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It’s August and summer and hard to come inside to write a letter about the November 3 election. But this year, this election, may be a turning point. We have a real chance to change our fractured politics.
What’s fractured? If you haven’t noticed – Idaho is essentially a 1-party state (no Democrat has held statewide office for over 30 years, and Republicans have had a supermajority in the Legislature since 2010). Maybe you are Republican and think this is a good thing. But without competition there is no accountability. Decisions are made behind closed doors instead of at the voting booth. It shows up when our government works against what the majority of Idahoans support: Medicaid expansion, funding for public schools, local control over libraries, reproductive rights.
We need to elect good candidates outside the Republican Party. This year we have them in a slate of Independents. Please take time to acquaint yourself with them now. Steve Johnson for state Senate; Kathryn Larson state Representative; Fred Arn Bonner County Commissioner; Todd Achilles US Senate; John Stegner Governor. More info here: https://bit.ly/Nov2026Ballot Your vote counts, use it wisely.
-Jean Gerth Anderson Sagle
The power of propaganda
I’ll keep trying to elucidate to my fellow academic-trained friends, who are still captured by the previous decade of hyperbolic propaganda, that according to my research we are being played by the global cabal. Non-intuitively, the cabal has ascertained that the bigger the lie, the easier it is to get people to swallow it! All it takes is repeating it ad nauseum, with great authority and contempt for all other views; while cleverly suppressing dissenting views to create an illusion of “consensus.” Then our “herd instinct” kicks in and, predictably, we eventually go along.
As reinforcement, the “authorities” mock and shame dissenters; declaring them “the enemy”; and continuously use provocative language to incite easily-triggered rage. Once rage kicks in, logic, curiosity and questioning are shut down. Shut down! That is how even scientists are played upon. Then the “echo chamber” of fellow academics and the compromised media, their bullhorn, reinforce those liesturned- beliefs. I encourage academics to review two of what I have concluded are major psyops of our time in this light: “climate change” and the “Covid pandemic.” Research dissenting views! There are plenty of legitimate resources available, now that free speech is thankfully being restored.
-Kamori Cattadoris Newport
SAVE Act introduces roadblocks to citizens
Michael Baumgartner doesn’t boast about many of his votes, but he actually wrote that he was “proud to vote YES on the SAVE America Act” and “Requiring ID to vote is just common sense.” If only that were easy to achieve.
The SAVE Act would require that proof of citizenship and photo ID be presented when voters register in person at a county elections office. Currently most voters register online, by mail, or at the DMV and only 6% of voters register in person.
Birth certificates, passports and enhanced driver’s licenses would be the only sufficient credentials for registration with rare exceptions. Further, if the names on these documents do not match exactly it creates a name discrepancy. Women who change their legal names through marriage or divorce fall into this trap. Fixing this discrepancy would require obtaining qualifying documents at considerable cost in travel, time and money.
While Baumgartner argues the SAVE Act is necessary to prevent noncitizens from participating in federal elections, it would introduce severe logistical roadblocks for thousands of eligible American citizens who simply happen to live far from their elections office, like right here in his predominately rural district. But Trump wants it, and Mike dutifully bends the knee.
-Roger Haick Loon Lake
Baumgartner places political loyalty above constituents
After Michael Baumgartner won the primary election on Aug 4, he dismissively said his opponent will not pose a difficult campaign since he had previously beaten her by 20%. That was his way of saying he will not campaign before the public this year.
The modern Republican party demands loyalty, and Baumgartner’s near-perfect alignment with Donald Trump’s executive agenda (99%) ignores the unique, localized needs of Washington’s 5th Congressional District and brands him a rubber stamp.
By supporting Trump’s aggressive border tariffs and the Iran War, Baumgartner fails to shield Eastern Washington’s vital agricultural sector from devastating global trade retaliation and increased costs. His compliance places political loyalty above local wheat growers, wine producers, and rural small businesses.
Furthermore, Baumgartner’s zealous backing of the Trump-endorsed SAVE America Act creates unnecessary, suppressive hurdles for rural voters, students, and elderly residents trying to access the ballot box. His environmental votes similarly match Trump’s agenda by rolling back critical clean air reviews and greenlighting aggressive extraction policies that threaten Pacific Northwest natural resources.
When confronted by a frustrated public at a Whitworth University town hall in March 2025, he deflected rather than addressing local concerns. He has not appeared before a general audience since.
-Dianna Michaels Colville
How are you helping freedom?
Here is an instance of the enemy being wholly outside of our country. Unlike today.
Learn what our country, America, did during WWII, to preserve our freedom.
In 1941, the U.S. was crawling out of a depression. America had to build the greatest war machine to fight Germany and Japan and save Freedom. This is what President FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, did with corporate titans to stop the greatest evil the world had ever known. Four industrialists, William Boing, Henry Ford, Henry J. Kaiser and Pier Dupont had to build the arsenal of the free world.
FDR told them that we have to stop imperialist Japan and stop the German Nazis. The only way we can do this is together and learning what is at stake. The company you built and yearn to protect, won’t be here if they win. Your grandchildren won’t have freedom.
What America did next is the stuff of legends.
Henry J. Kaiser was responsible for major naval shipyards and Rosie the Riveter.
Boing built in record time, 98,000 Bombers, including the legendary B-17 Flying Fortress.
Henry Ford was building a B25s every 60 minutes.
Pier Dupont manufactured 50,000,000 hand grenades and The Atomic Bomb. He hired 130,000 people to extract the Plutonium for the Los Alamos test site.
Tell me now, are you proud to be an American? What are you doing to help keep our Freedom?
-Maureen Paterson Priest River
Nickels and dimes
The GOP has always been the party that raged about the deficit. The deficit will bankrupt our nation, crash our economy and ruin our lives.
However, history has shown massive budget deficits under Reagan Bush 1 and 2 and now Trump. The deficit shrank under Clinton, Obama and Biden. In all cases, the deficit was not eliminated.
Trump racked up nearly $7.8 trillion of national debt in his first term, prior to the Covid crisis. During the first 10 months of this fiscal year the debt rose $1.8 trillion and surpassed the same period in 2025.
Instead of working on debt reduction, the Administration and Congress has focused on massive tax breaks and large increases in defense spending. “Eliminating waste, fraud and abuse” by DOGE did not cut trillions as promised.
Trump quoted in 2018 “we’ll start paying off he debt like water.” In 2024 race “we’re going to pay off the $35 trillion in debt.” Now here we are today with the deficit plus inflation and a war not supported by most citizens.
Remember this when voting in November. Also remember, Congressman Baumgartner has supported Trump’s agenda.
-Robert W. Schutte Newport
Opinion page nearly caught on fire
Last week, I had to read The Miner quickly before it spontaneously burst into flames. Here are some thoughts.
The movie “2000 Mules” was sent to my home and I watched it. If you accept the premise of this political propaganda, hope that your cell phone wasn’t near a brothel. The guy who made the movie is a felon that was pardoned by Trump.
Parole boards that release convicts are not liberal and follow the laws governing paroles. Some paroled convicts reoffend or commit other crimes and that is unrelated to liberal policies. Please consider that every conviction doesn’t have prison for life without parole.
The Stock Market has record highs and that’s because we have a war with Iran, tariffs and Trump is president. If the market crashes tomorrow, it will be Biden’s fault.
The PUD mis-information officer Guest Opinion was telling in separating residential rate payers from companies that suck up millions of watts of our precious natural resource of public hydroelectric generated power. What would the PUD say if Merkle sold out to a company that wanted to put a nuclear waste incinerator at the old paper mill site? Would they ask, “how much power do you want”?
-Pete Scobby Newport
Thankful for data center information
I would like to express my thanks to Joe Hathaway, PIO, Pend Oreille PUD, and his article titled “The Facts About Data Centers and Your Electric Rates.” Additionally, I would like to acknowledge Gabrielle Feliciano, reporter for The Miner, and her article titled “What to Know About Data Centers in Pend Oreille County,” published in the August 12th edition of The Miner. Their comprehensive explanations provided clarity and effectively dispelled the prevalent misinformation about data centers. (Located in Pend Oreille County.)
Regrettably, the subject of data centers has become more politicized and used as a talking point, which can distort the data for the readers. In my personal opinion, I do not hold a strong stance on data centers. As a realist, I acknowledge they are here. However, considering the rapid pace of technological advancement, the utilization of electricity from public utilities and water sources may become obsolete in the foreseeable future. One example is the collaboration between Valar Atomics and Nvidia. BTW to those doomers and glumers, we have been in the digital ecosystem since the 1940s, yet here we are!
-Renee Webster Newport
