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OPINION
East Oregonian
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
JENNINE PERKINSON
Advertising Director
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
OTHER VIEWS
Can’t
dance
around
Building a better
topic
of
radical
Islam
State of the Union
The State of the Union was
answer a few questions about the
another hour-long snoozer, replete
budget and their R&D programs.
with 87 applause breaks and the
There would be civil, sober
obligatory declaration that “the state back-and-forth discussion about
of the union is strong.”
dollars and cents, no stories about
We’re still waiting for the
one-legged single moms working
president who has the guts and the
their way through Harvard Business
vocabulary to describe the state
School.
of the union as something else —
This would require respecting the
“lumpy” for instance.
The sole interesting moment
who sits there, a virtue that has been
of the night was
noticeably lacking
the one and only
in the opposition
line that wasn’t
Less clapping, to at least our past
written down.
heads of state.
more discussion. three
After Republicans
Obviously this
mockingly cheered
would require our
Not another
the president when
campaign
he said “I have no
act like grownups,
more campaigns
which seems
speech, but
to run,” Obama
to be asking a
a line-by-line
snapped back: “I
little too much
know because I
from the current
investigation
won both of them.”
Congressional crop.
That was followed
into the health of In essence,
by what was the
the State of the
the nation.
only truly deserved
Union would be
applause of the
a conversation,
evening.
a discussion, a
The State of the Union has
boardroom budget meeting where
become a made-for-TV political
good things are praised and bad
rally. There was so much pomp
things get attention and an attempt
that even circumstance agreed the
at a cure. It would be more boring
whole night was overkill. It’s a lot of (And you thought that wasn’t
airy, grandiose mush punctuated by
possible!) but it would also be more
micro-stories summing up real-life
plucky Americans in a few words.
We don’t need another campaign
But what if the annual speech
event — that’s just about all
to Congress and the nation was
American politics is these days.
something else entirely? What
We do need the president to be
if it wasn’t a place for political
informed, to keep us informed, and
grandstanding, but an opportunity
we need at least two of our three
to go around the country and truly
branches of government to be able
investigate the state of our union,
to sit in the same building together
then report back?
and talk.
Republicans always talk about
Though its importance is waning,
running government like a business
the State of the Union still matters.
— tightening budgets in times of
It remains the widest audience the
trouble and not spending more
president will get all year; more
than you bring in. So what if the
than 30 million people watched
Constitutionally-mandated State of
the speech live and many more
the Union address included the CEO watched a replay online or a recap
president, peeking over bifocals and on television.
Yet it’s a missed opportunity. The
calling out to the honorable man or
address could make our democracy
woman from Missouri? That senator better and our union stronger, instead
of being just another bipartisan
microphone to deliver a short report, clapping contest.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher
Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor.
Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
I
’ve never been a fan of global
the extent that Muslim immigrants in
conferences to solve problems,
European countries feel marginalized,
but when I read that the Obama
they and their hosts should worker
administration is organizing a Summit
harder on absorption. But both efforts
on Countering Violent Extremism
will only take you so far.
for Feb. 18, in response to the Paris
Something else is also at work,
killings, I had a visceral reaction: Is
and it needs to be discussed. It is the
there a box on my tax returns that I
struggle within Arab and Pakistani
can check so my tax dollars won’t go
Sunni Islam over whether and how
Thomas
to pay for this?
Friedman to embrace modernity, pluralism and
When you don’t call things by their
women’s rights. That struggle drives,
Comment
real name, you always get in trouble.
and is driven by, the dysfunctionality
And this administration, so fearful of
of so many Arab states and Pakistan.
being accused of Islamophobia, is refusing to
It has left these societies with too many
make any link to radical Islam from the recent young men who have never held a job or a
explosions of violence against civilians (most
girl’s hand, who then seek to overcome their
of them Muslims) by Boko Haram in Nigeria,
by the Taliban in Pakistan, by al-Qaida in
identity, by “purifying” their worlds of other
Paris and by jihadists in Yemen and Iraq.
We’ve entered the theater of the absurd.
Westerners whom they perceive to be putting
Last week the conservative columnist Rich Muslims down. But you don’t see this in the
Lowry wrote an essay in Politico Magazine
two giant Muslim communities in Indonesia
that contained quotes from White House
or India.
spokesman Josh Earnest that I could not
Only Sunni Arabs and Pakistanis can get
believe. I was sure they were made up. But I
inside their narrative and remediate it. But
checked the transcript: 100 percent correct. I
reformers can only do that if they have a free,
can’t say it better than Lowry did:
secure political space. If we’re not going to
“The administration has lapsed into
help create space for that internal dialogue,
unselfconscious ridiculousness. Asked
let’s just be quiet. Don’t say stupid stuff. And
why the administration won’t say [after the
don’t hold airy fairy conferences that dodge
Paris attacks] we are at war with radical
the real issues, which many mainstream
Islam, Earnest on Tuesday explained the
Muslims know and are actually starved to
discuss, especially women.
We want to describe exactly what happened.
The Arab journalist Diana Moukalled,
These are individuals who carried out an act of writing in the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat
terrorism, and they later tried to justify that act last week, asked: “Don’t all these events now
of terrorism by invoking the religion of Islam
going on around us and committed in our
and their own deviant view of it.’
name require us to break the fear barrier and
“This makes it sound as if the Charlie
begin to question our region and our societies,
Hebdo terrorists set out to commit a
random act of violent extremism and only
have led us to this awful stage where we are
subsequently, when they realized that they
tearing at one another’s throats — to mention
nothing of what as a result also happens
Islam.
beyond our region?”
“The day before, Earnest had conceded
And a remarkable piece in The Washington
Post Sunday by Asra Q. Nomani, an American
Muslim born in India, called out the “honor
individuals who have cited Islam as they’ve
corps” — a loose, well-funded coalition of
carried out acts of violence.’ Cited Islam?
According to the Earnest theory ... purposeless governments and private individuals “that
tries to silence debate on extremist ideology
violent extremists rummage through the
in order to protect the image of Islam.”
scriptures of great faiths, looking for some
verses to cite to support their mayhem and
pundits, journalists and others who dare to
often happen to settle on the holy texts of
talk about extremist ideology in the religion.
Islam.”
President Barack Obama knows better. I
in tandem, harassing, threatening and battling
am all for restraint on the issue, and would
introspective Muslims and non-Muslims
never hold every Muslim accountable for the
everywhere. ... The bullying often works to
acts of a few. But it is not good for us or the
silence critics of Islamic extremism. ... They
Muslim world to pretend that this spreading
cause governments, writers and experts to
jihadist violence isn’t coming out of their
walk on eggshells.”
faith community. It is coming mostly, but
I know one in particular.
not exclusively, from angry young men and
preachers on the fringe of the Sunni Arab and
Thomas L. Friedman won the 2002 Pulitzer
Pakistani communities in the Middle East and
Europe.
Prize for commentary, his third Pulitzer for
If Western interventions help foster violent
The New York Times. He became the paper’s
Islamic reactions, we should reduce them. To
foreign-affairs Op-Ed columnist in 1995.
YOUR VIEWS
Too late to change plan
and location for Requa statue
I have great respect for Mike Forrester and
his family that has a long involvement with
the East Oregonian. We are fortunate to have
a local newspaper that allows us to express our
opinions publicly in accordance with our First
Amendment rights.
Unfortunately, Mr. Forrester should have
read the minutes of the city council meeting
held on October 7. The Arts Commission
requested a grant for $5,000 for the Pendleton
Linebackers Club to fund a statue of Don
In order for the Linebackers Club to
contract with the sculptor of the statue, it had
to have $60,000 in the bank. The $5,000 grant
would help meet that requirement. Mayor
Houk stated that money from the transient
room taxes could be used for community art.
Local merchant Dean Fouquette mentioned
the organization’s commitment to giving
scholarships and that the Linebackers Club
is an avid supporter of the Pendleton High
School athletic program. Local Pendleton
historian and city council member at the time,
Keith May, stated that he felt that city art
LETTERS POLICY
should express a variety of styles and interests
and he supported the Requa statue. Jane
Hill was also in support of the statue and its
The motion was passed 5-2.
As a consequence of the city council’s
support for the Requa bronze being located in
an aggressive fundraising campaign. Donors
responded enthusiastically because they were
aware that the city council was supportive of
and that there would be no problems.
Renowned sculptor Rick Caswell now has
the clay model completed and has assured the
Linebackers Club that he will have the statue
ready by its deadline.
Therefore, letters to the editor calling for
major changes in the project at this point in
time are inappropriate and a change would
violate the contract that was made in good
faith with Caswell.
I suggest that the detractors read the city
council minutes for October 7. They are
available for your convenience on the Internet
or at City Hall.
Jerry Cronin
Pendleton
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper
reserves the right to withhold letters. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. Send letters to Managing
Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.