Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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I used to go to the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, but wouldn’t now, even if I was invited, which I’m not. It has evolved into a country-come-to-town grabfest where those who skulk around Washington’s power centers mingle with Hollywood stars, corporate sponsors and their political sources, playing like they’re exciting, or even interesting. One of the highlights, though, is the speech from the president, where the chief executive pretends he likes the press while making remarks dripping with sarcastic, and might I add funny...
(Della Evans of Hooper contributed this poem in memory of Gazette reporter Sally Ousley who died over the weekend.) For Sally, I think you would have liked this poem had you had time. Rest in peace my friend. A Favor Don’t sing any sad songs for me. Rejoice and be happy. For it is time to put me away, so get together and celebrate this day. Because I’m looking forward to this next step I’m to take And I’ll take my pen, pencil and camera through the gate. I think the Boss probably knows I’ll be happy reporting this new adventure for me I’m go...
Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2010. The Internet has turned the world into one gigantic linked community, capable of instantly sharing vast amounts of incorrect information. Anyone can create a “fact,” such as, “If you do nothing but watch sports all weekend, the lack of physical activity will convince your body it is slipping into a coma, so to stave off unconsciousness it will start burning calories like crazy.” Post this new fact to a blog, and the search engines will dutifully pick it up so you can win a...
To many, giving President Obama more authority is a bad idea. However, regardless of how you feel about him, the President of the United States needs the power to negotiate trade agreements. The issue before Congress is a bipartisan bill granting the President’s trade negotiators the power to help write the terms of trade agreements. Senators Orin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) brokered the deal, which hopefully makes its way through Congress. World trade creates 38 million American jobs, 846,000 in Washington. Our state has the h...
Deserve better The very recently hired City Administrator and City Treasurer along with the Mayor had determined that fraud had occurred involving the City books. The State Auditor had a routine audit of the City books scheduled. During that time the State Auditor was hired by the City to do an additional audit without knowing the extra cost. The result of that audit was that there was no fraud. The employees, former and current, deserve better than being described as contributing to anything that could possibly be described as fraud. Fraud by...
Baltimore was ablaze Monday night as rioting throngs in various parts of the city looted and battled with police. Violence occurred again Tuesday night. The riots grew from protests over the death of a young African-American man while in police custody. Local police were reinforced by area law enforcement, the state police and the national guard. Calls also went out for more firefighters. Rioters tried to destroy fire hoses as the firefighters fought blazes. The governor declared a state of emergency and a curfew is now in place. Schools are...
A rigid rule of life: Never ever ask someone “Do you know who I am?” — particularly when you’re irate at how you’re being treated. Second, always remember that everything you do is being recorded by cameras that are now everywhere, except the bathroom ... at least some bathrooms. We don’t need to tell that to Britt McHenry, who, of all things, makes her living on-camera, presenting herself as one of the many blond, young female news and sportscasters who are all over TV these days. Fox News is crawling with them, but Britt McHenry is on ESPN....
Prepare for the rise of the landed nobility. Democracy as we’ve known it was nice while it lasted, but House Republicans have signaled the beginning of its end with a vote to repeal the estate tax. Or so you would believe, based on the hysterics on the left over the proposed end of a minor, inefficient tax that is evidently the fragile keystone of our system of government and way of life. “Repealing the estate tax will surely sow the seeds of a permanent aristocracy in this country,” according to Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington. His colle...
Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2010. Of all the major-league sports that I follow, probably the one that asks the most of its elite athletes is competitive eating. That is why I was stunned and saddened to hear that one of the top face-stuffers in the world, Takeru Kobayashi, was arrested at this year’s international hot-dog-eating contest on Coney Island. Takeru reportedly “went berserk” during the contest, reminding all of us of the time that Mike Tyson became so worked up in a boxing match he bit both of...
Will you celebrate Tax Freedom Day this year? Until April 24, every penny we’ve earned in 2015 goes to pay your taxes. While this year, national Tax Freedom Day is 114 days into the year, for us in Washington, it won’t arrive until April 29. In 2015, Americans will pay $3.28 trillion in federal taxes and $1.57 trillion in state and local taxes, for a total tax bill of $4.85 trillion. That is a whopping amount, virtually impossible for you and me to grasp. But think about it this way: If you earned $40,000 a year, it would take you 125 mil...
A helping hand? The original intention of the SSI/DSHS programs were set up to assist the disabled or impoverished - e.g. those born with mental/physical ailments that make it difficult for them to do what others are more easily able to accomplish; And/or those who find themselves placed in an unexpected situation in which they are ill prepared for and in need of temporary assistance due to illness, accident, single parent etc. The SSI/DSHS system was NOT designed for and does not have the funds or capability to support those whom are able but...
You can never know what that wacky Hillary Clinton will do next. At the outset of her latest presidential campaign, she decided to drive from New York to Iowa for her first campaign stop. Or, to be more precise, she decided to be driven to Iowa by a Secret Service agent as part of a three-car caravan in keeping with her security needs. For a former first lady and global celebrity, this is traveling light and spontaneous — let’s load up the Secret Service detail and blow this joint. Her campaign referred to her vehicle as “her Scooby van,...
With all that divides us these days, there are certain things that we all have in common. Think about it. For instance: Is there anybody reading this who doesn’t have a local TV news station with the slogan “7 on Your Side,” “11 on Your Side” or “13 blah, blah, blah ....” It’s the handiwork of the consultants who advise their broadcasting clients that they must establish a personal rapport with you, the viewer, by being “on your side.” It’s their way of stating that they care about you more than, say, ratings and big bucks from advertiser...
Over the last few issues of the Gazette, individuals have been running ads promoting the new Tomosynthesis 3-D mammography equipment at Whitman Hospital and Medical Center. The individuals running the ads are women who have had breast cancer. They are not seeking sympathy. Some of their trials are well known. Others have been more private. Yet, they are publicly promoting the use of this technology because of the importance of diagnosing breast cancer at the very earliest stages. This new, state of the art equipment now at the hospital gives...
Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2010. In order to write a book about teenage girls (“8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter,” Workman, 2001), I had to get inside their minds, which was a bit like Queen Latifah trying to squeeze into a size 4. My basic approach was to imagine what it would be like to be angry at everything, unwilling to listen to anybody, fascinated by boys my father didn’t approve of and wearing so much mascara my eyelids stuck together. My daughters loudly and vehemently hated the ide...
Ask the Commissioner, “Why?” Imagine you have a product that customers love. It’s top quality, affordable and meets or exceeds all state and federal benefit standards. Better yet, your product fills a void in the marketplace that left people vulnerable and unprotected. Now, half a million people in Washington use your product and your customers gladly buy it year after year. Nevertheless, a government regulator steps in and tries to put you out of business. Why? That’s a good question. The product we’re talking about is health insurance...
Response Last week the Gazette published a letter from Rosalia Mayor Nan Konishi to State Rep. Susan Fagan listing concerns of local officials about lack of state funding for local entities. Rep. Fagan’s response is published below. Nan; Thank you for your thoughtful letter. You and other locally-elected officials have the biggest challenge because, as you point out, you don’t have enough tools available to address the challenges that come before you. The Legislature has developed some ways for cities and counties to secure funding for spe...
We live in the era of the anti-Christian pogrom. The slaughter earlier this month at Garissa University College in Kenya that killed nearly 150 people was the latest example of the bloodlust. Usually, such mass-casualty attacks are indiscriminate, but the killers of the Somali-based al-Shabab terror group sought to be exacting during their all-day assault on the largely Christian university. A student told The Associated Press, “If you were a Christian, you were shot on the spot.” One witness described his best friend begging for his life, pre...
I’m endlessly amazed by the continued success of Orwellian doublespeak, where propagandists — uh, excuse me, advocates — are able to shamelessly turn language upside down. Employing their rhetorical sleight-of-hand, the victimizer becomes the victim. The most egregious example these days is from those who try to impose their dogma on the rest of society. Remember that religion already gets favored treatment in this country. Churches and other houses of worship are not taxed; billions of dollars are lost to the economy as a result. At the same...
Hillary Clinton has formally announced her candidacy for President of the United States. According to her camp, this time around she will be more natural and show how connected she is to common Americans. This plan will show the real Hillary, they say, as opposed to the last plan which apparently didn’t. So, she kicked off her campaign with a slick video presentation with images of herself and common Americans interspersed with her message. She is also taking a road trip in a van to Iowa. Along the way, she is meeting with common Americans a...
Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in July, 2010. The Tour de France is on this month ... and on, and on, and on. It started July 4 in Belgium and will end in Paris on July 25 — about twice as long as it took the German army to cover the same distance, and they were walking. You’d think a bicycle race would be fairly straightforward — people get on their bikes and ride, well, straight forward. But this is France, so it’s more complicated than that. For one thing, the clothing the teams wear is extremely important...
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has announced new rules that reduce the vapor pressure in oil tanker cars leaving his state’s booming oil patch. The goal is to reduce the risk of fiery explosions like the one that killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec in July 2013. In separate efforts, Congress is beefing up safety standards for oil tank cars and the White House is calling for increased rail inspections and slower speeds for oil trains traveling through populated areas. Meanwhile, the Washington legislature is working to tighten r...
General hospital If you should be so fortunate as to run a rusty spike up through your foot and end up with an appendage that looks more like a foot long bright red cucumber than a foot, look no further than the Whitman County Hospital for treatment. I cannot say enough great things about the care I received from the moment I limped through the emergency room door, to the day I limped back out the front door on the original foot I was born with. It could have been a different story if the wonderful doctors, nurses and staff had been less...
Indiana is experiencing its two minutes of hate. Indiana’s sin is that its Legislature passed and Gov. Mike Pence signed into law a Religious Freedom Restoration Act, setting out a legal standard for cases involving a clash between a person’s exercise of religion and the state’s laws. To listen to the critics, you’d think the law was drafted by a joint committee of attorneys from the Ku Klux Klan and the Westboro Baptist Church. The enlightened are stumbling over themselves in their rush to boycott Indiana. Seattle and San Francisco are banning...
What is it about religion? Even in these modern times where we are exposed to a world full of ideas, how can what presents itself as the ultimate force for love bring out the absolute worst hate in people? In the state of Indiana there was a law passed, purported to be a protection for religion, yet motivated by a desire to humiliate human beings whose only “sin” is choosing a member of the same gender to love. Under this legislation, religious reasons can be cited as legal justification to discriminate against gays, meaning that the bigot can...
