Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 2019)
OPINION Wallowa.com Finally, something pos- itive about our President in the Chieftain; thank you Stormy Burns for your letter! Maury Bunn Enterprise, OR Stopping the vitriol is everyone’s job In reply to Stormy Burns’ letter of June 5, if their question is truly about what the platform of the “Democrat Party” is, an easy internet search would clear up that up- fast. The bigger issue seems to be with the Constitution itself, which in Article I gives the House the responsibility of oversight of the Executive Branch. They’re performing their duty, just as Republi- cans have done with enthu- siasm when they were the majority, without facing such extreme obstruction. What struck me was the purported disgust from this Fox News fan at the vit- riol in politics today, and an incredibly disingenuous claim that their “heart goes out to the average Demo- crat voter.” How about tak- ing a step in the right direc- tion by starting a respectful dialogue? Stop referring to the other party as “the Democrat party” or refer- ring to “the average Dem- ocrat voters,” throwing out the word “Democrat” like a racial slur served up along- side a spit in the dirt. We are the Democratic Party, we may also be Democratic voters, and as individual members of the party, we are Democrats. Call us by the name we call ourselves and you’ll start the process of us believing your heart in the right place, hopefully toward the goal of fi nding common ground and per- haps healing a few wounds that have divided the coun- A5 Wyden, Merkley submit bill to force US compliance with Paris Climate Accord LETTERS to the EDITOR Thanks for supporting our President Wednesday, June 12, 2019 try. Putting a stop to the vit- riol is everyone’s job. Be the change you hope to see. Disagreeing about the pres- ident does not and should not make us enemies. Mary Chlopek Lostine New Wolf plan at odds with best available science The decision to make it easier to kill wolves and open the door to wolf hunt- ing and trapping marks a sad new low for wildlife con- servation in Oregon. The state’s wolf plan is now dis- turbingly and destructively at odds with the best avail- able science. Attempts to improve the plan were tragi- cally shot down by commis- sioners that are shockingly out of touch with the major- ity of Oregonians. Amaroq Weiss, Senior West Coast Wolf Advocate Center for Biological Diversity Tucson, AZ Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have introduced legisla- tion with a group of 44 sen- ators, directing the Trump administration to meet the standards established by the historic Paris Climate Agreement. The legislation – the International Climate Accountability Act – would prevent the president from using funds to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. Instead, the bill directs the Trump adminis- tration to develop a strategic plan for the country to meet its commitment under the 2015 Paris Climate Agree- ment, which the United States joined with nearly 200 other nations. The bill also makes clear that the Paris Climate Agree- ment is critical to strength- ening international coop- eration to reduce global greenhouse emissions and hold high-emission nations accountable, and recog- nizes the important role the Agreement plays in protect- ing and advancing U.S. eco- nomic interests and foreign policy priorities around the globe. Bill to put Oregon on year-round daylight savings time passes fi rst hurdle By Mark Miller Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — A proposal to put Oregon on year- round Daylight Saving Time passed the House Thursday, and now the only hurdles to the change are outside the state. Senate Bill 320, which passed 37-20, now goes to Gov. Kate Brown. But the shift away from twice-yearly changing of the clocks will only really happen if Califor- nia passes similar legis- lation and Congress gets involved. Washington has already done so, and Gov. Jay Ins- lee has signed the change into law. The California Assem- bly last month passed a bill to place the country’s most populous state on daylight tim, but the state Senate has yet to take it up. If California joins Ore- gon and Washington, Con- gress still must vote to let the three states abandon Pacifi c Standard Time. The House vote on Thursday was somewhat closer than in the Senate, with several representatives opposing year-round day- light time. OTHER VOICES Trump destroys American greatness from within It’s hard to work up much sympathy for the hol- lowed-out husk of a human being that is Mitch McCo- nnell, or Lindsey Graham for that matter. This coun- try is a harder, colder, more mean-spirited place because these senators would rather bootlick a bully than stand for the principles they once espoused. Surely, they know the price of their vassalage. To serve Donald Trump is to lose all self-respect. You lie for him. You cover for him. You hate for him. John Boehner, the former House speaker, has more honor as a merce- nary for marijuana than the elected Republicans shovel- ing dirt over the grave of the Constitution. But Americans should care about a more lasting and dam- aging corrosion — the desta- bilizing of venerable institu- tions. It’s one thing to corrupt a politician, the natural osmo- sis of the species. It’s quite another to debase the founda- tions of a great democracy. After the inauguration debacle, Trump moved on to bigger targets — the judi- ciary, the military, the press, and the professional class of bureaucrats who have made the United States a model for competence and incorrupt- ibility in the Civil Service. With William Barr, Trump now has an attorney general who doesn’t care how much lasting damage he does to truth, justice and the Ameri- can way. His mandate as the nation’s top prosecutor is to carry out Trump’s private vendettas. Next week, the House will vote on whether to hold Barr in contempt for defy- ing the constitutional role of oversight by the legislative branch. Get used to it. Barr is marshaling the enormous legal muscle of the people’s Justice Department as a polit- ical hit squad. He’ll use the law, which he ignores when it suits him, to try to imprison •Lots of family activities •Trout fishing ponds •Live music •Many local exhibitors public servants who launched an early investigation of Rus- sian attempts to subvert a U.S. election. No matter that an earlier presidential quisling, failed Kansas gubernatorial candi- date Kris Kobach, could fi nd no evidence of another of Trump’s fi ctions, millions of illegal voters. Barr’s job is to muddy the origins of the Rus- sian investigation enough to frame career public servants as traitors. Normally, the courts would be bulwarks against the barbarians. And indeed, many judges have stood up to some of Trump’s most out- landish and illegal behavior. But the Trump effect, turn- ing everything he touches to a cheap commodity, is to deni- grate the legal arbitrators as “Obama judges” or “Mexi- can” judges. You’re with him or against him. This is dangerous stuff. And it gets worse. The most disgusting of the recent cor- ruptions is the attempt to make the military another extension of presidential van- ity. The White House wanted to “minimize the visibility” of the USS John S. McCain while Trump was in Japan. So, a family name synony- mous with sacrifi ce on behalf of country was covered up so that President Bone Spurs would not be offended. Kim Jong Un has to be jealous. Following this desecra- tion, the acting defense sec- retary, Patrick Shanahan, said the military “will not be polit- icized.” Sorry. That ship has sailed. You would think that mat- ters of the soul would be harder for the soulless occu- pant of the White House to tarnish. After a round of golf last Sunday, a dishev- eled-looking Trump abruptly showed up at a church in Vir- ginia. The White House said Trump wanted parishioners to pray for victims of a recent mass shooting. Instead, they were asked to pray for Trump. The pastor later said he had been blindsided. The same cannot be said for the man who oversees the Census Bureau, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. He’s trying to use a mandate of the Constitution, the decen- nial census, to shore up power Now taking new patients! Dr. Geoff Maly A Non-Profit Community Health Center 603 Medical Parkway Enterprise, OR 97828 www.windingwaters.org 541-426-4502 in the Electoral College and Congress for the aging white men of Trump’s base. Any day now, the Supreme Court will rule on Ross’ effort to insert, into the census form that goes out to every house- hold, a citizenship question, something that hasn’t been asked since 1950. It could mean that about 6.5 million people would go uncounted — citizens and noncitizens. This is a blatant abuse of power and of an otherwise benign government agency, affecting not just the number of representatives or electoral votes each state gets, but also the fate of numerous cities dependent on federal billions in mostly blue America. We’ve had a census every decade since 1790, after the colonies threw off a king and created a govern- ing document establishing an independent judiciary, a legislative branch that writes the rules of the land, and asserting that no man is above the law. To the pres- ent occupant of the White House, it’s only a piece of paper. ——— Timothy Egan is a colum- nist for The New York Times. BOWLBY BASH SOAP BOX DERBY ENTRY INFORMATION 1ST INSPECTION June 14th, 4pm - 6pm 3RD INSPECTION June 16th, 1pm - 3pm 2ND INSPECTION June 15th, 4pm - 6pm WALK-IN INSPECTION June 22th, 10am - Noon FOR MORE INFORMATION aguilarjaa@gmail.com HOURS: Monday - Friday 7:00am to 7:00pm Saturday 9:00am to 1:00pm SPACE RESERVATION DEADLINES for weekly advertising is 5pm Friday for the following week. Ad copy is due on Monday at 10am. Ads must be approved by Tuesday at 12pm. •Logging games •Fun scavenger hunt with prizes for kids •And so much more! Contact Jennifer today for all your advertising needs! at jcooney@ wallowa.com • 541-805-9630 Join us as we celebrate our community’s natural and cultural resources. Free admission for all ages! June 28th | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Wallowa County Fairgrounds 209 NW First St., Enterprise • 541-426-4567 • wallowa.com
