Dear Editor,
It’s not often that we get the chance to vote for something that could provide so much benefit to people, and at the same time cut tax expenditures and bring back millions of our federal tax dollars to Idaho. But we have that chance now, by voting YES on proposition 2, the citizens’ initiative to expand Medicaid to the 62,000 hard working people in Idaho that don’t qualify for health care.
Our local hospitals are struggling to survive under the weight of the millions of dollars they are forced to write off each year for indigent care. Our property and state taxes are funding the shortfall, since our state’s refusal to accept expanded Medicaid means we lose out on the $400 million in federal tax dollars we send to Washington each year, that could come back to Idaho to provide health care to our neighbors that are caught in the gap. Imagine the ripple effects in our communities if our local hospitals close.
It’s no wonder so many hospitals, health care providers, insurance companies, newspapers, and businesses have endorsed Prop 2, including our own Idaho Forest Group, Idaho Sheriff’s Association, and Idaho Education Association. And let’s not forget the more than 56,000 of our fellow Idahoans that signed the petitions to put health care access on the ballot so that we can all have a chance to decide. 
Please join me at the polls and Vote Yes on Prop 2. It’s the right thing to do for our citizens, our communities, and our pocket books.
Sincerely, 
Mary Ann High
Grangeville

Voting 101
As voting day draws near, I'd like to share sagely advice I received many years ago.  When a candidate is unopposed, do not vote for them unless 2 conditions exist: 1. Know the candidate and 2. Like the candidate.  If only one condition is met, do not vote for unopposed candidates because it raises the threshhold for a recall if it is necessary.
Jim Rehder
Cottonwood, Idaho

To the Editor
Fact:  Idaho's Republican party platform opposes Medicaid Expansion/Proposition 2.  (This affront was led by Janice McGeachin who wants to be the next Lt. Guv).
Fact:  There are three Critical Access Hospitals in our region:  Syringa, St. Mary's, Clearwater Valley.  Each facility provides vital, 24/7 medical care to a wide-spread rural population.  Each is struggling financially due to the no-money burden created by poor, uninsured patients.   Medicaid Expansion would fix that.
Fact:  Insuring Idaho's 62,000 working poor would provide them the opportunity for money-and-life saving preventative medical screening and care before treatable injuries and illness rage into expensive emergency visits.
Fact:  Without the passage of Medicaid Expansion (Proposition 2), St. Mary's Hospital/Clinic could very possibly close its doors in five years because of its annual losses from uncompensated charity care.  (Can the Cottonwood area afford the loss of its medical facility and associated jobs?)
Fact:   518 Idaho County residents fall in the Medicaid Gap.
Fact:   District 7 "representatives", P. Giddings and P. Shepherd oppose Medicaid Expansion/Proposition 2.
Conclusion:  There are heartless adherents within the red Party of No! that don't care one whit about the health of our community members or the viability of our three critical rural hospitals.  Don't let the naysayers continue to thwart the health and goodness of our state.  Let caring prevail:  Vote Yes on Proposition 2.
Shelley Dumas
Grangeville

To the Editor,
As the November midterm elections approach, an issue you won’t see on the ballot is murder: do you support murder?
Murder prevails in many forms in our society, the most common being abortion. Despite abundant, accessible scientific evidence (ultrasounds, detection of early heartbeat, babies in the womb squirming away from dismemberment), people continue to vote taxpayer funds, including the current proposed Medicaid expansion in Idaho, for this gruesome form of murder. Dumping aborted babies into landfills (as has been done) is illegal, but abortion is still lawful.
It is deceitfully called “reproductive health rights” or “a woman’s right to choose.” Abortion is not a right but a wrong; it is killing a preborn child who is utterly defenseless.
Another increasingly common form of murder occurs from the indiscriminate (or even purposeful) dispensing of powerful, toxic psychiatric drugs that cause violent, sometimes self-destructive actions. Many school shooting, random shootings, and suicides (self-murder) fall into this category.
A third incitement to murder results from programming by the mainstream media first to hate and then to kill those with whom you disagree, or whom you blame for your own problems and failures. Watching violent, occult RV shows or bloody video games desensitizes viewers to committing murder, even glorifying this hideous crime.
A final category of murder, very popular politically to defeat one’s enemy and gain power, is character assassination. We witnessed this form of murder recently during confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court Justice when unproven allegations were often equated with guilt.
Now each voter must decide whether those being voted for are supporters of murder or even actual murderers through their political machine or personal agenda.
Voting is not a casual action. One must become informed and resist the temptation to give power to those who promote murder while outlawing legitimate self-defense. Your own life may be at stake.
Sincerely,
Mary Hohmann
Kamiah

Dear Editor,
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I sure have. There are five Idaho candidates that have worked tirelessly traveling up, down, and across this state to hear our concerns and let us get to know them. I have heard them speak, had my questions answered, and listened to their plans to work hard to represent us. These five have the insight, vision, and courage to represent us well. They hear us and they want to offer us a better way of life- to provide health care to our citizens, build a strong, vibrant economy, provide living wages, protect our public lands, and improve the quality of education in our state. We have the chance to finally have a voice.
Please join me in proudly voting for Paulette Jordan for Governor, Kristin Collum for Lt. Governor, Cristina McNeil for U.S. House District 1, Jill Humble for Sec. of State, and Cindy Wilson for Sup. of Public Instruction.
Sincerely,
Mary Ann High
Grangeville

Dear Editor
I support Jill Humble for Idaho Secretary of State.
I met Ms. Humble as she traveled during this campaign season.  Because I am fiscally conservative, we did not contribute money to her campaign, but instead offered her a place to stay as she came through Idaho County.
And because she is also fiscally conservative, she accepted our offer.
We hosted Ms. Humble again, twice, during her travels.  She visited businesses, community events and many county election offices where she was told that the current Secretary has never been seen.  She, also, visited the Secretary of State office in Boise and spoke with employees there.
Ms. Humble has a vision as the Secretary of State.  She promises to ensure that 18 year olds are automatically registered to vote.  She promises to promote early voting and to expand vote by mail opportunities.  And she promises to protect your private voting information as it has never before been done by ANY other Idaho Secretary of State.
These statements will give you insight into what type of person Ms. Humble is.  She is financially conservative, willing to listen, enthusiastic and a genuine good person with good ideas.  Ms. Humble has other qualifications detailed on her website www.humble4sos.com.
The job of Idaho Secretary of State should be more than a paycheck.  It could be a position that will bring Idahoans security, a greater voice in Boise and Washington D.C. and a more efficiently and economically run office.  Vote Jill Humble for Idaho Secretary of State on November 6 or vote early at your county courthouse.
Michelle Perdue

Below are two letters we received but did not have room for in this week's print edition:
Support for Superintendent Sherri Ybarra
I believe that continuity is vital to teamwork, it is why every successful team I have been a part of grew, developed and improved as we became more familiar with all of the parts of that team.  Time together made us better.  Another vital component for any team to win is commitment from everyone associated with the team.  Commitment in sharing a vision, recognizing the importance of each step that leads to those shared team goals.  As important as those two pieces of a team are, the most critical part is always leadership.  That one person responsible for establishing the short term and long term goals, the one with the experience and dedication to propel  everyone around her forward, the one to mold that vision and turn it into reality is so often the catalyst for success.   Sherri Ybarra has proven herself to be that leader for our Public Education team.  She is an outstanding and effective leader, demonstrated by her record, showing steady improvement in Idaho’s schools over her first term.  Her experience, intellect, insight and forward thinking are all attributes of a great leader.  Sherri’s commitment to Idaho’s kids has shone brightly throughout her career as a Public School teacher, as a Public School principal, and now as the leader of our Public Schools.  We can see the continuity of her plan working in the steps already implemented to achieve the improvements we want in our schools.  From teacher pay to school safety, from better graduation rates to better career readiness, Sherri’s fingerprints are everywhere, driving Idaho’s success in preparing our kids for a brighter future.  The continuity of her second term will further serve to propel Idaho forward to new levels of success in every facet of our educational system.  I am supporting this exceptional leader and her team as I cast my vote for Superintendent Sherri Ybarra on November 6, 2018.   
 Layne Flynn
Eagle, Idaho

Dear Sir:
One town in Oregon has committed to running everything on renewable energy by 2030.
So how will airplanes fly on wind and solar?  And how about boats?
Right now wind and solar make up less than 5 percent of our electrical use.  The rest is all fossil fuel, nuclear and hydro-electric.
To even come close to meeting the needs of the country with wind and solar would require covering most of the country with solar panels and wind machines.
Modern civilization began with the use of fossil fuels. Today coal is very plentiful and a good fuel for electrical generation.  Natural gas is even better.         
Carbon Dioxide is not a pollutant.  In fact it is vital for plant growth, and for animals as well.
Hydro-electric is one of the cheapest sources of electrical energy.  Dams hold water for electrical generation as well as for farming and domestic use.  Breaching of dams makes no sense at all.  There are better ways to provide for fish.
Nuclear is a cheap source of energy.  We just need to remove most of the federal regulations preventing its use.
Nature, not man, is the chief source of global warming
Thank you very much.
Jim Hollingsworth
Coeur d’Alene

Redneck Review!
No. 184 - 10/29/2018
Only one week to go!  And tough choices ahead!  And the $64 question is, how will the average American vote when that "cast your vote" day comes?  Or votes absentee?
In the opinion found here, the question each voter must answer basically is this:  Do I vote with short term immediate results in mind, or am I more concerned with long ones?
And when faced with the ballot officially in front of me, do I find myself leaning towards the Democratic candidates, the Republican ones, or perhaps some third party alternative?
Well, the author of this review has no choice, and a mind that is firmly made up!  And we hasten to add here, that every loyal citizen has the same right and privilege, and is to be respected for the ballot cast!  If the privilege of 53 years of teaching here has taught me anything, it is that each and every student that I have had in my classroom was different in some way, and was a miracle of life and a unique and different personality!
Yes, a miracle!  Long I have pondered the motionless heart of an animal or person that has died, and asked myself, what has kept a live heart beating thousands and thousands of times each day for years and years? And just who was the master craftsman that designed the human body with its ability to see, and hear, and run and sing and dance, and reach down on the floor and pick up the tiniest of articles?  And almost miraculously heal a wound suffered or a bone broken?  Wow!  A genuine mystery indeed!
So, my vote is determined!  NO VOTE HERE FOR A CANDIDATE OR A PARTY THAT SUPPORTS ABORTION! Or tolerates it!  The 60,000,000 some abortions that have occurred since 1973 comes to over 3000 per day!  Do your own math, do not take my word for it! In each case, a miracle of existence is snuffed out, often in the most brutal and heartless way! I shudder when faced with the fact that it makes our country more brutal than Hitler or Stalin or other notable historical killers!  Amazing that God has not dropped the hammer on us! (Hey!  Want the truth?  Watch the movie GOSNELL playing in Lewiston this week!)
Another tough one!  Proposition 2 tugs at my heart strings when I read the numerous letters and articles about the 60,000 plus Idahoans who have no insurance.  But remembering that doctors and hospitals MUST care for those who come in desperate need of attention, it thus makes my necessary NO vote here a little easier to live with.  Especially when an informed person knows that we all, myself and virtually everyone else included, tend to take FREE things which we would choose not to pay for!  And knowledge of the mountains of fraud that is associated with our existing MEDICARE AND MEDICAID programs suggests that we are bankrupting our country with the many FREE give away programs our country has adopted!
Hey!  Have you been paying attention to the stock market lately? Its recent hesitation has been entirely predictable... because: 1)The looming specter of INFLATION (which we are all experiencing!) is forcing the FED to inch up interest rates, and the size of our national and personal and business debt means increases can cause a  DISASTER!  And it will if the increases go too far!  2)But the size of our debt and another one trillion dollar deficit in 2019, helped along by adding more programs like Proposition 2, and continued increases by our government help programs, CAN AND WILL EVENTUALLY BANKRUPT our country!  Then we might well experience what has happened in socialistic Venezuela today!
Jake Wren

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