Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 791 - 815 of 3749
How fitting it was that on Friday the 13th, Boris Johnson trundled over to Buckingham Palace and received permission from the queen to form his government. Fitting because it was bad luck for those who had fading hopes of somehow stopping Brexit before it actually happened, and really bad luck for those who put up a fight against Boris Johnson. He’s a serial liar and buffoon, but he had the incredibly good fortune to run against Jeremy Corbin, someone the British people despise even more than Johnson. His Conservatives were pitted against a L...
The Supreme Court just ensured that the nation’s homelessness crisis will continue. The court declined to take up an appeal of a ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, covering the western United States, that homeless encampments are a de facto constitutional right. In the case, stemming from a Boise, Idaho, ordinance, the 9th Circuit maintained that enforcing a prohibition against camping in public places is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. A quick reminder. The Eighth Amendment says, “Exc...
I was a bit surprised by Colleen Winchester’s hate-filled open letter to Cathy McMorris Rogers. I was more even more surprised by what triggered her anger. A Constituency email survey on robocalls? Really? It seems that these days the most minuscule action or inaction will trigger some folks. It seems some folks will hatefully protest, calling their political opponents the most vile of names (I am not saying Ms. Winchester would ever do that―I certainly trust she would not―but some folks do) and at the same time claim they are hearing “dog...
Contrasts between the east and west sides of Washington State can be identified in many shapes and forms. This one deals with modes for going to a football game, and probably other games. November's Apple Cup game this year was at Husky Stadium, the hallowed ground on Montlake Boulevard which runs along the eastern side of the University of Washington campus. During years when the Apple Cup is at Husky Stadium, Cougar fans face the challenge of getting to the stadium and getting back from the...
Precious few days remain for getting ready for Christmas. Gifts, food, decorations and everyday chores are just a few of the tasks ahead. Some people are done and ready for the celebration. For the rest of us, a lot remains to be finished. It is not too late, however, to gift your local town. Last minute shopping is something that is easy and important. Most local merchants take pride in providing for their local customers. The local businesses may not have marble floors and fountains, but they do have much of what is wanted and needed for the...
For a town where friendship is really a matter of expedience, where Best Friends Forever, or "BFF" in kiddie talk, has become "BFT," Best Friends Temporarily, we sure have conjured up many sound bites about friendship. "You want a friend in Washington?" said Harry Truman, "Get a dog." Unless, of course, Fido can get tastier kibbles elsewhere. How about this one? "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." That one captures the transactional nature of geopolitical friendship. Collaborators in one battle can shift to adversaries in an instant. The...
The Democrats believe that the 2020 election is too important to be left to the voters. It's obvious that President Donald Trump withheld defense aid to Ukraine to pressure its president to commit to the investigations that he wanted, an improper use of his power that should rightly be the focus of congressional investigation and hearings. Where the Democrats have gotten tangled up is trying to find a justification that supports the enormous weight of impeaching and removing a president for the first time in our history. They've cycled through...
Okeydokes: The beautiful Andrew Wyeth tones on the farm land. Frosty farms......
Dear Rep.Cathy McMorris Rogers, I received an email from you recently asking me to fill out a survey about robo calls. You must be joking. With all the terribly important things going on in this county, you are sending me surveys about robo calls? Do you have so little respect for your constituency? Our democracy is imploding. The Republican Party has lost any semblance of a backbone or ability to feel shame. This administration is alienating our allies and kowtowing to men like Vladimir Putin, putting us all at risk. The president has...
Bridges shouldn’t have to sink to be replaced. However, at times that’s what it takes. Too often new projects succumb to years of fighting among interest groups and endless political bickering. In 2013, opposition killed Columbia Crossings project which was formed to construct a replacement I-5 bridge across the Columbia River connecting Vancouver and Portland. We all want more roads and bridges as long as they are in the other persons’ neighborhood and someone else pays. But that attit...
During the decade or so that I taught English to high school freshmen, I would adjust my teaching schedule to begin a block on poetry a few weeks before winter vacation. Poetry needs to be heard to be appreciated, thus, I would begin and end each class period by reading a poem aloud. The last day before holiday break, I would read Clement Moore’s epic that begins “Twas the night before Christmas.” This poem defines the American version of Santa Claus. We would then read and discuss some other traditional Christmas poems and song lyrics. I concl...
REAL ESTATE Christina Wellman and Katrinka Hibler, Shelton, to Brett Shirley, lot B in Cumberland Short Plat No. 1, Pullman, $34,000, Dec. 10. Thanh-Xuan and Trong Nguyen, Pullman, to Zhongwei and Xin Tang, multi-family residence on NW Thomas, Pullman, $240,000, Dec. 10. Mathew Chaplin for the estate of Keith Lincoln, Austin, Texas, to John Egner and Ann Elizabeth Willgrube, house on SE Crestview, Pullman, $550,000, Dec. 12. Richard Richter, trustee for the Richter Notre Dame Charitable Remainder Unitrust, to AH and CJ Properties, Coeur... Full story
This will be sacrilege to "Never Trumpers," but Michael Bloomberg and Donald Trump share some similarities. It is true that Bloomberg's charitable foundation actually does good work, while Donald Trump had to pay a $2 million fine for basically using his for self-promotion. And it is true that Bloomberg has financed gun control efforts, while Trump, as president, has groveled before the National Rifle Association. It is also true that Donald now calls himself a Republican -- in fact, he's taken over the party -- but he has switched between...
Donald Trump is close to being impeached by the House of Representatives. Hearings continued on Monday, but it is almost a forgone conclusion that Articles of Impeachment will be approved in committee by the end of the week and then voted on by the full House next week. The House, of course, is dominated by Democrats. Should the Articles of Impeachment be voted in, then they will go to the Senate. At that point, a “trial” will be conducted in the Senate. The Senate then votes on whether or not the president should be removed from office. The...
The economy is in robust good health, but our social fabric isn't. By two basic measures of social vitality, births and deaths, American society is faltering. Both the fertility rate and life expectancy are declining, in a sign that people feel less secure and, in some cases, have no hope at all. We are attuned to headline-grabbing economic statistics -- GDP growth, the unemployment rate, wages -- as monthly and quarterly metrics of American well-being, but they aren't as telling as these more fundamental indicators. To put it bluntly,...
YYYY Well done Colfax. All of the businesses decorated and inviting to customers for Winterfest. You should be proud. WELL DONE....
Nigerian Christmas Nigerian Christians celebrate Christmas in special ways. If possible, most return to the village of their ancestors, even those living abroad. Beginning early on Christmas day, goats are brought to slaughter, and then the cooking and feasting begins. Children are all around, and there is a competition among grandmothers as to which “compound” is the noisiest, i.e. has the most people returning for the celebration. The day is spent attending church, feasting, visiting, discussing and arguing various topics including pol...
WSU Coach Mike Leach is finishing his eighth season as head football coach at WSU. Last week's editorial incorrectly said he was finishing his seventh season....
In the coming decade, investors are betting that hydrogen will become a prominent fuel which can eliminate CO2 discharges from the vehicles it energizes. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) the transportation sector has dominated the growth in US carbon dioxide emissions since 1990, accounting for 69 percent of the total increase. It is important that hydrogen technology advances rapidly because cars, trucks and buses are a growing contributor to greenhouse gas buildups...
On a Saturday last August in Pullman, a Lentil Festival parade entry rounded the corner of Main Street. A scattering of claps rose. Was it a small, unfamiliar non-profit? The Pullman junior soccer league kids? The Rising Stars Dance Studio? It was the Washington State Cougars football team, coming off an 11-win season. If you closed your eyes, or bent down to tie your shoe as they passed, you wouldn't have known it. Why? Why the muted reception for this team? It was similar to other recent...
Which of these campaign posters would be better: "Fiona Hill for President" or simply "Fiona!"? Whichever, the Russian foreign affairs specialist has demonstrated that she has what it takes to unite our own badly divided country with her powerful combination of intellect, toughness and charm. Unfortunately, she was born and raised in the United Kingdom, so she doesn't fulfill the constitutional requirement that the chief executive must be a natural born citizen. A Brit who emigrated to the United States to seek opportunity, she found it in...
Nancy Pelosi said she undertook impeachment "prayerfully," and apparently what she was praying was that she could get it over with as soon as possible. The House is preparing to send a flagrantly incomplete factual record to the Senate as the basis of an effort to remove a sitting president for the first time in our history. Pelosi has affected a posture of heavy-heartedness since the outset of the process, saying that "there's no joy in this" and urging a somber spirit as Democrats pursue the facts wherever they may take them -- so long as...
YYYY What an impressive program at Steptoe School to celebrate out veterans....
