Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 76
I went to college in New York. It was a long way from home, but West Point offered to let me play football in exchange for a quality education and a career. New York was quite a culture shock for a small town farm boy. The drinking age was 18; the voting age was 21, and the only thing that prevented us from smoking was the price of cigarettes. We did most of the stupid things that college kids do, but no one got hurt that I know of, and we didn’t break any laws. Times have sure changed. College kids are now deemed mature enough to vote at a...
Along with millions of other Americans, I watched last week’s State of the Union Address. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it. The President was uncharacteristically subdued. He didn’t pick any fights nor call anyone names. He was definitely un-Trumplike. The Democrats and the national press hate everything the President does, so it was no surprise when they discounted everything he said. Republicans, on the other hand, proclaimed it to be the best speech since Gettysburg. To me, it was kind of bland. One short segment...
Four Washington state counties announced they will not enforce Initiative 1639, and more may follow. I don’t understand. I was taught in high school civics class we are a federal, constitutional democracy. I remembered the words but didn’t quite remember what they mean, so I looked them up in the dictionary. The “democracy” part means we have the right to vote. In a pure democracy, citizens vote on everything. Any time there is a question, the people gather at the meeting place and vote on the issue. We have both too many people and too man...
I visited a pot shop last week, something I thought I would never do. A senior citizen friend of mine has been experiencing rather severe knee pain and is trying to postpone an inevitable replacement. In the mean time, she has done almost everything: The magic shot series, physical therapy, horse liniment, and continues to ask advice of friends and neighbors who have had similar problems. One friend experienced relief with cannabis oil, and her primary care doctor advised her to, “Try it, you have nothing to lose.” She asked me to pick up som...
After long and careful consideration, I have decided not to run for President of the United States in 2020. I realize this may come as a disappointment to my supporters, and I will leave my future options open, but the timing is just not right. This should not be construed to mean that I am not qualified. Admittedly, I don’t know how to twitter, but I could learn. Joe Biden stated that he is the best-qualified American for the job, but the only thing he does better than the average citizen is find the White House bathroom. I have known s...
It looks as if the current government shutdown will set a new record with no end in sight. President Trump has avowed that he will not end the standoff unless there is funding for his wall. Nancy Pelosi is just as adamant that there will be no funding for the wall. Neither side shows any sign of budging. So, who is to blame? Is it the President’s fault for sticking to his campaign promises, or is it the Democrats’ fault for standing on their ideology? Maybe a bit of both, and maybe this budget confrontation is a symptom of another much dee...
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per-hour since 2009. Even though 96% of gainfully employed Americans earn more than the minimum, there is a push to increase it to a “living wage.” Minimum wage is a bad idea for several reasons: It ignores the concept of entry level jobs, it forces mechanization and/or elimination of low skilled jobs, and it interferes with the free market. I got my first job off the farm before I was in the eighth grade. I bagged groceries at Bob’s Market for $.75 an-hour. A few months later, my application at the s...
Our President is crude, crass, undiplomatic and rude. I agree with many of the things he has done, but I have real issues with the way he does them. I think his America First policy is spot on. We have allowed other countries to walk on us too long. I agree with his initiatives to rein in some federal agencies. The EPA has far too much power. They have been allowed to rely on pseudo-science to make arbitrary rules. They needed to be brought into the real world populated with people. I agree with President Trump’s policy to enforce our e...
During the recent mid-term elections, Democrats campaigned extensively and at times quite successfully on health care. The specifics covered a wide spectrum. The recurring theme, however, appeared to be cost. Politicians across the board promised cheaper care. Realistically, care can only be cheaper if we reduce the quality or quantity. Twenty-five years ago, my uncle died of prostate cancer. There was nothing that the medicine of the time could do to save him. Now, however, patients have several treatment options; all of which are expensive....
Dear CNN, I watched your broadcasts protesting the revocation of Jim Acosta’s White House press pass. You have now turned to the courts in order to bolster your continued feud with President Trump. I will agree that the President is pompous, rude and undiplomatic. He certainly carries much of the blame for your conflict. You should, however, acknowledge that you are at least partly responsible. In the case of; Jim Acosta, you are just plain wrong. Your network, and to a degree the national press in general, have come to believe their First A...
The mid-term election results could have been much worse. The Democrats got control of the house, but the results were far short of the predicted overwhelming blue wave. Actually, I think it is good that neither party is in total control of government. It will be interesting to see how Nancy Pelosi plays the role of obstructionist to presidential initiatives. The Republicans haven’t been able to blame Democrats for government shutdowns. Now they will have the chance, and it will be interesting to watch. My wife and I saved a long time for o...
I was raised around strong women. My four-foot-ten-inch grandmother was one of the strongest human beings I have ever known. My mother’s sisters worked on the farm along with my uncles and me. My sister could whip any kid in school and was one of the finest athletes I have known. They didn’t ask for special consideration, nor did they carry protest signs. They certainly don’t consider themselves victims and dislike militant feminists as much as I do. I have a good friend who is an ordained minister in his church. I was proud to be invited to hi...
What happened to the image of the American father? I remember when fathers were considered the undisputed head of the family. The stereotypical father was venerated by his children and had the answer to all family problems. Not so anymore. The image of the American father has changed from Ward Cleaver to Archie Bunker to Homer Simpson. Hollywood portrays the normal couple to be Lara Croft Tomb Raider and her incompetent male side kick. No more dumb blond jokes. I liked them and learned most of them from my blond daughter who is not at all...
I was reading a book the other day with the television as background noise. The book wasn’t very good, so I was waiting for something other than a political ad when a statement caught my ear. I can usually ignore statements I disagree with, but this one was a bit much. It told the listening audience that we need to get big oil to pay for the pollution they caused. I guess it caught my attention because it is illogical twice! First, big oil won’t pay for anything. They are not the source of money. The customers who pay for their products are...
'Tis the season. We have four seasons in Eastern Washington: basketball season, dry season, fire season, and political season. We are slowly making it through the season for politics. As bad as it seems, it could be worse. We could be in a presidential election year. National politics are depressing. Issues don’t seem to matter. Am I the only one who is tired of having my favorite TV program interrupted by candidates bashing each other? If this continues into Dancing With the Stars, I am going to scream. How many good people are we willing t...
My first new car was a Chevy Malibu made in Detroit. A few years later, my wife and I bought a few acres north of Airway Heights and thought we needed a small truck. I wouldn’t settle for anything but an American brand and was surprised to find that our new Luv Truck was made in Japan. The only thing American on it was the Chevy emblem. My next truck was a half-ton Chevy made in Canada. It was followed by a Ford made in Mexico. During my rebellious phase, I owned a Harley that was made in Milwaukee. Thus, I was a bit surprised that the l...
I received a call from my credit card company last week informing me that my card had been used in Brazil, and I needed to verify a thirty-six cent charge at a fast food outlet in Rio. I have never been to Rio. It is on my list behind Rome, Australia and Christmas Island, so I was pretty sure it wasn't me. My wife went shopping in Spokane that morning, but she hadn’t had time to get to Rio, so I ruled her out too. As neither of us had made the purchase, the agent for the credit card company said they should cancel the card and issue me a new o...
I recently took my grandson back to the Midwest to get better acquainted with some of his relatives. He is only recently aware that he is related to a huge clan of Midwesterners. While there, I watched as two of my kinfolks debated whether or not Brett Kavanaugh should be confirmed to fill the opening on the Supreme Court. The debate gravitated to Roe versus Wade then moved on to the morality of abortion. One was adamantly pro-choice and the other just as firm pro-life. The pro-life asked me if I could think of any situation where it was OK to...
A friend and I were engaged in a bit of fanciful wishful thinking the other day when he asked me how I would improve our country with a hundred million dollars or so. I quickly ran down the list of national problems we are rapidly leaving for our grandchildren. A hundred million wouldn’t do much for the national debt, so I scrolled down to our utter dependence on fossil fuels. I’m not concerned that our oil and coal reserves will run out in my lifetime, but the supply is finite and will eventually be depleted. In the long term, we have onl...
A few weeks ago, I was in a serious discussion with a young friend who claimed that the Washington State tax system is unfair to the poor. I asked how he came to that conclusion, and he said the rich in Washington pay a lower percent of their income in taxes than the poor. I pondered that for a second and asked where he came to that conclusion. You guessed it. He said, “Well, everybody knows that.” I told him that I didn’t know that and would need to think on it. He got mad and stomped out. I knew that his claim had to have some basis, so af...
My niece and nephew recently came to visit from the Midwest. They had never seen this part of the world, and I thought they would be impressed with the variety of ecosystems in Eastern Washington. Thus, I was a bit surprised when their initial request was to take a ride in “Uncle Frank’s snazzy convertible.” We mounted up, and I was about to start the engine when they asked for help with their seat belts. These kids, ages five and nine, were conditioned to buckle up before the car was put in motion. I was impressed with the results of quali...
We had a cold, wet spring. I don’t know whether to blame global warming or Donald Trump, but it sure was hard on my garden. I didn’t think my corn was ever going to come up. I am glad warm weather has finally arrived. I became aware of the arrival of summer this week as I was sitting at an outside table in a small strip mall slurping a huckleberry milkshake and watching the traffic go by. It seemed almost every vehicle was either pulling a boat or an RV; some were pulling both. I was raised on a farm, so I was introduced to backing up a tra...
I read a recent syndicated column blaming Trump for the shooting in the newsroom in Annapolis. Whoa! That is a stretch. The President has certainly been critical of the national press, but his opinion surely didn’t incite the gunman. Everything I know about the tragedy indicates that the deranged shooter had a personal beef with the paper. There isn’t any evidence that the gunman was even aware of presidential tweets. To criticize Donald Trump for this catastrophe is unreasonable and is not based on facts. He didn’t influence anyone to rando...
Our Governor and Attorney General are at it again. They decided to sue the President over his policy to separate the children of illegal immigrants when the parents are detained. The paperwork was prepared and ready to submit when the President caved under public outcry and reversed his policy. Rather than waste a good opportunity to file a lawsuit, our state leaders modified a couple sentences and filed suit claiming that reversing the separation policy wasn’t enough. I wonder what they really want. The only possibilities I can think of is t...
I frequently decompress by laying back in my overstuffed recliner as I read the paper. I was doing fine until a sentence in a nationally syndicated column caught my eye and raised my blood pressure. This well known columnist said he didn’t want to understand the conservatives, he simply wanted to defeat them. Wow! So much for finding the middle ground. This ultra adversarial attitude is becoming more and more common. At my family reunion a few months ago, one of my relatives proclaimed she hated those damned Republicans. “I don’t trust anyth...
