A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
A ridiculous
initiative you have
to take seriously
A
n Oregon initiative pe-
tition drive now gather-
ing signatures seeks to
end “unnecessary exemptions
to laws governing animal abuse,
animal neglect, and animal
sexual assault.”
In actuality, the initiative
would make artifi cial insemina-
tion a sex crime; virtually end
commercial livestock, dairy pro-
duction and animal slaughter;
and criminalize hunting, fi shing
and pest control.
It is an assault on food pro-
duction, and on Oregon’s farm-
ers, ranchers and fi shermen.
Oregon law provides stiff
penalties for people who abuse
animals. Those same laws pro-
vide fairly conventional and
sensible defi nitions of what con-
stitutes abuse — reckless or
intentional neglect or cruelty
that causes injury or death.
The statutes also set out
exemptions that allow for ani-
mal husbandry following
accepted practices, regulated
slaughter, fi shing and hunting,
pest control and rodeo events.
We believe that most Orego-
nians are against animal neglect
and abuse, but at the same time
don’t object to reasonable meat
and dairy production or the har-
vesting of seafood. That said,
we’ve seen a lot of crazy ideas
take root as initiative petitions.
Enter Portland animal rights
activist David Michelson. Last
November he fi led Initiative
Petition 13 with the Oregon
Secretary of State’s Offi ce.
“If enacted, IP13 would
remove some of the exemptions
to our pre-existing animal cru-
elty laws that currently allow
certain individuals to abuse,
neglect, and sexually assault
animals without penalty,”
according to yesonip13.org.
Mary Anne Cooper, vice
president of public policy for
the Oregon Farm Bureau, said
the result would eff ectively
criminalize everything from
slaughtering livestock to basic
animal husbandry, including
branding and dehorning cat-
tle, castrating bulls and docking
horses, sheep and pigs.
The initiative also would
re-classify livestock breeding
and artifi cial insemination as
sexual assault of an animal — a
Class C felony.
Cooper said the petition is
the biggest threat to Oregon’s
livestock industry in decades.
We agree.
Supporters of the bill are dis-
ingenuous in their depictions of
the measure’s potential impacts
and the current state of animal
abuse enforcement.
“As they stand right now, not
everyone is held to the same
standard when it comes to ani-
mal cruelty, and some people
are exempt from these laws.”
Farmers and ranchers are not
exempt from animal abuse laws.
Those who operate outside the
accepted norms, or those who
neglect their animals, are sub-
ject to prosecution.
Yesonip13.org assures vot-
ers that nothing in the initia-
tive bans the sale of meat, fur
or leather, off ering up the most
ridiculous business model
imaginable.
“After an animal lives a full
life, and exits the world natu-
rally and humanely, this initia-
tive does not prohibit a farmer
from processing and distributing
their body for consumption.”
The public is hardly clamor-
ing for meat from old and sick
animals. It is illegal to sell meat
from animals that have died a
“natural” death.
IP13, though it sounds so
reasonable in its description, is
ridiculous. No meat, no back-
yard chickens, no goat milk
soap.
But we are forced to take it
seriously because, as we said,
a lot of ridiculous ideas have
become law via the initiative
petition process. It must be
stopped.
Blue Mountain
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
are respectful and do not resort to cul-
‘Create a health
‘Make your voice
tural condescension, I do not see the
harm in taking as much of Portland’s
economy for all of
heard!’
money as possible.
Grant County’
While I do not have the data on
To the Editor:
Is Grant County aware that there is
a proposal in place to sell the Dream-
ers Lodge, which will be turned into
a home for released prisoners hous-
ing? I am unsure of the details, but it’s
out there, people. Since most of the
prisoners held in the Grant County
Jail are not likely rapists and murders,
these “ex-prisoners” are likely to be
shipped in to our county, under a grant,
because we all hid our heads in the
sand when they took our livelihood,
timber, away. We are left to allow the
government to buy in to the county,
and when it comes time to stand up to
the repressive government, their hooks
will be set too deep in our fl esh. When
will we stand up and stand together
to take back our county? To live in a
manner where we are more self-suf-
fi cient and not bought and paid for?
Let’s not sell our souls yet again,
thereby bringing more trouble on our-
selves. Stand up and voice your opin-
ion to the county court, to the mayor
and to our commissioners. We do not
have to allow ourselves to be bought
and paid for, nor do we have to allow
this proposed action to happen here.
This is our county! Make your voice
heard!
Marsha Christensen
John Day
Dreamers Lodge
and Project Turnkey
To the Editor:
I am opposed to siting next to the
“Main Street Revitalization Project” a
home for people “transitioning” back
to society from prison, inpatient drug
and alcohol treatment or for people
who lost homes due to the pandemic.
If the Project Turnkey grant under
the CARES Act is truly being pur-
sued for the benefi t of bona fi de Grant
County residents only, then I feel there
may be merit in it, and I could poten-
tially be supportive of the idea. If the
Dreamer’s Lodge motel is where this
resource is ultimately positioned, how-
ever, I will never be in support of it.
Transitional housing is intended to
give citizens who’ve had challenges
a structured and supportive runway
back into society. For a program of
this nature to work well for the long
term, it must be positioned as harmo-
niously as possible within the society it
is intended to serve.
If the Dreamer’s Lodge transitional
housing project comes to fruition, I
suspect there will be many who will
wonder why they were not surveyed
or why there was no town hall to dis-
cuss the matter.
Regarding addicts, fewer than
20% of them who graduate from inpa-
tient treatment will actually stay sober
for one year. While you’re thinking
about that, now consider the very real
possibility of the defunding of John
Day’s municipal police force. Sound
familiar?
In my experience around the prac-
tice of giving and doing good, the
question is never whether or not to
be of service to others but rather
when and how. There should be dis-
cernment with respect to when and
how we serve our fellow man espe-
cially when its success depends upon
the enrollment, agreement and sup-
port of the collective. This is a human
services endeavor. We are not laying
asphalt, pipe or building a new bridge
here. This is a matter that is personal
and intimate by nature and should be
treated as such. It is not something that
should be foisted upon a community
by an authority but rather thoughtfully,
synergistically and most of all collab-
oratively woven into the fabric of a
town and community that we all love.
Paul Sweany
John Day
To the Editor:
We have lived and worked in
Grant County for over 40 years. We
have seen that, whenever one commu-
nity does well, we all benefi t. Grant
County Court can help accomplish
that goal by making a positive decision
to pay the county’s fair share in the
Fourth Street project in John Day.
Why is it our fair share?
The Fourth Street project is neces-
sary because of damage done by the
fl oods of two years ago, and its recon-
struction will benefi t the county in key
aspects — health, safety and econom-
ics. Fourth Street is the shortest and
fastest route from the hospital to the
Grant County Airport, the Malheur
Fire Rappel Center, the industrial park
and fl ights for Air Life. The diff erence
of a few minutes can make the diff er-
ence in the life or death of a loved one,
or in controlling a forest fi re.
Both city and county residents
pay taxes to the county General Fund
every year. We expect the court to
make decisions that help build a thriv-
ing economic base for our county. This
is one such decision. The city of John
Day has already invested their share
of funds and eff ort into obtaining the
FEMA grant and engineering design.
The city has asked the county for only
$400,000 of the $1.6 million cost.
What’s the good news? The county
has the added benefi t of an accumu-
lated $50 million Road Reserves Fund
that has been funded by the federal
Secure Rural Schools program. The
purpose of the program is to provide
funding for schools, road maintenance
and other county services. The Fourth
Street project fi ts that description of
road maintenance and county services,
so let’s use this excellent resource to
solve a problem.
It is time for the county court to
work in collaboration with the city to
create a healthy economy for all of
Grant County!
Adele and Mark Cerny
Bear Valley
‘Remember what
Jordan said about
staying out of politics’
To the Editor:
On a recent visit to John Day I
absorbed much of the political anx-
iety that surrounds Eastern Oregon.
There have been decades of cen-
sus declines, combined with terri-
ble economic inequality. The people
are upset. I can’t blame them! While
I’ll cast aspersions across the state,
Eastern Oregon’s elected representa-
tives deserve special blame. Instead of
fi ghting for economic development,
they keep nursing cultural grievances.
Instead of fi ghting for economic prog-
ress, they wage the same failed wars,
knowing their legislation will face
imminent death in Salem.
I would also like to point out that
you are a wonderful source of tour-
ism. Portlanders fl ock to Grant County
because the people are kind, and the
area is geographically next to heaven.
I honestly do not think most Portland-
ers harbor ill sentiments toward East-
ern Oregon. Sure, you will get your
occasional smarmy liberal. I deplore
such individuals, but they are a tiny
minority.
Some visitors might see the pro-
liferation of anti-Kate Brown, Greater
Idaho, Socialism signs and might won-
der if they are welcome in John Day. I
wish we fl awed human beings weren’t
so tribal, but we all pick teams. Many
Portland area residents are disap-
pointed by some of Kate Brown’s
exasperating decisions. But the vast
majority of my neighbors voted for
Kate Brown. Will they feel unwel-
come in John Day? As long as tourists
how often Eastern Oregon residents
visit Portland, I would value their eco-
nomic contributions. If I noticed an
armada of Pro-Biden and Brown signs
in or around a popular tourist district,
I would ask that they be taken down.
I always remember what Michael Jor-
dan said about staying out of politics:
“Republicans buy sneakers too!” Jor-
dan didn’t see the business sense of
alienating 50% of the population. As
someone with an eye towards revenue,
I agree with his sentiments.
Brian Fitzgerald
Happy Valley
‘Get vaccinated and
release your new
inner self’
To the Editor:
Signifi cant issues have surfaced
with COVID immunity beginning to
permeate the growing population of
the fully vaccinated providing a com-
munal euphoria which liberates the
injected from our months of barren
social enclosure. What few realize is
during our quarantine-like living, we
have been fully immersed in absorb-
ing massive quantities of intellectu-
al-socio media enhancement. Long
hours interacting with Netfl ix, Goo-
gle, CNN, YouTube, Amazon Prime,
Disney, Hulu, et al., have proven to be
edifying.
Some denigrate this valued activ-
ity by callously calling it destructive
binge-watching! Oh, sure, like going
to the library or Kindle crunching is
binge-reading! I fi nd such comments
outlanderish, lack endeavor, a gambit,
not to mention a certain creek’s crown-
ing crock of abbey ‘E’litism with an
E!
So here is the truth. Emerging psy-
chologists warn the newly vaccinated
of “Induced Personality Enhanced
Acuity Kognitiv Syndrome” or
IPEAKS. They warn the immune of
an engorged state of information and
pent-up personality. You are full of
news, perspective, conservatism/lib-
eralism, mystery, glamour, violence/
passion, theology, cheffi ng, Zooming,
competitive sports theory and nearly
infi nite virtual travel. You are full of it
all. Yes, you are an eclectic wonder!
Warning: as you re-gregariate, don’t
come on too strongly! Acclimate gen-
tly. You are very, very interesting, per-
haps charming and could even be cap-
tivating! You could become a social
icon! It depends on whether you prac-
ticed alpha or beta bingeing and your
screen size.
Yes, you are the vaccinated! You
are the liberated!
Here’s an opinion: Please join the
fun! Get vaccinated and release your
new inner self!
Wayne Spletstoser
Shedd
Protect others from
your germs
To the Editor:
I read with interest the article in
the Blue Mountain Eagle about vari-
ous thoughts on the spread of COVID-
19. Unless I am mistaken, one of the
means of spreading the virus is by
saliva. Way early in this virus epi-
demic, I happened to be in just the
right angle in the sunlight to see how
much we “spit” saliva as we talk and
how far it reaches. I had a repeat of
that experience about a week ago. By
wearing a mask, each of us keeps our
spit from going anywhere except on
our masks. By wearing a mask when
we are out and about, we protect those
we come into contact from whatever
germs we are carrying.
Sandra Sutton
John Day