Scott Sines

1. Panetta's ploy 2. Professor Steve 3. Postal perfection

The problem with Republicans is that they just don't know when they're well-off. Pat Buchanan is a blessing for them because he accurately is defining the issues most important to the middle class. But instead of learning from the Christian Crusader, unelectable though he is, the Republicans are busy trying to crucify him. Statistics collected by the Department of Labor show that median wages for male workers, adjusted for inflation, have declined 8.7 percent since 1979. Wages for women are static. In the last year, wages and benefits crept forward one-half of 1 percent, the lowest increase since the government started keeping track in the 1980s.

1. Pratt fall 2. Dornan's plea 3. Just say no

If our staff weather swami is right, the sun should shine today. And by God, it's about time. The last two weeks have been enough - too much - for the emotional psyche of any community to bear. We thought it was bad a couple of years ago when Dean Mellberg shot up Fairchild Air Force Base; days later a B-52 crashed and killed the crew. But most of us are more familiar with a junior high school, or a downtown coffee shop, than we are with an air base. So, the fear strikes frightfully close to the heart. And the frustration of dealing with a natural disaster like flooding only adds to a helpless feeling that things are going to hell in a handbasket. But they're not. Hopefully you can walk in the sunshine today, and the sky will be so blue it hurts you eyes. And maybe you can walk confidently, secure in the knowledge you recognized it's time we gave the schools the resources they need to better educate and equip our children for life. You did the right thing.

1. Call 456-2296 (photo of Dexter Amend) 2. Clear's devil (photo of Scott Sines) 3. Radiomen silenced

1. Wanted: A wizard 2. Bill blows it 3. Helen's a heroine

We spend all year poking fun at people in the news. So today we're poking fun at the Editorial Board as they debate whether day is light and night is dark. Chris Peck (Liberal Leader, wearing a bandanna) "I don't think we want to say that nights are bad. They're kind of a guy thing like muscle cars and hydroplanes, and that's OK. This is the West. We can't tell people to do, or be, things that are against their nature."

Block grants are to Congress what loose-fit blue jeans are to fat men. They feel good and hide the problem at the same time. In our zeal to jettison federal programs to the states it's easy to forget that there are certain responsibilities best left with the federal government. Taking care of the nation's poor is one of those responsibilities. Like it or not, there have always been and there always will be poor people: Men and women who can't or won't earn enough money to support themselves and their families. Many are working on the slippery edge of poverty, trying hard to eliminate their dependency on public assistance.

1. What's in a name? 2. What Whitewater? 3. Hasson wins one

1. Shame on Schroeder 2. Your taxes at work 3. A backbreaker?

Even the humorless holiday cops (see editorial above) would agree it's OK to think about Christmas today. So now that you have their permission, replay the Christmas story in your mind. Bring back your favorite Christmas memories and enjoy them again - even if it makes you ache for those who no longer are with you. This is the time of year when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus with acts of kindness and good will. Words such as helping, giving, family and friends all describe the mood that surrounds the season. And it heals our spirit to bring those words to life. The timing of that spiritual healing is best left to individuals and not regulated by the narrow-minded view of the self-righteous few.

1. Going to the dogs 2. Adios Amigo 3. Price is right

1. He's no Bob Dylan 2. Spit and shame 3. Smoke in their eyes

1. A real Webb site 2. Dolly Rodent 3. Hot Seat for sale

Badges? They don't need no stinking badges. County Commissioner Phil Harris is catching heat for spending $340 of taxpayers' money on gold badges for his fellow commissioners. Steve Hasson paid for his own badge and says he's already used it. George Marlton called the idea ridiculous and won't wear his. Meanwhile, Harris maintains the office needs some recognition. We agree but think badges aren't enough. We think Harris should exchange the badges for Batman and Robin costumes for himself and Hasson. Holy budget, Bat-Phil!

1. Goodbye Kara 2. Rachel's legacy 3. Fuhrman's fan

It's August. Even Congress wants a break. So we pose the question: Is a meticulously tended lawn a thing of beauty? Or is it evidence democracy has gone to seed? Spokane, a good place to raise a ... lawn. Wrong. It's a good place to raise a great lawn. And great lawns are to homes and neighborhoods what the American flag is to freedom. A symbol of pride. A symbol of things that are right with the world. So it follows that those lovable lawn fanatics, those selfless souls who responsibly fertilize and neatly trim their lawns, are true patriots. Just as the flag is protected from desecration, lawn lovers deserve protection from the lazy, yapping ingrates with shabby yards.

1. Big Daddy's back 2. Bad Hair Days? (photo of Albert Einstein) 3. Fletcher's revenge

1. Helms-mania 2. Where's the beef? 3. Fireworks fiasco

People abandon their institutions slowly. It took nearly 50 years for the Democratic Party to alienate the middle class. But finally in 1980 many Democrats decided their party no longer supported middle class values, and the Reagan Democrats were born. Ten years later these Democrats were no better off and still searching for a middle class advocate. They elected Bill Clinton on the promise of change and a return to the Democratic Party they once knew.