tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80137707325040593702024-03-13T22:08:58.590-07:00Nugget Newspaper - Sisters, Oregon News, Opinion, BlogNugget Newspaper in Sisters, Oregon - your source for news, opinion, editorials, entertainment, arts, events, classifieds, obituaries, sports, business, fire coverage, archives, recreation, and schools.editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-41312282961917118272013-08-13T08:37:00.001-07:002013-08-13T08:37:00.410-07:00Juiced
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I usually fall on the libertarian side of the argument when
it comes to bans on drugs. Prohibition is counterproductive and should a free
society really be regulating what individuals choose to put into their bodies
anyway?
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<br /></div>
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Lately I’ve heard and read a few arguments that the sporting
world should just throw in the towel on performance enhancing drugs. Let
athletes use what athletes are gonna use; end the cat-and-mouse game between
detection and evasion. </div>
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Can’t get on board with that. In a hyper-competitive
environment, lifting the ban would put “clean” players at a competitive
disadvantage. It would encourage them to use PEDs when they wouldn’t otherwise,
at potentially significant risk to their long-term health.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And the knock-on effects of allowing steroids and other PEDs
could be tremendous. There’s already a problem with high school age kids using
these substances to gain an edge in hope of grabbing the brass ring of a career
in professional athletics. The vast majority will not make it, no matter what
they take, and they risk their well-being even more than pros, because they
don’t have any supervision or medical consultation.</div>
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Obviously, “cleaning up the game” is not easy, and it may be
impossible to completely eliminate the use of PEDs. But that doesn’t mean that
throwing in the towel is the right response. That just hurts the clean player
and encourages reckless use by teenagers who can’t appreciate the risks they
are taking.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Jim Cornelius</div>
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Editor </div>
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editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-38311782993419847762012-12-27T16:03:00.004-08:002012-12-27T16:03:50.111-08:00The responsibilities of the gun culture<br />There can be nothing more grotesque than the slaughter of school children.<br /><br />The nation has recoiled in revulsion at the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Nobody wants to see this happen again ... and again and again and again. So the national dialogue turns to gun control. Some want a ban on "assault weapons" while gun-rights advocates argue that a ban is cosmetic, ineffective or actually counterproductive. Some come at this issue with entrenched ideological positions; others plead for "common sense."<br /><br />In the midst of all this, America's gun culture needs to take a good hard look at itself.<br /><br />I am part of that gun culture. I have owned firearms since my early teens. My firearms use is for sporting purposes, but I have had occasion to wield a firearm in self-defense (thankfully, no shots fired). The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution recognizes an individual right to keep and bear arms. There is also a clause that includes the words "well-regulated."<br /><br />It's time for effective licensing of firearms owners (some states already have licensing provisions). That's unwelcome to many in the gun culture, who fear that it is the camel's nose in the tent toward more severe ownership restriction or outright gun confiscation. I don't think so. Firearms licensing can be implemented as an extension of hunter safety and concealed carry programs, with the active participation of organizations including the NRA, which has excellent instructor certification programs.<br /><br />Perhaps "assault weapons" should fall under a separate, more rigorous licensing tier.<br /><br />Making the process of acquiring a firearm more serious across the nation would not prevent all gun crime, and it would not deter a disturbed individual from attempting mass slaughter. But it would create an opportunity for red flags to pop up, a window for intervention. And it could instill a more focused culture of responsibility in the gun world. <br /><br />Yes, more regulation is onerous for those of us who already take our responsibilities seriously. But I'm willing to put up with some hassle I don't need to have more assurance that the guy who shows up next to me on the range has some basic level of competence. And regulating the user is more to the point than banning certain classifications of firearms, an exercise that has often been merely cosmetic and of marginal effectiveness.<br /><br />I worked in the gun business, during and after the Rodney King riots. It was an intense time. The shop where I worked refused to sell to people we knew would buy a gun for "protection" and never learn how to use it safely and properly. We didn't want to arm people who would be a menace to themselves and their loved ones. <br /><br />An appropriate licensing procedure would likely deter at least some of those types, and give an opportunity to flag others for further review. A quick criminal background check just isn't enough.<br /><br />Real training and education would be a good thing overall, instilling safety, skill and a level of respect for the potentially deadly weapon you are keeping in your home, your vehicle, on your person. <br /><br />There are many factors that contribute to mass killings - a mental health crisis and significant civic breakdown being primary among them. But we can't pretend that there's not something especially toxic in the combination of a disturbed young man and a lethal weapon. We know we have to separate drunk people from the car keys - and we've reduced drunk driving without banning either alcohol or cars. <br /><br />Those of us who value our gun rights, our heritage, and our sport can't just stick our heads in the sand and accept the status quo. We can reduce violence. The gun culture can be part of the solution.<br />editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-892114129565657112012-11-27T10:20:00.002-08:002012-11-27T11:12:29.556-08:00Lincoln<style>
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<br />
The film “Lincoln” now showing at Sisters Movie House is
well worth the two-and-a-half hours of seat time. Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal
of the 16<sup>th</sup> President is uncanny — something beyond acting
— and the rest of the cast is excellent as well.
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<br /></div>
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It’s talky and long, as befits an essentially political
drama centered around the passage of the 13<sup>th</sup> Amendment to the
Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States, so it may not appeal if
you’re simply looking for entertainment.</div>
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The film’s value is more than cinematic. It’s a good
reminder after a bruising election in a starkly divided political culture that
American politics has often (if not always) been built more on contention than
consensus. We tend to think that our present partisan bickering is worse than
what has gone before; it’s good to be reminded that 19<sup>th</sup> Century
politics was practically a contact sport. Some of the personal vitriol that is
flung about in “Lincoln” would scorch the eyebrows of our snottiest
commentators. </div>
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<br /></div>
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As the film makes clear, this signal piece of legislation
got passed mainly through arm-twisting and blandishments, not through pure
oratorical persuasion. It is an example of the adage apocryphally attributed to
Bismark: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To retain respect for sausages
and laws, one must not watch them in the making.'"</i> </div>
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<br /></div>
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No Marble Man could have orchestrated the sausage-making of
Civil War era politics. It took a president who was a savvy operator and that
is the Lincoln portrayed in the film. Here is a president who won’t lie to his
allies… exactly… but is more than willing to shade the truth and allow them to
believe things that ain’t necessarily so.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Abraham Lincoln is often treated as the closest thing we
have to an American political saint, but he was far from that. In fact, the portrayal
by many of his contemporaries of the president as a tyrant was not far off the
mark. The film doesn’t shy away from this; Lincoln acknowledges that he took
immense wartime powers upon himself because he believed it was necessary to
preserve the Union.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And perhaps it was…</div>
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<br /></div>
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Yet, preserving the Union in and of itself was legally
problematic. The seceding Southern states had a very strong case that the Union
was a voluntary construct at its founding and that no state would have entered
into it without the clear right to leave it at will. Lincoln simply refused to
accept this premise, declaring said states to be in rebellion. And he used
extralegal means to win the war and preserve the Union.</div>
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<br /></div>
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As Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens asks pointedly
in the film: “Did you<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>conquer us
with democracy?”</div>
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<br /></div>
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“Lincoln” offers up plenty <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of resonance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have seen our executive take still more immense power upon itself to combat
terrorism. And we have seen a dysfunctional Congress churn over legislation with
the power to profoundly shape the future. History offers us a different lense
with which to view our own times. That’s what “Lincoln” ultimately does, and
does well. It’s worth soaking it in.</div>
editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-80482938283145427682012-09-30T15:04:00.002-07:002012-09-30T15:04:22.574-07:00Imagine there's no 'floppers'
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The NBA is cracking down on floppers — those who fake
being fouled to draw penalties on their opponents.
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<br /></div>
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Sports Illustrated notes that “The ugly trend of faking
physical contact began in soccer, a sport in which gamesmanship has given way
to players writhing in false agony around the world.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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This is an idea that should be extended to all arenas of
life. Imagine: No more exaggerated or phony outrage. How would political
campaigns fill the news cycle? </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
No more airtime for those who George Bernard Shaw called feverish
selfish little clod(s) of ailments and grievances complaining that the world
will not devote itself to making (them) happy.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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Imagine…</div>
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<br /></div>
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I don’t much care for basketball, but I think I love the
NBA.</div>
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Jim Cornelius, Editor<span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-63198709936462413802012-07-24T12:07:00.003-07:002012-07-24T12:07:37.620-07:00Seeking infamy<style>
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</style>The motive behind the mass killing in Aurora, Colorado,
last week may never truly be known. Who can truly plumb the black void of a
soul capable of such slaughter of innocents?<br />
<br />
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Yet, if past events are any guide, it is likely that one
component of the motive of the killer was a desire for infamy — the desperate
need to make a mark, to be seen, heard and <i>remembered</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
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It’s tempting to think if such twisted narcissism as a
modern disease. Certainly the culture of celebrity encourages fame for its own
sake, regardless of worthiness of character or deed.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
But such behavior is present across history. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
Bob Ford, the killer of Jesse James, wanted to be a famous
bandit. Failing at that, as in all else, he settled for shooting a famous
bandit in the back of the head. He later toured a stage performance based on
his exploit. Jesse James himself was a preening megalomaniac, who cast his own a
sordid career in a heroic light.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
Would denying the infamy make a difference? Perhaps. But
it will never happen. Such events exert a perverse fascination on the public
and every aspect of the case will continue to be dissected until exhaustion
sets in or a fresher horror rises to take over the public consciousness.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
Such it has ever been and always will be as long as one
will seek to affirm his existence by extinguishing that of another.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
Jim Cornelius, Editor</div>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-90196047424461741952012-06-26T08:30:00.001-07:002012-06-26T08:30:30.929-07:00Who pays the cost of rescue?<style>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Earlier
this month, a National Park Ranger named Nick Hall was killed while rescuing
climbers on Mt. Rainier.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14pt;">From
NBC News:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14pt;">Hall
was on Rainier’s northeast side at about 13,700 feet when he fell around 5 p.m.
local time Thursday as he was helping the climbers aboard a helicopter, the
service said.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14pt;">“As
the first of the climbers were being evacuated by helicopter, Mount Rainier
climbing ranger Nick Hall fell, sliding more than 3,000 feet down the side of
the mountain,” the service said in a statement.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14pt;">…The
climbers, two men and two women from Waco, Texas, had been walking on the
Emmons Glacier Route on their way down from the summit when two of them slipped
and fell into a crevasse, said Kevin Bacher, a park spokesman.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14pt;">One
of the climbers had a working cell phone and was able to notify park rangers.
Rescue crews on foot located the climbers and lifted the two out of the
crevasse, then began the process of transferring the climbers to a helicopter.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14pt;">Every year we here in the Sisters Country
hear of someone who gets themselves into a bind and needs rescuing. Such
incidents often involve people who head out for a day, totally unprepared for
something to go wrong that keeps them out over night or in a sudden onslaught
of bad weather.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14pt;">This kind of incident, especially something
tragic like the Rainier episode always raises questions. A blog reader
forwarded these:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListBulletCxSpFirst">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListBulletCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14pt;"><span>·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Are
we as a society are socially obligated to rescue adventurers who put themselves
in harms way, or should they be ignored, since they know the risks, and let the
chips fall where they may?</span></div>
<div class="MsoListBulletCxSpFirst">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Should
the rescued be held financially responsible for the costs of S & R, or,
since they are (probably) tax paying citizens, should they be afforded S &
R benefits? </span></div>
<div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Should
there be a superfund set up to pay for search and rescue, funded by said
adventurers, to defray the costs of S & R, and give death benefits to the
families of rescuers who are injured or killed in the process?</span></div>
<div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListBulletCxSpLast">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Should
adventurers be require to purchase S & R insurance?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14pt;">The SAR volunteers and professionals I’ve talked to often
express frustration about people’s cavalier attitude to the wilderness in which
they enjoy their adventures, their lack of respect for the elements, their lack
of preparation for emergencies. But I don’t think a one of them supports making
people pay for rescue. The reason? They’re afraid people will not call when
they need to because they’re worried about the bill.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14pt;">Anyway — interesting questions. What do you
think?</span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 14pt;">Jim Cornelius, Editor </span></div>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-88519806729301708892012-06-14T12:20:00.003-07:002012-06-14T12:23:42.066-07:00Voice concerns/priorities for Sisters School District<style>
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<br />
<h1>
</h1>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
A group of Sisters Country citizens has requested a forum
for soliciting community opinion on priorities for the Sisters School District
as the district wrestles with cuts and approaches a critical vote on local
option.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
The Nugget made this space available for this dialogue.
The citizens’ request is as follows:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoBodyText">
If you have a child in the school district, you may have
an idea of the issues that are facing current students. If you don’t have a child in the district
but have had or have an opinion on what are the pressing needs facing the local
schools, YOUR INPUT IS VITAL as we will all be faced with voting on a local
option for schools.</div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
Please consider making suggestions in a sentence or two
format. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8013770732504059370" name="_GoBack"></a>By
summarizing top 3-10 concerns as you see it, the information will be presented
to the school board as soon as it can be organized … as there are many pressing issues in a short time frame that
may or may not be possible to address before school starts in the fall.</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jim Cornelius, Editor</div>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-39808590216041608322012-06-05T11:29:00.000-07:002012-06-05T11:29:07.942-07:00Sportsmanship and nobility<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
We’ve done enough commentary about athletes behaving badly
that it seems appropriate to highlight something on the other side of the coin:<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_157107933"> </a><a href="http://espn.go.com/high-school/track-and-xc/story/_/id/8010251/high-school-runner-carries-fallen-opponent-finish-line">http://espn.go.com/high-school/track-and-xc/story/_/id/8010251/high-school-runner-carries-fallen-opponent-finish-line</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that’s a noble act of sportsmanship right there. Hats
off.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jim Cornelius, Editor</div>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-55518980206692994752012-05-29T08:38:00.001-07:002012-05-29T08:38:50.740-07:00Hatfields & McCoys<style>
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<br />
History Channel’s miniseries Hatfields & McCoys began
Monday. It’s good — damn good. Quality acting, excellent period detail and
a respect for the actual history are all here in this depiction of America’s
most famous feud.
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The yellow journalism of the day (the 1870s-80s) depicted
the feudists as exotic primitives, a stereotype that has come down to our day,
one which the miniseries effectively dispels. Sure, the folks living in the Tug
River Valley in the late 19<sup>th</sup> Century were rough-hewn; they were
living in frontier conditions. But they weren’t all that different than folks
anywhere. Some were entrepreneurial visionaries, some just hardworking plain
folk, some were ne’er-do-wells.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They mostly tried to settle their disputes in court. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Occasionally, though, a personal dispute
would get out of hand. Mix together tangled kin networks (cut my cousin and I bleed),
weak law enforcement, easy access to weapons and add a little whiskey and you
have a recipe for bloodshed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s only conditions that make things different here in
Sisters, Oregon. Human nature still feels that atavistic tug toward the feud.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve seen old men come near to blows in the courthouse over
property setbacks; battles over irrigation ditches and water; homeowners
association beefs that turn bitter and personal. Passions run high and hot. The
only thing that keeps such feuds from spiraling into violence is the overpowering
presence of the law, the certainty of punishment. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Devil Anse Hatfield and Randle McCoy aren’t ghosts from a misty
past. They’re still around. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jim Cornelius, Editor</div>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-91857111611253455042012-05-15T08:40:00.001-07:002012-05-15T08:40:26.221-07:00I want to go to school here<style>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">During this past week I attended the Americana Project CD release concert at The Barn and the SALI tournament on Sisters athletic fields. In both cases, there was an abundance of young people pursuing a passion with joy, teamwork and commitment.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
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I also attended the Ten Friends fundraiser at Aspen Hall.
There I heard stories of the life-changing experiences Sisters youth have had
trekking in Nepal with the charity, founded by two Sisters teachers. Interviewed Student of the Month Sam Bearzi, whose extraordinary
level of engagement he attributes to a desire to give back to a community that
has given him “this monumental opportunity at Sisters High School.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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My own daughter’s experience here has been very good. Not
perfect — there’s always things that don’t work the way you’d like them to
— but overall very good.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I want to go to school here. It’s way better in every way
than the suburban California schools I attended way back when. Sure, the
quality of the schools has been hyped, but even cutting through all that, there
really is something special going on here — but it may not last much
longer.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s all under threat. After years of deep cuts, we really
are coming to the end of our budgetary rope. The school district has done a
good job over many years wrapping things in duct tape, plugging holes with
bubble gum and making things work. We can do that for maybe one more school
year, but after that, it doesn’t look good.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I hope people get that. I hope that nobody is feeling
complacent, because, as Superintendent Jim Golden told me, “we’re not down the
drain, but we’re circling.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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The district riffed 6.2 FTE last Friday. Good people doing
good work in the classroom who are now out of work — and their work has to be
covered by others or left undone. The proposed budget spends the district’s
reserves. They’ll have to cut days or more people to close the remainder of the
$1.3 million shortfall.</div>
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<br /></div>
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By 2014-15, Sisters schools will be looking at the kind of
trouble Redmond’s having now. And that’s WITH local option. Without it, the
game’s pretty much up. Quality education would be gone.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Everybody with a stake in Sisters should be concerned
about this. The schools are a major attractant to Sisters; significant erosion
of quality would be a major blow to economic development efforts. Losing all
the many points of engagement the schools provide would harm families and
reduce the quality of life in the Sisters Country.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So, what’s to be done? Above all, voters must support
local option when it comes up for renewal later this year or early next year.
That’s all that stands between the schools and real financial calamity. If you’re
politically-minded, there’s a crying need for reform of PERS, which has placed
an unsustainable burden on schools.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Beyond that, support the Sisters Schools Foundation.
Volunteer to help with efforts like Celebrate Sisters, sprucing up the physical
plant with volunteer labor. Work with organizations like the Sisters Folk
Festival and the Sisters Science Club who are adding enrichment and material
support to the schools.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We’ve got a good thing going here. We need to fight to
keep it.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "American Typewriter";">Jim Cornelius, Editor</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-72629512126691598502012-04-24T10:56:00.000-07:002012-04-24T10:57:35.459-07:00The era of the cheap shot<div style="color: black;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">The New Orleans Saints put out an injury bounty on
opponents. Meta World Peace (aka Ron Artest, NBA thug) throws an elbow that
earns him a suspension and puts a player out with a concussion. The NHL playoffs
are a spectacle of mayhem.</span> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We</span> are living in the era of the cheap shot.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Hard play is great. This crap ain’t hard play. It’s
assault with intent to injure. Seriously. If you or I deliberately hit someone
in the throat with a stick or threw an elbow to their ear, we’d be up on charges. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="color: black;">
Consider the hit that Raffi Torres of the Phoenix Coyotes
put on Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks last week. Torres left his skates
and went for Hossa’s head, well after Hossa had unloaded the puck. Hossa left
the ice on a stretcher and is still recovering from a serious concussion. </div>
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A
thug took a far superior opponent off the ice in the playoffs. For the Coyotes,
Torres for Hossa was a good tradeoff.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Torres’ 25-game suspension is a stern message, but only
that. Torres is a serial offender; he should be gone, done, banned from the
league.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This NHL playoff season has been rife with cheap shots.
Not just big hits, not just fighting where two players square off — we’re
talking vicious, inexcusable headhunting. The league needs to come down harder
on this kind of behavior. If you’re going to deliberately threaten the career
and health of your opponents, your career should be at stake, too. A Torres-scale
suspension for a first offense. A season for the second. Next time you do it,
you’re done. Three strikes, you’re out.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="color: black;">
As for the Saints’ coaching staff… Putting a bounty on
opponents is so far beyond the pale, it should be grounds for a lifetime ban
for the first offense.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="color: black;">
Real zero tolerance would put a stop to this stuff in a
hurry. It’s doubtful that any of the professional sports will go that far. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="color: black;">
Given the primacy of sports in American cultural life,
what happens in the arena percolates through the whole culture. Unless we want
to live in the Society of the Sucker Punch, we’d do well to put a stop to the
mayhem.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">
Jim Cornelius, Editor</div>
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<br /></div>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-67358812113859191502012-04-17T09:24:00.002-07:002012-04-17T09:41:07.493-07:00Stand your ground<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal">The tragic Trayvon Martin case has cast “Stand Your Ground” laws into the spotlight. In some quarters there is a cry to repeal such laws as an incitement to vigilantism.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">That would be a bad call.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stand Your Ground or “No Duty to Retreat” laws extend so-called Castle Doctrine from your home to any place you have a right to be. In short, if you are assailed, you have the right to defend yourself — to the extent of deadly force if you reasonably believe your life is threatened. You are not obligated to retreat. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">In a society of free men and women, which we purport to be, such a doctrine is appropriate and necessary to preserve the absolute right to be secure in your person.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now, retreating from a bad situation — or avoiding it in the first place — is usually the wisest course of action, legally, morally and tactically. However, the law should not put the onus on the citizen. On the other hand, if you deliberately place yourself in the position of initiating or pursuing and escalating a confrontation, Stand Your Ground should not apply.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">No law can be written so as to address every situation absolutely in its every nuance. Ultimately, we must rely on the judgment of police, district attorneys, grand juries, perhaps a jury of one’s peers. Justice, being in the hands of humans, is imperfect.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stand Your Ground should remain on the books.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jim Cornelius, Editor</p>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-32943032990889183132012-04-10T09:25:00.001-07:002012-04-10T09:25:51.348-07:00The debasement of languageTribune Media Services, which provides syndicated columns for The Nugget’s Page 2 opinion section, recently sent out a “Sensitive Language Advisory.” It read thus:<br /><br /><blockquote>“In Joel Brinkley’s American Voices column for release 4/3/2012 (‘China’s social ‘harmony’ more fragile than it appears’), the word ‘dyke’ appears in the first and eighth paragraphs. While the word is correctly used in its traditional sense, editors may want to use the spelling ‘dike’ to avoid any consternation among readers.”</blockquote><br /><br />Oh, for cryin’ out loud! The correct use of a word might cause “consternation” because it can mean something else in a different context? What, are we 12? Scratch that. My 12-year-old is more mature than that.<br /><br />The language police; a shrinking population of readers; the dumbing down of discourse (if it can’t be said in 140 characters, does it, like, even matter?) — all signs of the creeping debasement of language. For a guy who makes his living and his art out of stringing words together with as much craft as I can muster, it’s more than a little discouraging.<br /><br />Last week, a friend who is also a writer told me that he suddenly feels like “a man from another age.” No kidding. Nothing left to do but try to stem the tide. I feel like the little Dutch boy…<br /><br />No! Don’t go there! It’ll cause consternation!<br /><br />Jim Cornelius, Editoreditorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-22185105158987519742012-04-03T09:26:00.004-07:002012-04-03T09:32:18.521-07:00Politics is a rough-and-tumble sport<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} h1 {mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char"; mso-style-next:Normal; margin-top:24.0pt; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after:avoid; mso-outline-level:1; font-size:16.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#345A8A; mso-font-kerning:0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;} p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText {mso-style-link:"Body Text Char"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:6.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} span.Heading1Char {mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char"; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"Heading 1"; mso-ansi-font-size:16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#345A8A; font-weight:bold;} span.BodyTextChar {mso-style-name:"Body Text Char"; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"Body Text";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --></style>It’s always tempting to think that things were better in the good ol’ days. Many of us decry the toxic partisanship that dominates our national political scene and worry that it’s trickled down to the local level, where debates turn into disputes and it gets ugly and angry.<span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"></span> <p class="MsoBodyText">Thing is, that warm remembered glow of collegial behavior and calm consensus is largely an illusion.<span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">Politics has always been a rough-and-tumble sport — sometimes a blood sport. Going all the way back to the Adams vs. Jefferson presidential election, things were nasty, personal and mean. President Obama is no more despised than was FDR; Bush was no more excoriated for his war than were Nixon or LBJ for theirs.<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">Local politics has never been exempt. Heck, in some parts of the country, political and economic rivalries led to feuds and gunplay.<span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">Sisters has had a couple years of rough stuff. Issue after issue that comes before the city council turns into a fight. But that’s not so unusual either. When the community was debating a sewer project in the mid-‘90s, that business got contentious and often mean-spirited. Tempers flared, feelings got hurt, a city councilor was recalled.<span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">There have been any number of land-use battles, fights over water and homeowners association beefs over the years. <span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">I’m not saying any of this is a good thing. Bitter fights usually end up being destructive to everyone involved. <span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">But it’s important to understand that it’s only human to get your back up in a fight, to lose your temper sometimes, to be harsher than the situation really warrants. As long as there are human passions, they’re liable to get out of hand. As long as there’s a political arena, those passions will be played out there.<span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">The trick is to learn to take a step back, take a deep breath, try to keep things in perspective and proportion. And remember that the other guy has his reasons and his own stuff to carry.</p><p class="MsoBodyText"><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt"></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Jim Cornelius, Editor</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-73361817320516158552012-03-21T10:11:00.002-07:002012-03-21T10:15:59.784-07:00Is it time to loose the hounds again?<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"American Typewriter"; panose-1:2 9 6 4 2 0 4 2 3 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"American Typewriter"; panose-1:2 9 6 4 2 0 4 2 3 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >Three young cougars died for their sins last week in the Sisters Country. Their transgression was coming into residential neighborhoods and attacking domestic animals — dogs and probably some chickens.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >When that happens, wildlife authorities don’t have much choice: They can’t look the other way — next thing you know someone’s dog is dead, or something even worse goes down. They can’t just chase them off; cougar are territorial and they’ll just come back — same problem for “relocation.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >So we kill them for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >That’s a shame. They’re beautiful creatures. Many of us love the idea that they are out there playing out their natural predator-prey drama in the forests of the Sisters Country. For those of us who like our wilderness wild, there’s nothing like the frisson of seeing a cougar print in the woods and being reminded that we’re not always at the top of the food chain. And are we not the invasive species? We moved into their territory, not the other way around.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >So what’s the solution? We’re not going to move out and leave the Sisters Country to the cougars, and they can’t become vegetarians or read “No Cougars Allowed” signs put up by your Homeowners Association.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >Maybe it’s time to let loose the hounds again. I know, I know — the idea of treeing a cougar with a pack of hounds and then shooting it out of said tree is downright repulsive to some folks. I get that. I also get that the baying of hounds, the thrill of the chase, is an addictive potion that stirs something deep in the soul of some other folks.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >Set all that aside for a moment. Would it be better <span style="font-style: italic;">for the cougars</span> if they were regularly hounded? As the law stands now (since the passage of Measure 18 in the mid-1990s) it is illegal to hunt or pursue cougar for sport. Only agents of landowners and law enforcement and wildlife authorities can use hounds to chase cougar.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >You can still hunt ’em, but the odds are mighty low without the hounds.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >If cougars associated barking dogs with being chased and treed, might they stay away from neighborhoods with barking dogs? If the presence of man means trouble, would they not evade our abodes and pursue their natural prey — mule deer — in less trafficked areas?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >Maybe hunting a few could save others from dying en masse like the three killed on McKinney Butte. Or, perhaps you could still ban the kill but allow the pursuit; for many houndsmen, the chase is everything anyway.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >Wildlife biologist Steven George says a debate along these lines has been going on ever since bans on hounds pursuing cougar have been in place in places like California and Oregon. Evidence of the effects of pursuit — or the absence thereof — is almost entirely anecdotal, he says.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >As far as hunting goes, it’s clear that using hounds “is a very efficient methodology to harvest animals,” George says. It also allows more selectivity in which animals are “taken.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >But does it reduce human/cougar conflicts?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >“There is some indication that those animals are a little more wary in those areas where hounds are used to hunt them,” George says.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >Indication. Seems like it, but we can't say for sure.<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >What about the mere pursuit — catch-and-release, if you will? Would that have an impact?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >“Potentially,” George says. “There’s no science to back that up.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >George notes that there are efforts virtually every year to overturn Measure 18 and restore some level of cougar hunting with hounds. He also acknowledges that there is strong social resistance to the practice that many see as a cruel form of harassment.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >In my view, it shouldn’t be a political debate but a scientific one. If we can demonstrate that pursuit with hounds reduces or prevents human/cougar conflicts, it should be reinstated — for the sake of the cougars more than for the peace of mind of humans living in the wildland interface.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >Unfortunately, given budgetary constraints, it seems unlikely that any serious scientific studies will be forthcoming, so the question is likely to be argued out in a political arena with anecdotal evidence. It’s still a discussion worth having.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >In the meantime, we can do our part to reduce conflicts. George emphasizes that homeowners should remember what brings cougars into neighborhoods to begin with: They are seeking prey.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" >Don’t feed the wildlife. It’s not good for the critters and it only brings grief down on the mighty cats that are only doing what comes naturally.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" >Jim Cornelius, Editor</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="American Typewriter"font-family:";" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-75485274568678463852012-03-06T19:28:00.002-08:002012-03-06T19:32:11.628-08:00What is it about sports?<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"American Typewriter"; panose-1:2 9 6 4 2 0 4 2 3 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">What is it about sports?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">Sisters is a sports-mad town in a sports-mad nation. While it didn’t generate as much ink as some issues have, there was a lot of chatter sparked by the school district letting two winning coaches go.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">As one woman noted to me, you sure wouldn’t see that kind of passion about a math teacher.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">Sports on all levels, from Little League to professional teams, rev a lot of engines. It’s big business, sure, but it’s more than that. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">It can’t really be about the games themselves. Taken at their most basic, most sports are kinda silly. Throwing a ball through a hoop? Really? Banging a ball back and forth across a net? Who cares? Skating around chasing a rubber disk with a curved stick? Weird…</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">But such games transcend their raw contents and become all-consuming passions. Sports hit some deep chord within many people. Some of it’s tribal — my tribe against your tribe in ritual combat. Some of it’s personal.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">Mr. SHS contestant Connor Morgan made a presentation at pageant about his passion for lacrosse and all the life lessons it had taught him. Primary among these was persistence. He apparently wasn’t naturally good at the sport when he took it up, but he stuck with it and it brings him great joy and satisfaction.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">How can you gainsay the value of a passion like that?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">My own experience of sports has been sort of ambiguous. While I’m a very physical person, I tend to get more out of the arts than I ever did out of sports. In fact, I guess I really experience the two in much the same way. I enjoy watching football and hockey, but high-level performance is more exciting to me than who wins or loses. The last time I actually cared about a team was when the Kings were vying for a Stanley Cup almost 20 years ago.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">And yet…</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">I love to go out and battle on a tennis court and watching the Nadal/Djokovic Australian Open final filled me with awe and moved me in a way that is usually reserved for music I love.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">Powerful stuff, sports.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">You can argue that sports get too much emphasis, both in Sisters and in the broader culture. Maybe it’s true; I think so, sometimes. But something that means so much to so many… there’s something important there, something deeply meaningful. I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it — and you see it a lot in Sisters.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"American Typewriter"">Jim Cornelius, Editor </span></p>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-59597023304762949332012-01-09T07:50:00.000-08:002012-01-09T07:55:14.012-08:00What do you do about Wild Mountain?<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Ky Karnecki’s request to be allowed to continue operating his Wild Mountain food stand through the winter creates a quandary for a city that is trying to project a business-friendly image while requiring everybody to play by the same set of rules.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Just based on the facts, the situation’s pretty clear-cut. Karnecki applied for and was granted a temporary operating permit for a seasonal business. That permit is expired. He can apply for a new one. End of story, right?</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times;">If the city grants back-to-back-to-back temporary permits, the business is, in effect, permanent — and Karnecki can’t make the property improvements required for permanence. Letting that slide wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the businesses in Sisters that have to play by the rules.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family: Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">But maybe, some say, food stands like Karnecki’s should be treated as a different class of business and allowed to operate year-round. That would require a development code change, which isn’t going to happen in a day or two. Should Karnecki be able to stay open until the planning commission says yea or nay on making that change?</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Karnecki says he’s up against it; can’t keep going at all if he can’t keep going through winter. Sisters hardly wants to see another business fail. But if you start making exceptions to clear-cut regulations, where do you stop? Is it the city’s problem that Karnecki didn’t make enough during his operating season to sustain himself? What about other businesses that are struggling? What should the city do to help them?</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The city council should certainly make time for Karnecki to make his case — and it looks like that’s going to happen at their Thursday, January 12, meeting. It might be helpful for the citizenry to weigh in.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:.1pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1pt; margin-left:0in;mso-para-margin-top:.01gd;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd;mso-para-margin-left:0in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Jim Cornelius, Editor</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times"> </span></p>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-33556536236830684102011-12-09T13:16:00.001-08:002011-12-09T13:16:25.517-08:00Teachable moments on Facebook<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} h1 {mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char"; mso-style-next:Normal; margin-top:24.0pt; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after:avoid; mso-outline-level:1; font-size:16.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#345A8A; mso-font-kerning:0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;} p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText {mso-style-link:"Body Text Char"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:6.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} span.Heading1Char {mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char"; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"Heading 1"; mso-ansi-font-size:16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#345A8A; font-weight:bold;} span.BodyTextChar {mso-style-name:"Body Text Char"; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"Body Text";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --></style>A high school teacher is under fire in New Jersey for taking to her Facebook page to argue that “homosexuality is a perverted spirit” and complaining about recognition of October as LGBT History Month in school.<br /><br /><p class="MsoBodyText">A Bronx High School principal posted a Facebook profile picture of herself slathered in chocolate syrup dancing with a half-naked man. (She’s also under fire for allegedly improper crediting of students).</p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><br />A couple of years ago, a teacher in Georgia was fired because of European vacation pictures that showed her holding beer or wine glasses (she said she was drinking but not intoxicated). Her page also included an unspecified expletive.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoBodyText">A first-grade teacher faces losing her job after posting on Facebook a comment about being “a warden for future criminals.”</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">Raises some interesting questions. Are educators more constrained than the rest of us when it comes to freedom of expression in their off-work lives? Sisters Schools Superintendent Jim Golden says yes.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">“Like it or not, like a judge or a policeman, you’re held to a higher standard,” he told The Nugget.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">But what standard, exactly?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I can see disciplining or firing a teacher whose comments indicate a serious bias against a group of students he or she is supposed to serve.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">“If I say something racist, I’m probably going to get fired,” Golden says. “And I probably deserve to be fired.”</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">OK, I get that.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">But what if you’ve just had a crappy day and pop off about your students being “future criminals”? Is letting off steam something to kill a career over? If the teacher said that to a friend over a stiff drink in a bar (and I’m sure every teacher has said something like it at least once) it wouldn’t have been any kind of big deal. Because it’s on Facebook, it became a big deal.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">And raising a pint of Guinness in Dublin and letting your friends see the pix on Facebook? Come on! What’s wrong with that?</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">Sisters School District does not have a specific policy about teachers’ use of social media. Golden said such uses fall under state standards and practices guidelines — but the standards of an “ethical educator” don’t address this area specifically either.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">You could argue a couple of different sides to this question. On one hand, teachers should be able to have lives outside the classroom and away from their students. Those lives might even be R-rated. They should be able to express their opinions and let their hair down.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">But Superintendent Golden is right — you’re never NOT a teacher, even when you’re off duty. Comes with the job. And you’re still a teacher on your Facebook page.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">Social media is a useful tool, perhaps, though it also seems like a gigantic time-suck and an arena custom-made for preening narcissists. It certainly is not a secure venue in which to vent your spleen or show off your chocolate-covered dance moves. You can’t help wondering with these and some Twitter scandals, “What were they thinking?” Maybe there’s some weird dissociative aspect to the Internet that encourages people to post and say things that they would think twice about showing or saying in mixed company.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">Sisters School District may not have a social media policy, but maybe a good one would be: Don’t post anything you wouldn’t show or say at a school board meeting. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jim Cornelius, Editor</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-63093692384040663822011-10-10T12:44:00.001-07:002011-10-10T12:48:50.381-07:00Wartime bluesA friend of mine who is actively involved in veterans' affairs sent me a link to the Web site of folk singer/songwriter <a href="http://%20www.jasonmoon.org/">Jason Moon.</a> He's an Iraq War veteran who has struggled with PTSD and is using his music to heal himself and for outreach to others with similar problems.<br /><br />Well worth a listen: <a href="http://%20www.jasonmoon.org/">www.jasonmoon.org</a>.<br />Jim Cornelius, Editoreditorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-5006707704387574062011-09-27T12:19:00.001-07:002011-09-27T13:35:59.462-07:00Whatever happened to the American Left?<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Just listened to an NPR “Talk of the Nation” piece entitled “Whatever Happened to the American Left?” </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The premise was that the right has, over a period of decades, come to dominate the political discourse through greater message discipline, building better “movement” infrastructure and the development of bully pulpits including talk radio, the Internet and niche magazines. It was all interesting and the analysis was fine — as far as it went. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">But it missed what I consider to be the biggest reason that the left is on its heels, despite putting Barack Obama in the White House in a landslide in 2008. That reason is cultural: the left has allowed itself to be perceived as effete, elitist and anti-patriotic. That’s a caricature, of course, but many on the left seem unable to stop sharpening the pencil that draws it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Two local cases in point: </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Back in 2004, I was having a conversation with a local Democratic Party activist who must have assumed we were of like mind because we both disliked George W. Bush and opposed the Iraq war. This woman fulminated against all the “flag wavers,” essentially depicting patriotic Americans as dupes and rubes. I said, “I hate to tell you this, but I have a flag pole in my front yard and I fly the American flag every day.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">“But… but…” she spluttered, “You read books!”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">No kidding. She really said that.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">More recently, my friend Jack McGowan gave a beautiful, heartfelt invocation during the Sisters Folk Festival’s community show on Sunday, September 11, remembering the attacks of 10 years before and his experience as a member of Oregon’s Flight for Freedom, which went to New York City to show solidarity with that wounded metropolis. He closed with the third stanza of “America the Beautiful”: <span style="font-style: italic;">Thine alabaster cities gleam/Undimmed by human tears.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Later, someone expressed to me some mild discomfort at the patriotic tenor of Jack’s words. Huh?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The American Left has alienated itself from its natural work-for-a-living constituency because it has allowed itself to be portrayed as anti-American. And that, I’m afraid, is because some on the left <span style="font-style: italic;">are</span> anti-American. Too bad, because America needs a genuine progressive voice to continue to ensure that the blessings of liberty are extended to all its citizens, to promote the access to opportunity and the principle of the common weal that are essential to making the pursuit of happiness more than a chimera for the vast bulk of our population.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Back in ’04, Howard Dean said his party needed to be talking to the guy with the Confederate flag on his pickup truck bumper. He was right. Of course he got so much crap for it that he climbed down. By 2008, candidate Obama was talking to a San Francisco fundraising crowd about folks bitterly clinging to guns and religion.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Well, if you’re trying to come across as an elitist snob, that’s a pretty good job of it. That’s how the left has ceded the field to the likes of W — a blueblood born-on-third-base aristocrat posing as some kind of regular guy. It’s pathetic and ridiculous.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’ve seen this before. I went to college in Santa Cruz and my girlfriend at the time went to Berkeley, so I was exposed to plenty of idiots who claimed to speak for “the people” yet obviously despised them. Until those kinds of voices are marginalized, until the American Left embraces the “American” part of that moniker, there will never again be a successful progressive movement in this country. Who wants to work with people who look down on them?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And until there are real countervailing sources of power, the looters will continue to pillage a once-great nation.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jim Cornelius, Editor </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-45118566543698574252011-08-09T11:13:00.000-07:002011-08-09T11:28:47.973-07:00Fat, broke and ignorant. Is this the best we can do? <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} h1 {mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char"; mso-style-next:Normal; margin-top:24.0pt; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan lines-together; page-break-after:avoid; mso-outline-level:1; font-size:16.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#345A8A; mso-font-kerning:0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;} p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText {mso-style-link:"Body Text Char"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:6.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} span.Heading1Char {mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char"; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"Heading 1"; mso-ansi-font-size:16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:16.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:major-bidi; color:#345A8A; font-weight:bold;} span.BodyTextChar {mso-style-name:"Body Text Char"; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"Body Text";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoBodyText">I laid a bum trip on my brother yesterday, as the stock market plunged 630 points. I called him up and opined that the S&P credit downgrade was just a milepost on the road to the collapse of civilization as we know it.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText">Cheerfully, of course.
<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">Not sure it was appreciated. He’s a small business owner trying to navigate the shoals and buffeting winds of our nasty economic condition. A dose of “we are well-and-truly screwed” isn’t especially helpful. </p> <p class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText">I do that a lot. Can’t help it; I’m a cultural pessimist. Being a student of history will do that to you. After all, it’s all about picking through the ash heap of nations and civilizations that flourished, flowered and fell. Unfortunately, the U.S. keeps throwing up mileposts on the highway to oblivion. </p> <p class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText">More than 60 percent of Americans are overweight and more than 20 percent qualify as obese. Before anyone accuses me of “fatism,” let me state right here that I’m not advocating government intervention in people’s lifestyle choices. But criminy, folks! How can you create a vigorous culture when you can’t do a pushup? The burdens of obesity-related health problems on our health care system are, well, huge. We all pay for this, one way or another.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText">America is merely average in international education rankings, which doesn’t bode well for our potential leadership in an information-based economy. A shocking number of people lack basic communication and mathematical skills. This ain’t good, people.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText">Then there’s the national debt. Sovereign debt is a huge problem across the developed world; we’re not alone here. But it’s grating (if unsurprising) to see a problem that requires wise policy decisions and concerted effort degenerate into a farcical American partisan political circus. I don’t believe for a minute that the folks we send to congress — most of them at least — don’t recognize that getting out of this debt hole will require genuine entitlement reform (that’s where the big money is) and higher taxes. But both left and right are so wedded to zero-sum ideological positions that a comprehensive tackling of the nation’s finances is impossible.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText">S&P may have been out of line in basing their downgrade on a political judgment (and what's with a $2 trillion math error in the analysis? See above.) Still, they aren’t wrong. We’re dysfunctional and there is little prospect of that changing. And President Obama has got to stop blaming Bush for everything. Seriously. It doesn’t help.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText">The pessimist in me teeters on the brink of cynicism — a belief that what’s broken can’t be fixed. We're fat, broke and ignorant and we're gonna stay that way. The patriot in me wants to shout: “Is this the best we can do? No! C’mon, get it together America!” The pragmatist says, just do what you can where you are. That’s my brother’s approach and I think he’s got it right. I’ll try not to throw any more buckets of doom his way.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText">Jim Cornelius, Editor</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-49651407562017619842011-07-15T09:13:00.000-07:002011-07-15T09:24:39.012-07:00Don’t know much about history…<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"American Typewriter"; panose-1:2 9 6 4 2 0 4 2 3 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" >Just read that California is going to require the teaching of gay history. Swell.</span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" ><br /></span> </p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" >Not that I have any problem acknowledging that there were gay people doing significant things throughout history, just as there are today (although the concept of “gayness” is a recent development). My problem is with the breaking of history into smaller and smaller subsets, to the point where it’s just a bunch of pieces of tile, not a mosaic.</span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" > </span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">David McCullough, one of the finest popular historians ever to put pen to paper, had this to say on the subject: </span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:"American Typewriter";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:"American Typewriter";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-size:100%;" ></span></p><blockquote style="font-family: times new roman;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=" American Typewriter";font-size:100%;" >"History is often taught in categories—women's history, African American history, environmental history — so that many of the students have no sense of chronology. They have no idea what followed what."</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style=" American Typewriter";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0.1pt 0in;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a name="U502417513121Q5F"></a></span><span style=" American Typewriter";font-size:100%;" >What's more, many textbooks have become "so politically correct as to be comic. Very minor characters that are currently fashionable are given considerable space, whereas people of major consequence farther back"—such as, say, Thomas Edison—"are given very little space or none at all."</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" American Typewriter";font-size:100%;" > </span></p></blockquote><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" ></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" >In the sixth grade, my daughter spent a lot of time learning about Africa and did a project on Tanzania. She enjoyed it, learned a lot, did well on her project. But she hasn’t learned boo about how her own country works. What she knows, she’s learned from her parents.</span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" >I’m all for a broad perspective on the wide and wonderful world, but dammit, it is not xenophobic to expect your child to learn her own history first. Sorry, but it is much more important for her to understand the U.S. Constitution than it is for her to know about Tanzania.</span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal">The Department of Education’s 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress found that only 12 percent of high-school seniors have a firm grasp of our nation's history. That's pathetic.<br /></p><span style="font-size:16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family:"American Typewriter";mso-bidi-Times New Roman"font-size:100%;" ></span><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" >Most Americans don’t know in which century the Civil War occurred, much less anything about its causes and effects. Even fewer have any grasp of how the American economy developed or how the rights they take for granted were won.</span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi-American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" >Breaking history free of a fixation on the mainstream triumphalist narrative that dominated for many decades is a good thing. A great thing. But you can’t appreciate <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Renegade-History-United-States/dp/141657106X">“A Renegade History of the United States”</a> (which is wonderful, BTW) if you have no clue about what happened in the first place. If you don’t understand the narrative, a counter narrative or alternative narrative doesn’t have any resonance.</span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" >Unless there’s a grasp of the bigger picture, all the pieces of women’s history, African-American history, gay history or whatever, don’t have any context. They are rendered essentially meaningless.</span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi- American Typewriter"font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" >When only 12 percent have a firm grasp of the subject, I’d say that we should stop worrying about teaching gay history and try just teaching history.</span></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-family: times new roman;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 16pt;font-size:100%;" >Jim Cornelius, Editor<br /></span></p>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-56110213917703513022011-06-12T09:50:00.000-07:002011-06-12T10:07:44.411-07:00‘Back to basics’ is a false choice<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Century; panose-1:2 4 6 4 5 5 5 2 3 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> School board member-elect Andrew Gorayeb’s concerns about <a href="http://www.nuggetnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=18503&TM=46232.04">Sisters students’ preparation for the SAT exams</a> has sparked an interesting dialogue in Letters to the Editor, with more coming in the June 15 issue.</span></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" ><a href="http://www.nuggetnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=17&SubSectionID=17&ArticleID=18566&TM=46278.52"><br /></a></span></p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><a href="http://www.nuggetnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=17&SubSectionID=17&ArticleID=18566&TM=46278.52">In a letter last week</a>, Eugene Trahern asked,</span></p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /></span></p><blockquote style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">“How can students who are near the top of their class in GPA be, to put it bluntly, mediocre at best on the SAT? The answer is that there is such a high emphasis on the arts program in Sisters, that the school district is missing the basics.”</span></blockquote><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;"> </span></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;">In arguing that “math, science, and good writing skills need to be emphasized at Sisters, not art projects,” I think Mr. Trahern poses a false choice.</span></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;"> </span></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;">Note here that I have a dog in the fight. The Sisters Folk Festival, which I have been involved with for many years, has invested significantly in the creation of a music education outreach program, the Americana Project, and a guitar building program at Sisters High School.</span></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;">Obviously, I believe in the importance of the arts in education.</span></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;">I would argue that “math, science, and good writing skills” need to be emphasized at Sisters <span style="font-style: italic;">along with</span> “art projects.” And, properly conducted, those art projects can enhance the learning of those basics. </span></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" > </span><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;color:black;">For centuries the, the ideal of an educated person has been the “Renaissance man,” the scholar-athlete-artist-scientist. What a rich ideal to strive toward. David Crabtree, President of Gutenberg College, told a large assemblage at the proposed Sisters site of the college that he believes that higher education in the U.S. has become synonymous with vocational training and advocated passionately for the value of a liberal arts education. The students I met there impressed me as being very well educated indeed.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The answer to grade-inflation and weak performance on standardized tests is to go after those problems directly, not to tear down aspects of the program that are working well. What is wanted is more rigor in all areas, not a narrowing of focus.</span></p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;" face="trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"> </p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;" face="trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">In any case, it is gratifying to see so many people engaging with the question of what education in Sisters schools should be. I encourage them all to turn out to school board meetings, contact their school board members and share their concerns, their passions and their ideas. This district is small enough that, with a high level of engagement, we can make positive changes, despite dwindling resources.</span></p><p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Jim Cornelius, Editor</span></p>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-19521707103355241792011-05-20T09:24:00.000-07:002011-05-23T07:04:23.870-07:00The Imperial Presidency<style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal">Looks like President Obama intends to <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/libya-president-obama-congress-faces-questions-war-powers-act/story?id=13642002">violate the War Powers Act</a> vis a vis U.S. involvement in the NATO action in Libya.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">One more brick in the edifice of the Imperial Presidency. I considered President Bush’s war in Iraq to be reckless, misconceived and ultimately dishonest — but Bush did get congressional authorization for his act.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yale law professors Bruce Ackerman and Oona Hathaway <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/death-of-the-war-powers-act/2011/05/17/AF3Jh35G_story.html">wrote this week in the Washington Post</a>: "If nothing happens, history will say that the War Powers Act was condemned a quiet death by a president who had solemnly pledged, on the campaign trail, to put an end to indiscriminate war making."</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">There you have it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>From a Nobel Peace Prize honoree, no less.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jim Cornelius, Editor</p>editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8013770732504059370.post-72725492944856067902011-05-08T09:56:00.000-07:002011-05-08T09:58:04.456-07:00The king of sports?Let me first acknowledge for the record that I am insanely jealous.<br /><br />I mean, despite the handicaps of growing up in the SoCal suburbs, I had a great childhood. I got to be a ridge runner in Wrightwood instead of a suburban mall rat. I was a pretty good baseball player and mostly enjoyed it. I played tennis and had a ball collecting bruises in rollerblade hockey. All good. But I really missed out on something in my athletic endeavors.<br /><br />WHERE WAS LACROSSE?<br /><br />I would have loved to play lacrosse — loved it. But from the vantage point of ’70s and ’80s Southern California, lacrosse was an old American Indian game or the obscure sport of elite northeastern colleges. Actually, nobody paid any attention to lacrosse at all.<br /><br />Now it’s all the rage across the West. I hope the Outlaws know how lucky they are. It seems like they do — the sport sure has caught on.<br /><br />Lacrosse may be the king of sports — along with hockey, which it resembles. It’s fast, it’s rough, it’s got a true American pedigree. Heck, it even played a tactically significant role in a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLLqRVQhzII">major battle</a> in Pontiac’s Uprising in 1763. How cool is that? (Actually, not so cool for the British garrison of Fort Michilimackinac, but c’est la guerre, you know...).<br /><br />Now lacrosse is a big deal in Sisters. A really big deal. As in bringing more than 1,000 people to town for a tournament, where they eat, sleep and shop, infusing tens of thousands of dollars into a local economy that can really use the shot in the arm.<br /><br />Hats off to Bill Rexford and Andrew Gorayeb, to Ryan Moffat of the Sisters Parks and Recreation District and all the others who put together last weekend’s Sisters Annual Lacrosse Invitational (SALI).<br /><br />This is how Sisters’ signature events — from the quilt show to the folk festival to the rodeo — happen. Individuals with a passion for a sport, an art, a way of life, come together manifest something that benefits the broader community.<br /><br />And for all of us pining away on the sidelines, maybe we can get some novice play for creaky middle-aged guys...<br /><br />Jim Cornelius, Editoreditorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18298399110078317876noreply@blogger.com1