Immigration
Anyone following the current immigration debate has to be disillusioned with our government. It is not only the immigration policy that is "broken," it is also Congress, including both Democrats and Republicans.
It is clear to me that many in Congress do not want to control our borders, or overstays on visa permits. They want cheap labor and future partisan voters to fill our country. Worse, a number of congressmen, including Senator Merkley, have sent emails extolling the virtues of "dreamers" and emphasizing they have personally met with individuals who were brought to this country illegally.
Wouldn't it be refreshing to see our senators meet with some of the hundreds of homeless children in Oregon, or dropouts from our school system, which has the third worst dropout rate in the U.S.
Consider the number of children in the U.S. and Oregon who are underinsured. There is only so much money to go around and, although many politicians won't admit it, illegal immigrants and refugees in the thousands, are absorbing funds that should go to needy citizens.
—Mike Miller
Internet Pornography at Deschutes Library
I inadvertently saw someone watching a pornographic video on a public computer at the downtown Bend library. I informed the librarian who took immediate action to require the patron to stop. Through further inquiry, I learned that there are no internet filters at the library. However, individual libraries can set rules requiring that patrons stop viewing pornography if they are caught and may even lose internet privilege. As I understand, unfiltered Internet access at a public library is a Constitutional right. What about the rights of a person to feel safe in a public library, especially those who have been sexually assaulted via pornography? A millisecond of accidental exposure to a trigger can generate a PTSD response that may take weeks or months to work through. I hope, by bringing this incident to public awareness, that better safety measures in our public libraries, shall one day be instituted to protect vulnerable people.
—Pat Homeyer
Deschutes County Circuit Courts Corrupt?
Do judges have bias, do they distribute judgments after listening to all sides of an issue. One wants to believe innocent until proven guilty is an ideal that is carried out in our courtrooms. That we will all get our day and time to be heard in court. But the truth is we have much bias in our local court house. We have judges that need to step down because they clearly are burnt out and already decided about your fate because they hear so many of the same stories over and over. But everyone deserves a real hearing! What may be 95 percent of the time true there is 5 percent of the time that unique circumstances exist and these unique people are very discouraged and rightfully upset. We assume we will get the chance to tell our story and that the judge will listen to it. This is not at all the case and I know several very sad stories that make me hate Deschutes County. It is corrupt all the way through because they will not step off a ledge and go against any other circuit person the(y) stick together like glue. The only way to have justice is to get out of area attorney that isn't afraid to pull the covers and argue what is right. They will more often see results for the paying party because the circuit locally doesn't want any outsiders creating any waves for what has been here for decades. They might make problems for the continued misconduct so they are given these rare cases usually. People do not realize this and should be aware. Look for other cases similar to yours to get the judges tendency for ruling and "bias" then make the decision to hire out of area or not. TrueType some negative and unethical judges and lawyers in Bend Oregon.
—Mimi Kasum Franke
Wolves and rural attitudes
Melissa Hogan questioned how the introduction of Canadian-born wolves into Eastern Oregon could possibly be considered a good thing since they occasionally kill Cattle and dogs that are left chained up (Source Weekly 12/21/2017). Many Eastern Oregonians and other rural Westerners think that the alleged importance of biodiversity is a hoax perpetrated by environmental elitists, liberal Democrats, and the completely evil federal government. Ecology is considered fake science and many feel that only a few animals are necessary for an optimal rural existence: Cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, deer, elk, antelope, and permanently chained or kenneled dogs who spend their entire lives functioning solely as burglar alarms. Most wildlife interferes with Cattle ranching in some way so is not welcome: birds might eat livestock feed, and coyotes dig holes and howl at night.
Rural Western Republicans are grateful to their President for appointing the EPA's main legalistic enemy as its chairman and for unlocking federal land for Cattle to dominate and desecrate with cow pies. Many were delighted when the Feds were kept off land which, according to Constitutional scholar Ammon Bundy, Cattle ranchers actually own!
Many rural Westerners absorb only Rush's spittle-spewing rants and keep their minds closed to what they see as irrelevant and fake science pumped out by the urban liberal media. It's a painfully simple equation in the rural West: Cattle, cowboys, and guns are the Holy Triumvirate Of Pure Good; wolves, environmentalists, liberal Democrats, biodiversity, and fake ecological warnings are loathsomely bad.
—Eddie Kinnamon
Letter of the Week
Eddie— Come on in for your gift card to Palate and then go get yourself some espresso, because the battles with our "local" Constitutional scholars are only just beginning, and you're gonna need some extra energy to keep sane/informed/vigilant. And oh yeah, go wolves!
—Nicole Vulcan, Editor
