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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, July 13, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
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JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
GUEST COLUMN
Oregon knows technology is fallible
O
regon doesn’t have traffic
crashes.
But it does have computer
crashes.
A routine bill in the 2021 Legislature
would have changed the terms “acci-
dent” and “collision” in state traffic
laws to “crash.” However, House Bill
3050 died in the Senate Rules Commit-
tee, where state Senate President Peter
Courtney, D-Salem, had
inexplicably sent it in
the Legislature’s final
month. Due to what was
described as “some sort
of technical glitch,” it
never appeared on the
committee’s list of bills
DICK
to work.
HUGHES
The 89-page bill
itself is not a big deal,
although the term “accident” is con-
sidered outdated because most crashes
are preventable — the result of human
errors as opposed to accidental occur-
rences. What matters is that HB 3050’s
fate was not unique. Legislative staff
said at least a few other bills also “dis-
appeared” due to IT glitches.
Technology is fallible. Its shortcom-
ings in the 2021 Legislature are noth-
ing compared with other recent IT woes
in state government — the new state
phone system, an emergency radio net-
work, the Cover Oregon health care
site debacle and, of course, the highly
publicized problems with the Oregon
Employment Department systems.
Neither is overconfidence, or hubris,
unique to the IT world. Remember the
confidence with which Pat Allen, the
director of the Oregon Health Authority,
said in February 2020 that our state was
well-prepared to handle this emerging
coronavirus known as COVID-19?
Democrats touted the 2021 session
Paris Hilton, top right, a former reality television star who has become an activist for regulating
youth treatment centers, testified remotely before a state Senate committee in March.
as the most accessible and transparent
in Oregon history because people could
testify on bills from anywhere in Ore-
gon via videoconference or telephone.
Sticking with that talking point, legis-
lative leadership rarely acknowledged
the shortcomings: Committee meetings
were confined to specific time blocks,
due to technology limits, which in turn
limited the amount of public testimony
and legislator discussion. Video feeds
sometimes crashed. Committee mem-
bers often were not viewable to the pub-
lic, and sometimes not to each other.
People frequently told of being unable
to get through when it was their turn to
testify. Written testimony and other doc-
uments sometimes became difficult to
find as legislation moved along.
Though the Legislature’s technology
was vastly improved from years past,
it widened the gap between the tech-
nological haves and have-nots. Orego-
nians needed some level of technical
savvy to participate. They also required
reliable internet or phone connections,
which are absent in much of rural Ore-
gon.Viewing stations were set up out-
side the Capitol so anyone lacking inter-
net access could watch the proceedings.
As best I can recall, I never saw anyone
using them.
Regardless of what the world may
wish for, the old “normal” is forever
gone. The pandemic inserted technol-
ogy into our lives in valuable ways that
may never disappear — from enabling
remote participation in legislative hear-
ings to conducting medical appoint-
ments via video, ordering online from
restaurants and combining in-person
and video worship services.
And so, the overriding technology
question for the Legislature and Oregon
Capitol staff can be divided into four
parts: A) What lessons were learned this
year? B) Who is compiling, evaluat-
ing and following up on those lessons?
C) In addition, what ideas can Oregon
borrow from other states, local govern-
ments and the private sector? D) What
improvements will be made for the
2022 Legislature, and beforehand, and
how will these improvements be effec-
tively tested by real people across the
state?
Here are two more questions about
Capitol operations:
Are metal detectors coming to the
Capitol?
The Oregon Capitol is reopening
to the public. But what will the public
experience be like, given that the main
public entrances remain off-limits due
to construction?
Meanwhile, the Legislature voted to
ban individuals, including holders of
concealed weapon permits, from car-
rying guns into the Capitol. That pre-
sumably would affect legislators or staff
who regularly carry concealed weap-
ons for self-defense. How will this be
enforced, if it comes to that?
Three Republican representatives —
E. Werner Reschke, of Klamath Falls,
David Brock Smith, of Port Orford, and
recently ousted Mike Nearman, of Inde-
pendence – filed an initiative on June 2
to overturn that Senate Bill 554, which
also includes other firearms restric-
tions. They have until Sept. 24 to col-
lect 74,680 valid signatures from voters
and force an election.
The Legislature, not the governor, is
in charge of the Capitol. If SB 554 does
take effect this fall, will the Legislature
install metal detectors, institute searches
of people entering the building or enact
other security measures? The front of
the Capitol already resembles a fortress
with concrete security bollards block-
ing the drive-thru where cars and buses
would unload visiting school children,
tourists, demonstrators and others.
dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
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GUEST COLUMN
Some bumper car therapy
O
ver the last 40 years, our family
has vacationed at the same place
on the beach. While the buildings
have been refurbished, the complex remains
largely unchanged. The exception was last
year when the COVID pandemic shut down
travel and beach lodging.
Over the years, our entertainment has
changed a lot. We still swim, jump the
waves and build sandcastles, but our board
games, puzzles and playing cards have been
replaced with kids’ electronic tablets, smart-
phones and movies down-
loaded from the internet.
We still take lots of pic-
tures, but rather than tak-
ing them to film processing
centers, we use cellphone
cameras to instantly
text and post photos on
DON C.
Facebook.
BRUNELL
As long as we remem-
ber, the small Seaside
arcade featuring a miniature golf course,
Tilt-a-Whirl and bumper cars, has been
popular and profitable.
Riding the bumper cars is more than
entertainment, for us it is annual ritual that
is highly therapeutic. It is family building.
There are no psychological studies, as
far as we know, analyzing the benefits of
“bumper car therapy.” However, from prac-
tical experience, we know driving bumper
cars is a safe and an effective way to get rid
of frustrations and angst.
Bumper cars became popular in 1920.
The models in Seaside haven’t changed in
years. Each vehicle is surrounded by a rub-
ber bumper and drivers ram each other as
they travel. The technology is anything but
high-tech.
The drivers control an accelerator and a
steering wheel as they scoot across a metal
floor. The 1940s style metal cars are pow-
ered by small electric motors. The cars are
multidirectional and can turn on a dime.
They are even made to spin.
The operators monitor the brisk action
and adjust the flow of electricity to unsnarl
pileups and to prevent injuries from head-on
collisions.
Bumper cars are contact entertainment
and everyone is out for him or herself. It is
sort of a controlled demolition derby where
the only thing dented is one’s pride.
In bumper cars, every driver is equal.
You pay your money and the only differ-
ence in the cars is their color. It is impos-
sible to text while driving. Drivers can’t
avoid getting hit and once the bumping
starts, it is highly contagious.
Bumper cars can humble even the most
powerful people, but after the ride ends
drivers walk away more relaxed and smil-
ing. They have something to talk and laugh
about for years.
“Dodgems” as the British call them,
may make a comeback. They are a way for
Bumper cars in Seaside.
people of all ages to just have fun without
expensive electronic gadgets.
The nice thing about the small amuse-
ment center in Seaside is its rides are afford-
able. Time and computerization have not
eclipsed bumper cars.
There could be a new market which
could return bumper cars’ popularity to the
heydays nearly 90 years ago. Think of their
therapeutic benefits as a way for dueling
politicians, pandering media types, feud-
ing families and opposing groups to unlock
horns.
Perhaps, they could eliminate the bit-
ter political polarization just as the famous
poker games between President Ronald
Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill did
in the early 1980s.
For a few seconds, imagine Joe Biden,
Kamala Harris, Mitch McConnell, Nancy
Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Donald Trump
banging into each other in bumper cars in
Seaside. It would be international headline
news.
A bumper car ride or two might even
bring some harmony — at least for 10 min-
utes. Given what’s going on today, it’s
worth a try.
don C. Brunell is a business analyst,
writer and columnist. He retired as presi-
dent of the Association of Washington Busi-
ness, the state’s oldest and largest business
organization, and now lives in Vancouver,
Washington.