Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
JENNINE PERKINSON
Advertising Director
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
Telling ag’s story
up-close and
personally
The Wild West world of social media
provides more heat than light to the
online discussion of agriculture. Rare is
the discussion about farming or ranching
that doesn’t attract a high-voltage rant
based on ignorance, some political
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That’s too bad, because there really is
a lot to talk about.
Last week, the Ag Chat Foundation
had its regional meeting near Spokane,
Wash.
The speakers
talked about what they
do — write about food
and agriculture — and
encouraged those in
attendance to join the
conversation. Their
counsel was to tell
their story and not get
into a verbal wrestling
match with the skunks
that lurk online
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That’s sage
advice. These days,
the skunks seem to
outnumber everyone
else online. Even the
most straightforward
expression of fact
will draw a screed
personally attacking
the author.
Such is the nature of 21st century
“communications.”
We’ve long favored communicating
with members of the ag community and
the public at large. That’s what we do.
Our printed newspaper and our online
website allow folks from all walks of life
to learn about farming and ranching and
the many issues that face agriculture.
We also encourage bloggers and other
pro-farming folks to tell their stories in a
personal and factual way.
But we also support another means
of helping the public understand
farming — up-close and personal. A
couple of weeks ago in Salem, Oregon
Ag Fest gave about 18,000 children and
their parents and grandparents a glimpse
of the wonders of agriculture. From
a petting zoo to hands-on workshops,
many exhibits and activities allowed
young and old to meet farmers and
ranchers and learn about what they do,
and why.
As much could be learned standing
around petting a sheep and asking
questions of a nearby 4-H or FFA
member as could be learned anywhere
online.
Agriculture is a miracle. Coaxing
plants from the rich
earth, helping a new
calf that’s just taken
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is what attracts
farmers and ranchers
to a profession
and lifestyle that is
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ways. The only way to
understand that is to
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Other efforts to
inform the public
about agriculture
include the Oregon
Agri-Business
Council’s Adopt-a-
Farmer program, in
which school children
visit farms and learn
about agriculture
directly from farmers;
county and state fairs; and farmers’
markets, roadside stands, U-pick
operations and pumpkin patches. All of
them add up to memorable experiences
that help the public understand
agriculture in a personal way.
There’s no single answer to
addressing the noisy critics that clog
the Internet with their snide comments,
rude insults and astounding displays of
ignorance. If you took that away from
them, they would have nothing.
The best thing farmers and ranchers
can do is to open their doors to the
vast majority of the public, who are
genuinely interested in farming and
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are produced.
Tell your story
and don’t get
into a verbal
wrestling match
with the skunks
that lurk online
—even if those
skunks seem
to outnumber
everyone else on
the Internet.
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
Let rural Oregon pump own gas
The (Eugene) Register-Guard
You know those T-shirts that say
“Keep Oregon weird”? They should
include a drawing of a hippie (it’s always
a hippie, right?) merrily pumping his or
her own gas into a VW microbus.
For those not steeped in service-
station lore, Oregon banned self-service
gasoline in 1951, seven years before the
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opened in Omaha, Neb. The prohibition
is embedded in statutes dealing with
explosives, suggesting
that safety was
lawmakers’ primary
concern six decades
ago.
Opponents argued
that a 1982 initiative
to lift the ban would
cost jobs, and would
inconvenience the
elderly and people
with disabilities. The
initiative ran into
an electoral ditch,
failing 58 percent to
42 percent. Oregon
remains one of only
two states — the other
is New Jersey — that ban motorists from
pumping their own gas.
So far the same arguments have
not been marshaled against legislation
authored by Rep. Cliff Bentz, D-Ontario,
that would allow stations in counties
with fewer than 40,000 residents to
keep self-pay pumps turned on when no
owner, operator or employee is around
to serve customers.
Bentz and co-sponsor Sen. Ted
Ferrioli, R-John Day, say the bill is
needed because businesses in remote
areas can’t afford to man the pumps 24
hours a day.
The bill would apply to roughly half
of the state’s counties and would include
the Columbia Gorge, Eastern Oregon
and most coastal communities.
“If you’re a tourist going into the
outback of our state without a full tank
of gas, you better be prepared to sleep in
your car, because it’s going to be tough
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certain hour,” Ferrioli says.
Ferrioli emphasizes that House Bill
3011 is not likely to lead to a full repeal
of the ban on self-service.
That’s a pretty safe bet, since
Oregonians have swatted down every
attempt to overturn the ban since it was
instituted 64 years ago. Opposition
has been so overwhelming that state
lawmakers, despite industry prodding,
haven’t dared
introduce a measure to
overturn the ban since
2003.
With the
proliferation of credit-
card-reading pumps
and spill-prevention
mechanisms, another
look at self-service
gas might make
sense. Most of the
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law, listed in statute,
don’t stand up to
scrutiny, including
“Exposure to toxic
fumes represents a
health hazard to customers dispensing
(gasoline),” which is followed by
“The hazard described ... (above)
is heightened when the customer is
pregnant.”
Then there is “Self-service
dispensing at retail contributes to
unemployment, particularly among
young people,” a claim that might make
sense if economists didn’t dismiss it as
unsubstantiated, based on the experience
of the vast majority of states that have
self-serve.
The House has unanimously
approved HB 3011, and the Senate
should do the same. But there’s no
evidence of widespread public support
for changing Oregon’s self-service ban.
It’s one of those quirks that Oregonians
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keep Oregon weird.
But keep
self-serve gas
in Oregon’s
large population
areas, and
keep Oregon
weird in the
process.
OTHER VIEWS
The center-right moment
T
he most surprising event of
candidates who believe in their
this political era is what hasn’t
country’s exceptionalism.
happened. The world has not
Second, they have been basically
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widening inequality, the unpopularity
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of the right’s stances on social issues
over how much governments should
and immigration, you would have
go into debt to stimulate growth.
thought that progressive parties would
The two nations most associated
be cruising from win to win.
with the “austerity” school — those
David
But, instead, right-leaning parties
Brooks who were suspicious of debt-based
are doing well. In the United States,
stimulus — were Germany and
Comment
Republicans control both houses of
Britain. This will not settle the debate,
Congress. In Israel, the Likud Party
but these two nations now have some
led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
of the strongest economies in Europe and their
pulled off a surprising win in an election that
political leaders are in good shape.
was at least partly about economic policy. In
Third, these leaders did not overread
Britain, the Conservative
their mandate. Cameron in
Party led by Prime Minister
Britain promised to cut the
David Cameron won a
size of government, and he
parliamentary majority.
did, from 45.7 percent of
What’s going on here?
GDP in 2010 to 40.7 percent
Well, there are some
today, according to The
issues in each election
Economist. The number of
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public-sector jobs there has
but there are a few broader
gone down by 1 million.
trends to be observed. The
But he made these cuts
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without going overboard.
progressive economic
Public satisfaction with
arguments do not seem to be
government services has
swaying voters.
gone up. And there have
Over the past few
been some sensible efforts
years, left-of-center
to boost those at the bottom.
economic policy has moved from
As The Economist pointed out, “The richest
opportunity progressivism to redistributionist
10 percent have borne the greatest burden
progressivism. Opportunity progressivism is
of extra taxes. Full-time workers earning the
associated with Bill Clinton and Tony Blair
minimum wage pay a third as much income
in the 1990s and Mayor Rahm Emanuel of
tax as in 2010. Overall, inequality has not
Chicago today. This tendency actively uses
widened — in contrast to America.”
government power to give people access to
The British electorate and the U.S.
markets, through support for community
electorate sometimes mirror each other. Trans-
colleges, infrastructure and training programs
Atlantic voters went for Reagan and Thatcher
and the like, but it doesn’t interfere that much
together and Clinton and Blair together. In
in the market, and it hesitates before raising
policy terms, Cameron is a more conservative
taxes.
version of President Barack Obama.
This tendency has been politically
Cameron’s win suggests the kind of
successful. Clinton and Blair had long terms.
candidate that would probably do well in a
This year, Emanuel won by 12 percentage
general election in this country. He is liberal
points against the more progressive
on social policy, green on global warming
candidate, Chuy Garcia, even in a city with a
and pragmatically conservative on economic
disproportionate number of union households. policy. If he’s faulted for anything, it is for
Redistributionist progressivism more
not being particularly ideological, although
aggressively raises taxes to shift money
he has let his ministers try some pretty bold
down the income scale, opposes trade treaties
institutional reforms to modernize the welfare
and meddles more in the marketplace. This
state.
tendency has won elections in Massachusetts
Globally, voters are disillusioned with
(Elizabeth Warren) and New York City (Bill
large public institutions. They seem to want to
de Blasio) but not in many other places. Ed
reassert local control and their own particular
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nationalism (Scottish or anything else). But
in Britain, co-led the group from the Center
they also seem to want a slightly smaller
for American Progress that wrote the most
public sector, strong welfare state reform and
LQÀXHQWLDOVWDWHPHQWRIPRGHUQSURJUHVVLYLVP more open and vibrant labor markets as a path
a report on “inclusive prosperity.” Balls could
to prosperity.
not even retain his own parliamentary seat in
For some reason, U.S. politicians are
the last election.
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The conservative victories probably have
further left and Republicans to the right.
more to do with the public’s skepticism about
Ŷ
the left than with any positive enthusiasm
David Brooks became a New York Times
toward the right. Still, there are a few
Op-Ed columnist in September 2003. He
things that center-right parties have done
has been a senior editor at The Weekly
successfully.
Standard, a contributing editor at Newsweek
First, they have loudly (and sometimes
and the Atlantic Monthly, and is currently a
offensively) championed national identity. In
commentator on “The Newshour with Jim
this era of globalization, voters are rewarding
Lehrer.”
Globally, voters
are disillusioned
with large public
institutions. They
seem to want to
reassert local
control.
YOUR VIEWS
People have right to motorized
access on U.S. forest lands
Do you want your access to public lands
treated like a basketball game, where you
have to worry about if you are “in bounds” or
“out of bounds” and having to live with the
penalties of not staying within the boundaries
set forth by the Forest Service? That is
exactly what your life will be if the proposed
designation of routes language and travel
management plan are put into place on our
national forest.
Currently you are allowed to openly and
freely access the Wallowa-Whitman and
Malheur national forests via motorized means
at your discretion unless otherwise noted by
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as non-motorized.
Once roads areas are designated a use,
all motorized use off those roads will be
prohibited (within a given buffer along the
road), going from an open forest system to a
closed forest system. Much like the basketball
court where you are not allowed to leave the
court, motorized access will be disallowed
from roughly 95 percent of your public lands.
You may only play on the court the Forest
Service allows, which will be along their
selected roads, and if you play outside those
lines you will be penalized up to $5,000 and/
or one year in jail.
When did you turn over your right of
motorized access to the U.S. Forest Service?
Did any of you sign a document giving Mr.
Montoya or Mr. Pena the authority to decide
when and where you traveled?
Offenses that will get you penalized if you
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cutting, retrieving big game, dispersed
camping, accessing historic berry and
mushroom picking areas, accessing historic
hunting areas, or simply recreating in your
favorite area, just to name a few.
If you do not agree that our motorized
access should be restricted, please let
Secretary Tom Vilsack (tom.vilsack@usda.
gov) and Robert Bonnie (robert.bonnie@usda.
gov) to let them know how their staff is failing
our communities and families.
LETTERS POLICY
John D. George
Bates, Ore.
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.