OPINION
4A
Founded in 1873
STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
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JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager
LaMear bears witness
to a public health crisis
O
The measures the mayor
backs are common sense
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016
Trump and the sultan
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
New York Times News Service
T
urkey is a long way from
Cleveland, where the
Republicans are holding their
presidential convention. But
I’d urge you to study the recent
failed military coup against
Turkey’s President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. America is not
Turkey — but in terms of per-
sonality and political strategy,
Erdogan and Donald Trump
were separated at birth.
And the drama playing out in
Turkey today is the story of just
how off track a once successful
country can get when a leader who
demonizes all his rivals and dab-
bles in crazy conspiracy theories
comes to believe that he alone is
The Man — the only one who can
make his country great again — and
ensconces himself in power.
Let’s start with Erdogan, who was
prime minister from 2003 to 2014,
but then maneuvered himself into
the previously symbolic role of pres-
ident and got all key powers shifted
to that position. I confess that when
I irst heard the news of the July 15
coup attempt, my irst instinct was
to consult that great foreign policy
expert Miss Manners, The Wash-
ington Post’s etiquette columnist,
because I was asking myself, “What
is the right response when bad things
happen to bad people?”
“Dear Miss Manners: I instinc-
tively oppose military coups against
democratically elected governments,
like the one in Turkey. But am I a bad
person if part of me felt that Turkey’s
president had it coming?”
Anyone who has been following
Turkey closely knows that Erdogan
has been mounting a silent, drip-by-
drip coup of his own against Turk-
ish democracy for years — jail-
ing reporters, hounding rivals with
giant tax bills, reviving an internal
war against Turkish Kurds to stoke
nationalist passions to propel his
efforts to grab more powers — and
by generally making himself into a
modern-day sultan for life.
I’m glad the coup failed, espe-
ne of the startling revelations of 2016 is Democrats inding
their voice on gun control. In deiance of the National Rile
Association and other gun pressure groups, Oregon U.S. Sens.
Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have spoken out on the need to
adopt measures that many of us deem are sensible — banning
the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, for
instance. Gov. Kate Brown’s recent support for such measures
was equally startling. She did something her predecessor John
Kitzhaber, an emergency room physician, would not.
Astoria Mayor Arline even in the aftermath of the
LaMear’s statement of con- Clackamas Town Center
science on guns Monday shootings. A popular politi-
night was an act of cour- cian such as Betsy Johnson
age. One does not see many now can afford to recognize
small town mayors in rural a teachable moment.
areas raising their head on
As Mayor LaMear said,
this issue. The measures that doing the things she advo-
LaMear backs are common cates does not remove guns
sense — concerning assault from hunters or from people
weapons, high-capacity mag- who lawfully own guns for
azines, stiffening the no-ly self protection. Hers are sensi-
list and making mental health ble protections, which public
funding a national priority.
health physicians have long
Sandwiched between our advocated.
U.S. senators, our governor
If there is one thing we can
and our mayor is state Sen. predict with certainty, it is that
Betsy Johnson, who has been there will be another gun mas-
unmoved by the public health sacre somewhere in America
exigency of so much carnage before many more weeks GUEST COLUMN
— from massacres, acciden- pass. There will also be acci-
tal shootings and suicides. dental shootings and suicides
There was a time in Oregon by gun. In excess of 30,000
when the NRA could kill a Americans this year will die
candidate’s prospects. The as a result of guns. If we do
By ROBIN CODY
insurgent Bob Packwood not recognize this epidemic
Special to The Daily Astorian
played the gun card against as a threat to our stability
he whole idea — of fracking
U.S. Sen. Wayne Morse and our culture, we are either
North Dakota and shipping
in 1968. That no doubt is really stupid or fatally lack the
lammable crude oil by rail
what kept Kitzhaber quiet, courage to see straight.
sus-them dog whistles.
cially the way it did —
with many secular Turks
But Turkey in the long run
who actually opposed
suffers.
Erdogan’s autocratic rule,
Sound familiar?
and had been abused by
Trump relies on the
it, nevertheless coming
same tactics: He fabri-
out against the plotters on
cates facts and igures on
the principle that Turkish
an industrial scale. He
democracy must be upheld.
regularly puts out conspir-
That was a truly impres-
acy theories — his latest
sive act of collective wis-
is that President Barack
Thomas L.
dom and a display of dem-
Obama’s “body language”
Friedman
ocratic sensibilities.
suggests that “there’s
The maturity of the
something going on”
If you
Turkish people resulted
with the president —
in Erdogan’s getting
hinting that Obama is
like
what golfers call a mul-
not comfortable con-
ligan, or a do-over, to
demning the killing of
what’s
demonstrate that he is
cops by African-Amer-
going
committed to the univer-
ican gunmen and has
sal precepts of democ-
sympathy for radical
on in
racy. Will he? Or will
Islamists.
Erdogan go right back
Trump also relies
Turkey
to his preferred means of
on the us-versus-them
staying in power: divid-
bond with his follow-
today,
ing Turks into his sup-
ers to avoid punishment
you’ll
porters and enemies of
for any of his misbehav-
the state, weaving con-
ior. He, too, is obsessed
love
spiracy theories and
with his own prowess,
using the failed coup
he uses Twitter to
Trump’s and
as a license for a witch
get around traditional
hunt, not only for plot- America.
media gatekeepers —
ters but for anyone who
and fact-checkers —
has dared to cross his path?
to inject anything he wants into
The early signs are bad. A day the nation’s media bloodstream.
after the failed coup, Erdogan dis- (Erdogan just uses his own friendly
missed 2,745 judges and prosecu- media.) And most of the people
tors. How did he know exactly who Trump has surrounded himself with
to ire in one day? Did he already are either family or second-raters
have an enemies list? To date, he has looking for a star turn, including his
now reportedly purged 1,500 univer- vice-presidential choice and the per-
sity deans, revoked the licenses of son who wrote his wife’s conven-
21,000 teachers and either purged or tion speech and clearly plagiarized
detained nearly 35,000 members of part of it from Michelle Obama. The
the military, security forces and judi- whole thing reeks of limlam.
ciary as part of his “cleansing” of
If Trump is elected, I don’t think
coup supporters.
there will be a military coup, but I
Here’s the real tragedy: Erdogan guarantee you that Jeb Bush’s pre-
was an outstanding leader his irst diction will be proved true, that he’ll
ive years and truly lifted the coun- be “a chaos president” just as he’s
try’s economy and middle class. But been a “chaos candidate.” Ameri-
since then it’s all gone to his head, cans will regularly be in the streets,
and he has gotten away with increas- because they are not going to follow
ingly bad behavior by creating an — on any big issue — a man who
us-versus-them divide between his lies as he breathes, who has not done
loyal, more religious followers, and an ounce of homework to prepare for
the more secular communities in the job and who generates support
Turkey.
by conspiracy theories and making
Because his followers see their people afraid of the future and one
dignity wrapped up in his remaining another.
in power, he can say and do anything
If you like what’s going on in
and never pay a political price. His Turkey today, you’ll love Trump’s
base will always rally to his us-ver- America.
Oil trains from hell
T
Property neglect
drags us down
A
Success stories should inspire
local governments
storia’s recent suc-
cess in inding a path
forward for the neglected
Flavel properties and the
city of Long Beach’s efforts
to clean up the last of its der-
elict buildings should inspire
all local governments to do
the same.
It can be a messy busi-
ness — in every way —
when private landowners
lose the interest or ability to
maintain aging structures, or
allow junk to pile up around
property.
Such neglect not only
lowers the value of a spe-
ciic address. It also drags
down the value of adjoining
real estate. At some point,
individual cases of neglect
become blights on the entire
community. This impedes
economic development and
limits revenue for everything
from schools to community
maintenance. Derelict build-
ings and land also attract
crime and uninvited guests
— everything from termites
and rats to criminals looking
for a place to crash.
There are impediments to
dealing with these problems
— everything from lack of
code enforcement money
and staff to local good old
boys protecting their own.
But ultimately, it takes com-
munity leadership and com-
mitted citizens insisting on at
least minimal standards, and
hopefully high standards.
Trends in increasing real
estate prices are helping clear
the region’s inventory of ugly
orphaned property. Counties
and municipalities all must
make a priority raising com-
munity standards, encour-
aging all property owners to
meet expectations.
Property rights don’t
extend to the right to drag
down your neighbors.
through the Columbia River
Gorge — is not just a violation of
nature. It’s also a threat to people
who live near the tracks.
These trains are explosive.
A recent iery wreck of a Union
Paciic oil train in the gorge just
missed destroying the river town of
Mosier. The gorge is a national sce-
nic area and windsurfer heaven. It’s
almost never not windy. But on this
windless day, the ireballs and toxic
black smoke rose straight up, spar-
ing Mosier. Also by chance, broken
tanker cars crashed landward instead
of toward the river. A civic catastro-
phe and environmental nightmare
did not quite happen. But next time?
Many more oil trains could be
on the way. Proposed now, for Van-
couver, Washington, is the larg-
est oil-by-rail terminal in the Paciic
Northwest. This new project would
double — to four each day — the fre-
quency of mile-long trains carrying
volatile Bakken crude to the Port of
Vancouver.
In protest of this madness, a stub-
born bunch of us citizens sat our-
selves on Burlington Northern Santa
Fe tracks in Vancouver on a recent
Saturday and refused to budge. The
Vancouver 21 (eight men and 13
women) were arrested and booked for
criminal trespassing. Pretrial hearings
are set for Aug. 16.
Some of us take rail hazards per-
sonally. Me, I have a 4-year-old
granddaughter and her folks living in
the blast zone of train bombs.
Our protest was a political act,
planned in advance and well antic-
ipated by law enforcement. In the
third hour, BNSF security forces —
not city or county police — moved
in. They wore police costumes and
drove vehicles marked POLICE
and delivered repeated warnings of
Submitted Photo
Protesters sat on the tracks to oppose oil shipments by trail.
Some of us take rail hazards
personally.
jail time and up to $10,000 ines. A
BNSF engine, blaring its horn, inched
to within 40 yards of us.
We could never have staged, on
our own, a clearer example of corpo-
rate America’s grip on civil justice.
Too little attention focuses on
the industries that contribute to, and
proit from, America’s dependence
on fossil fuels. It’s 2016. About cli-
mate change and its causes, the evi-
dence is in. The U.S. is awash in oil.
The bulk of this oil surging West will
surely be burned in Asia. As if we
had some other planet to fall back
on. As if we didn’t know, by now,
that today’s energy policy is fouling
the future of our kids, our grandkids,
and on down.
Robin Cody is the Portland author
of “Voyage of a Summer Sun: Canoe-
ing the Columbia River.”