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On Feb 11, Rep. Michael Baumgartner voted in favor of the SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote in elections. On the surface, that seems like a reasonable thing, but the devil is in the details, as they say. When you dig down, this is yet another Republican inspired voter suppression effort, because when your policies hurt everyday citizens, taking their vote away is the only way you get elected.
How do you prove you are a citizen? You will need either a passport ($165) or a valid birth certificate that matches the name you use today. If it doesn’t, such as married women who took their husband’s name, that will require filing paperwork with a court and a fee of nearly $300 to change the name. If you have an enhanced driver’s license, you have already paid some of these fees.
In earlier times, this would be called a poll tax- charging money to be able to vote. That’s been declared unconstitutional by an earlier Supreme Court and the 24th Amendment. How today’s Court would rule is anyone’s guess. Baumgartner knows Republican policy hurts people. Making it harder to vote is all he has left.
Annie Bouscal Kettle Falls
Repetition of words matter
I’m told, babies learn words by hearing them over and over. Dishonest politicians reach low information voters using repetition. Most voters won’t research what is said; it’s the repetition of the lie, not the lie, that influences voters’ political choices.
FOX News admitted: their show misinformed; hosts even lied. When challenged, they claimed they were an entertainment, not news, show. One consequence: They had to pay $787 million in fines. Another result: Their repeated lies put Donald Trump in the White House. I think they should have had to change their name. They didn’t lose much by keeping the name FOX News.
For decades, Republicans have been framing political discourse which spills over into our social sphere, shaping our reality. For example: Intentionally, politicians said “baby” when they meant “fetus.” Now, some low information voters are one issue voters about abortion. Instead of making a personal decision about their own bodies based on their beliefs, they use their vote to affect everyone. They can’t separate Church from State. This is a medical issue and should not be on a ballot.
A bumper sticker from the Vietnam era was: Question Authority. It still applies. Use your voice. It matters.
Roberta Cade Newport
Supreme Court for GOP
Read the story by Maureen Groppe of USA TODAY.
Supreme Court may scrap campaign finance limit challenged by president, GOP Justices weigh cap on donors routing money through parties .
It’s blatantly clear. The supreme court is doing the GOP’s bidding. It isn’t a question of free speech, it isn’t even a question. High stakes campaign contributions garner favor for the contributor(s). And right now, the president and the GOP stand to gain the most.
Too bad we can’t have term limits for the Supreme Court.
Budd Colucci Newport
Don’t expect much from Baumgartner or Congress
Imagine it is June 2022, and the Supreme Court has just issued their “Dobbs Decision” overturning 50 years of precedent and banning abortion nationwide. Joe Biden goes on TV and says of the Justices they are “fools and lap dogs,” “unpatriotic and disloyal,” “a disgrace to our nation,” “an embarrassment to their families” and “swayed by foreign interests.” Right, you cannot imagine that. Had that happened Fox News would have called for his immediate impeachment. Impeachment by later that afternoon.
Those quotes actually belong to Donald Trump from Feb. 20, outraged that the Court would sustain rulings by multiple lower courts finding the Trump tariffs illegal. Fox: report with tepid commentary and then move along. Baumgartner: silence. As a member of Congress, it would be Baumgartner’s job to design legislation regarding tariffs as the Constitution says and the Court has now reiterated. But is he smart enough to know tariffs are a tax on the American consumer? Fair question.
Either way, Trump immediately said he would defy the Court and then raised tariffs across the board. This abuse of power and disregard for court orders is an impeachable offense, but I have no expectations of Baumgartner and Congress.
Deidre McAuliffe Loon Lake
Signs of fascism
EXTREME NATIONALISM – ‘us vs. them’ DISMISSAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS – Conditional vs. universal.
IDENTIFICATION OF ENEMIES AS A UNIFYING CAUSE – Creating scapegoats SUPREMACY OF THE MILITARY – Disproportionate resources to military.
CONTROLLED MASS MEDIA – Tightly censored, intimidation, concentrated ownership.
RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT INTERTWINED – Uses religious language to justify actions.
CORPORATE POWER PROTECTED – Big business allied to government.
LABOR POWER SUPPRESSED – Unions weakened/outlawed, rights restricted to maintain corporate power.
CONTEMPT FOR INTELLECTUALS – Academic freedom restricted, experts dismissed.
DISDAIN FOR THE ARTS – Creative expression devalued, censored, or controlled.
OBSESSION WITH CRIME AND PUNISHMENT – Harsh punitive measures favored over prevention or rehabilitation, rewards privatization of penal systems.
FRAUDULENT ELECTIONS – Voter suppression, intimidation, or manipulation of results, i.e. SAVE Act.
MASS DEPORTATIONS – Forcible, inhumane removal of targeted groups, with no due process.
ELIMINATION OF DIVERSITY INITIATIVES – Dismantled programs.
WHITEWASHING OF HISTORY – Rewriting historical narratives to align with nationalist ideologies.
CULT OF PERSONALITY – An idealized image of a leader through propaganda and media control.
SYSTEMATIC CENSORSHIP – Suppression of information and ideas contradicting authority.
MILITARIZATION OF POLICE – Law enforcement adopting military equipment, tactics, and mindsets.
SUPPRESSION OF SCIENTIFIC FREEDOM – Restriction, defunding, or manipulated to conform to ideology.
ECONOMIC NATIONALISM – Extreme policies leading to isolation.
Dianna Michaels Colville
What an amazing difference
Illegal immigrants flooding across the Mexican border near Bracketville, Texas during the Biden administration, left scars and took their toll. There was constant high-speed chases, buzzing helicopters, screaming emergency sirens, torn barbed-wire fences, and decomposing bodies on nearby ranches.
Many animals escaped through 450 holes along a ranch’s 22-mile fence line at an exotic game ranch, costing $300,000. The holes in the fencing were cut by smugglers and illegal immigrants outside of Eagle Pass.
In 2022, six calls per day to the fire department for drownings on the Rio Grand in Eagle Pass, fell to six per year just three years later. The difference was President Trump.
Now ranchers are not spending all their time repairing fences, picking up dumpsters full of discarded water bottles and clothing, or worrying about who might walk out of the brush. What a difference an enforcement of the border laws make.
Maureen Paterson Priest River
Trump lost in 2020, other Republicans won
Republicans want voter ID, so let’s take a page from their proposed “Save Act.” Have them hold up their ID to a mirror and take a photo of their face in the mirror and send it to our County Auditor to verify that the person in the mirror is really them. The only reason to do such a dumb thing is that Trump lost the 2020 election and continues to blame his loss on the lack of voter ID.
Supposedly illegal aliens snuck in ahead of voters and voted in their place.
When Republicans went to the polls and saw that someone signed for their ballot, they just gave up and went home causing Trump to lose.
Now Republicans can win free and fair elections because if they lose, then it was (according to Trump) because Democrats cheated. That doesn’t explain how Republican candidates won when Trump lost in 2020. Open your box of documents and prove that your birth certificate is an official stamped copy of the original. Pull out your marriage certificate showing your maiden name change. Is your passport still valid? Do you have your state real ID driver’s license?
Let’s see your papers, mein Herr!
Pete Scobby Newport
Help is available
Aging & Long-Term Care of Eastern Washington (ALTCEW) is a social service agency helping older adults and adults living with disabilities discover the resources needed to plan, prepare for, and support independent living. ALTCEW receives state and federal funds to manage a large coordinated system of home and community- based services. This agency provides services such as case management for people needing a caregiver, information and referrals, answers to questions about Medicare and Medicaid. Contact them at 509 458 2509 or [email protected] Their website is at www. altcew.org/.
Community Living Connections is a program within ALTCEW that helps older adults, adults living with disabilities, and caregivers access programs and services such as transportation, meals, in-home supports, and caregiver services. The goal is to provide support that enables people to remain in their homes.
Contact their helpline at 509 960 7281.
ALTCEW is inviting community members to take part in their upcoming Community Feedback Forums to help guide the agency’s future care services across Eastern Washington. Community input is a vital part of the planning process.
These feedback forums provide an opportunity for residents to learn more about existing services, identify gaps, and share perspectives on what is most needed in their communities. Dates, locations, and registration details are available at altcew. org/area-plan-community- feedback-forum-registration. Bon Wakabayashi Elk
Most want photo ID for voting
In the February 18 letter addressing the “Save Act” I found the polling process, concerning public support for a photo identification requirement for voting, to be intriguing. Consequently, I dedicated approximately 2.5 minutes online asking Google to research various polls that may have supported this measure instead of checking gas prices in Iowa.
According to Pew Research, 81% of respondents favor a government- issued photo ID for voting. Additionally, the polling data revealed that 95% of Republicans and 69% of Democrats support the implementation of photo DI for voting. A Gallup survey revealed that 84% of Americans endorse the implementation of photo identification.
Furthermore, Rasmussen Reports indicated that 77% of likely voters perceive photo identification as a reasonable measure to ensure the integrity of elections. Their methodology seemed very sound.
Interesting reading! it must be popular; 36 states currently require some form of identification for in-person voting.
Renee Webster Newport
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Save Act goes beyond requiring photo ID to vote. It would require Americans show documents such as a birth certificate or passport to register to vote.
If the name on your birth certificate doesn’t match the name on your ID, which is the case of many married women, it would require that be rectified, all of which costs money.
