Odds are stacked against Idaho annexing parts of Eastern Oregon.  Every media outlet in America will explain there are multiple layers of government in both states and at the federal level that would need to approve.  Only one need object. 

Consider some Sheriffs in Oregon refused to enforce mask mandates.  They aren’t likely going to cooperate with new gun control measures

Why does the story keep getting attention?  I came across this commentary from an Oregon newspaper.  Some Oregonians are even briefing Idaho politicians about the effort.  Look, when I’m in Vale or Burns or even Baker City, it looks to me like Idaho.  The people I meet there appear more Idaho than anyone I’ve ever met from Portland.  Last fall, when the pandemic had shut down most of Oregon, I noticed in the eastern counties a lot of people and businesses were ignoring the state’s COVID restrictions.

My answer to the question atop the previous paragraph is an observation.  America has changed greatly in the decade since the Great Recession.  People are polarized more than at any time since the Civil War.  When West Virginia split from Virginia.

You could see the country literally fracture with or without war.  People may simply make decisions no matter what their states or the federal government rule.  Gallup measures public confidence in institutions and recent years haven’t been positive.

We’re also culturally at least two distinct entities living within one border.  As the writer of the piece from the Oregon paper explains, it boils down to some stark differences on basic issues.  Such as gun rights.  Consider some Sheriffs in Oregon refused to enforce mask mandates.  They aren’t likely going to cooperate with new gun control measures from state government and even Washington.

Ultimately, we may end up with some state boundaries on maps but on the ground we may have an entirely different reality.  Lines can be nullified if there’s no longer public support for the map.

LOOK: Stunning vintage photos capture the beauty of America's national parks

Today these parks are located throughout the country in 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The land encompassing them was either purchased or donated, though much of it had been inhabited by native people for thousands of years before the founding of the United States. These areas are protected and revered as educational resources about the natural world, and as spaces for exploration.

Keep scrolling for 50 vintage photos that show the beauty of America's national parks.

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