News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Sid Eisenbeis Photo provided Ask any travel agent. You're not likely to find a cruise that takes you from California to the Hawaiian Islands, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Philippines and, then, all the way north to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. You're even less likely to keep a journal that reads, "Patrolling off Yellow Beach, Leyte Island and under intermittent air attack." Those words were penned aboard the USS Burlington (PF 51) nearly a year before the Japanese surrender in World War Two. Sisters resident Sid Eisenbeis... Full story
In commemorating the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, the nation observed the first Patriot's Day -- an entirely appropriate thing to do. What seems a bit puzzling are the noises some folks are making about having the day proclaimed as a national holiday. Excuse me? Can you imagine a national holiday for, say, Pearl Harbor Day? One television network conducted a poll on the question. To the public's credit, 60 percent opposed the idea. The flip side is that, apparently, 40 percent like the idea. Are they... Full story
One American frailty that I'm prone to rail against -- probably because I share the guilt -- is our collective obliviousness to other nations and cultures. Further, you'll have to agree with me when I say that Central Oregon is hardly a crossroads of cultural diversity and understanding. In pleasant contradiction to that premise, however, is the High Desert Forum. Created to "increase the level of public debate and discussion regarding concerns of our day," the forum brings public policy issues to Central Oregon. Last week... Full story
One more mission The orders came directly from the Commander-in-Chief: Lead a normal life, spend money, and travel. Although I retired from active service five years ago, I still know what to do when an order is handed down. Actually, the "normal" aspect of the directive proved the most difficult since I've never really figured out exactly what "normal" is. If anything, I try just a bit not to be too "normal," but I can still put up a pretty good front when circumstances require. The "spending" part was easy. By the time... Full story
Are we a nation of one-night stands? What do Sisters and Estonia have in common? It's kind of a trick question, because I don't know the answer, either. Since Russian troops withdrew from the Baltic states in 1994, we no longer hear much about those former Soviet republics. How about Nicaragua? Remember when the deluge of information on that Central American nation rivaled today's flood from Afghanistan? We lavish attention on the glamorous international intrigue that potentially impacts us and, then, we move on. It's sort... Full story
David Brandon, killed in action in Viet Nam, May 29, 1966. Sunday November 11 is Veterans Day, and perhaps no other Veterans Day in recent memory carries as much meaning as this one. All too often, we take the men and women of our Armed Services for granted. To our credit, this is probably not one of those times. Veterans represent every race, color, creed, religion and all those other compartmentalizations that we seem driven to create. Yet, they are all Americans. When I hear the word "veteran," I rarely think of myself.... Full story