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Gary Crooks

This individual is no longer an employee with The Spokesman-Review.

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Opinion >  Syndicated columns

Smart Bombs: A tale of two cities

The health care debate is picking up now that President Barack Obama has made the expansion of care a priority. But it won’t do any good to settle on the current insurance/employer model or single-payer or individual health-savings accounts if we aren’t clear on what is driving costs. There are two indisputable facts about American health care: It is the most expensive and wasteful in the world. That might be acceptable if we covered everyone and had better outcomes, but we are virtually alone in leaving a wide swath of the population uncovered, and we don’t rank particularly well on global quality-of-care score cards.
Opinion

Smart Bombs

Melissa Clouthier at Rightwingnews.com took an interesting angle on the nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court of Sonia Sotomayor, namely the way she pronounces her name (So-toe-my-OR). In a lament titled “No More Americanization,” she wondered why the nominee of Puerto Rican descent didn’t go by “Soto-may-er.” Clouthier pointed out how a proud American such as herself chose to assimilate, so she dumped the pronunciation of Cloo-thee-AY for CLOTH-ee-er. Besides, people might think she actually is French and has stopped ordering freedom fries.
Opinion >  Syndicated columns

Smart Bombs: Lukewarm reporting

I often hear complaints of the media’s “alarmist” reports on global warming. U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., once said it was “the most media-hyped environmental issue of all time.” So, naturally, the new peer-reviewed study out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that says the effects of global warming will accelerate faster than previously thought captured headlines across the nation and dominated TV news. Not so you’d notice.
Opinion >  Syndicated columns

Smart bombs: Obama takes a bullet?

President Barack Obama and conspiracy theories seem as inseparable as Dick Cheney and scowls, but I’m beginning to suspect he is a secret member of the National Rifle Association and getting kickbacks from weapons and ammunitions sellers. Think I’m crazy? Well, throughout his career he’s made noise about controlling guns. He made that comment about rural voters “clinging to their guns.” He has painted a giant bull’s-eye on his back, but what has he done? Not much. Well, that’s not accurate. He just signed a bill allowing people to pack heat in national parks. That’s high-five material for people who fear him. President George W. Bush couldn’t get that done. Former Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne couldn’t either. In fact, Obama’s action overturned a ban signed by James Watt, the Wyoming cowboy who rode in President Ronald Reagan’s posse.
Opinion >  Syndicated columns

Smart Bombs: Marriage on the rocks

Did you notice the change in your marriage this week? A lack of desire to procreate? Or, perhaps, just a general sense that it wasn’t as special as it once was? Well, don’t blame it on yourself or your spouse. Blame it on those lawmakers in Olympia who on Monday installed another smooth steppingstone on the path to gay marriage. Yes, the special nature of traditional marriage took another hit, and this time the wound wasn’t self-inflicted. No, it wasn’t the 50 percent divorce rate or the endless do-overs we give husbands and wives with no questions asked. Can’t pin this on those Hollywood celebrities who, with the endorsement of government, can change spouses as often as they change roles.
Opinion

Smart Bombs

One of the better arguments against affirmative action is that it has possibly outlived its usefulness. Preferences in colleges and workplaces have certainly given groups that were historically discriminated against a hand up. But in judging whether we’ve gone too far or have reached a state of egalitarianism, we need to consider the ravages of the economic meltdown. In many workplaces, layoffs are done on a last-hired-first-fired basis. Seniority in unions is sacrosanct. Being there first matters … a lot. National Public Radio reported that General Motors has a long-standing minority dealership program, but the decision on which dealerships to close will be based on worst locations. Well, guess who has those?
Opinion

Smart Bombs

I used to marvel at the unwillingness of Idaho lawmakers to raise the gasoline tax. Roads and bridges deteriorate. Costs perpetually rise. Tourists help pay. It’s the logical answer. But my sense of wonder has shifted to 1996, which is the last time that levy was raised. Given the hives that break out with the mere mention of the t-word in the Gem State, it strikes me as miraculous.