Page 4A
East Oregonian
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
CHRISTOPHER RUSH
Publisher
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Five reasons to hit up
the Umatilla County Fair
I
t’s hot outside. The kids need to go
shopping for new school clothes.
You’d like to get out of town one
last time before the fall routine kicks in.
There are lots of reasons to skip the
Umatilla County Fair this year. But we’d
argue there are even more reasons to go.
While everyone has their own
highlights, from carnival rides to hearing
their favorite band from their high school
years, here are our can’t-miss reasons for
checking out the fair.
1. Support 4-H and FFA members.
The kids showing off their livestock,
poultry, produce and more are the next
generation of farmers and ranchers.
While you might not have the interest
in bidding on a prize sow or the expertise
to differentiate between a cubalaya and
a cochin chicken, the barns and exhibit
halls are full of budding experts who
can teach you a thing or two. Caring for
animals during the week — especially
when it’s super-hot — is hard work, but
there’s also plenty of down time.
They’d appreciate your questions,
interest and encouragement, and you
might even learn something.
2. Support the arts. There’s more to
fair competition than animals, of course,
and it’s a great place to see the talent in
our county on display.
From fine arts to folk art, photography
to watercolors, Lego sculptures to quilts,
you’ll see the imaginations and creativity
you never knew your friends and
neighbors possessed.
Who knows? Maybe it will even
inspire you to pick up the old sewing
needle or oil paints and start working on
an exhibit for next year.
3. Mingle with folks from other
communities. The fair is Hermiston’s
signature event of the year, and the city
has invested plenty in making sure it’s
got a good place to live at the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event Center. But it’s
truly a county fair, with folks from all
corners stopping in.
Whether you grew up in the county
or have moved here recently, chances
are good you’ll bump into someone you
know. And if not, there are always new
friends to meet.
If you’re really hard up for friends,
we’d love to chat with you at our East
Oregonian/Hermiston Herald booth in
the exhibitor’s hall. Stop by and we’ll
give you a prize.
4. Cheat week. While we generally
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Mary Lillegard, 12, of Stanfield cleans the stall of her, and her sister’s, lambs as her
friend, Cidney Estes, 13, of Hermiston, helps out on Tuesday at the Umatilla County
Fair in Hermiston.
don’t advocate caloric overload, if ever
there’s a week to cheat on your diet, it’s
this one.
Food vendors from near and far bring
their tastiest, deepest-fried foods. There
are healthy options, of course, but the
best way to feel good about eating an
elephant ear or loaded cheeseburger is
knowing the money you pay for it is
going to a good local cause.
5. Award-winning rodeo. A rodeo
can be an intimidating sport to dive
into. What happens in the arena often
appears to be chaos to a newcomer, and
the celebrities of the sport don’t have the
same name recognition as an NBA or
NFL star.
But the Farm-City Pro Rodeo is a
premier event, drawing the top-tier stars
who compete against local favorites on
some of the top bucking stock found
anywhere. It’s also a fast-moving rodeo,
produced with both the cowboy and
spectator in mind.
After a few events we’re sure you’ll
get the hang of it, and by the time the
barrel racers and bull riders take the
arena you’ll be cheering along.
OTHER VIEWS
Democrats wonder,
‘Where’s Obama?’
J
YOUR VIEWS
U.S. health care costs
and lying attorneys
I recently read your article on the
retirement of Dr. Norman Sitz. I really
enjoyed his opinion on our current medical
system. He believes we need a one-payer
system like most other nations. His quote
by Winston Churchill that “America
always manages to do the right thing
only after they have done everything else
wrong” was profound.
If you look on the internet you will
find that our education system is ranked
16th globally and 20th in math. We spend
around $13,500 per year per student,
which ranks fifth globally. We can not
discipline, teach the 10 Commandments
or teach children mental health through
prayer, meditation, etc., without getting
sued. We retire our teachers 12 to 15
years earlier than Germany. They retire at
67. We need to start getting our money’s
worth out of our education and health care
services.
Our national health care costs us around
25 percent of our gross national product.
Forty-eight percent of our bankruptcies are
from people who have health insurance
that does not pay for their client’s bills.
We need a one-payer system that attorneys
cannot sue.
England’s health care costs it 13 percent
of its GNP. Germany has womb to tomb
health care for 15 percent of its GNP. The
major difference in their costs is our legal
fees. Our attorneys advertise on TV to
sue everyone for everything. Their legal
system requires attorneys to tell the truth
in their courts of law. If they are caught
lying they lose their license and go to jail.
If we made our attorneys take the oath
to tell the truth in our courts our system
would immediately change. The more an
attorney lies, the more they make! They
must be required to disclose whom they
truly represent if an insurance company
is involved. Their clients must legally
employ them — not their client’s insurance
company. We must demand complete
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.
change in our broken system.
Nothing can change in our medical or
educational systems until we change our
legal systems.
Kalvin B. Garton
Pendleton
Walden the best choice
for rural Oregon
It seems that Greg Walden could find a
cure for cancer, and yet some unreasonable
partisans would still oppose him, putting
partisan politics ahead of making
positive accomplishments. None of these
accomplishments are being recognized by
some angry partisans, who, by the way, are
nothing but the loud minority. They oppose
everything Greg Walden does, grasping
at straws to put a Democrat, Jamie
Mcleod-Skinner, in office. Her agenda is
to transform Oregon’s 2nd District into a
clone of Portland. Is this what we want?
The majority of citizens in our
community know better, and are standing
by Greg Walden, who has consistently
fought for the constituents of the 2nd
District. Whether it was passing legislation
to fix forest management in our state, stop
the opioid crisis, or working to get the
Hammonds pardoned, Greg is here for the
people of the 2nd District of Oregon. These
are not partisan issues. He understands our
way of life and is truly a representative of
rural Oregon.
Mcleod-Skinner says that she likes to
avoid buzzwords — so she won’t ever
use the words socialized medicine when
she tells you she supports it. She is hiding
behind this façade of appearing moderate
while actually pushing an extremely
liberal agenda. The people of the 2nd
District deserve much better. This liberal
agenda has nothing to do with improving
the lives of Oregonians. Our local guy,
Greg Walden, is working hard for us and
definitely deserves our support again in
November.
Kristine Wilhelm
Hood River
oin me on Team ‘18,” Barack
rallies just in the last week in the
Obama wrote in a recent
key states of Florida, Pennsylvania
and Ohio — a combination of 2018
fundraising email from his
politicking for Republicans and
old political group, Organizing
2020 politicking for himself.
for Action. “Every election, every
A quick visit to a bakery is not
ballot measure, every conversation
quite the same.
between now and November ... it
There is no leader of the
all matters.”
Byron
Democratic Party. A president
It wasn’t much, but the email
York
is the leader of the party in the
was one of Obama’s few public,
Comment
White House, and the opposition
political, overtly partisan appeals
party doesn’t really have a leader.
as the Democratic Party approaches
midterm elections that could stop President For Democrats today, who would it be?
Charles Schumer? Nancy Pelosi? One of
Trump’s agenda and boost Democratic
the party’s 2020 hopefuls? There just isn’t
prospects going into 2020. To have an
one.
ex-president who remains highly popular
For Democrats, Obama, who isn’t
with his party sitting on the sidelines
running for anything, could be as close
cannot be what Democrats hoped.
to a leader as an out-of-power party can
There are reports that Obama plans to
have until the Democrats’ next presidential
campaign for some Democrats starting
nominee comes along. But he’s just not
in September. But beyond simply hitting
taking the job.
the stump for the midterms, Obama
In June, New York magazine published
could be, if not the full-fledged leader
an article with the almost plaintive
of the Resistance, at least a constant and
headline, “Where is Barack Obama?”
public critic of the direction taken by the
Writer Gabriel Debenedetti portrayed a
Trump administration and Republicans in
former president who, for whatever reason,
Congress.
has decided not to stay up on day-to-
Instead, Obama isn’t seen much.
day politics, focusing instead on the new
At the end of July, he and former Vice
President Joe Biden made a stir when they Obama Foundation and on his memoirs.
“In private conversations, Obama
dropped by a Washington, D.C., bakery
for sandwiches. The visit had a purpose — rarely mentions Trump at all,” Debenedetti
reported. “Those who’ve visited the
the shop, Dog Tag Bakery, helps disabled
office he’s leased from the World Wildlife
veterans and their families — but besides
Fund in Washington’s West End say he’s
shaking hands and posing for selfies,
eager to talk for hours about the world’s
Obama didn’t do anything that could be
ills. When informed about the latest
construed as politicking.
presidential tweetstorms aimed at him, he
Obama did have a political message
chuckles and changes the subject.”
earlier in July, but he chose to deliver it
Debenedetti talked to Obama friends
in South Africa, thousands of miles away
from U.S. midterm campaigning. Speaking who marveled at the former president’s
“Zen-like” calm in the face of the Trump
at an event in Johannesburg honoring
tumult. That, of course, was a phrase often
Nelson Mandela, Obama never mentioned
used to describe Obama in the White
Donald Trump’s name, but his message
was undoubtedly aimed at his successor in House, too.
Maybe that works for him. But for
the White House.
his admirers — and many Democratic
“Look around,” Obama said.
voters — Obama’s absence borders on the
“Strongman politics are ascendant
mysterious.
suddenly, whereby elections and some
“How did the most ubiquitous man
pretense of democracy are maintained —
the form of it — but those in power seek to in America for eight years virtually
disappear?” Debenedetti asked. “What
undermine every institution or norm that
explains his near absence from the
gives democracy meaning.
political stage, where he might argue
“We see the utter loss of shame among
publicly against the reversals of his policy
political leaders,” Obama continued,
“where they’re caught in a lie and they just accomplishments, and also from American
life more broadly?”
double down and they lie some more.”
■
Obama’s speech got some coverage and
Byron York is chief political
some nostalgic comments by Democrats.
correspondent for The Washington
But at the same time, President Trump is
Examiner.
ramping up his political travel, headlining
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
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Send letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.