Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 619 - 643 of 3749
Franklin Roosevelt became president in 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression. The highlight of his inaugural address was, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” The same is true today. Panic has disrupted more lives than the virus, and the statewide edict to wear masks in all public places adds to the panic. The governor stated the wearing of masks was, “imperative as economic activity increases.” Wearing of masks, however, will be a detriment to economic activity. My wife and I went to the movie last week in Newport. When Pend Oreille...
On July 4, 1975, America proudly celebrated its Bicentennial as the world’s greatest nation while Poland was a suppressed Soviet satellite state. Poles had no right to free speech, were hungry and impoverished. If you wanted a job, you played ball with Communist Party bosses. If you disagreed with their ideology, you likely were imprisoned. Poland was a rather bleak land which had not recovered from the German Blitzkrieg in 1939. Meanwhile, in Washington, the Business Week program started at C...
Teaching Psychology for 20 years at Spokane Falls Community College was such a learning experience – for me. I hope the students also learned a lot about the “Scientific study of behavior and mental processes.” When teaching the section on Evolutionary Psychology, it was always interesting to ask the classes if anyone knew about the Darwin Awards. Sheepishly, some students, especially boys, would raise their hands, grinning from ear to ear. For those of you who don’t know, every year people are selected for Darwin Awards - the dumbest things...
Oh, how I appreciated Lisa Meyer’s article in last week’s Gazette. If only everyone in the country could read her thoughts, hear her philosophy. Could it be published in some of the larger, urban papers across the country? Thank you for your good, relevant writing. Robin Wylie, Nampa, Idaho...
Are government agencies and big tech tracking your every move via your smartphone? The answer is maybe. Gov. Jay Inslee has repeatedly said the state is using smartphone data to track interactions and travel as it may relate to coronavirus exposure and spread. That data may include time, date, location and even a "marker" for each mobile device. Indeed, anytime your cellphone is turned on, it connects to towers for telephone calls or texting. Using three tower connections, it's possible to trian...
It has been a difficult spring on many fronts. I’ve been reassured, though, by the community spirit displayed on the Palouse. From patrons purchasing gift cards to help struggling businesses, to restaurants providing free dinners for those in need, to marches to protest racism and state violence, I’m proud of our community. This pride and reassurance makes me optimistic that we can work together on other problems we face. The consequences of climate change are coming home to the Palouse – we can see it in changing weather patterns, risin...
I'm disappointed and disgusted with the city of Palouse for caving to the mob of 4 people to even consider dishonoring police. Is the city of Palouse such a hotbed of controversy that they can't stand with law enforcement by proudly flying the BLUE LINE FLAG? Thank you Lions Club for standing up for what is right. Shame on Mayor Chris Cook for not supporting law enforcement. Keith Pigott, Whitman County...
As a white mom with four adopted black children I would like to pause and celebrate ebony and ivory or black, white and everything in between. The chaos of the last weeks has been perplexing at best and distressing at worst. However, I believe there is much to celebrate. There will always be wrong doing, but for one moment can we pause and celebrate the good. All four of my children have been adopted before they were two. Their pasty white family is the only family they have ever known. So the...
Educators nationwide scoff at the idea of homeschooling children. Those in unions, especially those in the Washington Education Association in our state, say parents can’t provide the same educational opportunities at home as are available in public schools. A large part of their reasoning is social interaction. Indeed, those in the union have long argued social interactions are more important than allowing advanced students to move up a grade or substandard students from being held back. Even e...
May was Older American’s month. The focus of Older American’s Month is normally the contribution seniors have made and continue to make to our communities and the needs of older American’s going forward. I represent Whitman County on Aging and Long-Term Care of Eastern Washington’s board and represent the Counties in Washington State on the Washington State Council on Aging. We hear a lot about the capabilities and the needs of seniors. However, I believe right now the biggest challenge seniors face isn’t some bill going through Congress...
Many people have asked-whether directly or secondhand-about the page count at the Gazette since the virus hit. It all boils down to business practices, the bottom line and trying to keep our heads above water during what the economists have officially deemed a recession. In newspapers there is ad hole and news hole. For the majority of newspapers, the size of the news hole--the space we get to fill with stories, features, records, etc.-is determined by the ad hole-how much space is taken up by...
I sincerely hope I misread or misunderstood Nancy Street’s letter to the editor last week. She used three underlying premisses that hopefully she didn’t intend, or if she did, to which I strongly object. The first is that people “of European ancestry” (her term not mine) can’t or don’t feel enough outrage at the murder of George Floyd. Every one I have talked to about this murder is over the top outraged, regardless of “ancestry”. I think that charge is akin to someone saying that if you don’t live in New York you can’t feel enough outrage...
Fight, Flight, and Freeze are the three biological responses to danger. There doesn't even have to be a real danger. If your nose smells danger, then your body is going to come out fighting, fleeing, or freezing. Body's choice. The survival instinct takes over the mind and the body. Even after extensive training, professionals can still find their bodies reacting differently than planned. Fight, Flight, or Freeze, do not reflect moral values. That's just biology, that's all it is. Moral values are displayed in what you do afterward, when...
Solar power is getting a lot of attention these days as our country strives to reduce greenhouse gases. Sunny cities like Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Antonio have ramped-up solar power production; however, in cloudy coastal municipalities such as Seattle, investments in “sun power” have been lagging. One reason is Washington is blessed with an abundance of low-cost and carbon-free hydropower which accounts for three-fourths of our electricity generation. Electricity from the Columbia Riv...
No agriculture producer likes to see their work go to waste. Whether it is a crop, milk or livestock, no one involved in agriculture wants their products to go anywhere other than to consumers. That is what makes the COVID-19 crisis particularly difficult for agriculture – food continues to be produced but, in many cases, it is not reaching its intended destination. In April, the president of Tyson meats warned of a nationwide meat shortage. Milk producers are working to find the middle g...
It is understandable that many Americans, especially those of European ancestry, express minimal outrage at the George Floyd killing in Minnesota. Their family or “their people” are not much affected They don’t worry much if they encounter the police. When racial atrocities occur and there is little concern by the majority, we may encounter an “us versus them” phenomenon. This can lead to name-calling and eventual genocide, according to Dr. James Waller, author and former Whitworth faculty member. In fact, white people should realize that when...
During the 2019 flu season, 61,000 Americans died; over 1,000 of them were from Washington State. The loss of life was tragic for those who lost loved ones, but it was not cause for panic. The coronavirus has claimed just over 100,000 Americans, 1,100 from Washington. COVID-19 is a severe flu epidemic, but it is not cause to panic. I am not trying to belittle the impact of the disease, but the numbers don’t justify the world-wide fear that put forty-one million Americans put of work. Mass hysteria is nothing new. Fear results from the s...
Pullman – Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends Mr. George Floyd, whose tragic death this week shocked and horrified our nation. Every officer in our police depart- ment, and throughout the country, should be disgusted by what has oc- curred in Minneapolis. Not only are we disgusted by the actions of the officer directly responsible for the death of Mr. Floyd, but also by the lack of interven- tion by the other officers who, by sim- ply standing by, were complicit in his d...
Solar power is getting a lot of attention these days as our country strives to reduce greenhouse gases. Sunny cities like Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Antonio have ramped-up solar power production; however, in cloudy coastal municipalities such as Seattle, investments in “sun power” have been lagging. One reason is Washington is blessed with an abundance of low-cost and carbon-free hydropower which accounts for three-fourths of our electricity generation. Electricity from the Columbia Riv...
While chatting with a high school chum, I asked him about the outbreak in his neck of the woods. He lives in an East Coast city which has received national news coverage for its COVID-19 infection and response. I was surprised by the comments he made throughout the conversation: "There have been a lot of deaths and hospitalizations but compared to the population still very low... So among people I know I haven't heard of anyone even getting sick." "To me there is no real visible crisis at all- j...
I have been watching news reports of the efforts to curb the virus and more recently the efforts to ease restrictions to reopen the economy. Initially, I sensed a wave of nationalism that united all of us against the growing pandemic. This unity lasted for about three days after the first cases were discovered in a Seattle nursing home. Our Governor began to blame the Trump administration for lack of preparedness. As the outbreak spread to ravish New York, Governor Inslee found an ally and both Governors blamed the federal government for all...
