A4 Wednesday, February 5, 2020
HOOD RIVER NEWS | Hood River, Ore.
hoodrivernews.com
OPINION
Our Readers Write
Ending
corruption
Here’s some good political
news! There is a national or-
ganization, www.represent.us,
who’s only mission is to end
corruption in American pol-
itics. Independent polls have
shown that over 80 percent
of Republicans, Democrats
and Independents support the
American Anti-Corruption Act.
Ending corruption is an issue
we can all get on board with.
Represent.us brings togeth-
er conservatives, progressives,
and everyone in between to
pass powerful anti-corruption
laws that stop political bribery,
end secret money, and fix our
broken elections.
Anti-corruption laws are
being passed all over Amer-
ica right now. Both Oregon
and Washington states have
already passed some anti-cor-
ruption laws supported by the
Represent.us movement.
Amazingly, the State of
Maine now uses “Ranked
Choice Voting (RCV)” on their
state level elections. RCV is
only one part of the Anti-Cor-
ruption Act. If you don’t know
what ranked choice voting is,
there are many articles and
videos about it on the internet.
Ranked choice voting, some-
times called “order of prefer-
ence voting” allows voters to
pick several candidates in the
order they prefer. RCV elimi-
nates the element of a “spoiler
effect” so voters can vote for
third party candidates without
the fear that they’ll be helping
to throw an election to a can-
didate they absolutely don’t
want. It’s a beautiful thing that
corrupt politicians don’t want
enacted, but the State of Maine
and cities and counties across
America are moving to ranked
choice voting as its wisdom
becomes clear.
It has been a long time
since I’ve found a political
movement that I could feel
good about and get behind. I
had thrown my hands up in
surrender, but now I have en-
thusiastic optimism again. You
want to save the world? Then
end corruption in politics. Visit
www.represent.us and join
people across the nation who
are working together to take
back our government.
Scot Bergeron
Bingen
Dangerous
Dangerous crossing at li-
brary, yes, this is a terrible spot.
Much traffic on State Street,
cars trying to back out into the
traffic lane, pedestrians not
sure when to cross. Would it
be possible to install a flashing
red light on both sides of the
street? I nearly got hit by two
cars not paying any attention
to the crosswalk. I truly believe
they never saw me! Would a
red flashing light make a differ-
ence? At least we could try!
Maria Kollas
Hood River
Proactive
safety
At 5:30 a.m. I was backing
out of my drive when I could
have easily hit two female
runners that went behind my
vehicle without any reflective
clothing on, nor carrying a
flashlight whilst running in the
street. Please, for safety sake,
wear reflective clothing, take
a flashlight and be proactive
with your own personal well-
being and not assume a driver
has you in their site.
Thank you!
Natasha Markovich
Hood River
Not Nadler
Donald Trump called Jerry
Nadler, the chair of the House
Judiciary Committee, a “slea-
zeball.” But Rep. Nadler has not
been seen mocking someone
with a disability on national
TV; he does not have a repu-
tation of being a bully and a
name-caller.
There are no claims that
he has told over 16,000 lies in
the last three years; 43 women
have not accused him of inap-
propriate behavior, including
rape, sexual assault, or sexual
harassment; and he has not
bragged that he can do any-
thing he wants to women be-
cause he is a celebrity.
Rep. Nadler has not said he
knows more than our generals
or calls them “losers” and “a
bunch of dopes and babies.”
He did not insult the military
service of Senator John Mc-
Cain, a decorated veteran and
POW; nor did he belittle the
parents of a Muslim-American
soldier killed while serving in
W HERE TO W RITE
President — Donald Trump, White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,
Washington D.C., 20500
E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
U.S. Senators — Jeff Merkley, SDB-40B, Dirksen Senate Office
Building, Washington D.C., 20510. Phone: 202-224-3753; E-mail:
oregon@merkley.senate.gov; Ron Wyden, 717 Hart Office Building,
Washington D.C., 20510. Phone: 202-224-5244.
Web address: www.senate.gov/member/or/wyden/general/
2nd Congressional District Representative — Greg Walden, 14
N. Central Ave., Suite 112, Medford, OR 97504. Phone: 541-776-4646;
E-mail: www.walden.house.gov/contactgreg
Governor — Kate Brown, 254 State Capitol, Salem, OR 97310.
Phone: 503-378-3111;
E-mail: www.governor.state.or.us/email.htm
District 26 State Senator — Chuck Thomsen, 900 Court St. N.E.,
S-307, State Capitol, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-1726; E-mail
sen.chuckthomsen@state.or.us
District 52 State Representative — Anna Williams, 900 Court
St. N.E., H-489, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-1452; Email: rep.
awilliams@oregonlegislature.gov
Hood River County Board of Commissioners — Chair Mike
Oates, Vice Chair Rich McBride, members Bob Benton, Karen Joplin
and Les Perkins, Business Administration Building, 601 State Street,
Hood River, OR, 97031. Phone: 541-386-3970.
Hood River City Council — Mayor Kate McBride, members Mark
Zanmiller, Megan Saunders, Jessica Metta, Tim Counihan, Erick
Haynie and Gladys Rivera, Hood River City Hall, Hood River, OR,
97031. Phone: 541-386-1488. E-mail: cohr@gorge.net
the Army.
Mr. Nadler doesn’t call him-
self “a very stable genius” and
he isn’t regarded by countless
mental health professionals
and others as a dangerous, ma-
lignant narcissist who is unfit
for office.
He does not admire author-
itarian rulers or take the word
of Vladimir Putin over that
of 17 of his own intelligence
agencies.
Half of the American people
don’t think he is a racist. His
leadership has not been re-
ferred to as “the collision of in-
competence and cruelty.” And
he is not on trial for impeach-
ment for high crimes and mis-
demeanors, abuse of power,
and obstruction of justice.
No — Jerry Nadler has never
said or done or been accused
of any of these things.
That would be Donald
Trump.
Connie Krummrich
The Dalles Claire Bokovoy won one Editorial Cartoon Gold Key, sponsored by the Herb Block Foundation, for
G OLD K EY: E DITORIAL C ARTOON
‘Shame’
It is a shame that the Demo-
cratic Party can spend so much
time and energy trying to
take down the highest-ranking
member of our own govern-
ment, that they were not more
interested in the welfare of our
country. Like President Trump
is and the good job he is doing
for all of us. One reader wrote
in “Walk the walk” (Jan. 15),
where are all the Democrats for
our meeting? Right off-hand, if
I were a betting man, I would
assume that they are keeping
a low profile, or maybe they
are thinking about going to the
other side of the fence in No-
vember. It is said that you can
fool some of the people some
of the time, but you can’t fool
all of the people all of the time.
Warren Wols
Hood River
Call your
representative
Exciting times when people
gather to celebrate MLK Day
by taking immediate action
against hunger and work to
end “policies that either foster
or mitigate systemic inequi-
ties” (“MLK Day of Service
stocks up food banks,” Hood
River News, Jan. 29).
Speaking up to our repre-
sentatives with calls and let-
this cartoon; she won four Gold Keys total. Hood River’s state Gold Key winners’ work will be dis-
played at the Columbia Art Gallery for the month of February, and all Gold Key winners will be hon-
ored at an award ceremony at the gallery on First Friday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. See the A1 story for details.
ters supporting initiatives that
make a difference; for example,
creating a renters’ tax credit
and further increasing income
tax fairness by expanding the
Earned Income and the Child
Tax Credits. The Congressio-
nal Management Foundation
recently reported that constit-
uents have the most influence
with our representatives. So,
let’s light up the phones and
send emails to finally end hun-
ger, poverty, and inequities in
America.
Willie Dickerson
Snohomish, Wash.
Do your job
State senate Republican
leader Herman Baertschiger
said another walkout by Re-
publicans, as they did last year,
during this short legislative
session is possible in order to
deny Democrats a quorum on
climate change legislation.
In light of that news, I’d like
all senators and their constitu-
ents to be aware of this:
According to the Bend Bul-
letin (Jan. 29), “Twenty-one
companies, including Nike
and Microsoft, the Craft Brew
Alliance and two healthcare
climate alliances in Washing-
ton and California, sent a letter
to ‘leadership and legislators of
the Pacific Coast,’ urging them
to adopt cap and trade pro-
grams, which they argue can
promote economic growth.”
I would think those last three
words should strike a chord
with our Republican senators.
When the vote comes up
on climate change, I expect all
senators to stay and do their
job.
Tracie Hornung
Parkdale
‘The Vagina
Monologues’
I had the privilege of attend-
ing the opening night perfor-
mance last Friday of Eve Ens-
ler’s “The Vagina Monologues”
at the Columbia Center for the
Arts. I recommend it for all ma-
ture adults who like to learn,
share and experience more
about our world … and espe-
cially about women, “who hold
up half the sky,” and are actu-
ally the majority of the earth’s
inhabitants. There is humor,
pathos, poignancy, poetry,
rawness and abundant ten-
derness in these monologues,
staged and performed so ex-
pertly by our local cast and
crew. The monologues were
drawn from Ensler’s interviews
of hundreds of women from all
over the world.
Get your tickets now from
www.columbiaarts.org/
events/vagmono/, since re-
maining performances (Feb.7-
9) may well sell out. And huge
thanks to visionary director
Judie Hanel for bringing back
“The Vagina Monologues” to
Hood River, as well as CAST
Theatre, THRIVE Hood River,
and many sponsors and volun-
teers for this important com-
munity event.
Tina Castanares
Hood River
‘You must
see VM’
“Vagina Monologues” is
going on at the Columbia
Center for the Arts. It’s a short
stay, closes next weekend. This
group of wonderful actors does
a fabulous job of bringing this
funny and poignant play back
to the stage with updates so
relevant to today.
Please go see them and get
ready for a wonderful evening.
Susan Lannak
Hood River
Farm Bureau celebrates women’s
contributions to agriculture
Oregon ranks fourth in the
nation for the number of farmers
and ranchers who are women,
according to the latest U.S. Cen-
sus of Agriculture (2017). There
are 29,868 female farmers and
ranchers in Oregon, represent-
ing 44 percent of the state’s agri-
cultural community.
Nationally, 36 percent of all
U.S. farmers and ranchers are
female, according to the census.
To celebrate women’s contri-
butions to Oregon agriculture —
and the impact of public policy
on all farm and ranch families
— the Oregon Farm Bureau
(OFB) Women’s Advisory Coun-
cil planned a cake-and-coffee
reception for lawmakers and the
general public at the state capitol
on Monday, Feb. 3 from 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m.
Feb. 3 also markedthe start
of the 2020 Oregon Legislative
Short Session.
“Farm Bureau members will
be at the capitol to remind law-
makers that their decisions di-
rectly impact our ability to grow
crops, raise animals, contribute
to the economy, and stay viable
and sustainable for the next
generation,” said OFB Women’s
Advisory Council Chair Janice
Flegel, who runs a cattle and hay
ranch with her family in Crook
County.
“Women play an essential
role on Oregon’s farms and
ranches in every capacity, as
owner-operators, as bookkeep-
ers, as mothers, and as advocates
for agriculture in the legislature,”
said Flegel.
Agriculture is unique in that,
unlike other industries, almost
every aspect of public policy
affects farms and ranches, in-
cluding laws involving land use,
labor, water, wildlife, taxes, trans-
portation, and many other broad
categories. Agriculture is also dif-
ferent in that farmers and ranch-
ers cannot simply pass along
increased costs to their buyers
because their product prices are
set by the commodity market.
Also out of their control are
factors like the weather, pests,
disease, and market trends.
In Oregon, female farmers
and ranchers are involved in
producing all of Oregon’s 225-
plus agriculture commodities,
from cattle, sheep, and dairy
cows — to berries, vegetables,
and wine grapes — to hazel-
nuts, grass seed, and nursery
products.
OFB First Vice President Angi
Bailey owns Verna Jean Nursery,
located outside of Portland.
“My mom, Verna Jean Hale,
started the nursery in 1967,” said
Bailey. “She was a woman who
worked in agriculture her entire
life, who was not bound by any
preconceived notions of what
she should be and certainly was
not slowed down by any barriers
to success. I knew from watch-
ing my mother that my gender
would not be a disadvantage
when I took over the nursery.”
“I’m happy to see that more
women are taking the lead in
farms and ranches,” said Mickey
Killingsworth, Women’s Adviso-
ry Council member and owner
of a sheep ranch in Jefferson
County.
“Today when I go to town to
make a big order of fertilizer or
buy farming equipment, I don’t
get asked where my husband
is. It’s not so unusual to be a
female farmer anymore, which
is a positive for agriculture,”
Killingsworth said.