time, if we had information on violent crime. Anyone who has seen something, or heard something, should call the FBI’s tip line at 800-225-5324, or go online to tips. fbi.gov JACK OSTERBERG Astoria W Double down ost of us are still absorbing the hor- ror of the Jan. 6 insurrection at our nation’s Capitol. M The mob vandalized, stole and destroyed public and private property; threatened the lives and safety of Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress, staff, jour- nalists and police; contributed to the mur- der of at least one Capitol Police officer; and defied the rule of law. A few hours later, 145 Republican mem- bers of Congress tried to overthrow what the courts and all 50 states confirm was a free-and-fair election. One of them is Rep. Cliff Bentz, whose district covers about two- thirds of Oregon. Many of us call them the Sedition Caucus. They did not carry Confederate or Trump flags, or wear clothing with racist and antisemitic slogans, as did the terrorists who ransacked the Capitol, but their purpose was the same: to deny the choice of America’s voters. These elected leaders publicly violated their oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution of the U.S. Along with Pres- ident Donald Trump, they must be held accountable. What can we do to save our democracy? Ask your members of Congress to cen- sure and expel all members of the Sedition Caucus. Get active in local government and in pro-democracy groups. Stay in touch with your elected leaders. Make them account- able for upholding the rule of law. Run for office. Don’t let elected offices be filled by extremists or other anti-demo- cratic candidates. Let’s double down on democracy. Stay hopeful, stay active. Let’s get to work. LAURIE CAPLAN Astoria is disloyal; he is a traitor.” — Mark Twain Joe Biden’s election has solidified the U.S. as a worn out representative repub- lic. Instead of the new suit Twain mentions, Biden brings his half-century old, soiled political rags to plop down behind the Big Desk. For starters, Jill Biden is spending $1.2 million on the White House’s East Wing restrooms. I wonder what Twain would write about the incoming residents to the executive mansion and their fascination with new indoor facilities. And now that the commonwealth will soon be swirling in a different direction, it’s clear that bullying and intimidation will con- tinue. The questionable election of 2020 has placed America as a country without rules. In Portland, for instance, unchecked peaceful protests (riots) will no doubt con- tinue. The Rose City’s chaos of New Year’s Eve party (sans port-a-potties) will be the standard in all areas where authorities refuse to plunge. Accordingly, cancel culture will flush all opposition to legal agitation, examples being Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley’s can- celed book deal over his challenging elec- tion integrity, and President Donald Trump being silenced on Twitter and Facebook speak volumes. And, given Nancy Pelosi’s disconcert- ing call to end President Trump’s control of “the football,” I’d venture to guess the swamp is hysterically scared the common- wealth’s plumbing, clothing and existence is in the tank. MATT JANES Jeffers Gardens Broken Worn out he citizen who thinks he sees that the commonwealth’s political clothes are worn out, and yet holds his peace and does not agitate for a new suit, ‘… T ow that President Donald Trump has been broken, we will move forward into the brave new world of big media and big government. How we got here is questionable. N LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 250 words and must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. You will be contacted to confirm authorship. All letters are subject to editing for space, gram- mar and factual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are allowed each month. Letters written in response to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and should refer to the headline and date the letter was published. Discourse should be civil. Send via email to editor@dailyasto- rian.com, online at bit.ly/astorianlet- ters, in person at 949 Exchange St. in Astoria or mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR., 97103. Trump was basically a businessman, not a smooth-talking politician. He said what he thought, and did what he said. He had one weakness — his ego, on constant display. The coalition of Democratic leadership, news organizations and social media went after that weakness with a concerted effort of lies and distortions. For five years they hounded him like wolves on an elk. Trump’s ego would not let him stay silent. He fought every battle no mat- ter how small. And they finally broke him. Congratulations. Does anybody wonder how things would be if the media and opposing party had treated him like Joe Biden was, and will be treated? Does anybody wonder where we go from here with political, news and social power controlled from one source? ROBERT LIDDYCOAT Seaside Shame or many of us, the events that unfolded on Jan. 6 have been deeply upsetting. I watched in horror as the violence unfolded in our nation’s capital when a mob of lunatic extremists, acting on the lies and encourage- ment of a deranged president, laid siege to the heart of our democracy. Never in my wildest dreams did I imag- ine that I would witness members of Con- gress sheltering in place as armed thugs roamed the halls of the U.S. Capitol. For the first time in our nation’s 244-year his- tory, we failed to have a peaceful transfer of power. This seditious and unprecedented attack on democracy has left a stain that will take a generation to fade. While many of us were grieving and wondering whether President Donald Trump’s cult would manage to overthrow a free-and-fair election, ending democracy in this country, how did The Astorian choose to cover the events? By burying a wire piece on page A3. The Astorian is a local paper with lim- ited resources, but what they put on the front page matters. This paper’s failure to highlight the significance of these sedi- tious actions works to normalize them to its readers. I believe in the importance of local jour- nalism, and I value The Astorian for its regional coverage. I hope the next time a U.S. president and his delusional follow- ers endeavor to overthrow our republic, The Astorian will apply better editorial judgment by putting an article on the front page — maybe even above the fold. ANDY KIPP Astoria F
