Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 733 - 757 of 3749
With all the news about the coronavirus, many are wondering about the impact of a truly global-wide pandemic on world population. I got to thinking about the population implications of such pandemics and ran a few numbers. The Spanish flu is thought to have killed about 50 million globally when the estimates for global population was about 1.75 billion for lethality of 3 percent. If the true lethality for coronavirus is 3 percent, that would work out to about 231 million deaths for the current world population of 7.7 billion. For comparison,...
Gary Varvel’s political cartoon on the opinion page of the Gazette on Feb. 20, 2020, depicting presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in a wheelchair with a Soviet Union flag draped over his lap, being pushed off a cliff by a donkey, is offensive to many Americans and a gross distortion of reality. This sort of political opinion is not at all helpful in furthering reasonable political discourse in our nation. Mark Olson, Seattle...
Last week, we visited the Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. It is part of our National Parks “bucket list.” The trip was a real eye-opener. The Canyon is spectacular. It is hard to believe over a billion years ago it was flat ground and covered by ocean waters. In ancient times, there was too much water. Today, it is a deep gorge with a ribbon of water running through it. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, over a mile deep and 10 to 18 miles across. The famed Colorado River runs t...
I've ranted about the expression "Breaking News!" before. But like any issue I confront, it only gets worse. So it is with this one. Nowadays, all the networks, without exception, open each and every newscast with that worn-out expression. Obviously, the anchormen and -women have been ordered to start with their robust "BREAKING NEWS" declaration as a way of contriving drama and immediacy, even if the top story happened hours ago. It's the handiwork of the marketing consultants who rule TV reporting, hucksters whose job it is to improve ratings...
The rich are different from you and me -- they can buy themselves instant presidential campaigns. Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg has elbowed himself into the Democratic nomination race solely on the basis of his fortune. His campaign is high-handed as only a billionaire many times over could even contemplate. He entered late, is skipping the early contests and hasn't participated in any of the debates to date (although that will change soon, thanks to the Democratic National Committee retrofitting its rules for Bloomberg). It's a free...
Okeydokes Big, billowy clouds, little snowbally things... my favorite. Love this weather. Matt Swan, local representative for Avista. For all you do in our community!...
Climate change Most of us are aware that rising sea levels due to climate change are threatening coastal cities in the United States, dramatically exemplified by Miami, Fla. Although I am aware that climate change is a grave threat and seems to be accelerating all the time, I must admit to a tiny bit of smugness at living on the Palouse, at our seemingly un-encroach-able elevation of circa 2,500 feet above sea level. However, my sense of security was shaken recently by the piece “Paradise Creek flirts with flood stage in Moscow” (Mo...
About the only non-fiction I read is the local newspaper. I try to avoid the New York Times and Washington Post so I am confident I am reading real news. Other than that, I usually read light fiction; shoot-em-up detective stories, super human heroes, etc. My son, however, has not given up on improving my intellect and frequently urges me to read something he considers worthwhile. He sent me a copy of The Silk Road several months ago, and I finally got around to looking at it last week. It is a historical examination of the trade route between...
The 2020 race for the White House is heating. It’s shaping up to be a referendum on America’s market-based economic system. The central question is government or the private sector going to provide our basic products and services? Last May, a Monmouth University Poll found most Americans say socialism is not compatible with American values, but only 4-in-10 hold a decidedly negative opinion of it. Americans are divided into two dominant camps – 29 percent have a positive view of capit...
When Donald Trump was looking into Ukraine last year, how concerned was he about presidential candidate Joe Biden? Enough that he wanted foreign help to beat him? If so, wouldn't that be about the most overestimated Joe Biden has been in his life? Biden is not a good candidate. Four years ago, it was more likely, but a month from now he'll be out of the 2020 race. Show a reel of his highlights, good and bad, from the last eight months and any honest observer would say; some president was worried...
It's not just that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo chewed out NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly after she dared to ask him questions he didn't like. Nor is it so objectionable that his tirade was saturated with F-bombs. And it certainly is not because she's a woman. When it comes to reporters, Pompeo is not just a misogynist but a mistersogynist. He's an equal opportunity jerk, as evidenced by his decision to block NPR from his plane for his trip to Kyiv. No wonder President Trump likes him so much. He's not your stereotypical diplomat, but he...
And so 2016 finally draws to a close. It's been the longest election year in American history. It ran from Feb. 1, 2016, the date of the Iowa caucuses, to the Senate vote to acquit President Donald Trump in early February 2020. It's true that Nov. 6, 2016, was a signal event in this long election year, but it didn't really conclude anything, even though the result wasn't in doubt. Usually, contested elections are ties or near-ties. This is the first time an election has gone into overtime, with repeated attempts at what were in effect...
#### The president who would be king!...
Public School Parents: take note of two bills being considered without the people’s vote. Senate Bill 5395/HB2184 would require every public school to teach sex education to all students in grades K-12. Proponents believe that sex education starting in kindergarten will encourage consensual relationships, deter sexual violence and guard against sexual predators. I really doubt this but if a family does feel it important to discuss at home, then they certainly should. The decision of when and if to discuss these sensitive issues should remain w...
It was a busy week in American politics. The Democrats were embarrassed when the results of the Iowa caucus were overshadowed by administrative glitches. The State of the Union address was choreographed to promote the successes of the current administration. Mitt Romney is contemplating the fallout of being the only Republican to vote to remove the President from office. The impeachment ended without cheers from either side, but it is thankfully finished. Now is the time to sit back and ask ourselves if our nation has benefited from the impeach...
I can't think of any previous Super Bowl where I had to Google who was booked for the halftime show. The honor went to Shakira and Jennifer Lopez this year. I'll start off by saying kudos for having two Spanish-speaking singers headlining the show Sunday in Miami, Fla., singing bilingually nonetheless. The performance was definitely Latina and Miami-inspired. Shakira and Lopez did not hold back, they gave that performance their all. Shakira and Lopez are the first two Latinas to headline the Super Bowl halftime show. Not only were two females...
Let's discuss the fantasy that so many desperate Democrats are having. In their minds, they're asking, "Is it too late for Adam Schiff to run for president?" Actually, since his dynamite performance as lead House of Representatives counsel advocating in the Senate for the conviction of Donald Trump and his extrication from the White House, it's not really a secret dream for some in the party who are wholly unimpressed with their mix of wannabes. Schiff has been rattling around the Capitol as a member of the House of Representatives since 2001,...
It's easy to forget what the Senate impeachment trial is supposed to be about. It's not a fight over whether the Senate will call a couple of witnesses that the House couldn't, or didn't bother to, obtain on its own. The underlying question is whether the United States Senate will impose the most severe sanction it has ever inflicted on any chief executive, voting to remove a president for the first time in the history of the country and doing it about 10 months from his reelection bid. This is a truly radical step that, if it ever came about,...
Keeping hospitals and health workers healthy is key to fighting diseases. With new and more deadly viruses, the job is more challenging. Although the coronavirus has captured the world’s attention, it is important to note the Center for Disease Control estimates that 80,000 Americans died of flu and flu complications in the winter of 2017-2018 - the highest flu-related death toll in at least four decades. The coronavirus outbreak is very serious. According to the New York Times, China’s Hea...
The legislature has directed the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove the catch limits on bass, walleye and channel catfish in all waters of the state where they coexist with salmon. It seems that someone in the legislature realized the existence of a connection between bass and whales. It is about time. Everything in nature is connected to everything else. In this case, our politicians are concerned about the declining numbers of the resident Puget Sound orca pod. Orcas and bass both eat salmon, therefore, if the numbers of...
Warming skeptic I am a global warming skeptic. What does that mean? It means I believe that warming can occur. What I am skeptical about is that man can have a substantial effect on the climate to cause warming harmful to the earth's ecosystem. You cannot change my mind by saying the “science is settled” (science is never settled) or by trying to scare me by warning that we are going to have more storms, greater intensity in the storms and potential catastrophic sea level rise. These things could happen whether man is responsible or not. I need...
Some day, maybe two, three or 10 years from now, a comprehensive book on the Boeing disasters will be written and published. How did a company with all its design experience, corporate skill, money and pride fall to where it is today? The primary loss, of course, has been sustained by the families of the passengers and crew members who were killed in the two tragic accidents after the Boeing 737 Max failed. Twice. A secondary loss has also been sustained by people who were raised in the northwest where Boeing has been a factor over decades....
