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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2019)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | JUNE 1, 2019 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR | 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respect- ing an establishment 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 Govern- ment 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) USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2019 © Siuslaw News 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 Pub- lishers 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. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Jenna Bartlet Ned Hickson Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Marketing Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publica- tion; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $79; 6-month in-county, $56; 10-week subscrip- tion, $25; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $102; 6-month out-of-county, $69; 10-week subscription, $35; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $134; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Letters to the Editor policy Mueller report could off er much-needed diagnosis of our ailing political sytem Even with special counsel Robert Mueller’s unexpected 9-minute public statement made Wednesday, many layers remain unrevealed from what will undoubtedly continue to be an endless peeling back of this spe- cial investigative onion — and in the end, no camp will be left standing out- side its pungent aroma. As I said months ago, regardless of how you feel about our current president, his election and subsequent endless controversies — while polarizing many Ameri- cans — have also forced us to engage with our government and its pol- icies more than we have since the 1960s and 70s. Whether or not you believe the president will- ingly or unwittingly col- luded or obstructed, I do want to believe that the dozen indictments Muel- ler has handed down over the course of the last two years will force us to take a hard look at just how ineffective and corrupt our political system has become — regardless of which side of the aisle you’re on. And while Russia’s in- fluence campaign un- questionably played a role in the 2016 elections, it merely recognized a weakness in our system we have been unwilling to admit or change: A de- pendency on campaign tions — spawning Super PACS (Political Action Committees) that rou- tinely raise hundreds of millions of dollars for candidates by holding events hosted by special interests, lobbyists and others hoping to benefit from influencing future legislation. Tucked within the 2016 election were Rus- sian special interests, be- ginning with Mueller’s From the Editor’s Desk Ned Hickson funding from special in- terests, both financially and fundamentally. In the 2004 general election, 95 percent of House races and 91 per- cent of Senate races were won by candidates who spent the most on their campaigns. This has only become more prevalent since 2010, when the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision began allow- ing unlimited spending by corporations, unions and “individuals” in elec- very first indictment in April 2018, when Dutch national Alex van der Zwaan was indicted for — and eventually pleaded guilty to — lying to fed- eral agents about his con- tacts with Trump cam- paign deputy chair Rick Gates in September 2016. In addition to his con- tacts with Gates, van der Zwaan was also connect- ed to Paul Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian business associ- ate of Manafort’s with ties to Russian intelligence officials. Though accusations of collusion, manipulation, money laundering, false statements and conspira- cy are still being investi- gated through individual branches stemming from Mueller’s report, they are merely symptoms of a political plaque that has been building in the ar- teries of our government for decades — and now threatens the very heart- beat of our democracy. The special counsel’s report could prove to be one of the most import- ant in our nation’s histo- ry, providing a diagnosis of what we need to know rather than what we want to know. Only then can we be- gin to address the kinds of reforms needed to as- sure that the heart of our political system beats for its people rather than the pocketbooks of special interests at home and abroad. The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the edi- tor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are sub- ject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of let- ters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumen- tative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or documented will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside the Siuslaw News readership area will only be pub- lished at the discretion of the editor. Political/Election Letters: Election-related letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) En- sure any information about a candidate is accu- rate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) Explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship and cam- paign-style rhetoric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and platforms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publish- er, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. Email letters to: nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com WHERE TO WRITE Write to Siuslaw News editor Ned Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslawnews. com Pres. 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 @oregonlegislature.gov 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
