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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2019)
4A | WEDNESDAY EDITION | NOVEMBER 6, 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 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. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Jenna Bartlet Ned Hickson Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Multimedia Sales Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Dis- play classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to pub- lication; 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 subscription, $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 We can act locally and think globally (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub- missions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) In his Letter to the Edi- tor “Does it really have to be all or nothing?” (Nov. 2), Matt Danielsson asks, “How can anyone possibly hope to bridge the gap and reach the hearts and minds of ‘the other side’ if a minor disagreement with some- one already sharing all the same basic concerns manages to offend you?” What he fails to appreciate is that the offense was generated not so much by this so-called “minor dis- agreement” but by the tone of his original letter (“Focus On Deeds Rather Than Words,” Oct. 26). In that letter, he suggested that there are only two kinds of peo- ple dealing with environmental is- sues: those like him, who actually do something in small, local ways; and those who “seem to be more concerned about yelling at the oth- er people to do things, rather than actually doing much of anything themselves.” He accuses these presumed non-doers of merely “posting rants on social media and holding angry speeches [which have] exactly zero benefit except as virtue signaling to Guest Viewpoint By Debra Walker Florence resident the club of likeminded also vying to be the Highest Paragon of Good- ness.” But as Patricia Burke pointed out in her letter (“Do Something Rather Than Talking About It,” Oct. 30), it is possible to be both kinds of people at the same time, and that, in fact, the sign-holders here are the same folks cleaning up litter from the sides of local highways and clearing invasive species from our dunes. I would understand if she had also taken offense to Mr. Danielsson’s ac- cusation of “posturing” to “generate a ... ‘Like’ on Facebook.” Personally, I was offended by his assertion “that me or anyone reading this will never have one iota of say in the international political machina- tions required to fix the problem. So why fret over things that are so obvi- ously beyond our control?” That “whaddaya gonna do?” atti- tude is what enables horrible things to happen every day — and it is pa- tently false. In this country we do have a say every time we vote. We have a say when we contact our elected represen- tatives to share our opinion on an issue. We can even write to the president of the United States, if we’ve a mind to. We can do all those things and do something small and local, like planting a tree. Because it’s no good to plant a tree if it’s just going to die from the acid rain resulting from China’s coal-burning power plants. So we need to do all the things we can to fix this problem. Act locally, and think globally. To answer Mr. Danielsson’s ques- tion, the way “to bridge the gap and reach the hearts and minds” of oth- ers is to remember that the secret to effective communication is tone as well as words. And don’t assume you know ev- erything a person is doing when you see them holding a sign. LETTERS Congress, do your duty I’ve been witnessing the actions of presidents and administrations since I was 15 years old. I’ve seen strong presidents come and go and, as a member of the citizenry, rec- ognize true strength in a president. What I see today is a wealthy, spoiled man who knows nothing about our beloved U.S. Constitu- tion or diplomacy, and who makes rash decisions based upon his ego. I’ve never seen a president make so many illogical decisions requir- ing him to go back and change his mind on decisions, agreements and policies. I am embarrassed. Now, apparently, he says the tariffs imposed on China were too severe — something that many others, including in his own party, seemed to under- stand from the beginning. But clearly, we can’t look to Mitch McConnel to reason with this president. In fact, it appears the entire Republican adminis- tration is slipping into the dark- ness being brought on by a rant- ing, Tweeting president. Congress, do your duty, gain some courage and help your colleagues across the aisle to im- peach him along with those en- ablers that surround him. Save our democracy and deliv- er us from a growing corporate dictatorship. Otherwise, I predict you will all go down in history as the ones who saw what was hap- pening and did nothing. —Wende Jarman Florence Thanks to our many heroes I wish to thank our military. They are my heroes. I am so tired of the disrespect shown to our law enforcement of- ficers. They are also my heroes. I am also tired of the contempt shown to our boarder patrol — he- roes all. The individuals who put their lives on the line every day, includ- ing ICE agents, firefighters and the families who love and support them. They are also my heroes. These men and women run to- ward trouble and danger instead of away from it. They have my thanks and grati- tude for everything they do for this country. May God bless them. —Lynne Furby Florence 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 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
