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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Saturday, September 17, 2016 OTHER VIEWS When a crackpot seeks ofice Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JANNA HEIMGARTNER TIM TRAINOR Business Ofice Manager Opinion Page Editor O EO MEDIA GROUP East Oregonian • The Daily Astorian • Capital Press • Hermiston Herald Blue Mountain Eagle • Wallowa County Chieftain • Chinook Observer • Coast River Business Journal Oregon Coast Today • Coast Weekend • Seaside Signal • Cannon Beach Gazette Eastern Oregon Real Estate Guide • Eastern Oregon Marketplace • Coast Marketplace OnlyAg.com • FarmSeller.com • Seaside-Sun.com • NorthwestOpinions.com • DiscoverOurCoast.com OUR VIEW Hard to get the measure of 97 Aside from electing the next Increasing taxes on those companies leader of the free world, Measure is likely to get passed along to the 97 is the most important decision consumer in some form or in full, Oregonians will have to make on the increasing the cost of living for November ballot. everyone and costing middle-class And it will be a hard one. private sector jobs, too. The measure, if passed, would As an editorial board, we are bring in nearly $3 billion a year to reluctantly standing against the state coffers. Depending on your measure. outlook, it will either solve many We know schools in Umatilla of Oregon’s chronic problems County are not adequately funded, or be a crippling and our students weight thrown over are suffering for it. residents and the And we know that If you trust state economy. a major government and without And that’s really overhaul, the state at the heart of the the legislature, will never have disagreement: If you steady revenue Measure 97 is a the trust government stream required to and the legislature’s continue improving, no-brainer. ability to spend instead of constantly If not, this looks being mired in a that money wisely — to revamp of cuts and like a cash grab cycle Oregon’s lagging temporary hires. education system, We know without a plan to improve health health care costs to spend the care in our state, will continue ad to solve a serious ininitum, and we money. crisis in funding know that the state state employee signed a contract retirements — then Measure 97 is a — an unaffordable one, perhaps, no-brainer. but still a contract — with state But if you’re more suspicious, this employees. looks like the largest tax increase in The state needs to ind ways Oregon history, a bureaucratic cash to increase and stabilize revenue grab with no deined plan for how to streams, but a big no-strings- spend the windfall. attached money dump is not the The measure itself is quite simple, answer. which is part of the design and also Tax policy is terribly complex. part of the problem. It would impose The bluntness of Measure 97 will a 2.5 percent tax on all corporate hurt Oregon, and the corresponding sales in the state above $25 million, help is not quantiiably better. What regardless of actual proits. Oregon should do is defeat this That means the big out-of-state measure, then hold legislators and corporations that make billions in the governor accountable for getting proits and sell expensive things business and labor together. Once in Oregon would pay more taxes at the same table, they shouldn’t get — companies like Intel and John up until we have a plan for stable Deere, say. But so too will Safeway funding for Oregon schools and and Paciic Power, Wal-Mart and health care programs. Measure 97 Walgreen’s and Powell’s Books. isn’t it. 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. ne of the mental traps that he’s a presidential candidate. No — we all fall into, journalists especially when he’s a presidential included, is to perceive politics candidate. through narratives. There frankly has been a degree President Gerald Ford had been a of unreality to some of the campaign star football player, yet somehow we discussion: Partly because Hillary Clinton’s narrative is one of a slippery, in the media developed a narrative of dishonest candidate, the discussion him as a klutz — so that every time he stumbled, a clip was on the evening Nicholas disproportionately revolves around news. Likewise, we in the media Kristof that theme. Yes, Clinton has been disingenuous and legalistic in her wrongly portrayed President Jimmy Comment explanations of emails. Meanwhile, Carter as a bumbling lightweight, even Trump is a mythomaniac who appears as he tackled the toughest challenges, to have systematically cheated customers of from recognizing China to returning the Trump University. Panama Canal. Clinton’s inances are a mineield, which Then in 2000, we painted Al Gore as we know because she has released 39 years inauthentic and having a penchant for self- of tax returns; Trump would be the irst major aggrandizing exaggerations, and the most memorable element of the presidential debates party nominee since Ford not to release his tax return (even Ford released a tax summary). that year became not George W. Bush’s And every serious analyst misstatements but Gore’s knows that Trump is telling dramatic sighs. a whopper when he gleefully I bring up this checkered promises to build a $25 track record because I wonder billion wall that Mexico will if once again our collective pay for. reporting isn’t fueling Then there’s the question misperceptions. of foundations. Yes, Clinton A CNN/ORC poll this created conlicts of interest month found that by a margin with the family foundation of 15 percentage points, and didn’t fully disclose voters thought Donald donors as promised. But the Trump was “more honest Trump Foundation lat out and trustworthy” than Hillary broke the law by making a Clinton. Let’s be frank: political contribution (which This public perception is may have been a bribe to completely at odds with all avoid an investigation, but evidence. that’s another story). On the PolitiFact website, It’s also worth avoiding 13 percent of Clinton’s moral equivalence about the statements that were checked work of the two foundations: were rated “false” or “pants The Clinton Foundation saves lives around on ire,” compared with 53 percent of the world from AIDS and malnutrition, while Trump’s. Conversely, half of Clinton’s are the Trump Foundation used its resources to rated “true” or “mostly true” compared to 15 buy — yes! — a large painting of Trump, as a percent of Trump statements. gift for Trump (that may violate IRS rules as Clearly, Clinton shades the truth — yet well). there’s no comparison with Trump. The latest dust-up has been health care. I’m not sure that journalism bears Neither candidate has been very open about responsibility, but this does raise the thorny health, but Clinton has produced much more issue of false equivalence, which has detailed medical records than Trump, and an been hotly debated among journalists this actuarial irm told The Washington Post Fact campaign. Checker that Clinton has a 5.9 percent chance Here’s the question: Is it journalistic of dying by the end of a second term in ofice, malpractice to quote each side and leave it to while Trump would have a 8.4 percent chance. readers to reach their own conclusions, even So I wonder if journalistic efforts at if one side seems to fabricate facts or make fairness don’t risk normalizing Trump, without ludicrous comments? fully acknowledging what an abnormal President Barack Obama weighed in this candidate he is. Historically we in the news week, saying that “we can’t afford to act as if media have sometimes fallen into the traps of there’s some equivalence here.” glib narratives or false equivalencies, and we I’m wary of grand conclusions about false equivalence from 30,000 feet. But at the grass should try hard to ensure that doesn’t happen again. roots of a campaign, I think we can do better We should be guard dogs, not lap dogs, and at signaling that one side is a clown. when the public sees Trump as more honest There are crackpots who believe that the than Clinton, something has gone wrong. earth is lat, and they don’t deserve to be For my part, I’ve never met a national quoted without explaining that this is an, politician as ill informed, as deceptive, as er, outlying view, and the same goes for a evasive and as vacuous as Trump. He’s not crackpot who has argued that climate change normal. And somehow that is what our barks is a Chinese-made hoax, who has called for barring Muslims and who has said that he will need to convey. ■ build a border wall and that Mexico will pay Nicholas Kristof grew up on a farm in for it. Yamhill. A columnist for The New York Times, We owe it to our readers to signal when he won the Pulitzer Prize twice. we’re writing about a crackpot. Even if Is it journalistic malpractice to quote each side and leave it to readers to reach their own conclusions, even if one side seems to fabricate facts? 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 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. YOUR VIEWS Main Street Cowboys put themselves, others at risk To the Main Street Cowboys: While waiting for the music to begin during the Round-Up, my husband and I decided to go shopping. We left the stage near Byers Avenue. We proceeded down Main Street on the east side of the vendors. We came back to the stage on the west side. Just before entering the audience area, the scooter I use due to my multiple sclerosis suddenly started to lip to the left. As I envisioned my head hitting the pavement, my husband quickly pushed his forearm against my head which pushed my body and scooter back to an upright position. We noticed that I had traveled over a large cord covered by a rubber mat. My husband noticed how the rubber mat was bunched up in one place. I noticed that the street in that area was not level. This letter is to inform you how lucky you are. Last night was a perfect combination of problems that could have led to a major medical injury for me and a million dollar lawsuit for you and the city of Pendleton. The thoughtless and haphazard arrangement of materials needed for the Main Street show screams out for immediate compliance with common sense. There was no warning that a large mountain of rubber and wire was in the street. There was no extra light in the area and it was dark. After seeing me fall a man pushing his daughter in a wheelchair told me that he almost lipped the chair over in the same spot. There is no need to put strollers, wheelchair users, elders with walkers, and the general public at risk with the numerous wires and rubber mats that form a dificult and dangerous obstacle course for many of us. There is no way to access the numerous food vendors, clothes vendors, etc., without riding into the area with the wires. Access to all events in a public place is guaranteed by federal law. Safety for all customers is something the community expects, even at Round-Up. The way you have organized Main Street during Round-Up is not working. There but for the grace of God I went home in a car, not an ambulance. There but for just dumb luck you have survived another year out of the Umatilla County Courthouse. Please address this problem before someone gets hurt. Renee Caubisens Pendleton Inlammatory politics should not be allowed on Main Street Shame on the Main Street Cowboys. The lag vendor on Main Street displaying and selling offensive material has a buck to make in our community, but the Cowboys should have had a policy in place to restrict displays of racial hatred. Take a step backwards, Cowboys. Admit you were wrong. Apologize to those in the community that are offended and get busy writing your vendor’s statement for next year’s Main Street. As any student of First Amendment rights knows, our country assures freedom of speech, with the provision that this can be regulated with regard to time, manner and place. The classic example of this is that we cannot yell “ire” in a crowded theatre because exercising that freedom of speech “right” interferes with the health and safety of others. Same with the requirement for parade permits, etc. The Round-Up is not the time to display symbols of racism. Main Street Pendleton is not the place. And a display of large lags, offensive to many, is not the manner for political discussion. If that lag is a symbol of your beliefs, by all means, display it in your home as often as you wish. Write letters to the editor about white lives mattering. Express your frustrations with modern society by joining a political party of your choice and voting your conscience. Do all these things. And more. But keep inlammatory politics off of Main Street during Round-Up. Let’s reserve our politics for a real discussion at the proper time, in the proper manner and in the proper place. Janet Groat Pendleton Klansmen already have their Confederate lags I think you all need to give it a rest. That means any of the East Oregonian staff that feels the need to stir the proverbial pot. So some people are selling Confederate lags during Round-Up. Is this the irst time that this has occurred? Is the sale of said lag illegal? Could we perhaps do a bit of research and understand that it is actually the Battle Flag of Northern Virginia? The actual Confederate lag looked closer to the original American lag … but I digress. This isn’t about facts; this is about some smalltown rag with nothing better to do than pick on an unsuspecting veteran. Pendleton City Hall is so corrupt that you should have an abundance of material to select for your headlines. Why are Confederate lags for sale newsworthy? Confederate lags for sale on Main Street do not affect me in the least. Before I read the story, I owned exactly zero Confederate lags. After your headline, I still own zero Confederate lags. People in town who aren’t already inclined to purchase memorabilia from a failed attempt at secession still don’t own a single banner. Local Klansmen? They already had theirs, but your tip probably caused them to go out and purchase a backup, in case their battle lag became tattered. Thanks you all! I don’t know what we would do without you! James Tibbets Pendleton Re-elect Terry Rowan as Umatilla County sheriff I believe that Terry Rowan, our county sheriff, deserves another four years as our Umatilla County Sheriff. I have known Terry for many years and I know he does a good job as sheriff. He works very hard for the people of our county. He works with the public. Not only does he return calls from the public, he visits them. He does not sit behind a desk and run the sheriff’s department. He works the streets alongside his deputies. He believes in law and order. He is a straight shooter. I have known him to be a man of his word. He was never demoted, nor has he has been in any scandal. He works with all the police departments in each of the cities in Umatilla County. He works hard with the commissioners to hold down costs of his department and ensure the safety of us, the citizens of Umatilla County. He has done a ine job as sheriff. That’s why I am asking you to retain this ine God-fearing young family man. Our county and our country need more people like Terry Rowan, our county sheriff. Jack McWhinnie Umatilla Beware allowing EPA into Columbia River management In regards to the EO story “Columbia River added to water package” (A1, Sept. 15): People, pay attention! First why do we want to put any part of this in the hands of the EPA? It will create new bureaucracies and tons of business and agriculture restrictions. Why can’t we allow the Columbia River Keepers and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue to do what they have been doing without overburdening us tax ayers, businesses and in general the economy, killing progress and restricting growth by initiating more EPA suppression? Frank Vincent, Hermiston
