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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2018)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | SEPTEMBER 15, 2018 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR Opinion | 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM C The First Amendment ongress shall make no law respecting an es- tablishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) Don’t overlook progress in Trump economy (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submissions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community dis- cussion and exchange of perspectives.) A few days ago, President Barack Obama gave a speech. It was concise but partisan. I listened very intently and recalled how I supported his presidency through two elections. I hoped he would become a great president but quickly became disillusioned. The lack of transparency, the “Fast and Fu- rious” debacle, the politicization of the IRS against conservative nonprofits, spying on reporters, the lies of Benghazi, his state- ment to congress “we won, get used to it”, the stagnant economy, pushing the ACA through without letting the public read it or opinionate. These were just a few of my concerns. Now he’s taking credit for our current economy. The Obama era economy had 43 million people living in poverty, 13 million more people on food stamps, lowest home ownership in 51 years, and 95 million peo- ple out of the labor force. We experienced the lowest labor participation rate since the ’70s and the worst economic recovery since the ’40s. One-in-5 families without some- one in the work force, 1-in-6 men age 18 to 34 were incarcerated or out of the work force. He added more national debt than all other presidents combined. Our GDP nev- er saw a quarter over 2 percent and Obama said “welcome to the new reality.” He left office leaving a 1.6 percent GDP. This is the lowest GDP of any President. All this happened through a recession where he raised taxes and heaped thou- sands upon thousands of burdensome reg- ulations on business. In the last year of his presidency he pushed through 4,000 new regulations affecting all forms of commerce — and 70,000 manufacturing companies either went out of business or moved over- seas. Guest Viewpoint By Michael J. Davis Florence Our country’s growth cannot happen in that type of restrictive environment. It was these issues and others that caused me to rethink my political association in the Democratic party. A lot of these problems came to light after his second election. It seemed as if there was some effort to keep things quiet until the election had passed. So, after 40 years as a Democrat, my party no longer represented me. I felt it had no concern for a large part of American soci- ety, and I decided to join the Independent party. As an Independent I felt I had a re- sponsibility to research all points of view concerning all the political issues, which I do proudly. Donald Trump made a campaign prom- ise to reform Obama’s restrictive regula- tions. I agree that he can be a boisterous, egotistical and sometimes insulting pres- ident. But I also believe that his economic policies work. We are experiencing an eco- nomic surge due primarily to these policies. Before I retired, I was an 11-year general manager of a computer hardware company in California. During that time, I learned how restrictive regulations can affect the economy. Since Trump enacted his regula- tion reform, our country has experienced a surge in economic growth: about 4 million new jobs created — 600,000 of those jobs were people considered to have left the job market by the Obama administration. Obama implied that we are no longer a country of manufacture, yet since the 2016 election Trump policies have created 400,000 new manufacturing jobs and they are growing at the fastest rate in 30 years. Economic growth (GDP) last quarter was recently revised from 4.1 percent to 4.2 percent. Median household income has reached the highest level ever. New unemployment claims are at a 49- year low, and African-American, Hispan- ic-American and Asian-American unem- ployment recently achieved the lowest rate ever recorded. In addition, womens un- employment reached the lowest rate in 65 years. Youth unemployment hit the lowest rate in 50 years. Almost 3.9 million people have been lifted off of food stamps since Trump's election, and 14 states have record- ed their lowest unemployment rates ever. Another of Trump's campaign promises was tax reform. He felt that lowering cor- porate taxes would bring corporate mon- ies back from overseas and instill foreign investment. In many cases it did just that. By comparison, under Obama, $2.1 trillion was stashed overseas by U.S. companies. These same companies are now starting to re-invest back in America. It has been re- ported that $352 billion has already come back to build new plants and facilities etc. Due to Trump's vision and policies, the benefits to our country are great. They should not be minimized or taken away in the name of partisan politics. LETTERS Fighiing for whai iruly maiiers Though Florence is electing new city councilors as well as legislative representa- tives, we should remember 9-11. Though Oregon is electing statewide officers including a governor, we should remember 9-11. Though our nation has many midterm elections, we should remember 9-11. It seems our personal needs are not greater than things that truly matter — like God, family and country. It seems a lesson for all. Whether it be WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Afghani- stan, Iraq or 9-11; we strive to be a more perfect union. Fighting for our traditions and institu- tions matter. But sometimes, our union supercedes ourselves. God bless America. —Joel Marks Florence Supporiing ihe law doesn’i make a racisi In response to Harold Titus’ Letter to the Editor “Dehumanizing Others Who Are ‘Not Like Us’” (Sept. 8), which referenced my Sept. 1 letter (“The Real Accomplish- ments of President Trump”), I am not de- humanizing anyone. Comparing puppies to children in his letter and then conflating that to what “all” presidents have done to protect our coun- try is contemptible at the least and igno- rant at best. As many already know, seek- ing asylum is not illegal. But crossing our boarder without permission is. Yet in his letter, Mr. Titus misleads in a way that confuses one with the other. Following his train of thought, the par- ents of illegal immigrants have no respon- sibility for what their actions cause. So, should we just have no borders or laws to deter people from breaking them? Taking that extreme view to its logical conclusion, we should just suspend all laws that interfere with what a person wants to do. In his letter, Mr. Titus went on to con- flate that members of our brave policing agencies are racist for enforcing our laws, suggesting by way of association that those of us who support policing the laws — in- cluding the president — are also racist. That could not be more wrong, and those who think that way are simply dis- honest and, in my opinion, contemptible. To think that all who cross illegally into our country are saints is pure ignorance. And let’s be clear: No one has said that all illegals are rapists and murders. But that reality doesn’t fit the narrative, which is to paint those on the “right” as Nazis or Nazi supporters. The intent of let- ters like that is to stifle dissent through a narrative that accuses those in support of the rule of law as racists. I, for one, won’t be deterred by that. In this unperfect world, we are all re- sponsible for our actions and the conse- quences of those actions. Like it or not, each of us has a responsibility to be aware of — and enforce — the laws that govern us as a republic. Anyone wishing to come here and be- come a citizen should be welcomed with open arms. Just one requirement: Do it legally. —David Eckhardt Florence Bond supporis our children and fuiure I am asking community members to consider the kids when it comes time to vote this November. I had the privilege of being a part of the Lane Council of Gov- ernments while serving as a Port of Siuslaw Commissioner for five years. Two of the meetings were held at two different new schools in Eugene. It was wonderful to see buildings that were open ,with all classrooms having natural light, fitted with today’s technology in black- boards I had never seen, halls wide enough for kids to easily move from class to class and inviting lunch rooms where students could quickly get their meals or eat their own from home. Children are the future of this country and we have to do our best to provide them with a safe environment in which to learn. A new building built to seismic codes would more likely survive an earthquake. Only one of our buildings partly meets this requirement now. If such an event were to happen, only the Florence Events Center is large enough to provide shelter. The proposed high school would be another space for community emergency shelter. It would also provide a space for a hot lunch program. Currently there is no kitchen in the high school. Meals are pre- pared in the elementary school and trans- ported to the high school. Our high school is almost 50 years old. In any area except the coast this would not be a long life, but here the weather is dam- aging. There are not enough classrooms for the kids we now have. Some classes are held in rooms that were not meant for classrooms. They have no windows and are either too warm or not warm at all, with no easy access and are not ADA compliant. Other classrooms don’t work with to- day’s programs; there are two classes in the elementary school that will not fit in the high school when they get there. One other thing to consider is that we can’t keep doctors here. Since we are most- ly a retirement community it would be good to have them stay so we don’t have a new doctor every other year (if we even get one). Many doctors leave as soon as they meet their required time in an outlying commu- nity and schools have been the basic stated reason. We must work together to provide the best we can for our children. Please vote “yes” for schools. The cost won’t go down, only up, if it doesn’t pass now. —Nancy Rickard Florence Grier poliiical mailers coniradici each oiher After viewing two different mailers just days apart, I wonder if other people are as baffled as I am about the real Teri Grier. If you’re a Democrat in House District 9, you might think Teri Grier is a third party, feel-good candidate who is ready to save folks from the tragedy of a health care bankruptcy. If you’re a Republican or Independent, on the other hand, you’ve seen quite a dif- ferent mailer — one that paints a slander- ous picture of Caddy McKeown as some kind of scheming shrew playing poker with our money. There’s even a gratuitous Portland liber- al jab thrown in for good measure. That’s not the Oregon way, Teri. One has to ask, does Grier oppose the “one party rule” that gave Oregonians pre-existing conditions protection long be- fore the Affordable Care Act became law? Does she support the rural clinics paid for with ACA money? Does she support the legislation to provide health care access to every Oregonian? How does she propose to help people keep their health coverage if her party, the Republican party, repeals the programs we have? What does “access to affordable healthcare services” mean to her? I won’t be fooled. Caddy McKeown knows Oregon and, in my opinion, has always looked out for our local needs. There is no reason to replace her just because someone comes along and fans partisan fires that do not actually re- flect McKeown’s values or voting record. —Sandy Todd Florence USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2018 © Siuslaw News Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. 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Jenna Bar tlett Ned H ickson Erik Chalhoub Publisher, ex t. 318 Editor, ex t. 313 Co n s u l t i n g E d i to r 8 3 1 -7 6 1 -7 3 5 3 echalhoub@register-pajaronian.com M ar k e t i n g Di re c to r, e x t . 3 2 6 O ffice Super visor, ex t. 312 Pro d u c t i o n Su p e r v i s o r Pre s s M a n a ge r Su s a n G u t i e r re z Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Je re my G e n t r y DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classifiedad,sThursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednes- day 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $76; 6-month in-county, $52; 10-weeks subscription, $23; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription,$99; 6-month out-of-county, $65; 10-weeks subscrip- tion, $29; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $125; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $71. 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Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line: 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@ oregonlegislature.gov State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown @state.or.us West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us