Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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The bowl season is about over. The last game is Jan. 13, so we will have to watch the pros until February sometime. After that our TVs will be football free for eight months or so. WSU lost to Air Force in the Cheez-it Bowl. I didn’t even know there was a Cheez-it Bowl. There are so many now I have lost track. I remember when going to a bowl was a very big deal. Now all you need is a mediocre season to qualify for a big pay day. The Rose Bowl paid $66 million last year. This year should be even bigger. Even the relatively obscure Cheez-it B...
The new year is a time to reset priorities and agendas. It is time to step boldly into new goals and new enterprises. Gone is 2019. 2020 offers a fresh start in many ways. It has been said recently that 2019 was the year that climate change deniers were pushed back from the forefront and that awareness of the process the earth is going through in regards to climate change is more firmly established and accepted. This acceptance is one heck of a start. But, if that is so, what now? The next 10 to 20 years will be of worldwide importance in...
I don't know if they take attendance in schools anymore. Maybe surveillance cameras, facial recognition and all the other high-tech intrusions make it unnecessary, but back in the day, the teacher would always start out with the roll call. You were expected to announce "here" when your name was called. But there was always one guy who would say "present," just to be different. There is also one in the House of Representatives. Actually, Tulsi Gabbard is not a guy at all; she's a congresswoman, an alleged Democrat from Hawaii. When it came time...
President Donald Trump's impeachment letter to Nancy Pelosi is nothing if not sincere. The missive establishes, if there were any doubt, that Trump hates impeachment with a passion, and he expresses his contempt in his own inimitable voice -- scornful, hyperbolic, colloquial, on brand (Russia Witch Hunt, Do Nothing Democrats, etc.) and, above all, aggrieved. We've never had a president in the modern era who has actively cultivated an image of victimhood, a posture that once would have been considered whiny and weak, but that Trump has, through...
American heroes? Representative Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, like all members of Congress, took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Despite this, she and all House Republicans voted against impeachment of President Trump! Maybe, because she knew the impeachment articles would pass without her support, she chose not to stick her neck out. So much for the oath she took, huh? Russia has and still is undermining us and sowing confusion across the world. McMorris-Rodgers seems to recognize the danger because she has voted in favor of...
Before I get into the merits of the case, let me say that I am no fan of Donald Trump. Never have been and probably never will be. He is crass, rude and acts like an immature bully. He is everything that you would not want in a diplomat. I can understand why people don’t like him. On the other hand, I agree with him on many issues. For far too long, our friends and allies have taken advantage of our generosity. China uses trade as a weapon. Our national debt is growing out of control, and our lack of border security threatens our s...
As we launch into 2020 and the ensuing decade, Boeing faces very strong head winds which are major concerns for those of us living in the Pacific Northwest. Things are vastly different now. In my first column of 2019, I wrote that Boeing was poised to have its best year ever. It had strong tail winds propelling it. It would build upon a very successful 2018. Its 737 Max was selling like hot cakes to hungry airlines and plans were in the works to expand production at the Renton assembly plant....
Dear Santa, How are you Santa? How is Mrs. Claus and the raindeer? Santa I have been kind of good Well let's move on Santa. I want a science kit and a camera too. Can I have a microswpe. Thank you Santa. Can I have a locker for my doll? thank you Santa. Love, Ella Dear Santa How are you? I would like Jurassic world figures and a microphone and a dinosaur I have been good! Love, Thomas Dear Santa, How are you Santa? How is Rudolph? I hare bun good. Now the toys..I L.O.L next a stuffed sort toy dog and a Rudolph plush for Christmas. How is the...
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 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 children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect...
How fitting it was that on Friday the 13th, Boris Johnson trundled over to Buckingham Palace and received permission from the queen to form his government. Fitting because it was bad luck for those who had fading hopes of somehow stopping Brexit before it actually happened, and really bad luck for those who put up a fight against Boris Johnson. He’s a serial liar and buffoon, but he had the incredibly good fortune to run against Jeremy Corbin, someone the British people despise even more than Johnson. His Conservatives were pitted against a L...
The Supreme Court just ensured that the nation’s homelessness crisis will continue. The court declined to take up an appeal of a ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, covering the western United States, that homeless encampments are a de facto constitutional right. In the case, stemming from a Boise, Idaho, ordinance, the 9th Circuit maintained that enforcing a prohibition against camping in public places is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. A quick reminder. The Eighth Amendment says, “Exc...
I was a bit surprised by Colleen Winchester’s hate-filled open letter to Cathy McMorris Rogers. I was more even more surprised by what triggered her anger. A Constituency email survey on robocalls? Really? It seems that these days the most minuscule action or inaction will trigger some folks. It seems some folks will hatefully protest, calling their political opponents the most vile of names (I am not saying Ms. Winchester would ever do that―I certainly trust she would not―but some folks do) and at the same time claim they are hearing “dog...
Contrasts between the east and west sides of Washington State can be identified in many shapes and forms. This one deals with modes for going to a football game, and probably other games. November's Apple Cup game this year was at Husky Stadium, the hallowed ground on Montlake Boulevard which runs along the eastern side of the University of Washington campus. During years when the Apple Cup is at Husky Stadium, Cougar fans face the challenge of getting to the stadium and getting back from the...
Precious few days remain for getting ready for Christmas. Gifts, food, decorations and everyday chores are just a few of the tasks ahead. Some people are done and ready for the celebration. For the rest of us, a lot remains to be finished. It is not too late, however, to gift your local town. Last minute shopping is something that is easy and important. Most local merchants take pride in providing for their local customers. The local businesses may not have marble floors and fountains, but they do have much of what is wanted and needed for the...
For a town where friendship is really a matter of expedience, where Best Friends Forever, or "BFF" in kiddie talk, has become "BFT," Best Friends Temporarily, we sure have conjured up many sound bites about friendship. "You want a friend in Washington?" said Harry Truman, "Get a dog." Unless, of course, Fido can get tastier kibbles elsewhere. How about this one? "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." That one captures the transactional nature of geopolitical friendship. Collaborators in one battle can shift to adversaries in an instant. The...
The Democrats believe that the 2020 election is too important to be left to the voters. It's obvious that President Donald Trump withheld defense aid to Ukraine to pressure its president to commit to the investigations that he wanted, an improper use of his power that should rightly be the focus of congressional investigation and hearings. Where the Democrats have gotten tangled up is trying to find a justification that supports the enormous weight of impeaching and removing a president for the first time in our history. They've cycled through...
Okeydokes: The beautiful Andrew Wyeth tones on the farm land. Frosty farms......
Dear Rep.Cathy McMorris Rogers, I received an email from you recently asking me to fill out a survey about robo calls. You must be joking. With all the terribly important things going on in this county, you are sending me surveys about robo calls? Do you have so little respect for your constituency? Our democracy is imploding. The Republican Party has lost any semblance of a backbone or ability to feel shame. This administration is alienating our allies and kowtowing to men like Vladimir Putin, putting us all at risk. The president has...
Bridges shouldn’t have to sink to be replaced. However, at times that’s what it takes. Too often new projects succumb to years of fighting among interest groups and endless political bickering. In 2013, opposition killed Columbia Crossings project which was formed to construct a replacement I-5 bridge across the Columbia River connecting Vancouver and Portland. We all want more roads and bridges as long as they are in the other persons’ neighborhood and someone else pays. But that attit...
During the decade or so that I taught English to high school freshmen, I would adjust my teaching schedule to begin a block on poetry a few weeks before winter vacation. Poetry needs to be heard to be appreciated, thus, I would begin and end each class period by reading a poem aloud. The last day before holiday break, I would read Clement Moore’s epic that begins “Twas the night before Christmas.” This poem defines the American version of Santa Claus. We would then read and discuss some other traditional Christmas poems and song lyrics. I concl...
REAL ESTATE Christina Wellman and Katrinka Hibler, Shelton, to Brett Shirley, lot B in Cumberland Short Plat No. 1, Pullman, $34,000, Dec. 10. Thanh-Xuan and Trong Nguyen, Pullman, to Zhongwei and Xin Tang, multi-family residence on NW Thomas, Pullman, $240,000, Dec. 10. Mathew Chaplin for the estate of Keith Lincoln, Austin, Texas, to John Egner and Ann Elizabeth Willgrube, house on SE Crestview, Pullman, $550,000, Dec. 12. Richard Richter, trustee for the Richter Notre Dame Charitable Remainder Unitrust, to AH and CJ Properties, Coeur... Full story
This will be sacrilege to "Never Trumpers," but Michael Bloomberg and Donald Trump share some similarities. It is true that Bloomberg's charitable foundation actually does good work, while Donald Trump had to pay a $2 million fine for basically using his for self-promotion. And it is true that Bloomberg has financed gun control efforts, while Trump, as president, has groveled before the National Rifle Association. It is also true that Donald now calls himself a Republican -- in fact, he's taken over the party -- but he has switched between...
Donald Trump is close to being impeached by the House of Representatives. Hearings continued on Monday, but it is almost a forgone conclusion that Articles of Impeachment will be approved in committee by the end of the week and then voted on by the full House next week. The House, of course, is dominated by Democrats. Should the Articles of Impeachment be voted in, then they will go to the Senate. At that point, a “trial” will be conducted in the Senate. The Senate then votes on whether or not the president should be removed from office. The...
