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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2015)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Friday, June 5, 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 tip of the hat to the Pendleton School District and its current proposal for new elementary school boundaries. And while those boundaries are still just a proposal, we think they deserve support. No lines drawn on a map are going to make everyone happy (see the Middle East), but the current proposal is simple, thoughtful and informed by citizen engagement. As a Pendleton elementary student, what more could you want? You don’t even have to go to stinkin’ Lincoln anymore. (The current school will be WXUQHGLQWRGLVWULFWRI¿FHV We printed a whole story about the ERXQGDULHVPDSLQFOXGHGDQGLI\RXPLVVHGLW\RXFDQ¿QGDOOWKHMXLF\ details at www.eastoregonian.com. And if for some reason you hate the current plan, you can do your best to persuade your fellow citizens and the school board that the boundaries are bunk. %XWWRRXUHOHPHQWDU\HGXFDWHGH\HVWKHPDSOLQHVORRN¿QH Tip of the hat to Vern Kube, the remarkable U.S. Navy veteran we SUR¿OHGLQ7KXUVGD\¶VSDSHU We’re happy Kube got the opportunity, thanks to Heroes Foundation, WRWDNHDQKRQRUÀLJKWWRWKHQDWLRQ¶V capital. Kube, now 87, made his impact on World War II. He served a seaman LQWKH3DFL¿FDQGHYHQZLWQHVVHGWKH underwater testing of two hydrogen bombs. It’s a noble endeavor to bring men like Kube to Washington and allow the country to say thanks for all these ¿QHYHWHUDQVKDYHGRQH7KDWPDQ\ of these men and women are modest and appreciative make it all the more IXO¿OOLQJWRWKRVHZKRKRQRUWKHP As veterans of the terrible war become increasingly rare — they are dying at a rate of 492 per day — it’s imperative that we connect to those we have OHIW$QGLWLVLPSHUDWLYHZHWHOOWKHPZHDSSUHFLDWHWKHLUWRLODQGVDFUL¿FH and that this is the great country that it is because of them. 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 Wild ride toward legalization has only just begun Albany Democrat-Herald ,I\RX¶YHEHHQEDIÀHGWU\LQJWR ¿JXUHRXWZKDW¶VJRLQJRQLQWKH2UHJRQ Legislature regarding marijuana, you’re not alone. But the outlines of the issues legislators have been grappling with are coming into focus — although it’s still not clear how those issues will be resolved in the closing weeks of the session. One thing is for certain: Even though much of the marijuana action in this session has revolved around medical pot, all of those debates also involve the shape of the state’s recreational marijuana market, ZKHQWKDW¿QDOO\ starts to take shape next year. (Remember that, even though recreational use of marijuana becomes legal on July 1, recreational pot retail outlets won’t be in place until next year.) Two issues have proven to be major stumbling blocks for the Legislature. One probably could have been predicted just by watching local governments grapple with whether they wanted to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in their communities. As for the other issue, \RXFDQ¿OHWKDWDZD\LQ\RXU³ZKR knew” category: Because Oregon turns out to offer ideal conditions to grow large amounts of marijuana, lawmakers are trying to do what they can now to limit the amount of pot that goes into the black market. If the black market thrives, that could undercut all the work Oregon has done to create marketplaces for both medical and recreational pot — and, of course, the state doesn’t get any kind of tax cut from black-market sales. Senate Bill 964, which passed the Senate this week, imposes limits on the number of plants allowed on medical marijuana farms and requires regular reporting by growers. Urban growers would be limited to 12 plants; those outside cities would be limited to 48 plants. Existing growers could have twice as many plants, but only to serve current customers. As you might imagine, growers and patients aren’t particularly happy with those restrictions, so there’s no saying how the limitations will play in the House. But a big split continues to brew between the House and Senate on the local control issue. So it’s no surprise that Senate Bill 964 contains a provision that allows local governments to ban dispensaries if they so choose, but also establishes a relatively easy initiative process by which citizens can challenge the bans. House members of the joint committee on marijuana argued that only voters should be allowed to implement a EDQ$W¿UVWJODQFHZHSUHIHUWKH6HQDWH SODQZKLFKSODFHVWKH¿UVWGHFLVLRQV on whether to implement a ban in the hands of an elected body — and offers a reasonable way for engaged voters to challenge those decisions. The decisions the Legislature makes on these issues in the next few weeks will help shape how the state designs a system for the retail sale of recreational marijuana. But one increasingly gets the sense that plenty of details will be unsettled by July 1, when recreational use becomes legal. It’s been a wild ride thus far on marijuana. It’s likely to get a lot wilder in the months to come. If the black market thrives, that could undercut all the work Oregon has done to create marketplaces for both medical and recreational pot. OTHER VIEWS If Hillary becomes president, who will make her obey the law? L ast year, before Hillary Clinton’s White House but for a number of years secret email system became after. There are plenty of areas — publicly known, Congress personnel decisions, for example — in passed a law to keep presidents from which a former president might not trying the same trick. If Clinton wins want sensitive documents released the White House, the law could well be for a long time. Within limits, it is the put to the test. president who makes those decisions. The statute is the Presidential and But that’s assuming records are Federal Records Act Amendments of kept at all in some way that federal Byron 2014. It recognizes that government RI¿FLDOVKDYHDFFHVVWRWKHP7KH York RI¿FLDOVVRPHWLPHVRULQ&OLQWRQ¶V lesson of the Clinton email affair is Comment case, all the time) want to use private that Hillary Clinton is inclined to set email accounts — in the words of up secret, tightly limited and carefully WKHODZ³QRQRI¿FLDOHOHFWURQLFPHVVDJLQJ controlled systems that are outside the reach accounts” — to conduct government business. RIIHGHUDORI¿FLDOV:KHQ&RQJUHVVH[SUHVVHG Such communications are still federal records, an interest in examining Clinton’s server, her Congress declared, and must be preserved in personal attorney told lawmakers to forget accordance with existing laws requiring not about it — the whole thing, backups included, MXVWWKHSUHVLGHQWEXWDOOIHGHUDORI¿FLDOVWR had been erased. preserve their documents. What would happen This is what the new law in an entirely plausible says about emails: scenario in which Clinton “The President, the Vice did something similar in the President, or a covered White House? After all, a employee may not create or President Hillary Clinton send a Presidential or Vice would have far more power Presidential record using to set up a secretive system DQRQRI¿FLDOHOHFWURQLF of communications than a message account unless the Secretary of State Hillary President, Vice President, Clinton. Who could tell her or covered employee (1) no? FRSLHVDQRI¿FLDOHOHFWURQLF No one — at least until messaging account of the the story became a public President, Vice President, issue. “Ultimately, this relies or covered employee on the presence of some in the original creation ethical people around the or transmission of the president, who feel obliged Presidential record or Vice to blow the whistle on Presidential record; or (2) forwards a complete wrongdoing they can’t rectify internally,” says copy of the Presidential or Vice Presidential Bradford Berenson, who served in the George UHFRUGWRDQRI¿FLDOHOHFWURQLFPHVVDJLQJ :%XVK:KLWH+RXVHFRXQVHO¶VRI¿FH³SOXV account of the President, Vice President, or congressional overseers (dependent upon the covered employee not later than 20 days after opposite party having one house of Congress), the original creation or transmission of the DQG¿QDOO\WKHSUHVV´ Presidential or Vice Presidential record.” The problem isn’t entirely new. Barack That’s pretty clear. All presidential 2EDPDLVWKH¿UVWSUHVLGHQWWRXVHHPDLOEXW communications must be preserved in a timely it’s been around the White House for years, fashion. and an email scandal of sorts broke out in the The next paragraph of the law stipulates W. Bush years, mostly having to do with the that federal employees who intentionally CIA leak case. A President Hillary Clinton, if violate the Presidential Records Act are she behaved in a way similar to the way she subject to “disciplinary action” as determined behaved as secretary of state, could create a by the “appropriate supervisor.” Such scandal of far bigger proportions. punishments can include suspensions and cuts Ultimately, the Presidential Records Act in pay and rank. depends on the honesty of the president. None of that, of course, applies to the That’s not Clinton’s strong suit. Recent polls president of the United States. As far as have shown substantial numbers of Americans the chief executive is concerned, there’s no do not believe she is honest and trustworthy. enforcement mechanism in the law. After the State Department experience, they “The Presidential Records Act is set up would have good reason to be suspicious of on the notion — like all of our laws — that her in the White House. people are going to comply,” notes a lawyer Don’t look for this to become a big who follows these issues after service in the campaign issue — compliance with the Justice Department in both the Reagan and Presidential Records Act is not exactly the George H.W. Bush administrations. “There most critical issue facing voters in 2016. But isn’t really a clear legal way to hold the as far as Hillary Clinton is concerned, it could president accountable for this stuff.” be a harbinger of bigger problems to come. The Records Act gives the president Ŷ entirely appropriate discretion to control the Byron York is chief political correspondent disposition of his or her records not only in the for The Washington Examiner. President Hillary Clinton would have far more power to set up a secretive system of communications than a Secretary of State. YOUR VIEWS BLM sage grouse conservation a step forward for bird, herd As a native of Ontario, Oregon, a member of the Steens Mountain Advisory Council, an outdoor equipment company owner and avid hunter who appreciates the sage steppe in our state, I’m encouraged with the Bureau of Land Management’s recent draft releases aimed at Greater Sage Grouse conservation in Oregon and the west. BLM lands contain the vast majority of sage grouse populations and if we are to avoid an endangered species listing for the bird, the BLM will be key in that effort, along with state and private conservation efforts. It’s been stated many times that “what’s good for the bird is good for the herd.” On a landscape scale, it’s what’s good for the entire sage landscape in Eastern Oregon and wildlife that occupy these lands. When the sage steppe is healthy, sage grouse populations ZLOOEHQH¿W6RZLOOSRSXODWLRQVRIPXOHGHHU pronghorn and even elk, which migrate to the sage ecosystem in search of forage during LETTERS POLICY winter months. The BLM is constructing numerous fuel EUHDNVWRKHOSFRQWDLQZLOG¿UHLQWRVPDOOHU XQLWVLQDQHIIRUWWRDYRLG¿UHVWKDWEXLOGWR hundreds of thousands of acres overnight. The BLM is also removing encroaching juniper, which consume much-needed water from the ODQGVFDSHPDNLQJLWGLI¿FXOWIRUERWKVDJHDQG the grouse to thrive. We also encourage the BLM to review travel management on these lands. Too many roads encourage the spread of invasive ZHHGVDQG¿UH:LWKYDVWODQGVWKLVLVDWRXJK challenge. All it takes to establish a new road is for someone to leave a main road and drive through the sage. Such acts damage our desert landscape. Sage grouse need large tracts of unfragmented land to thrive and we encourage the BLM to not ignore this need. Improving the sage landscape with focused conservation plans is a major win for our public lands and for all who use them. .DUO)LQGOLQJ¿HOGUHSUHVHQWDWLYH Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Bend 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.
