Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 2097 - 2121 of 3750
Let's face it: Those guys who have taken over a federal building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in remote eastern Oregon haven't exactly caused an uprising of support. Instead of rallying everyone around their cause -- which in case you don't know is to take back massive swaths of land from the U.S. government -- they've brought on mainly ridicule. Punsters have been having a field day, calling this self-styled armed militia group "Vanilla ISIS" or "Y'all Qaeda." Law-enforcement officials have thus far chosen not to drag them out, and...
Last week, the news could hardly be turned on without hearing talk of the Powerball as it surged to its largest prize in its history, soaring to nearly $1.6 billion – a number so large that it did not even fit on Powerball billboards which were designed years ago to cap out at $999 million. It seemed as though everyone wanted a piece of the prize, and hopes were high across the nation as people forked over $2 to buy their ticket and then dream of the possibilities of quitting jobs, paying off college debts, traveling the world and buying m...
When Boeing rolled out its first 737 MAX last month there was little fanfare. Nevertheless, its importance to the company’s future and our state can’t be understated. The good news is Boeing delivered more airplanes last year than Airbus and it has a backlog of 5,800 orders. However, yellow flag goes up when it comes to the 737 MAX. It is behind the A320neo in development and sales. According to the Seattle Times, “Not counting Airbus sales in December — those figures are still to come — the European jet maker’s A320neo in 2015 had already won... Full story
The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge hasn't heretofore been known as a locus of government tyranny or much of anything else. Saying that the refuge, established in 1908 by Theodore Roosevelt, is in the middle of nowhere makes it sound too centrally located. It is in Southeastern Oregon, about 30 miles from the nearest town of Burns, population 2,722. Now the Bundy family – notorious for its standoff with the feds at the family's Nevada ranch last year – and sundry anti-government protesters have occupied the refuge and pronounced it the sta...
I'm among those who mourn the death of Natalie Cole. I didn't know her personally – only through her singing, but that was enough to make me a devoted fan. She leaves behind a long list of recordings and performances that marked her as a star. Her voice and style stood alone, but she was never able to shake the attachment to her father in the public mind. In spite of her prodigious talent, she was most often described as "the daughter of Nat King Cole." Her inheritance was, as the saying goes, both a blessing and a curse. But even for those o...
The campaigns for president cannot give Americans confidence. On the one side, the Democratic contenders are racing to the left. The Republican candidates are pushing and pulling each other to the right. In the middle, at least so far, there is a great chasm, and it is getting deeper and wider. That chasm is the space between the two parties. Over the years, the political system in the United States has grown into two camps, each wanting to devastate and dominate the other. Often, it seems that political ideology and political gamesmanship... Full story
It was good to be a merchant this Christmas, but it was even better to be a shopper. According to MasterCard Spending Pulse, retail sales were up eight percent over 2014 while the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ price index shows that product prices were three percent lower. Interestingly, a National Retail Federation (NRF) analysis reveals that while fewer dollars than expected came in because of deep pre-holiday discounts, the volume of purchases were up. Simply, while lower prices for sweaters, toys or electronic gadgets brought in less per uni...
Cause to celebrate We greet the New Year with the good news that you reported in a recent issue, namely that State Rep. Joe Schmick has abandoned his efforts to close the John Wayne Trail. This is a cause for celebration. Just a few short months ago he was committed to introducing legislation to correct the typo that thwarted his previous proviso. Now rather than hand over 6,000 acres of the only cross-state trail in Washington to adjacent landowners, the John Wayne Trail will remain open. It's a beautiful, epic trail, stretched over 280 miles...
We should be glad that 2015 has passed into memory, because it was a year when we could barely hold it together. It was a year when we freaked out over symbols and scared ourselves with fake statistics. It was a year when the facts weren't allowed to get in the way of a good, overwrought slogan. It was a year when we convinced ourselves that Earth was nearly beyond saving. It was a year of the safe space and micro-aggression. It was, in short, a year of hysteria. By now, we should be familiar with the workings of hysteria, since – usually w... Full story
"Happy new year." That's what we holler as we replace our calendars. It's the rite of passage where we're supposed to dismiss from our minds the darkness of the past and look forward to a brighter future. Well, you can try to repress all you want, but wouldn't it be more honest to simply admit that we seriously resent much of what took place since we last went through this annual subterfuge? Forget the personal grudges we're supposed to let go of but never do – let's face it, 2015 also left some indelible stains on our collective lives. W... Full story
The second year of the College Football Playoff is almost complete. What follows are the errant thoughts of one fan trying to stay interested to the end. • The four-team playoff last year brought the biggest ratings in cable TV history. But those were just cable ratings – and it was basically the first time cable ever aired major championship games. • One key element lost in the playoff system is the potency of the regular season. Simply put, before the Playoff, it was two-and-a-half months of p...
As we approach 2016, we need to stop and look at what it takes to keep manufacturing in America. Our country has advantages, which include higher product quality, shorter delivery times, rising offshore wages, lower inventory and the ability to be more responsive to changing customer demands. But there are some glaring disadvantages, which include higher taxes, mounting costs of government regulations and increasing electricity prices. Nowhere is that more evident than in Washington State. Our state and local politicians got a sobering reality...
To believe his critics, Donald Trump has ripped up the U.S. Constitution and sprinkled its shreds on the smoldering embers of what was once the Statute of Liberty. He did this, of course, by proposing a temporary ban on Muslim immigration into the United States, which might be the most roundly and fiercely denounced idea in America since the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts (in 1774). There is no doubt about it: Donald Trump's proposal is invidious; not all Muslims are a security risk. It is unworkable; among other things,...
It's a journalist's worst nightmare: We discover that nobody cares about our stories because they're predictable and boring. That certainly seems to be the case for those of us here in Washington, but it's true throughout our industry. We keep on regurgitating the same stuff and spend a lot of energy doing it. Face it: It's the same bit, different day. It's time to save time, to say nothing of big money. So, as a public service, let's concoct reports where all you have to do is fill in the blanks. For example: "Medical researchers at...
Presidential candidate Ben Carson has almost begged the public to believe that he tried to stab a friend. He also said he wanted to kill his mother with a hammer. Nobody believes him. He just cannot gain traction as a bad ass no matter how he tries. Most politicians deny any wrong doing, many to the point of perjury. Ben Carson, on the other hand, cannot convince the electorate that he is bad, too. Please just believe him. The general public is reportedly worried over terrorists in the country. They want something done, but don’t believe the g...
Saving the planet has never been so easy. The Paris climate talks concluded in a rousing round of self-congratulation over an agreement that, we are told, is the first step toward keeping Earth habitable. If generating headlines and press releases about making history were the metric for anything, Paris might be as consequential – if misbegotten – as advertised. The fact is that Paris is very meta. The agreement is about the agreement, never mind what's in it or what its true legal force is – namely, nil. Paris is a legally binding agree... Full story
On Dec. 12, Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke patiently waited two hours in line with 70,000 volunteers at Arlington National Cemetery to collect wreaths and secure them to headstones. Thousands of others across our nation joined those at Arlington honoring soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who died while serving America. In all, nearly one million wreaths were laid this year. Wreaths Across America is a privately funded charity that accepts no government money. As part of the project, truckers volunteer to haul the wreaths, and veterans and...
Lop-Sided stories My husband Dale and I were at all four trail meetings; as a matter of fact, Joe Schmick wanted Dale on the committee and Dale applied. The Parks Department made sure he was not chosen. Not only have you forgotten who your subscribers are but you have presented some of the most lop-sided, non-factual reporting I have ever seen. Ted Maxwell said it at the first meeting in Tekoa, and I said it at every meeting thereafter, “When did the trail open?” Everyone glosses over the fact that the bill would have passed but for the err...
Twenty-four years ago, Democrat Edwin Edwards – a man who could have come out of central casting as the corrupt politician – was nevertheless running for another term as the governor of "let the good times roll" Louisiana. The Republicans had managed to go bonkers and choose none other than former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke to run against him. But Duke was too extreme even for the far-right members of the GOP establishment, so just before Election Day, they distributed a bumper sticker: "Vote for the Crook. It's Important." The crook won....
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... Full story
Just before Gov. Jay Inslee (D) flew to Paris for the global climate summit, he met with Washington business leaders who sought assurances that his proposed carbon cap rule won’t wipe out good-paying manufacturing jobs and send even more industrial production overseas. Unfortunately, the governor offered no encouragement, the Association of Washington Business (AWB) reported. Instead, he surprised many in the room by proclaiming that “nothing” had been accomplished in Washington with regard to climate protection since the adoption of emiss... Full story
Beyond ‘zero sum’ Let’s move beyond zero-sum, at least for Christmas. “Zero-sum” describes a situation or game in which whatever is gained by one side is lost by the other. It describes the divisiveness that Publisher Gordon Forgey wrote about when he noted that political “campaigns are reaching new levels of vitriol and ridiculousness.” The zero-sum mantra, “winning is the only thing”, seems the cry of politics, religious extremism and climate change. Polarization is ubiquitous. Reasonable discourse is mutilated by extremists who revel in name...
A funny thing is happening on the way to the GOP meltdown. According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, the two most popular and broadly acceptable candidates in the field are perhaps the most talented and most reliably conservative. Oh, and by the way, they are Hispanics in their 40s. Donald Trump is still leading the polls and has demonstrated a staying power that has confounded his critics, but Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are now beginning to stand out in the rest of the field, clustering with Ben Carson in effectively a three-way tie for second...
I've been known to rail against meaningless and/or deceptive platitudes: "We wish him well," for instance, when referring to a departing employee. The real meaning is "May he burn in hell." There's also "Thank you for asking," which translates to "It's really none of your business." But let's add a truly insidious one to the lot; we've been seeing it over and over again as Americans are killed or maimed by crazy people firing guns: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family" yada, yada yada. The New York Daily News got it right with its...
American opinions are shifting. It is particularly apparent in the recent polls about sending ground troops into the Middle East. Now, well over half of those polled favor putting American boots on the ground to fight ISIS. This comes after a long period of resistance to the idea. That is because fear in America is building. The massacre in San Bernadino made people realize that we are not immune from such attacks. Then, the second largest school district in the country was closed down because of threats. Also adding to the discomfort many...
