SHOOTING THE BREEZE: A first bull | P AGE A9
The
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
152nd Year • No. 2 • 16 Pages • $1.50
A new generation
of political action
Contributed photo
Tanner Elliott meets Rudy Giuliani, for-
mer New York Mayor and current lawyer
to President Donald Trump, in Florida.
Trump interacted with the crowd by
allowing two students go on stage to speak
and also asked the audience if they pre-
ferred “Keep America Great” or “Make
America Great Again.” Both slogans were
met with cheers, and Trump decided to
keep the two slogans, Elliott said.
“It was a loud atmosphere, that’s for
sure,” he said. “I have never heard USA
chants that loud before, and then they
started the ‘four more years’ chants, and
that also got loud. It was remarkable to be
honest.”
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
See Elliott, Page A16
See Merkley, Page A16
Elliott sits in third row during President
Trump’s speech at student conference
T
Senator discusses Iran,
impeachment and health care
Trump gave his speech on Dec. 21,
near the end of the Student Action Summit
Conference that began Dec. 19 and ended
Dec. 22. This gave Elliott an opportunity
to listen to speeches from multiple conser-
vative leaders and activists such as Glenn
Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham
and many others.
Contributed photo
hree rows back, 18 feet away —
that’s how far Tanner Elliott stood
from President Donald Trump when
he spoke at Turning Point USA’s Student
Action Summit Conference on Dec. 21 in
West Palm Beach, Florida.
Young conservative students from
around the nation gathered to listen to
Trump talk about his presidency, the econ-
omy, immigration, impeachment and
more. Most of the 5,000 students attend-
ing were seated on a first-come, first-
served basis, Elliott said, but he had his
seat reserved.
Elliott — who ran for Grant County
commissioner in 2018 and has served on
county committees — said he enjoyed the
energetic atmosphere of his fellow young
conservatives.
“The craziest moment was when he
first walked out,” Elliott said. “It’s actually
happening. You’re seeing the president of
the United States who is the most power-
ful person of the free world. He’s not as
orange as he looks on TV.”
Elliott said Trump doesn’t give speeches
that are as charismatic as previous pres-
idents such as Ronald Reagan or Barack
Obama, but he did notice that engagement
with the audience and their feedback is
where Trump’s charisma shines.
Merkley visits
Grant County
Community members from Grant County
asked questions about Qasem Soleimani, Iran,
health care, impeachment and more during a
town hall meeting with U.S.
Sen. Jeff Merkley in Mt. Ver-
non on Jan. 5.
Wayne Hunnicutt of John
Day asked Merkley about the
developing situation in Iran
following the death of Solei-
mani, the Iranian military
U.S. Sen.
leader killed in a U.S. strike,
Jeff Merkley and how viable a threat he was
to the U.S personnel and inter-
ests in the region.
Merkley said Soleimani was the second
most powerful person in Iran and was highly
respected. His position was equivalent to a
defense minister and foreign minister com-
bined because he traveled to diplomatic meet-
ings around the world and was very involved
with the Shia militias in Iraq, Merkley said.
“In recent years, Iraqi animosity towards the
extent of Iranian influences have grown, and
there have been many demonstrations against
Iran in Iraq and against the Iranian leadership
inside Iran,” Merkley said. “What this assas-
sination does is flip that into anti-American
demonstrations in both countries, and Iraq has
just voted to throw the U.S. out of Iraq, which
is what Iran wanted.”
Merkley said he is concerned about further
escalations. Middle East analysts say there is
no way Iran cannot respond to their defense
minister being killed, he said.
Merkley was critical of a social media mes-
sage sent by President Donald Trump Jan. 4.
“Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran
strikes any Americans, or American assets, we
have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing
the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many
years ago), some at a very high level & import-
ant to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those tar-
gets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY
FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no
more threats!” Trump said on Twitter.
Merkley said a response like this increases
Iranian nationalism and could lead to a war.
“There’s no sign that he recognizes that
the Constitution gives war-making power to
Congress, not to the president,” Merkley said.
“When he is talking about hitting 52 sites, he
is talking about going to war, and the Constitu-
tion does not give him that power.”
County resident Katy Nelson asked about
affordability and accessibility of health care.
Merkley said others have also been asking,
and he presented three ideas to lower the cost
of drugs.
The first is for Medicare to negotiate the
price. The second is to allow Americans to
legally import drugs from Canada, which
would allow the U.S. to benefit from Canada’s
negotiations for the price of medicine. This
would be done through carefully audited loca-
tions to verify the drugs. The third is to have a
Tanner Elliott, left, meets Sayd Hussain, a 21-year-old junior at Florida Atlantic University who is running for state representative.
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
MyEagleNews.com
As Trump’s speech concluded, he left
the stage and walked near the audience
where people were jumping over chairs
and frantically rushing to get a chance
to shake hands with the president, Elliott
said. He decided to let the crowd near
him go for it, but he acknowledged how
rare it was for him, as a Grant County
resident, to have been so close to the
president.
“Not that many people can say they
saw the president three days after he was
impeached, whether you agree with that
or not,” Elliott said. “It’s historic, and
this president will be one of the most
remembered presidents in our history.”
Elliott said he agreed with Trump’s
message on the economy and against
socialism and on his accomplishments
such as getting out of North American
Free Trade Agreement and appointing
187 conservative federal judges.
Optimism for the future
New Oregon laws to know for 2020
By Jade McDowell
EO Media Group
Several new Oregon laws take
effect with the start of the new year,
including measures aimed at mak-
ing voting as easy as possible for
Oregon voters. Others address plas-
tic bags, revenge porn and mari-
juana convictions.
When a new year starts, it can be
easy to miss the memo on changes
to the law. Ignorance of the law is
not a defense for breaking it, how-
ever, so here are a few handy guide-
lines for 2020:
Oregon businesses can no longer
give out single-use plastic bags at
checkout.
Plastic bags
Real ID
Starting Jan. 1, stores will no
longer be able to give out single-use
plastic bags at checkout, although
bags used for meat and produce
will be exempt. Stores will also be
required to charge at least 5 cents
per bag for paper, reusable bags or
other alternatives.
As of Oct. 1, 2020, regular Ore-
gon driver’s licenses will no lon-
ger be valid to board a commercial
flight, enter a secure federal facil-
ity, such as a military base, or do
other activities where a federally
approved form of identification is
required.
Eagle file photo
After Oct. 1, Oregonians who
want to take a flight will have to use
another form of approved identifi-
cation, such as a passport, or apply
for a new type of driver’s license
called a Real ID.
The state hopes to have the fed-
erally approved Real IDs available
through the Department of Motor
Vehicles starting in July after fin-
ishing a “major IT overhaul,”
according to the department’s
website.
Real IDs will be optional, and
those getting them will be required
to pay the DMV’s fee for replace-
ment of a driver’s license, plus a
yet-to-be-determined
additional
Real ID fee. The newly issued Real
ID will have the same expiration
date as the person’s current driver’s
license, so people whose licenses
expire soon after the Real IDs are
available are advised they may
want to wait until it is time to renew
their license.
Should someone choose not to
upgrade to a Real ID, a standard
Oregon driver’s licenses will still
be good for activities, such as driv-
ing, purchasing alcohol, registering
to vote or applying for benefits.
Voting
In 2020, Oregon will continue its
quest to make voting as convenient
as possible by not charging for post-
age to mail in ballots. During the
next election, Oregonians will sim-
ply be able to drop their ballot in the
mail without a stamp.
Bicycling
Starting Jan. 1, bicyclists are
allowed to proceed through an
intersection with a stop sign or
traffic signal without stopping,
providing they proceed at a safe
speed and yield to vehicles and
pedestrians.
See Laws, Page A16