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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2015)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Tuesday, December 29, 2015 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW Welcome to our new neighbors Where are you from? And what We may pride ourselves in doing brought you out here? things the Eastern Oregon way, but From the workplace to the there is great value in learning from church pew to the bar stool, those others’ successes and failures. New are the questions that begin many neighbors add to not only our tax a conversation for new residents of rolls, but to our culture and way of Eastern Oregon. thinking. They begin shaping our We’re a small community from the corner of a sparsely day they move in. New neighbors populated state, and And that’s a even though Oregon good thing, because add to not only is at an all-time high if we’re not busy our tax rolls, but growing we’re going of incoming residents, newcomers are a bit stagnate and die. to our culture and to more rare out here We like our corner of where the economy way of thinking. the world, and hope we can share what is still playing post- makes it special while recession catch-up. listening to input from outsiders. But we do see a fair number of As the year comes to a close and new faces, and that’s a good thing. Newcomers are essential, because 2016 begins, we’ll be featuring they arrive without the burden of some of the area’s newest residents in the “Our New Neighbors” conventional wisdom. They don’t series. We’d like to extend a warm necessarily accept time-honored welcome to anyone who decides to barriers to change. Of younger make Eastern Oregon their home entrepreneurs it is often said that and introduce them to our readers they were too young to know they couldn’t do what they accomplished. and friends. If you know someone who In other words, it is all about moved to the area in 2015 that we imagination. should get to know, send their name New blood is also important and contact information to editor@ because it brings experience and eastoregonian.com. real-life lessons from other places. 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 Terrorist hacking attacks are a serious threat shutdowns capable of blacking out entire cities or states. 7KHZHEVLWHRIF\EHUVHFXULW\¿UP We live in a scary world, as the Norse (map.norsecorp.com), offers a attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, live glimpse of the international hacking Calif., underscored recently. Now, war that’s already underway. In about a imagine a scenario in which foreign 20-minute span one recent afternoon, we actors can cripple our nation’s critical watched as computer sites in Saskatoon, infrastructure — electrical grids, data Canada, and Mersin, Turkey launched QHWZRUNVDQGDLUWUDI¿FFRQWUROWR thousands of attacks name a few of the sites in California. vulnerabilities — Experts say the U.S. on More came from China. without exploding a Still more from Russia. single bomb. power grid has Other sites were The Associated been probed by attacked in Washington Press reports that 6WDWH1HZ<RUN'DOODV foreign hackers have hackers from and Phoenix, to name a wriggled their way into the networks various governments few. There’s no way to tell what the goal is, but controlling the U.S. as well as the hackers normally are power grid, obtaining looking for weak spots engineering schematics Islamic State. to penetrate and exploit. and passwords. With a Experts say the few keyboard strokes, U.S. power grid has been probed by they are capable of installing malicious hackers from various governments as code that can knock out electricity well as the Islamic State. A Homeland service to millions of American Security Department report in 2012 households. noted 198 cyber attacks on critical U.S. The AP cited one case involving infrastructure, with 41 percent targeting Iranian hackers, but remote breaches the energy sector. involving others have occurred about What to do? Experts say the cost to a dozen times in the last decade. The secure the nation’s power grid could government’s tendency is to keep these UHDFKELOOLRQE\&XVWRPHUV breaches secret. The effect is to lull ultimately will bear those costs, which Americans into a false sense of security must include establishing multiple but also to reduce public pressure to ¿UHZDOOVDFURVVWKHFRXQWU\WRHQVXUH address this as the urgent threat it is. Hackers have repeatedly proven their that an attack on one section of the grid doesn’t prompt cascades of outages. ability to penetrate secure government The government should come clean databases. In 2013, cyber criminals with the public about the magnitude of hacked into retail giant Target’s credit the threat instead of playing it down. card database and put the accounts We’ve seen what terrorists can do with of some 40 million customers at risk. guns and airplanes. The public needs to A critical-infrastructure cyber attack, understand that this, too, is a serious and by contrast, could send the nation’s very real threat to our way of life. electrical grid into a cascade of The Dallas Morning-News OTHER VIEWS A handful of Christmas miracles C hristmas, a time of hope in the off. The obituary for the bound, murk of early winter, is the best printed word was written too early. occasion to bring some good Campus free-speech censors news onstage. Here are some snippets are on the run: Across the political RITXDOL¿HGMR\ spectrum, people have had enough of Jimmy Carter holds off cancer: pampered college students who are He’s 91. A few months ago, he was afraid of words and ideas that offend given a diagnosis of melanoma that them. Of late, a small but growing had spread from his liver to his brain. Timothy number of schools have eliminated the But recently, the former president despicable speech limitation codes. Egan announced that his latest brain scan And despite all the news generated by Comment showed no sign of the disease. Carter closed-minded kids with megaphones, is being treated with a drug that uses the number of colleges with the immune system to battle cancer cells — restrictions on freedom of speech has fallen another bright light, if the cost can be made EHORZSHUFHQWIRUWKH¿UVWWLPHLQ\HDUV affordable. “Education should not be intended to make No matter what you think of his people feel comfortable,” President Barack presidency, Carter has been a force for global Obama said the other day. “It is meant to good since he left the White House, with make them think.” Which leads to ... energy that Jeb Bush should bottle. 2EDPD¿QGVKLVYRLFH:HOODQGWKHQ Alexander Hamilton lives, for now: This he lost it after the Paris attacks. Overall, the founding father is the rage on Broadway, prez had a very strong year. His leadership with a smash musical. The man behind our was crucial in what could be breakthrough ¿QDQFLDOV\VWHPWKHLPPLJUDQWVRQRID pacts to lessen climate change and keep Iran single mother, Hamilton was killed in a duel. from developing a nuclear weapon. But I say His handsome visage covers the $10 bill. “could be” because both agreements might When Treasury Secretary Jack Lew still unravel. If they work, the world will be announced that a woman would replace safer, and more livable. Hamilton, a wave of sensible outrage And it’s a minor Christmas miracle that the followed. Keep Hamilton on the 10, and U.S. economy continues to purr along, while bounce the slavery-defending, Indian-hating those of Europe and China stumble. Over brute Andrew Jackson from the 20, putting a a 69-month streak of growth, the economy woman in his place. Earlier this month, Lew KDVDGGHGPLOOLRQQHZMREVZKLOHWKH announced he would delay the $10 redesign, unemployment rate has fallen to 5 percent. giving time for the right thing to happen — Bravo. for women, for Hamilton, for paper currency. 7UXPSDQG3XWLQ¿QGHDFKRWKHU7KH Free Willies: SeaWorld said it would bromance between two of the most odious, begin phasing out orca shows at its San bullying, narcissistic tyrants has been building Diego park. This is a good start for our fellow for some time. Now, they have professed warm-blooded mammals. Orcas, any one of their mutual affection for each other. The which is smarter than most of the Republican Russian president, Vladimir Putin, invades presidential candidates, should never be in FRXQWULHVVWLÀHVGLVVLGHQWVDQGKDVEHHQ circus-style shows, preening for food. Over accused of killing those who oppose him. the last six months, three of these whales For that, Donald Trump says he is worthy have died at SeaWorld San Antonio. But with of admiration. Trump sneers at women, the California Coastal Commission banning the disabled, blacks, Mexicans, Muslims, the breeding of orcas in captivity, the days veterans and anyone who is unattractive. “He of enslavement for one of the world’s most is a really brilliant and talented person,” said PDJQL¿FHQWIUHHVZLPPLQJFUHDWXUHVPD\EH Putin. The vulgarian and the war criminal, reaching an end. together at last. /LWHUDU\¿FWLRQOLYHV<RXVHHDORWRI)R[ The American people: Had my doubts. 1HZVJHQHUDWHGWUDVKDQGIRUPXOD¿FWLRQRQ Still do. I mean, climate change a hoax? the best-seller lists. American reading tastes Obama a Muslim? Rooting for the New KDYHJRQHWKHZD\RIWKH$PHULFDQGLHW<HV England Patriots? But a Quinnipiac poll this but. This year, “All the Light We Cannot week found that 50 percent of the nation’s See,” Anthony Doerr’s magical, World War voters would be “embarrassed” to have II-era story of a blind French girl and a Hitler Trump as their president. In this age of the youth nerd continues to sell like tickets to rude and crude, a glimmer of decency. Good “Hamilton.” The prose is luminous, the night to all. Sweet winter dreams. See you characters unforgettable, the themes universal. next year. This follows the great success of Donna Ŷ 7DUWW¶V³7KH*ROG¿QFK´SDJHVRIGHOLJKW Timothy Egan worked for 18 years as a Both books won the Pulitzer Prize. A related writer for The 1ew <ork Times ¿rst as the Christmas miracle: Independent bookstores 3aFi¿F 1orthwest ForresSondent then as a are resurgent, as e-book sales have leveled nationaO enterSrise reSorter YOUR VIEWS Timber for road closures A new process is working its way throughout Eastern Oregon that pits locals against each other. It is the concept of “forest health vs. motorized access.” The model has been seen in the West before. Idahoans and Montanans have seen forests build to unsafe fuel loads with eager “conservationists” willing to plan projects that will relieve the burden of the excessive fuels, if only we are willing destroy roads after the projects are completed. The work is done through service contracts that equate to lawn care services on our public lands. Companies bid on these contracts to implement prescriptions for treatment that are written by the Forest Service, along with road destruction. Two examples playing out in Eastern Oregon that show this process are the Grant County Stewardship Contract: a massive, multi-million dollar, single-source contract to Iron Triangle that will treat vegetation, and restricts motorized access to thousands of acres of land; and the East Face Project between La Grande and Baker, which is planning 38 miles of road closures. Both equate to nothing more than lawn care service contracts, except in this case, once mowing the lawn and weeding the ÀRZHUJDUGHQDUHFRPSOHWHWKH\WHDURXW your driveway so you cannot access them anymore. Timber sales do not have to equate to road closures, and jobs for our families do not have to mean loss of motorized access. Roads were built to harvest these lands, for them to stay the productive resources we were promised they would be when set aside in the early 1900s — not the multi-billion dollar drains they have become over the last 30-plus years under the failed leadership of the Forest Service, who no longer serve the people, but serve their own personal agendas. I support vegetative treatments, I support logging/mill jobs and all the services that come with them, but I do not believe you have to destroy motorized access to have jobs or a healthy forest. I ask that if you don’t support these restrictions, you become active in these projects to speak out against them. John D. George Bates, Ore. 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 indi- vidual 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.
