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Is this America?
Purges, gulags, re-education camps, atrocities we condemn in other nations. Each cultivated a culture of hate, making elimination of “dangers to the country” easier. Citizens were taught to fear and hate those whom governments wished to erase.
Don’t fall for the lies.
Not unlike many of our families in the past, most immigrants come to make a new life, to be good citizens and contribute to the welfare of their adopted nation.
Many entered the US in good faith following the legal path at the time, now wiped out with an executive order and a black felt pen. We dishonor our nation by our betrayal of them. We “disappear” them without due process to foreign hell-holes paid for by our tax dollars.
Masked ICE officers violently sweep people off into unmarked vans, meeting the quota of mastermind Stephen Miller. Judges are ignored, facts obscured, humanity discarded.
Cruelty is not a mark of greatness of a nation. When “good people” stand by and let others do their dirty work, whether secretly supporting or passively accepting it, they are making a choice.
Where are those who proclaim liberty and justice for all? What about love of God and neighbor?
-Becky Anderson Newport
Fact-based decisions
In response to letters to the editor in the Miner on June 25.
After searching, I could find no creditable verification that he who would be king used any of his own money for the military parade on June 14. It would be nice if someone making such claims could cite sources.
As to the claim by another writer that all the ills of this country can be laid at the feet of Democrats, no response is needed. It is obvious that Biden Derangement Syndrome has metastasized into Democrat Derangement Disorder.
As an avowed Independent for my adult voting life, I rely on fact-based decisions. I have often half-seriously held the belief that the only difference between the two major parties in this country is that Democrats prefer welfare for the poor while Republicans prefer welfare for the rich. Both parties feed from the same corporate feeding trough. But enough of that. I was appalled at the death of three innocent young girls by their father’s hand a couple of weeks ago. I cannot fathom what could drive such an act. I would ask that we all take a moment in our daily lives to remember these lives cut short.
Steve Bennett Newport
Loafers
Having grown up on a dairy and noticing what I would call miniature “Loafing Sheds” for sale down by Miller’s made me chuckle, good only for one critter. On our dairy we had a huge Loafing Shed roof where the many cows “loafed” while milk accumulated in what is called their bags.
Pigs had a Sty, which for us was a pen with a roof in one corner for some protection, mostly for a mother giving birth, but pigs are not good housekeepers so that was no different from the rest of the Sty and didn’t deserve a fancy name like “Shed” to which we gave more attention to keeping clean.
Now chickens, they must be the elite class, they live in a “House!” I have never heard of a “Cow house” or a Pig house” There we have it, the Caste system in our United States today resembles that. We live in a country that if you are an immigrant you live in a Sty even if kept clean.
Middle class, well you are considered loafers no matter how hard you work.
Chickens are like, well you decide. It might be a president that, hmm TACO?
Roger Castle Newport
Pricing out of Pend Oreille
As a property owner in Pend Oreille County, I write with deep concern about the steep rise in assessed valuations for 2025 approved by the county assessor.
The reset of property assessments across the County — some exceeding 20% — isn’t just a paperwork issue. It has a substantial impact on the residents of Pend Oreille County. While modest growth is expected, the dramatic increase threatens long-term housing stability for residents who’ve called this county home for decades.
The resulting tax increase translates into real dollars, leaving real pockets with effects that ripple through every household budget.
Real financial hardship for working families, retirees and fixed-income households is inevitable.
Many will be forced to choose between affording their homes and meeting basic needs.
Beyond the impact on homeowners, this trajectory threatens the very fabric of our county. Rising valuations lead to higher levies and greater tax fatigue, straining community trust and risking future levy approvals for schools and much-needed essential services.
I urge county leaders to reexamine the valuation methodology, increase transparency and pursue a balanced tax policy that supports both fiscal needs and community well-being.
Pend Oreille is a place we love.
Let’s not price people out of it.
Ernie Hood Newport
Baumgartner is not in touch
Mr. Baumgartner’s office always responds to my emails with a statement that he is tuned in to the Eastern Washington voters. I don’t think so. In last week’s Miner, he gave us Trump’s version of the Big Beautiful Bill, now a reconciliation bill and currently before the Senate. Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter of June 26, with fully annotated sources, paints a different picture. For example:
• A Fox News poll on June 13 showed that only 38 percent of registered voters support the budget reconciliation bill that benefits the wealthiest Americans, while 59 percent oppose it.
• The bill contains an extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, as well as cuts to Medicaid, whereby as many as 7.6 million Americans would be uninsured by 2034.
• The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that the bill would increase resources for the top 10 percent of Americans and lower incomes for the bottom 10 percent due to slashing nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and food stamps.
• The CBO also projects that the measure the House passed will increase the national debt by $2.4 trillion over the next ten years, triggering automatic cuts to Medicare.
These are the facts, Mr.
Baumgartner.
-Martha Nichols Newport
Nuke deal?
Hear me out. Could it be possible that Trump had the Iran nuclear deal done before he bombed Iran and the bombing was just for optics? Let’s look at some facts. He flew seven B2’s from Missouri to Iran and back round trip. No shots fired by Iran. They dropped bombs (14) on two of the three nuclear facilities while cruise missiles took out the third.
Israel cleaned out Iran’s missile launch sites and 30 of their top Generals. Who’s now running Iran?
Two days later Iran retaliated by sending 14 missiles to US bases having no effect. They called Trump before the strike telling him it was coming. All Middle East countries but Iraq condemned the retaliation. Within hours Iran wanted to meet with Trump.
Could the Trillions in US investment coming from the Middle East be a thank you for stabilizing the region? Could the 747 given to Trump (DOD) by Qatar be a gift rather than a bribe? Cease fire?
Peace in the Middle East? Abraham Accords? Time will tell.
-Glen Pierce Spokane/Cusick
Trump’s time in power
I can’t refer to Trump as Hitler since Hitler has special place in history. Trump, like several U.S. presidents, supports Israel’s holocaust of Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel is shooting starving people rushing to get food from the single relief truck they allowed into Gaza. Israelis force them into small spaces and drop bombs on them.
How much revenge or payback do the Israelis need to satisfy their vengeance? How many new terrorists has Israel created with their revenge for Oct. 7? Are Christians taught to forgive, and Jews taught vengeance?
America has bombed other countries to force submission much in the way a police officer can shoot a motorist for an expired license tab. A bomb is our answer to any disagreement or challenge.
America acts like a Jewish rather than Christian nation. Iran executed 975 of its citizens last year using their Islamic religious power. Trump has called for his political opponents to be executed for treason. America did 25 executions last year and Trump would need to execute 3,000/year to match Iran’s rate.
Consider the people whom Trump has ruined during his time in power.
His supporters need to get in line behind the pillow guy and Rudy.
Pete Scobby Newport
Upon careful examination
It is concerning how some writers comment on an opinion letter without having read it. In their eagerness to refute someone’s viewpoint, their bias leads them astray by misinterpreting the author’s perspective, resulting in a continual comparison of apples and oranges. One example is the June 18 letter titled “Let’s Look at the Facts.” Although the writer does not explicitly state which June 11 letter is being targeted, I am assuming it was “Rumor Mill.”
They asserted that the inflation rate specified “for” October 2023 was “wildly incorrect.”
However, upon careful examination, it was evident that the statement was actually “by” October 2023 in the June 11 letter. Based on this information, I interpreted the author was actually referring to the cumulative inflation over the specific period, rather than the monthly rate. Upon analyzing numerous articles that drew upon data from the United Stated Bureau of Labor Statistics, those articles stated that the cumulative inflation stood at approximately 20% as of July 2024 during the tenure of that administration.
In addition, the 3% inflation rate at the end of the Biden presidency was due to the Federal Reserve’s series of interest rate hikes.
Renee Webster Newport
