Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1152 - 1176 of 3750
Let's hand it to President Donald Trump. There he was, the commander in chief, closing out the old year by bravely showing up in a war zone in spite of the bone spurs in his feet. Yes, the haters are dubious about those spurs, but whether real or the figment of a paid-off podiatrist's imagination, they did keep him far from combat until he and his retinue stealthily traveled to Iraq over the holidays. Since Mar-a-Lago had been declared off limits because of the bad government shutdown optics, he, Melania and his court jesters had to go...
Donald Trump may watch the stock market more closely than any day trader. For a president who underlined the increasing importance of working-class whites to the GOP coalition and who trampled so much bipartisan economic orthodoxy during the campaign, to be so overtly obsessed with the stock market is a strange disconnect. In fact, no president in memory has so publicly staked himself to the market. Trump has, in contrast, paid relatively little public attention to wage growth, which is the measure that more closely tracks with his particular...
Last year, a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) global study of aerospace manufacturing attractiveness found the United States is top rated and within our country, Washington is the best. The study reaffirmed that “Washington’s economy and industry size are heavily tied to Boeing’s commercial aircraft business.” Boeing Commercial Airplane Co. is based in Renton. PwC pointed out that our state also is home to 1,400 aerospace-related businesses and has the highest concentration of aerospace jobs in...
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per-hour since 2009. Even though 96% of gainfully employed Americans earn more than the minimum, there is a push to increase it to a “living wage.” Minimum wage is a bad idea for several reasons: It ignores the concept of entry level jobs, it forces mechanization and/or elimination of low skilled jobs, and it interferes with the free market. I got my first job off the farm before I was in the eighth grade. I bagged groceries at Bob’s Market for $.75 an-hour. A few months later, my application at the s...
The Chinese have landed on the dark side of the moon, something never before accomplished. It is not a lucky break; they have been taking the necessary steps and setting up the critical pieces to communicate with the far side to bring about this feat. The example is fitting for the start of a new year when everyone thinks about resolutions - even though many of us think how we are NOT making them. The key to successfully keeping to those goals we set at the turn of the calendar is to follow the...
The holiday week leading up to New Year's has special meaning. The day after holy Christmas, we celebrated the wholly mercenary observance of Exchange Day. It's not an official holiday in the United States, but it should be, like Boxing Day is in British Commonwealth countries. You remember the British Commonwealth, don't you? That was the worldwide collection of countries under the influence of England, before the demise of the U.K. -- a downward slide that is nearly identical to what the U.S. is undergoing now. That was long before Brexit, wh...
Pet Peeves Snoqualmie Pass being closed for snow more now than it was before millions of dollars spent on construction to alleviate that....
Never before has a former FBI director boasted about taking advantage of an administration's disorganization for his own ends. But never before has a former FBI director been as self-satisfied as James Brien Comey Jr. In an interview at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Comey delighted his audience with his tale of how he exploited the Trump White House's disarray in its initial days to send two FBI agents to talk to then-national security adviser Michael Flynn without honoring the usual processes (e.g., working through the White House...
Kudos and thanks to Jana Mathia’s editorial last week! She did an excellent job of encapsulating a complex problem and making it understandable. We live in a system of systems, all interacting to maintain life on Earth. If one system gets out of balance, it affects many others. Global warming drives changing climates, which affect things, living or non-living, as the climate changes. In 1979, James Lovelock published “Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth.” He postulated that “the only feasible explanation of the Earth’s highly improbabl...
I'm feeling smugly superior to Frank Watson, which is silly, except in a small way. His column of 10-25-18, "Demand comes before Supply," shows that when it comes to drug policy, he's lost in the woods, barking up the prohibition tree. "If we want to stop the flow of drugs, we need to eliminate the demand created by the users in our country." We can't eliminate the demand for drugs. We've been trying drug prohibition for 103 years. Listen to a retired prison official. "The point that I'd like y'all to understand is, there's not a prison on...
I had the opportunity to go to the swearing in ceremony for Judge Hart. The court room was packed. It's not often you can eat cake in the superior court. That on its own shows how down-to-Earth Judge Libey is, and if you thought his humor to be as dry as un-buttered toast you are wrong. Judge Libey showed everyone there that he is one of our ordinary citizens having the values of Whitman County; he is witty, sincere, fair and just. --Kelley Messinger, Rosalia...
In the 1991 movie “City Slickers”, the old cowboy Curly tells the protagonist the secret to life is “one thing.” “Just that one thing. You stick to that and everything else don't mean sh**,” he says. What that one thing is is up to him and, as Billy Crystal's character learns, it can change in different situations. Most people agree global warming is a serious issue; perhaps THE issue most urgent in the world. If things don't change and the global temperature rises more than 1.5 degrees Cel...
OK, I get it. After an election, when the incumbent is about to be transformed into the former, we need a transition period. All in all, it's a good idea. It allows for a smooth changeover. Yada, yada, yada. But like all bright ideas, this one is invariably tarnished, because humans are involved. (How's that for Yuletide cheer?) As we all know, the time between outgoing and incoming is called the "lame duck" period. In Wisconsin and Michigan, the Democrats who were victorious in winning the governor's races and other statewide races are crying...
The office of the presidency is known for wearing down the mere mortals who hold it. At the very least, it prematurely ages its occupants. Often, it humiliates them, forcing them to rehabilitate their reputations later (George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter). In the worst case, it chews them up and spits them out (Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon). It is a journalistic trope that this is happening to Donald Trump before our eyes. The media constantly write stories about how the president is panicked and cornered, barely able to handle his duties,...
Our President is crude, crass, undiplomatic and rude. I agree with many of the things he has done, but I have real issues with the way he does them. I think his America First policy is spot on. We have allowed other countries to walk on us too long. I agree with his initiatives to rein in some federal agencies. The EPA has far too much power. They have been allowed to rely on pseudo-science to make arbitrary rules. They needed to be brought into the real world populated with people. I agree with President Trump’s policy to enforce our e...
A famous letter: Dear Editor— I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? --Virginia O'Hanlon 115 West Ninety Fifth Street 1897 The famous response Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or c...
What's interesting about Washington is how the first rule for its leaders has always been to make sure they don't have to follow many rules. Members of Congress have their "speech or debate" clause of the Constitution, meaning that no matter how they slander someone during their official proceedings, they won't be held legally accountable. Presidents can't be criminally prosecuted while in office without first being impeached and removed. What would normally be called "bribes" are "campaign contributions." Normal standards don't apply here....
Shakespeare famously wrote of the "sceptered isle" of Britain acting as a moat "against the envy of less happier lands." Lately, the less happier lands are winning in a rout. Britain is suffering a political meltdown as it struggles to make good on a historic vote in 2016 to leave the European Union. The decision for a so-called Brexit was a stirring statement of independence and self-government by a people who have defined themselves down the centuries by their stiff-necked resistance to anyone -- whether overweening monarchs or continental...
Oh My Gosh! I didn't think I would ever agree with anything written by Frank Watson. Yes, we are to the point where universal, government sponsored health care is desirable and possible. The easiest way to organize it seems to be Medicare for all. The systems are already in place, we just would need to ramp up the volume. The wealthiest country the world has ever known should be able to figure out a way to pay for it, besides each participant paying a modest amount, as with Medicare. Total elimination of insurance companies is a start. As in...
Once again, an editorial of yours was on the mark. Climate change is here and now. Two scientific studies in the last two months have reiterated what we have been hearing for a couple of decades, only with more urgency. Poland just hosted the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24). Although the role and influence of our government was diminished from previous years, a large coalition of local leaders and companies from the U.S. collaborated with other nations on ways to reduce...
Pet Peeves Overpriced lukewarm coffee Pothole on Main Street where construction was recently done. Don’t assume, check your facts Okeydokes WSDOT, you made a big difference The Red Brick Cafe re-opening in Rosalia ... great food, family-friendly, clean, cozy atmosphere! Tom & Janelle Stirling - your Christmas decorations are awesome! Winterfest parade in Colfax, pat on the back to Allie and Val! Public Works Department for picking up the doe at the residence on Fairview Street...
Christmas is a difficult time for anyone grieving the death of a loved one. It is especially hard when they were slain in the line-of-duty while protecting our country. It hit home again last month when Army sergeants Eric Emond, 39, Brush Prairie, and Leandro Jasso, 25, Leavenworth, were killed in Afghanistan. Both were experienced, elite soldiers who had served multiple tours in combat zones. Normally, the fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and more than...
In 15 or 20 years, some of the youngsters who watched the Christmas Parade last Thursday make its loop on Mill and Main streets in Colfax are certain to be marking Christmas elsewhere. They might be off at a distant military base, or they might be working the swing shift at a large urban hospital. Maybe they will find themselves staring at taillights while repeating a long commute along the I-5 corridor. While at those locations, they might mentally go home for Christmas and think of the 20-plus minutes when they stood out in the cold, dived fo...
Pet Peeves Businesses closed on weekends & weekday shutdowns 2-6 p.m. Okeydokes Winterfest parade, petting zoo and multiple places for hot cocoa. Colfax should be proud....
The word "potpourri" has a few definitions, but for a columnist it means writing about a bunch of unrelated stuff because he's too lazy to come up with an overarching theme. Instead, he'll take a superficial look at several developments. I have long experience doing that because of my career in TV news, where the marching orders were to "Get out there and scratch the surface!" What better frivolous way to begin this potpourri than with that fist bump, or whatever it was, at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed...
