Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Dear Editor, (writer is from a Colfax family) Former President Trump’s agenda for 2024 is becoming increasingly clear. Mr. Trump established a long time ago an absolute power to hire and fire. (The Apprentice) Our sitting President then went on late in his term of office and after January 6th to argue an absolute immunity from prosecution. (Impeachment trials, fraud trial and criminal indictment filings) Candidate Trump now argues a right to absolute freedom of speech. (Gag order filings) This picture suggests a man devoted to an absolutist s...
The Building Integrated Grids With Inter-Regional Energy Supply (BIG WIRES) Act is a promising bipartisan bill in Congress that offers a wide range of benefits: reducing the risk of electrical power outages, lowering carbon emissions and energy costs, and increasing national security. The recent gas pipeline rupture in our region gave many of us a taste of how a blackout in winter would feel. Extreme weather events damaging power stations and overloading the grid are on the rise. The bill will require each U.S. transmission-planning region to...
Dear Editor, Before I vent, I want to thank Mr. Myers for reminding us of the cowardice of politicians. (Column, 11/9/23) Politicians/appointees ordered utilities and fuel suppliers to not tell their customers that the fuel price increase is from climate policy. Let’s keep the deceitful nature of the political beast in mind. The rest of the column is a deception. He raised my hopes with this: “To achieve Washington’s CO2-reduction goals, there are two competing approaches. First, he gives us the government’s approach: raise the price of carb...
Dear Editor, Is it illegal to restrict the hospital privileges of a surgeon to prevent harmful, specialized cross-gender surgeries? This question is pertinent to our local Whitman Hospital and Medical Clinics. What is the true foundation of law? Are current legal systems the result of billions of years of random, undirected iterations of ideas advanced by evolutionary forces resulting in highly refined systems, which will one day perfectly address the evil that plagues us? No. Quoting from the ESV translation of God’s Word, the following law st...
Despite having a senior granddaughter from Genesee and a senior great-niece from Colfax both competing in post-season volleyball, this rainy Wednesday morning should allow me time to conclude my remarks started in the October 6th Gazette edition regarding the Gazette’s remarkable achievement, despite being without the services of a guy that both the Wilmont and Forgey Gazette’s had and who to me is a Colfax legend. My great old time friend Jack McBride (wrestling coach par excellence, along with Richard Felber, Ed Olson, and several others Col...
It was about a year before Mr. Harnack bought the Gazette that my health took a slight downturn and I forgot, among other things, to renew my subscription to the paper. I had always had one since this is my hometown. I want to know how everyone is doing here. So it wasn’t until Tom Barlass came to the cemetery in a rage re: Norma Becker’s comment about her perception of the “grass and weeds.” Well, my concern at the moment wasn’t so much the article (which I hadn’t seen yet but the lessening of Tom’s face color from a beet red to a more normal...
I’m not thinking of political leaders. I’m referring to people. Whether they go to church is as irrelevant as their political party. What matters is whether they put their beliefs above evidence. Do they put tribe above truth? If they are unwilling to look at evidence, then the answer is beware. We all choose what we believe. But if we’re unwilling to put evidence above ourselves, we can’t even trust ourselves. We’re all tempted to do it. You know who I am talking about because we are related to them. They are our friends and neighbors...
Dear Editor, (from a member of a multi-generation Colfax family) The “big three” federal budget issues for Republicans and Democrats right now are border protection, Ukraine war funding, and disaster aid. Disaster aid is an issue that politicians of both parties can get behind. It’s like spending on health care. We first fail to prevent disease and disability by neglecting wellness programs, so then we have the great pleasure of paying for our mistakes in hospitals at a much higher cost. In consumer and industrial affairs, we first fail to pr...
The premature notice of withdrawals, delivered by the 10 departing schools of the PAC 12, should result in a $500 million claim against them and the conferences which induced them to so act. The claim should be brought by the PAC 12, controlled solely by OSU and WSU and for the benefit of these two schools. Unlike the other Power 5 conferences, the PAC 12 does not impose an exit penalty. Instead the PAC 12 bylaws provide: “No member shall deliver a notice of withdrawal to the Conference in the period beginning on July 24, 2011, and ending on A...
Our problem is not that there is too much “fake news.” Our problem is that too many people believe it. Fortunately, there is an “antidope” — epistemology , the theory of knowledge or “how we know what we know.” Epistemology is a good solution because it has validity tests to distinguish between justified belief and opinion. And this distinction is central to most disagreements. Epistemology has simple and clarifying definitions, e.g., Truth has the property that corresponds with facts and reality. Can you imagine how many arguments wou...
Voting Democrat will make things worse. I was born in Spokane and raised on a small ranch west of the city. My parents were lifelong Democrats. In the 1940s and 1950s, the Democrats had a much different party. Let’s look at today. If you vote for Democrats every selection, here are a few things you should know and consider: In 2015, I paid $1.87 for a gallon of gasoline. Today, I filled up at $4.86 per gallon. You voted for that. Our cowardly president surrendered in Afghanistan, killing 13 fine young marines and abandoning thousands of A...
I am really disappointed to write this letter but feel our community needs to know our hospital’s acquiesce to a rather vile surgical practice. Let me say that the outset I have always supported the hospital, it has made our community a desirable place to live and work. The doctors, professional staff, aides and schedulers are dedicated to their patients and deliver the highest quality of care. How, then, would such a highly professional and caring institution grant the use of their surgical facilities to a surgeon who intends to conduct (...
Aloha, I’m Mark Gudmunson and I am a longtime Colfax resident up to 2012. I am now a resident on the beautiful Island of Maui where I serve as the Senior Pastor of a Nazarene Church in Pukalani. We recently suffered devastating fires on Maui and our entire Island community is still in a state of shock during this time of recovery. We have received so much support and encouragement from so many people in Colfax and Whitman County that I wanted to say thank you! You are an amazing community that my family and I live so very much! We love and a...
I have been told by a reliable person that our local Whitman Hospital is now performing “transgender surgeries.” That is very disturbing on many grounds. But, letters to the editor only allow 250 words, so, for brevity sake I will address only one. First and foremost is the moral issue. Let us mix a couple of metaphors and pull aside a modern day smoke screen. It is a biological fact that there are only two sexes. Male and Female. Those are determined by our DNA. Yes, I know about the very rare DSD (Differences in Sex Development), but tha...
I agree with the argument made by members of Congress to The Honorable Roslynn R. Mauskopf advocating that the cases being brought against Donald Trump be broadcast for all citizens to witness. Generally criminal cases are not broadcast to the public, but the outcome of most criminal cases don’t usually affect all citizens as this case will. And it is legal to override the current laws regarding broadcast restrictions if the Congress votes to do so. Here is the pertinent part of the argument in that letter that I hope all Americans support: ...
I would like to publicly say goodbye to my former colleague, great friend & fellow book fiend Joan Claussen. As Sean, Carmen, and the rest of these skilled people can tell you, Joan’s smile, always being jolly yet her experience & compassion is what made the Special Care Unit at Whitman Convalescent Center such a beneficial environment for not only our Alzheimer residents but also their families and friends. Here I have to point out a person who was one of the kindest and most understanding of all and that was Dale Stover. He and his wife A...
It’s about time someone in authority told the truth, that Governor Jay Inslee is a complete and poor liar. He should have taken the Bill Clinton “How to Lie Successfully” home study course. If you haven’t already, please read the Senators very informative column found in the August 1 st Gazette that tells it like it has been and still is. My own take on his gas price hike is that he wants everyone to buy an electric vehicle to save the world from global warming, which in itself is nonsense and a lie. On your trip to Norway, how much “pollut...
How much of your tax money is devoted to helping or killing people; building or destroying? Last December’s debt ceiling bill contained nearly $4 billion dollars for military aid to Israel and 300 million for Palestine. On July 3rd, Israel mounted an air and ground offensive (the largest in 20 years) with 1,000 troops in Jenin city, leaving 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead and more than 100 Palestinians wounded. This onslaught which used Apache helicopters resulted in a massive destruction of the refugee camp with a complete p...
Dear Editor, My wife took me to the movie “Sound of Freedom” last week. Disney shelved this motion picture for over five years. Recent headlines and news stories may explain why. Angel Studios have now bought the distribution rights and it is currently being shown in some theaters. Yet, there are those who want to shut it down. There are reasons why the many “friends of Jeffery Epstein” are trying hard to keep you from seeing this film. Those are the very reasons why you should see it. There is a quote from Philip Ahlrich in the America...
Norma, to what Colfax cemetery were you referring to in your “Letter to the Editor” in last week’s Gazette because I have volunteered at Colfax Community District #6 cemetery for the last five years. That’s the cemetery to be found atop “Cemetery Hill” on the way to Palouse, my job the last five years has been mowing the lawns and I can assure you, there has never been 2 inches grass and weeds at CCD #6 at least in the last five years. No way! But if you see something that you think is wrong up there, please stop one of us worker’s (you’ll be a...
I visited the Colfax Cemetery twice over the Memorial Day weekend, and I have never seen it look better. I was impressed with the overall appearance, the weed control and the trimming around the stones. The addition of the big flower planters placed at the entry and on the road corners are a very nice touch; it is helpful to have the water faucets painted orange so they are easily spotted; and of course, the flags are the crowning touch. The first time I stopped was Thursday night, and a crew was still working after 7pm – mowing, trimming and u...
Within about a year, it’s estimated that funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which plays a key role in addressing the digital divide, will expire. While the ACP’s expiration would threaten connectivity for over 18 million households across the country, the most negative impact would be felt in rural communities. The ACP’s expiration would greatly harm the affordability efforts that’ve been made over the past few years in rural areas. Starting with the Trump Administration’s Emergency Broadband Benefit, which then transitio...
Palouse Citizens’ Climate Lobby (PCCL) does not endorse candidates. It focuses instead on effective climate policies to gain the broadest possible support. PCCL’s nonpartisan stance may sometimes feel frustrating, but it has the powerful side-effect of developing ideas more fully. For instance, Pullman’s mayoral race has three candidates presenting their ideas for Pullman’s future, and a recent personal discussion with candidate Debbie McNeil made one idea much clearer. The idea is to install many more charging stations downtown so electri...
Life in the Palouse this time of year is beyond beautiful. The green rolling hills are a sight to see by those local folks and those who live far away. We take many amenities for granted here. We turn on our water and it pours out clean into our homes. We flush our toilets and don’t ever worry about where it goes. We turn on our electricity and never think twice about whether the lights will turn on or not. But then what if our lights don’t turn on? What if our power to our home is out when we get home late at night? Fortunately we have loc...
President Joe Biden is seeking re-election. I wish he were younger and I might favor other Democrats—Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Governor, and 2020 presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker come to mind. But Biden’s record is impressive and he may have the best chance of winning the presidency. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stated openly, and Republicans have followed, a commitment to oppose everything Democrats proposed from the day former President Barack Obama was inaugurated, even if originally Rep...
