Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1981 - 2005 of 3750
Here is an eye opener. Three countries so far have issued official travel warnings about visiting the United States. Most often, it is the United States announcing warnings about foreign travel. Now, it is the other way around. The violence and racial tensions in this country have prompted foreign governments to warn their citizens about travel here. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Bahamas have issued specific warnings. Reportedly, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, China, Russia and Belgium have issued cautionary advisories. Basically,...
In the presidential campaign leading up to the November elections, hopefully we will hear about ways to “Make America Great Again!” One of the most effective strategies is to entice U.S. companies with foreign factories to relocate back home. Another is to encourage those who remained in America to reinvest here. Discussions about bolstering domestic production of goods and services did not start this year. They are largely rooted in our nation’s anemic job creation over the last decade. A “Reshoring Institute” launched in 2014 at the Unive...
Not to RR neighbors It has been brought to my attention that there has been a gentleman soliciting donations in support of a trail from Colfax to Pullman. He has been calling on Colfax businesses. I would like people to know he is not representing the local group of property owners who are fighting for our property rights. Larry Farr, Albion...
Democracy is too important to be left to the people. That is the global elite's collective reaction to Britain's vote to exit the European Union, which is being portrayed as the work of ill-informed xenophobes who never should have been entrusted with a decision of such world-historical importance. Judging by their dismissive tone, critics of Brexit believe that the EU's lack of basic democratic accountability is one of its institutional advantages -- the better to insulate consequential decisions from backward and shortsighted voters. Britain... Full story
Millions of Brits are petitioning for another referendum, a chance to reconsider their majority decision to exit the European Union. It seems that so many of those who cast their ballots to leave now admit that they did not have the slightest idea what the issue was all about, and that they were ignorant about what their vote meant. It is easy to chortle about that, to yuck it up over those stupid sheep so easily led into self-destructive behavior just because they were frightened and angry. They were easy prey for the demagogues, who prodded...
Last week, Idaho's new concealed gun carry law went into effect. Basically, anyone who is 21 years old or older and a resident of Idaho, can now carry a concealed weapon in the state. Few restrictions apply. The law does not require any permitting process. It does not require any training or education. Strangely, Idaho residents are still required to pass driving tests to operate a vehicle, and the state still requires licenses to even fish or hunt. Yet, as of July 1, there are no requirements for carrying a concealed weapon. Idaho residents...
Washington leaders need to keep an eye on South Carolina. It is a state which is becoming a strong magnet to attract business. A couple of years ago, the front page news was the competition between Seattle and Charleston to lure Boeing’s 787 assembly production. Now, it has grown to include international trade and the associated economic development and jobs. Washington and South Carolina are among our nation’s leaders in international trade. Our state’s ports process roughly $150 billion in imported and exported products annually and 40 perce...
The other side As always, there are at least two sides to every story and I would like to share my view concerning our mayor in Garfield. My wife and I have been residents of Garfield since 1971, and I was born and raised here. Being mayor or an elected official of any small town is not always easy, especially in this day and age. Most of the daily good things done by so many goes unheralded. But this is understood and not why people like our mayor do it. They do it because they (we) truly care about our towns and communities. When a few...
One of Donald Trump's political skills is giving widely condemned speeches. His post-Orlando jeremiad fit the pattern. There is something so inherently inflammatory in Trump's delivery that he could read the Gettysburg Address and some listeners would wonder how he could possibly say such a thing. The kernel of Trump's speech was rather obvious: "The bottom line is that the only reason the killer was in America in the first place was because we allowed his family to come here. That is a fact, and it's a fact we need to talk about." The...
How low can we go? When it comes to politics, that's a question that has a new answer nearly every day. Each time we think our campaign seems to hit bottom, somebody starts digging us in deeper. And I don't want to tell you what they're shoveling, because, well, you know. So now we have Sarah Palin posting on Facebook that President Barack Obama is a "special kind of stupid." Mind you, that's Sarah Palin saying that. She was in a tizzy because the president has been restating since the Orlando massacre his frustration that we can't put some...
The Continental Congress declared the separation of the American colonies from British rule on July 2, 1776. The declaration was formally approved on that day. Many thought this would forever be a special day. Two days later the official declaration was presented. It is the one we know. The beginning of this document is famous: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station...
Thankfully, June 8 marked a milestone for Congress. Members came together and overwhelmingly approved a sweeping bill that regulates tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture. The legislation capped more than three years of arduous work by Republicans and Democrats and business and environmental leaders who systematically plowed through volumes of complex, confusing and sometimes contradicting state and federal environmental laws and regulations dealing with toxic chemicals. It...
Rejects Trump As a lifelong, Republican, I reject Donald Trump and what he stands for: racism, xenophobia, nativism and contempt for women, the disabled and other groups. Rather than adhere to our party’s conservative principles and state a clear program, he offers a vague vision of “making America great again” and simplistic slogans about “building a wall” and deporting millions of undocumented workers. He is demagogue who most thoughtful people will surely reject as president and Commander in Chief. At the minimum, who would want the count...
President Barack Obama desperately wanted to be a peacetime president, yet is ending his second term with Islamic terror attacks looming larger than at any time since 9/11. The tide of war isn't receding, as he famously contended in a speech on the Afghan drawdown in 2011; it is lapping onto our shores. The left hates the notion that George W. Bush "kept us safe," but after Sept. 11 – a plot set in motion before he took office – Bush prevented another significant attack the rest of his presidency, at a time when a follow-on strike here at hom... Full story
As I was watching the Tony presentations, where the remarkable musical "Hamilton" was showered with honors, I could not shake the feeling that Alexander Hamilton and our nation's other founders would be worried that this glorious experiment in democracy was being overwhelmed by hatred. It's not just the hatred of that maniac who, several hours before the awards telecast, had pretended he was an Islamic warrior as justification to massacre some of those whose alternative views of sex had apparently enraged him. As we all know, he chose a gay...
This is about crack art. No, it may not be what you think. It has nothing to do with low-rider pants. Crack art is small-scale urban art that uses imperfections in buildings and cracks in sidewalks as a starting point. It is sort of like graffiti, but smaller. And, it does not necessarily need a flat surface. Crack art can be found around the world. It is now just catching on in America. As stated in the story this week, Colfax may be the first to really promote and encourage the idea. A little creativity and just the right crack or... Full story
Washington’s next economic development plan may be written by Oregon voters next November. The plan’s centerpiece is a new gross receipts tax which would transform Oregon from one of the nation’s lowest business tax burden states to one of the nation’s highest. IP28 (Initiative Petition) would create a 2.5 percent tax on total sales for companies operating in Oregon. The threshold is $25 million or more each year. If enacted, it would set a $30,000 annual minimum tax for these corporations and then tack on another 2.5 percent on sales above $... Full story
Taken away I am writing this letter because I can, thank God, still share my opinion as an American citizen. This past year I have been feeling like many of my freedoms are being taken away without my opinion being considered. For example, last year the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) changed my teaching certification without notifying me or the district I teach in. When my administrator called OSPI to ask why they would do that to hundreds of teachers throughout the state without notification the answer was...
Of all the Republicans displaying their two faces in accommodating Donald Trump, none is more obnoxious than Paul Ryan. Ryan has spent years carefully constructing his own pedestal upon which he has placed himself as the conscientious conservative intellectual who is above petty politics. It was the platform from which he maneuvered to become House speaker. It turns out that the pedestal is nothing more than a sanctimonious mirage. By endorsing Trump, while at the same time expressing concern about the GOP presumptive nominee's various... Full story
The worst mass shooting in U.S. history occurred in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend. The current count of dead is 49. An additional 53 were injured. The scene was a gay nightclub. The shooter was a radicalized young man with jihadist sympathies. He had been twice investigated by the FBI, although the investigations ended without any charges. Just before the shooting he legally purchased two guns, the ones used in the massacre. The outrage over the murders is intense. The response is worldwide. Millions grieve over the tragedy and seek...
MARRIAGE LICENSES Carlos M. Olivares, 24, and Angeline Mali Phouksouvath, 25, both Pullman, May 24. Jonna Angel Davis, 22, and Emily Morgan Cates, 35, both Pullman, May 25. Zheng-Ming Dong, 75, and Kwang An Ni, 63, both Pullman, May 25. Anthony Tyler Ochs, 21, Jonissa Bandia Adams, 20, both Colfax, May 27. Drew Michael St. Marie, 33, and Bethany Harris Hobaugh, 47, both LaCrosse, May 27. Robert Dennis Schoepflin, 33, and Carly Michelle Raska, 29, both Palouse, May 27. Savuth Vann, 30, and Alyshia Raene Rosiles, 29, both Colfax, May 31. Justin... Full story
Recently, the Wall Street Journal pegged the economic value of fossil-fuel related projects which were rejected or withdrawn since 2012 at $33 billion. But the costs of lost opportunities are much higher nationally if the list includes wind, coal and other energy developments canceled prior to 2011. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that if the 351 projects identified in its “Project No Project” inventory were approved our nation would have a $1.1 trillion short-term boost to the economy and created 1.9 million jobs for construction wor...
The typical response when someone saves a small child from harm isn't "How dare you?" But the Cincinnati Zoo has been subjected to a torrent of abuse for making the agonizing decision to shoot and kill one of its gorillas, a 17-year-old silverback named Harambe, when a 4-year-old boy fell into his enclosure. Invariably, the adjective used to describe Harambe is "magnificent," and rightly so. Gorillas are physically imposing and highly intelligent, with sophisticated social structures. In a better world, they probably wouldn't be confined for...
Maybe Hillary Clinton's supporters are correct that after she's finally put Bernie Sanders away, she'll stop slipping and once again widen her lead against the outlandish Donald Trump. But that presupposes that Bernie has any intention of being put away, even after he finally loses and Hillary officially claims the nomination. It's entirely possible that the hard feelings will remain and the natural allies will continue to be separated by the false hopes and resentments generated by the Sanders campaign. His millions of followers might be so em... Full story
The general election for president of the United States has essentially begun. Hillary Clinton has won the race for the Democratic nomination against Bernie Sanders. Tuesday, in the last of the Super Tuesdays, Clinton won four states, including California. This puts her pledged delegate count well above that necessary to be nominated as the party’s candidate. Without question, she is the presumptive Democratic nominee. Bernie Sanders cannot claim any chance for the nomination or even a brokered convention. Hillary has him beaten even if he w...
