Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1061 - 1085 of 3750
One lesson the Washington reporter learns very quickly is that he or she should never EVER have unbreakable plans for the weekend. It's a major strain on the relationships that newspersons have with significant others who can accept only so many disappointments resulting from the Friday night news dump. The unpredictable dump has become sadly predictable. For good reasons and bad, officials wait until most people have stopped paying attention because they're focusing on their Saturday and Sunday activities, errands and fun stuff, and not on...
The release of Robert Mueller's finding that Donald Trump didn't collude with Russia should settle a question his critics -- and, quietly, some of his allies -- have asked repeatedly over the past two years: Why was he acting so guilty? It turns out that he was acting innocent, only in a typically combative, over-the-top Trump fashion. The left and the media were never willing to credit the idea that Trump sincerely believed that he was being treated unfairly – because he was. When Trump said in his infamous Lester Holt interview that the T...
Each year Americans throw away more than three billion batteries constituting 180,000 tons of hazardous material and the situation is likely to get much worse as the world shifts to electric vehicles. Everyday-green.com reports more than 86,000 tons of single-use alkaline batteries (AAA, AA, C and D) are thrown away. They power electronic toys and games, portable audio equipment and flashlights and make up 20 percent of the household hazardous materials in our garbage dumps. Unlike composted...
Due to a layout error, the following letter in last week’s paper was attributed to the wrong person. It was sent in by Timothy Thompson of Endicott, not Wiley Hollingsworth of Pullman. Hollingsworth was offered a chance to offer his own words in response to what were not his words last week....
After two and a half years and forty million dollars there are no indictments for any collusion of any kind, yet the Democratic Party persists in their attack on the president, who has stated all along that their was no collusion. The Special Counsel decides what information, if any, should be disclosed. It is written in the constitution. It is the law. The Senate Democrats do not dictate what information should be disclosed by the Attorney General. Democrats should read the Constitution once in awhile. It is an manual for procedure and how to...
I share a sentiment expressed in the letter, "Treason", 3-28-19 -- patriotism. However, I feel that he's shooting his musket in the wrong direction. Both the Republican and the Democratic parties play hardball, and hard headed hardball can abuse the Constitution. I think he's caught up in all that. But he's missing the bigger game that's being played. The world government crowd wants to erase our national borders. To the defense of the Constitution! But slowly. I don't remember that Ross Perot came right out and actually said that both the...
The investigation into the Trump campaign and presidency was concluded last week by special counsel Robert Mueller. A brief summary of this investigation has been released. The full report has not. The White House claims total vindication of the charges. The Democrats are seeing this as just the beginning and will be conducting their own investigations. All this is aside from the various cases working their way through the courts. Now despite all the accusations of a political witch hunt and counter claims of “collusion” and obstruction, the...
Pet Peeves The cost of vehicle registration for seniors and the handicapped. Give us a break....
The Democrats could use some sex education. Right now, their candidates are multiplying like crazy, all clamoring for that top berth on the party's presidential ticket. They're clearly in need of some berth control. Absent any family planning, however, they'll keep sprouting -- young sprouts and old ones, black and white, male, female and alternative. There's even an avatar named Beto. Beto O'Rourke is an empty baseball-cap-wearing concoction of millennial cliches, sharing every facet of his existence on social media. Thus far, Beto is coming a...
The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated itself an organization hostile to women and people of color. It fired its co-founder Morris Dees for unexplained reasons and removed his bio from its website at the same time it pledged to train its management in "racial equity, inclusion and results." Simultaneous with the cashiering of Dees after nearly 50 years at the SPLC, roughly two dozen employees wrote a letter warning "allegations of mistreatment, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and racism threaten the moral authority of this...
After two and a half years and forty million dollars there are no indictments for any collusion of any kind, yet the Democratic Party persists in their attack on the president, who has stated all along that their was no collusion. The Special Counsel decides what information, if any, should be disclosed. It is written in the constitution. It is the law. The Senate Democrats do not dictate what information should be disclosed by the Attorney General. Democrats should read the Constitution once in awhile. It is an manual for procedure and how to...
Before our country, in haste, dives totally into renewable energy, we must carefully evaluate its impacts. By just focusing on eliminating natural gas, liquid fuels (gasoline and diesel) and coal to combat climate change, we ignore the effects of other forms of pollution generated by processes in which renewable energy components are made. Under the Green New Deal, the United States would become 100 percent reliant on renewable energy in a decade and eliminate CO2 producing fuels. It would cost...
I was tired of shoveling snow the other day and needed some comic relief, so I decided to read the most recent newsletters sent out by my state representative. Finding out what is happening at our state capitol is challenging. I usually start with the newsletters, then Google for more details. If you don’t get these newsletters, you should. Your representative’s office will gladly add you to their email list. Then you, too, will have something to break up the monotony of late winter. As our Governor has been reborn as the climate change can...
There was a time when a total of 50 different license plates adorned cars in America. That was one for each of the 50 states. Many a family trip was saved by the kids in the back seat trying to find as many different ones as they could on long road trips. Generally, these state plates were distinctive. It was always cause for celebration when an Alaskan plate was seen. In one’s own state, the plates were ingrained in memory. In cases of emergency or trying to identify an irresponsible driver, all that was needed was an effort to remember the p...
Pet Peeves Be kind about where people park. Not all disabilities are visible. Okeydokes The nice man who washed my car for me at Jim’s Service Center on Friday....
Donald Trump definitely is not introspective. If he thought about it, he'd probably decide that such self-reflection is navel-gazing and a total waste of time. But, of course, since he's not introspective, he's never thought about it. Whatever bubbles up from the Trump sump of his mind dumps out of his mouth, with no regard for what it fouls in the process. His millions of minions love it. They roared in gusty approval at the Conservative Political Action Conference as the Trumpster let fly with a two-hour toxic stream of consciousness. It...
We interrupt the talk of the president "manufacturing" a crisis at the border with this hair-raising report about the crisis at the border. Alarming new numbers about border apprehensions from U.S. Customs and Border Protection should puncture the lazy conventional wisdom about the border being under control, except in the lurid imagination of President Donald Trump. More than 76,000 migrants were apprehended crossing the southern border last month, the highest February in more than 10 years and the highest month of the Trump administration. Th...
Measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, you name it – vaccines are safe, despite what social media would have you believe. But don’t believe me; believe some people who know. In an extraordinary, if not unprecedented event, the three presidents of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a joint statement on March 8 supporting vaccination. If you don’t know, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) was created in 1863 during the Civil War. It established the National Research Council in 1916 at the request of President Wil...
Across the pond, London-based BP and Netherlands-headquartered Shell are looking to invest in innovative electric technology which is very good news. The two international oil giants, both of which have oil refineries in northwest Washington, recognize the growth in battery storage capacity. Their investments should bring down costs for consumers and bring ground-breaking technology to market quicker. Making electric cars and new batteries for homes and power grids is a major step toward...
Homelessness has been cussed and discussed with no solution in sight. With no viable plan most officials wring their hands and hope the problem will go away. The latest suggestion is to pay them a living wage. Thus the unfortunate street people could afford the requisite training to find jobs. I guess this is possible. The evening news interviewed an ex-homeless lady who received money from a private charity and was eventually able to open a coffee shop, thus, becoming a local success story. We sometimes forget that other countries can have...
A scam affecting some elite universities has revealed how far the rich will go to get their children in prestigious schools. Apparently, those with money have been working with a so-called charity to phoney up student admission applications. It is pretty basic. Parents can hire a company to get their kids in the school of their choice. This company has jimmied test scores, had surrogates take admissions tests, paid test proctors and bribed coaches. The super wealthy, of course, do not need such scams. they can simply buy the school a building...
Pet Peeves Winter and snow!!! Okeydokes The commissioners for placing a six month moratorium on marijuana....
Reform is inevitably a difficult process, and not just for the reformees. It's particularly painful for the reformers, no matter how meritorious their cause. Who would admit opposing fundamental changes to a health care system in this country that is glaringly overpriced and significantly underperforms? Who would resist efforts to rescue the planet from boiling away? As the reformers are learning, once they stop preaching to their own choirs and face off against those who benefit and prosper from the current setups -- like the insurance compani...
The race for 2020 is taking shape, although there are still significant unknowns, including whether Donald Trump will get a serious primary challenge. His fiercest Republican critics say, "Yes -- please, please, yes." They are probably wrong, and it's certainly nothing to root for. Trump's dominance of the party begins with his lockdown support of the right, forcing any primary challenger to the left. This isn't fertile territory. Self-identified moderates and liberals are only a fraction of the party, and it is grass-roots conservative...
Historically, international trade issues have galvanized our state’s congressional delegation. Many wondered if that would still be the case today. Fortunately, it seems to be. While Democrats and Republicans are at one another’s throats on most issues these days, it is gratifying when it comes to promoting our state’s products internationally, they coalesce. Boeing is our state’s largest exporter and has strong congressional backing when it comes to leveling the playing field with Europe...
