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The INDEPENDENT, November 16, 2006
The
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410.
Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net
Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net
Assoc. Editor Noni Andersen, noni@the-independent.net
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Opinion
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A lot to be thankful for
Bad weather, power outages, negative three-hun
dred eighty-four thousand, one-hundred seventy-four
dollars in Vernonia’s Community Development Fund.
Along with a five-year sewer fee increase to pay for
just the planning of the first phase of the sewer project,
and no mention yet of how we will pay for construction
of phase two or even phase one. Not to mention the
burgeoning Federal deficit, dysfunctional political par
ties, or the tragedy of war. With all of the negative
things life brings, let’s hope we never lack the ability to
be thankful.
Thankful for the hard working linemen who have
been working what appears to be an impossible num
ber of hours in some of the most miserable conditions.
Thankful for the public works employees who, in spite
of the extra work caused by the recent storms, still
manage to remove the wet slippery leaves from the
path around the mill pond and the wooden foot bridge
across Rock Creek. Thankful to be able to watch peo
ple greet each other with smiles and waves as they
pass on the street. Thankful that we get to live in a
community where people truly care about, as well as
for, each other, as evidenced by the volunteers on the
fire department, Vernonia Cares, the Lions, the PTA,
Vernonia Pride, Scouting groups, PEO, and Boosters,
as well as all the volunteers on the many committees
and commissions, including council members who
take a lot of heat while serving their communities.
These are just a few who put their time and money into
various projects and needs for the community.
And when personal tragedy strikes, you can be sure
to find many with sincere words and kind hearts. It is
not just in Vernonia where you will find such types
plentiful. You will also find them in abundance in Mist,
Jewell, Birkenfeld, Buxton, Manning, Banks, Roy, and
Verboort. We are thankful to be a part of such commu
nities as we have in rural Northwest Oregon. We all
have a lot to be thankful for.______________________
NOTICE
The INDEPENDENT publishes on the first and third Thurs
day of each month. Because there are five Thursdays in No
vember, the next issue will not be published until December 7,
2006.
The deadline for articles and ads for the December 7 issue
will be Friday, December 1, 2006.
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By Noni Andersen
The Wonderful World of Politics
I rarely feel sorry for political operatives who
lose, then have to make nice by saying all the
right things. However, I felt a bit of pity for Ken
Mehlman, head of the Republican National Com
mittee, as he was being interviewed on NBC
Wednesday morning, after the voters’ crushing
repudiation of President George W. Bush’s poli
cies.
In his response to questions about the coming
changes in Congress, Mehlman emphasized the
president’s desire to work with Democrats. For
some reason, he didn’t mention that the presi
dent had just spent 10 days campaigning in all of
the shaky red states by telling voters that a vote
for the Democrats was a vote for terrorism and a
win for Al Qaida. Yep, that really sounded as
though the Prez wanted to work with the Dems.
Mehlman has either a conveniently short
memory, or he was suffering from major sleep
deprivation.
During a press conference regarding Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s “resignation”, a re
porter asked the president about his prior state
ment that Rumsfeld would stay on for the next
two years. “I just said that to get you off the sub
ject,” Bush responded, because “I didn’t want to
make a major policy decision during a cam
paign.” That must be the truth because, surely,
the Prez wouldn’t lie.
In spite of widespread voter discontent about
the war in Iraq, in many ways it is not the primary
factor that interferes with the needs of American
citizens. However indefensible and tragic Iraq
may be, our unsustainable fiscal deficit is a far
greater problem.
Bush and the Republican “leadership” have
been spending as though they got a pre-ap
proved credit card in the mail. Just max it out,
then use another credit card to pay it off. That
way, it doesn’t cost anything! Right?
It isn’t only “emergency” defense spending
that is deliberately placed off budget; it is gross
ly increased agricultural subsidies for “family
farms” like Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), as
well as write offs and subsidies for other very
profitable industries, big oil and Pharma come to
mind.
The $9 billion in Iraq reconstruction funds that
can’t be accounted for is only the tip of a very
large iceberg. Will any of the contractors be re
quired to pay back the taxpayers? Not likely.
That little problem was erased by eliminating the
position of Inspector General for Iraq spending.
Closer to home, results on Columbia County
voting were delayed because of problems with
the vote counting equipment. Someone in the
Elections Office said the information would be
available on the county’s website and, remark
ably, it happened. Through no fault of the elec
tions office, the county’s site is poorly designed
and, often, haphazardly updated.
Perhaps our county commissioners could
start earning their substantial salaries by actual
ly overseeing departments’ operations? Oops,
that would require work. Sorry I mentioned it.