Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 597 - 621 of 3749
On Friday, July 1, 2016, I chanced to meet congressional candidate Dave Wilson on Main Street in Walla Walla. Being a newly retired healthcare administrator, my eye caught a reference to Critical Access Hospitals in his campaign brochure. I was pleasantly surprised when he accepted my request to meet over coffee later that afternoon to talk about rural healthcare in particular and his campaign, in general. That meeting eventuated into a deep friendship that is now over four years in the making. What I observed then, and continue to experience,...
There are two legal options to respond to a state budget deficit: The governor orders across the board budget cuts, or a special session of the Legislature occurs liquidating the deficit. The first is a blunt instrument allowing no thoughtful response. The second provides the people’s legislative branch of government the opportunity to deliberate a more surgical response. Gov. Jay Inslee, however, has made it clear he doesn’t plan to call a special session to allow lawmakers to meet to bal...
When someone who has lived a long time dies, those who were close to them feel the loss, yet are able to look back on all that person has done and accomplished. When someone who is young dies, there is the pain of the loss, the separation, but also the pain of the loss of all that could have been, all the dreams, hopes and aspirations of a life that will never be realized. Yet another family in Whitman County is mourning this loss. It is a loss that never truly goes away. My husband's sister die...
I was surprised to find Mark Bordsen last week calling for President Trump to take charge of the COVID-19 shutdown and the countywide reopening from the shutdown. As I recall last April when Trump said he was going to use his federal powers to orchestrate the nation's virus response it was the Blue State governors Inslee, Cuomo, Newsom, Whitmer, et al, that essentially said, “no, you are not―that is our job.” They stated the 10th amendment gave that responsibility to them―not him. They charged that the President was trying to be a dictato...
As of this Monday morning, it is estimated that in the United States there is one case of Covid-19 for every 100 Americans. This would seem correct for the location of the "Freedom Rodeo," which was held in the "hottest" (most cases being found right now) location in our state. Two days for transmission involving 3,000 people. I hope Publisher Harnack is as enthusiastic about reporting on the possible outbreak of the virus as he was about the rodeo. Bob Curry, Endicott...
The news is totally composed primarily of the coronavirus (COVID-19). All sports events, fairs, livestock shows, rodeos, concerts and churches are being canceled for fear of getting this virus which only kills 1/2 of 1% of people infected by it (source: John Hopkins University School of Medicine, AP. Washington Post). Not as many or any more deaths than occurred due to Spanish flu, Hong Kong flu, Swine flu or many other diseases in the past. Realize people that Nancy Pelosi went to China in November 2019 and shortly thereafter this virus...
First let me begin by thanking Pam Lewison for all of her hard work. It’s people like her that have helped our country remain strong during this unprecedented period in our nation’s history. After reading Lewison’s article “Waste” last month, I’m disappointed that the meat industry’s scarcity narrative has trickled down even to the Palouse. Although the president of Tyson Meats warned of a nationwide meat shortage and meat prices rose by 4.2% in April, publicly available U.S. Meat Export Federation data shows that beef exports actually rose...
Yes, You Have Been Conned. The media lies, the numbers do not. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Washington State has had 29,901 deaths in the first six months of 2019 and 29,528 deaths in the first six months of 2020. The coronavirus has not increased the overall death rate. It is an average flu season by a different name. You have been conned. Why? Those in control of the media and a large portion of government are tapping into your fears. They have created an illusion of a health crisis. As a result, people distrust one another....
I’m referring to letter a to the Gazette, July 9, 2020 about blaming everything on President Trump. Subject: Covid 19 World Wide Deaths As of today, Sunday, July 12, 2020, I checked Google for the facts on Covid-19 worldwide. Whitman County Population: 50,104 - 0 Deaths = .0000%; State of WA Population: 7,615,000 - 1,424 Deaths = .0018 %; USA Population: 320,000,000 - 134,572 Deaths = .00040 %; World Population: 7,800,000,000 – DEATHS = 570900 = .0000731%. Check Google for yourself on my numbers as of July 12th 2020. Governor Inslee Shut dow...
Pet Peeves Being turned away for mask exemptions due to medical complications. People who take out their frustrations about store policies on employees, especially the young adults. People who take it upon themselves to be mask police Okeydokes When others wear masks in public they don’t smell it if I fart. When our communities can come together in times of tragedy and adversity to support each other....
I was sitting in my recliner scrolling through the channels the other day looking for something interesting to watch. At last count my cable gives me access to 119 channels, none of which could hold a candle to the Ed Sullivan Show. For $212 dollars a month, you would think I could find something worth watching. I remember when TV was free except for commercial interruptions. We now have more commercials than we have ever had plus a cable bill that exceeds my first house payment. We were one of the last houses in our area to get a TV. I would...
In case you didn't know, we've got a lot of problems in the world right now. And those problems are voiced very loudly, sometimes even violently. We have division, brutality, political differences and even strong opinions both ways about face ornamentation. What we need are more solutions. Not just from highly-educated people who have had all day to think about it, just more potential solutions. We need to look at the problems from many different ways and then start trying them. Some of those...
Let's review our national time since November 2016: "Tyranny." "Fake news." "Hoax." "Enemy of the people." Have you noticed that these and his other accusations apply more to our president than anyone/anything else? The president does not know many things, and he certainly does not know how to lead. It has taken only a lowly virus for more and more Americans to realize that our would-be emperor has no attire except a long red tie (made in China). The president does not know how to lead and ignores any good leadership advice offered to him. He...
Rather than emphasizing personal, individual freedoms, perhaps the leaders of our civilized society should focus on establishing and assuring fair and effective rules that protect the freedom of all individuals. Necessarily this means that all citizens must accept some reduction in their individual freedoms while benefitting from the limits on the freedoms of others. For example, newspapers have the freedom to publish lies about individuals, but that freedom of speech is limited by the affected individual’s legal right to litigate for f...
This was one eloquent editorial (Lisa Meyer, June 25, 2020) I would love to see it sent to the WSJ or a big national newspaper. Jeanne M. Prier, Portland, Oregon...
Did you hear about the right wing protester who went to a liberty rally and was filmed yelling he is not going to bow down to any of Inslee’s unconstitutional rules, and he will never wear a stupid mask either? Did you hear he got the Covid-19 virus and had to be taken care of by his mother - since his wife had left him and moved to another town a couple of months before? Did you hear that after losing fifteen pounds he finally got well, but his mother got sick from taking care of him and she ended up dying? Did you hear this made the rest o...
Has America lost its mind? Perhaps 2020 will be best described in history books as the year a virus from China caused a global pandemic, massive riots erupted across the country, the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum, and there was an attempt to rewrite American history — all leading to what is sure to be an interesting November at the polls. If you are like me, you’ve likely been trying to tune out the national media to retain a little bit of self-worth and delay the onset of manic de...
Sixty-six years ago, racism was part of the fabric of America, especially in the deep south. Few of us actually experienced separate water coolers, segregated bathrooms, or all white schools. I am glad that I did not. The Supreme Court ruling in the Brown vs Board of Education was supposed to change all that, but it met with stiff resistance. Sixty-three years ago, nine students required military escorts to and from school in Little Rock, Arkansas. White privilege was real, and racism was endemic in American society. We have come a long way sin...
Are you stressed? Well, deal with it. No, seriously, deal with it. For the sake of yourself, your family and your community, people need to acknowledge if they are stressed and find healthy ways to cope and manage that stress. There are some life events that are considered major stressors, no matter how zen you are. They include: a birth or death in the family, new job/major change at work, moving and dealing with serious illness. In the past four months, I've managed to tick off all of those...
Franklin Roosevelt became president in 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression. The highlight of his inaugural address was, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” The same is true today. Panic has disrupted more lives than the virus, and the statewide edict to wear masks in all public places adds to the panic. The governor stated the wearing of masks was, “imperative as economic activity increases.” Wearing of masks, however, will be a detriment to economic activity. My wife and I went to the movie last week in Newport. When Pend Oreille...
On July 4, 1975, America proudly celebrated its Bicentennial as the world’s greatest nation while Poland was a suppressed Soviet satellite state. Poles had no right to free speech, were hungry and impoverished. If you wanted a job, you played ball with Communist Party bosses. If you disagreed with their ideology, you likely were imprisoned. Poland was a rather bleak land which had not recovered from the German Blitzkrieg in 1939. Meanwhile, in Washington, the Business Week program started at C...
Teaching Psychology for 20 years at Spokane Falls Community College was such a learning experience – for me. I hope the students also learned a lot about the “Scientific study of behavior and mental processes.” When teaching the section on Evolutionary Psychology, it was always interesting to ask the classes if anyone knew about the Darwin Awards. Sheepishly, some students, especially boys, would raise their hands, grinning from ear to ear. For those of you who don’t know, every year people are selected for Darwin Awards - the dumbest things...
