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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 2018)
Page 4A East Oregonian Friday, November 30, 2018 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor WYATT HAUPT JR. News Editor Founded October 16, 1875 Tip of the hat, kick in the pants A kick in the pants to the delay on the Interstate 82 bridge between Oregon and Washington, which means we have at least another four months (but we’ll bet even longer) of intermittent traffic jams on our way to and from the Tri-Cities. We know we’re spoiled in Eastern Oregon that traffic is hardly an issue most days and most places. The 206 offramp in Pendleton and the area around Hermiston High School can prove a bit tricky at the wrong time of day, but it’s nothing compared to the gridlock larger cities deal with day in and day out. That’s one of the benefits of living here. But to hear the bridge fix is delayed until spring or summer because of unforeseen weather and unexpected work is hard to take seriously. The weather has been the same as any year, and time frames should account for some surprises along the way. It’s been more of the same in Pendleton with the removal of the Eighth Street Bridge, which has taken longer than originally expected at an extra cost to everyone involved. Construction delays are nothing new, and there’s not much we can do about them but be patient and plan a few extra minutes for our drive. But it would be nice to at least get an accurate assessment of what we’re in for on the front end. A tip of the hat to Sheriff Terry Rowan and District Attorney Dan Primus for their responsive handling of the Umapine homicide early Monday morning. There’s never anything pleasant at a scene where a person has been killed and a suspect is on the loose. Coordinating a response, including interviewing witnesses and examining the crime scene, requires attention to detail that could make or break a case when it comes to a courtroom. And contacting family members of the deceased is surely the hardest part of the job for any sworn officer. Staff photo by Kathy Aney The eastbound lanes of the Interstate 82 bridge at Umatilla won’t open in 2018 as expected. Relaying information to the public during the investigation is often low on the priority list, especially when so much is unknown or slowly being uncovered. On Monday, Rowan and Primus, Umatilla County’s top two elected public safety officials, made an extra effort to keep the East Oregonian and the public at large informed about the investigation. As much as they could, anyway. They made time for us on the phone and through text messaging, and talked to our reporters at the scene. They also sent press releases verifying information to news agencies around the area. We know that rumors spread quickly, and believe the best antidote is to have verified information out as quickly as possible. We strive to be a part of that antidote, and appreciate the hard work that goes into the investigation and prosecution of heinous crimes. OTHER VIEWS YOUR VIEWS We need a high wall with a big gate L IMA, Peru — Kamala Harris, the Democratic senator from California, recently raised eyebrows when she asked Ronald Vitiello, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whether he appreciated the “perception” that ICE spreads “fear and intimidation” among immigrants the way the Ku Klux Klan did among blacks. Harris carefully worded her question around the “perception” of ICE — and it was raised in part because Vitiello had once shamefully tweeted that Democrats Thomas were “the NeoKlanist party.” Friedman Nevertheless, with Harris a likely Democratic presidential Comment candidate in 2020, Republican media pounced on her with variations of: “Hey voters, get this: Democrats think the ICE officers protecting you from illegal immigrants are like the KKK. You gonna vote for that?” ICE does seem to have a bad culture, but it is not the KKK. At the same time, I don’t think the Democratic Party is just for open borders. Alas, though, I’m also not sure what exactly is the party’s standard on immigration — and questions like Harris’ leave it open to demonization. Since Republicans have completely caved to Trump’s craven exploitation of immigration as a wedge issue, the country, as usual, needs the Democrats to be the adults and put forward a realistic, comprehensive approach to immigration, which now requires two parts. The first is a way to think about the border and the second is a way to think about all the issues beyond the border — issues that are pushing migrants our way. You cannot think seriously about the first without thinking seriously about the second, and if you don’t, this week’s scenes of Customs and Border Protection officers firing tear gas to keep out desperate migrants near Tijuana will get a lot worse. Regarding the border, the right place for Democrats to be is for a high wall with a big gate. Democrats won’t do as well as they can nationally without assuring Americans that they’re committed to securing our borders; people can’t just walk in. But the country won’t do as well as it can in the 21st century unless it remains committed to a very generous legal immigration policy — and a realistic pathway to citizenship for illegals already here — to attract both high-energy, low-skilled workers and high-IQ risk takers. They have been the renewable energy source of the American dream — and our secret advantage over China. But thinking beyond the border is where Democrats can really distinguish themselves; it’s where Trump has been recklessly AWOL. This is how we got to where we are today: During the 19th and 20th centuries, the world shifted from being governed by large empires in many regions to being governed by independent nation-states. And the 50 years after World War II were a great time to be a weak little nation-state. Why? Because there were two superpowers competing for your affection by throwing foreign aid at you, building your army, buying your cheap goods and educating your college students; climate change was moderate; populations were still under control in the developing world; no one had a cellphone to easily organize movements against your government; and China was not in the World Trade Organization, so everyone could be in textiles and other low-wage industries. All of that switched in the early 21st century: Climate-driven extreme weather — floods, droughts, heat and cold — on top of man-made deforestation began to hammer many countries, especially their small-scale farmers. This happened right as developing- world populations exploded. Africa went from 140 million in 1900 to 1 billion in 2010 to a projected 2.5 billion by 2050. Syria grew from 3 million people in 1950 to over 22 million today, which, along with droughts, totally stressed its water resources. Guatemala, the main source of the migrant caravan heading our way, has been ravaged by deforestation thanks to illegal logging, farmers cutting trees for firewood and drug traffickers creating landing strips and smuggling trails. A satellite map just released by University of Cincinnati geography researchers demonstrated that nearly a quarter of the earth’s habitable surface changed between just 1992 and 2015, primarily from forests to agriculture, from grasslands to deserts and from wetlands to urban concrete. Meanwhile, the internet has enabled citizens to easily compare their living standards with those in Paris or Phoenix — and find a human trafficker to take them there. Also, China joined the WTO, dominating low-wage industries, and the end of the Cold War meant no superpower wanted to touch your country, because all it would win was a bill. So it’s now much harder to be an average little country. The most frail of them are hemorrhaging people, like Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Sudan and most every nation in sub-Saharan Africa. Others — Venezuela, Syria, Afghanistan and Libya — have just fractured. Together, they’re creating vast zones of disorder, and many people want to get out of them into any zone of order, particularly America or Europe, triggering nationalist- populist backlashes. There are now more climate refugees, economic migrants searching for work and political refugees just searching for order than at any point since World War II — nearly 70 million people according to the International Rescue Committee, and 135 million more in need of humanitarian aid. A responsible presidential candidate in 2020 needs a policy that rationally manages the flow of immigrants into our country and offers a strategy to help stabilize the world of disorder through climate change mitigation, birth control diffusion, reforestation, governance assistance and support for small- scale farmers. This is our biggest geopolitical problem today. Forget the “Space Corps”; I’d make the “Peace Corps” our fifth service. We should have an Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Peace Corps, to send Americans to help stabilize small farms and governance in the world of disorder. And this has to be a global project, with the U.S., Europe, India, Korea, China, Russia, Japan all contributing. Otherwise the world of order is going to be increasingly challenged by refugees from the world of disorder, and all rational discussions of immigration will go out the window. ■ Thomas L. Friedman became the New York Times’ foreign affairs columnist in 1995 and has been awarded three Pulitzer prizes. Killing contests should be banned This weekend in Har- ney County the Oregon Farm Bureau is sponsor- ing a coyote killing con- test. This is promoted as killing “dogs” for fun and prizes. To kill for the “fun” of killing goes against all logic. While coyotes are predators, they have an important role in keeping rodents and other small animals in check. Their role in keeping the eco- system in balance is an important one. While one of the excuses for get- ting rid of coyotes is they attack livestock, they are generally more guilty for attacking small fam- ily pets, mostly in urban areas. Wholesale killing dis- rupts family units and scientists say that forces the animals to breed more to make up for the disrup- tion. It also creates the idea, particularly in chil- dren, that lives are not valued and animals are disposable. These contests also put non-targeted wildlife, livestock, pets, and even people at risk. Oregon should follow California and Vermont in passing legislation banning killing contests. Kaye Killgore Pendleton The East Oregonian welcomes original let- ters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for pub- lication in the newspa- per and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address con- cerns 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 day- time phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be pub- lished. Send letters to managing editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email edi- tor@eastoregonian.com.
