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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2019)
A4 East Oregonian Tuesday, August 6, 2019 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner ANDREW CUTLER Editor WYATT HAUPT JR. News Editor JADE McDOWELL Hermiston Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEW There is nothing quite like a county fair A time-honored tradition that harkens back to a simpler time, a county fair typically serves as a demarca- tion line between the end of sum- mer and the start of school. Sure, students around the area will not be hitting the books very soon, but the fair is sort of that milestone of the summer, a place in time that signals the last big local event until autumn. This year, the Umatilla County Fair opens Tuesday at the East- ern Oregon Trade and Event Cen- ter and if you get the chance, we urge you to stop by. That’s because there will be plenty of features for just about everyone of any age. A carnival will glisten the sky with bright neon shadows and will surely be a popular attraction — but there is much, much more to the fair. From across the county, young people will converge as FFA mem- bers and area 4-H clubs show their steers, lambs, hogs and rabbits. The youth — and their parents and siblings — will devote the next five or six days preparing their ani- mals, then setting up for final judg- ing. These young people illustrate another one of those long-standing elements to a county fair — hard Staff photo by E.J. Harris, File Amy Armstrong, 11, of Hermiston, positions her Nigerian dwarf goat during the nov- ice dairy goat showmanship during the 2018 Umatilla County Fair. work inside the heat and dust to get their animals prepared. Getting to those animals and the other events at the fair will be easier this year too, thanks to improvements to the accessway and a free shuttle service. The free shuttle service will run from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m from Hermiston City Hall to the fair. There will also be a rodeo and other entertainment during the fair, plenty enough to satisfy just about anyone with an interest. A stop at the fair is also not just about the carnival or the animals. In a real way the fair represents the quint- essential fabric of Americana. In a sense the Umatilla County Fair is a way to see the values — hard work and determination — we all cher- ish at work. Besides all of that, though, going to the fair is just a good time. Fair food, meeting up with friends, enjoying the carnival and seeing a daughter or grandson show their prized steer are all part of the ambience of a local event that really has no peer. Take a little time out this week. Brave the heat. And take a minute — or an hour — to visit the Uma- tilla County Fair. OTHER VIEWS The Democrats lost their own debates I Death penalty changes bypassed voters Bend Bulletin O regon Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday signed Senate Bill 1013, a bill that dramatically narrows who is eligible for the death penalty in this state. It was not the way to change Oregon’s death pen- alty law. Oregon has not executed anyone in more than two decades. In 2011, then-Gov. John Kitzhaber declared a mor- atorium on the penalty. Brown continued that moratorium and the 2019 Legislature rewrote the definition of aggravated murder in SB 1013, the only crime subject to the death pen- alty in the state. When the bill goes into effect near the end of Sep- tember, only those convicted of killing two or more peo- ple during an act of terrorism, killing a child under 14, kill- ing an inmate if the killer is in jail or prison or have a previous murder conviction, or killing a police, corrections or proba- tion officer will be eligible for the penalty. The law does not eliminate the penalty for the 31 men and women currently on death row. While this newspaper has long opposed the death penalty, the Legislature’s action was not the way to go about making dramatic changes to the current law. That’s because lawmakers declined to refer the measure to a vote of the people. Yet historically, it’s the peo- ple, not lawmakers, who have made the death penalty avail- able in Oregon, and it’s been the people who have removed it from the state’s punishment arsenal. True, lawmakers first put the penalty in place here in 1864, but citizen votes have repealed the law twice and restored it three times since. Once, the state Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional. Voters should have been given the final say this time. Lawmakers should have referred this change to the bal- lot. They should not have taken it upon themselves to undo law that the people put in place without giving those same people the right to approve or defeat their action in an election. 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. s it safe for me and my wife speed debate format that gave no to return from our vacation in one enough time to answer, rebut Eastern Europe? or explain anything. I don’t know how many Not just for not asking any Americans who tuned into the questions about the economy or two Democratic presidential the Mueller Report. debates on CNN this week actu- CNN should be ashamed ally paid attention or were able to for producing a lousy presiden- stay awake both nights. tial debate like it was a But anyone who can Super Bowl telecast. prove they watched all Ten debaters were introduced each night six hours deserves some kind of psychiatric help like they were the start- ers on a pro football from the government. team, when actually Maybe Bernie Sand- ers, Elizabeth War- they were two or three ren and the other pro- star players and a bunch M ichael gressives who want to of scrubs and walk-ons R eagan be president can add who’ll never make the COMMENT free counseling for cut. Post-Traumatic Debate The big winner on Syndrome to the list of freebies night one was Elizabeth Warren, they’re promising to give every the shrill progressive professor American. who has written comprehensive I’m still in Austria — or is it plans to fix everything from col- lege loan debt to climate change. Budapest? Warren and her arm-waving But my sources back home soulmate, angry Bernie Sanders, tell me that for two nights leftist became a socialist tag-team. Democrats tooted their own tin They spent the night defend- horns, attacked each others’ pie- ing their costly left-wing health in-the-sky “Medicare for All” care pipe-dreams from the occa- health care plans and proved once again that not one of them is qual- sionally sensible attacks of mod- ified to be president. erate lefties like millionaire busi- When they weren’t calling nessman and ex-Congressman John Delaney and Rep. Tim the president a racist or prom- ising to give trillions of dollars Ryan of Ohio. of free health care, college and Delaney and Ryan, like other stuff to Americans or illegal Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Mon- tana Gov. Steve Bullock, had aliens, the candidates were rail- ing against the usual devils — the their moments — seconds, really. NRA, the Koch Brothers, greedy The only real entertainment drug companies, the evil fossil at the Tuesday night debate was fuel industry, etc. provided by Marianne William- son, the new age spiritualist and The Democrats’ top talent self-help author whose hippie looked bad, but CNN ought to be rants about “dark psychic forces” ashamed of itself. and political failure in Washing- Not just for using its Trump-hating trio of Jake Tapper, ton made her the most Googled name of the night. Dana Bash and Don Lemon as The second debate in Detroit moderators. had more star power, but even Not just for devising a high- 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. fewer laughs and just as many unlikable and humorless Demo- crats making dozens of un-keep- able promises and gratuitous Trump slurs. Joe Biden brought his C game Wednesday and was much better prepared. But Kamala Harris and a supporting gang headed by Corey Booker, Julian Castro and Kirsten Gillibrand went after him all night like a pack of jackals attacking an old water buffalo. Biden was left standing, barely. He made at least seven gaffes and looked old. He had trouble defending the now politically incorrect posi- tions he held on crime, school busing, the drug war and work- ing women during his 40-plus years in DC. It wasn’t pretty. If there is a big sympathy vote out there in the American electorate, Old Joe won it. Meanwhile, Harris got some of her own nasty medicine. She was badly wounded when Tulsi Gabbard, the congress- woman from Hawaii, suddenly brought up some of the un-pro- gressive highlights of her career as California’s tough-on-crime attorney general. Winners on Night Two? Biden, by default. Gabbard. Maybe Booker or Castro, if you grade on a generous curve. The rest were losers. For the week, Prof. Warren was the big winner, if you don’t count President Trump. The big losers were Harris and the Democrat Party, which showed the country just how bro- ken and crazy it is. ——— Michael Reagan is a nation- ally syndicated columnist. Send letters to the editor to editor@eastoregonian.com, or via mail to Andrew Cutler, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
