Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Matter of Opinion archive for Nov. 2007

THURSDAY, NOV. 29, 2007


Loose Thread Thursday

Once upon a time a mouse and a bird and a sausage lived and kept house together in perfect peace among themselves, and in great prosperity. -- From "The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage" in the original Grimms' Fairy Tales (not the sanitized Disney…

Continue reading this post »

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 28, 2007

Pay attention, Dudes

There's a movie showing on cable now, Idiocracy, that is based in the distant future when everything -- and everyone -- has been so dumbed down that the president is an ex-wrestler (the photo here shows his motorcade). And crops are watered with a green…

Continue reading this post »

TUESDAY, NOV. 27, 2007

The Drive at 5

At 3:30, I went out on the streets of downtown to run errands and the streets were jammed with cars. I figured people left work early, worried the roads would be slick tonight -- or that the snow would fall. But it's pretty clear out…

Continue reading this post »


Loose Thread Tuesday

I can see traffic out my picture window. It's moving slow on the North Side. Thank goodness for the ability to blog from home and face the traffic when it eases some in a couple of hours.So, what's on your snow globe?Blog lines are open.(Photo…

Continue reading this post »

MONDAY, NOV. 26, 2007

Gas hogs, anyone?

From our Saturday edit:The Bush administration was once again ticketed for driving too slowly on the energy reform highway. Playing the part of trooper this time was the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which slapped down a rule change last year that failed to…

Continue reading this post »

FRIDAY, NOV. 23, 2007


WEDNESDAY, NOV. 21, 2007

TUESDAY, NOV. 20, 2007

Do you like the Riverfront Park rides?

Ever been to the Fun Forest at Seattle Center? That's the area with the old-fashioned carnival rides. Looks like it's history. Which makes me think of the Riverfront Park rides (see photo). Aren't they getting a bit tired, too? The Tilt-a-Whirl? Those airplanes? Still?Do you…

Continue reading this post »


Taxes, taxes everywhere

From our editorial today:Lawmakers should take this opportunity to undercut Eyman by reducing taxes on most homeowners and renters by slightly raising the property tax rates on those who aren't struggling to pay. Lawmakers could do this and still stay within the overall 1 percent…

Continue reading this post »

MONDAY, NOV. 19, 2007

The dark and silly side of blogging

Blogging may well be the future of journalism, be that blogging by professional journalists or the so-called citizen journalists. But it does have its dark and silly sides. The cartoon Doonesbury has a riff going on blogging by mainstream journalists. In the Sunday paper, the…

Continue reading this post »


FRIDAY, NOV. 16, 2007

Friday's Loose Thread

Anyone else interested in that football game last night. Aside from Doug Floyd, Steve Smith and your resident Wildcat (me)?OK, that's the extent of my taunting. What's on your minds today?

Continue reading this post »

THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 2007

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 14, 2007

TUESDAY, NOV. 13, 2007

MONDAY, NOV. 12, 2007

What phrase drives you crazy?

It's heartening to see that Jim Kershner is annoyed with the phrase "going forward." He says it is useless in just about every instance. That's true from a writer's perspective, but politics is about perception. "Going forward" means progress and progress is good, even if…

Continue reading this post »



Smart Bombs

1. Do as we say, not as we do. That could be the U.S. motto when it comes to product safety.2. Were the Hession ads out of character for him and Spokane? Yes.So says Smart Bombs.

Continue reading this post »

FRIDAY, NOV. 9, 2007


Loose Thread Friday

It's early in the morning as this thread begins. I'm certain other morning people are awake now, too, even though it's still dark outside.Atlantic magazine this month has an article on the differences between morning and night people.Morning people: Respect authority. More formal. Less likely…

Continue reading this post »

THURSDAY, NOV. 8, 2007

Loose Thread Thursday

I will summon a Satyr to dance,a Centaur,A Nymphand a Faun;I will picturea warrior King,a Giant,a Naiad,a Monster;I will cut round the rim of the crater,some simplefamiliar thing. --- Ezra PoundBlog lines are open.(Sandro Botticelli, "Pallas and the Centaur", Uffizi Gallery, Florence)

Continue reading this post »

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 7, 2007

Drive at 5

All these tales, told in the drowsey undertone with which men talk in the dark, the countenances of the listeners only now and then receiving a casual gleam from the glare of a pipe, sank deep in the mind of Ichabod. -- From the Legend…

Continue reading this post »


A Matter of Opinion is really a matter of three opinions – those held by the people responsible for the opinion pages of The Spokesman-Review. Check in regularly to find out what they’re up to, what they think and where they differ and to joust with them if you want.



Blog Archives

Nov. 2007
29 28 27 26 23
21 20 19 16 15
14 13 12 09 08
07 06 05 02 01