Letters to the Editor: Nov. 7, 2025

No sense of mercy?

I volunteer at the Soup Kitchen at St. Barnabas, and on the Tuesday evening of Oct. 28, we served 80 plates in the first 30 minutes. Are we people choosing to have a country without mercy?

MAGA Republicans and President Trump have chosen to starve the many in order to benefit the few. As State Rep. Cyrus Javadi wrote so beautifully earlier this summer, “Public assistance isn’t charity. It’s investment. It’s insurance. It’s the price we pay to live in a country that doesn’t leave people to starve just because they had a bad year. Or a bad decade.” (News-Register, 7/18/25)

I ask any one of you reading this letter to consider Jesus’ conversation in the book of St. Matthew, Chapter 25, verses 34-46, King James version: “Verily I say unto you, ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’”

I don’t believe propping up tax breaks for billionaires by cutting public assistance for anyone is the right way to govern.

Perhaps when MAGA comes for our Social Security and Medicare, because they have been empowered by their followers to rape the public coffers, those followers will also need the services of places like The Soup Kitchen at St. Barnabas. However, they will need to arrive promptly when the kitchen opens, lest it run out of food.

Toni Cross

McMinnville

Double dipping

I am just plain angry!

My yard service provider just advised me that Recology has begun charging him for dropping off my yard debris. Really?

Recology already bills residential customers regularly for picking up home yard debris, whether or not they take advantage of this service. I have never needed to use this service because my lawn-care company delivers yard clippings directly to Recology every week.

Now, it seems, Recology has decided billing lawn-care companies for dropping off the yard debris instead would be a nifty new revenue source. I fully expect lawn-care services to pass that additional cost along, as they really have no other choice.

What I don’t get is why Recology thinks I would want to pay twice for the same service.

Let’s review: Under Recology’s new scheme, it will receive two separate payments for the same service, one from me and the other from my lawn-care provider.

And this service is — please pay attention here — delivering to Recology the raw material it processes into products it can turn around and sell at a tidy profit. So we’re also saving the company the cost of picking this valued material up itself.

Two questions: Why aren’t local landscapers charging Recology for delivering them a necessary raw material, instead of the other way around. And why in the world should McMinnville landowners pay twice to support this rip-off?

Perhaps I have this all wrong, but my calls to Recology seeking clarification on this issue have never been returned.

Lee Vasquez

McMinnville

Tone deaf

Commissioner Bubba King’s letter to Gov. Kotek, requesting assistance to continue SNAP funding, should have been approved at the board’s Oct. 30 meeting. It was clear, eloquent and not overtly political.

Apparently Commissioner Starrrett also wrote a letter, which I couldn’t find in the packet or on social media. She refused to support King’s letter, claiming it contained “political vitriol,” when its only reference to politics was a call for less partisanship. Ironically, Starrett went on to blame Democrats for the halt in SNAP funding and brand lawsuits filed by a coalition of governors mere “grandstanding.”

Both Commissioners Starrett and Johnston voted against sending King’s letter. Instead of taking a stand, they chose to sit back, cross their fingers and let their constituents suffer.

Those of us paying attention understand Democrats are trying to protect health insurance for millions of Americans, while Republicans are holding food benefits hostage in order to strip us of our health care.

In the wake of the callousness and greed flourishing since the Citizens United decision allowed dark money to take the reins, our country has been on a downward slide. Zip-tying children, removing parents from homes and workplaces simply because of their skin color, murdering humans in the Pacific and Caribbean, and stripping needed food benefits,are all actions elected Republicans clearly support. While I hope ethics and compassion haven’t been relegated to the past, I fear that’s the case.

Our commissioners provided more evidence with their needlessly tone-deaf vote. As our current president has made abundantly apparent, cruelty is hot, kindness is not.

Meanwhile, community members are stepping up to feed our friends and neighbors, despite the looming threat to our own healthcare costs. How sad our country apparently has the money to build an ostentatious ballroom in the rubble of our White House’s East Wing, but not to ensure people don’t go hungry.

Valerie Blaha

McMinnville

Smug conservatism

The Viewpoints cover page in the News-Register’s Oct. 31 edition highlighted the decline of local newspapers, a trend that has been occurring for several years. However, I was perplexed by the N-R’s most recent accommodation to this unpredictable landscape: to run a weekly commentary by syndicated conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg.

Many readers are no doubt familiar with Goldberg’s smug conservatism, which purports to unmask the nefarious underpinnings of American liberal values. Among Goldberg’s New York Times’ best-selling titles are “Liberal Fascism” and “The Tyranny of Cliches: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas.”

Editorial Page Editor Steve Bagwell cites the difficulties faced by small newspapers and explained that running Goldberg’s column will bring a needed conservative view to the N-R. Further, N-R owner Jeb Bladine suggests Goldberg’s column will “help readers find more common ground and help deter the political tribe mentality.”

Hmmm. How is running a weekly column by a conservative pundit supposed to decrease our tribalism?

Bladine cites countywide majorities for Trump in three elections as evidence of greater local support for conservative views. However, our county is actually more purple than red.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, as of October 2025, Yamhill County had 19,891 registered Democrats, 23,198 registered Republicans and 28,667 registered non-affiliated voters. Given that the majority of registered voters in Yamhill County are neither Republican nor Democrat, Bladine’s assumption that highlighting conservative views through Goldberg’s column will decrease tribalism is wishful thinking.

If the N-R wanted to decrease political tribalism, it could run columns of varied political views. Yamhill County’s native son, Nicholas Kristof, himself publishes two syndicated columns each week.

While I am skeptical that platforming only conservative columns will decrease our hardening political divisions, I do value the N-R for supporting community improvements and reporting local events.

Adrianne Santina

McMinnville

Reflects poorly

A recent letter to the News-Register contained words like “vermin,” “dumb,” “ignorant,” “stupid,” “imbeciles,” “idiots,” “brainwashed” and even the silly slur “Q-tips, a term that I assume means seniors and is intended as an insult. These examples all came from the same recent letter, but there have been previous submissions offering little more than ad hominen attacks against anyone who dares to disagree.

I tend to ignore such letters, as they are usually nothing more than emotional rants that leave a bad taste. More importantly, they undercut civil public discourse, which is essential in a democracy.

We have experienced a national decline in public civility. Far too often today, individuals who try to engage in civil public discourse have to endure insults, vulgarity, misinformation, hate speech, racial slurs and name-calling.

Such speech, although protected under the First Amendment, reflects poorly on the authors. It serves, by design, to shut down rational discussion.

Young children, lacking advanced language and reasoning skills, master this form of argument early on. Most of us outgrow it, but some, regrettably, do not.

I’d like to thank and compliment all the individuals who have submitted well-written, thoughtful, informative, and factual letters to the News-Register. To those who simply feel the need to indulge in insults and name-calling, may I suggest venting to a mirror before putting pen to paper?

Margaret Cross

McMinnville

Restore kindness

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture posted a banner on its website stating:

“Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)… At this time, there will be no benefits issued Nov. 1. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”

But those are not the reasons Democrats refused to sign off on the Republican budget bill and that’s not why SNAP benefits were cut off.

As of Sept. 30, a contingency fund was available to fund SNAP in the event of a shutdown. It was described this way on the USDA website:

“Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown … These multi-year contingency funds are also available to fund participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.”

But that notice has been replaced by the new one, announcing a lapse after all and blaming Democrats.

Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett posted this in response: “Trump found $40 billion for Argentina. But people in the U.S. will go hungry: for instance, more than 270,000 Iowans rely on SNAP each month (WLRN website).

All this is posturing for politics. The Trump administration is showing a callous disregard for people, and using the poor as pawns to avoid negotiating.

Make America kind again.

Neal Anderson

McMinnville

‘You would say that’

In the Sept. 5 letter “Lost trust,” the contributor makes two points.

Her first point is that even though mail-ballot voting is convenient, and she uses it, she nevertheless questions who is doing the counting and whether the results are honest. Republican State Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis is also skeptical of mail-ballot voting, which the writer found refreshing because Ms. Davis is beautiful and intelligent, unlike her unattractive and idiotic Democratic counterparts.

That reminds me of the anecdote from a researcher asking people about the origins of COVID-19.

One respondent said that, like all pandemics, COVID-19 was the result of an advancement in technology, in this case cellphones. As evidence, he claimed the Spanish Flu was the result of the development of radar.

When the researcher pointed out the flu pandemic occurred in 1918, but radar wasn’t widely implemented until the mid-30s, the respondent replied, “You would say that.”

The takeaway is that people believe what they believe regardless of evidence.

Five minutes of research confirms Oregon’s vote-by-mail is secured through a multi-layered process, including signature verification, ballot-tracking and strict physical and digital security measures. Admittedly, that still doesn’t make the system perfect, but:

A review by the state’s Legislative Fiscal Office found that from 2000 through 2019, there were approximately 61 million ballots cast. Voter fraud was proven in 38 cases, a rate of .00006% — 6 one-hundred-thousandths of 1%.

I can hear it now: “You would say that.”

The writer’s second point capsulizes the president’s approach to staffing, based on looks.

Under the current administration we would never benefit from a Madeleine Albright, despite her superior intelligence, expertise and dedication. Instead, we get the “how’s my makeup” Kristi Noem and “talking Barbie” Pam Bondi.

Stephen Long

McMinnville

Martial law in mind?

Under the direction of Donald Trump, the Pentagon is readying thousands of National Guard soldiers to act as so-called “reaction forces.” These soldiers are being trained for civil unrest missions in U.S. cities.

Recently, millions of Americans peacefully flooded the streets of cities large and small, across the nation, for “No Kings Day.”

Is this how the Trump administration defines civil unrest? Will there be more pressure and provocation from Trump loyalists, aiming to create the appearance of civil unrest and thus to justify martial law?

We are no longer waiting for authoritarianism to rear its ugly head in this country. It is already here, and it’s progressing at a frightening pace.

Stuart Gunness

Sheridan