Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2017)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Wednesday, September 27, 2017 OTHER VIEWS 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 Need is clear for psychiatric hospital The lack of mental health care doctors, police officers and the options in Eastern Oregon comes up rest of us can expect to completely in nearly every circle. hand off mental health treatment Schools and hospitals and police to organizations like Lifeways. and prisons and We all need to be parents and courts knowledgeable and even mental the signs Aspen Springs about health professionals of psychosis, would be able depression and themselves talk about the burden and to treat people addiction shouldered by ready to act in the our communities best interest of our in mental because there aren’t and friends. health crises far family adequate facilities But having a clear and funding to treat to treatment is better than an path mental illness in a fundamental. As is comprehensive way. emergency room having a place to The prospect of a care for people in an or a jail cell. 16-bed psychiatric emergency situation. hospital in It was promising Hermiston — called Aspen Springs to see local health and county to be operated by Lifeways — has leaders stand up to support given us hope that the problem is Lifeways’ certificate of need for the being recognized, though we know it new center at a hearing Monday won’t fill the enormous need. with the Oregon Health Authority, and we hope the message is received Aspen Springs would be able to at the state level. treat people in mental health crises We also hope more help will far better than an emergency room come in the form of comprehensive or jail cell. In turn, it would allow mental health care programs here in those agencies to do what they’re rural Oregon. Aspen Springs is just supposed to. In reality, there’s no way teachers, one step in that journey. 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 Free speech for me ... and thee The (Champaign, Ill.) News-Gazette T fit. oo many people either don’t know or don’t care about people’s rights to express themselves as they see The Urbana police should have known better. Because they didn’t, Bryton Mellott is $15,000 richer. It’s the best and easiest money he’ll ever make. Mellott’s lawyers did even better, collecting $20,000 for work they did in a legal case that was impossible to lose. For those who don’t recall — or are trying to forget — Mellott caused a ruckus on July 4, 2016. To express his disgust and disdain for his country, he posted on Facebook a picture of himself burning the American flag. It generated an angry response, creating concerns about both his personal safety and the safety of fellow employees and customers at his workplace. To make a long story short, Urbana police officers, relying on an inarguably unconstitutional statute, unlawfully arrested Mellott and detained him for five hours on charges of flag burning. There’s a lesson here, one that cuts both ways in the incessant battle between those on the political left and right. It’s all about an individual’s right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. People are free to disagree with Mellott’s viewpoint, particularly the manner in which he expressed it. But that’s as far as it goes. Mellott has and had an absolute right to symbolically express whatever viewpoint he wishes by burning the flag. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld that expression of free-speech rights in a 1989 decision. Free speech, particularly on college campuses, is getting a lot of attention these days, mostly because many people not only don’t understand the concept but sharply disagree with it. So-called Antifa members, in fact, think it’s their duty to physically assault those who express views they do not share. Faces covered with masks and sometimes armed with clubs, they attack those they view as fascists in communities across the country. The First Amendment exists to protect individuals who utter unpopular speech, characterized by some these days as “hate speech.” Those who utter non-controversial speech don’t need protection — it’s the speech of those who dissent from the majority that needs protection. But that is at odds with the long-held view of many Americans — free speech for me, but not for thee. Everyone is entitled to have their say. Everyone is not required to listen to someone having their say, and they’re certainly free to disagree. Mellott said he posted the picture of the burning flag “to address the issue of violence brought against members of my queer community and against every community considered to be ‘other.’” It was not exactly a well-thought-out protest against violence. But those who exercise their free-speech rights — like those who oppose others’ free-speech rights — often emphasize blind emotion, rather than clarity of purpose, in their demonstrations. That’s their privilege in this country. Those who disagree, whatever their political perspective, need to remember that and pay the appropriate respect to a venerated American tradition. The First Amendment exists to protect individuals who utter unpopular speech, characterized by some these days as “hate speech.” Trump’s big problem: He talks too much P resident Trump’s speech in reaction, every so often look across the Alabama Friday night lasted one room.” hour and 23 minutes. A transcript “I can hold an audience for about of his remarks runs to just over 12,000 20, 23 minutes,” Reagan told Rollins. words. “A half-hour TV show is 23 minutes.” To say the speech wandered all “The first five minutes, everybody over the lot is an understatement. Of is excited about seeing the president,” course Trump covered the Alabama Reagan said. “You sort of cruise in the Senate race — he was in Huntsville middle, and you kick at the end with a Byron to campaign for candidate Luther strong close for the last five minutes.” York Strange — but he also discussed, in “Anything beyond that, you Comment basically start to lose the audience,” order: 1) the United Nations; 2) the recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Reagan concluded. “Twenty minutes is Puerto Rico; 3) North Korea; 4) the GOP’s plenty to get your message across.” failed effort to repeal and replace Obamacare; On Friday in Huntsville, President Trump 5) the 2016 election; 6) Mitch McConnell; gave not one, not two, not three, but four 7) John McCain; 8) the beauty of the White Reagan speeches, in one long, 83-minute House; 9) wife Melania’s footwear when stretch. visiting hurricane victims; Trump has never been a 10) his own political clout disciplined speaker. During and whether supporting the early months of his Strange was wise; 11) the campaign, he would often talk defense budget; 12) NAFTA for more than an hour. Back and other trade deals; 13) then, he would go on about Luther Strange’s height (six his TV show, about his golf feet nine inches); 14) White courses, his businesses, his House chief of staff John billionaire friends — all sorts Kelly; 15) drugs brought of topics. into the U.S. from Mexico; It wasn’t at all unusual to 16) the proposed border see people walking out of wall; 17) the Border Patrol; Trump speeches, especially at 18) religious liberty; 19) the night, after half an hour, and Second Amendment; 20) certainly after 45 minutes. the Electoral College; 21) Hillary Clinton’s When I asked why they were leaving, most 2016 strategy; 22) the Russia investigation; explained they had to work the next day. 23) the filibuster; 24) China; 25) the stock Attending a marathon political rally just took market; 26) the Veterans Administration; 27) too much time, even if it was Donald Trump. his cuts in federal regulation; 28) NASA; Trump’s logorrhea also increased the 29) immigration; 30) taxes; 31) health care chance he would go off in some troublesome premiums; and 32) making America great direction. As the campaign progressed, his again. staff made an effort to get him to deliver And yes, the president discussed shorter, pre-written speeches from a professional football: “Wouldn’t you love to teleprompter. (That wasn’t easy; reading from see one of these NFL owners, when somebody a prompter was something Trump specifically disrespects our flag, to say get that son of a mocked in many of his speeches.) bitch off the field right now, he’s fired.” That The staff had some success. Trump read aside came between Trump’s discussion of the more of his speeches and improvised less. Border Patrol and his discussion of religious He would never stick completely to script liberty — about 38 minutes into the speech. — digressions could go on for quite a while Put aside the merits of what Trump said — but he got better. His improved campaign about NFL players refusing to stand for performance was one of the factors that won the national anthem — a point on which him the White House. a majority of Americans agrees with the In Alabama, Trump did some serious president. What is striking is that the football backsliding. And sure enough, he found a way remarks, which set off another media/political to make trouble for himself. firestorm for Trump, are in the simplest sense What now? It’s impossible to imagine a result of the president just talking too much. Trump disciplining himself to a Reaganesque Ed Rollins, the veteran Republican 20 minutes. But Trump did improve during the strategist, was a top aide to Ronald Reagan. campaign. Now, he has regressed to the worst He saw nearly every speech Reagan gave as excesses of his early speeches. president. Ronald Reagan knew that people want to “Reagan said to me one day, ‘How long do hear only so much, even from the President you think I can hold an audience?’” Rollins of the United States. At some point, Donald recalled in a conversation Monday. Trump will realize that hasn’t changed. When Rollins said he did not know, Reagan ■ explained, “Here’s what I do. I pick someone Byron York is chief political correspondent in the audience. I watch them. I watch their for The Washington Examiner. Trump’s logorrhea increases the chance he will go off in some troublesome direction. YOUR VIEWS Dynes still stinks — residents should keep up pressure Luke Dynes’ recent guilty verdict was the start of the good people of Hermiston fighting back to finally stop his dirty deeds from smelling up our town. We don’t have to accept as a “fact of life” the rotten vegetable stench that has unrelentingly invaded our neighborhoods since 2014. It comes directly from wet feed stored on Mr. Dynes’ operation on Highway 207 and wafts in with the prevailing southwest breeze. No one disputes Mr. Dynes’ right to make a living, but his Highway 207 property is within city limits, zoned residential, and is less than a mile upwind of two schools and several residential neighborhoods. In exchange for operating a feed operation at that location, he made an agreement with the people of Hermiston in 2013 that he would not bring in wet feed like the sludge of processed onions, carrots and potatoes. That was the deal. But inspections to keep him honest ended a year later, and the potential profits from wet waste must have proved too irresistible to Mr. Dynes. A stench began to invade our neighborhood. We all scratched our heads and thought it was the cumulative odor of multiple operations that had somehow melded together and dropped onto our properties by fluke atmospheric conditions. But the stench became common — daily even. People became more frustrated as the smell (and hordes of flies in some areas) chased them indoors. Subsequent investigation points squarely at Mr. Dynes. In calls from frustrated neighbors, he placates them with promises to stop his dirty deeds “soon,” effectively admitting his guilt. He also promised the city in May that his sludge operations would be gone in July, so it agreed to hold off on pursuing code enforcement. But Mr. Dynes still stinks. He’s a scofflaw who years ago drowned his word in the muddy sludge of his rotten vegetables. Help keep up the pressure. Whenever you suffer the stench, email your complaint to Code Enforcement Officer Marcum (mmarcum@ hermiston.or.us). Include date/time, description and duration of the stench, your location, how the stench affected you (e.g. chased you indoors), and details of how you tried to ascertain the source. The city may issue a violation if your complaint matches two others within a 12-hour period. Each violation will help give the city teeth to finally inspect and enforce. Let’s help Mr. Dynes clean up his act. Will Anderson Hermiston 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. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include city of residence and a phone number. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
