The latest self-inflict

& Eagle Editorial Board and its

guest members. Viewpoints crises at the White Hou
expressed by columnists, confirm the deepest fear
letters to the editor and about President Trump
Enid News & Eagle 05/23/2017 editorial cartoonists are those
Copy Reduced to 52% from original to fit letter page judgment and self-discip
of the writer and artist and not As the nation was
necessarily the newspaper.
still digesting news that
Trump had divulged hig
ly classified information
obtained through an ally
top Russian officials, th
New York Times report
ANOTHER VIEW Tuesday that the preside
had suggested that then

Will legislators again Director James Comey

Brownie
his investigation into fo
National Security Advis
Michael T. Flynn.
I hope you can let t

pass a last-minute budget go, Trump said during

a meeting the day after

points for
Flynn resigned in Febru
according to a memo th

without time for scrutiny?

Times said Comey wrot
day after the conversatio
Thats not a direct reque
but coming from the pre

president
By Gene Perry
With just a week left
in Oklahomas legislative
session, we still have lit-
tle idea of what the state
every other area of govern-
ment services. Thats how
they passed a budget that
on the surface held com-
mon education harmless
but in reality eliminated
deduction bill they had
approved in committee
would eliminate the deduc-
tion for charitable contri-
butions, the measure was
pulled and a substitute bill
ident it must have felt th
way to Comey.
The White House qu
ly denied the story, just
as it did after news brok
Monday that Trump had
provided classified mate

FCC freeze on rural budget will look like. The

budget is the single most
important responsibility of
$33 million in funding for
textbooks.
With lawmakers again
(HB 2403) was introduced.
With lawmakers facing
huge pressure from both
rial to the Russians. Aft
that story emerged, Trum
himself went on Twitter

rates may be good lawmakers, but were again

expecting a last-minute
deal that will be rushed
trying to solve a large
budget shortfall this year,
many revenue-raising or
industry lobbyists and
regular citizens concerned
about the budget, its fairly
assert his absolute righ
to disclose such informa
at his Oval Office meeti
through in the final days cost-saving bills are being obvious why they havent with Foreign Minister S
In the run-up to the presidential prima- and hours of session. rushed through the process been more transparent Lavrov and Ambassado
ries, then-candidate Donald Trump capi- Last year, a budget without adequate time about these decisions. Sergey Kislyak.
talized greatly from his purported crusade deal was announced May for review. Several dozen Many legislators dont It is true that the pres
to help the little guy. He targeted voters 19. That same day, the bills have been intro- want to be caught on the dent can declassify info
who feel like theyve been left behind in the General Appropriations duced in recent weeks in wrong side of a conten- mation at will. But such
burgeoning U.S. economy, and that no one bill, which ran 100 pages, the Joint Committees on tious issue, so its safer ability carries the presum
seems to be hearing their voices. included some 200 sections Appropriations and Budget to wait for a budget that tion that in doing so, the
The promise to listen propelled Trump and made appropriations (JCAB). In some cases, can be presented as a fait president would exercis
into the White House. Though there may of $6.8 billion to over bills have been brought up accompli. This is especial- highest levels of judgm
70 state agencies, was for votes before they have ly the case if the budget discretion and purpose,
be debate over what hes accomplished introduced and passed been posted online and includes cuts with which carefully weighing poss
so far and what he might do in the future, out of committee. It was without anyone other than their constituents will be repercussions and first c
one seemingly insignificant move could approved by the House the legislative leadership and unhappy. municating the plan wit
ultimately help folks in the rural areas of next day and given final the bills authors having Thats an understand- the source nation. There
Oklahoma and elsewhere. passage by the Senate on seen the legislation. able motivation, but its is no evidence that Trum
Trumps appointee to the FCC, Chairman May 22. Most bills are Proposals that have big not a good excuse. They went through any of tho
Adjit Pai, took issue with a rule that requires required to be made public implications for peoples were elected to serve the calculations before blur
phone companies to raise their rates to con- for at least 48 hours before lives, like consolidating constituents of Oklahoma, out what is known as co
form to the national average. This regulation they are voted on, but the the Office of Disability and that means allowing word information int
covered small companies in rural areas, Legislature ignored that Concerns (SB 871) or cap- their work to be scrutinized gence-speak for informa
where many people are barely scraping by. requirement for the bud- ping itemized deductions by the people its affect- so highly classified it is
get even holding a vote (HB 2347), have been ing most. Now that more above top secret, and us
That was unfair, Pai said, when monthly open for almost an hour as passed out of JCAB with Oklahomans are getting ally limited to the small
fees in many urban areas are $13 or lower. legislators were pressured minimal debate or scruti- involved with the legis- possible pool.
So the three-member panel has voted to to vote to suspend the rule. ny. SB 871 passed JCAB lative process than weve Trump may have com
rescind the requirement that phone bills be The result was a budget even though the director seen in recent history, law- promised a valuable ally
hiked from $18 to $20 in July, and then to that went into law with of the Office of Disability makers owe it to the people its agents. He has witho
$22 in 2018. Its possible the hikes may go very little scrutiny from Concerns apparently who elected them to open question dealt another b
into effect this year, but will be stopped by a most lawmakers, the media wasnt aware the bill was more doors and windows to U.S. credibility and m
freeze henceforth, unless some other action or the public. Thats how coming and said it would on these critical decisions. other nations justifiably
takes place. One commissioner, Mignon they passed a budget that neuter Oklahomas abili- wary of sharing what th
Clyburn objected to the apparent subsidizing provided a big funding ty to serve people with dis- Gene Perry is Policy Director of know. That breakdown
increase for legislative abilities. After legislators Oklahoma Policy Institute (www. endangers not only this
of rural customers by city customers, saying staff while slashing nearly realized that the itemized nations security, but tha
those who can least afford it often live in
okpolicy.org).
other nations as well.
the cities. This latest stumble sh
Clyburns concern is well-founded, but a leader once again indu
its also true that many impoverished people Mallard Fillmore By Bruce Tinsley ing his vanity, boasting
live in rural areas. Seniors on fixed incomes his great intel and clum
and others with low-paying jobs are often attempting to curry favo
found in what Okies often refer to affec- with Russia, in the naive
tionately as the sticks. Many of these are thought that doing so wo
customers of smaller phone companies somehow transform a ha
not in Cherokee County, but in areas where ened adversary that hack
the U.S. election into an
AT&T doesnt reign supreme. The meeting itself w
Also, despite what cellular service pro- an oddity. The U.S. has
viders would have the public believe, there imposed sanctions again
are still many areas in Cherokee County Russia for its illegal inv
where customers cant capture a signal, sion of Ukraine and forc
whether theyre with Verizon, AT&T, or annexation of Crimea.

The WannaCry malware

some other company. These people are often
forced to pay for both cellphone service and
a land line and in Oklahoma, that can put
a strain on an already tight budget. Though
the relaxation of this rule might not affect
local residents, further scrutiny of FCC
rurals very well could.
Clyburn does want the FCC to develop
policies to tackle waste, fraud and abuse
so rates may go still lower. Thats a good
idea. Theres no reason why a land line
these days regardless of whether its in
Cherokee County or elsewhere should
cost $55 a month. Its part of a racket that
benefits big providers, and does little to pro-
mote competition of upstarts in the industry.
There are many issues the FCC could
and should tackle. This might be a good
time to take a look at reinstating the Fairness
Doctrine, which would require TV stations
to make it clear when a talking head renders
an opinion, and to offer the other side of
the issue as well. That might seem like a
Democratic initiative, but Republicans quite
often complain these days about the slant of
the liberal media.
All that aside, many people believe
more competition in the telecommunica-
tions industry is sorely needed, and certain
constraints in place make it difficult for
any new companies to get a toehold in the
market. Trump could score some brownie
points if Pai handles these situations with
a silk glove, and takes action that may not
only improve service, but make it easier to
afford.
Tahlequah Daily Press
attack was an indirect PSA
By The Los Angeles Times
The particularly nasty computer program
dubbed WannaCry that attacked hospi-
tals, businesses and government agencies
around the world this past weekend was
like a cybercrime highlight reel, a compi-
lation of by-now familiar elements con-
science-free cybercriminals, an obscure vul-
nerability in Microsoft Windows, older and
ill-maintained corporate computer networks
and computer users tricked into opening
booby-trapped email attachments that
played out on an epic scale.
Whats different this time is that the
hackers apparently had considerable help
from the U.S. government. They used a
stolen tool reportedly developed by the
National Security Agency to exploit a hid-
den weakness in the Windows operating
system and spread their ransomware far and
wide. The tool was one of many linked to
the NSA that were leaked online last year,
then finally decrypted in April for use by
anyone with the requisite coding skills.
Its tempting to howl at the NSA for not
alerting companies like Microsoft when its
researchers find vulnerabilities in their prod-
ucts. The reality, though, is that doing so
would reduce the effectiveness of cybertools
that have become an integral part of modern
efforts by agencies like the NSA to fight
terrorism, international criminal organiza-
American intelligence a
cies are uniform in their
conclusion that Russian
hacked the U.S. election
The list of Russian aggr
sions is long and growin
Trumps response? Invi
the Russians into the Ov
Office, grinning and sha
tions and rogue states. Whats needed is a ing hands and offering u
better effort to determine if and when a vul- choice bits of intel. If th
nerability discovered by the feds represents not chilling enough, the
too great a threat to keep it secret from the is the distinct possibility
potential victims. Thats a difficult balance the Russians may have
to strike, and the decision shouldnt be made complete transcript of w
solely by the executive branch without the Trump said, since their
input of independent experts and, potential- owned news agency, Ta
ly, lawmakers. was allowed to remain i
The even more important lesson here the room when U.S. new
is that years, even decades of warnings media was barred.
from security experts simply arent getting Rep. Mike Gallagher
through to the public. WannaCry should R-Wis., a former Marin
not have reached disastrous proportions intelligence officer, has
Microsoft released a patch that could close called for the White Ho
the vulnerability in March, well before to provide Congress wit
the NSAs tool was decrypted. Yet tens of unaltered transcript of th
thousands of computers werent updated, meeting. We agree. The
allowing the malware the room it needed to no reason for members
spread. congressional intelligen
The problem could easily get much, committees to know les
much worse as more routine devices become than the Russians.
smart, Internet-connected ones. Evidently Its also imperative t
we need stronger incentives not just for Congress get to the bott
companies to release more secure products, of the new allegations o
but also for users to keep them updated attempted meddling wit
and protect their data with encryption and Comey, which could tur
backups. Thats what the lawmakers and out to be definitive evid
federal officials should be focusing on that Trump tried to influ
not on trying to discourage consumers from the Justice Department
using encryption on their smartphones, or FBI investigation into li
on building stockpiles of malware based on between his associates a
vulnerabilities they alone have found. Russia.

May 23, 2017 6:19 pm /