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  • Jackpot!

    Mar 5, 2020

  • Sale of the Gazette

    Gordon Forgey, Gazette Publisher|Feb 27, 2020

    I have sold the Gazette and Daily Bulletin. The new owners will take over on March 1. The papers will officially become part of the Free Press Publishing group in Cheney. It has been a big decision, but I am confident that the change will give the Gazette many more years of service to Whitman County. In the back room we have a variety of historic print items. One is a type drawer simply addressed to the Gazette, Colfax, WT. The WT stands for Washington Territory. The paper has had a long history, longer than Washington has been a state. The...

  • The Low Barr

    Bob Franken, Syndicate Columnist|Feb 27, 2020

    President Donald Trump is right that he does “have, as president, the legal right” to meddle in Department of Justice decisions. However, when he makes public comments, or when it can be shown that he has privately discussed any federal criminal case with his Justice subordinates, it should be considered undue interference, and a judge should order that all prosecutions of affected individuals or groups be halted. Furthermore, another count of obstruction of justice should be added to the list of criminal charges he will face when he leaves the...

  • William Barr Is His Own Man

    Rich Lowry, National Review Editor|Feb 27, 2020

    Can the republic survive Attorney General William Barr? That's the question that has seized the media and center left, which have worked themselves into a full-blown panic over an attorney general who is, inarguably, a serious legal figure and one of the adults in the room late in President Donald Trump's first term. Some 2,000 former Justice department employees have signed a letter calling on Barr to resign. An anti-Barr piece in The Atlantic opined that "it is not too strong to say that Bill Barr is un-American," and warned that his America...

  • Pet Peeves and Okeydokes

    Feb 27, 2020

    Okaydokes Local business owners who endure in a labor of love to serve their communities....

  • Human mind greatest resource

    Feb 27, 2020

    I have just read Carl M. Ogren’s letter where he hyperventilates over the coming climate warming catastrophe. I have also just read a 2020 report from NASA predicting a coming ice age. I worked for “The Mother Earth News” in the late 1970’s, and I recall very well all the predictions then of a coming ice age. I completely bought into Paul Ehrlich’s “End of Affluence” and “The Cold and the Dark.” I recall that Manhattan was predicted to be under an un-melting sheet of ice by the year 2000. Then the alarmist changed the meme to global warming…an...

  • Political tribal stances

    Feb 27, 2020

    Frank Watson’s article showing his skepticism about climate change issues brought to mind something that has become apparent to me over the last few years. People in general believe in the validity of science except when it comes to choosing science over cultural beliefs. I can ask anyone two questions concerning science and find out a tremendous amount about that person. I can’t tell their race, their income or their amount of education. But I can tell you if they are liberal or conservative leaning. The questions: 1) What are your views on...

  • Pandemic lethality

    Feb 27, 2020

    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,...

  • Offensive cartoon

    Feb 27, 2020

    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...

  • Colorado River Water Problems Worsening

    Don C. Brunell, Freelance Columnist|Feb 27, 2020

    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...

  • Bernie

    Feb 20, 2020

  • Breaking News

    Bob Franken, Syndicate Columnist|Feb 20, 2020

    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...

  • Mike Bloomberg's Offensive Campaign

    Rich Lowry, National Review Editor|Feb 20, 2020

    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...

  • Pet Peeves and Okeydokes

    Feb 20, 2020

    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!...

  • Letters: February 20, 2020

    Feb 20, 2020

    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...

  • Warming Periods

    Frank Watson, Freelance Columnist|Feb 20, 2020

    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...

  • Cheers for American Legion

    Don C. Brunell, Freelance Columnist|Feb 20, 2020

    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...

  • Start!

    Feb 13, 2020

  • Motives

    Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter|Feb 13, 2020

    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...

  • Trumpster Gangsters

    Bob Franken, Syndicate Columnist|Feb 13, 2020

    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...

  • The End of 2016

    Rich Lowry, National Review Editor|Feb 13, 2020

    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...

  • Pet Peeves and Okeydokes

    Feb 13, 2020

    #### The president who would be king!...

  • Opposes sex education bills

    Feb 13, 2020

    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...

  • Trump's Impeachment is History

    Frank Watson, Freelance Columnist|Feb 13, 2020

    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...

  • Positive and progressive impact?

    Lisa Burnett, Office Manager|Feb 6, 2020

    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...

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