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OPINION
East Oregonian
Friday, March 24, 2017
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
MARISSA WILLIAMS
Regional Advertising Director
MARCY ROSENBERG
Circulation Manager
JANNA HEIMGARTNER
Business Office Manager
MIKE JENSEN
Production Manager
OUR VIEW
Tip of the hat;
kick in the pants
A kick in the pants to the cold, hard reality that J.C. Penney will close
its downtown Pendleton store, the company’s oldest in operation in its
original location.
The local closure is part of a nationwide reduction of 138 stores —
including four others in small Oregon towns.
It is not, therefore, some sign of Pendleton’s
crumbling economy. It is a clear example of
a larger phenomenon: A venerable retailer
turned vulnerable and searching for its
footing in a world increasingly moving to
online shopping.
Global phenomena aside, many
Pendletonians will miss our Penney’s. The
store featured a broad array of goods —
from children’s clothing to bedding and
housewares — at affordable prices.
But in the parlance of death and dying, our business and civic leaders
cannot spend too much time in the anger phase. The closure of J.C. Penney
leaves a huge hole on Pendleton’s bustling Main Street, but it also presents
opportunities that should be pursued.
A tip of the hat to the Oregon Senate for pushing forward a bill to
raise the legal age of smoking tobacco to 21.
You have to be 21 years old to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol in
Oregon, and tobacco ranks right alongside
both substances in harmfulness to a growing
brain. So why shouldn’t all three be illegal to
those 20 and younger?
The downside is the loss of liberty, and
the lost of tax money to the state — about
$1.6 million a year, according to projections.
But the state could save much more in health
care costs down the road if some young
Oregonians do not become addicted to
tobacco, or never even start using to begin
with. And those millions spent on tobacco
products by young people may go elsewhere in the economy, or maybe even
stay in savings accounts, setting young people up to succeed.
Not everyone follows laws, and many teens already try their first
cigarettes — or swigs, or tokes — before they are of legal age. But laws by
government should aim to keep citizens and their property from harm, and
this one does that more than most.
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.
YOUR VIEWS
Commissioners cannot
respond on drug court
The March 23 edition of the East
Oregonian included a letter written by
Debbie Swenson, president of the local
unit of AFSCME and Aaron Engum,
vice president of the same union,
criticizing county management with
regard to the decision on drug court and
criticizing individual members of the
management team.
While the commissioners might be
expected to respond to their letter, only
the union can comment on such issues.
The county is not permitted to comment
on the performance of individual
employees. Therefore, there can be no
rebuttal. If the county has violated any
terms of the negotiated agreement with
the union, there is a comprehensive
process in place by which the union can
pursue its grievances.
It is, however, important to note that
drug court is a function of the Local
Public Safety Coordinating Council and
not the commissioners, and that the final
decision to move away from the drug
court program was made at the regular
monthly meeting of that body, which
was held on March 14, 2017. No county
employees participated in that vote.
Larry Givens, Bill Elfering, George
Murdock
Umatilla County Commissioners
Two sides to Dakota
pipeline standoff
In reading Prof. Rudzitis’ op-ed
in the March 18 EO, I was struck by
the somewhat inflammatory language
regarding Standing Rock and the Dakota
Access Pipeline. Some of his points
conflicted with what I had read in an
op-ed by U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer of
North Dakota recently in the Dec. 7 Wall
Street Journal regarding the pipeline.
In Cramer’s op-ed, several points
were made that I felt needed to be
brought out.
First, two federal courts have
rejected claims that the tribe wasn’t
consulted. Quoting Cramer: “The Army
Corps made dozens of overtures to
the Standing Rock Sioux over more
than two years. Often these attempts
were ignored or rejected, with the
message that the tribe would only
accept termination of the project.”
Again quoting Cramer: “Other tribes
did participate in the process. More
than 50 tribes were consulted, and their
concerns resulted in 140 adjustments to
the pipeline’s route.”
The crossing in dispute is both on
federal and private lands. Quoting
Cramer again: “It will run directly
adjacent to another pipeline, which
carries natural gas under the riverbed.”
Additionally, Cramer points out
that “this isn’t about water protection.”
The tribe will draw its drinking water
“roughly 70 miles downstream of
where the pipeline is slated to cross the
Missouri River.” A number of petroleum
and gas pipelines already cross the
Missouri River upstream of the tribe’s
water intake.
Finally, Prof. Rudzitis refers to
“peaceful protests.” The Wall Street
Journal article points out that “during
a confrontation between protesters
and law enforcement, an improvised
explosive device was detonated on
a public bridge in southern North
Dakota.”
This is just an example that people
who read newspaper articles should
be skeptical of what they read and do
further research to verify or expand on
what they have read to get the complete
picture.
Most of the articles I have read
in newspapers on the Dakota Access
Pipeline have been one-sided, favoring
the protesters. Unfortunately, in today’s
media you can’t trust you are getting a
balanced story, which is very sad. It is
just another symptom of today’s culture.
OTHER VIEWS
‘A smell of treason in the air’
T
he greatest political scandal
hacking into Clinton emails, which
in U.S. history was not Aaron
would explain why Trump friend
Burr’s shooting of Alexander
Roger Stone tweeted things like “Trust
Hamilton, and perhaps wasn’t even
me, it will soon the Podesta’s time in
Watergate. Rather, it may have been
the barrel.”
Richard Nixon’s secret efforts in 1968
This kind of soft collusion, evolving
to sabotage a U.S. diplomatic effort to
over the course of the campaign
end the Vietnam War.
without a clear quid pro quo, might
Nixon’s initiative, long rumored but Nicholas also explain why there weren’t greater
confirmed only a few months ago, was
Kristof efforts to hide the Trump team’s ties to
meant to improve his election chances
Russia or to camouflage its softening
Comment
that year. After Nixon won, the war
of the Republican Party platform
dragged on and cost thousands of
position toward Moscow.
One crucial unknown: Did Russia try to
additional U.S. and Vietnamese lives; it’s hard
to see his behavior as anything but treason.
funnel money into Trump’s campaign coffers?
In European elections, Russia has regularly
Now the FBI confirms that we have had
tried to influence results by providing secret
an investigation underway for eight months
funds. I’m sure the FBI is looking into
into whether another presidential campaign
whether there were suspicious financial
colluded with a foreign power so as to win an
transfers.
election. To me, that, too, would amount to
The contacts with Russia are by Trump’s
treason.
I’ve been speaking
aides, and the challenge will
to intelligence experts,
be to connect any collusion
Americans and foreigners
to the president himself.
alike, and they mostly
The White House is already
(but not entirely) believe
distancing itself from
there was Trump-Russia
Manafort, claiming that he
cooperation of some kind.
played only a “very limited
But this is uncertain; it’s
role” in the campaign —
prudent to note that James
even though he was Trump’s
Clapper, the intelligence
campaign chairman!
director under Barack
Many Democrats are, I
Obama, said that as of
think, too focused on Jeff
January he had seen no evidence of collusion
Sessions and have too transactional a view
but that he favors an investigation to get to the of what may have unfolded. Treason isn’t
bottom of it.
necessarily spelled out as a quid pro quo, and
I’m also told (not by a Democrat!) that
it wasn’t when Nixon tried to sink the Vietnam
there’s a persuasive piece of intelligence on
peace initiative in 1968.
ties between Russia and a member of the
In the past, as when foreign funds made
Trump team that isn’t yet public.
their way into Bill Clinton’s 1996 re-election
The most likely scenario for collusion
campaign, Republicans showed intense
seems fuzzier and less transactional than many interest in foreign interference in the political
Democrats anticipate. A bit of conjecture:
process. So it’s sad to see some Republicans
The Russians for years had influence over
(I mean you, Devin Nunes!) trying to hijack
Donald Trump because of their investments
today’s House investigation to make it about
with him, and he was by nature inclined to
leaks.
admire Vladimir Putin as a strongman ruler.
Really? Our country was attacked by
Meanwhile, Trump had in his orbit a number
Russia, and you’re obsessed with leaks? Do
of people with Moscow ties, including Paul
you honestly think that the culprit in Watergate
Manafort, who practically bleeds borscht.
wasn’t Nixon but the famed leaker Deep
The Associated Press reports that Manafort Throat? Republicans should replace Nunes as
had secretly worked for a Russian billionaire
head of the House Intelligence Committee; he
close to Putin, signing a $10-million-a-year
can’t simultaneously be Trump’s advocate and
contract in 2006 to promote the interests of the his investigator.
Putin government. The arrangement lasted at
The fundamental question now isn’t
least until 2009.
about Trump’s lies, or intelligence leaks,
As the AP puts it, Manafort offered to
or inadvertent collection of Trump
“influence politics, business dealings and news communications. Rather, the crucial question
coverage inside the United States, Europe
is as monumental as it is simple: Was there
and the former Soviet republics to benefit the
treason?
Putin government.” (Manafort told the AP
We don’t know yet what unfolded, and
that his work was being falsely portrayed as
raw intelligence is often wrong. But the issue
nefarious.)
cries out for a careful, public and bipartisan
This is guesswork, but it might have
investigation by an independent commission.
seemed natural for Trump aides to try to milk
“There’s a smell of treason in the air,”
Russian contacts for useful information about
Douglas Brinkley, the historian, told The
the Clinton campaign. Likewise, the Russians
Washington Post. He’s right, and we must
despised Hillary Clinton and would have
dispel that stench.
been interested in milking U.S. contacts for
■
information about how best to damage her
Nicholas Kristof grew up on a sheep and
chances.
cherry farm in Yamhill. A columnist for The
At some point, I suspect, members of the
New York Times since 2001, he won the
Trump team gained knowledge of Russian
Pulitzer Prize in 1990 and 2006.
Our country
was attacked
by Russia and
you’re obsessed
with leaks?
Rory A. Neault
Pendleton
Hermiston schools just
keeping up with growth
I am writing in support of the
upcoming bond measure for the
Hermiston School District.
I have noted with great interest the
growth of the Hermiston School District
over the last several years. It seems to
me the statistics show that the district
has had to deal with growth of about
100 students per year, for many years.
With that kind of growth, I think we
have to support our schools.
We all work hard to promote growth
and economic development. The need
for this bond measure is just a byproduct
of our previous growth and necessary
for Hermiston’s continued economic
development.
Please join me in voting yes for the
Hermiston School Bond Measure on
May 16.
Tim Mabry
Hermiston
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.