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Donald Trump and his staff have created a method to destroy Social Security and Medicare. The President signed an order that allows employers to choose the option of not collecting and submitting payroll taxes to the federal government for the rest of the year. These taxes are not part of the federal income taxes paid monthly but they are funds dedicated to pay for Social Security and Medicare. The payroll tax is 7.65%. If a person makes $15 per hour working a normal year of approximately 2,000 hours their income is $30,000...
There’s a term that was developed in the academic field of peace research, and it deserves far more currency in political discourse and everyday language than it currently receives. It’s called “structural,” or indirect, violence, and, as the name implies, it refers to violence that is embedded in social structures or institutions. You can’t name a specific perpetrator as you would when an individual shoots, stabs, or suffocates another person. But structural violence inflicts no less harm than its direct counterpa...
What happens in China, doesn’t always stay in China. We learned that a couple of years ago when the Chinese stopped buying massive volumes of the world’s used paper, plastics and textiles; and, again last March when the coronavirus escaped Wuhan and spread across the planet. Like other nations, China is struggling with the deadly COVID-19 virus and suffocating under mountains of trash its residents generate each day. Wuhan hospitals generated six times as much medical was...
“Are you guys OK?” It’s the first thing we say to each other in the Malden/Pine City area these days. Once that question is answered, it is immediately followed by “Is your house OK?” We lost so much on Labor Day. Our community’s heart got burned up. Malden and Pine City are more than a collection of buildings. They were where we fought for years to get a library and finally got one. It was where we met, all of us for miles around. The Masonic Lodge Hall that burned held every bit of history from Eastern Star chapters fr...
After reading and watching the news online and on TV, it appears that our country is divided into those who care about property and those who care about people, and most astute observers could easily identify which political party caters to each group. Since I have traveled and lived in many different countries of the world — some “developed” and some “developing,” which President Trump called “shithole countries,” — I have never seen such wretched living as some people experience in certain parts of the United States....
Replanting the millions of acres scorched by wildfires in our western woodlands will be herculean task priced in the hundreds of billions. Thankfully, many businesses, such as Bank of America, Microsoft, and Salesforce, have joined with conservation organizations to fund planting a trillion trees in our public forests by 2028. BofA pledged $300 billion to fight climate change by planting young seedlings. Salesforce plans to “conserve and restore 100 million trees,” acc...
I read with interest the Cheney Free Press’ “Back to School” supplement which detailed Cheney School District officials’ timid decision to open the school year with on-line instruction only. (Cyberspace, apparently, provides the ideal in social distancing.) Nonetheless, these intrepid educators are going to teach the children to “take risks” via something called “social and emotional learning.” What a curious irony. David Haugen Spokane...
I hope that the Free Press isn’t going to make a habit of credulously reprinting the usual tripe from Liv Finne (“Gov. Inslee funding unnecessary union job,” Sept. 3, 2020), because in her customary style the column is a load of half-truths that don’t match the reality here in the West Plains. For example, Finne complains about unionized bus drivers and then name checks one union — the Washington Education Association, of which I’m a proud member. In both Cheney and Medical Lake the bus drivers are represented by a completel...
Voices across the state continue to ask the Governor to call a special session to allow lawmakers to balance the budget and address COVID-19 related policies. A special session would provide the legislative branch of government its first opportunity in more than five months to address problems caused by the pandemic. Sen. Hans Zeiger this week also sent his colleagues a letter calling on them to support a special session. From Sen. Zeiger’s letter (in-part): “I write five and...
Not only is the world in the grasp of the COVID-19 pandemic, but America’s western wildlands are burning up, as well. California Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters his state has a dual crises: the massive wildfire complexes and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “At this time last year, California had seen 4,292 fires that burned 56,000 acres. So far this year, we’ve had 7,002 fires that have burned a whopping 1.4 million acres.” California reports more than 660,000 coronav...
In the recent primary, King County overwhelmingly voted for “Unlawful Inslee.” “Unlawful” because a flu-like virus that does not increase the death rate does not constitute a disaster that warrants emergency powers. “Unlawful” because “the governor must terminate said state of emergency proclamation when order has been restored in the area affected” (Revised Code of Washington 43.06.210). “Unlawful” because mandates that suspend the Bill of Rights violate the supreme law of the land. Unlawful Inslee is King County’s pick....
Most schools in Washington state will remain closed this fall. Some school districts are tightening their belts in anticipation of the COVID-19 budget cuts that are coming. But last week Gov. Jay Inslee bypassed the Legislature and the decisions of local school districts to protect the jobs of unionized school bus drivers. He’s made sure money will keep flowing for school buses that are not carrying school children. His next step may be to keep the money flowing to school buildings — even with no students. Here is the bac...
Last week, the Idaho House of Representatives approved legislation calling for Gov. Brad Little to end his state’s emergency declaration. Shortly thereafter, the Idaho Senate followed suit, albeit approving different legislation. Maybe that’s what our governor, Jay Inslee, is afraid of. Maybe he’s afraid our elected legislators will end his shutdown and tackle an ailing budget that he has yet to responsibly address. Or maybe he just enjoys muzzling other political leade...
COVID-19 is ravaging the nation — and taking a devastating toll on those living with chronic illnesses. In New York City, our nation’s epicenter, 94 percent of those hospitalized with the virus had a major underlying health condition. It’s no wonder why many Americans with chronic diseases or high-risk conditions listed by the CDC are hesitant to venture outside, even as stay-at-home orders are lifted. Add to this fear the economic damage that has been wrought. The national shutdown has shuttered countless businesses, placi...
Sunny summer weather helped restaurant owners and workers recover after they were broadsided by the coronavirus pandemic last March. However, as fall morphs into winter and diners are forced back inside, the big question will be: Are there enough customers to keep what’s left of the restaurant sector financially viable? The worst fears of many American businesses are coming true. With no recovery in sight from the COVID-19 pandemic, 72,842 businesses across the U.S. have p...
Donald Trump and his staff have finally gone beyond a point of no return for me. The occupation of Portland, Oregon by some type of federal police violates several amendments in the Bill of Rights, most noticeably the Fourth Amendment. The violation is “The right of people to be secure in their person” which are the beginning words of this amendment. People are being detained by federal authorities attired in black with no visible identification on the clothing. The presidential staff claims these persons are border pat...
The U.S.-Canada border will remain closed for non-essential travel until at least Sept. 21. President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau mutually agreed to seal the world’s longest non-militarized border back in March to slow the spread of COVID-19. But while cross-border road trips and shopping excursions have come to a halt, commerce has continued as usual. That’s a good thing — Canada is one of our most important trading partner. Now more than ever, we must strengthen this relationship and eliminate the existing regul...
If Americans are to receive all of their electricity without coal and natural gas by 2035, they will need nuclear power. Even if Washingtonians, who already procure over 70 percent of their electricity from the hydro, are to be completely devoid of fossil fuel generation by 2045, they must have nuclear. Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act passed earlier this year by the legislature leans heavily on renewable fuels, particularly wind and solar. It calls for e...
Each morning my husband and I read “365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World” by Pierre Pradervand, which among others encourages blessings for people engaged in different occupations, including politicians. Today I want to send a blessing to our representative for the 5th Congressional District, Cathy McMorris Rodgers — to bless her for her ability to demonstrate integrity in listening to her constituents and promoting peace; to bless her for caring and advocating for people in need who are suffering and anxious because of...
With the August primary in the books let’s work to reduce the number of statewide elected offices. At present the people of Washington elect officials to nine statewide offices (not counting justices to the state supreme court). These offices are Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney General, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Commissioner of Public Lands and Insurance Commissioner. Yet for many years there has been a debate a...
Dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers provide an appropriate balance between the economic needs of Eastern Washington and fish protections. While we already knew that here in Eastern Washington, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers came to that conclusion, too, after completing yet another environmental study this spring. The results of that new study were released last Friday, and they support keeping things essentially the way they are on our rivers. The dams will stay, for...
In his column, contributor Mel Gurov frets that President Trump might not accept the results of the fall election if they are not in his favor and sheds considerable crocodile tears over the consequence to democracy. Honestly, Mr. Gurov, where have you been for the last four years? Neither the President nor his adoptive party are the ones threatening representative government. The members of the inaptly named Democratic Party have done everything in their power to reject the 2016 election and undermine the Trump...
My Dad was born in October, 1917, in New Cumberland, West Virginia, my Mum in November, 1919, in Somerset, England. During Dad’s first year of life, the 1918 flu pandemic struck; Mum’s first year was during the second year of the same pandemic, during a time when medical care was not as advanced as now and before inoculations for many diseases were generally known or available. Isolation, social distancing and face masks were used then also, and folks complained but most complied and overcame the pandemic to the benefit of...
To ensure that coronavirus vaccines and treatments are “available at a price affordable to all people,” Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and several other House Democrats recently proposed a radical solution to the coronavirus pandemic — commandeer any lifesaving, yet-to-be-created vaccine and allow the government to set “reasonable” prices. Although this may sound like it would benefit people, it would be a disaster for patients. Intellectual property protections aren’t a barrier to care. Just the opposite. They’re res...
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, and on July 27, the West Plains Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with other regional partners launched the OPENTogether Small Business and Non-profit Grant program to help small businesses and non-profits offset safety and operating costs, rent and other allowable expenses with $10 million of Spokane County-allocated CARES Act dollars. Our small businesses and nonprofits are facing a number of hardships and need additional financial relief now, whether that is to...
