Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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There's an expression we hear or see all too frequently, one that is particularly odious: "collateral damage." Some military types, or civilian leaders who are pursuing their own ambitions, use that phrase to sterilize the death and maiming of innocents as battle operations rage nearby. In a less violent way, that same kind of offensive mentality permeates the rationalizations of too many political leaders. That is, if they even bother to think about the human consequences of their rhetoric or schemes to manipulate voters or to generate...
The fundamental offense of the Covington Catholic High School kids wasn't so much allegedly mobbing, mocking or getting in the face of an American Indian drummer at the Lincoln Memorial. It was wearing red Make America Great Again hats. That was the actual, incontestable conduct that created the predicate for the presumption of guilt and all the rest of the grief they've been subjected to since. For much of progressive America, if you are wearing the hat, you are suiting up for Team Racist. You are marking yourself out as a bigot and a goon. Yo...
It’s not likely they colluded. Yet on Jan. 31, publisher Gordon Forgey of the Whitman County Gazette and managing editor Devin Rokyta of the Daily News published editorials on the dangers of ignoring vaccinations. The reason? Washington State’s Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency because of a growing measles outbreak. In 1736 Ben Franklin lost a four-year-old son to smallpox. Recounting that event, the Washington Post quoted from Franklin’s autobiography: “I long regretted bitterly, and still regret,” Franklin wrote, “that I h...
Dear Editor, Frank Watson wrote a powerful column (1-31-19) regarding the prohibition of marijuana and other drugs. He said, "The argument that made the most sense to me was, 'What we are doing now isn't working.' " That's what I tried to say. --Wiley Hollingsworth, Pullman...
A lot is written about students exiting college saddled with hefty student loans; however, the impact on retired parents went largely unnoticed. Recently, Wall Street Journal writer AnnaMaria Andriotis reported Americans over 60 years old are coming out of retirement and going back to work just to pay for their children’s educations. On average, student borrowers in their 60s owed $33,800 in 2017, up 44 percent from 2010. Student loan debt for seniors rose 161 percent between 2010 and 2017. I...
Four Washington state counties announced they will not enforce Initiative 1639, and more may follow. I don’t understand. I was taught in high school civics class we are a federal, constitutional democracy. I remembered the words but didn’t quite remember what they mean, so I looked them up in the dictionary. The “democracy” part means we have the right to vote. In a pure democracy, citizens vote on everything. Any time there is a question, the people gather at the meeting place and vote on the issue. We have both too many people and too man...
Measles were officially eradicated in 2000 in the United States. The viral disease was a scourge for young kids, killing thousands. Since the concerted effort to vaccinate children, the disease in the states was eliminated, although it remained a virulent danger in other parts of the world. Recently, it has periodically reared its ugly head in the states. Now, multiple states are dealing with outbreaks of the disease. In Washington state, Governor Jay Inslee has declared a public health emergency because of the number of cases in the southwest...
Pet Peeves Laws against dwarf tossing. What’s going on at City Hall, and what’s it gonna cost us all? Okeydokes The man putting wood chips along dike between McDonald Park and Golf Course. Colfax PD for continuing to serve us despite slim resources available to them....
Maybe British Prime Minister Theresa May needs to change her country's Brexit focus. Instead of severing ties with the European Union, maybe she should address the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, and disunite them. It would be a Brexit from that so-called "special relationship" with the U.S. Never mind that a majority of the Brits voting chose to leave the E.U. As predicted, it has proven uncommonly difficult, to the point that there is some talk of holding another referendum. The pro-Europe forces might have an e...
The walls supposedly are always closing in on Donald Trump. The end is always beginning. He's going to quit. He's going to be impeached and removed. He's going to decide not to run again. Somehow or other, he's going to relieve everyone of the responsibility of ever thinking of him again, and especially of the responsibility of defeating him in an election. Such scenarios are a constant topic in private conversations. The allure is obvious. It is the promise of deliverance. After tormenting his enemies for so long, Trump's going to make it...
There has been shootings at schools for decades, but none like the shootings of today. The first mass school shooting was at the University of Texas, with 17 people killed, which included the shooter, Charles Whitman. He went to school with the intent to kill as many people as possible. The next mass school shooting didn’t occur until 1999, when two Columbine students killed 13 and wounded 21 others before committing suicide. Since then, school shootings have become much more frequent. Between Columbine and today, there have been 11 school s...
I would like to encourage every concerned Whitman County resident to attend the meeting on Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. at the Steptoe School, when a petition will be reviewed with the county commissioners concerning zoning and ordinances, road conditions, non-running vehicles and trash and garbage in yards throughout the our county. I hope to see you there! --Kristi Kinsinger, Spokane Valley...
Frank Watson (Jan. 24, 2019, "Declaration of a Non-Candidate"), your self-admitted deficits would make you the perfect GOP candidate. Frank, you underestimate your potential. --Mark Olson, Seattle...
I visited a pot shop last week, something I thought I would never do. A senior citizen friend of mine has been experiencing rather severe knee pain and is trying to postpone an inevitable replacement. In the mean time, she has done almost everything: The magic shot series, physical therapy, horse liniment, and continues to ask advice of friends and neighbors who have had similar problems. One friend experienced relief with cannabis oil, and her primary care doctor advised her to, “Try it, you have nothing to lose.” She asked me to pick up som...
The Gazette received a call last week from a local Federal agency. It was to inform us that its small bill could not be paid until the government shutdown ended. The office was closed, the heat turned down and few had access to the building. The answering machine warned callers that messages left would not be answered until the situation changed. How many thousands or millions of times this type of message was relayed across America is unknown. Also unknown is the hardship and fear the shutdown has caused workers and families. The toll is...
Pet Peeves Area gas prices The new Whitman Hospital compensation plan... What a joke!...
In 1932, as the Great Depression took hold and once-proud Americans were reduced to begging, Bing Crosby recorded a song called "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" It became a hit, even though Republicans tried to force radio stations not to play it because it was "anti-capitalist." And indeed it was. "They used to tell me I was building a dream With peace and glory ahead Why should I be standing in line Just waiting for bread? ... Buddy, can you spare a dime?" Today, the Republicans are at it again, or at least one Republican is. As the country...
The FBI took it upon itself to determine whether the president of the United States is a threat to national security. No one had ever before thought that this was an appropriate role for the FBI, a subordinate agency in the executive branch, but Donald Trump isn't the only one in Washington trampling norms. The New York Times reported the astonishing news: "Counterintelligence investigators had to consider whether the president's own actions constituted a possible threat to national security." U.S. presidents over the decades have made many foo...
Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. That’s particularly true in difficult times when “business as usual” no longer works. As our national deficit approaches $22 trillion ($180,000 per taxpayer) and state and local governments deal with skyrocketing costs for health care, pensions, education and public safety, we will have to do things differently, or, in some instances, not at all. One way is to develop private-public partnerships to share costs and coordinate programs. Take...
After long and careful consideration, I have decided not to run for President of the United States in 2020. I realize this may come as a disappointment to my supporters, and I will leave my future options open, but the timing is just not right. This should not be construed to mean that I am not qualified. Admittedly, I don’t know how to twitter, but I could learn. Joe Biden stated that he is the best-qualified American for the job, but the only thing he does better than the average citizen is find the White House bathroom. I have known s...
Washington state celebrated Temperance and Good Citizenship Day on January 16. It has been a long standing requirement for schools to observe. The day was initiated in 1923. Ostensively, it was to push prohibition and avoidance of alcohol. That purpose was dashed with the repeal of prohibition, although moderation in drink was still a goal. Now, this day has a different significance. Temperance is not just about alcohol. Defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, temperance is: 1-moderation in action, thought, or feeling 2a-habitual moderation...
Okeydokes 2019 looking forward to electing a new mayor!...
Wouldn't it be astounding if we read the morning news one day and the headline was "Everything President Trump Said Yesterday Was Entirely True"? Put that one in the "not likely" category. Donald Trump has made lying an art form (a crude art form, certainly), to the point where we can't be sure that his name actually is Donald Trump. He's that untrustworthy. According to The Washington Post's "Fact Checker," Trump (or whoever he is) averaged 15 falsehoods a DAY in 2018! There should be a competition among politicians, obviously sponsored by...
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's so-called Green New Deal makes the obligatory nod to the original New Deal, but FDR's handiwork is much too modest an antecedent. The Green New Deal calls for a top-down revolution in the operation of American society so sweeping that it would be disturbing if it weren't so wholly ridiculous. It shows all the thoughtfulness of a college sophomore pulling an all-nighter to write a term paper for his Millennial Socialism 101 class. The Green New Deal, as explained in draft legislation to create a congressional...
