Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2015)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Saturday, March 28, 2015 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor EO MEDIA GROUP East Oregonian • The Daily Astorian • Capital Press • Hermiston Herald Blue Mountain Eagle • Wallowa County Chieftain • Chinook Observer • Coast River Business Journal Oregon Coast Today • Coast Weekend • Seaside Signal • Cannon Beach Gazette Eastern Oregon Real Estate Guide • Eastern Oregon Marketplace • Coast Marketplace OnlyAg.com • FarmSeller.com • Seaside-Sun.com • NorthwestOpinions.com • DiscoverOurCoast.com MIKE FORRESTER STEVE FORRESTER Pendleton Chairman of the Board Astoria President TOM BROWN Bigfork, Mont. Director KATHRYN B. BROWN Pendleton Secretary/Treasurer JEFF ROGERS Indianapolis, Ind. Director OUR VIEW Judging success on a harder test Oregon students are preparing more students pass the challenging IRUWKHLU¿UVWFUDFNDWWKH6PDUWHU tests every year from here on out. Balanced test. Anything new, unproven and You can forgive them, and GLI¿FXOWPDNHVSHRSOHIHDUIXO0DQ\ teachers and administrators, for teachers have expressed that fear, suffering from testing whiplash, and and some have passed those fears maybe even some PTTD (post- along to their students. Most athletic traumatic test disorder). FRDFKHVNQRZWKDWFRQ¿GHQFHLV The top-down, executive key to success and convincing their branch approach players to give to education their best effort. reform has tried to And what is true Students in reinvigorate primary on the pitch is grades three and secondary also true on paper. education in the think school through eight, We country over the RI¿FLDOVVKRXOG last decade — to as well as high remind students that varying degrees of Balanced school juniors, Smarter success. But there tests the U.S. is no debate that will be subjected education system as the United States as it tests the to seven hours of much remains decisively students themselves. behind many it won’t intensive testing. be Sure, European countries easy for the DQGPDQ\¿UVW majority of students world Asian countries in quality of to see their low scores, especially education. The much maligned and for children who are used to getting misunderstood Smarter Balanced good grades. But those good grades tests and Common Core curriculum in less-challenging work weren’t is the latest attempt to resuscitate our cutting it on the international scene. education reputation. This country had to up its game and It won’t come easily. any short-term setbacks will make Students in grades three through our children smarter (and balanced) eight and high school juniors will be in the long run. subjected to seven hours of intensive For now, remind your son and testing over the next two months. daughter, or niece or nephew, to The goal is to measure their reading, take a deep breath. To try hard but writing, listening, math, research not be overwhelmed. To remember and thinking skills. Teachers are their self-worth no matter what prepared for the worst; more than a computerized score tells them. half of all students who take the test The key mantra should be the old are expected to receive “failing” parental standby that all young grades. And administrations are busy people should hear over and over pivoting to the new curriculum so again: Do your best. 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. OTHER VIEWS 'LI¿FXOWLHVUHPDLQLQUHVWRULQJ lands to the Klamath Tribes The (Bend) Bulletin The efforts of the Klamath Indian Tribes of Southern Oregon to get back some land are back again where they started: No land. The tribes signed on to the agreement aimed at settling the Klamath Basin’s water problems last year. As part of the agreement, the federal government would pay to purchase the Mazama Forest. It was owned at the time by Fidelity National Financial, the same group that owned the Skyline Forest west of Bend. That land could be a critical piece of the effort to restore the WULEHVWR¿QDQFLDOKHDOWK Before the efforts to terminate the existence of tribes in the mid and late VWKHWULEHV¶¿QDQFHVZHUHLQ relatively good shape. They owned nearly a million acres of land in south- central Oregon, much of it timber. When their tribal status was ended over their objections, they were paid $44,000 per member for the land. The tribes went from a group whose income was at least 93 percent of their neighbors’ to one whose numbers on welfare were extraordinarily high. In the summer of 1986, the tribes had their status — minus the land — restored. They’ve been working to get at least some land back ever since. The water settlement promised to do that. The tribes held an option to purchase the Mazama Forest from Fidelity once Congress allocated the money to make that possible. But Congress dallied, negotiations with Fidelity had their problems, the option lapsed, and they have no land. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., worked to push a bill through granting money for the tribes at the end of the last session. He’s reintroduced that bill. Equally important, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., are working together WR¿QGDVROXWLRQWKDWPDNHVDOOVLGHV happy. It will take more than Congress to get the job done. The forest’s new owners have not yet made clear what they think of divvying up the land they bought for several sellers. Unless they’re willing to do so, congressional action can’t make the sale a reality. Before the tribe was legally terminated in the 1950s, the tribes’ finances were in relatively good shape. LETTERS POLICY 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. OTHER VIEWS L 7KH¿HOGLVÀDW ike a lot of people who pay has been even more pronounced in attention to such things, I had other races. In 2006, Democrats got assumed that Democrats had a 44 percent of the white-working-class huge advantage going into next year’s vote in U.S. House races. By 2014, presidential race. Democrats do really they got only 34 percent. In 2009, well among the growing demographic Republicans had a 20-seat advantage groups, like Hispanics, single in House districts that were majority people and the young. Republicans, white working class. Today, they have meanwhile, are doing sensationally a 125-seat advantage. David well with just about every shrinking Most surprising, Democrats are Brooks group. If 67-year-old rural white men now doing worse among college- Comment were the future of the electorate, the educated voters. Obama won white GOP would be rolling. college graduates in 2008, but he lost But there’s a growing body of evidence them to Mitt Romney in 2012. In Colorado, to suggest that, in fact, Democrats do not for example, Obama lost 8 points in his enter this election with an advantage. There support from college-educated voters from are a series of trends that may cancel out 2008 to 2012. the Democratic gains with White college grads immigrants, singles and the are drifting away from like. Democrats down-ballot, :H¿UVWEHJDQWRQRWLFH WRR$QGPRVWVLJQL¿FDQW these counterforces in the there are signs that Hispanic high-immigrant red states voters, at least in Sun Belt that were supposed to start states, are getting more turning purple by now — Republican as they move up places like Texas, Arizona the educational ladder. and Georgia. New types of Surveys and interviews YRWHUVKDYHLQGHHGÀRRGHG give us some sense of into these places, but as what’s going on. Voters Ronald Brownstein points have a lot of economic out in The National Journal, anxieties. But they also have since 1992, Democratic a template in their heads for presidential nominees have what economic dynamism averaged only 44.5 percent looks like. of the vote in Georgia, 43.7 percent of the vote That template does not include a big in Arizona and a pathetic 40.4 percent of the role for government. Polls show that faith vote in Texas. in government is near all-time lows. In a Instead of turning pink or purple, these Gallup survey, voters listed dysfunctional states have become more thoroughly government as the nation’s No. 1 problem. In Republican — from school board elections on fact, American voters’ traditional distrust has up. morphed and hardened. They used to think it Nationally, three big things are happening was bloated and ineffective. Now they think to at least temporarily hold off the Democratic it is bloated and ineffective and rigged to help realignment. First, the aging of the electorate those who need it least. is partially canceling out the diversifying When many of these voters think of of the electorate. People tend to get more economic dynamism, they think of places like Republican as they get older, and they vote at Texas, the top job producer in the nation over higher rates. And older people are moving to the past decade, and, especially, places like crucial states. In Arizona, Barack Obama won Houston, a low-regulation, low-cost-of-living 63 percent of the young adults, but only 29 place. In places like Wisconsin, voters in the percent of the oldsters. middle-class private sector support candidates This aging effect could have a big who cut state pensions and pass right-to-work impact in the swing states of the Midwest, laws, so that economic governance can be like Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan and more Texas-style. Pennsylvania. These states have generally In short, economic philosophy is mitigating gone Democratic in presidential years, but it’s the effect of demographic change, at least for hard to miss the growing Republican strength a little while longer. Political guru Charlie at every other level. As Brownstein notes, Cook asks: Will this be a “Time for a Change” Republicans have a 42-to-18 advantage in election or will this be a “Changing American U.S. House seats in these states. They control Demographics” election? I suspect it will be the governorships in all but Pennsylvania. a “Time for a Change” election. The crucial They control both statehouses in all these swing voters will be white and Hispanic states save the Iowa Senate. FROOHJHJUDGXDWHVLQVXEXUEDQRI¿FHSDUNV Second, Democrats continue to lose They are not into redistribution or that Sen. support among the white working class. In Ted Cruz opened his campaign at Liberty 2008, Obama carried 40 percent of white University. voters with a high school degree. By 2012, The 2016 campaign is starting on level that was down to 36 percent. As John B. Judis ground. points out in a National Journal piece called Ŷ “The Emerging Republican Advantage,” the David Brooks became a New York Times tilt of the white working class to the GOP Op-Ed columnist in September 2003. Voters have a lot of anxieties. But they also have a template in their heads for what economic dynamism looks like. YOUR VIEWS BMCC supports our economy, bond deserves our support support the students of BMCC. For more than 50 years, Blue Mountain Community College has provided students, young and old, the opportunity to increase their education and improve their value to local employers through a variety of programs; from diesel mechanic to dental assistant to nursing and more. The college is now looking to expand their programs to include a Precision Irrigated Agriculture Center in Hermiston and a Workforce Training and Early Learning Center in Boardman. Funding of these centers, along with essential improvements for safety, security, and other building upgrades is included in the proposed BMCC Bond, ballot measure 130-06. Providing these programs will allow our students the educational opportunity they need to prepare for employment in these growing industries in Morrow and Umatilla counties. The economic impact of educating our students multiplies as they settle in to careers, invest in housing, and raise their families in our communities. While we may not have children that ZLOOEHQH¿WIURPWKHVH%0&&SURJUDPV we recognize the value of providing these opportunities to other students. Please join us in voting yes on ballot measure 130-06 to PBS television program reveals info of Israelite history Steve and Janet Williams Hermiston Everyone interested in the origins of the Israelite people will want to see a two-hour NOVA special that aired on OPB the evening of March 25 entitled “The Bible’s Buried Secrets.” The title had me skeptical, but it turned out that it presented the latest up-to-date information about what modern archaeology in Israel reveals about the origins of the Israelites. Professor Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University, in my opinion the top of the crop LQWKH¿HOGRIDUFKDHRORJ\LQ,VUDHOLVDPRQJ the stellar archaeologists interviewed. Interested persons can watch the video by going to www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova. Type the title of the show into the Search box and click. It’s in the third line down with a date of 03/25/2015. A word of caution to the overly devout: It’s not exactly what you learned in Sunday School. But as cosmologist Neal deGrasse Tyson said in a recent TV interview, “Science is right, whether you believe it or not.” Jack T. Sanders Pendleton
