Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Thursday, December 14, 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
AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens, file
In this 2003 file photo, Portland Mayor Vera Katz, right, and County Chair Di-
ane Linn celebrate a lead in a Multnomah County election. Katz, who broke
gender barriers to become Oregon’s first female House speaker, and also
won three terms as Portland mayor, died at 84.
Katz: A pioneer
Oregonians always knew where
Katz was a bold leader but also
a deft politician. In the Legislature,
Vera Katz stood. There was nothing
she found common ground with
wishy-washy about her.
Denny Jones, a conservative retired
That was part of the appeal of
this outgoing, opinionated politician rancher from Eastern Oregon. She
and Senate President John Kitzhaber
who shattered gender norms to
were aligned so closely that “Kitz
become the first female speaker of
and Katz” determined
the Oregon House
years of public policy
and later served three
terms as Portland
Katz had the in Oregon.
Not everything
mayor. In both roles,
boldness to
Katz did was
Katz had profound
successful, or even
influence throughout
act and the
a good idea. She
Oregon.
pushed education
She died Monday
confidence
that included
at age 84.
to stay in the reforms
the much-maligned
Sometimes it’s
CIM and CAM
difficult to realize
public eye.
for students —
how far Oregon has
certificates of initial
come since the 1970s,
and advanced mastery. Depending
when men received preference over
on your point of view, they were
women at lunchtime restaurants —
because men worked, their time was either an ineffective, time-wasting
requirement or a decent reform that
valuable and, after all, they had to
get back to work! Vera Katz came of was poorly implemented.
The backlash over CIM and CAM
political age in that era.
But it’s heartbreaking to recognize stands today as a warning against
mandating onerous, top-down
how far we have to go, as sexism
regulations that lack statewide
endures in the 21st century. We
understanding, let alone grass-
long ago should have recognized,
roots support. The governor and
as was demonstrated by Katz and
legislative leaders should remember
such legislative contemporaries
that history before shoving one-sided
as fellow Democrat Betty Roberts
environmental or tax bills through
and Republican Norma Paulus, that
the 2018 Legislature.
women are just as competent and
Leadership is a mix of failures
capable as men in political life and
and successes — and the ability
public leadership.
to understand both. Katz had the
Those women’s tough-minded
courage to lead, the boldness to act
leadership stands in sharp contrast
and the confidence to stay in the
to Kate Brown, who has yet to
public eye, even when things did not
establish her raison d’être for being
Oregon’s governor, and to Portland’s go her way.
That is leadership. Which makes
one-term mayors — Tom Potter,
us wonder: What will be the legacy
Sam Adams and Charlie Hales —
of today’s leaders?
who followed Katz.
Former top spy rethinks
attacks on new president
“Mr. Trump continues to exhibit
assumed Clinton would win. But
paranoia about American intelligence
when Trump prevailed, amazingly
agencies,” wrote the NeverTrump
enough, he thought the intelligence
conservative Max Boot in the New
agencies were against him.
York Times a week or so before the
“Let’s put ourselves in Donald
president took office.
Trump’s shoes,” Morell said to
“Consumed by his paranoia about
Glasser. “So what does he see? Right?
the deep state, Donald Trump has
He sees a former director of CIA and a
disappeared into the fog of his own
former director of NSA, Mike Hayden
Byron
conspiracy theories,” declared The
... criticizing him and his policies.
York
Times’ Maureen Dowd.
Right? And he would rightfully have
Comment
“Paranoia seizes Trump’s White
said, ‘Huh, what’s going on with the
House,” reported Politico, noting the
intelligence guys?’”
suspicion that “career intelligence operatives
“And then he sees a former acting director
are working to undermine the new president.” and deputy director of CIA criticizing him and
Actually, they were. “It’s no mystery why
endorsing his opponent,” Morell continued.
Trump doesn’t trust U.S. intelligence agencies,” “And then he gets his first intelligence
Bloomberg’s Eli Lake wrote last month. “As
briefing, after becoming the Republican
the old saying goes: Just
nominee, and within 24 to
because you’re paranoid
48 hours, there are leaks
doesn’t mean they’re not
out of that that are critical
out to get you. Trump
of him and his then-
understandably believes the
national security adviser
intelligence agencies are out
Mike Flynn.”
to get him.”
“And so, this stuff starts
Of course, leaders in the
to build, right? And he
intelligence community
must have said to himself,
would deny they are out
‘What is it with these
to get the president. But
intelligence guys? Are they
in an extraordinary new
political?’”
interview, one CIA veteran
The answer to that
who served in the agency
was simple: Yes, they
from 1980 to 2013, who
were political. But the
briefed presidents on the
astonishing part of the
most sensitive issues of the day, and is still a
Morell interview is his admission that at the
prominent voice in intelligence matters, is at
time he did not stop to consider what was
least conceding that he can understand why
happening from Trump’s perspective, even
the president feels the way he does.
as the leaks continued when Trump took
Michael Morell stayed out of politics when office. “He must have thought, ‘Who are these
he served as the CIA’s number-two official.
guys?’” Morell said. “Are these guys out to
He was the classic nonpartisan operative
get me? Is this a political organization?”
who served the office, and not the man. “I
The first time Trump met the FBI’s
worked at this nonpolitical agency, bright
then-director, James Comey, was when the
red line between intelligence and policy,
intelligence chiefs chose Comey to tell Trump,
and intelligence and politics,” Morell told
then the president-elect, about a collection
Politico’s Susan Glasser this week.
of “salacious and unverified” (Comey’s
Until Trump. In August 2016, the
words) allegations about Trump, compiled by
retired-but-still-active-in-intelligence-matters
operatives working for the Clinton campaign,
Morell decided to abandon decades of
that has since become known as the Trump
non-partisanship and come out in support of
dossier.
Hillary Clinton. In a New York Times op-ed,
That surely got Trump off to a good start
he praised Clinton’s experience and called
with the FBI’s intelligence-gathering operation.
Trump a danger to the nation, a threat to its
It was also a clever way for the intel chiefs
“foundational values,” and an “unwitting
to push the previously secret dossier into the
agent” for Russia.
public conversation, when news leaked that
“I was so deeply concerned about what
Comey had briefed the president on it.
a Trump presidency might look like from a
And on and on it went. Could anyone
national security perspective, and believed
blame the new president for believing the
that there was such a gap between Secretary
intelligence agencies were after him?
Clinton and Donald Trump with regard to
Trump’s fellow New Yorker, Senate
how well they would protect the country, that
Minority Leader Charles Schumer, warned
I thought it extremely important to come out
the president against messing with the spy
and say that,” Morell told Glasser.
organizations. “Let me tell you: You take on
Some of Morell’s former colleagues in the
the intelligence community, they have six
intelligence community took the same step.
ways from Sunday of getting back at you,”
Gen. Michael Hayden, a former CIA director,
Schumer said in January.
blasted Trump as Russia’s “useful fool.”
Indeed, they did. And now, Michael Morell
Another former top CIA officer, Michael
admits he went after the new president without
Vickers, pronounced Trump unfit. And the
even considering what that might mean. “I
agency’s then-director, John Brennan, openly
think there was a significant downside to those
clashed with Trump.
of us who became political,” he told Glasser.
These were all men who came out of
“So, if I could have thought of that, would
the non-political tradition of American
I have ended up in a different place? I don’t
intelligence. And all chose, for the first
know. But it’s something I didn’t think about.”
time, to publicly take sides in a presidential
■
campaign.
Byron York is chief political correspondent
Of course, it’s safe to say that each
for The Washington Examiner.
Could anyone
blame the new
president for
believing the
intelligence
communities were
against him?
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
Craft beverage industry critical to Oregon
Corvallis Gazette-Times
H
ere’s something to ponder the
next time you’re sipping on one
of Oregon’s microbrews:
The craft beverage business has
become so important to the state’s
economy that an Oregon city is offering
incentives to a brewery to open an
establishment there.
The city in question is Madras, 40
miles to the north of Bend. Madras
officials are weary of losing all that
beer business to Bend, so they’re on
the hunt for an enterprising brewery to
open in their city. According to a recent
Associated Press story, Madras officials
say they’ll assist in site selection and
costs of architecture, engineering,
permits and building renovation. The
city also offers expedited permitting,
technical assistance and the opportunity
for a startup loan.
In other words, all an applicant need
do is bring brewing skills. The city will
help take care of everything else.
“Madras is ready for a brewery
or brew pub to call its own,” Madras
Mayor Royce Embanks says in the
appeal from the Madras Redevelopment
Commission. “The vision is for a vibrant
community gathering place and an
inviting destination for friends, family
and tourists.”
Leaving aside for a second the
fact that Madras has 6,300 residents
compared to the 91,000 souls who
occupy Bend, the notion that an Oregon
city or town isn’t complete without its
own brewery is interesting.
Certainly, the numbers confirm
the booming business in Oregon craft
beverages: Consumption of craft beer
in the United States in 2016 rose 6.2
percent, to 24 million barrels, according
to the Brewers Association. (This
doesn’t even take into the account the
growing business in distilleries.)
Vermont has the most craft breweries
per capita in the nation, with 10.8 per
100,000 adults. Oregon isn’t far behind:
It ranks fourth in the nation, with 8.1
breweries for every 100,000 adults.
And if you’re looking to document
the economic impact from craft
breweries, consider this: The Oregon
Brewers Guild says that the state’s
brewing establishments employed more
than 9,000 people in 2016 and that the
rate of job growth from 2015 to 2016
was 8.3 percent.
No wonder Madras wants its cut of
the action.
Maybe it’s unreasonable to assume
that every Oregon nook and cranny can
have its own brewpub. But it sounds as
if communities are willing to give it a
shot. That’s good news for fans of good
brew — not to mention their designated
drivers.
YOUR VIEWS
NORCOR stories a reminder
of need to protect children
Phil Wright’s article “Juvenile jail accused
of inhumane methods” (EO, Dec. 5) enraged
me. It is vital that we begin closely examining
our juvenile detention centers, as they care for
our most vulnerable children. Many of these
kids have suffered abuse and mental health
challenges beyond belief.
The article notes that according to
Disability Rights Oregon, children in
NORCOR are penalized through isolation.
How can children grow and learn social skills
and behavior management skills if they are
restricted from human contact?
The article also states that sometimes during
discipline, the children were not allowed to
receive phone calls or visits from family. This
is a waste of a useful resource. The families
of the children can help the detention centers
rehabilitate our kids. Because, after all, they
will probably be in the children’s lives much
longer than any detention officer.
Our juvenile detention programs need to
work harder to engage families for our youth.
Parenting courses, family counseling and
legal support are just some programs that our
detention centers could implement. If we want
our world to be a compassionate place, we
need to start by showing our children and their
families humanity.
Charlotte Hechler
University City, Mo.
LETTERS POLICY
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