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In her Email to constituents, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers exclaimed “This is huge!” And indeed it is HUGE! The recently-passed tax bill is a HUGE boondoggle for the rich! The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates that, under the law, the middle fifth of American households will see an average increase in after-tax income next year of $930 while the top 1 percent gets an average increase of $51,140! This is paid for by an approximately 1.5 trillion dollar increase in national debt over 10 years (nonpartisan Con...
The city of San Francisco recently erected a statue honoring those who were “Comfort Women” of the Japanese army of occupation in China and Korea during World War II. The effort was spearheaded by two American judges of Asian ancestry. They cite sources that estimate over 200,000 women in the occupied region were forced to serve as sex slaves for the Japanese soldiers. The Japanese government disputes these allegations as, “One sided interpretations.” They claim local entrepreneurs recruited these women to work as prostit...
When I think of how the new tax bill is being sold to the public, it reminds me of my years in Liberia under President William Tubman. Tubman was dearly loved by the poorest in the country, which actually didn’t make any sense at all. But, needy citizens would come to his office for financial help — for a funeral, a wedding or just hard times. He would gladly oblige with a gift of up to $500. In fact, he had envelopes marked with various amounts of money already prepared to distribute, yet he neglected to support job gro...
Our governor’s plan to raid the state contingency fund to pay for schools, then repay the fund with a new tax, violates sound financial principles. Creating a budget is not rocket science. The basic principles are the same for every organization, be they military units, government agencies or families. The first step is to list all the possible demands for funds that you can think of. A good budget also includes regular inputs into an emergency fund to take care of those things that you didn’t think of. Step two is to arr...
By DON BRUNELL Contributor Curbside recycling bins are packed with cardboard shipping boxes from Christmas online shopping. The uptick in consumer shipments is not only good news for the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and UPS, but our nation’s papermakers. According to Mastercard Spending Pulse, U.S. year-end holiday retail sales rose nearly 5 percent compared to the same period last year while online purchases shot up more than 18 percent. USA Today reported “despite thousands of...
Even though some people might think 2017 was not a great year, I did not think it was that bad. But I do have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming 2018 as well. In 2017, I was fortunate enough to continue school, have jobs that I love and enjoy time with my family. I was also able to check a few things off my bucket list. The biggest thing I was able to cross off was attending the Country Music Association (CMA) Festival in Nashville, Tenn. Every year my mom and I watch the event on television wishing we could be there. W...
Dear Editor, The time has come to change our thinking on Alzheimer’s Disease. Too often, Alzheimer’s and other dementias are treated as an aging issue, ignoring the public health consequences of a disease that someone in the U.S. develops every 66 seconds. With two-thirds of its annual costs bring borne by Medicare & Medicaid, it is an issue that demands more attention from our government. As someone who has lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s, I understand the physical and emotional costs of the disease. Congress has a chanc...
The media frenzy surrounding accusations of sexual misconduct continues to gather momentum. Many of the allegations are true, and those who have abused their power should be held accountable. Many charges, however, make no sense unless sexual misconduct has been redefined beyond the realm of logic. The snowball effect has taken on a lynch mob mentality to the point that the abuser and victim are no longer clearly defined. The Associated Press recently published an article exposing an Idaho State Representative who made a...
While the investigation continues into the deadly Amtrak derailment near DuPont, Wash., the clock continues to tick on the implementation of Positive Track Control (PTC). The deadline is Dec. 31, 2018. PTC integrates new satellite tracking (GPS) and trackside technology for passenger, freight and commuter rail service. It is designed to instantly feed mountains of detailed and complex information to control centers and moving locomotives to automatically stop speeding trains...
Monday is the first day of 2018, and I for one am very happy for that. Frankly, 2017 has not been a very good year for me in many ways and I can’t wait to see it go bye-bye. As for 2018, right now I’m a little pessimistic about how good it will be. There are many indicators that seem to foreshadow a year not so different from the one that’s about to exit. In fact many Americans feel it could be worse, according to various polls. About 73 percent see the world as being more violent in 2018, six in 10 saying race relat...
I am getting to the age where young folks ask me about my best and most memorable Christmas. They are not the same. My most memorable one wasn’t my best, but it is the one I think of most often. I had completed Air Force flight training and was assigned to an air refueling crew at Fairchild Air Force Base. After a few short months, our crew was notified that we would depart in mid-December for a short tour in Southeast Asia as part of the Vietnam conflict. We were excited and anticipating a great adventure. We hadn’t yet dis...
So much for sharing about grandma Ehlers’ molasses chocolate chip spice cookies. News of the deadly Amtrak crash near Olympia on Monday morning changed a lot of plans. No one who boarded the run in Seattle envisioned what lie ahead, or if they would be one of the statistics in the state’s first-ever fatal Amtrak accident. The Amtrak Cascades train was supposed to celebrate a new and faster route between Seattle and Portland, but it seemed few cared. Just 80 people were on boa...
I don’t want to insult anybody’s intelligence, but still feel compelled to state the obvious: If U.S. congressional members are forced to resign by sexual harassment charges, what about our president? Congressional Democrats have generally been willing to force resignations, including those of their own offending party members. But considerably more pressure is required by congressional Republicans to effect the president’s resignation. Unfortunately, as pointed out in a prominent Eastern Washington newspaper’s 12/7/17...
StageWest Community Theatre has put another successful production in the books. Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” adapted as a Readers’ Theatre by Tony Palermo, was well received by all who came. StageWest would like to thank the cast and crew who made this production a hit. We would also like to thank Mike Hartman, caterer extraordinaire, for the delicious dinner on Saturday night. He even managed to serve plum pudding as dessert. An extra special thank you to the congregation of Cheney Emmanuel Lutheran Church who all...
Those of us who live east of the Cascades seldom pay a lot of attention to local politics in the suburbs of Seattle. However, the implications of the 2017 senate race in the 45th state legislative district extend to our doorstep. The seat is now in the hands of the Democrats, giving them control of both houses of the state Legislature as well as the governorship. For the past several years, the state senate has been the only buffer between us and the free-spending liberals west of the mountains. Gov. Jay Inslee has announced...
The holiday season brings around the festive and catchy music of the year. Some radio stations dedicate the month of December to playing just Christmas songs and I am truly thankful for that because this is the only time of the year that we can listen to this type of music. So I will just be upfront and honest, my favorite Christmas song is “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey. You can judge all you want, but you can’t deny that it is super catchy and you can’t help but sing along to it. And there is always...
We are at the end of another year, which is a little bit sudden since it seems like 2017 just started. But it has been another crazy 365 days and there has been some ups and downs throughout the nation, but what about here locally? Overall, we thought it was a good year on the West Plains. The city of Cheney did a good job with repaving the roads in town. The city also hosted the 50th annual Cheney Rodeo, which was a big milestone for the event. It was nice to see the historic Northern Pacific Depot moving forward in getting...
I am a member of both the Cheney Merchant Association and the West Plains Chamber of Commerce. All the businesses I have worked for are members of both. The West Plains Chamber is very important if you care about how the Legislature affects your business, school district, city (no matter which you live in) and county. The Chamber has been located in Airway Heights before and it was just as relevant to the Cheney businesses as it was when the office was in Cheney. The Cheney Merchants Association is important for the Cheney re...
By FRANK WATSON Contributor The “Me Too” movement appears to be gathering momentum as more and more women come forward and report long ago incidents of sexual misconduct. Currently, the most noteworthy accused is Alabama senatorial candidate and former state supreme court judge Roy Moore. Moore’s case is noteworthy because he adamantly denies all charges. His denials didn’t stand a chance. He has been tried and convicted in the national press. Republican leaders have repeatedly asked him to step down from his campaig...
It seems to me there used to be a “Bah, humbug” award for people whose comments and/or actions exemplify those from fictional miser Ebenezer Scrooge. If there isn’t such an award, there should be. Either way, I’d like to nominate someone for its receipt this year: Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. Grassley is quoted on several points in a Dec. 2 Des Moines Register story about proposed changes to the federal estate tax enacted as part of recently passed tax reform measures. Both the House and Senate would double the exe...
Thank you to my campaign committee: Lahnie Henderson, Barb Reis and Bob Kibling for all your support during Medical Lake’s Mayoral campaign. You were committed to helping Medical Lake stay the remarkable city it is and I truly appreciate your hard work and dedication to our city’s future. Thank you all so much. Thank you to the Medical Lake community organizations who hosted the candidates during this election. Kiwanis, Lions Club, Feed Medical Lake, Re*Imagine Medical Lake, Senior Lunch and the Retired State Employees all...
The election is over and most likely none of us had things fully go as we would have liked. That’s the way democracy works. As I see it, the most important thing is to cultivate hope, which means that we live in “expectancy” that good things will happen in spite of so much emphasis on the negative in the media. If we keep biting and devouring one another we only perpetuate problems. I understand that there are many serious issues to be addressed, but nothing will ever improve in the larger world unless it starts with each...
On behalf of the Cheney High School Cross Country program, we would like to thank the community of Cheney for their support of our 10th annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. There were over 530 walkers, joggers or runners present for this community event that benefits not only the Cheney Food Bank, but also our cross country program at Cheney High School. We would like to especially thank our sponsors: Stadium Sports, Cheney Federal Credit Union, Owl Pharmacy, State Farm Insurance, Safeway, Snap Fitness, McDonald’s, Hil...
Recently, the Institute for Justice determined state licensing barriers for lower-income workers and aspiring entrepreneurs not only hurts people trying to establish themselves in a profession, but annually drives consumer prices up by $203 billion. Washington requires people in 77 jobs, including driving school buses, well-drilling and operating cranes, to be licensed. That means applicants must successfully complete education and training, pass their exams, and pay...
This is the time of year that we all seem more generous with the holiday spirit around us. According to an article from USA Today, about 34 percent of all charitable giving is done in the last three months of the year. Of those donations, about 18 percent are given in December alone. The idea of giving to those less fortunate than us is great, but we should be doing it yearlong instead of the last couple months of the calendar year. Here at the Cheney Free Press, we started “A Year of Giving” in honor of this idea. Our hop...
