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OPINION
East Oregonian
Friday, January 30, 2015
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
JENNINE PERKINSON
Advertising Director
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
Tip of the hat;
kick in the pants
A kick in pants to the state-regulated public relations machine, who
sure put a lovely spin on the ugly fact that Oregon’s schools are among the
worst in the country at graduating students on time.
The state’s graduation rate in 2013 was dead last — 49th of 49 states that
got their results in on time. That’s not something to be very proud of, unless
you are the state of Oregon and you’d rather bury the bad news about the
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The public relations arm sure tried to
by titling their press release: “Oregon
announces steady growth in graduation
rates.” The Oregonian titled their
graduation rate stories a little differently:
“Oregon fails to improve dismal
graduation rate” and “Oregon posts
nation’s worst graduation rate for class
of 2013.”
While all of the above are true, The
Oregonian headlines accurately portray
the story. That’s not because they are
negative — a rut some accuse the media of being too often stuck in — but
because the facts in this case are so very poor. To frame them any other way
would be doing a disservice to the public. That rates ticked up from rock
bottom is a positive step, but it’s nothing for the state to hang its hat on.
Even local school districts got into the obfuscation.
A press release from Hermiston School District read: “Hermiston High
School outperforms state graduation rate.” Which is true, but it conveniently
leaves out the bleak graduation rate at the Hermiston alternative school. So
if you don’t include the students most in need of help to graduate, the school
district is above the dismally low state average. Congratulations?
The Intermountain Education Service District trotted out the old “Hey
look over there!” approach to bad news, sending a press release touting
outperforming Morrow County schools but failing to mention any school or
demographic that fell below the state average — of which there were plenty
to choose from.
This burying of the truth isn’t helpful. A student’s report card doesn’t
include just the classes they aced. The failing grades are on there for a reason
— to force us to confront the skills we lack and make a plan for improving
them.
These press releases aren’t outright lying to Oregonians, but they sure
aren’t telling the truth. And while we all know the ethics of public relations
leave plenty of wiggle room, we think that just not lying isn’t doing your job
well no matter what industry you’re in.
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agencies is that our tax dollars are supporting it. We’re actually paying
people to mislead us and hide the truth. That, again, isn’t something to be
proud of — but I’m sure our state PR employees would be glad to inform us
that they are doing their misleading at well above the state average.
A tip of the hat to the state of Indiana, which nixed the disastrous plan
of creating a state-run news source after being swamped with a deluge of
complaints.
Gov. Mike Pence had planned to start a state-run, taxpayer-funded news
outlet that would make pre-written news stories available to Indiana media,
as well as sometimes break news about his administration, according to
documents obtained by The Indianapolis
Star.
Heads exploded across the country
and the plan was quickly dubbed
“Pravda on the Plains” after the Russian
state news source known for its heavy
bias toward the government in charge.
“At times, Just IN will break news
— publishing information ahead of
any other news outlet. Strategies for
determining how and when to give
priority to such ‘exclusive’ coverage
remain under discussion,” according to a
question-and-answer sheet distributed last week to communications directors
for state agencies.
After plenty of pushback from media and citizens, Pence wisely canned
the plan. State news has never been a part of American culture and we sure
hope it isn’t anytime soon.
The failure of Just IN should be a lesson for Oregon’s public agencies,
whose work is reading more and more like news stories, but continues to
lack the independence and honesty necessary to tell the whole truth.
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.
OUR VIEWS
Use prescribed burns in wilderness
The (Bend) Bulletin
Walk into the wilderness in the
summer and it can look like a tinder box.
The Forest Service does fuels treatment
and has had projects planned up along
the Cascades Lakes
Highway. It’s a slim
buffer, though. It’s too
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escaping the wilderness
and roaring out to
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and property.
The Deschutes
and Willamette national forests have
discussed doing prescribed burns in
some selected areas in the Three Sisters
Wilderness and the Mt. Washington
Wilderness. The burns in the Willamette
may begin in the fall of 2015. They
should be able to.
There’s the smoke. There’s the debate
about whether they are necessary or
even appropriate. There’s the concern
that sometimes even carefully planned
prescribed burns get out of hand. And for
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whole idea of wilderness.
The 1964 Wilderness Act and the
regulations that followed are about
preserving the character of areas “where
man is a visitor and does not remain.”
The areas are to be “protected and
managed to allow natural ecological
processes to operate freely.”
Of course, a
prescribed burn isn’t
a natural act. But
wilderness designations
should not be suicide
pacts. If the Forest
Service needs to conduct
prescribed burns in
wilderness areas to
protect those areas it should.
The Forest Service’s plan is to
create breaks in the natural vegetation
in the wilderness areas. It should slow
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supplement what is already being
done or planned for areas outside the
wilderness. The burns should also enable
the Forest Service to allow lightning-
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do naturally within wilderness areas.
The Forest Service’s modeling shows
that taking action outside the wilderness
areas is not enough. It should do the
burns in the wilderness.
Wilderness
should not be
a suicide pact.
OTHER VIEWS
Obama trolls with a purpose
P
olitically, President Obama
engage and begin talking about?
has never been weaker, after
Which means he has set the agenda.”
losing both House and Senate.
Obama’s tax proposals, on the
At the same time, he has never talked
whole, have less than zero chance
tougher. There is a connection between
of success on Capitol Hill. But with
the two.
the State of the Union as a launch
Obama recently told Democratic
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lawmakers that he’s going to “play
him around the country promoting
offense” in coming months. Coming
the idea, with a press to take Obama’s
Byron
from a man with a history of
gambit seriously, the president can
York
occasional trash talk — “I’m LeBron,
multiply his strengths, which right now
Comment
baby” — it’s tempting to dismiss this
are the core constitutional powers of
as just more chatter. What is Obama
the presidency and the bully pulpit.
doing, going on offense after his party suffered
If anyone doubts Obama’s intentions, just
such a resounding defeat in November?
listen to senior White House adviser Dan
Conservative writers John Podhoretz
Pfeiffer explaining the president’s economic
and Jonah Goldberg argue the president just
proposals on “Meet the Press.” “Some of
can’t resist trolling Republicans. Liberal Paul
them are going to be legislative proposals
Waldman essentially agrees,
Republicans may not love,
admiring Obama’s ability to
but we’ll push them on
“come up with a new idea
them,” Pfeiffer said. “Some
every couple of weeks to
of them will be executive
drive (the GOP) up a wall.”
actions.” In any event,
It’s true the president
Pfeiffer pledged the White
seems to take real pleasure
House will use “every lever
in annoying his adversaries.
we can” to get what Obama
But there’s a serious strategy
wants.
behind it.
Republicans should
With no real political
take such a strategy very
clout on Capitol Hill and
seriously. In the 2006
a job approval rating that
midterm elections, the lame
has stayed mostly below
duck George W. Bush lost
50 percent for a long time,
the House and Senate. If
Obama is trying to leverage
there was any message from
the power he has left to
the election, it was that
force his agenda on the
Americans were sick and
Republican majority. His big
tired of the Iraq war, which
talk, executive actions and
was going very badly. And
outlandish proposals are the
yet somehow Bush shaped
best ways he has to control
the political conversation
the debate in Washington.
in early 2007 to focus on how big a surge of
“The reason he is being aggressive is that
troops was needed in Iraq. Bush leveraged
he knows he can generate a response,” says a
his fundamental constitutional powers as
well-connected Republican strategist. “When
commander in chief and his White House
he does an executive order, what he is trying
megaphone to frustrate the new Democratic
to do is generate a response so that the entire
majority.
conversation is about what he did — so that he
That doesn’t have to happen this
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time. Republicans have the mojo and the
Likewise, when Obama, facing a newly
momentum. They just got elected, have fresh
empowered conservative Congress, uses his
faces in their new majority, and have several
State of the Union speech to propose a tax
ready-to-go agenda items that had been bottled
plan the liberal columnist E.J. Dionne calls
up in the Senate under now-former Majority
“genuinely redistributive,” he is trying to
Leader Harry Reid. If they are united, and if
dictate the terms of the debate with a powerful they are smart, Republicans can push Obama
adversary. Of course Obama knows his plan
into a defensive crouch.
is anathema to Republicans, but if they debate
But the GOP should always beware the
the president on his terms, he makes progress. president. Even a weak, lame duck chief
“It works if we let it work,” says the
executive has the power to make things
Republican strategist. “When Obama says
happen in Washington. Obama appears ready
something, the question is: Is that the most
to use his to the fullest.
important thing we should be talking about
Ŷ
now, or should we be setting the agenda? Is
Byron York is chief political correspondent
it something that we have to immediately
for The Washington Examiner.
Republicans
have the
mojo and the
momentum.
If they are
united, and if
they are smart,
they can push
Obama into
a defensive
crouch.
YOUR VIEWS
Maybe Portland Zoo could
care for fallen black bear
I call your attention to the story and
photo of the fallen female black bear
discovered upside down in a blackberry bush
environment.
The story and color photo came out on
Friday, Jan. 16 — that very afternoon that
my marvelous caregiver, Rita, of the Porter
House, treated me to the movie of my choice,
“Paddington” at the Hermiston Cinema 8. And
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see it again with my sweetheart Cassius.
May I recommend the Portland Zoo for
our little undernourished bear? I think, if she’s
anything like Paddington bear, she’ll thrive on
marmalade!
Janet M. Miller
Hermiston
Far-right attack ads shooting
Republicans in the foot
I’ve been away and only recently become
aware of the Bill Hansell fracas.
Bill Hansell is a native son of Eastern
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area; a member of a family with a deep
history of civic service; a personal history
of thoughtful consideration of issues that
impact our economy and lives; and a voting
record as our senator that clearly demonstrates
commitment not to a rigid ideology but
rather to a pragmatic, problem-solving, well-
considered approach to making our area of
Eastern Oregon and our state in general work
well and make progress.
Of course that means working with others
who are not Republicans, and coming to
consensus. Of course that means cooperating
across the gulf of political petty-partyness.
Of course that means giving and taking. Of
course that requires working for the best for
all of us, regardless of who we are and/or the
origins of the ideas.
I am a lifelong Democrat and I have
consistently split tickets and voted for the
Republican candidates over the past several
decades (Dave Nelson and now Bill Hansell)
because they have demonstrated their abilities
to represent the concerns of Eastern Oregon.
They are lifelong residents, they understand
our issues, they do their work well.
Bill is a man of integrity, clear thought —
and wide ranging concern for our productive
capabilities, the health of our economy, fair
and equable treatment of us-the-people, and
husbandry of our natural resources.
So for you all on the far right with your
all-or-nothing-we-take-it-all-leave-no-
prisoners-we-and-only-we-have-truth-and-
righteousness-on-our-side... forget it! Put
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\RXUVHOYHVLQWKHIRRW²RQFHDJDLQ<RXFDQ¶W
win this way.
Please get on board with some problem-
solving cooperation and we’ll all be “The
Winners.”
And Bill Hansell will be right there
working with us.
LETTERS POLICY
Andrew A. Clark
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 that address concerns about individual services and
products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must
be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number.
The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send
letters to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
or email editor@eastoregonian.com.