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OPINION
East Oregonian
Thursday, September 29, 2016
OTHER VIEWS
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Publisher
Managing Editor
JANNA HEIMGARTNER
TIM TRAINOR
Business Ofice Manager
Opinion Page Editor
OUR VIEW
Support third parties
for more choice on
Election Day
More than 80 million Americans
means a presidential candidate must
be polling at 15 percent just to get
watched Monday’s presidential
on the stage. The last third party
debate, and perhaps many of them
candidate to do so was Ross Perot
were unimpressed with the two
in 1992, who as head of the Reform
candidates on display.
Certainly there was a tremendous Party collected nearly 19 percent
of the national vote
gulf in their abilities
in the November
— one could inish
When there election.
a sentence and a
Undoubtedly, his
thought and the
are only two sharing
the stage
other could not. But
with
George
H.W.
judging by most polls,
teams, it is
Bush and Bill Clinton
neither is a majority
only natural made Perot more of
of Americans’ cup of
a household name,
tea.
for them to
helped him be
Why, in a nation
play against and
taken seriously by the
of more than 300
electorate.
million people,
each other.
In each and every
with just as many
election, polls show
political ideologies
third party candidates with high poll
and problems to solve, do only
numbers early on in the campaign,
two Americans currently have a
especially as each voter’s candidate
legitimate chance to be the next
of choice is knocked out of the
president of the United States?
Democratic or Republican primary.
This choose-between-two
Yet on election day, when it becomes
mentality has been the status quo
clear no third party candidate has
in this country for more than a
a chance to win the election, those
century and, we would argue, is a
numbers dip and again are cast aside
major reason for the divisiveness in
Congress and at dinner tables across as “wasted votes” — perpetuating
two-party rule.
America.
We should do better. The debate
When there are only two teams,
commission should reduce the
it is only natural for them to play
barrier to entry to 10 percent — a
against each other. Like the yin and
yang, their political ground is always realistic goal for the Libertarian and
changing but it’s always leaving half Green parties, and an aspirational
goal for new parties that could crop
of the people on the other side.
up and toss a few ideas into the
For our country’s future, we
national conversation.
should begin to break down that
There are important reasons to
intractable divide by allowing
limit the number of people on the
more philosophies into government
debate stage. Donald Trump was
positions.
able to disappear into his 17 rivals
A simple way to start is by
in the Republican primary when
opening up the presidential debates
important policy questions were
to include more political parties.
asked. But in a one-on-one debate,
Gary Johnson, the Libertarian
his ignorance could no longer be
candidate, was polling at about 8
ignored.
percent before the debate, while
Yet in most cases, with 3-4 people
Green Party candidate Jill Stein was
in the discussion, the number of
at 3 percent.
policy ideas would increase and the
Currently the Commission for
Presidential Debates has a threshold number of voting options would too.
That’s more freedom, right?
for inclusion at 15 percent. That
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
Best practices for regulating marijuana
The (Medford) Mail Tribune
O
regon’s foray into legalizing
recreational marijuana has been a
learning experience for everyone
involved, not least for the state’s many
growers of medical marijuana, who
had the luxury of operating with little
oversight for years under Oregon’s
18-year-old medical marijuana law.
Those days are over.
That reality has been brought home
once again after the state Land Use
Board of Appeals upheld Jackson
County’s rules barring medical
marijuana growing on land zoned rural
residential. Growing for the recreational
market was already off-limits in rural
residential zones.
State law says medical marijuana
may be grown on land outside cities. The
problem is that Jackson County land-use
rules prohibit agricultural operations
on rural residential land. And by any
deinition, growing marijuana, whether
for the medical or the recreational
market, is agriculture.
A growers group called Right to
Grow USA challenged the county
rule, arguing that it jeopardized
patients’ access to medical marijuana,
that it conlicted with the county’s
Comprehensive Plan and that it was
unreasonable regulation and served no
governmental purpose. LUBA rejected
those arguments, noting that medical
marijuana may be grown in exclusive
farm use or forest zones.
LUBA correctly noted that preventing
conlicts between farming and residential
uses is a reasonable goal. No one is
suggesting, for instance, that pig farms
should be allowed in residential zones.
County oficials also gave medical
growers who have been operating since
before 2014 in rural residential zones the
option of applying to be grandfathered
in, but relatively few have done so.
When voters approved legalizing
recreational marijuana in 2014, federal
law enforcement oficials made it
clear that Oregon must put a stop to
black-market exports of marijuana to
other states, much of it grown under the
cover of the medical marijuana program,
or federal authorities would step in.
Lawmakers’ attempts to regulate what
had been a largely unregulated industry
inevitably led to conlict with growers.
Certainly, there are medical growers
who are not diverting their harvests
to the black market, and who have no
interest in growing for the recreational
market. But they will have to learn to
live with the new regulations, which are
designed to work for everyone.
If existing growers in rural residential
zones want to continue, they should
apply to be grandfathered in. The fee
for that application does seem steep at
$1,563, but county planning department
fees have gone up across the board in
response to tight budgets.
The new rules also require much
more thorough record keeping and
reporting, in an effort to account for the
marijuana being produced in the state.
Medical growers are understandably
reluctant to submit to increased
regulation, but they have little choice in
the matter.
If they want to continue to produce
medical marijuana, they will have to
get used to complying with reasonable
regulations just as any other business
does.
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. Send letters to 211 S.E.
Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
Trump? How could we?
M
y reaction to the Donald
“We don’t know what Hillary Clinton
Trump-Hillary Clinton debate
believes, because nobody ever asks
can be summarized with one
her.”
word: “How?”
Say what? As secretary of state,
How in the world do we put a man
Clinton backed every global climate
negotiation and clean energy initiative.
in the Oval Ofice who thinks NATO
That’s like saying no one knows
is a shopping mall where the tenants
Hillary’s position on women’s rights.
aren’t paying enough rent to the U.S.
Conway then went on CNBC’s
landlord?
Thomas
NATO is not a shopping mall; it
Friedman “Squawk Box” and argued that
Clinton, who was secretary of state
is a strategic alliance that won the
Comment
from 2009 to 2013, had never created
Cold War, keeps Europe a stable
a job and was responsible for the
trading partner for U.S. companies
lack of adequate “roads and bridges” in our
and prevents every European country —
country. When challenged on that by MGM
particularly Germany — from getting their
Resorts’ CEO, James Murren — who argued
own nukes to counterbalance Russia, by
that his business was up, that the economy
sheltering them all under America’s nuclear
was improving and that
umbrella.
Clinton’s job as secretary
How do we put in the
of state was to create
Oval Ofice a man who
stability — Conway
does not know enough
responded that Clinton
“beef” about key policies
had nothing to do with
to inish a two-minute
any improvements in the
answer on any issue
economy because “she’s
without the hamburger
never been president so
helper of bluster, insults
she’s created no inancial
and repetition?
stability.”
How do we put in the
I see: Everything wrong
Oval Ofice a man who
is Clinton’s fault and
suggests that the recent
anything good is to the
spate of cyberattacks —
president’s credit alone.
which any senior U.S.
Silly.
intelligence oficial will
The “Squawk Box”
tell you came without
segment was devoted to
question from Russia —
the fact that while Trump
might not have come from
claims that he will get
Russia but could have been
the economy growing,
done by “somebody sitting
very few CEOs of major
on their bed that weighs
U.S. companies are supporting him. Also,
400 pounds?”
interesting how positively the stock market
How do we put in the Oval Ofice a man
reacted to Trump’s debate defeat. Maybe
who boasts that he tries to pay zero federal
because CEOs and investors know that Trump
taxes but then complains that our airports and
and Conway are con artists and that recent
roads are falling apart and there is not enough
statistics show income gaps are actually
money for our veterans?
narrowing, wages are rising and poverty is
How do we put in the Oval Ofice a man
easing.
who tries to prove he was against the Iraq
The Trump-Conway shtick is to trash the
War — even though he publicly stated his
country so they can make us great again.
support for it when it began — by saying he
Fact: We have problems and not everyone is
said so privately to his pal Sean Hannity at
enjoying the fruits of our economy, but if you
Fox News? Trump is so caught up with his
own infallibility that he didn’t think to respond want to be an optimist about America, stand
on your head — the country looks so much
in the debate: “Yes, I supported the Iraq War
better from the bottom up. What you see are
as a private citizen, but Hillary voted for it as
a senator when she had all the intelligence and towns and regions not waiting for Washington,
whose job it was to make the right judgment.” D.C., but coming together themselves to ix
How do we put in the Oval Ofice someone infrastructure, education and governance. I see
it everywhere I go.
who says we should not have gone into Iraq,
I am not enamored of Clinton’s stale,
but since we did, “we should have taken the
liberal, centralized view of politics, but she is
oil — ISIS would not have been able to form
… because the oil was their primary source of sane and responsible; she’ll do her homework,
can grow in the job, and might even work well
income.”
with Republicans, as she did as a senator.
ISIS formed before it managed to pump
Trump promises change, but change that
any oil, and it sustained itself with millions of
comes from someone who thinks people
dollars that it stole from Iraq’s central bank
who pay taxes are suckers and who thinks
in Mosul. Meanwhile, Iraq has the world’s
ifth-largest oil reserves — 140 billion barrels. he can show up before an audience of 100
million without preparation or real plans
Can you imagine how many years we’d have
and talk about serious issues with no more
to stay there to pump it all and how much
sophistication than your crazy uncle — and
doing so would tarnish our moral standing
expect to get away with it — is change the
around the world and energize every jihadi?
How do we put in the Oval Ofice someone country can’t afford.
Electing such a man would be insanity.
whose campaign manager has to go on every
■
morning show after the debate and lie to try to
Thomas L. Friedman won the 2002 Pulitzer
make up for the nonsense her boss spouted?
Prize for commentary, his third Pulitzer for
Kellyanne Conway told CNN on Tuesday
morning that when it comes to climate change, The New York Times.
How do we put in
the Oval Ofice
a man who does
not know enough
“beef” about key
policies to inish
a two-minute
answer on any
issue without
bluster, insults and
repetition?
YOUR VIEWS
Protect Owyhee Canyonlands
from industrial development
I’ve spent 46 years chukar hunting,
camping and ly ishing in Oregon’s Owyhee
Canyonlands. I always look forward to the
wild beauty of the land and the wonderful
abundancy of wildlife it harbors.
But a new report from Oregon’s
Department of Geology and Mineral
Industries found that there is high potential
for mining lithium, bentonite, uranium, gold
and other minerals throughout the Owyhee
Canyonlands (“Report shows Malheur County
rich with mining potential,” East Oregonian,
Sept. 15.)
This should have anyone who loves to
hunt, camp and ish in the Owyhee concerned.
The reason this area is so incredible for
outdoor recreationist is the large, intact
landscape that still exists out there today. This
vast sagebrush sea is what sustains both small
and big critters alike as they migrate through
this area, including a multitude of game birds
like chukar and Huns, as well as mule deer,
elk, and bighorn sheep. Mining and industrial
development like oil and gas is a boom and
bust industry, without long-term, sustainable
growth.
To say nothing of impacting the “scarce”
aquifer of the arid region. If industrial
development like mining takes place in the
Owyhee, so will the roads, lights, noise,
pollution and other developments that go
along with it. Is the American public going to
be held liable for pick up the cost of another
potential Environmental Superfund debacle?
Once this place is fragmented, chopped up,
and polluted it’s ruined — future generations
will never ever get it back. It’s a very fragile
wild landscape that needs protection.
Oregon’s Owyhee is too special to mine for
kitty litter or minerals for the next iPhone.
For example, take a look at Succor Creek
winding along the eastside of Highway 95
between Jordan Valley and Marsing, Idaho.
This used to be a pristine red band trout
water before the deciduous earth mine was
developed several years ago below the Succor
Reservoir. Now it’s a gray soup of a creek and
basically unishable.
There are no laws on the books today
that stop this kind of misguided, destructive
development from happening in the Owyhee.
Only permanent protection guarantees that
you and I, and the next generation of children
can return to this special place year after year
to hunt, ish and camp. The time to protect the
Owyhee is now.
Drew Wahlin
Idaho Chukar Foundation president
Meridian, Idaho