OPINION
Wallowa.com
LAYIN’ IT ON
THE LINE
M
ost people are clueless about Bitcoin.
What does it do? Why is it so valuable?
What is blockchain? How does this all
aff ect my own money and retirement?
A brief history
Once relegated to the global fi nancial sys-
tem’s outermost fringes, cryptocurrencies such
as Bitcoin and Ethereum have entered the main-
stream consciousness in a dramatic and disrup-
tive fashion.
Many of us think of cryptocurrency as new.
But the idea of creating a more open and accessi-
ble fi nancial system, one with greater privacy and
lower costs, dates back to the 1980s. Bitcoin was
the fi rst viable cryptocurrency, although there had
been several previous attempts at designing more
private ways to perform fi nancial transactions.
Initially, Bitcoin enthusiasts were a select
group of early adopters, mainly programmers and
technologists. Computer programmer Hal Fin-
ney was the fi rst to download the original bitcoin
software in 2009, receiving 10 bitcoins for his
trouble.
How does cryptocurrency work?
It would be best if you didn’t wind up in the
weeds, so I will give only a brief overview of
what makes cryptocurrencies tick.
Bitcoin, and alternative cryptocurrencies, are
built with something known as blockchain tech-
nology. Concisely defi ned, a blockchain is a type
of digital ledger made up of records known as
“blocks.” Blockchain software is a decentralized,
distributed, typically public database that records
transactions across multiple computers. No one
can alter blocks on the chain retroactively without
changing all the subsequent blocks.
Blockchain isn’t limited to fi nancial trans-
actions, either. It also serves as a real-time led-
ger of things such as contracts and physical
assets. Because it is open, anyone in the block-
chain can see details of each block. When a block
is stamped and encrypted, the only person who
can make changes is the person who “owns” that
block.
Owners of blocks only gain access to them
through a unique private key. When a block is
edited, the entire blockchain is updated and syn-
ched in real time.
Banks and corporations are noticing block-
chain. Blockchain technology could revolution-
ize the fi nancial world. It cuts out intermediaries
(middlemen), reduces costs, saves time and pro-
vides greater fi nancial privacy. Using blockchain
reduces transaction complexity. For example, if
you buy stock using blockchain, your transaction
is settled in minutes, not hours. You don’t need
someone else to process your stock purchase.
Also, even though there is no such thing
as something that’s “hack proof,” blockchain
appears to be a lot more secure than anything else
available today.
Currently, only about 0.5% of the world is
using blockchain technology. However, it’s
poised to go mainstream very soon. Big banks,
insurance and technology companies, and venture
capitalists dedicate billions of dollars and hun-
dreds of thousands of employee hours to block-
chain projects each year.
Experts estimate that the banking sector alone
could save as much as $12 billion annually by
switching to the blockchain ledger. Summing it
up: Cryptocurrency, based on blockchain technol-
ogy, has the power to drastically change the way
we do business and make even global transac-
tions faster and more seamless.
Cryptocurrency cannot be manipulated or
controlled by a central bank like paper currency.
It provides more security and privacy than our
current system, and, in many ways, it is more
accessible and more democratic. As the technol-
ogy evolves, transactions on the blockchain will
become more straightforward and accessible to
ordinary individuals.
If blockchain technology and cryptocurrency
interest you, there are many excellent YouTube
videos available to give you more in-depth infor-
mation about this incredible new fi nancial alter-
native. There are also websites to help you get a
handle on the more technical aspects of the block-
chain. If you are thinking about investing in cryp-
tocurrencies, seek advice from a fi nancial profes-
sional who has proven blockchain experience.
Are you still confused? Most people are,
but recent changes suggest that Bitcoin may be
the next “gold” standard that will increase or
decrease in value based on its perceived value.
The valuation of Bitcoin is based on specula-
tion, and many think that Bitcoin will continue
to increase in value. This is not uncommon with
other “bitcoins” of the past; the Dutch Tulip Bulb
Craze of the 1600s comes to mind.
One last point: I do not own any
cryptocurrency.
If you wish to buy Bitcoin, a new company
that was recently listed on the New York Stock
Exchange may be able to help. (Coinbase global).
Be careful.
———
As an avid outdoorsman, Joseph and the Wal-
lowa area have been a big part of Steve Kerby’s
life since 1964. Steve is a Syndicated Columnists
member, a national organization committed to a
fully transparent approach to money manage-
ment. With over 50 years in the fi nancial services
industry, Steve specializes and focuses on each
individual client’s goals. Visit stevekerby.retirevil-
lage.com or call 503-936-3535 for more.
A5
The civic duty of speaking
Steve Kerby
Bitcoin: How is
it changing the
fi nancial world?
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
ON LIBERTY
Devin Patton
I
n last month’s column (Censorship:
A Tool of Tyrants), we examined the
ways in which large corporations are
currently working to silence opposition
through the use of censorship. While this
behavior is concerning, private organiza-
tions maintain the right to conduct busi-
ness however they so choose as long as
they are keeping within the existing reg-
ulatory framework.
We can speak out against speech sup-
pression, but in order to maintain intel-
lectual integrity we cannot cite a vio-
lation of the law as justifi cation for our
opposition to it. Without legal recourse,
we must remain vigilant in resisting cen-
sorship in whatever ways are possible
given our circumstances, and we must be
aware of a particularly harmful form of
censorship that is occurring with alarm-
ing frequency: self-censorship.
George Orwell, in the introduction to
his anti-Soviet allegory Animal Farm,
described the way in which his book was
rejected by publishers for fear of reper-
cussions from the political establish-
ment and a culture that clung to a dom-
inant set of beliefs about the USSR. He
states, “the chief danger to freedom of
thought and speech at this moment is
not the direct interference of the MOI
(Britain’s Ministry of Information) or
any offi cial body. If publishers and edi-
tors exert themselves to keep certain top-
ics out of print, it is not because they are
frightened of prosecution but because
they are frightened of public opinion. In
this country intellectual cowardice is the
worst enemy a writer or journalist has to
face, and that fact does not seem to me
to have had the discussion it deserves.”
People of courage recognize that in order
to have a free-thinking society, we must
continue to share ideas that challenge the
orthodoxy of public opinion.
A July 2020 national survey con-
ducted by the Cato Institute discovered
that 62% of Americans self-censor when
it comes to expressing beliefs that others
might fi nd off ensive, a fi nding that per-
sisted without respect to political party
affi liation. The same survey found that
32% of employed Americans are person-
ally worried that their career opportuni-
ties or current job may be jeopardized if
their political opinions become known.
It is likely that many of us can identify
ways in which we ourselves have felt the
urge to speak out on an issue, and yet
refused to do so for fear of “stirring the
pot” and paying the price for it.
Naturally we can agree that good
judgement is prudent, and just because
one has the right to share an opinion
does not mean it is useful or kind. But
self-censorship is a form of self-restraint
that goes far beyond common cour-
tesy. Self-censorship inevitably leads
to shift in consciousness that infl uences
our beliefs on a fundamental level, and
it may even infl uence our ability to have
unique beliefs at all. When we choose
not to share out of fear the ideas that
we believe to be true, we begin to stop
believing them. University of Toronto
psychology professor and author Jordan
B. Peterson explained, after being asked
why his right to free speech trumped
other people’s right not to feel off ended,
that “in order to think, you have to risk
being off ensive.” The fear of social ret-
ribution robs us of our desire to think
independently and leads to homogenous
group-think and even deeper ideological
divisions as people seek to ally with only
like-minded individuals. Without great
diversity of thought, how can we possi-
bly progress into the future or parse out
the truth of the weighty matters we face
today?
Throughout history, many brave souls
have devoted their lives to speaking
uncomfortable truths in the face of pub-
lic disapproval. Aleksander Solzhenit-
syn was one such soul; he worked tire-
lessly to shed light on the horrors of
marxism with the hope of one day see-
ing his Russian homeland restored to
its former glory. In the face of mount-
ing public backlash, removal from his
country’s Writer’s Union and having his
manuscripts confi scated by the KGB,
Solzhenitsyn remained dedicated to
developing and sharing his work. Upon
receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in
1970, he exhorted writers of the whole
world to go to war against falsehood by
wielding their most powerful weapon:
their art. He concluded his lecture with
an old Russian proverb: “One word of
truth shall outweigh the whole world.”
Writers or not, we all have the moral
responsibility to exercise our God-given
right to think and to bring our thoughts,
our most precious art, into the world. We
must be men and women of courage who
are able to count the cost and recognize
that the cost of remaining silent is too
great to bear. We must stand up to socie-
tal pressures and partisan backlash if we
wish to preserve not only our nation’s
fundamental values, but our own per-
sonal values as well.
———
Devin Patton is a third-generation
Wallowa County native whose pastimes
include the study of ag economics, history
and free thought.
The stories we have been told about plastic
REDUCE,
REUSE,
RECYCLE
Peter Ferré
W
e have all been sold a “story”
by the plastics industry that
is literally “piling up” on us
and accumulating inside us. We all go to
the store and order things online that are
packaged, wrapped and covered in plas-
tic that the plastics industry wants us to
believe is safe and recyclable.
The reality is quite diff erent, and the
same industry that is infl uencing us to
believe that the plastic container that
yogurt comes in is going to be recy-
cled to make another plastic container is
doing everything in its power to make
that actual recycling process almost
impossible. Only 9% of the plastic that
has ever been used has been recycled.
The rest has and is being burned, put
in landfi lls, dumped in the oceans and
shipped to pollute other countries where
it will take 400-plus years to decompose
and, in the meantime, will create toxic
gases and leachates that aff ect the air we
breathe and the water we drink.
So, why aren’t more of the plastics
that we are being told are not bad for
the environment being recycled? Is it
our fault that more plastics are not being
recycled, or is the actual recyclability of
most plastics a story we have been sold
by the industry that profi ts from the pro-
lifi c use of plastic? Let’s take a quick
look at this question.
Over the years oil and chemical com-
panies such as Dow, Exxon, Chevron,
Dupont and many others have spent tens
of millions of dollars telling us that plas-
tic was a long-term recyclable product
while full-well knowing that was not the
case. They did this to convince us to buy
more plastic. Unlike aluminum, metal
and glass (that can be recycled indefi -
nitely), the performance of plastic resin
begins to degrade in the initial manufac-
turing process and continues to degrade
in its performance each time it is han-
dled. A plastic water bottle can, at best,
be recycled two or three times (and even
then, needs to have virgin plastic added
to it) before it is unusable and must be
disposed of, which means burned, buried
and often sent to pollute another coun-
try. (A great documentary to help better
understand this is “The Plastic Problem”
— A PBS NewsHour documentary).
When that plastic is disposed of it takes
hundreds of years to breakdown. One
hundred percent of the plastics ever pro-
duced are still in our bodies, and our air,
water, land, animals and fi sh.
So, is there really a recyclable solu-
tion for plastics? Currently the Recycling
Center in Enterprise, along with most
recycling facilities around the country,
can only accept No. 1 and No. 2 plastics,
(excluding any No. 1 plastic containers
such as clamshells, cookie/cake contain-
ers, fruit containers, etc.). Those plas-
tics from our Recycling Center are sent
to Canada where they are turned into
another useable plastic product, (with the
addition of up to 20% more virgin plas-
tic), two to three times before it must be
disposed of. This shows that there is a
short-term recyclability of a small frac-
tion of the plastics in our stores, (look at
the numbers in the arrow triangle at the
bottom of plastic containers and you will
see most of them are not No. 1 or No. 2
and have virtually no ability to be recy-
cled even for the short term). The work
we all are doing to recycle the plastics
that are currently able to be short-term
recycled is making a diff erence, but it is
not a solution to the plastics problem we
have in the world.
Aluminum, metal and glass can be
recycled forever, and cardboard and
paper can be easily recycled four to fi ve
times before being unusable, then they
naturally break down in a relatively
short period of time. Plastic on the other
hand can at best be recycled two to three
times, (with the addition of virgin plas-
tic), and then must be disposed of taking
400-plus years to breakdown.
When we look at these facts, we see
the deep and disturbing challenge that
plastic, and the industry that manufac-
tures plastic, is presenting the world that
we, our children and our children’s chil-
dren live in. The ultimate solution is for
us all to use as little plastic as possible. I
know this can be challenging, but every
coff ee cup top you don’t get, or straw
you don’t use, or aluminum can you get
rather than a plastic bottle does make a
diff erence.
I close this column by encouraging all
of us, regardless of our social or politi-
cal beliefs, to learn more about the chal-
lenges we each are being faced with
because of plastic, and the small (use
less plastic) and big (petition indus-
try and the politicians you connect
with) steps we can each take to make a
diff erence.
Plastic is not going away during the
lifetimes of our future families unless we
individually and collectively do some-
thing about it.
Thank you for all the reducing, reus-
ing and recycling you are doing and
the little steps you are taking to make a
diff erence.
———
Peter Ferré is a member of the Wal-
lowa County Recycling Task Force.
Getting the course ready for the season
TEE TIME
Rochelle Danielson
W
inter left its mark on Alpine
Meadows Golf Course with
an abundant scattering of
downed limbs coming from those famil-
iar old willows that mostly hang along
Trout Creek, and the greens. But, thanks
to a good turnout of volunteers — old
faces, new faces — who, within a fi ve-
day cleanup schedule, raked, piled and
hauled every stick to the burn pile.
Thanks also to J.D. Hagan and the
greens crew, Greg Oveson, Mac Huff
and Tristan Beck, who worked dili-
gently to get the kinks out of the sprin-
kler system and fertilize the greens
before the April 15 opening.
“Because of all the help, we were
able to get the course ready much ear-
lier than usual,” says Hagan, greens
superintendent.
This past week trees on the No. 1, 7
and 8 greens were trimmed. Earlier, a
hazardous tree near the No. 1 tee box,
was removed.
A second fl oating fountain will soon
be placed in the pond near the active
fountain which was gifted last spring by
the Marsha Beier Family in memory of
“Buck” Beier.
Doug McKinnis, clubhouse manager,
says retail is new to him, but golf isn’t.
He is hoping to schedule more tourna-
ments this summer, and also see a lot
more tourists using the facility. Doug’s
helpers are Cheryl Kooch and Belinda
Kunz, both returnees.
Regarding COVID restrictions, Bill
Williams, Golf Association president,
wants golfers to be knowledgeable of
requested requirements.
Golfers must sign in at clubhouse
where masks are required. Follow social
distancing, avoid handshakes/high fi ves.
Do not remove the fl ag sticks (ball
retrieval units are still on.) One person
per cart except for approved pairings.
Play sand traps, no free drop.
The clubhouse is open. Hot dogs/
drinks are available. Café/bar are
closed. Fairway benches are back in
place, and No. 8 tee box steps are
useable.
The driving range is open, but on
a limited basis. Golfers practicing are
reminded to stay off the dirt.
Lady golfers’ fi rst meeting is Tues-
day, May 11. Please feel free to attend
the small amateur group at 9 a.m. at
clubhouse.
Quite a group of Wallowa County
high school youths are out practicing
the game. Joseph/Wallowa golf team is
coached by Marvin Gibbs. Kyle Craw-
ford coaches the Enterprise team.
———
Rochelle Danielson of Enterprise
loves the game of golf and has golfed for
many years at Alpine Meadows.