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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Wednesday, August 17, 2016 OTHER VIEWS Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW An Olympic achievement Perhaps nothing is better for the world than the Olympics. Sure, we’ve got our governments and soldiers and bankers and pastors, who try in their own ways to keep the world in a system free from chaos. But the Olympics does it another way, disguised by celebration and sport, that belies how truly revolutionary it is. That makes the Olympics powerful, and that has come at a price. The Olympics have become bloated and corrupt — a fertile environment for professional sportocrats to line their pockets while amateur athletes dedicate their lives to compete for peanuts. Its value to television companies and advertisers has come at the expense of the audience. But the Olympic ideals remain, under the surface, still revolutionary and a force for planetary good. Thus year, a North Korean and South Korean gymnast shared a sel¿e — as close and as peaceful as those two countries have been since they were formed. Young girls in this country and across the world were inspired by Simone Biles, the 4-foot-8-inch American gymnast who ran faster and Mumped higher and rede¿ned the shape of the sport. Humans across the globe were gob-smacked watching Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt test the limits of human ability, while doing it with unmatched Moy and con¿dence. And many have been inspired by the continued excellence of Michael Phelps — who rarely settles for second place — and the incredible accomplishment of Yusra Mardini, the Syrian swimmer who became a refugee and helped save lives by guiding a sinking ship across the Aegean Sea. From winning to just showing up, sports show us the end result of an attitude work ethic that can improve our lives. The Olympics often shed light into corners of the world that are ¿lled only with darkness. Athletes often are not from rich backgrounds. Syria aside, even Biles and Phelps came from poor and middle-class upbringings. In a world that often celebrates the rich and powerful, athletics in general offer one of the few ways for poor, inner-city, favela kids to excel. And while jealousy-inducingly ¿t, they are not beautiful in the ways that our culture often puts in front of us, be they supermodels or celebrities. Especially for young girls, seeing women of endlessly varying body types succeed and become stars is important. We also see people of all colors and all races, from countries rich and powerful to those we have never heard of. In a nation such as ours, where our world news is often limited only to warfare and bombings, it is good to see athletes from Ethiopia and Macedonia giving their all alongside our own. There are always problems — an Egyptian judoka refused to shake the hand of the Israeli who defeated him. Most of the Russian team was sent home for doping. The costly and useless buildings will bankrupt, not bene¿t, Rio de Janeiro. The pollution and Zika threat will remain long after the hoopla is gone. Yet there are more pros than cons. Humans are prideful creatures. We’re proud of where we’re from, we want to prove it and, yes, deep down inside we want to pound that volleyball really hard right at the other team. The Olympics have created a venue where that can be done and no one dies. Because really, what are wars but a competition about might, smarts, skill and heart? It’s no wonder that terrorists and anarchists are obsessed with disrupting the events. The Olympics are one of the great achievements of humanity and civilization, and we should do our best to support the ideals, prosecute the corruption and protect the games. 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. Trump, media running a ‘baloney machine’ I t’s no secret Donald Trump’s a very loud message that what he is supporters wish he would spend doing now is not working. And yet more time in his public appearances Trump has said several times that he focused on issues and less on the sees no need to change his style to offhand remarks that have gotten him compete in the general election. into trouble recently. Gingrich sees an increasingly Newt Gingrich, the Trump vice urgent situation. “The fact is, you presidential ¿nalist who goes in and only have a limited amount of out of favor at Trump Tower, has long communications time, and you should Byron counseled a tighter, more disciplined be focusing that time on the issues that York focus on issues. In an interview Friday matter to the American people,” he Comment morning, as the Obama-is-the-founder- said. “If talking about yourself drowns of-ISIS controversy spilled into out everything else you’re talking another day, Gingrich seemed to reach a new about — because you know as a conservative level of frustration, suggesting that Trump the news media is never going to give you a and the news media have break — you have to make created a “baloney machine” sure you don’t give them a that distracts the public from break. And every time he important issues. gives them something to talk “Trump should spend more about that allows them to time talking about America avoid his issues, they’re going and less time talking about to take it.” Trump,” Gingrich told me Gingrich pointed to the after an appearance on Fox House Republican report that News. the U.S. Central Command “It’s not helpful, and it’s altered its intelligence not helpful to have quips to suggest the American that distract from the main campaign against the Islamic issues,” Gingrich continued. State is making more progress “If Trump is not talking about than is actually the case. “That the economy, and he’s not ought to be a major national — Newt Gingrich, scandal,” Gingrich said. talking about safety, and he’s not talking about reforming “But it gets totally Republican, Washington, he’s losing former U.S. House Speaker submerged in all of this ground.” baloney,” Gingrich concluded. Indeed, Trump is losing “And Trump contributes to the ground. He is running 6.3 points — a baloney. He and the news media have a sort of substantial margin — behind Hillary Clinton baloney machine going between them.” in the RealClearPolitics average of national Nevertheless, Trump has repeatedly refused polls. Even more concerning are new polls to change his approach. On Tuesday, he told of states Trump must win if he is to become Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo that, “I think president. Even as Gingrich spoke, NBC and that you know my temperament has gotten me the Wall Street Journal were releasing surveys here ... I certainly don’t think it’s appropriate showing Trump trailing Hillary Clinton by 5 to start changing all of a sudden when you’ve points in Florida, 9 points in North Carolina, been winning.” On Thursday, Trump told 13 points in Virginia and by 14 points in CNBC, “At the end, it’s either going to work, Colorado. or I’m going to, you know, I’m going to have Add those to polls showing Trump a very, very nice long vacation.” in trouble in Ohio and falling behind in Ŷ Pennsylvania — two absolutely critical states Byron York is chief political correspondent for Trump — and the polls are sending Trump for The Washington Examiner. “Trump should spend more time talking about America and less time talking about Trump.” OTHER VIEWS Bakken after the boom W The Bismarck (N.D.)Tribune 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 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 phone number. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. hen the oil boom exploded in North Dakota it was every man for himself. Companies jockeyed for the best sites, landowners pursued the most lucrative deals and government scrambled to improve infrastructure. It was the Wild West. Now, with falling oil prices, calm has prevailed on the region. Drilling continues, but at a less frantic pace. Highway traf¿c no longer seems like a racetrack and the number of wells in operation has declined. There’s time to step back and evaluate the situation. That’s what the World Wildlife Fund hired the Covenant Consulting Group to do. Members of the World Wildlife Fund toured the Bakken region and they visited areas of the Badlands not impacted yet by the oil boom. They wanted to know how development, if it reached into new areas, could be handled better. They also wanted to know how things could be improved in the Bakken. Rod Backman of Covenant Consulting Group has been explaining the study results. One thing he wants to make clear, none of the stakeholders in the Bakken want or expect oil drilling to go away. What they want is better planning and more reasoned development. Backman’s team found people appreciated the jobs and community revitalization that resulted from the boom. They also found widespread support for protection of surface assets. Backman put together a team of industry, conservation and ranching experts and interviewed 71 people — 26 members of ranching and grazing associations, 21 state, local and federal government of¿cials and 20 members of conservation groups. The team also contacted 11 oil companies and got responses from four of¿cials. The next step in the process involves the selection of ¿ve representatives from government, the oil industry, conservation and ranching who will meet six times over the next ¿ve months with the goal of developing salable solutions. Backman said the ¿ve North Dakotans are independent, charged with coming up with a plan for Badlands users by Badlands users. After ¿ve months the group can decide whether they want to continue to disband. The wisdom of their plan will determine whether it’s adopted, in whole or part, or ignored. Over the last few years there have been ideas Àoated about task forces or special committees to develop recommendations for oil development in North Dakota. Nothing came of the ideas. The World Wildlife Fund and Covenant have given the state a starting point. It’s unlikely everyone will agree with everything that the group of ¿ve proposes. It will bene¿t everyone to consider their suggestions. So far there’s nothing to indicate this project is guided by an agenda other than ¿nding better ways for all stakeholders to work together. The craziness of the early Bakken days resulted in outcomes unsatisfactory to all parties involved. We have a chance to improve the situation as we move forward. It will bene¿t residents and companies to pay attention to the proposals coming from the ¿ve. They should be given close scrutiny because of the potential impact on the state. It’s also important to remember all stakeholders expressed interest in protecting surface assets. Finding ways to do this, whether it’s oil companies sharing roads or landowners working with companies to develop plans, will bene¿t us. This study provides an opportunity for North Dakota and should be taken seriously.
