Well, I see that the rabid left is in seventh heaven over Trump’s conviction. However, those of us with more than two brain cells to rub together see that his trial has been nothing but the most amazing load of absolute rubbish seen in quite some time, a show trial that would have had Joe Stalin hanging his head in shame. (And didn’t judge Merchan do an absolutely dynamite Roland Freisler impersonation?)

Every bit of lawfare the left has thrown at Trump has done nothing but increase the man’s popularity. It doesn’t take the gift of prophecy to realize that this will do the same.

For myself, I’ll be voting for Trump a third time, if I have to write the man’s name in — providing Jao Bai-Den and Company don’t seize on some pretext to declare martial law and cancel the election.

John Kaufman

Pendleton

Turn off your TV. Put down your AI. Use your brain. Open your eyes. Read the writing on the wall.

Internal terrorism. Civil unrest — high taxes. Civil war. Martial laws.

Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Biden is tuning up his fiddle. Vote for Donald J. Trump for president of the United States of America.

Mitchel Fielding

Granite

Our country has a number of serious problems, two of which particularly bother me: money and mining.

Far too many in our government have forgotten or don’t know where money comes from. All new wealth comes from the ground. It’s created when we harvest food and resources from the earth. This wealth is expanded when products are treated and manufactured into more useful product. Everyone else makes a living by distributing or selling these essential products. All others make a living by providing a service for others or working for the government.

Our basic industries are the foundation for our economy. Farming, ranching, fishing, timbering, oil recovery and mining are absolutely essential — and mineral recovery is the most important.

We cannot manufacture one thing without using minerals, either in the product or the tools and machinery needed to make it. Our country has all these minerals except one — tin — and we could provide our industries if we would let our miners work.

The sad fact is that we are completely depending on China for 25 minerals and partially for seven more. If they wanted they can bankrupt and shut down our country in a few weeks. The only reason it hasn’t happened already is that we are their biggest customer.

To add to all this, Congress is thinking of rewriting the mining laws. These laws worked well for 130 years until the Clintons and the secretary of interior started changing environmental regulations and stopped funding the Bureau of Mines. This group of explorers, mining engineers and metallurgists advised and directed government actions to develop and produce the essential metals that made it possible for America to win World War II and the Korean War. This created many jobs and a great deal of wealth for our country.

Let’s reestablish the Bureau of Mines and start producing our own resources and making wealth for our country.

Kenneth Anderson

Baker City

I note the ongoing saga of the Greater Idaho movement. Every six months, forever, until a more promising outcome appears, the Wallowa County commissioners are required to discuss the possibility of joining the county to the state of Idaho.

This outcome is likely an impossibility. The state of Oregon has no interest in it and neither has the state of Idaho. Wallowa County is one of six “frontier” counties in Oregon (U.S. defines “frontier” as counties with populations of six or fewer people per square mile). These counties represent less than 1% of the state’s population. Idaho has a similar population statistic with 16 “frontier” counties that make up less than 1% of the population. With that narrow representation in the state Legislature, it will require representatives with superior negotiating skills or a friendly government body to protect the interests of these “frontier” counties.

Wallowa County and likely most “frontier” counties consider themselves conservative. The state of Oregon and the Oregon Legislature is primarily Democratic and not recognized with a strong conservative history. While the Republican Party comes from a conservative background, it is now known for its obstructionism. By continuing to send Republican representatives to a Democratic Legislature whose negotiating skills are limited to walking out of negotiations, very little is accomplished for “frontier” counties and obstructionism wins again.

If the purpose of Greater Idaho is to make improvements in Wallowa County, it would seem logical to send a Democratic representative who could negotiate the unique issues and problems common to “frontier” counties with the majority of the Legislature and relieve the antagonistic atmosphere common to opposing parties. Perhaps we could save the “conservative” and “progressive” monickers for larger issues.

On the other hand, if the Greater Idaho movement is to provide opportunities for corporate farming or mining interests, they are on the right track.

David Ebbert

Enterprise