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As a lifelong Republican, I reject Donald Trump and what he stands for: racism, xenophobia, nativism and contempt for women, the disabled and other groups. Rather than adhere to our party’s conservative principles and state a clear program, he offers a vague vision of “making America Great Again” and simplistic slogans about “building a wall” and deporting millions of undocumented workers. He is demagogue who most thoughtful people will surely reject as president and commander in chief. At the minimum, who would want the...
A shout out to fellow Bernie supporters! We have had a big disappointment, but it is not wasted effort. Many people have been moved, new ideas have been heard, thoughts are percolating that have not been on the radar. He, and many of you, have spent great energy, money and time. We are part of democracy in action, and though we aren’t totally happy; this country is many times better than most. Just read the news. It is imperative that all Bernie Sanders supporters vote in November. I hope it will be for Hillary. She was n...
The images of political cartoonist Milt Priggees are seen regularly on the pages of the Cheney Free Press in the opinion section. The real Priggee, however, showed up June 9 to present lectures entitled “Cartooning in the Evergreen State.” His stops included the library in Cheney. The former Spokesman Review editorial cartoonist lives in the Puget Sound area and was part of a speaker series sponsored by Humanities Washington. It’s too bad that for whatever reason, only a han...
Grandparents by the thousands are grieving today because they haven’t been able to see their grandchildren through no fault of their own. As of 2000, Washington state hasn’t had any law to protect the bonded relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren. Death, divorce, non-marital breakups and disagreements are at the center of this issue. New spouse’s don’t want “old” family members in their lives so they move on while leaving the grandparents behind that have been involved in their precious grandchildr...
Cathy McMorris Rodgers recently announced on her Facebook site that she was “not exactly” enthusiastic casting her ballot for Donald Trump in the recent primary given her concerns about Trump’s “comments on women, people with disabilities and those with different backgrounds.” She called his “comments wrong in a presidential campaign; in our workplaces; in our homes and anywhere else.” Given all this, perhaps a more effective approach than voting for Trump would have been to follow the example of Nancy Reagan by “Just Say...
By AL STOVER Staff Reporter I’m sure by now everyone has heard about the shooting at the Pulse, a gay nightclub, in Orlando, Fla., where 49 people were shot and killed, and 53 were injured. Many are calling the Pulse shooting the worst terror attack in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001. At approximately 2 a.m., the gunman Omar Mateen, walked into the Pulse, which had around 300 people inside, and opened fire. During the attack, he called 911 and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Reports say the FBI interviewed Mat...
There is a buzz going about the Washington state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction adding concepts like gender identity, expression and roles to its curriculum guidelines for the K-12 Health and Physical Education Learning Standards. Some examples of these lessons that would be taught to students include kindergartners learning about the different ways to express gender, second-graders understanding the range of gender roles, and third-graders discovering how those roles can vary in society. Fourth-graders would...
The Cheney Free Press of May 26, 2016 printed a guest commentary by Don C. Brunell, retired Pption of Washington Business. As expected of Mr. Brunell, his commentary presented the usual Republican rubric that the national debt must be reduced and one of the major financial problems of the debt crisis is Social Security. It is true the debt is a problem but it is false that Social Security is a problem. In 2014 Social Security’s receipts were $931.1 billion and expenses were $906.8 billion, a net gain of $24.3 billion. A...
Thank you for the excellent editorial about volunteering and volunteerism (Cheney Free Press, June 2). We are blessed in the West Plains with so many able and willing volunteers. Some resources for local volunteer opportunities are: justserve.org and another one called volunteermatch.org. Both sites match those who want to volunteer to organizations that need volunteers. And, if you are part of an organization that needs volunteers, be sure to post your opportunities on those sites. Thank you to those on the West Plains who...
Want to start a lively and passionate discussion? Dumb question these days when the 2016 presidential election contains all the elements necessary for a debate. Nope, one need only mention, as Wikipedia calls it, “the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or, colloquially, Obamacare,” and the wheels get turning and sparks flying. But why are we still talking about the now six-plus year-old ACA when such a “target rich” landscape exists out there already? There’s...
By JOHN McCALLUM Editor I was blessed with parents who were active, strong and engaged readers and who encouraged the development and refinement of that trait in their children. That’s where my love of history started. But it was more than just reading. My father served in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. His father, my grandfather, was a chaplain during the war in the South Pacific, beginning with being a part of the Army’s 25th Infantry Division that relieved U.S. Marines at a lovely, tropical getaway called Gua...
Tom Davis, where were you when the big mega-cable folks first came to Spokane in the 1970s? Oh, I forgot, you just told me you were staking your territory out here on the West Plains where your tech support is within driving distance. Or on the phone where locals work to solve the problem, and if not, you dispatch someone who can. If you think you’ve heard this story before about issues pertaining to Comcast, my cable and Internet provider, you have not. In my estimation t...
During the recently completed Cheney Mayfest celebration, the 3-on-3 basketball tournament was in jeopardy, lacking volunteers for important positions such as scorekeepers and courtside monitors. But then players and parents from the Cheney High School Lady Blackhawks basketball team stepped up to volunteer, asking, “What can we do to help?” With their assistance, the event took place, providing fun and competition for players and spectators alike. For those aware of this, it’s an important reminder of what volunteering means...
The citizens of Medical Lake came through again. The Post Office had a food drive and our shelves are stocked. Thank you to all who contributed and to the drivers who picked up the sacks of food on their routes. The Medical Lake Food Bank Joyce Callaway Medical Lake...
There is a lot of talk, some of it emotionally charged, these days about where people are allowed to go to the bathroom. This talk is focused on transgender individuals, people who are born physically of one sex yet identify as the other. It’s a confusing subject since most of us likely don’t know anyone who is transgender. Because of that, it’s a subject where fear can have a heavy influence. None of us on the Cheney Free Press editorial board knows someone who is transgender. Some of us have been in the proximity of people...
By DON C. BRUNELL Contributor Now that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are certain to be the Democrat and Republican presidential candidates, it is time for them to deal with our national debt. Our nation is on an unsustainable borrowing trajectory. We now owe over $19 trillion to lenders of which nearly half are offshore (including China). At the rate which we are selling treasury notes, the deficit will balloon to $21.1 trillion by 2020. That means when the presidential...
Thank you to everyone who purchased items at the Cheney Friends of the Library book sale during Mayfest. Also special thanks to members and parents of West Plains Kidz and Chickz 4-H for providing essential help setting up and taking down the sale. All funds raised by the sale are used to purchase materials and support programs at the Cheney Library. We also appreciate your donations of books and electronic media; donations can be made at the library whenever it is open. Jeri Morgan Cheney Friends of the L...
I am a voter from the 5th Congressional District of Washington (Spokane County) who has been totally disgusted with Congress. The Republican and Democratic representatives who are pulling in six-figure salaries with lots of benefits (taxpayer dollars) are doing nothing except maintaining a gridlock. Many representatives owe their allegiance to special interest groups and big money corporations rather than the hardworking people of Eastern Washington. When I heard a TV ad about Dave Wilson who is running as an Independent for...
I am from Tekoa, Washington (population 843). We are your neighbors to the south. Though we are a small farming community on the Washington-Idaho border we are connected to many bigger cities by the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. If you were to leave your house this summer and get on a bike, horse, or sturdy hiking boots, you could cross almost the entire state on a path with no cars and end up in our town. The trail is 285 miles long, a 100-foot wide ribbon of beauty extending through lush forests, dramatic scablands and the...
In the Associated Press’ May 8 story “Nursing homes turn to eviction to drop difficult patients,” readers learn that nursing homes in different parts of the country are — as the article put it — “increasingly evicting their most challenging residents.” Advocacy groups say many of the residents who are targeted for eviction are those who pay with Medicaid and are difficult to take care for, including some who are suffering from dementia in favor of short-term rehabilitation patients and those who pay privately. In the AP sto...
I came across a couple of reports that had to do with automobile accidents and marijuana use. According to data from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, “the percentage of drivers in fatal crashes who recently used marijuana more than doubled between 2013 and 2014 in Washington state” and “one in six drivers involved in fatal crashes in the state recently used marijuana in 2014.” I have nothing against marijuana. I don’t smoke it, but I have friends who use it for recreational and medicinal purposes. When it comes to...
Guest Commentary from the May 5 Cheney Free Press issue: Laura Finley opened with “The ‘woman card.’ It’s so much nonsense,” “we really need to change the conversation when it comes to gender.” However, nearly 70 percent of her words refer directly or by implication to Trump v. Clinton. Prosecutor Finley raised the political issue. Cross-examination – allowed. Prosecutor’s case: fair and unbiased? Trump-related words – unflattering, “sexist” (perhaps deservedly); but Hilary’s words – “terrific” and “importan[t]...
So there I was a couple Friday mornings ago, driving along Government Way in Spokane heading to work. A dark gray Subaru wagon-type car had been dogging my rear ever since I turned onto the road off Fort George Wright Way, heading past the cemeteries. Even though I was going 40 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone, apparently I wasn’t going fast enough for the driver. When I finally got to the point where Government Way becomes two lanes, at the turnoff towards Indian Canyon, I pulled into the right hand lane to let the car go b...
StageWest Community Theatre wrapped up its 2015-2016 season this last weekend with the last three performances of “Getting Sara Married” by Sam Bobrick and directed by Chris Booth. The weekend performances had full audiences and were well received. Sunday’s Mother’s Day High Tea was a success and we would like to thank Lori Musgrave and The Marketplace Eatery & Bakery for the good food. We would also like to thank our cast, crew and volunteers who at each performance set up the stage, performed, took down the stage, did lig...
One of the highest rated television programs during Super Bowl week last February was “Undercover Boss.” According to the Nielsen ratings, it drew 6.8 million viewers. By contrast, the “Greatest Super Bowl Halftime Shows” had 5.72 million. Viewers watched CEOs leave their comfortable corporate offices, disguise themselves as workers and risk the humiliation of doing something wrong. It is all about an awakening to what really happens on the company’s front lines. Too often peo...
