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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2018)
East Oregonian Page 4A Wednesday, July 25, 2018 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEW Wishful thinking hurts recycling efforts W hen it comes to recycling, Oregonians have been fool- ing themselves for years. We’ve been placing all sorts of items in curbside recycling bins, assuming that was appropriate because, well, it seems as if they should be recyclable — garden hoses, diapers, pots and pans, plastic bags, wire hangers, clamshell food containers … even bowling balls. However, such “wishful recycling” continues to undermine the recycling process by gumming up the sorting machines and creating more work for crews, who had to get rid of the items. Meanwhile, some non-recyclables still made it through the recycling stream, ending up in bales of cardboard, paper or sorted plastics. That contamination no longer is acceptable to the world’s largest market for recycling paper and plastics: China. As of this year, China is rejecting imports of sorted paper and post- consumer plastics that exceed 0.5 percent contamination. That’s almost impossible for most countries to meet. Despite Oregonians’ passion for recycling, their “wishful recycling” has resulted in a contamination rate that averages from 8 percent to 13 percent, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality. discarding. • Carry our own containers for water, coffee and other beverages instead of using disposable cups. • Learn which materials can be recycled at curbside. Instead of assuming something is recyclable, we need to be realistic. • Remember that some items can be taken to recycling depots that pop up around Eastern Oregon. These include plastic bags, shredded paper and certain metals. • Make sure all recyclables, whether put on the curb or taken to a depot, are clean. For example, shredded paper taken to a recycling depot should not include shredded plastic credit cards. Neither should food scraps be put in Colin Murphey/EO Media Group A recycling bin full of glass products sits among several for public use at the Astoria with recycling. Transfer Station. Meanwhile, as individuals and as organizations, we must do all we can to The DEQ said that with the Chinese Plastic is a prime concern because encourage expansion of local, regional market now closed, more than 10,000 different plastics must be recycled and U.S. markets for recycled materials. tons of comingled materials have differently — if there even is a market That means we should purchase more wound up in Oregon landfills this year. for them. For example, plastic bags products made with recycled materials, That is less than 2 percent of all are recyclable, but not in curbside and support corporations who are material collected for recycling. Still, bins because they snarl the sorting working to reduce waste. Oregonians have to change their ways. machinery. That is a long-term process but Jurisdictions that offer curbside So what can we do? ultimately a better solution than relying recycling are now looking at raising • Pay attention to packaging and collection fees, because they must pay lifespan when making purchases. Strive on other countries to welcome our garbage with open arms. companies to accept certain recyclables. to reuse whenever possible, instead of OTHER VIEWS Why is Mueller handing off key cases? S YOUR VIEWS Unites States is in peril, keeps turning back on allies Every week at least two or more days I open my newspaper to more bad news related to my country and the interaction with our long-time allied nations. Our top executive is so often at verbal war with our allies. What is his problem? Is it his goal to cut us off from our free world allies? Before the election he was touting Putin’s fine qualities to the American citizens. Since then his interactions have gone back and forth to where I cannot keep up. Early on in his administration he sent his son-in-law to China. North Korea is another of his contacts which seemed to me to research possible ways he could expand his “empire,” seeking a new frontier for his real estate holdings. All are Communist countries. Our allies — democracies — have been of far less importance apparently. I’m sure the majority of Americans see it differently. We honor and appreciate our allies. Our southern allied neighbor, Mexico, has been treated with great disrespect. A wall on our shared border has been an insult from its first mention, as far as I’m concerned. If the wall is continued and completed, how soon will we hear the calls to tear it down? It will be a repeat of the legacy of the Berlin wall. From the day the president announced his intention to run for president he didn’t care which party he ran for — if necessary, I think I recall a new party would be considered. From the beginning of his campaign I’ve thought he viewed seeking the presidency as one of his reality shows, not true reality. I fear he sees himself as the writer, the producer, the director and the lead actor. The only role he does not take is regarding the financing. The U.S. Treasury/taxpayers get that part. I fear he 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. thinks if he doesn’t like the script, he can tear it up and start over. I’m truly frightened about the fate of my beloved country. Never have I been this way in all the previous terms of the president over my lifetime, which goes back to President Roosevelt’s first term. Every week, or two or three, I wake up in the middle of the night because of the situation. Our country is in peril. I’m thinking we have a dictator, not a leader as a president is pledged to be. We have three branches to our government for many very good reasons. The most crucial reason is there is no one- man rule. Our forefathers were very wise. Darlene Abney Pendleton Loss of Larry O’Rourke will be felt in Pendleton Larry O’Rouke left us with a smile. He did that during a life filled with service for his students at Blue Mountain Community College, his dedication to fellow citizens in Pendleton, and through his unwavering love of his family. I met Larry through his daughter, who happens to live with her family across the street in our neighborhood. We instantly hit it off — Larry always had a smile and made me smile with his stories about Pendleton, flying, kids, and The Newspaper (the only paper in his mind, the East Oregonian). Oh, he could make fun of the paper where I worked, but I knew he was kidding. He loved reading about his beloved town and residents. He truly cared about Pendleton and that, along with his smile, will be a loss felt by many folks, including me. Skip Nichols Walla Walla omething has been going developments for those longing on with Robert Mueller’s for a big collusion/conspiracy/ investigation of people thought coordination indictment from to have played significant roles in Mueller. the Trump-Russia affair. The special “I think it proves that little, if counsel, assigned to investigate “any any, of what Mueller’s team has links and/or coordination between the generated so far is linked to the Russian government and individuals special counsel’s mandate,” said Byron associated with the campaign of Former Prosecutor 1. York President Donald Trump,” has been Some former prosecutors drew Comment farming out seemingly important a distinction between the Cohen and Butina cases, in which Mueller parts of the investigation to offices handed off the investigation to others, and outside his own. the 12 Russians case, in which Mueller In April, Mueller referred an made the indictment himself and then investigation of close Trump associate handed off the prosecution. That could be Michael Cohen to federal prosecutors in because Mueller realized that his team, New York. This month, the U.S. attorney staffed with investigators, could not manage in Washington — not Mueller — indicted a complex prosecution in the courtroom. Maria Butina on charges of being an It has been widely observed that there unregistered Russian agent. And also is no way the 12 Russians — government this month, when Mueller charged 12 intelligence officers located in Russia — Russian intelligence officers with hacking will ever come to the United States for Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton trial. “There is absolutely no chance any campaign offices, he immediately turned of the Russian officials charged will ever the case over to the Justice Department’s see the inside of an American courtroom,” National Security Division for prosecution. Andrew McCarthy, another former federal Cohen is a key figure in theories of prosecutor, wrote in National Review. “The Trump-Russia collusion. In former British indictment is a strictly political document spy Christopher Steele’s notorious dossier, by which the special counsel seeks to Cohen was accused of holding secret talks justify the existence of his superfluous with Russian officials in August 2016 to investigation.” discuss “how deniable cash payments were Other legal types, including yet another to be made to hackers who had worked in Justice Department veteran, said moving Europe under Kremlin direction against the 12 Russians’ case to a highly secretive the CLINTON campaign and various part of the department is a good way to contingencies for covering up these make the case disappear. operations and Moscow’s secret liaison Taken together, none of that points to with the TRUMP team more generally.” the big collusion/conspiracy/coordination If that’s not collusion, nothing is. Such indictment of Resistance dreams. Such an activities, if they occurred, would be at the indictment might still be on the way, of center of Mueller’s jurisdiction. And yet course — no one on the outside has a full Mueller handed Cohen off to the Southern picture of what is going on inside Mueller’s District of New York. office — but the signs don’t seem to be Butina figures in theories that a wealthy pointing toward it. Russian banker “illegally funneled money Finally, all the handed-off cases to the National Rifle Association to help raise questions about whether a special Donald Trump win the presidency,” in the prosecutor was needed at all. Mueller words of a McClatchy report from January. clearly felt there was no need for a special Again, such activities would clearly be prosecutor to pursue Cohen or Butina — in Mueller’s bailiwick. Finally, the indictment of the 12 Russian and one could argue that the Butina case, at intelligence agents goes to the very heart of least, was closer to Mueller’s core mission than the Paul Manafort prosecution. And Russian attempts to interfere with the U.S. if the 12 Russians matter, a case that goes presidential campaign, the investigation of to the heart of the Trump-Russia affair, which is Mueller’s responsibility. Yet once can be fairly tried by DOJ prosecutors, Mueller indicted them, he handed the case it’s reasonable to ask: Why was a special over to the Justice Department. counsel appointed in the first place? What is going on? I asked a few ■ former federal prosecutors if they saw Byron York is chief political correspon- any messages in Mueller’s moves. The dent for The Washington Examiner. takeaway: These aren’t encouraging 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.
