.png)
Though I am loath to wade into the quagmire that is the Glen Pierce worldview, his last missive in the Miner Opinion page (8/26) concerning illegal voting needs to be challenged.
His claim, apparently based on the unauthored The 2020 Election, A Beginning Analysis, posits that out of 128 million votes 24,000 (less than .02%) were by non-citizens with 32 million votes yet to be analyzed. My research found critical reviews of this report by Amy O’Hara of the Massive Data Institute and AFP Fact check. The gist of these reviews was that the methodology was suspect and the conclusions could not be supported. Studies show that the number of non-citizens voting is so small as to be statistically insignificant.
Perhaps Mr. Pierce should apply 1/2 an ounce of research ability to look beyond what he wants to be true. Read the report, the rebuttals and other studies on this matter to draw your own conclusions.
-Steve Bennett Newport
‘Impossible’ or inconvenient?
A delightful quote from my favorite good-news blogger, Jeff Childers: “Picture a courtroom where the plaintiff solemnly explains that a grand piano cannot possibly be moved before Friday. At that exact moment, two movers roll the piano past the open courtroom door and are overheard saying that delivery should proceed “flawlessly and smoothly.” Corporate media would report the plaintiff’s severe back strain and omit the piano on the grounds that furniture is outside the scope of the story.”
Yes, North Carolina, a plaintiff in the lawfare suit to block the Trump administration’s rules for submitting a list of qualified voters to the USPS for tracking mail-in ballots, has inadvertently thrown open the courtroom doors. Their Board of Elections issued a statement on August 27 that stated they had complied with the rules before the final ruling because it was a simple procedure. “These are measures that we do all the time and it requires simple basic practices…” Their statement goes on to say the effort to comply will transpire “smoothly and flawlessly.”
Corporate media, of course, collectively ignored it – definitely not in compliance with their “hardship” narrative! The plaintiffs’ claims of “impossibility” of complying are obviously made up.
-Kamori Cattadoris Newport
SAVE Act would be hardship on rural residents
I wanted to respond to criticism of my LTE regarding the SAVE Act. I generally choose not to engage is such back and forth, but I think Rene Webster inadvertently made the exact point I was trying to make, namely that the SAVE Act places extra hardships on rural citizens.
And, no, I did not read the Act, but I am familiar enough with legislation to know that a 26 page bill aimed at fixing a non-existent problem will likely be vague, causing confusion. Mission accomplished!
Webster relies on current Washington State law empowering the Dept of Licensing to issue enhanced drivers licenses, which do indeed prove citizenship. However, to apply for said enhanced drivers license, every citizen with a Pend Oreille County address would need to travel out of the county, perhaps to Colville or Spokane. Or they could register to vote at the County Elections Office in Newport, as I stated.
Regardless of where the citizen chooses to travel, the documentation issues around name changes will pose a barrier. Webster states, “A responsible adult would still have the documents for a name change before the Act’s enactment,” suggesting that only “responsible adults” with such documents would be allowed to vote. Yikes!
-Roger Haick Loon Lake
This is what community
looks like
Someone recently ran over the political sign we posted on our property. It is situated well off the road, down our driveway. The sign survived. Some weeds didn’t. The rain made the deliberate back-and-forth pattern of the tires visible - an intentional aim at our civic expression. Despite this, I’m reminded of why I live here.
First, I want to thank the Sheriff’s Office. The deputy took time to listen and understand what happened. He asked detailed questions and chatted with us. We’ve had positive interactions with deputies, and we continually thank them for their service to our county.
Secondly, I’d like to thank our neighbors. Some of whom are voting differently than us. They talked with us, provided information about the vehicle and time of incident, and checked their cameras. They’ve helped us in many ways over the years and this was no exception.
This is what my community looks like. It doesn’t involve uniformity of opinion, but a unity of character. We don’t agree on every issue. We do, however, agree to stand together when something isn’t right. This is a prime example that respect and decency still run deeper than politics and yard signs.
-Katharine Napier-Janz Newport
Truth crimes?
Pete missed turning the research page, again (8/19). Is Catherine Engelbrecht of ‘2,000 Mules’ a felon? Yes. Now turn the research page. How did she end up a felon? She made a documentary exposing election fraud and the weaponized DOJ went after her. They scoured her past and found something they could turn into a crime.
They did the same thing to Dinesh D’Souza. Dinesh made a documentary that Obama didn’t like so the DOJ went after him. Same playbook. They scoured his past, found something they could turn into a felony and charged him. They found he made a mistake on a tax return about a small political donation. Turned it into a felony. Neither charges had anything to do with their documentaries. Trump pardoned them both.
Tina Peters, election commissioner in Mesa County CO exposed election fraud on voting machines. They made up charges and threw her in prison for 9 years. The CO Governor commuted her sentence last June, cutting her time to almost half.
The lesson here, if you expose corruption, the truth could land you in jail. All three exposed truth and they were all charged. Police State?
-Glen Pierce Spokane Cusick
Letters are becoming AI slop
How can one claim they are unbiased in their research or combatting misinformation? That’s like claiming you are pure of heart in your thoughts or have some magical ability to be totally objective.
Unlike religious faith, political opinions require evidence and proof over beliefs. Political opinions today are more like religious beliefs. Little proof is required and we must believe on a grain of truth or face political shaming.
Consider that today, political polls are often proven wrong by the results of an election. People are betting on predictions based on political conjecture.
Statistics quoted in recent letters are based on extrapolation. Find one illegal vote and extrapolate it into millions. Find one source on the AI internet and quote it as an absolute fact.
Hey, AI copilot, write me an opinion letter for the Miner and make it unbiased. Anyone who is nearly 80 years old has lived a historical life and has made or witnessed history. Now, people with access to AI technology are rewriting our history.
My teen grandkids call it AI Slop and it’s showing up in the opinion page every week. Opinions that are 10% true and 90% made up by random “unbiased” electrons.
-Pete Scobby Newport
An idea to rename Hanford
Inflation and affordability issues. The “no end in sight” unpopular war on Iran. Economic slowdown. Ever increasing deficit. The White House priorities?
Our “Sharpie” President changes the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. An airport is renamed to Trump International Airport. The latest, Lake Ontario to Lake America.
My suggestion is to stay on the course. The Hanford site is noted as the most toxic site in the USA. Rename this site to “Trump Dump.”
Enough said.
-Robert W. Schutte Newport
Gone rogue
We have a president that has gone rogue. Worse yet, our Congressman refuses to hold him accountable. Donald Trump is attacking our democracy. Michael Baumgartner has not upheld his oath of office to protect the Constitution.
Constitutionally, states have the primary authority over election administration. Donald Trump has attacked that with his SAVE Act, which Michael Baumgartner supports. Even though Donald Trump stumps that mail-in voting is filled with fraud, he repeatedly votes by mail.
Donald Trump has gone as far as the Supreme Court to eliminate Birthright Citizenship from the Constitution. Michael Baumgartner has not challenged him.
The Constitution is designed to change through Amendments, not executive orders. Donald Trump is aiming towards an un-Constitutional third term.
Michael Baumgartner remains silent. Our Founding Fathers purposefully developed a system of checks and balances to protect our nation from autocracy.
Michael Baumgartner has relinquished his responsibility by rubber stamping Donald Trump’s agenda. We need to return to those checks and balances.
By voting for Carmela Conroy and breaking this attack on our democracy, we will have the chance to hold this rogue president in check and return to what our Founding Fathers envisioned.
-JR Wyatt Elk
