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I don’t understand today’s love of shopping on the internet.
My snowplow up and down switch failed last Spring so I thought I would do like my friends do and order one off the internet.
I put in “30 amp 3 pole up and down snowplow switch “and was shown several. I picked the one I thought looked appropriate for me, $7.90.
I entered my info mailing address, etc. Then went to the cart thingy to pay. It said “2.32 sales tax”. Well, I was reminded by a friend our county tax here in Newport is like under 8% which would be less than 64 cents. Then it said 5 to 7 days shipping the balance was 32.00 or I could have it in 2 days for $60.00.
Good Grief, I turned the computer off and went to Oldtown O’Reilly’s and picked through their great selection, got what I wanted for $9.53 and took it home that day!
-Roger Castle Newport
The Other Side of the World
Rather than comment on the hypocrisy and misinformation of those with TDS, I wanted to speak on the Israel and Hamas conflict.
It is almost impossible to negotiate an end to the hostilities when only one side is willing. Hamas who has vowed to not stop killing Jews until they have been driven into the sea, demonstrated their value for life by their murderous attack on innocent civilians in Israel on October 7, 2023, by killing their own Palestinian people, using them as human shields, hiding weapons and munitions in tunnels under hospitals and schools, and confiscating food and medical supplies meant for humanitarian relief provided by Israel and other countries. Hamas is responsible for the destruction of Gaza.
There are three possible scenarios that I believe Israel might accept to assure peace and safety for its citizens.
1) Hamas unconditional surrender.
2) Hamas fighters totally evacuate Gaza.
3) Palestinians reveal where the remaining hostages and Hamas fighters are.
Hamas cannot remain.
-KC Hunt Newport
Distracting from Epstein files
The president of the United States is the biggest liar in the United States. People aren’t dumb enough to see pictures that they’ve seen for years and not know all of this is completely legit. Trump is so damn guilty he can’t stand it. He tries to draw your eyes to something else real quick so you’ll forget about the Epstein files. Sadly it’s like he’s saying oh look over there while he steals all the money off your table. Our country is not dumb enough to believe this man, or are we?
He says he stopped six wars in six months, and yet he can’t or hasn’t named one of them.
He calls people begging for Nobel Peace prize! That has to be about the most disgusting thing on the planet. Well considering where it’s coming from, I’m not surprised.
As I write this, he is in Alaska rolling out the red carpet for of all people – Putin. Why have a meeting about ending a war without the other president of the invaded country even being there. If you ask me, and you didn’t, I think he wants to get some help about how to get the country off of the Epstein file kick.
-Jeannie Hutchins Newport
I’d have fired her too
I got a kick out of recent ‘cartoons’ in The Miner. On 8/6 the ‘cartoon’ published was of Trump’s firing of the Labor Commissioner over the Jobs Report. Alongside was Trump wanting to fire the weatherman for one that called for sunshine.
The truth is that the Labor Commissioner was cooking the numbers. Under Biden, she was inflating the job numbers by as much as 800K plus. Days after the report became public she would quietly revise them down. It was the opposite under Trump. She brought the initial report out with low numbers and later quietly revised them up. Yeah, if she worked for me, I’d fire her too.
In the 7/30 issue, it showed farmers lined up with ‘Help Wanted’ signs depicting Trump’s deportation of illegal immigrants. The fact is in Washington State, employers need to fill out an I-9 employment form. That form says a person is here legally and able to work. This problem is somewhat on the employers.
If a potential hire is not here legally, the employer could help facilitate the process for them to become legal by helping them obtain a ‘Green Card’ or maybe even a Visa. Legal employment.
-Glen Pierce Spokane/Cusick
Some Medicare a Trump target
Remember the “death panels” from the original Republican objection to the ACA? They are back, but this time it will be done by Trump Medicare/CMS to seniors in Washington State. The cut to Medicare services is disguised as a “Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction Model.” A list of targeted services includes Epidural Steroid Injections for Pain Management commonly known as back injections.
I have had several of these injections. It’s a mixed bag of success, sometimes a few months to one lasting over two years. My provider limits the number of injections to 4/year. My average is < 2 per year. I can call my provider and schedule an injection at their pain clinic. This procedure is on the Trump administration Medicare hit list.
Next year, an AI program will review my injection requests and decide if I can have them covered by Medicare. My back pain treatment can now be classified as wasteful and inappropriate by a former celebrity TV doctor, Mehmet Oz who runs Trump’s Medicare. Guess I will take the yellow brick road to Washington D.C. and look for the man behind the curtain. My other option is to have a $150,000 back surgery that I don’t want.
-Pete Scobby Newport
Illegal entry a crime
In reference to the August 6th letter titled “Reality Check,” it is important to note that immigration regulations are multifaceted. Consequently, relying on information from a media outlet for guidance may introduce uncertainty regarding its accuracy. Data I obtained from tracreports. org, as of July 2025, indicated that ICE detention facilities held approximately 56,945 detainees across the United States. Of these individuals, 71.1% had no criminal “convictions” at the time. Detainees may have been accused, arrested or charged. Furthermore, certain detainees had final removal orders following due process procedures established by the DHS.
After evaluating the websites of several immigration law offices, Cornell Law, and the Department of Justice, I recommend that the writer review the following: 8 U.S.C. § 1324, 1325, and 1326 to have a better understanding. Actually, unlawful/illegal entry constitutes a criminal offense under federal law. Some detainees’ countries refused to accept them back, and some felt unsafe returning to their home countries, leading to deportation to a non-country of origin. I may not agree with al current procedures, but I lack the detailed information DHS possesses.
-Renee Webster Newport
