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

Maybe We Should Settle It With A Wrestling Match

D.F. Oliveria The Spokesman-Re

The pee-in-a-cup brigade has enlisted St. Maries in its effort to save us from ourselves. Now, students in the Idaho logging town must pee on demand to play sports. Or act in a school play. Or serve on the student council. The Bored of Trustees claim mandatory drug tests will help head off a local drug crisis. But how about the other crisis - the one where we’re being programmed to give up constitutional rights? P’haps the trustees should have been tested before their vote.

Why can’t we all just learn to get along?

Let’s put the Spokane City Council on a deserted island with pots, pans and a bag of rice. The survival of Mayor John Talbott and his council will depend on their ability to get along. Shoot, we could even film the sequence. Whaddya mean it’s been done before? … Has Talbott, Steve Eugster, Jim West or Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Judy ever held elected office in Bonner County, Idaho? … French Fries (or, Easy Ways to Boost TV Coverage of the National Conventions): 1, Monica Lewinsky makes keynote address; 2, Call girls allowed to mingle; 3, Riots; 4, Expletives not deleted; 5, Delegates select someone other that Boring Al and Bush Jr.

Timmy, my boy, you ain’t seen nothing yet

The good news is that new Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Tim Cronin survived his first Aryan Nations Congress without incident. The bad news? Civil rights lawyer Morris Dees and Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler will be in the same Kootenai County courtroom next month. Stay tuned … Quotable Quote: “They weren’t Conoco Indians. They didn’t pull in, fill up the gas and off they’d go” - Julyamsh powwow director Cliff SiJohn explaining the importance of horses to his ancestors … This edition of Hot Potatoes was brought to you by the No. 109,000. Or the number of dead presidents Spokane’s first strong mayor will earn (their word). Wouldn’t it be more entertaining if Talbott, West and other wannabes staged a no-holds-barred wrestling match for the post?