Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 902 - 926 of 3749
I had a wonderful opportunity in 2000. I was selected as part of Spokane’s sister city educational exchange, and taught English in the Japanese public school system. One of my students was considering applying to be an exchange student in America. She asked me several questions including how safe my country was. I assured her that the reports of violence were overblown by our free and open media. Although we were not as safe as Japan, we felt secure anywhere in our country. I couldn’t make that statement today. School shootings have rea...
One of the predictions of climate change is extreme, unpredictable weather patterns. Hotter hots, colder colds, dryer drys and wetter wets. If pattern is the right word, the pattern of climate change is becoming more obvious. Hurricane Dorian, which at this writing has hammered the Bahamas and working its way towards the east coast is a case in point. It has already been described as the worst hurricane to hit the area ever. The reported devastation on the islands is only a partial glimpse at the true devastation. That will come as access to...
For a man who doesn’t read a lot, President Donald Trump sure has been influenced by history. What’s amazing about the days of yesteryear is not just that we keep repeating their errors, but that these mistakes move so seamlessly through time, the past being prologue and all that Shakespeare stuff. So it is with the defining tradition of bias in the United States. There is no group we haven’t hated and abused: Ethnic groups, racial groups, gender groups and, of course, religious groups. Our intolerance casts a wide net. Does anyone remember tha...
The New York Times, an organization devoted to gathering and publishing information, doesn’t want people to gather or publish information inconvenient to it. A group of Trump-supporting operatives has been finding and archiving old social media postings of Times employees and other journalists for use in the ongoing brawl between the president and the press. There’s no indication that this is dumpster diving rather than an effort to scour readily available sources for stupid, embarrassing or offensive things that journalists have said pub...
#!*! It ain't a grandstand without a roof (Webster), just damn expensive bleachers. YYYY Colorful murals and a renewed spirit of entrepreneurship! Love seeing Colfax come back to life!...
Ban assault rifles It is time for the United States to permanently ban the purchase and ownership of assault rifles. The assault rifle serves no purpose except to kill another human being. They have no legitimate purpose for hunting or any other reason except to fuel “Rambo” fantasies. The argument that the assault rifle is needed for personal protection bears no weight because there are many other choices of guns for personal protection. Under the second amendment the terms “well-regulated militia” is often used to justify the ownersh...
Hopefully, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) will receive final permit approval so it can complete its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant currently under construction on the Tacoma’s Tide Flats. For background, LNG is natural gas chilled to a liquid state, (-260° Fahrenheit), for shipping and storage. The volume of natural gas in its liquid state is about 600 times smaller than in its gaseous state. The comparison is similar to condensing air in a beach ball to a ping-pong ball. In its liquid state, LN...
I thought the court decisions against the makers of Roundup were over the top, but I was absolutely astounded at the recent ruling against Johnson & Johnson. These judgments are not only out of line, but tend to spawn even more outrageous claims in the hope that money will rain down on litigants and their lawyers. World health agencies have repeatedly stated Roundup is not a threat, with one lone exception that said the active ingredient in Roundup (Glyphosate) might contribute to cancer. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emphatically...
Reports during the countdown indicate this year's edition of the Palouse Empire Fair should start and finish with a high rating. The fair always generates its own momentum as entrants and competitors arrive with exhibits and talent for display and judging. A first painting by a three-year-old, a final stock raising project by a high school senior, talent by a royalty entry and a ride by a skilled rodeo competitor are some of the ingredients which make up the fair and generate interest for the four-day run. This year gets a boost because the...
President Donald Trump has broached the idea of purchasing the massive and largely frozen island of Greenland from Denmark. Cue the laughter. My Montreal-raised wife tells me that in the nearly uninhabitable frozen tundra country of her youth, she and her Canadian friends grew up exclaiming, "It's as cold as Greenland!" But POTUS, evidently, was serious. It's not a new idea. In 1946, the U.S. offered $100 million for Greenland, $1.3 billion in today's dollars, or 9 billion Danish Krone, give or take. A mere pittance, even if it's situated in...
Beto O'Rourke has taken the measure of America and found it wanting. "This country, though we would like to think otherwise," he intoned, "was founded on racism, has persisted through racism and is racist today." This is now a mainstream sentiment in the Democratic Party. Bernie Sanders said earlier this year that the United States was "created" in large part "on racist principles." The New York Times has begun the so-called 1619 Project, marking the 400th anniversary of the importation of slaves from Africa. The series seeks nothing less than...
Fleeced Well pilgrims, we've just been fleeced once again. Your no-carbon-footprint-governor just wasted more of our hard earned money. I'm sure he didn't ride a horse or bicycle back east to campaign and debate. Of course a bicycle would be out of question. It has hydrocarbons in the tires, grips, seat and pedals. I'm sure he flew in a jet and then once on the ground, rode in a limo or rented car. And folks, don't forget the WSP bodyguard contingent that we paid for to protect him. Now it appears Mr. Inslee and his henchman Fergie will...
A few years ago on Labor Day, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee presented a compelling commentary on the need for employers and employees to set aside their differences and partner. That very same message should be heeded by our elected officials today. Easier said than done, especially in a vitriolic and politically charged atmosphere punctuated by an absence of listening and a profusion of people shouting at one another. Huckabee bashed those who detest unions and those who trash employer...
To tweet to not to tweet, that is the question. I have found over my considerable years that when you have nothing to add, you should keep your mouth shut. Our president seems to have missed that lesson. When Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar were planning their trip to Israel, he had nothing to add, but he did anyway. He tweeted something silly about allowing the two congresswomen to visit Israel would be a sign of weakness. A sign of weakness for whom? The liberal press immediately condemned the president for picking on two “women of color” and in...
Some very nice changes have been accumulating along Main Street in Colfax. The city still has some vacant storefronts, but the feel and atmosphere has been improved. It is, in fact, more welcoming. A few years ago a woman from Texas purchased several buildings in Colfax with the promise of revitalizing the town. It did not happen. This round of new activity is basically because of local effort and investment. They are the result of both private individuals and community organizations. The changes are widespread. The partnerships are inspiring,...
When Joe Biden says he's running for president, he means it literally. He likes to be seen jogging around at his various campaign events. Obviously, that's his way of showing that at 76, he's not too old for the grueling physical and mental challenges of being POTUS. But it does raise a question: Is he aware that the bigger problem is his running off at the mouth? Now, this is not a new concern. Joe Biden, after all, taught us what a "gaffe" was -- he's been at it for a generation. He describes himself as "a gaffe machine," tripping over his co...
The Jeffrey Epstein case establishes beyond a doubt that if you're a sexual predator, it pays to be a rich and connected sexual predator. Epstein, now dead of an apparent suicide before his accusers had their day in court, worked the system and benefited from advantages and breaks unimaginable to anyone who didn't jet around with influential friends. The multimillionaire financier who lived in Palm Beach, Fla., and Manhattan, N.Y., used his resources to build a network of sexual predation and then used his resources to escape meaningful legal...
Businesses want us to shop local, however they are closed Monday, Tuesday and sometimes on Wednesday....
Brock letter Our hearts break again and again as we read headlines in the news about the murders in our land. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were no murder. Ever. If everyone just determined within their own being to NOT murder. That would make our world a so much much better place. Can you conceptualize it? Of course we have laws against murder. But, they don’t really work. External laws never do. Internal laws operate from the inside out. While we are imagining, let us imagine a world without stealing. If everyone just determined to not...
While drones are coming of age in firefighting, they are also establishing a foothold in restoring fire-scorched forests. Firefighting drones grabbed the spotlight last April 15 as viewers around the world watched Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris go up in flames. It has stood for over 850 years, through wars, natural disasters, and everything in between including the fire. At first, it appeared the iconic building would be completely destroyed; however, French firefighters used thermal vision...
I’m still looking for an alternative for Donald Trump in 2020. I agree with almost everything negative that has been said of him. He is obnoxious, he makes unnecessary enemies, he is undiplomatic, he does not command loyalty, he generates hate, etc., etc., etc.… BUT, and it is a big but, many of his initiatives are spot on. We have allowed our friends to take advantage of us. China doesn’t play fair. Border security is both a matter of law and a matter of national interest. We must do what is best for America. We don’t need a new agenda;...
In Southern California during a traffic stop, the driver of the stopped car pulled out a rifle and started shooting. The policeman on the scene was killed, later two others were wounded. The shooter fired indiscriminately at other motorists. The car of a young mother with two kids was hit in the windshield, the bullet barely missing them. Another motorist safely guided them to hide behind the engine block of the car. The situation, as law enforcement converged on the scene, was described as a “long and horrific” gunfight. The shooter was kil...
