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OPINION
East Oregonian
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Publisher
Managing Editor
JENNINE PERKINSON
TIM TRAINOR
Advertising Director
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
7LPHLVQRZWR¿OH
for Pendleton seats
Pendleton residents interested in
additions to the council.
serving out the ¿nal year of -ane
Pendleton City Council is heading
Hill’s city council term have only
into a season of dramatic change.
a few days to throw their hat in the
1ext year, ¿ve seats — including
ring.
the mayor’s — could be ¿lled by
They should still consider it.
new faces. That’s a maMority of
Because though Pendleton City
the council, and such a powerful
Council currently has ¿ve choices
wave of new thought can have deep
for the seat, there are few good ones. effects.
Thankfully, Umatilla County
But so far, a wave of quali¿ed
Assessment and
candidates have not
Taxation director
stepped forward to
Paul Chalmers
campaign for those
The
deadline
put his name
seats.
is Monday to
into the mix on
Pendleton
Tuesday. As a
police
Stuart
apply to finish Roberts Chief
¿scally responsible,
aptly
former councilor noted Wednesday:
community-oriented
person who is
you’re doing
Jane Hill’s term. “If
familiar with the
the Mob the right
problems Pendleton
way, you’ll have
city government is
people in leadership
facing, Chalmers would be a good
positions.” He was talking about
choice for a ¿ll-in position.
Pendleton police, but may as well
The city must feel lucky to have
have been talking about Pendleton
at least one good option, because
city government.
for a while it looked like the council
It’s clear Pendleton needs to
was between a rock and a hard
rebound off the Àoor into more
place. They would have needed to
active, engaged civic life. Let’s hope
choose a replacement from a quartet it happens now, before voters have
that included a man convicted of
to learn a hard lesson about how
a hate crime and another who is
important city council seats can be.
actively working to a remove a
The deadline to apply for Hill’s
sitting councilor.
at-large seat is Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. at
Both would clearly be terrible
city hall.
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
Readers should wait for
facts on Finicum’s death
The (Eugene) Register-Guard
A
fter the shooting death of
Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, one
of the occupiers of the Malheur
1ational Wildlife Refuge, social and
mainstream media sites lit up with
rumors, speculations and allegations.
People claiming to be eye witnesses,
or to have talked to eyewitnesses,
insisted that Finicum was shot in the
face, while kneeling on the ground, with
his hands in the air.
The FBI took the unusual step of
releasing unedited aerial video of the
shooting. The special agent in charge of
the FBI in Oregon said: “We know there
are various versions of what occurred
during this event: most inaccurate, some
inÀammatory. To that end, we want to
do what we can to lay out an honest and
un¿ltered view of what happened and
how it happened.”
While the video put paid to some of
the alleged facts, showing for example
that Finicum was not kneeling with his
hands on his head when he was shot, it
became something of a Rorschach test.
Many people saw in it what they wanted
to see.
Some said it proved that of¿cers
had acted properly, that Finicum was
reaching toward a pocket that held a
loaded gun. Others said it showed he
was reaching across his body to regain
his balance in the deep snow.
At least one viewer insisted that
Finicum was reaching ¿rst to his hip, in
response to a gunshot wound, and then
to his shoulder, in response to a second
gunshot wound — although police have
not said where, or how many times,
Finicum was shot. Finicum’s family
reportedly obtained a private autopsy but
has not released the results.
Some viewers of the video purport
to know what Finicum was saying to
of¿cers, although there is no audio on
the video, which was shot from a police
airplane overhead.
One person riding in the truck where
Finicum had been riding claimed that
more than 100 shots were ¿red into the
truck, although none of the occupants
were hit and the truck did not appear to
be riddled with bullet holes.
While some of these “eyewitness
accounts” quietly faded away after the
video was released, others continue to
spread, usually as part of a call to action.
An of¿cial investigation of the
shooting, which was by an Oregon State
Police trooper, is now underway, in
accordance with state law.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s
Of¿ce is leading the investigation, with
help from the Bend Police Department,
Redmond Police Department, and
Oregon State Police.
Everyone else should wait for
the results of this investigation, and
information that will surface in court
hearings for the occupiers who have
been arrested, before rushing to
Mudgment.
The people of Harney County have
reacted with great grace and restraint
in response to the inÀux of occupiers,
protesters and counter-protesters, and
media into their community. They did
not seek this spotlight, nor have they
indicated they welcome it. Quite the
contrary.
At this point, they deserve to be left
alone while the legal and public safety
systems deal with the remaining few
occupiers and complete the of¿cial
investigation.
OTHER VIEWS
I miss Barack Obama
A
of the situation. Bernie Sanders, by
s this primary season has gone
contrast, has been so blinded by his
along, a strange sensation has
values that the reality of the situation
come over me: I miss Barack
does not seem to penetrate his mind.
Obama. 1ow, obviously I disagree
Take health care. Passing
with a lot of Obama’s policy decisions.
Obamacare was a mighty lift that
I’ve been disappointed by aspects
led to two gigantic midterm election
of his presidency. I hope the next
defeats. As Megan McArdle pointed
presidency is a philosophic departure.
out in her Bloomberg View column,
But over the course of this
David
campaign it feels as if there’s been
Brooks Obamacare took coverage away from
only a small minority of Americans.
a decline in behavioral standards
Comment
Sanderscare would take employer
across the board. Many of the traits of
coverage away from tens of millions
character and leadership that Obama
of satis¿ed customers, destroy the health
possesses, and that maybe we have taken too
much for granted, have suddenly gone missing insurance business and levy massive new tax
hikes. This is epic social disruption.
or are in short supply.
To think you could pass Sanderscare
The ¿rst and most important of these is
through a polarized Washington and in a
basic integrity. The Obama administration
country deeply suspicious of government is to
has been remarkably scandal-free. Think of
live in intellectual fairyland.
the way Iran-Contra or the
Obama may have been too
Lewinsky scandals swallowed
cautious, especially in the
years from Reagan and
Middle East, but at least he’s
Clinton.
able to grasp the reality of the
We’ve had very little of
situation.
that from Obama. He and his
Fourth, grace under
staff have generally behaved
pressure. I happen to ¿nd it
with basic rectitude. Hillary
charming that Marco Rubio
Clinton is constantly having
gets nervous on the big
to hold these defensive press
occasions — that he grabs
conferences when she’s trying
for the bottle of water, breaks
to explain away some vaguely
out in a sweat and went
shady shortcut she’s taken,
robotic in the last debate.
or decision she has made, but
It shows Rubio is a normal
Obama has not had to do that.
person. And I happen to think
He and his wife have not
overcon¿dence is one of Obama’s great Àaws.
only displayed superior integrity themselves,
But a president has to maintain equipoise
they have mostly attracted and hired people
under enormous pressure. Obama has done
with high personal standards. There are all
that, especially amid the ¿nancial crisis. After
sorts of unsightly characters Àoating around
Saturday night, this is now an open question
politics, including in the Clinton camp and in
Gov. Chris Christie’s administration. This sort about Rubio.
Fifth, a resilient sense of optimism. To
has been blocked from team Obama.
hear Sanders or Trump, Cruz and Ben Carson
Second, a sense of basic humanity. Donald
campaign is to wallow in the pornography of
Trump has spent much of this campaign
pessimism, to conclude that this country is on
vowing to block Muslim immigration.
the verge of complete collapse. That’s simply
You can only say that if you treat Muslim
not true. We have problems, but they are less
Americans as an abstraction. Obama,
serious than those faced by Must about any
meanwhile, went to a mosque, looked into
other nation on earth.
people’s eyes and gave a wonderful speech
People are motivated to make wise choices
reasserting their place as Americans.
more by hope and opportunity than by fear,
He’s exuded this basic care and respect
cynicism, hatred and despair. Unlike many
for the dignity of others time and time again.
current candidates, Obama has not appealed to
Let’s put it this way: Imagine if Barack and
those passions.
Michelle Obama Moined the board of a charity
1o, Obama has not been temperamentally
you’re involved in. You’d be happy to have
perfect. Too often he’s been disdainful,
such people in your community. Could you
aloof, resentful and insular. But there is a
say that comfortably about Ted Cruz? The
tone of ugliness creeping across the world,
quality of a president’s humanity Àows out in
as democracies retreat, as tribalism mounts,
the unexpected but important moments.
as suspiciousness and authoritarianism
Third, a soundness in his decision-making
process. Over the years I have spoken to many take center stage. Obama radiates an ethos
of integrity, humanity, good manners and
members of this administration who were
elegance that I’m beginning to miss, and that
disappointed that the president didn’t take
I suspect we will all miss a bit, regardless of
their advice. But those disappointed staffers
who replaces him.
almost always felt that their views had been
Ŷ
considered in depth.
David Brooks became a New York Times
Obama’s basic approach is to promote his
Op-Ed columnist in September 2003.
values as much as he can within the limits
Obama
radiates
an ethos of
integrity,
humanity,
good manners
and elegance.
YOUR VIEWS
Rep. Walden on wrong side of
Malheur occupation
An open letter to U.S. Rep Greg Walden:
I’ve read with interest your recent guest
column. You take the focus off Hammond,
Bundy and the armed thugs who are the real
culprits, and you shift the blame onto the
BLM, the Forest Service, even the President.
Bingo! It’s all the fault of the arrogant federal
government.
Lots of us in Eastern Oregon have
complaints against the Forest Service and
BLM. And we have frustrations with you in
the Congress too, for the high taxes you’ve
caused by unfunded wars, high agricultural
subsidies and low grazing rates.
But we don’t carry our guns into your
of¿ce and occupy it. 1o, you don’t condone
the actions of the armed occupiers or the
“mistakes” the Hammonds committed. But
you don’t condemn their crimes either. The
Hammonds, you say, made a mistake.
1ot a federal crime, mind you, Must a
mistake. Ask any Mudge, ask any prosecutor
or probation of¿cer. How many times have
they heard criminals describe their crimes as
“mistakes”? Criminals shift the blame and
minimize the wrong. You’re doing the same.
Lovely words, “those not familiar with the
high desert of the West,” make it sound as
though Bundy, his friends, and the Hammonds
are victims of those far-away city folk from
1ew York or Washington, or even Portland.
You ignore the Mury of high desert folks
from Eastern Oregon, who do understand the
culture and the lifestyle of the great American
West, who also live in this vast beautiful
harsh landscape, who — after two weeks of
hearing evidence — convicted Hammond of
desecrating this beautiful land by intentionally
setting ¿res while he and his hunting party
were illegally killing deer, not as part of the
“culture and the lifestyle of the great American
West” but as part of the tradition of “take the
law into your own hands,” take game when
you want, burn the land when you want.
If only a couple of Murors had believed
the Hammonds, there would have been no
conviction. But after two weeks of evidence
and testimony, the Hammonds’ Eastern
Oregon peers found them guilty, not of
making a mistake but of committing crimes.
Well done, congressman. You’re siding
with the right people. And your article only
encourages criminals like Bundy and Finicum.
Martin J. Birnbaum, retired district attorney
and public defender, La Grande
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. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR
97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.