Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Publisher
Managing Editor
JENNINE PERKINSON
TIM TRAINOR
Advertising Director
Opinion Page Editor
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MIKE FORRESTER
STEVE FORRESTER
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Pendleton
Chairman of the Board
Astoria
President
Pendleton
Secretary/Treasurer
CORY BOLLINGER
JEFF ROGERS
Aberdeen, S.D.
Director
Indianapolis, Ind.
Director
OUR VIEW
Crying wolf
on bad science
for Wildlife Diversity are trying to
Wolves have recovered
do. These litigants are undercutting
dramatically in Oregon, their
the work that ODFW has done to
numbers growing into the triple
revive wolf numbers and the science
digits and their populations
that has fueled it.
expanding west and south across a
“The place where (the delisting
large swath of the state.
decision) needs to be determined is
The Oregon Wolf Plan
in a court of law,” Amaroq Weiss,
shepherded the success of that
Center of Biological Diversity, told
re-introduction. And because the
next step in the plan called for taking Oregon Public Broadcasting.
But a courtroom
gray wolves off the
is not where science
state’s endangered
happens, and it is
species list, that’s
Wolf
the wrong place
exactly what
management
for management
happened.
In a staff report
decisions should decisions to be
released in October
be made in the made.
The place where
2015, scientists
wolf
management
from ODFW
ield and the
decisions should be
recommended
laboratory, not made is in the ¿eld.
the Oregon Fish
in the laboratory.
and Wildlife
the courtroom. It’s
It’s in the reams of
Commission delist
data in the hands
gray wolves. In
November, OFWC
of a wolf biologist.
agreed with that assessment. And
It’s by the decisions of an apolitical,
just last month both houses of the
informed commission who studies
state legislature voted to af¿rm the
the science.
OFWC’s decision. That af¿rmation
That work has been done,
now sits at the desk of Governor
yet it has been disregarded by
Kate Brown.
environmental groups who don’t
If Brown vetoes the bill, it would agree with the conclusion.
be just another slap in the face of
That’s not the way science works.
rural Oregon.
It’s a shame that some of the state’s
Out here in wolf country, we’ve
most well-funded and powerful
lived by the rules of the Oregon
environmental groups don’t believe
Wolf Plan since the wily animals
in science that is not their own.
swam across the Snake River and
Those groups are putting pressure
made this country their home. And
on the governor to veto a bill that
many of us are happy about that.
passed, somewhat miraculously,
Wolves belong in Oregon, and their
through a Democratically controlled
existence must be protected.
Legislature to land on her desk.
But with existence now
It’s not a one-sided trick, either.
reasonably secured, species
There are many who point to the
management is needed. And we
scientist they paid for who has found
should make those management
the climate isn’t changing, smoking
decisions using unbiased science,
doesn’t cause cancer, that coal is
not science paid for by special
clean and Arctic drilling is good for
interests. And we should de¿nitely
the polar bear.
not make those decisions by
It’s a disreputable group to be
discarding science altogether and
part of, and one that hurts your
substituting emotion, or the highest
credibility in the eyes of people who
paid lawyer.
just want what is best for our state
But that’s what environmental
and its wildlife. You cry wolf too
groups such as Oregon Wild,
many times and there might not be
Cascadia Wildlands and the Center
any wolves left to hear you.
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
Dogs, cats and leadership
W
East but simply to make a dangerous
hen he was in the middle
country less dangerous.
of his Syrian peace deal
Do you think out loud in tandem
negotiations, Secretary of
with a community, or do you process
State John Kerry would go to President
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Barack Obama with a request: Could
Throughout the Goldberg article,
the U.S. quietly send a few cruise
Obama is seen thinking deeply and
missiles to hit Assad regime targets, just
subtly, but apart from the group around
to send a message and maybe move the
him. In catlike fashion, he is a man
Syrian president toward a deal.
David
“Kerry’s looking like a chump
Brooks who knows his own mind and trusts
his own judgment. His decision not to
with the Russians, because he has
Comment
bomb Syria after it crossed the chemical
no leverage,” a senior administration
weapons red line was made almost
of¿cial told Jeffrey Goldberg of The
entirely alone. His senior advisers were shocked
Atlantic.
when he announced it. The secretaries of state
Obama continually said no and eventually
and defense were not in the room.
grew impatient. Goldberg asked Kerry if he
More generally, Obama expresses disdain
thought he had more of a bias toward action
than Obama. “I do probably,” Kerry responded. with the foreign policy community. He is
“I’d say that I think we’ve had a very symbiotic, critical of most of his fellow world leaders —
impatient with most European ones, fed up with
synergistic, whatever you call it, relationship
which works very effectively. Because I’ll come most Middle Eastern ones.
When seeking a description of a situation,
in with a bias toward ‘Let’s try to do this, let’s
does your mind leap for the clarifying single
try to do that, let’s get this done.’”
truth or do you step back to see the complex
The new Goldberg essay is a profound and
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comprehensive look at Obama’s foreign policy
Ronald Reagan typi¿ed the single clarifying
thinking, and especially his steadfast desire to
truth habit of mind, both when he was
reduce U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
describing an enemy (Evil
But it’s also fascinating
Empire) and when he was
to read in the midst of a
calling for change (tear down
presidential campaign. It
this wall). In his interviews
shows how insanely far
with Goldberg, Obama leans to
removed campaign bloviation
the other side of the spectrum.
is from the reality of actually
He is continually stepping
governing.
back, starting with analyses
It also reveals that the
of human nature, how people
performance of presidents,
behave when social order
especially on foreign policy,
breaks down, the roots and nature of tribalism.
is shaped by how leaders attach to problems.
Do you see international affairs as a
Some leaders are like dogs: They want to bound
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right in and make things happen. Some are
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more like cats: They want to detach and maybe
Obama shows a continual distrust of
look for a pressure point here or there.
passion. He doesn’t see much value in
If we want to understand the dog or catlike
macho bluf¿ng or chest-thumping, or in lofty
qualities in candidates, we should be asking
Churchillian rhetoric, or in bombings done in
them a different set of questions:
the name of “credibility.” He may be critical,
How much do you think a president can
but he is not a hater. He doesn’t even let
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anger interfere with his appraisal of Vladimir
Obama, for example, has a limited or, if
Putin, praising him for being courteous and
you want to put it that way, realistic view of
businesslike. Because fear distorts judgment,
the extent of U.S. inÀuence. He subscribes to a
he seeks to place the threat of terrorism in its
series of propositions that frequently push him
proper perspective: More Americans die from
toward nonintervention: The world “is a tough,
falling in bathtubs.
complicated, messy, mean place and full of
Personally, I don’t think there is one correct
hardship and tragedy,” he told Goldberg. You
answer to whether we want a dog or a cat as
can’t ¿x everything. Sometimes you can only
leader. Depends on the situation; there are
shine a spotlight.
successful examples of both types. But I’m
Furthermore, Obama argues, because of
struck by how catlike Obama is. And it’s
our history, U.S. military efforts are looked at
striking how many Americans have responded
with suspicion. Allies are unreliable. Ukraine
by going for Donald Trump and Bernie
is always going to be in Russia’s sphere of
Sanders, who are bad versions of the bounding
inÀuence, so its efforts there will always trump
ours. The Middle East is a morass and no longer in/we-can-change-everything doggy type.
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that important to U.S. interests.
David Brooks became a New York Times
Even the Iran nuclear deal is seen as a
Op-Ed columnist in 2003.
limited endeavor — not to reshape the Middle
Does President
Obama think
like a cat or
a dog?
YOUR VIEWS
Pendleton needs jobs,
not more housing
I am responding to Betty
Brunette’s letter to the editor and
the city of Pendleton’s spending
$10,000 on yet another un-needed
housing study. I agree with Betty.
My husband and I own 128
apartment units in Pendleton. We
have never had much vacancy in
the approximately 11 years that we
have operated in Pendleton, until
this last year. The population of
Pendleton is declining. People are
moving out of Pendleton to jobs
elsewhere.
Pendleton needs more jobs, not
more housing. There is no shortage
of housing in Pendleton. There is
currently plenty of housing for rent
in Pendleton. There are numerous
houses available as foreclosures
in Pendleton right now. There
are numerous houses for sale in
Pendleton right now.
The tax assessor increases
our taxes every year; the water,
sewer, power and insurance goes
up and the garbage keeps asking
for more increases; wages are
headed up, thanks to the governor;
supplies and materials, carpet,
appliances, Àooring, paint, are
all up signi¿cantly; and yet rents
are stagnant in Pendleton. Who
is supposed to pay for all of the
increase in operating expenses if
no new good jobs are coming to
Pendleton? We desperately need
higher rents to keep up with higher
operating costs, but it is dif¿cult to
raise rents when people don’t have
higher paying jobs.
The city of Pendleton needs to
do a better job attracting employers
and the city needs to spend money
attracting jobs to Pendleton, and
not spend money on yet another
silly housing study. I can tell you
as one of the largest landlords in
Pendleton that is losing money as
a landlord in Pendleton, because of
rising costs and stagnant rents, we
have no housing shortage — we
have a declining population and we
have a lack of jobs.
Kristy Neubo
Pendleton
Parks help make
Pendleton a great city
Pendleton has amazing parks,
and a great parks department
that oversees and manages these
wonderful assets. Some recent
letters to the East Oregonian have
thrown a few stones at these places,
and I am sure I am in complete
disagreement with their sentiments.
First of all, one detractor says
we spend more on our parks
and manage more acreage than
most towns of similar size. If his
fanciful accounting is true, I think
it is in fact a tremendous bragging
point and recruitment piece for
Pendleton. I see it as a huge
positive and leaves little to enjoy
for someone who would rather see
a fresh coat of asphalt around town.
And even if you are a fan of new
blacktop, that budget needs to be
addressed separately. Cutting our
parks budget would not solve the
infrastructure crisis, but would do a
great deal in killing the livability of
Pendleton.
In a town that has lost numerous
local physicians and professional
workers as well as business
interests across the board, we need
to offer as many family-friendly
and attractive city assets as we
can to bring them back. The curb
appeal of a city is a major factor
in the relocation of tax-paying
citizens, especially those planning
to raise young families here.
And yes, statues on Main Street
do improve the aesthetics of our
downtown area. Buses full of
tourists love to park on Main
and visit our restaurants and take
pictures of our statues, like it or
not. And the statue grants would
not have ¿xed the many years of
ignoring our bridges, roads and
cement stairways either.
In a town where businesses are
closing their doors at an alarming
rate and our new commerce
involves mostly marijuana pipes
and glassware, I would love to
support the parks that I have
enjoyed in every neighborhood
here since I was a child growing up
on the North Hill. If you haven’t
been to a dog park, check out the
ones on the banks of the Deschutes
in Bend or in the Dry Canyon in
Redmond. Just excellent examples
of people enjoying the outdoors
with their animal friends.
Pendleton is great. Make it a
point to set foot on as many parks
as you can this spring and you will
be a believer too.
Scott McClendon
Pendleton
Country has maxed out
its debt limit
Congress four years ago passed
a $2.4 trillion debt ceiling increase.
It was the largest in history at the
time, with the promise of future
spending cuts in the coming years.
The national debt since then has
increased by $4 trillion, rising from
$15 trillion to over $19 trillion
today. The national debt credit card
is nearly maxed out.
This current budget cycle
affords the House with an
opportunity to ful¿ll their promise
to spend within the previously
agreed budget caps passed in the
Budget Control Act of 2011. A
truly responsible budget should
stay within those caps, plan for the
repeal of Obamacare and balance
within the next ten years.
At the present time, it looks
like the House Republicans are
preparing to cave in without even
trying to pass a responsible budget.
As taxpayers, we need to
demand Congress to pass a
responsible budget continually
and not kick the can down the
road. Call your representatives
and encourage them to stop the
spending, balance the budget, and
repeal Obamacare.
Donald Crawford
Klamath Falls
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. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include
the city of residence and a daytime phone number. Send letters to
211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastorego-
nian.com.