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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 2018)
Page 4A East Oregonian Friday, March 16, 2018 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor Founded October 16, 1875 Tip of the hat, kick in the pants A tip of the hat to all students nationwide (and especially locally) who walked out of class in protest and remembrance Wednesday. They took a risk and achieved their goal — to once again get the nation talking about school safety, and to have their voices remain part of a conversation that the nation has not been able to have without their pressure. The haters were out in full force, using their time to be mean to children on the internet. Those kinds of people thrive in the swamp of social media, which amplifies their nastiness and vitriol. Everyone should know by now there are people who disagree with them on every issue, but it’s despotic to tell those on the other side — no matter their age or experience — that they should just shut up. That their opinion doesn’t matter. That they shouldn’t speak. Students must remember that there is a world far from the social media trolls. That’s a place where actions matter, votes matter, and discussion and debate is necessary to building a better world. Protest is in the great democratic tradition, bullying and belittling is part of a more disgusting tradition. We are in a moment of cruelty and name calling. And it’s not one-sided either. Though our documentation of the protests inspired plenty of nasty responses online, we also received complaints of our coverage of a gun show in Pendleton the weekend prior. That crowd thought we gave undue promotion to gun sales in our community — because they disagreed with it, they didn’t want to hear about it. We’re in that bad of a moment, when you can curate your world and attack everything that doesn’t fit your vision. But facts are facts and knowledge is helpful, even when it’s about something on which you disagree. We salute those who want to know more, want to know what others think, and want to use the best information to arrive at the best possible solution. A tip of the hat to the city of Hermiston and Umatilla County for negotiating an agreement on the future of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. The project wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without support from both entities, and both contributed a lot of dollars and energy. But now that the construction is done and the dust has mostly settled, it doesn’t make sense to have any unnecessary cooks in the kitchen. Staff photo by Kathy Aney A group of Pendleton High School students walked out of class at 10 a.m. Wednesday to participate in a nationwide student rally against gun violence. The county, and specifically commissioner George Murdock, approached the city about handing over ownership and control along with some continued financial commitments and a few incentives. It was a reasonable package, and it appears both entities got what they wanted. The city inherits a brand new facility and full autonomy to develop it however it sees fit, the county is cutting its own risk in the venture while keeping the venue for its annual fair. A tip of the hat to Marissa Williams, who departs our company after more than 14 stellar years. The former rodeo royalty joined our company down in John Day, and quickly worked her way up the corporate ladder. She became publisher of our papers in Grant and Wallowa counties, and was the regional advertising director at the East Oregonian at the time of her departure. She also served on the board of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. She’s going to a new great opportunity on the Silvies Valley Ranch outside her beloved John Day, and we wish her well from our offices here in Hermiston and Pendleton. OTHER VIEWS Dictators love Trump, and he loves them back I OTHER VIEWS Shocked at firing of state librarian By BUZZY NIELSEN W e were shocked and bewildered to hear about Governor Kate Brown’s recent decision to dismiss State Librarian MaryKay Dahlgreen. Both the State Library and Dahlgreen have been invaluable partners in the Oregon Library Association’s efforts to support libraries, library workers, and the patrons they serve statewide. We are confused about this seemingly sudden decision, made without consultation with key stakeholders and despite Dahlgreen’s strong track record as agency head. The State Library serves many stakeholders throughout the state, including the 1,200 public, academic, school, and special library staff and trustees in our association and the libraries at which they work. While we understand that the state librarian serves at the pleasure of the governor, we are struggling to understand why the views of several constituents such as ourselves were not considered in this decision. This lack of consultation comes as a particular disappointment due to our past support for HB 3523 during the 2015 legislative session. Among many other changes to the state library, that bill made the state librarian a governor-appointed position rather than being appointed by the state library board. We supported the legislation because we felt that being a governor-appointee would give the state librarian the same stature and level of accountability as other executive department heads. We were not expecting that it would result in unilateral decisions regarding the state librarian’s job performance. Had we been consulted, we would have told you that our association and its members hold Dahlgreen in high esteem. In 1996, she became much-beloved among public libraries statewide — from Portland to Burns — for her invaluable assistance as youth services consultant. Her consulting work was so respected that OLA honored Dahlgreen in Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. 2003 with our highest honor for children’s services, the Evelyn Sibley Lampman Award. Other libraries came to know Dahlgreen when she became Program Manager for Library Development Services in 2005. In that capacity, she managed approximately $2 million in federal funds that support all Oregon libraries. Dahlgreen also hired a strong group of library development consultants who are well-regarded by libraries throughout Oregon. We have been similarly impressed with Dahlgreen’s time as state librarian. For her entire tenure in that position, Dahlgreen has overseen the legislature-directed reorganization of the State Library, making several tough decisions that had been put off for years: closing the public reference room, relocating the Willamette Valley Genealogical Society and transferring the Oregon Poetry Collection to the University of Oregon Library, to name a few. She has found efficiencies across state agencies and external entities, resulting in a lean operation: the State Library’s 40 full-time employees are managed by only four managers, including the state librarian. Thanks to Dahlgreen’s efforts, the state library is well-respected statewide and nationwide. This respect is evident in the agency’s overall customer satisfaction rating of 95 percent in their most recent annual performance measures. While we feel that Dahlgreen’s tenure has been admirable, we understand that you now are looking to the future of the State Library. We ask that you please involve both OLA and the State Library Board in that process. Our members possess expertise that will prove valuable both for short-term succession planning and for selecting a new state librarian who will be accepted and respected in the Oregon library community, respect that is essential to the position and the agency’s success. ■ Buzzy Nielsen is president of the Oregon Library Association. f you’re a murderous dictator, this know, has never raised the issue of is a joyous time to be alive. press freedom with them. No one will make much of “What’s completely gone is the a fuss if your opposition leader is bipartisan consensus that was a jailed, if an annoying journalist goes cornerstone of our foreign policy, missing or if, as happened in Congo, that if you imprison journalists and a judge who displeases the dictatorial restrict the media, there will be president suffers a home invasion consequences,” Simon said. in which goons rape his wife and In Cambodia, Prime Minister Nicholas daughter. Kristof Hun Sen approvingly cited Trump’s As President Donald Trump attacks on fake news as a precedent Comment replaces Secretary of State Rex for closing down radio stations Tillerson with the more hawkish and the much admired newspaper Mike Pompeo, let’s note something that Cambodia Daily. After the crackdown, in goes far beyond personnel to the heart of the November, Trump posed for a photograph American role in the world: The U.S. has with Hun Sen, flashing a thumbs-up — and abandoned a bipartisan consensus on human Hun Sen praised the American president for rights that goes back decades. his lack of interest in human rights. I’m back from Myanmar, where leaders “Your policy is being changed,” Hun Sen are finding that this is also the optimal time declared gratefully, and he lauded Trump for to commit genocide. The army conducted being “most respectful.” a scorched-earth campaign against the Trump told the king of repressive Rohingya, with soldiers throwing babies Bahrain “there won’t be strain with this onto bonfires as they raped the mothers. administration.” Nabeel Rajab, a heroic What has Trump said to condemn Bahraini who is one of the Arab world’s Myanmar for these atrocities? Nothing. leading human rights campaigners, says In the past, human rights was at least the government responded a few days later one thread of our foreign policy. This by killing five protesters — and, just last was pursued inconsistently, grudgingly or month, the government followed up again hypocritically, and it jostled constantly with by sentencing Rajab himself to five years in realpolitik considerations, but in the past it prison for his tweets. was one of the factors in play. Trump’s soft spot for authoritarianism I periodically assailed Presidents Barack goes way back. He has spoken Obama and George W. Bush for not doing sympathetically of the Chinese massacres of more after atrocities in Syria, Darfur or pro-democracy protesters, and of Saddam South Sudan, but both Obama and Bush Hussein’s approach to counterterrorism. were clearly anguished that they didn’t have Periodically, Trump does raise human better tools to stop the slaughter. rights issues, but only to bludgeon enemies In contrast, Trump seems simply like North Korea or Venezuela. This is so indifferent. Trump defended Vladimir ham-handed and hypocritical that it simply Putin for killing critics (“What? You think diminishes American standing further. our country’s so innocent?”), and praised In some respects, Trump has united the Egypt’s brutal president, Abdel-Fattah world. Against us. A recent Gallup poll shows that across 134 countries, approval of el-Sissi, for “a fantastic job.” Trump hailed the United States has collapsed to a record the Philippines’ president, Rodrigo Duterte, low of 30 percent. Indeed, more people now whose dirty war on drugs has claimed 12,000 lives, for an “unbelievable job on the approve of China. Russia is just behind us. “Trump has been a disaster for U.S. drug problem.” soft power,” says Gary Bass of Princeton Sarah Margon of Human Rights Watch University. “He’s so hated around the notes in Foreign Affairs that when Trump world that he’s radioactive. So on those rare visited Manila, he laughed as Duterte called occasions when he does something about reporters “spies” — in a country where journalism has landed people in the morgue. human rights, it only tarnishes the cause.” This is a tragedy for the United States. “In country after country, the Trump But the greatest loss is felt by people administration is gutting U.S. support for who are helpless as loved ones are raped, human rights,” Margon writes. tortured or murdered. In Myanmar, a young So dictators see a clear field: A record Rohingya man pleaded with me: “Please number of journalists are in prison don’t let us be treated as animals. Don’t worldwide, by the count of the Committee break our trust.” What do we tell him? to Protect Journalists. Joel Simon, the ■ organization’s executive director, says Nicholas Kristof grew up on a sheep and Trump has met with the leaders of each of cherry farm in Yamhill. Kristof and has been a the three top jailers of journalists — China, columnist for The New York Times since 2001. Russia and Turkey — and as far as we 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. 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.