Tell your constituents
An open letter to Idaho’s congressional delegation: Where do you stand in defending Ukraine? So far, there has not been one statement of public support for Ukraine from you.
Feb. 28, our president and vice president acted like a pack of hyenas the way they treated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, not only for us to see, but also the whole world, and no less in our own Oval Office. Disgraceful.
You say that you support President Donald Trump fully, though your seemingly blind support for this New York real estate mogul runs counter to our western values. Does this mean you are now tacitly supporting Russia over Europe and our 80-year alliance that has kept this world free?
If you have turned on our alliances and our freedoms, then your constituents need to hear this directly from you.
Yvonne Wright
Genesee
Irked about school law
It would be a gross understatement to say that I am irked about the actions of Idaho’s right-wing legislators and our governor to put into place a plan to spend $50 million of our tax dollars (yours and mine) to pay for some students to attend private schools.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not opposed to private schools. Our three children attended St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Elementary School, for two reasons: 1. We wanted them to have schooling from someone in addition to us in the basics of their religion; 2. St. Stan’s had a very wide reputation for producing very well-educated students. Junior high teachers to whom I spoke uniformly said they easily could tell the St. Stan’s students entering their classes.
Where I part ways with the right-wingers is that my wife and I paid for our children’s private schooling, not everyone else in the state. I have met a number of people who want their kids to attend “private” schools. Not infrequently, they are people who have such far-out beliefs that they can’t get along in normal society and they want their kids to be indoctrinated in their right-wing cant.
They can do that, if they want, but I shouldn’t have to pay for it.
Danny Radakovich
Lewiston
Not efficient or just
Most Americans will now agree that the only nonessential federal “employees” are the president and his “lap-DOGE” (Department of Government Efficiency).
With no heart, soul, humanitarian spirit or concept of the employment factor in a robust economy, those two are callous automatons produced by a dysfunctional mismatch of artificial intelligence and 3-D. There is nothing efficient or just in their actions.
Shelley Dumas
Grangeville
Just a puppet
The recent measure using Idaho taxpayers’ money to fund private schools signed into law by our puppet Gov. Brad Little is a clear sign he does not listen, nor care how his constituents feel on the subject.
The overwhelming majority (86%) of the 32,366 phone calls to his office asked him to veto House Bill 93. It is obvious the puppet only responds to those pulling his strings, and unfortunately not to those who elected him to represent them and Idaho.
Larry Meister
Potlatch
Advice to Baumgartner
Congressman Michael Baumgartner: If I can be so bold, here’s some advice when tossing around D.C.’s political “football.” First, your teammates lack the spine to disagree with the head coach’s play calls, so, it’s a necessity that you join these “Oath Keepers” and follow suit.
Next, if throwing passes is your long-term objective in Washington, D.C., it’s imperative to show empathy toward your fan base, always implement your coaches’ game plan, and follow the party’s playscript. Additionally, hand-picked, town-hall attendance and partisan media coverage are crucial; if successfully initiated, ascension from the practice squad to QB1 could match your 10-term, predecessor’s accomplishments.
Thirdly, the organization’s assistant coaches — Elon Musk, JD Vance and Mike Johnson — care not for the below, median and above-average, American fanbase. Consequently, it’s important to privately demonstrate allegiance to those “DOGE-ies” and then publicly “fake” it when facing constituencies-in-need.
Finally, “win at all cost” is your team’s motto, and when victorious, always allow your narcissistic head coach to take the credit. However, after a loss, defend his claim that the outcome is stolen and demand an appeal. If the powers-that-be do not rule in the party’s favor, then support sending in the PPBs (proud pardoned boys) to force a favorable result. This must be a last resort, though.
Remember, the 800-page, Project 2025 playbook has a response for any in-game situation. So, to reach and maintain QB1 status, exercise the project’s mandates, never override a play call and let’s Make America Great Again.
Patrick G. Shannon
Clarkston
