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

The Hot Seat A Weekly Look At People And Issues In The News

Today'S Hot Seat Was Written By

“I’ve fallen on The Hot Seat and I can’t get off”

First, Dexter Amend used a dead 9-year-old girl as a platform to slam homosexuality, even though there is no evidence the girl was ever abused by a homosexual. That was just obnoxious political grandstanding, but the way Amend is treating relatives of deceased people has got to stop. How anyone could trip over a dead baby’s body, then ramble aloud in front of the grieving parents about harvesting the infant’s organs is beyond us. And telling a woman to go to church and find a man so she would have the money to pay for her brother’s cremation? Who does Amend think he is? There is no justification for this kind of insensitivity. Amend should do more autopsies and quit moralizing.

Rambling round the courthouse, looking for nickels and dimes

That budget buzz-saw Phil Harris is at it again. This week he suggested that the county replace those kilowatt-guzzling, electric pencil sharpeners with the regular crank type sharpener. “If we’re gonna talk fiscal management, then we need to get at it,” he explained. He has our complete support. We urge the commissioner to work full-time searching for other big ticket items to eliminate.

The sky is falling, the sky is falling

Attorney General Christine Gregoire was hopping around the state this week warning us of “significant construction problems” at schools in Eastern Washington. State Superintendent Judith Billings magnified the mystery by mentioning a criminal investigation and alluding to health and safety problems. Neither woman detailed the problems, or named the schools, but they did release enough information to scare parents and make life miserable for school district superintendents. So far the problems have been minor and all the anguish was for nothing. Thanks girls.

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MEMO: The Hot Seat is an irreverent look at controversial issues in the news. The views expressed are those of the writer.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Today’s Hot Seat was written by Scott Sines.

The Hot Seat is an irreverent look at controversial issues in the news. The views expressed are those of the writer.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Today’s Hot Seat was written by Scott Sines.