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I am a working mother, wife, and city council woman. Cathy McMorris Rodgers represents ME on many fronts. She co-sponsored the bill that extended the Federal Perkins Loan program for need-based students. Without programs like this, our son would not be able to afford college in two years. She supported and had language in the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that puts more money in my pocket each month to help provide for my family, expands the child credit and doubles the standard deduction. I’m actually looking forward to f...
If you read the actual transcripts of Trump and Putin’s press conference following the Helsinki Summit, the first thing that may occur to you is that President Trump cannot express a coherent thought. The second, and by far the more troubling realization, is that the President of the United States just gave away the farm, and I’m not talking about his trade wars. Donald Trump, who fancies himself a strong-man leader, abased himself before the Russian tyrant and in doing so, trashed America’s intelligence, law enfor...
My niece and nephew recently came to visit from the Midwest. They had never seen this part of the world, and I thought they would be impressed with the variety of ecosystems in Eastern Washington. Thus, I was a bit surprised when their initial request was to take a ride in “Uncle Frank’s snazzy convertible.” We mounted up, and I was about to start the engine when they asked for help with their seat belts. These kids, ages five and nine, were conditioned to buckle up before the car was put in motion. I was impressed with...
I am not your typical Republican. When I was younger I always considered myself an independent and as I have matured, I have found myself becoming more and more conservative. I have no personal connection to Cathy McMorris Rodgers. I knew that she represented Eastern Washington in Congress, but not much more than that. I started seeing ads for Lisa Brown and hearing people talk about her and decided to look for myself. The first thing that bothered me was that in the early campaign days, Lisa did not affiliate herself with...
I’m writing in response to the article about the Cheney dog park in the July 5 issue of the Cheney Free Press. I believe Cheney could really benefit form a dog park. My dog, Lucy, loves running free and socializing with other dogs. According to the article from AVMA.org (American Veterinary Medical Association) website “dogs who have more social contact were less likely to develop fearful or aggressive behavior.” (AVMA.org retrieved 7-15-18) I have raise four beautiful happy healthy children here in Cheney, let’s make it...
Cheney now has a Lisa Brown for Congress office at 1010 First St., Suite A, directly across First Street from the Farmers Market at Cheney Marketplace. The office is usually staffed by volunteers Monday – Friday between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Stop by to say hello, make a donation, pick up whatever you need such as yard signs, T-shirts, bumper stickers, buttons, literature and even get assistance with voter registration. Christie Bruntlett Cheney...
I’m going to tell you a story. It’s a story about “Operation Success.” Never heard of it? You’re probably not alone. Most of the millions of people in the United States don’t know the tale of how our State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency overthrew the democratically elected government of Guatemala in 1954. It’s a brilliant story. It was done on a shoestring budget and in such a way as to not attract international attention to the fact that the leader of the free world, the proponent of representativ...
We had a cold wet spring. I don’t know whether to blame global warming or Donald Trump, but it sure was hard on my garden. I didn’t think my corn was ever going to come up. I am glad warm weather has finally arrived. I became aware of the arrival of summer this week as I was sitting at an outside table in a small strip mall slurping a huckleberry milkshake and watching the traffic go by. It seemed almost every vehicle was either pulling a boat or an RV; some were pulling both. I was raised on a farm so I was introduced to...
This week ballots are being mailed for the primary election. As retired educators, we strongly support Dave Wilson as representative for the 6th legislative district. Dave has been a business and education consultant for the past six years. Previously, he was founder and owner of Interface Computer School for nearly 30 years. Dave sees the need for a continuum of instruction (pre-K to post-secondary) to prepare area youth for economic and civic success. He will work to preserve a level of funding that will allow for...
The venue for our recent Craner family reunion was our Cheney Sutton Park, the crown jewel of the municipal parks of Cheney. We had a total of 83 attendees, family and friends from as far away as Kansas and the west coast of Washington, plus one dog on a leash, as per park regulations. Our potluck and get-together was enjoyed by all, especially enjoyed by the families with young children who reveled in playing on the ample playground equipment afforded by the park. This was our second annual reunion in Sutton Park, and we...
I am complementing John McCallum on his superlative Write to the Point column, “Reflections on our American Values,” appearing in the Cheney Free Press of June 28, 2018. In particular, his quoting of the Preamble to the Constitution is the most important point of the piece. The preamble is philosophy for how our country should perform. The Articles of the Constitution are the method of implementing the Founding Fathers philosophy. Promoting the “General Welfare” is where we as a nation have failed miserably. The great d...
So the National Rifle Association and its Republican puppets, such as our own Cathy McMorris Rodgers, think the best way of counteracting terrorism, including school shootings, is improving mental health conditions rather than limiting gun availability. Then I can’t think of any better way of breeding terrorists who want to strike back at the U.S. than inflicting huge trauma on children by forcible separation from their parents. With Lisa Brown we’ll get action for BOTH improved mental health conditions AND limited ava...
Peering across seemingly endless miles of forestland from the rim of Oregon’s Crater Lake can certainly take one’s breath away. But so can stories and statistics about when that green turns to grey after the invasion of wildfire. That thought occurred last week while returning to civilization following the better part of four days spent incommunicado on a rafting adventure on the Rogue River in southwestern Oregon. As soon as the cell service kicked in and the wave of pus...
I read a recent syndicated column blaming President Donald Trump for the recent shooting in the newsroom in Annapolis. Whoa! That is a stretch. The president has certainly been critical of the national press, but his opinion surely didn’t incite the gunman. Everything I know about the tragedy indicates that the deranged shooter had a personal beef with the paper. There isn’t any evidence that the gunman was even aware of presidential tweets. To criticize Donald Trump for this catastrophe is unreasonable and is not based on...
On May 22, 2014, Donald Trump announced to the world via his Twitter account that Hillary Clinton accused him of wanting to bring guns into classrooms. Almost four years later, Trump tried to convince us that arming teachers while on school grounds is the answer to school shootings and massacres. With the lack of laws and training regarding carrying and purchasing guns, more students are likely to die in schools if Trump’s ideas are applied. He argues that it will allow teachers to respond quickly to possible shootings and b...
Most Americans cannot relate to the lives of our sisters and brothers who live in Third World countries. Though only occasionally traveling overseas, we often select Europe as our destination — a cruise on the Danube or a trip to Italy. Thus, imagining what it is like to live in real poverty is almost incomprehensible. After living in three different African countries for 17 years, I have experienced extreme poverty. In most African villages, owning a bicycle or a radio is a sign of wealth. When I visited the village at C...
Our governor and attorney general are at it again. They decided to sue the president over his policy to separate the children of illegal immigrants when the parents are detained. The paperwork was prepared and ready to submit when the president caved under public outcry and reversed his policy. Rather than waste a good opportunity to file a lawsuit, our state leaders modified a couple sentences and filed suit claiming that reversing the separation policy wasn’t enough. I wonder what they really want. The only possibilities I...
By DON C. BRUNELL Contributor The Jetsons television series about a space-age family featuring “Rosey the Robot” gave us a preview of life with robots, kiosks and interactive television. In 1962, it was a fictitious cartoon; however, in 2018, many of the Jetsons’ conveniences are a reality. Take fast-food restaurants, for example. Faced with a growing shortage of workers and increased costs, some are turning to robots to flip hamburgers and clean grills — mundane, unpleas...
It is crazy to me that we are already halfway through the year and that it is now July. This will personally be a big month for me as I move across the country to Knoxville Tenn., at the end of the month. As I realized that I will be moving from my home of just over 10 years in just a matter of weeks, I thought of all the good times that Cheney and the West Plains have brought me. I am a proud alum of Cheney High School and Eastern Washington University. I will forever be a Blackhawk and I am officially an Eagle for life. If...
It doesn’t matter which side of the political spectrum you’re on, everyone talks about “American values.” What does this phrase mean? It could mean different things to different people. It could mean something different depending on the environment it’s discussed in, the time of day, the type of people doing the talking, how much alcohol is consumed. But there are such things as American values. Concepts many hold dear, that define how we feel about ourselves, what we believe and why we are here. Let me take a stab at this,...
There is a certain tyranny to the 24-hour news cycle, a specific grip on human awareness and attention. We have been rightly consumed by the Trump administration’s policy of separating migrant parents from their children, and the media have been filled with pictures and stories of anguished families, along with voices of critics from across the political spectrum. Yet though President Trump has retreated on the issue, he has still successfully used the powers of his office to dominate the media. He and his staff have been a...
I frequently decompress by laying back in my overstuffed recliner as I read the paper. I was doing fine until a sentence in a nationally syndicated column caught my eye and raised my blood pressure. This well known columnist said he didn’t want to understand the conservatives, he simply wanted to defeat them. Wow! So much for finding the middle ground. This ultra-adversarial attitude is becoming more and more common. At my family reunion a few months ago, one of my relatives proclaimed she hated those damned Republicans. ...
Yesterday, June 11, I read an interesting fact: “In 1964 Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman became honorary chairmen of Planned Parenthood.” In 1968, President Nixon called population growth “one of the most serious challenges to human destiny in the last third of this century.” That is two Republicans and one Democrat who recognized the great value of national Planned Parenthood chapters. Formed in 1916 in New York, this organization has served lower income girls and women that have fewer insurance options, and has...
It is popular to pick on our president. He makes it so easy that anyone can do it. The recent meeting with the North Korean dictator should have been praiseworthy, but president Trump’s unorthodox leadership style brought criticism instead. I have worked for some very good bosses and a few bad ones. The good ones were all predictable. I found it easy to support them, because they kept their staff informed. I knew what they were thinking and what they were going to do. Mr. Trump, however, enjoys surprises. His offer to stop j...
Personally, there’s nothing like the crashing waves, the bubbling of a moving river or the pure solitude of a high mountain meadow to be able to reflect. While many seek church, I’m sold on God’s creations in Mother Nature. As those waves crashed night and day — and another spectacular, yet rare, sunset due to VOG, volcano-induced sulfur dioxide nasty air — it offered the perfect cocktail for serious thinking time. Oh, that’s along with the fleeting thoughts of favorite so...
