Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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I give a special thanks to all those who maintain Colfax Cemetery, and do such remarkable work in preparing it for celebrating Memorial Day. We honor not only those who served in uniform on that day, but also our family and friends who have preceded us in death. The special work of all the fine people who maintain the cemetery grounds is a source of great pride for me, and so many in our community. Jim Repp, Colfax...
The decline of American culture can be seen clearly in the self-absorbed characters in daytime soap operas and the outlandishly excitable contestants in daytime game shows. The 50-60 year runs of shows like “General Hospital,” “Days of Our Lives,” and “The Young and the Restless” play-out in glittering color the general outline of our own nation’s slide after World War II. Shows like “The Price is Right,” and “Let’s Make a Deal” reveal more than prices and prizes, as well. We are experiencing a holocaust in learning in our schools, a debt con...
Former President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed succeeded. He brought us today’s miracle vaccines. He wants you all to get it. He said, “I hope everyone remembers when they’re getting the COVID-19 vaccine, that if I wasn’t president, you wouldn’t be getting that beautiful ‘shot’ for five years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all.” It was developed so fast, can it be safe? The mRNA technology was in development for longer than a quarter of a century. One technological breakthrough after another made it ready. In Operation...
"Medicare for All" just won't die. More than 100 House Democrats have signed onto new legislation that would outlaw all private insurance and put all Americans on a federally-run insurance plan within two years. The bill's chief sponsor, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., says "Medicare for All:" is the "solution" to the COVID-19 crisis and will improve access to quality care in the long run. She could hardly be more wrong. A complete government takeover of the U.S. health insurance system would...
With Liz Cheney’s ouster from her US House Leadership position, some news outlets are trying to tell you that the Republican Party is divided and in disarray. Nothing could be further from the truth. I sat down to write with the idea of “It’s Trump’s Party Now”. But that wouldn’t be true. It’s not President Trump’s party. President Trump is the courageous leader we rally behind, but it’s not his party. It’s OUR party. He answers to us. Today’s Republican Party is a revitalized coalition...
In Nancy Churchill’s “Dangerous Rhetoric – Testing Ground” she states vote-by-mail is a bad idea started about 20 years ago by Democrat-leaning politicians and voices her concerns that vote-by-mail leads to voter fraud. That indeed is dangerous rhetoric since it is based on misinformation and an apparent lack of understanding of the history, purpose, and integrity of vote-by-mail in Washington State. Vote-by-mail’s history goes back to 1971 when Republican Ralph Munro was Secretary of State for Washington. His concern to make voting accessibl...
In 10th century England, those found guilty of debasing the currency had one hand chopped off. If we re-instated this law, we would either have sane monetary policy in this country or a lot of one-handed politicians....
New COVID workplace restrictions, issued by Washington State Labor and Industries (L&I) on May 21, require employers to check employee vaccine documents before allowing relaxation of social distancing and mask requirements in the workplace. The new state rules require an employer to confirm, and have employees prove their vaccine medical status. The process used to verify vaccination, and the medical status of the employee's vaccination record, including the employee medical information must be...
Sports are important for more than entertainment. For our young student-athletes, it helps them be healthy, learn the importance of teamwork, how hard work can pay off with success, and how to cope when it doesn't. In a normal year, the work it takes to organize and coordinate high school students, coaches, and teams is huge and daunting. Canceling a season is emotionally hard. Putting on an abbreviated sports season that ends before the seniors graduate is extremely difficult. This "winter"...
Masks are coming off. Most residents wanting a coronavirus vaccination have gotten one. Sports are on and students are back in the classroom. It’s not a coronavirus emergency that’s keeping Washingtonians from going back to work. Over the past several weeks, I’ve had numerous conversations with owners and managers trying to get their small businesses back on solid financial ground. Given residents’ frustration of being pent up for more than 14 months, you’d think that would be easy. But it’s not...
Memorial Day is not to honor living veterans, but the military personnel who died in the line of duty. "We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John A. Logan in 1868. It was three years after the Civil War...
Although New Zealand and Washington are located a half-a-world apart, they have lots in common—-beautiful seashores, majestic mountains, crystal clear streams and lakes; and, vibrant salmon and trout fisheries. Both are struggling to rid their air sheds of CO2 and other greenhouse gases coming from the burning of carbon fuels (coal, natural gas, gasoline and diesel) in vehicles, home heating and electric-power generation. New Zealand and Washington share a common goal to be carbon-neutral by 2...
Have you ever noticed that many really bad ideas in governance seem to come to Washington State first? Ideas like state wide vote by mail, COVID patients in nursing homes, and vaccine passports? Why would that be? Is it because we're reliably Democrat-leaning, but also a long way from the east coast centers of power. What better place to experiment with legal changes that might further a political agenda than in the "other Washington?" Are we the national testing ground for bad governance?...
It’s time to decide if you want a COVID vaccination. If you want to take a precaution to help you avoid contracting COVID, then you can accept a free vaccination. If you don’t want a new COVID vaccine, you can turn down the free vaccination. It’s that simple. You are free to decide what you want to do with your body. The ugliest side effect of the COVID vaccinations is the nasty, bullying attitude affecting some people. I keep speaking with people and business owners about how badly people treat...
The prostitution opinion article missed one “small” detail. What about design? As an example, dad bought this really nice Case IH Quadtrac. The engine is designed to run on diesel, though, it will run on gasoline. I’d get serious acceleration and power out of that “sluggish” diesel motor, something that I like in motors! But alas, that desire for instantaneous gratification seizes up the engine in less than a minute. Not good. Really a poor choice actually, being that I could use that tractor for years and years by following the manufactu...
When Congress established the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) in 1935, it was intended to provide temporary and partial income replacement for workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. It was supposed to be a “bridge” to a new job and not “in lieu of compensation” to remain jobless. The coronavirus pandemic produced massive layoffs. The resulting economic downturn swelled the ranks of unemployed Americans by more than 14 million — from 6.2 million in February to 20.5 mill...
It has become the fashion for people in our town to start conversations with the question “Have you gotten your vaccine yet?” It’s happened to me several times in the last week, and I’m always a bit stunned by the question. You can stop asking me that. It’s none of your business. There. I said it. I’m a very private person and my health care is not your business. I only share my medical history with my health care provider. My health care provider is required by law to protect my privacy. I...
In a previous update to you, I talked about the trifecta of proposals that could drastically increase the price we all pay at the pump. This could raise costs for those that can least afford it, including an increase in food costs. It’s frustrating to report back to you that two of those three bills have passed the Legislature. Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Cap-and-Tax” scheme in Senate Bill 5126 and the high-cost (low-carbon) fuel standard in House Bill 1091 both passed on near party lines. The Legisla...
Whitman County was placed in Phase 2 restrictions three weeks ago and we waited for a return to Phase 3, but now that isn’t going to happen. Gov. Jay Inslee chickened out. Facing a massive rollback to Phase 2 for Western Washington, meaning Seattle, Everett, and Olympia, he announced his decision to take a two-week pause on changes to counties’ COVID restrictions. Instead, all 39 counties in Washington will continue with their current phase designation. It means Whitman County remains stuck with Phase 2 restrictions until future notice. If the...
Chickens are part of a farm community. They are laying eggs for food, helping children raise FFA and 4-H animals for the fair and some people like them as pets. The usual opposition when city councils consider letting people keep chickens at home are concerns over noise, smell, and bugs, Cities have ordinances already in place to police the problems. It’s unfortunate when the public presents feedback in a public meeting and a city-sponsored online poll, and it’s ignored. The City of Colfax polled people about allowing chickens and 81.8% are in...
Public records show lawmakers plan to use the capital gains income tax to set up a lawsuit to try to impose a broad-based graduated income tax. They're going to get not one, but two. It could be years, however, before we know if the state Supreme Court decides to uphold its numerous rulings saying that you own your income or if they'll instead reverse course. Just days after the Legislature approved Senate Bill 5096, which institutes an income tax on capital gains, the Freedom Foundation filed a lawsuit in Douglas County. A separate group, The...
