Clark County Republicans were so moved by a pass-around e-mail about Barack Obama they posted it on their Web site. It was then taken down.Emails saying Obama is Muslim and doesn't recite the Pledge of Allegiance get passed around all the time. A lot political…
As an American, I take great pride in the fact that a woman and a black man are potential candidates for the presidency of the United States. No matter what your political party..that has to be evidence of great change. Imagine what MLK JR would…
Friday's loose thread has generated a vigorous conversation about racism. Check it out. Join in if you feel so inspired.Or, if you want to talk about other topics, here's your chance. Click on the comments link and post away.
Friday's editorial cheers the idea behind a bill in the Legislature to prevent government agencies from using the threat of lawsuits to chill citizen oversight.
Yesterday at work, I was introduced to a variation of this scam. But instead of getting a postcard warning me that my car warranty was about to expire, I got an automated phone call telling me the same and that the consequences would be dire.…
Our editorial today begins:Are you having a pleasant day? Got enough sleep? Coffee's especially soothing? The kids got off to school with minimal mayhem? Well, here's one way to ruin it: Visit one of those online cost-of-college calculators and figure out how much it's going…
About this Obama thing: It reminds me of when women were fainting and squealing over Elvis and every time Frank Sinatra would sing. I don't think the people are thinking about the welfare of the country. (...)Politics is a dirty business and Obama is too…
The roads are pretty bare.Be careful out there.Here's a laugh track for your ride home.Listen here.
We had a fascinating interview this afternoon with Scott Morris, chairman, president and CEO of Avista.I found two things particularly interesting. One is Avista's subsidiary Advantage IQ which pays energy bills for large chains, such as Starbucks. It's one of their growing success stories. The…
“Even if you don’t have health insurance, you are still taken care of in America. That certainly could be defined as universal coverage.” -- Former HHS Director Tommy Thompson in 2004, explaining why it was OK to spend $1 billion in Iraq toward the goal…
I just don't understand why anyone would have a problem with the primary election. The main purpose of a primary is for each party to select their candidates for the general election. It isn't proper for people to cross over and influence the selection. People…
Did any opinions blow into your brains as the wind blew, whistled and roared through the Inland Northwest night?Blog lines are officially open, unless the wind blows them shut.
(Mark Williams conducts the Spokane British Brass Band in a rehearsal in Yakima in 2006 at a music educators conference. Photo Courtesy of Larry Pittman)The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that mental illness touches 1 in 4 people, but this figure takes into account…
You know the drill....Safe and happy weekend.
( In this S-R file photo, Pratt Elementary students walk to school.)Our editorial today gave kudos to a Spokane Regional Health District plan to raise walking awareness and activity. In this snowy weather, some like to reminisce about walking to school each day in knee-deep…
Good morning!What's rattling around your brains this winter-thaw day?Blog lines are open.
I'm having a difficult time finding cartoons that don't feature Hillary Clinton. There are several candidates still in the presidential race (on both sides), but the undeniable fixation -- and it is largely negative -- is on Clinton. One cartoon is so brutal (complete with…
We forgot to give you a loose thread today, so we'll end the day with it instead.What's on your mind?
I might be in the minority, but I'm loving the big snows of the last few days. It's good for the environment, especially the Spokane River, but it's also been a great nostalgia boost.Spokane folks who were around in the winter of 1968-1969 remember the…
It's snowing out there. More snow is expected.I see this snow and feel grateful that the snow pack might be OK this year. So much depends on it. So let it snow, but be careful out there.Update: Lynn and I, without knowing, both did Drives…
In our editorial today, we looked positively on ordinances that will prohibit the selling, giving away or bartering of animals on public space.In the 1989 Michael Moore documentary "Roger & Me," a woman sells her rabbits for "pets or meat." She shows Moore how she…
Dave Oliveria has an interesting question over at Huckleberries Online. What's the lowest wage you worked for?For me, it was $1.50 an hour. I was 14. This graphic shows the buying power of a minimum wage salary through the years. The high point was $1.60…
Politics is not mentioned in this article, yet here we are discussing it every day. Are we masochists? Anyway, this article has a lot of data on the distribution of wealth and the correlation between that and happiness. It also mentions other things that make…
I'll be packing away Christmas decorations today, a task undemanding enough to give my mind the opportunity to drift. Care to offer some fodder for consideration? Click below to comment, and see what you can weave from today's loose thread.
You have a choice. You can tell us how impressed you were by the thrashing Oregon gave the University of Southern Florida in the Sun Bowl, or...you can start your own thread by clicking comment below.(How about Jonathan Stewart's 71-yard TD run!)
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.
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