Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 845 - 869 of 3750
California is staying true to its reputation as the land of innovation -- it is making blackouts, heretofore the signature of impoverished and war-torn lands, a routine feature of 21st-century American life. More than 2 million people are going without power in northern and central California, in the latest and biggest of the intentional blackouts that are, astonishingly, California's best answer to the risk of runaway wildfires. Power -- and all the goods it makes possible -- is synonymous with modern civilization. It shouldn't be negotiable...
In last week’s Gazette editorial, Gordon Forgey commented on the jeers Donald Trump received at a World Series game in the other Washington. Forgey decried the “utter disrespect shown to a sitting president” and by extension, “the cost that has in respecting the office of the presidency.” He mentioned the distinction between the office and the man holding it. I learned early in my brief military experience that one respects the rank of an officer, not necessarily the person holding that rank. That rank carries authority that might one day s...
Now that President Trump’s impeachment process is formally underway, Democrats and Republicans need to avoid becoming completely absorbed by it. They must work together on other important issues such as immigration, health care, education, infrastructure, environment and trade agreements. Impeaching a president can be all-consuming and is polarizing. It is more prevalent today than it was prior to Richard Nixon’s presidency (1969-74). Before Nixon, only Andrew Johnson had been impeached and remo...
The House has decided to make the closed door inquiry an official impeachment process. The headlines indicated that they had enough votes to unveil their activities. I heard rumors that some Democrats were going to vote against it, but CNN didn’t mention any. The radical left and CNN present a unanimous front. I have never witnessed such hatred. The radical Democrats with the support of a liberal national media have been trying to overthrow the 2016 election from day one. It began with the “Not My President” demonstrations before the inaug...
The President of the United States was booed at a World Series baseball game. Reportedly, the majority of the crowd participated. They also yelled in unison, “Lock him up.” This chant comes from Trump’s own words when he repeatedly said Hillary Clinton should be locked up. Fans in the stadium apparently also made extemporaneous signs calling for his impeachment. Remember this was at a World Series game. Such things get us nowhere, except to make matters worse. Sadly, even a World Series game is not immune from the widening disparity of opinions...
It's really difficult to tell because his hands are so small, but it looks for all the world that President Donald Trump has an extended middle finger raised at, well, all the world. Who knew that he could speak in sign language? Or at least that he knew how to say one word? Come to think of it, it's two words. He seems to have decided on a defiance strategy, his last resort, since his "high crimes" and his low crime of total incompetence are there for everyone to see as he faces impeachment. Every once in a while, he pokes himself in the eye...
The Ukraine story hasn't been good for President Donald Trump, and there's only one way out -- to get impeached, and the sooner, the better. Trump obviously hates the idea of being impeached. He thinks it's unfair, and is raging against the process with every political and legal argument his team can muster and every insult and countercharge he can make on Twitter. But he doesn't have any choice in the matter. Impeachment is baked in the cake. There's no way that Democrats, having opened an impeachment inquiry (although without a vote), can...
YYYY It’s nice to see a healthy police presence return to our coffeehouses. #!*! Winter in October. #!*! People who can’t read traffic signs....
Climate change Some of us might find it remarkable, given partisan divisions, but it appears Republicans and Democrats are coming together on a surprising issue: Climate change. Lawmakers are responding to public opinion. Last month, a CBS News poll found that two-thirds of Americans view climate change as a crisis or serious problem; a majority want immediate action. A survey by Ipsos and Newsy this fall found that 77 percent of younger GOP voters call climate change a serious threat. It’s encouraging that Congresswoman Cathy McMorris R...
Our state’s economy and way of life hinges on low cost and reliable electricity. Since Grand Coulee and Bonneville dams were completed in the early 1940s, Washington has enjoyed both. We are accustomed to flipping a switch and our lights illuminate. Our state’s electricity supply is abundant and our transmission system is dependable. Washington is heavily reliant on hydroelectric generators----many of which are located in powerhouses on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Only during the severe dro...
My kids caught me reading a book. An actual book, printed with ink on real paper. I was lectured about my abuse of the planet and was told how many trees went into making paper. Paper that would line the bottom of our bird cage and eventually be discarded. I argued that I own books I have treasured for many years. They ignored my nostalgic argument and went on to demonstrate how easy it is to dial up an electronic copy of whatever I wanted to read. Instead of a traditional newspaper, my kids get an abbreviated version of the daily news on...
On April 9, North Grand Avenue in Pullman was flooded by rushing waters from the Missouri Flat Creek drainage. Several businesses were badly damaged. People were trapped by the rising waters. Some were forced to take refuge on tables and such. One infant and one diabetic were known to be involved. The Pullman fire department and maintenance crews responded. As should be the case, those in danger and trapped by the torrent of water rushing down the street were the first priority. Nobody stopped to read a water rescue manual. They just did what...
Vladimir Putin is not a Facebook friend of mine -- that I know of, anyway. He could be, perhaps registered under an alias put out by the Moscow Troll Department, but to my knowledge, I didn't send a "Happy birthday to Vlad" greeting to mark the Russian president's 67th. Nor did Donald Trump send his good wishes, at least not on Facebook, even though Mr. Putin seemingly had a lot to do with his being the American president in the first place. But he didn't really have to mark the occasion. For Putin, Trump has been the gift who keeps on giving...
Barack Obama and Donald Trump are diametrically opposed figures, representing the categorical rejection of the other for his supporters, yet they share significant foreign-policy DNA. They both defined themselves in opposition to George W. Bush's foreign policy. Obama probably wouldn't have defeated Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic nomination if she hadn't voted for the Iraq War and if he didn't speak out against it at the time. Likewise, Trump outpaced all his 2016 GOP rivals in denouncing our Middle East commitments. Obama represented...
Endorses Parks Like other Pullman residents, I received my ballot for the upcoming election. Among the issues we will be voting on is the selection of new members to our City Council. I am a resident of Ward 1 and am presently served by Ann Parks. I have decided to vote for Parks for a second term. She has proven to be the type of councilor that a city as diverse as Pullman needs. Always a thoughtful listener to constituents and fellow councilors alike, she is respectful of the ideas and opinion of others, even while forwarding her own ideas, m...
Imagine tuning into the Sunday morning talk shows and wondering if the politicians and commentators could possibly find something positive to say about one another or the state of affairs in America. Unfortunately, there is a better chance of snowball lasting in a sauna. But suddenly on Oct. 20 there was a surprise: “BREAKING NEWS” moving across the bottom of the screen about an apple developed in Washington State. Television pundits ignored it; however, the internet was stocked with sto...
There is a branch of our government that is independent of the three branches we study in school. This branch usually operates in the shadows overlooked by both the people and the legislature. It makes its own rules with the same force as law. It has the power to levy fines and seize property. No one in this branch is elected and, therefore, is generally unresponsive to public opinion. It is virtually independent to do whatever it pleases, and I have never known it to admit a mistake. This shadow government is made up of the various...
The Sean Spicer show continues. Remember Sean? He was the press secretary for President Donald Trump. He was contentious and madly loyal to Trump. Spicer was the one who claimed that the crowd for Trump’s inauguration was the largest ever. This despite evidence to the contrary. He never backed down from this and other falsehoods. Spicer left the post and has made a few appearances on television, but his reputation has never been redeemed, especially since being savaged on Saturday Night Live skits. For the last several weeks he has been on a n...
In his "Gettysburg Address," Abraham Lincoln described a "government of the people, by the people, for the people." The problem for any democracy is that those people can make a mistake -- a dangerous mistake -- by electing someone who's severely unqualified or a bloomin' nutcase. Look no further than Donald Trump, our president, who possesses the power to wreak terrible damage. In fact, he's doing just that, both with his policies that roll back decades of progress, returning America to a menace to the planet, and even more so with his...
Little did Dr. James Naismith know when he invented the game of basketball in Springfield, Mass., in 1891 that, more than a century hence, it would become beholden to its Chinese overlords. The NBA disgraced itself kowtowing to Beijing after the general manager of the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, tweeted his support for Hong Kong protesters. The words he associated himself with -- "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong" -- would seem uncontroversial. Who doesn't hope for the best for plucky demonstrators trying to advance democracy against...
YYYY Men that still open car doors for women. #!*! Stop with the Christmas lights, Christmas anything. Let us have Fall, please....
It is time It would be wonderful to see President Trump’s tax returns and a breakdown of all expenses of his and his family’s trips to their golf courses and hotels since taking office, along with a tally of the profits he is making while disregarding the Emolument Clause in the Constitution. How much has the Security Detail for Trump, his family members and Vice-President Pence cost us taxpayers (some now being used for Campaign Rallies for the 2020 election)? In the meantime, he and his buddies are so heartless they can’t provide basic human...
