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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2018)
Page 4A East Oregonian Friday, March 30, 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 kick in the pants to President Trump’s decision to fire yet another member of his cabinet. This time the axe fell on David Shulkin, who led the long-troubled Derpatment of Veterans Affairs. Yet according to most veterans organizations, Shulkin was doing good work in the position — certainly the behemoth bureaucracy was not going to be turned around in a little more than a year. But the continual palace intrigue of whether or not he would remain in place — and unclear answers for months from the White House — was devastating to the VA leadership. And that has negatively affected veterans, who have been ill-served by the VA for decades. It makes us wonder if there is a better way to care for our vets than a $200 million bureaucracy with more than 340,000 employees. The VA’s budget has grown by 56 percent in the last 15 years — which, no surprise, coincides with how long veterans have been returning from service in Afghanistan. The struggles and bloating of the VA are a reminder that the costs of war are long lasting — and are both emotional and financial. That the president decided to promote his personal doctor — who has no management experience — to lead the organization, is not good news for American veterans who deserve bette from their government. A tip of the hat to Hermiston’s Dylan Westfall, who was elected this week as vice president of the Oregon FFA. The election took place at the state FFA convention, which brought nearly 1,500 FFA members from around the state to Redmond. In addition to electing officers, FFA members competed in career events, attended workshops and networked with colleagues. A leadership position in such a venerable organization is a great honor, and will be helpful to Westfall as he preps for college and career. We congratulate him and wish him the best of his luck during his year helping to lead the organization. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, file Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin speaks at a news conference on March 7 at the Washington Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington. YOUR VIEWS Innes the best choice for Pendleton city council OTHER VIEWS Facebook’s problem — and ours T here is so much news farms to divide us and inject fake these days that it’s hard to news into our public life; the uncool distinguish one big story totalitarian government learned how from another. But for me the most to use the same facial recognition consequential story of late was tools that can ease your way through that a self-driving car operated by passport control to single you out in a Uber — with an emergency backup crowd for arrest. driver behind the wheel — struck And Mark Zuckerberg, who and tragically killed a woman on a Thomas promised to connect us all — and that street in Tempe, Arizona. Friedman it would all be good — found himself I could only look at that deeply on the cover of Wired magazine, with Comment unsettling story and say: Welcome his face cut, bruised and bandaged, to the second inning — the as if he’d been hit by a fastball. second inning of one of the world’s great He wasn’t alone. In inning two, we started technological leaps, the implications of which to feel beat up by the same platforms and we’re just beginning to understand. technologies that had enriched, empowered But first, let’s acknowledge one thing: The and connected our lives. first inning was amazing. Silicon Valley, we have a problem. It was an inning full of promise, discovery What to do? For problems like this, and marvel. In the early 2000s, a set of I like to consult my teacher and friend technologies came together into platforms, Dov Seidman, CEO of LRN, which helps social networks and software that made companies and leaders build ethical cultures, connectivity and solving complex problems and the author of the book “How: Why How fast, virtually free, easy for you, ubiquitous We Do Anything Means Everything.” and invisible. Suddenly, more individuals “The first inning’s prevailing ethos was could compete, connect, collaborate and that any technology that makes the world create with more other people, in more ways, more open by connecting us or makes us from more places, for less money and with more equal by empowering us individually greater ease than ever before. And we did! must, in and of itself, be a force for good,” We became our own filmmakers Seidman began. “But, in inning two, we are and reporters; we launched political and coming to grips with the reality that the power social revolutions from our living rooms; to make the world more open and equal is not we connected with long-lost family and in the technologies themselves. It all depends friends; we found the answers to old and on how the tools are designed and how we new questions with one click; we searched choose to use them. The same amazing for everything from spouses to news to tech that enables people to forge deeper directions to kindred spirits with our phones; relationships, foster closer communities we exposed dictators and branded ourselves. and give everyone a voice can also breed With one touch, we could suddenly call a taxi, isolation, embolden racists, and empower direct a taxi, rate a taxi and pay a taxi — or digital bullies and nefarious actors.” rent an igloo, rate an igloo and pay for an Equally important, Seidman added, igloo in Alaska. these “unprecedented and valuable tools of And then, just as suddenly, we found connection” are being used with accuracy and ourselves in the second inning. The cool potency “to assault the foundations of what self-driving car killed a pedestrian; the cool makes our democracies vibrant, capitalism Facebook platform enabled Russian troll dynamic and our societies healthy — namely, 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. truth and trust.” And they have begun to be used “to assault our personal foundations — our privacy and sense of identity,” Seidman said: “It is one thing to use our data to enable better shopping experiences, but when my beliefs and attitudes are mined and manipulated for someone’s political campaign, a campaign that may be antithetical to my beliefs, that is deeply harmful and unmooring.” So what to do? “Precisely because we are in just the beginning of a technological revolution with a long, uncertain, up-and-down road ahead, we need to start by pausing to reflect on how our world, reshaped by these technologies, operates differently — and on the kind of values and leadership we will need to realize their promise.” Values are more vital now than ever, Seidman insisted. “Because sustainable values are what anchor us in a storm, and because values propel and guide us when our lives are profoundly disrupted. They help us make the hard decisions.” Hard decisions abound, because everything is now connected. “The world is fused. So there no place anymore to stand to the side and claim neutrality — to say, ‘I am just a businessperson’ or ‘I am just running a platform.’” No way. In the fused world, Seidman said, “the business of business is no longer just business. The business of business is now society. And, therefore, how you take or don’t take responsibility for what your technology enables or for what happens on your platforms is inescapable. This is the emerging expectation of users — real people — who’ve entrusted so much of their inner lives to these powerful companies.” ■ Thomas Friedman, a New York Times columnist, was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes for international reporting in Beirut and Israel and one for commentary. I am writing this letter to urge residents of Ward 1 to elect Carole Innes to the Pendleton City Council. I have known Carole since 1979. I know she will be a positive addition to our city government. She has spent her more than 50 years in Pendleton as a caring and involved citizen. As a member of a third-generation family, I know it takes effort to keep things moving forward while respecting the past. Carole’s support of civic and educational programs, her mental health advocacy, her board involvement in multiple groups and her memberships in community service organizations speaks volumes about her commitment to our town and our citizens. She is energetic and fun to work with and is not afraid to do the hard, hands-on work it takes to get a job done. She has spearheaded Chamber of Commerce Round-Up RV parking for several years. She has participated in painting and decorating rooms at the local domestic violence shelter and in preparing a room at the DHS building so families have a safe and pleasant place to have supervised visits. I could cite many more examples. Carole cares about people and about our community. She is supportive via generous donations and of her time and her money. It takes work to resolve issues and conflicts. Carole has good “get to the root of it” problem-solving skills. She is open minded but not afraid to explain her decisions using reason and logic. Her background in finance will serve us well. We need Carole on our city council. Please cast your vote for Carole Innes. Jill Swearingen Pendleton McLeod-Skinner stood out in Democratic debate Recently, Pendleton had a campaign visit from Jamie McLeod-Skinner, candidate for U.S. Congress in Oregon’s District 2. After visiting with her, we believe that Jamie McLeod-Skinner is the best person to send to Congress from our district. McLeod-Skinner has a strong legal background in water rights and water law, which she will use to protect Oregon’s water quality and water interests. Jamie believes in caring for our air quality and natural resources, while making the best use of our land assets, including ranching, wildlife and tourism. She understands the need for quality forest management, including thinning the forests to prevent catastrophic wildfires. She deeply cares about the health of our natural resources, as well as the people who live and make their livelihoods in our huge rural district. Jamie McLeod-Skinner also believes in supporting our military troops while deployed, and supporting them when they come return home, including our many veterans struggling with PTSD. We could list many more excellent qualities Jamie McLeod-Skinner has; these are just a few. Martin and Shirley Gail Westfall Pendleton 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.
