Opinion

I finally figured out what word best describes many Republicans - Mitch McConnell, Matt Gaetz, Ted Cruz, Kevin McCarthy et al. - and that would be "parasite." The second definition is "a person who habitually relies on or exploits others and gives nothing in return."

The arguments against the Spokane Public Schools (SPS) boundary changes are full of appeals to emotion, and claims without providing evidence. Claims of segregation based on socioeconomic status are unfounded and show a lack of understanding and wisdom. As someone who grew up in a segregated school, I find it highly insulting that someone would make these claims as a way to score quick political points during a time when real, fundamental change and attention to detail are needed.

Nearly everyone knows the story of the boy who cried wolf. The moral of the story is that if you lie repeatedly, people stop believing you.

Crises like the wallop imposed by COVID-19 on the economy cry out for leadership.

I’m the executive chef of a local restaurant with 21 years in the restaurant industry and take pride in serving delicious, wholesome and – above all – safe food.

Once again, these school district members need to think out of the box on this one. Why rely on retail store contributions or use taxpayer dollars to buy supplies when there are alternatives?

The goal of Somebody Needs You is to match donors with the specific requests of needy Spokane residents.

How many of my fellow Pacific Northwesterners had heard of Juneteenth before last summer? It’s been a Texas state holiday for over 40 years, since the underlying June 19 event took place there. It’s understandably a new thing if you’ve never lived in Texas or lack family history of celebrating Juneteenth.

If you are a reader in Spokane, there is a chance you’ve read his work in various newspapers, including quite regularly here in The Spokesman-Review; in locally and regionally produced magazines and in a fair number of anthologies. Last fall, his book “Lilac City Confidential” was released.

I have recently read articles from various publications lamenting the extremism of the “right.” They called organizations like the Idaho Freedom Foundation and the John Birch Society “extreme” and said that long-time Republicans were upset with the shift to the “far-right.”

George Nethercutt (Guest Opinion, "The right way to battle opioid abuse in Washington state," June 10) is not the only American who does not know that America left the world behind in 1915 and entered into drug prohibition, while everyone else stayed with legal and regulated drugs.

With Cathy McMorris Roger’s proposed “Malden Act,” a bill designed to stop presidents from blocking disaster assistance. CMR is tying to correct a problem she was instrumental in creating by voting lock step with a petty, vindictive president determined to punish our Governor. Supporting Trump may not reflect her personal beliefs. But she represents our deeply red, primarily agricultural district that continued to vote for this president and his adopted party even after he gave away the China market farmers had spent decades developing and made them dependent on federal welfare. Abortion and guns have been extremely effective in getting people to vote against their economic self interest and supporting the real Republican agenda of taxing work but not wealth. We need better representation, Tom Foley like.

Thank you to The Spokesman-Review for featuring this animal cruelty case ("Pet rescuers discover more than 80 dogs," June 17). While I am extremely grateful for the Kootenai Humane Society's prompt response and all the volunteers who helped the animals in this case, if people would do what I and many others are doing, these crimes would largely come to an end.

I nearly choked on my early morning coffee today when I read the news about Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ self-serving “Malden Act” bill ("McMorris Rodgers introduces 'Malden Act'," June 16).