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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
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We printed a whole story about the
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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.
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Tip of the hat to Vern Kube, the remarkable U.S. Navy veteran we
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We’re happy Kube got the opportunity, thanks to Heroes Foundation,
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capital. Kube, now 87, made his impact
on World War II. He served a seaman
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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
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of these men and women are modest
and appreciative make it all the more
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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
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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
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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,
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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,
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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
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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
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York
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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
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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,
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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Presidential or Vice Presidential record.”
The problem isn’t entirely new. Barack
That’s pretty clear. All presidential
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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
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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
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hundreds of thousands of acres overnight. The
BLM is also removing encroaching juniper,
which consume much-needed water from the
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the grouse to thrive.
We also encourage the BLM to review
travel management on these lands. Too
many roads encourage the spread of invasive
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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.
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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.