Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1252 - 1276 of 3750
Pet Peeves My rights! No dogs in the local grocery store! For heavens sakes, please go back to the two section format....
So now we know what Donald Trump will do for a living when he leaves office, whenever that is. He will be busy: In addition to continuing his television career by doing commercials for products that you can get by calling a 1-800 number, he'll also be touring as a stand-up comedian. Obviously he's got a knack for it. Look no further than the success Trump had when he brought the house down at the United Nations nightclub in New York. Actually, it was the General Assembly, and it was a really tough crowd who couldn't help but laugh at the Trump...
It's time for "To Kill a Mockingbird" to give up its treasured place in American culture. The 1960 novel by Harper Lee was published to instant acclaim, has sold more than 30 million copies and is ubiquitous in high school curricula. The 1962 movie version, starring Gregory Peck, is a classic in itself and won three Academy Awards. But nothing is forever, even for a book commonly called "timeless." Lee's novel is deeply out of sympathy with a moment when on college campuses, and in the culture more broadly, due process isn't what it used to...
SHE SAID that the most hurtful part of the sexual assault was the sound of the laughter of the two young men assaulting her. HE SAID he didn't do it, but was not willing to talk with investigators. He claimed that she was a part of a conspiracy to keep him from being appointed to the Supreme Court. THEY SAID they believed him without proof. HE WROTE that he was sorry for his angry outburst, spouting about a conspiracy, and lack of judicial temperament while testifying before the committee. THEY PLOWED AHEAD with preparations for a vote, while...
I applaud Publisher Gordon Forgey for his editorial “Climate refugees.” In it he describes a phenomenon – the flood of refugees into our country from climate change – as likely to be “slower in coming,” yet longer-lasting than Dust Bowl dislocations during the Great Depression. That editorial was based on research published in Nature Climate Change last month. The study focused on social costs of carbon (SCC) in each of the earth’s nearly 200 countries. The SCC measures economic harm from carbon dioxide emissions. Previous research focu...
Let’s just put aside the juvenile name calling by Cathy McMorris Rodgers and VP Mike Pence of Lisa Brown as Liberal, for the moment. What has Cathy McMorris Rodgers done that is consistent with Conservative Republican values? As far as I know, Conservative Republican values includes limited government, balanced budgets and reducing government debt. In the last omnibus budget, she inserted a provision that props up the price Medicare pays for a handful of medications that includes support for a west side company called Omeros, costing t...
If you want Nancy Pelosi to be speaker of the house, then vote for Lisa Brown. I support Cathy. --David Stueckle, LaCrosse...
Give Gov. Jay Inslee and backers of Initiative 1631 credit. They are persistent in their quest to invoke a fee on carbon emissions. Voters will decide its fate on Nov.6. Since Inslee was first elected, he pushed to reduce CO2 discharges---a laudable goal. Two years ago, carbon initiative backers drafted a “revenue neutral” ballot measure which voters rejected by a 59-41 percent margin. Today’s Initiative 1631 simply adds a new fee without cutting any state fee or tax, particularly on gasol...
'Tis the season. We have four seasons in Eastern Washington: basketball season, dry season, fire season, and political season. We are slowly making it through the season for politics. As bad as it seems, it could be worse. We could be in a presidential election year. National politics are depressing. Issues don’t seem to matter. Am I the only one who is tired of having my favorite TV program interrupted by candidates bashing each other? If this continues into Dancing With the Stars, I am going to scream. How many good people are we willing t...
Last week, Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona declared that more time and an FBI investigation were needed to decide on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. New allegations against Kavanaugh had clouded the hearings devoted to his nomination. Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee wanted a fuller investigation as well. The Republicans accused them of trying to delay the vote. The Republicans wanted the vote and the matter closed quickly. Neither party was willing to bend from their stance. Then, Flake, a Republican,...
It happens several times a game: I'll announce to the world, "The entire season rests on this pitch (shot/play/whatever)." My friends long ago learned simply to ignore my sarcasm, which makes it difficult when I'm being serious. Such as when I announce, "The fate of the nation might rest on the upcoming election." For real. Even though Donald Trump is not on the ballot, the midterms will determine if Congress can take a role in restraining his worst impulses. It should be obvious to those horrified by his presidency that they must install an...
The attempted political assassination of Brett Kavanaugh is bad for the country, but good for a Trumpian attitude toward American politics. The last-minute ambush validates key assumptions of Donald Trump's supporters that fueled his rise and buttress him in office, no matter how rocky the ride has been or will become. At least three premises have been underlined by tawdry events of the past weeks. First, that good character is no defense. If you are John McCain, who genuinely tried to do the right thing and carefully cultivated a relationship...
Okeydokes Flake for seeing our pain and acting on it....
Currently, there are continuous technological advances, especially in the way we communicate, which have led to large media platforms belittling the value of local news reporting. It is essential to be aware of what is happening around your community, not only being aware of what is on your Facebook feed. Local newspapers represent your surrounding area. They provide citizens with current events, opinion pieces, and now, local newspapers can use the technology that is their own destruction for their benefit by accessing Facebook and Twitter. If...
In the 1960s, there was a popular movie called: “The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming”. The plot was a Soviet naval commander runs his sub aground off a Massachusetts coastal island and sends two English-speaking crewmen ashore to procure a boat with enough power to pull them free. The Russian sailors didn’t exactly blend in and chaos ensued. That was fiction, but today American farmers face the hard facts that the Russians are invading our wheat markets worldwide. Many of us remem...
Another natural disaster is predicted to impact the United States. As with the Dust Bowl, refugees will flood different parts of the country. The new disaster will be slower in coming and last longer than the Depression era dislocation of people. And, it has already started. The Guardian newspaper in England reports that Americans are already reacting to the new threat. The paper calls those trying to escape it “climate refugees.” Many more, it says, will follow in the coming years as the climate continues to warm. Climate refugees will grow in...
Pet Peeves Those people who let their pets sit on their laps when driving. Talk about distractions while driving. Okeydokes Crisp fall mornings and warm days. Three new businesses on Main Street Colfax....
The human tragedy and cataclysmic damage of devastating storms like Florence, Harvey and Maria are natural disasters that mercifully divert the news emphasis, just for a while, from the unnatural disaster that is the American political system. I don't wish to be flippant about tragic and costly storms, so I'll spare you the glib analogies, other than to describe an American society that is being overwhelmed by floods of distrust. The destruction is not just the result of one man -- that is, the demagogic, grossly incapable Donald Trump. Instead...
President Donald Trump is showing that it's possible to preside over a period of peace and prosperity and still be notably unpopular. Over the past several months, Trump has opened even more of a wedge between the largely benign material conditions in the country and his own political standing, which is precarious and appears to be sliding backward. This isn't how it's supposed to work. Republican politicos believed, reasonably enough, that last year's tax cuts would stoke growth and create a good-news backdrop for Republicans in the midterms....
I want to take a moment to recognize the people who made last week's fair such a great experience. The fairgrounds was beautiful, clean, and had a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The work and devotion of Bill Tensfeld, Janel Goebel, Heather Netz and all of their staff and volunteers, and of volunteer Steve Larkin, did not go unnoticed. --Mellissa Dugger, Garfield...
I am writing this letter in support of Sandy Jamison as Whitman County auditor. Sandy has the education, experience and practical knowledge for being an excellent auditor for our county. Sandy will "hit the ground running" and I’m sure we will be pleased with her performance and results. I have known Sandy for the past 15 years through our common support of and involvement in both the Whitman County and Washington State Farm Bureaus. I support Washington State Farm Bureau’s formal endorsement of Sandy Jamison's candidacy for Whitman County aud...
Last spring, Boeing revealed its proposed hypersonic passenger airliner which would fly much higher and faster than the Concorde---the only previous supersonic commercial airplane. For reference, supersonic jets fly over the speed of sound (660 mph or Mach 1), while hypersonics surpass Mach 5 or 3,800 mph. Boeing told the annual American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference held in Atlanta its sleek new airplanes would travel at Mach 5, enabling them to cross the Atlantic Ocean...
My first new car was a Chevy Malibu made in Detroit. A few years later, my wife and I bought a few acres north of Airway Heights and thought we needed a small truck. I wouldn’t settle for anything but an American brand and was surprised to find that our new Luv Truck was made in Japan. The only thing American on it was the Chevy emblem. My next truck was a half-ton Chevy made in Canada. It was followed by a Ford made in Mexico. During my rebellious phase, I owned a Harley that was made in Milwaukee. Thus, I was a bit surprised that the l...
The Cougars will have to be careful Friday night. They are playing the mighty Trojans in the L.A. Coliseum. The last time the two teams played WSU won. A fan was also injured by an USC player after the game. It can get rough on the field. It is not bound to be easier in Los Angeles. USC is mad. They are unsettled. Take for instance the fact that they have been beaten by Texas in two of their last three meetings. They are still steaming over the fact that one of their great stars was unjustly accused of murder. And to make matters worse, they...
Okeydokes The delicious seniors breakfast the first day of the fair ... the ladies appreciated the beautiful carnations too! Rosalia Lions Club ice cream at the Steiger Hotel. Flags this weekend in Colfax–WSU, EWU and Colfax Bulldogs....
