December 09, 2011 09:21 am
Imagine that a U.S. citizen is arrested as a suspected terrorist, on U.S. soil, and then placed in military custody for as long as officials deem necessary.
Oh, and this citizen doesn’t get a trial, so the mere suspicion of complicity in promoting terrorism is sufficient grounds for an open-ended detention.
It sounds like the plot of a novel.
In fact it’s part of a bill that the U.S. Senate passed by a 93-7 vote on Dec. 1.
Greatest deliberative body in history, right?
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December 07, 2011 02:01 pm
Occupy: A force for good
To the editor:
A young woman named Katherine Ball, age 27, is an inspiring example
of the Millennial Generation described by Lance Dickie in his op-ed
(Nov. 30). I read of her in a recent article by Steve Duin about Occupy
Portland in The Oregonian. Here’s some information.
Katherine and her cohorts are facing a future far less secure than
the one I faced. At her age, I had a family and had started a
relatively predictable career with a major corporation. Life was not
perfect, but I had medical insurance, a retirement plan, a savings
account, and I was debt-free. My, how times have changed.
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December 05, 2011 12:13 pm
5J weapons policy a mistake
To the editor:
It is obvious that the Baker 5J school district and board has sought to deceive the community by false statements and hypocritical reports. The Baker 5J newsletter stated, “Our original concern had nothing to do with guns.” Then why did the Baker 5J and board chair propose an illegal policy by the Oregon School Board Association (OSBA) that prohibited Concealed hand weapons licenses (CHL)? They then approved the first out of three readings of the policy, not even knowing the law. The Baker 5J weapons work session came to the conclusion that “We did not know the law.” We agreed unanimously to go by state and federal Law and they stated, “teachers would not be restricted."
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December 05, 2011 08:06 am
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, won’t allow any inmates to be executed on his watch. Kitzhaber, elected last November to his third term (and second stint), recently described Oregon’s death penalty system as “broken,” “inequitable” and “compromised.” Those terms imply certain things about Oregon’s recent experience with capital punishment that, if true, would indeed be cause for citizens to worry. “Inequitable” suggests that Oregon is executing minorities or some other specific group of death row inmates at a disproportionate rate. “Broken” and “compromised” indicate that the state has perhaps had to free condemned inmates who were exonerated by DNA or some other indisputable evidence of innocence. Yet none of these things is true. |
December 05, 2011 08:05 am
I’m calling it the “Kitzhaber rule.” And it goes this way: Giving public employees pay raises is a noble goal — so long as the governor is doling out the dollars. Ignoring this edict is a perilous act. One that can cost you your job, in fact. Richard Lariviere, the soon-to-be-ex president of my alma mater, the University of Oregon — which makes him, I suppose, a lame duck Duck — can attest to the potential hazards if you defy the Kitzhaber rule. The Oregon Board of Higher Education, after apparently taking a straw poll — thank goodness for the state’s strict public meetings law, right? — made its decision official Monday when it voted unanimously to terminate Lariviere’s contract. Lariviere, who was under contract until June 30, 2012, is out on Dec. 28. |
November 30, 2011 10:07 am
Why 9-1-1 training is vital
To the editor:
For reasons of privacy and confidentiality I obviously will not discuss where in Baker County the incident I’m about to describe occurred or who was involved. Given the circumstances, however, this incident clearly shows the importance of teaching even young, preschool children how to call 9-1-1 in an emergency and what to say if such a call needs to be made.
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November 28, 2011 02:05 pm
Kitzhaber made the right decision
To the editor:
On Nov. 22, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber announced that he has suspended execution of prisoners on death row as long as he is governor. I believe he’s made the right decision. Following is the email I sent Governor Kitzhaber:
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November 25, 2011 04:26 pm
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Baker City Editorial Board
Some super committee, huh?
Rarely has an entity been so inaptly named as the 12-member bipartisan panel tasked with trimming at least $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade.
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November 25, 2011 04:23 pm
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By Jayson Jacoby
Baker City Herald
Lampooning people for the predictions they proferred almost half a century ago isn’t exactly fair.
But it surely is fun.
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November 23, 2011 07:18 am
Tea Party has wider appeal
To the editor:
In a recent letter, Dan Martin tells us that “If you’re not a millionaire, they (the Occupy protesters) are demonstrating for you.” But I think that most of us here in Baker County would find that we have much more in common with another group of protesters, the Tea Party activists. The Occupy Wall Street protesters and the other Occupy people all over the United States want to totally eliminate our current “obsolete economic system” and then “create a new system.” But the system they advocate is not a new one at all; it is Socialism, which would enlarge the role of government in our lives. The Tea Party movement, on the other hand, seeks to reduce the size of our government, and bring to a halt the orgy of overspending which the federal government has been doing since early in 2009. A larger government on one hand, a smaller one on the other.
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