Portrayal of protests by letter writer incorrect

I have to take exception to Al Phillips’ letter to the editor on June 24 regarding the No Kings rally. I think he is confusing grassroots efforts with the turmoil in L.A. caused by ICE immigration raids, the use of the National Guard and the potential of using the U.S. Military on U.S. soil against its citizens.

First, during the April Hands Off Protest – 5.2 million people in the U.S. and U.S. territories protested the dismantling of Veteran’s Administration; making the Social Security agency unreachable for seniors and disabled people who depend on it to survive; Medicare cuts that will put seniors, especially those in assisted living, nursing facilities, hospice and Alzheimer’s care onto the streets (three out of every five elders in care are using Medicare to pay for it); selling public lands so they can be pillaged for profit and adding to climate change; destroying small businesses and hurting the economy in general with the tariffs; and most especially the militarization of ICE agents. Armed masked men in plain clothes can now violently grab people off the streets, drag them out of their cars or their homes without warrants and without showing any ID – in a normal time, this would be called abduction or kidnapping, but these have not been a normal five months.

The No Kings protest on June 14 in Prineville was about these same things – these are all grassroots efforts with no financial considerations asked or given by any group or person. 

The No Kings nationwide protest included about 2,800 towns, big and small. A peaceful protest was initiated by the 50501 Movement as well as Indivisible. Both of these groups promote peaceful protesting ONLY. 

The protest in Prineville at Pioneer Park had between 220-250 people participating. It was attended by Democrats, Republicans, Independents and I am sure many with no particular political party affiliation at all. The 15 “counter-protesters” on the Tastee Treet side of the street held a banner: “Jesus is my Savior” “Trump is my President” they screamed FU and flipped the bird across the street until they eventually wandered off because they couldn’t incite any reaction.

After reading way too many of Al’s verbose and mostly fact-free opinions, I have come to the conclusion that he should widen his information sources. Faux News, Newsmax, OAN and Truth Social are not giving him the full picture. Al is right – Trump’s reign is only five months old.

The first thing Trump did was pardon the J6 insurgents (maybe they’ve got new jobs with ICE?); he has ignored people’s rights and civil liberties; ignored court orders; tried to muzzle the free press; and destroyed agencies that keep our veterans, the elderly and the general populace safe, fed, housed and educated for the sole purpose of giving tax breaks to billionaires. By bombing Iran and then allowing them (in a timely manner he agreed to) to bomb a U.S. military installation in Qatar as a tit-to-tat, Trump has proved himself to be more than incompetent as the leader of OUR democratic republic. He intends to become a ruthless ruler … The damage to the USA that has been the choice of the 47th president will take decades to repair – what will happen in the upcoming 3.5 years?

 LaQuita Stec

Prineville

Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill is a betrayal to all Americans

By the time you read this, it is very likely House Republicans (including our own Congressman Cliff Bentz) will have reconciled their version of the bill passed last month with the version Senate Republicans passed via a tie-breaking vote cast by Vice President Vance in the wee hours of Monday morning. 

By a vote of 51-50, Senate Republicans gave the finger to millions of Americans who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, veterans benefits and other federal safety net programs that help food insecure families. 

This bill represents the largest upward transfer of wealth in this country’s history. Families already struggling to afford groceries, healthcare, transportation, education and rent will very likely be rendered homeless due to the provisions contained within the bill. As the father of an adult child with a disability, I know first-hand how critical the Oregon Health Plan (Oregon’s version of Medicaid) benefits are to her healthcare and well-being. And even though she is an able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD), her employer does not provide healthcare insurance, which then requires her to buy insurance through the OHP.

This immoral bill paints a cruel and ugly picture of the priorities of this administration. Some of the more disturbing elements include:

• The largest cut to Medicaid in America’s history: $930 billion
• The largest cut to food assistance programs in America’s history: $230 billion to SNAP
• Elimination of tax incentives for green initiatives like electric vehicles, solar and wind power and related infrastructure.
• Raising the nation’s debt ceiling by $5 trillion dollars
• Kicking up to 16 million Americans off healthcare
• Reducing federal funding that supports already struggling medical clinics and hospitals, particularly in rural parts of states.
• Increasing the budget of the Department of Homeland Security by $150 billion to accelerate deportations and build detainment camps throughout the country.
• Eliminating environmental oversight and permitting requirements relating to the expansion of oil/gas exploration and development.
• Requiring states to contribute anywhere from 5% to 25% of their budgets in support of food assistance programs. Currently state contribution rates are 0%.
• Increasing the state share of administering SNAP benefits from the current 50% to 75%.
• Eliminating the ability of undergraduate students to receive subsidized loans and terminating the ability of graduate or professional students to receive Direct PLUS Loans beginning on July 1, 2026.
• Terminating all current student loan repayment plans for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2026.
• Rescinding the unobligated funds that were provided by the Inflation Reduction Act for various energy programs, such as State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training Grants.
• Prohibiting federal Medicaid payments for 10 years to nonprofit healthcare providers that serve predominantly low-income, medically underserved individuals (i.e., essential community providers) if the provider (1) primarily furnishes family planning services, reproductive healt, and related care; (2) offers abortions in cases other than that of rape, incest or life-threatening conditions for the woman; and (3) in FY2024, received federal and state Medicaid payments totaling more than $1 million.

I urge you to contact Congressman Bentz and demand he honor his oath of office to work faithfully and with integrity to protect all Oregonians. Demand he vote no on this ugly bill.

Joel Komarek

Powell Butte