Page 6
December 28, 2016
Your Carpet
Best Cleaning
Choice
O PINION
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$45.00
A small distance/travel
charge may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services) : $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool) :
$40.00 Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $109 - $139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services) : $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
Foreign Influence and the Integrity of Our Democracy
A duty and
obligation to
investigate
M arC h. M orial
In 1840, President
Martin Van Buren was
fighting for re-election.
He ultimately lost his
presidential bid to a war
hero, William Henry
Harrison, who easily won over
the widely unpopular Van Buren,
nicknamed, “Van Ruin,” for pre-
siding over the nation during an
economic depression.
The presidential campaign of
1840 was heavy on image, and
light on substance, painting Van
Buren as an elitist and Harrison as
an everyday man. Harrison—ac-
cused of being helped by British
bankers during his campaign—
won the Electoral College vote
and an extremely close popular
vote.
In 1888, Grover Cleveland
was favored to win his presiden-
tial re-election campaign, but
ultimately lost the presidency
because he appeared partial and
by
subservient to British interests.
The voters turned against him
and his perceived British sympa-
thies. While he managed to win
the popular vote, he lost
the Electoral College
vote, and, hence, the pres-
idency.
If the past is prologue,
history suggests that
Americans resent the in-
terference of foreign gov-
ernments and interests in
our presidential elections. As ev-
idence of Russian tampering via
cyber-attacks and hacking contin-
ues to mount, and President-elect
Trump has tapped Rex Tillerson
as his Secretary of State—who
Trump described as doing “mas-
sive deals in Russia” and was
awarded the “Order of Friend-
ship” by Vladimir Putin—it is the
duty and obligation of our Con-
gress to thoroughly investigate
whether or not Russia has inter-
fered with our election process to
tip the scale for a Trump win and,
in the process, undermine and
sow distrust in our democracy
and its institutions.
President Obama has ordered
a full intelligence review of the
alleged Russian hack into the
Democratic National Committee
and other Republican sources to
be completed before inaugura-
tion day. In a break with Trump,
the top two Republicans in Con-
gress have lent their support to a
bipartisan congressional effort to
investigate the alleged Russian
cyber-attacks. Calling any breach
of American cyber-security mea-
sures “disturbing,” Sen. Mitch
McConnell added that, “the Rus-
sians do not wish us well…It de-
fies belief that somehow Republi-
cans in the Senate are reluctant to
either review Russian hacking, or
ignore them.”
Trump and his associates have
dismissed the allegations of Rus-
sian interference, painting them
as “ridiculous,” and “another
excuse.” Trump has—quite char-
acteristically—explained away
the legitimate concerns of our
institutions, political leaders, the
press and the people by blaming
the Democrats for disseminat-
ing conspiracy theories because
“they suffered one of the greatest
defeats in the history of politics
in this country,” to conceding that
if there was any interference or
hacking, “they have no idea if it’s
Russia, or China, or somebody.
It could be somebody sitting in a
bed someplace,” he said in a tele-
vised interview.
Trump, and I’m sure many
of his supporters, see the inves-
tigation into possible Russian
meddling in the 2016 presiden-
tial election as an attempt to—
yet again—delegitimize his re-
cent win. But the president-elect
would do better to understand
that to not thoroughly inves-
tigate these allegations would
leave a permanent stain on his
administration, his tenure and his
motives. To not look into these
allegations seriously would fur-
ther erode public trust in the al-
ready embattled mechanics of
our democracy. If domestic voter
suppression sits on one side of
the coin, the unwanted influence
of a foreign power in American
elections sits on the other. Rather
than enrich us, and our system of
representative government, both
serve to undermine true democ-
racy.
Marc H. Morial is president
and chief executive officer of the
National Urban League.