The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

To the Editor:

I sat through the town hall meeting on Monday held by Sen. Bentz and Rep. Bonham on HB 2020. First let me say it was good to see that people of different opinions can still be civil – unlike what we have seen from other town halls, in other cities. Kudos to Sisters Country people!

We should all be thankful that our elected representatives have clearly studied the subject of cap and trade, and are well versed on the topic. Their level of knowledge was impressive, and their concern about doing something (the right thing) was evident.

My suggestion is that we contact Speaker Kotek and Governor Brown and remind them of how history views major legislation that is rammed thru on party lines. LBJ knew he had to have bi-partisan support for Medicare for it to become a fixture in our society. Sadly, President Obama failed to learn that lesson and instead of passing bi-partisan healthcare reform, he rammed thru Obamacare on a party line vote and it is slowly being dismantled.

Cap and Trade can work if done properly, and if it is done on a bi-partisan basis. This is an important step for Oregonians, and we will all be better off if we do it together.

Carey Tosello

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To the Editor:

Monday, July 29, there was a Town Hall called by our State Representative D. Bonham and Senator C. Bentz. There were somewhere between 50 to 70 citizens in attendance.

Senator Bentz started the Town Hall by letting us know how hard he has tried to learn about and to do something about climate change the past 9 years to create the best bill of any state so Oregon would lead the way. Please note, the House and Senate Ways and Means committees, which Sen. Bents and Rep. Bonham each served on, in their separate legislative branches, democratically voted to recommend the bill be passed (Sen. Bentz and Rep. Bonham were both in the minority with nays). Also, note HB2020 had been in the making for over 10 years.

After the bill was brought to a vote and passed in the House, Senator Bentz felt it was not a perfect bill (because his recommended changes to it were ignored), so he and the other Republicans left to assure there was not a quorum to allow a vote. He said it was democratic to do so, but then later said he would never do it again. This had been his second time in walking out rather than voting on a bill. It is a fallacy to seek perfection and ignore progress in the right direction. Then he proceeded to lecture us on how he did not need to hear that he did not do his job and that he did not need us lecturing him. This before any in attendance spoke. So THAT went well.

We each thanked them for the opportunity to speak and be heard, we thanked them for coming to Sisters, and with about 8 Bentz supporting opinions, the rest of us wanted him to at least vote next time, and a yea vote is preferred when the bill comes back in the next legislative session. The overall concern voiced was that the climate crisis needed attention now. One woman intelligently asked before we were to leave, now that they had heard what we had to say what was their takeaway. Representative Bonham fielded the question with a rambling answer that could be summed up as, “We will continue to do what we have been doing.”

Yeah, democracy is working — not.

Susan Cobb

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To the Editor:

In response to Chris Carr’s letter: We are in complete agreement!

We are in the Plainview area and on July 22 our outgoing mail (along with several other residents) was stolen. Our mail consisted of payments/bills for August, 11 in total. Deputy Sheriff also came to our residence with the mail, all opened, with some of the payment vouchers (minus our mortgages vouchers), no checks of course. We had to close our account and open a new one, get temporary checks from the bank to RE-PAY these bills; which the bank charges $2 per check. Also called our mortgage lender and added a special “code” just in case. Our reaction time was so quick that none of the checks were presented to our bank.

I now wish we had kept some, put them out in the mail, alerted the bank when they were presented to call law enforcement.

We are hoping these thieves are caught and spend a good amount of time in federal prison. At the very least...KARMA, just wish we could be there to see it happen.

And yes, it is a sad state of affairs.

Gary & Jeri Johnson

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To the Editor:

While reading Jeff Mackey’s letter in the July 24 issue of The Nugget, I was discouraged to see that this nice man again resorted to using outrageous hot-button words like fascism, racism, and infanticide while talking about Democratic congressional representatives.

It’s sad that our American democracy has come to this.

How did we get from the Republican Party leadership of Abraham Lincoln, who said “How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” to the extreme radical new leadership of Donald Trump? If Trump and his followers call someone a fascist does that mean they really are a

fascist?

Yes, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez was a bartender. Other members of Congress have risen from dubious jobs, too. One was a used car salesman, another was a rodeo announcer, a few were radio talk show hosts, and several were actors.

As for eliminating fossil fuel use, what’s wrong with that? It’s polluting and over-warming our fragile earth. Truly, I think global warming is the ONLY issue we should be working on — all of us together — because it will take all of us working and sacrificing together to avoid the terrifying future that over-warming the earth promises.

Paula Surmann

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To the Editor:

I’ve been quiet too long and am sick and tired of trying to take the middle ground on gun control. The Second Amendment has been carried to extremes by the NRA and other gun enthusiasts. When the Second Amendment was written firearms consisted of single-shot muskets and pistols. Our forefathers never imagined the carnage that could be wreaked by an unstable maniac with an AK-47 and 30-round clips. Our present national gun policies defy all logic and humanity!

I would venture to say that no one has the ability to read minds or know when somebody who seems completely normal is going to snap due to an obsession, a chemical imbalance, family discord, or a multitude of other unknown causes.

The present position of gun-rights advocates is totally selfish, and in my view thoughtless. How can any human being be willing to trade the right to buy and own an assault rifle with the lives of so many innocent people, including children! You can’t own a sawed-off shotgun, hand grenades, or a fully automatic rifle for a good reason — the purpose of these weapons is to kill people. Let’s use some common sense here and stop the senseless

killing.

Ban assault rifles and guns with more than a few round clips. Go back to hunting with bolt-action rifles. Protect your home with a double-barrel shotgun. Anything more is unnecessary, unsafe, and as I said earlier, SELFISH.

Art Blumenkron

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To the Editor:

Several weeks ago Jim Anderson mentioned the Birdsbesafe cat collar. I bought one, and my cat has adjusted well to it and she has not caught a bird since having it on. She’s a rescued cat who grew up in a barn, so she is a hunter. Her bird-killing was a real problem to me, and I’m so glad to find a way to stop her without making her a house cat.

Thanks, Jim!

Jean Nave