PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

He’s unethical.

He’s immoral.

He’s a liar.

He’s a cheater.

He’s a fake.

He’s a narcissist who sacrifices the well-being of the country for his own self.

And, incredibly, he’s the president of the United States of America.

And, now he wants to delay the election.  Guess why?  He’ll lose.\

Enough said!

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Washington Post editor Fred Hiatt asked the following question in a piece that ran on-line this morning:

How much controversy can there be about whether to capitalize the first letter in a word?

In the case of word black/Black, the answer is a lot.

Those who favor capitalizing the word could believe that doing so underlines the importance of recognizing racism, even subtle racism, and doing something about it.

Those who oppose capitalizing the word could believe it is not worth the time and energy around such a minute, irrelevant  detail, including that many of these individuals could believe racism is an overblown issue in today’s society.

Further, there is also an issue about whether the word “white/White” should be capitalized if the word Black is.

Here is how the editor Hiatt framed the issue in his column today:

“The social justice movement that gained force in the wake of George Floyd’s brutal killing under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer has spurred calls to start capitalizing the word “Black.” Many news organizations have shifted their style; The Post is considering the question.

“But if you capitalize ‘Black,’ what about ‘white’?  A capital W can evoke the odious writings of white supremacists, so many people resist that change.

“Historian Nell Irvin Painter did, too, at first — but she has reconsidered while also cautioning: “One way of re-making race is through spelling — using or not using capital letters. A more potent way, of course, is through behavior.”

Painter is right.  The most potent way to express anti-racism is through improved behavior, not through just spelling.

Still, as a former journalist – someone who followed elements of writing style throughout my professional career – spelling, including capitalization, is important, at least to me.

So, here are excerpts from the Painter essay that appeared in the Washington Post:

“Restructuring policing in ways that matter will take years, and many more Confederate monuments remain standing than have come down. But in these past few earth-shaking months, one change has advanced with startling speed:  All this social upheaval has suddenly and widely restored a capital B to the word ‘Black.’

“I say ‘restored,’ because that capital B appeared in the 1970s.  I used it myself.  Then, editors, uncomfortable with both the odd combination of uppercase ‘Black’ and lowercase ‘white,’ and the unfamiliar, bumpy ‘Black and White,’ took off both capital letters. ‘Black’ returned to ‘black.’

“In the wake of massive George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, however, media outlets and journalist associations are re-embracing the capital B.  The Associated Press, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and many others took the step. (The Post has said it is considering the change.)

“Even Fox News joined the crowd. The most common motive can be summed up as respect. To many, the case for capitalizing ‘Black’ seemed obvious, whether as an ethnicity or a racial designation.”

But, Painter asks, what about “white”?

He adds:  “My initial thinking:  When I compare the cultural, intellectual and historical heft of the three categories, ‘Black’ comes out well ahead of ‘white’ and ‘brown.’  We have whole libraries of books and articles about ‘Blackness,’ world-beating traditions of music and literature, even entire academic departments 30 to 50 years old specializing in African American/black studies.

“Compared with blackness, whiteness and brownness are severely under-theorized.”

So, if this issue is important to me, what would I favor?

If it were up to me as king for a day, I would favor capitalizing any color – White, BlacK, Brown or any other – that referred to a race of people.

It is simply one small thing I can do to express my commitment that all races are equal, including and especially in the eyes of God.

If, by such action, someone were to believe that I was expressing something more profound about racism than just capitalization, so be it.

Also, in the end, the essayist Painter has the best point, this:  The most potent way to express commitment to equality is through behavior.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I was toying this morning with what to write in a new blog post – or whether to write anything at all.

Then, as fate would have it, I read a column in the Washington Post  by one of its opinion writers, Michael Gerson.

He has credentials for his task.  He is the author of “Heroic Conservatism” (HarperOne, 2007) and co-author of “City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era” (Moody, 2010).  He appears regularly on the “PBS NewsHour,” “Face the Nation” and other programs.

Gerson serves as senior adviser at One, a bi-partisan organization dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases.

Until 2006, Gerson was a top aide to President George W. Bush as assistant to the president for policy and strategic planning.  Prior to that appointment, he served in the White House as deputy assistant to the president and director of presidential speechwriting and assistant to the president for speechwriting and policy adviser.

So, it should come as no big surprise that I chose, instead of writing something myself, to post Gerson’s excellent column as he skewers President Donald Trump.

Here’s the column.

President Trump, who constantly and falsely claims superlative achievements in every field of human endeavor, has every right to one historical claim: He is the king of lies. Trump’s presidency has offered up an endless Las Vegas buffet of completely shameless, sometimes laughable, often malicious, always self-serving falsehoods.

Among the most relentless chroniclers of this record have been The Post’s Fact Checker staff: Glenn Kessler, Salvador Rizzo, Meg Kelly and Sarah Cahlan. Their use of a Pinocchio scale to rate the truthfulness of political statements has become a Washington tradition. Its application is meticulously bipartisan. But for the past five or so years, Trump has been the predominant source of content. Now the president’s prodigious Pinocchios have been gathered into a thick volume, “Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth.”

The authors present not just a paper trail but an avalanche of confirmation for their thesis. They recount Trump’s deceptions about his academic career, his business accomplishments, his enemies, his achievements, his sex and corruption scandals. There are lies that might amuse you (like his false claim to be a Swede), or appall you (like his revision of a National Weather Service map to justify a false claim), or anger you (like his slanders against John McCain, former FBI director James B. Comey and former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III), or frighten you (like his invented claims of electoral fraud).

There is a kind of truth shading that normally attends politics. And when a public official intends to deceive, journalists sometimes debate whether to term this a “lie,” or whether to call its author a “liar.” We are far past this point with Trump. This is not a case of omitting inconvenient truths. It is deception as a lifestyle choice. It is compulsive violation of the Ninth Commandment. The president is a bold, intentional liar, by any moral definition. A habitual liar. A blatant liar. An instinctual liar. A reckless liar. An ignorant liar. A pathological liar. A hopeless liar. A gratuitous liar. A malevolent liar.

Trump fans may support him despite his lies. They may support him because he lies. But they cannot deny that he is a liar. That is the definition of a being a delusional, partisan crackpot.

The systematic presentation of the president’s deceptions serves an important public purpose. With Trump, these are not regrettable exceptions. The lies are the shape of the man. Their composite reveals a type of truth about his goals and character.

Why does lying really matter? There are, of course, compelling moral reasons. Lies exploit and abuse the trust of those around us. They sever relationships. They poison love.

But there are also practical and compelling civic reasons that truth makes a difference. As the pandemic has shown, we need reliable information to make rational, healthy choices. Deceptive optimism, distrust of experts and the circulation of myths have a human cost — measured in lost lives and delayed national recovery.

More broadly, Trump engages in a particularly ambitious form of political deception. With the help of a compliant right-wing media, he uses repeated falsehoods and conspiracy thinking to create an alternative mental universe for his strongest supporters to dwell in.

Trump’s lies purposely and effectively disconnect a portion of the public from political reality. In this manufactured world, the United States is on the edge of ruin by scheming subversives. Political opponents are not fellow citizens but traitors plotting against the country. Political dialogue and shared democratic purpose become almost impossible. Such distortions are the dangerous culmination of polarization — the polarization of truth itself.

Trump’s lies are especially destructive because they are often designed to encourage dehumanization. Immigrants and outsiders are frequent targets. When he falsely charges some American Muslims with celebrating after the attacks of 9/11, or falsely accuses Mexican migrants of a disposition toward rape and violence, Trump is harnessing falsehood in the cause of bigotry. These are slanders against whole religions and ethnicities. In politics, there is often a tie between deception and malice. Lies are particularly useful in the manipulation of fear.

Reading “Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth” is an exercise in civic awareness. This is what happens when a great many Americans ignore character and dismiss deception. We can’t expect our leaders to be perfect men and women.

But we have every right and reason to demand that they are honest and decent. Fortunately, an election result, like a lie, can be corrected.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I have always thought there were three kinds of people in this world – those who like numbers, those who like charts and graphs, and those who like words.

Of course, there is crossover among those categories.

But, put me in the “I like words” camp.

So it is that, in this blog, I write about one of my favorite subjects – words.

First, consider the word “sanction.”  It has two meanings – and they are the reverse of each other.

According to the dictionary, the word sanction means:

• Permission or approval, as for an action.
• Supporting an action, condition, something that gives binding force, as to an oath, rule of conduct.

So, if you are sanctioned, it could mean that the person doing the sanctioning intends to give you permission for an action.  Or, it could mean you are being punished for an action.

Strange this English language.

Second, consider the word “admit.”

When I was a journalist in my past, I always was cautious about the use of the word because I thought it could contain some hidden meanings.

If, for example, I was quoting a local official in Astoria, Oregon where I worked for the Daily Astorian newspaper, I could write this:  “The member of the City Council admitted he misunderstood the specifics of the issue before the Council.”

Probably would been better to write, “The member of the City Council said…”

The word “said” is more neutral.  The word “admitted” suggests he agreed he was guilty of something.

Clearly, all of this means more in today’s journalism when bigger issues are at stake than a relatively small matter before a local city council.

But, in this case – and others – words matter.

Finally, the following is list of word-phrases that I drew on during my 40-year career in government, including 25 years as a “lobbyist” – a word, frankly, that can carry negative connotations these days — but, I add, not for me.

Here are the phrases:

• Legislators behaved as if they were in a “circular firing squad”
• Legislators often portrayed this strategy – “ready, shoot, aim”
• The bad bill was like “a camel’s nose under the tent”
• Or, the bad bill was “the first step down a slippery slope”
• There often is a truth in lobbying – “what goes around comes around,” which means that most single issues are related to other issues so keep your powder dry
• And, I say with an appropriate does of modesty, one of my credentials as a lobbyist was “your word is your bond”

See, now you know – words matter!

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

There was another golf rules fiasco in a pro tournament last weekend.

It’s too bad because such issues can take away from well-played golf as happened on the  Jack Nicklaus famed Memorial Golf Course in Dublin, Ohio.

This time the situation dealt with an issue that I thought had been solved a couple years ago.  It was this:  Should television video coverage which happens to spot a potential rules violation be used to issue a final ruling?

My answer is no.

And I thought the TV stuff had been removed totally.

Not so.

In this situation, the leading golfer in the Memorial Tournament, Jon Rahm, had a shot from the rough just over the 16^th green as he headed toward the finish line.

The TV camera took a close-up as he addressed the golf ball.  To me and no doubt many other viewers, it looked like the ball could have moved, though it was in deep grass.  To my eye, though, the word “moved” is wrong: the ball oscillated, but it appeared to stay in its original position.  Further, Rahm did not improve his lie.

About two years ago, the USGA and R&A put in place two rules — known as Decision 34-3/10 – supposedly to stop television and viewers from having a role in calling golf penalties.

Under the rules, a player would not be penalized:

• When video evidence reveals things that could not reasonably be seen with the naked eye, and
• When a player has made a reasonable judgment about a golf rules situation.

After what happened to Ladies Professional Golf Association player Lexi Thompson two years ago at the ANA Inspiration tournament in the California desert, those in charge felt something had to be done.  Thompson was penalized four strokes during her final round because a viewer at home e-mailed in about Thompson mis-replacing her ball on the green in the third round.

Video evidence did seem to show that Thompson put her ball in a space other than where her marker was (by a short distance), and Thompson was hit with two penalty strokes for the incident and two for signing an incorrect card.  Infamously, she was assessed those penalties in the middle of her final round.

That was just the latest in a long list of viewer call-ins and emails. One of the most famous ones happened during the 2013 Masters when Tiger Woods dropped his ball farther back than he should have on the 15th hole and was penalized going into his third round based on calls from viewers.

The first portion of Decision 34-3/10 is relatively simple.  If you could not have reasonably seen your error (i.e. a ball moving one millimeter) and it is only revealed after a zoomed-in video reveals the mistake, you will not be penalized.  This is a good thing and will be more or less easy to apply to the game.

The second portion of the new rule is a little more vague.  Here is what the USGA and R&A say about it:

Players are often required to determine a spot, point, position, line, area, distance or other location on the course to use in applying the rules.  Such determinations need to be made promptly and with care, but often cannot be precise, and players should not be held to the degree of precision that can sometimes be provided by video technology.

A “reasonable judgment” standard is applied in evaluating the player’s actions in these situations:  So long as the player does what can reasonably be expected under the circumstances to make an accurate determination, the player’s reasonable judgment will be accepted even if later shown to be wrong by the use of video evidence.

So, what happened in the most recent example in involving Jon Rahm who won the Memorial Tournament?  We don’t know for sure, but, on the basis of the information above, he should not have been penalized.

It appears that Rahm and a senior golf rules official went into the scoring tent/building, viewed the TV footage and came away with a two-stroke penalty – which, I add, did not change the outcome.  Rahm still won.

Unfortunately, before going into the scoring area, tournament officials allowed Rahm to be interviewed by CBS-TV and the interviewer showed the bad form to ask Rahm about the possibility of a two-stroke penalty. The question was first he knew something was up.

To me, TV footage still appears to have played a huge role in this situation and that, despite the new rules, remains a problem.  Just think how many other situations a TV camera missed during the four days of play.  Then, one close-up produces a penalty.

Not good for the game of golf.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write. I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf. The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like. And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

This, remember, is one of three departments I run with a free hand to manage as I see fit.

The others are the Department of Pet Peeves and the Department of Good Quotes Worth Remembering.

The items below could fit in any of the departments, but, remember, I get to choose which departments are open and which are closed.

So, here are “Just Saying” items:

THE STATE OF OREGON BUDGET: State government leaders are preparing for another special legislative session later this summer and, this time, the subject will be the state budget, which must be in balance by the end of the two-year budget period next June.

Beyond health issues, the virus means a lot less revenue in personal and corporate income taxes, as well as lottery revenue.

The Oregonian newspaper included this paragraph this morning in a story on the subject:

“In a 13-page framework, the budget co-chairs — Representative Dan Rayfield, Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward and Senator Betsy Johnson — said they tried to ‘protect essential investments in public education, health care, child welfare, housing, economic development, and other critical areas during this unprecedented public health and economic crisis.’”

JUST SAYING, why is the word “essential” used in the co-chairs’ report? Shouldn’t all government programs be “essential.” If they are not “essential,” why fund them in the first place?

THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel wrote this morning that the presidential campaign has begun in earnest. Her words:

“Yet that (the campaign) began to change this week, with a contrast of the sort that could redefine this race. On Tuesday Biden released his $2 trillion climate-change plan—one of the few times he’s produced a detail on anything. It is radical—no surprise, since it is the product of a task force co-chaired by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“Biden vows to outlaw all use of coal and natural gas to generate electricity within 15 years. He’d ban oil and gas production on federal land and offshore. He’d drive to ‘zero emissions’ cars. He’d apply ‘aggressive’ new ‘appliance- and building-efficiency standards.’ He’d create a new ‘Environmental and Climate Justice Division’ of the Justice Department to mete out ‘jail time’ to corporate officials whose businesses ‘continue to pollute’ communities.”

JUST SAYING that, given Strassel’s report, not to mention other issues, the best approach for Biden may be to remain sequestered in his basement.

The fact that he gives standing to Ocasio-Cortez to propose anything is stunning. On the extreme far left, she operates just like Donald Trump on his side of the political spectrum, if he has a side at all. She rarely reads anything. She doesn’t know what she is talking about, yet she talks. She does not have the best interests of America at heart.

She should stay in New York where her main claim to fame is that she convinced Amazon not to make a huge investment in a headquarters location there – and her advocacy prompted Amazon to take its million dollar investment and 50,000 jobs elsewhere.\

SPEAKING OF OCASIO-CORTEZ (AOC): She made more waves the other day when she want after a Latino businessman who has made, not just money, but jobs for real people.

Here’s the way columnist William McGurn wrote about the issue in the Wall Street Journal:

“None of it matters to AOC and her comrades. In the same way it is futile to try to persuade mobs tearing down statues to distinguish between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, the progressives targeting Goya (the Latino businessman) aren’t interested in facts or debate.

“They aren’t interested because they don’t build, they only tear down.”

JUST SAYING that McGurn is right about Ocasio-Cortez and her ilk. Like Trump, “they don’t build, they only tear down.”

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write. I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf. The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like. And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

No one may care what I writE about the current trend toward political correctness in the naming of professional sports. But, as is often the case, that won’t stop from waxing eloquent.

The sports naming issue came to mind this morning as I read a column by Wall Street Journal Deputy Editorial Page Editor Daniel Henninger.

Under the headline, “Oh Yes, Ban the Redskins,” his column started this way:

“For now, the Washington Redskins are just the Washington Something or Others, a team with no name. After holding out for years against the inertial forces of political correctness, the Washington football team caved. Hmm, maybe ‘caved’ is inappropriate language now. They gave up.”

For my part, I have thought the term “redskins” was inappropriate and it turns out that many agree with me – or perhaps I agree with them.

But, then Henninger goes way over the top when he suggests that names which honor endangered species should have to go. As an example, he cites the Minnesota Timberwolves and says they should be called “the Minnesota Lutefisk.”

Say what?

And what in the world is “lutefisk?” Here, thanks to my friends at Google, is more than you may want to know – not to mention stomach – about lutefisk:

“Lutefisk is an interesting food because, unless you speak Norwegian (lutefisk) or Swedish (lutfisk), the name alone does not shed any light on what it actually is. Making things even trickier, if one were to show lutefisk to someone who has never heard of it, he or she still probably wouldn’t know what it is.

“The word ‘lutefisk’ translates to ‘lye fish,’ which is the first clue regarding this mystery meal, but it looks unlike any seafood most people have ever seen. I t’s white, semi-translucent, and, weirdest of all, gelatinous. Honestly, it looks like a cross between fat cells and some type of jellyfish Jell-O (apologies for that mental image). Okay, enough already, what in the heck is it?

“Lutefisk is whitefish — which refers to several species of finned fish such as cod, ling, or burbot — that has been air-dried and may or may not be salted. It is first soaked in cold water for five or six days, with the water changed daily. The now-saturated fish is then soaked again for two days in an unchanged solution of cold water and lye.

“Lye, for the record, is a substance obtained by leaching ashes, and is also known as sodium hydroxide. After this weeklong process, the fish loses half of its protein and gains a jelly-like consistency. It needs another four to six days of soaking in cold water, refreshed daily, before it is ready to be cooked.

“People apparently eat it after that.”

Not me!

Slings and arrows to Henninger for saying that lutefisk is a proper sports name.

It is not. I hated it once many years ago when I tried it and couldn’t eat anything for several days thereafter.

So, I say, “Go Timberwolves.”

**********

[Footnote: If you want more information on Henninger’s diatribe against the political correctness trend in the naming of sports teams (hard to believe you would], here’s what he wrote about the Portland Trailblazers and the San Francisco. “The Portland Trail Blazers celebrate genocidal pioneers. The San Francisco 49ers are named after 19th-century California gold-diggers who raped the environment.” Both, he says, should be changed. For more, go to the Wall Street Journal website.]

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write. I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf. The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like. And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Consider these paragraphs from a recent summary of golf this spring amidst the pandemic provided by Oregon Golf Association (OGA) CEO Barb Trammell:

“Since starting tournaments at the beginning of June, we have seen record sign-ups and participation. The Oregon Amateur had the highest number of entries for our qualifiers and junior golf is also booming.

“It has been a challenge with new protocols and the staff has done an outstanding job with handling all the nuances of monitoring social distancing, sanitizing touch points and minimizing spectators.

“We actually had some great press this year at the Oregon Am, too, with TV coverage!”

That’s good news for all of us who love golf.

And it’s good news because young players are taking up the game. The future of golf, of course, lies with the participation and commitment of people younger than me, even as I continue to play the game I love.

All of this is why I donate my time as a volunteer with the Oregon Golf Association (OGA) in at least two ways: Helping to officiate at junior and regular amateur golf tournaments, and serving on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the OGA.

Another piece of good news is that the course where I have played for more than 30 years in Salem, Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club, takes a variety of specific actions to boost junior golf.

This year, there are about 45 young people participating in the junior golf program, which is run by Illahe’s great assistant golf pros, B.J. Lewis and Blake Bowen.

It’s great to see the kids, with instruction, learning to play the game.

Here are just a few pieces of information on junior golf through the OGA:

* Eligibility:  Must be a current member of Oregon Junior Golf to participate in OJG Majors.  Must meet recommended scoring guidelines for your division.  Must be an amateur between the ages of 8-18 as of the final day of the tournament.

* Format:  Multiple day competitions.  All competitions are stroke play with the exception of the Bob Norquist Oregon Junior Amateur where junior golfers play one round of stroke play qualifying and match play the rest of the week.  Pee Wee Divisions generally play 9 holes each day; all other divisions play 18 holes each day.

* Girls Divisions:  Pee Wee Girls (8-9), Pee Wee Girls (10-11), Intermediate Girls (12-14), Girls (15-18), Girls Open (12-18). Please see specific competition for Oregon Junior Stroke Play and Bob Norquist Oregon Junior Amateur divisions.

* Boys Divisions:  Pee Wee Boys (8-9), Pee Wee Boys (10-11), Intermediate Boys (12-13), Boys (14-15), Junior Boys (16-18), and Boys Open (14-18).

One other issue is front and center these days. Not surprisingly, it is organizing tournaments with attention paid to safety and security amidst the pandemic. Various golf rules have been adjusted to enable play, which means people of all ages can get out on the course even as various other activities have been stopped or curtailed.

The fact that golf occurs outside is critical. If it was played inside some kind of pavilion as is the case with many other sports, golf would be on the sidelines.

My basic point in writing this blog: Junior golfers are playing the game which helps to assure the future of the game we love.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write. I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf. The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like. And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

One of the partners in my old lobbying and public relations firm contends almost every day that ALL Republicans who don’t disown Trump are committing gross sins.

He may have a point, but his generalization goes way too far.

Saying ALL Republicans bow at the Trump altar is like saying ALL Democrats favor the crazy U.S. representative, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.

Both Trump of them appeal to the worst instincts of Americans. They don’t read or study. They just emote. Figuratively, they yell on the street corner to announce their won separatist views and anyone who disagrees with them be damned.

So, to paint ALL Republicans and Democrats with the same brush as Trump and Ocasio-Cortez is to do the citizens a gross injustice.

To be sure, Republicans with any dose of common sense or heart should disavow Trump who continues to defy rational thought or actions in his conduct as president.

But, most Republicans in this country don’t have a soapbox on which to wax eloquent about the evils of Trump. The best they can do is to express their displeasure at the polls next November and that, alone, will be a significant act in and of itself.

At the same time, Republicans with a pedestal should use their position to advocate against Trump rather than, as has been the case so far with most Republicans in Congress, to kowtow before the worst president in U.S. history. That’s why I commend the efforts of such commitments as the Lincoln Project whose members, all Republicans with standing, oppose Trump – and do so out loud with an eye to the fall election.

Democrats, too, have an obligation to oppose the distorted views of Ocasio-Cortez and her ilk who seek to tear this country down, not build it up.

Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn wrote about Ocasio-Cortez this morning in piece that included this deft line:

“They (Ocasio-Cortez and her ilk) aren’t interested because they don’t build, they only tear down.”

He added: “Her defeat in 2018 of a longtime Democrat Representative Joseph Crowley was a political upset. But her chief contribution to her constituents since then is that she was instrumental in killing a deal in which Amazon would have opened a second headquarters in her district. Her efforts cost her constituents 25,000 jobs, billions in lost tax revenue and the knock-on effects to the rest of the local economy.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s example, McGurn writes, speaks to the priorities of the modern progressive. “She has 7.6 million followers on Twitter and has inspired an action figure, a comic-book anthology and a recurring role in Showtime’s animated comedy ‘Our Cartoon President.’ When she deigns to talk policy, she favors multibillion-dollar pie-in-the-sky ideas, from the Green New Deal to Medicare for All, and tuition-free college.”

So, I say don’t tar all who bear political party labels with the same brush.

Assume they are individuals not wedded to any specific cause. It’s true of many Republicans who are not Trumpians. And it’s true of many Democrats who don’t hew so far left toward Ocasio-Cortez as to be off the political spectrum.

What we need in this country is individuals, from whatever political persuasion, who think for themselves and have the best interests of this country at heart.

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write. I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that it what I long for in both politics and golf. The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions like. And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

It is hard to believe that I, as the director of the department named in the headline, have kept it closed for so long.

As all Americans have endured the pandemic made worse by President Donald Trump, have watched as Trump fails to grasp the significance of the Black Lives Matter movement, and have grown nauseous by Trump’s ever-increasing personal aggrandizement at the expense of the country, there have been many quotes worth remembering.

So, here are a few.

A COMING ELECTION TSUANIMI: “’There’s a tsunami coming,’ said Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor and former Democratic National Committee chairman.

“If he’d (Trump) early on jumped in front of the coronavirus and been a leader, this guy would’ve been unbeatable. But every opportunity he’s had to stand up and be a leader, whether Charlottesville or anything else, he’s failed each time.”

“The danger for Trump will be if the voters he lost are not willing to come back. Democrat pollster Peter Hart said this is the case, based on his extensive focus group interviews.

“Voters have arrived at a place that they’re done with Donald Trump,” Hart said. “The last four years have been total chaos, and the public says: ‘Stop the music. I want to get off.’ ”

COMMENT: Think of the Trump machine as the Titanic. It’s sinking.

AND THIS FROM THE WASHINGTON POST ABOUT THE TRUMP COMMUTATION OF ROGER STONE’S PRISON SENTENCE: “The United States is supposed to be a place in which laws apply equally to all. And while it never has — and never will — live up to that ideal in full, no modern president before Trump has so clearly renounced it.

“The president seems to be doing his best, within the confines of the U.S. constitutional system, to emulate the gangster leadership of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a man whose ruinous reign Trump has always admired. If the country needed any more evidence, Friday confirmed that the greatest threat to the Republic is the president himself.

COMMENT: Just when you think Trump has hit bottom he goes lower.

FROM COLUMNIST MAX BOOT IN THE WASHINGTON POST: “Three months ago — all the way back on April 5 — I proclaimed Donald Trump the worst president ever. Oh, how innocent I was. Sure, I knew he was bad. But not this bad.

“Back then I thought he was barely edging James Buchanan in the annals of presidential ineptitude. But now, with the commutation of Roger Stone’s well-deserved prison sentence and so many other vile acts, he has disgraced the nation’s highest office as no previous occupant has come close to doing.

“But what makes Trump the worst president ever is not simply that he is colossally incompetent. It is that he is also thoroughly corrupt. It is hard to think of a single major decision he has made for the good of the country, rather than for his own advantage. Trump has so egregiously abused the power of the presidency that he makes Warren Harding and Richard Nixon look like choirboys.”

COMMENT: Good. Max Boot agrees with me.

A “NEVER TRUMP” MOVEMENT: “The unsolicited video submission to a group called Republican Voters Against Trump is just one small part of a broader “Never Trump” rebellion that began four years ago as a largely ineffective cadre of appalled Republicans, but which has transformed in recent weeks into a potentially disruptive force in this year’s presidential race.

“Groups such as the Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump emphasize guerrilla tactics and scathing ads as they troll the president. The movement seeks to build a national political operation to oust both the president and his supporters in Congress, with a particular emphasis on persuading white suburban voters who consider themselves true Republicans to break from the president.”

COMMENT: Again, good.