Updating this thread from last week: Here's an article about how much longer the joint chiefs nominee thinks we'll be in Iraq. In the article is this projection:The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office provided an analysis for long-term war costs. It estimated that if troops in…
Wait times for patients in other countries is always mentioned in debates about who has the best health-care system.But, fundamentally, the comparisons are unfair. U.S. times for those who are covered are compared with another country's times for those who are covered. That means that…
Item: Tougher state sex offender laws are urged: GOP wants to call special session to address the issue/Levi Pulkkinen and Chris McGann, Seattle PIPro (special session): Hoping to capitalize on outrage surrounding the slaying of 12-year-old Zina Linnik, a handful of Republican state representatives have…
With all the attention on gas prices, we should remove all displayed prices from stations and let the drivers set the price. When an engine is installed at the factory, a chip could be placed in the tank filler neck near the cap. This chip…
Our editorial today talked about the mild controversy in the Spokane Valley because it appears the City Council is going to allow more homes per acre than some are comfortable with. Part of the reason for the controversy? The Valley has always had a rural…
... What's it going to take to get you to interact with us at A Matter of Opinion? We've been posting on this blog for several months now. The page-view numbers indicate that you're tuning into it. But we want more interaction from you. What…
Item: Justice overruled: Mother needs compassion, not punishment/D.F. Oliveria, Spokesman-ReviewKathy Plonka/Spokesman-ReviewKendra Goodrick, of Hayden, has sat in a Kootenai County Jail cell for more than a week, a pawn in a game of brinkmanship between 1st District Judge John Mitchell and Prosecutor Bill Douglas' office.…
Noah Kroese/Spokesman-Review
Colin Mulvaney/Spokesman-ReviewEmergency personnel talk to a suicidal man who has been perched on the railing of the Monroe Street Bridge since about 7 o'clock last night. Firefighter-paramedics are standing by, and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office’s dive team also is on the scene. Traffic has…
From today's editorial:A community's parks are sometimes compared to a person's lungs. Lungs take up a lot of space, because they need room to perform their dynamic function – breathe in, breathe out – and people with compromised lungs often feel as if they are…
President Bush isn't enamored with expanding the SCHIPS program. He'd rather give everyone a big tax deduction and have them enter the private market.Is that a better way to get kids covered? Or just a better way to preserve an ideological principle?In Our View, SCHIPS…
In the strict sense of the slang word, a "quickie" can describe anything done, well, quickly. This, according to the Dictionary of American Slang. This definition lends credence to the claim by Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas that the "quickie" suggested by former hireling Marina…
On Saturday, I spent all day on the river as part of the Dragon Boat Races sponsored by the Spokane Parks Foundation. There were more than 40 teams of racers who paddled in competitive heats. The really good teams took just a little over a…
... the more they stay the same.Immigration and terrorism were in the news 100 years ago. In Our View there are lessons in that phenomenon.
Who has special rights, again? Anytime laws are proposed to give same-sex couples benefits that most people take for granted those laws are criticized as conferring "special rights."Our View is that the domestic union law is a positive step, but doesn't it also highlight that…
Today's editorial pointed out that four-year degrees don't suit everybody. Society needs those trained in technical skills and for some young people, the trades are a perfect fit for their abilities.One style of education doesn't fit all. Society needs doctors, lawyers and other professionals, but…
Any random thoughts that have percolated over the weekend?Pour here.
Sunday's editorial about the sudden resignation of VA Secretary Jim Nicholson didn't call him a political hack. That would be rude. Accurate, but rude. Vets deserve someone who puts them first.In the other Sunday editorial, we laud the work being done to find a solution…
There's nothing the least bit intelligent/defensible about spray-painting the Olive Garden and other businesses because you're mad at police.Our View on Saturday, at left, said it all.
As I type, Carole Ann DeLeon is being sentenced for two charges of criminal mistreatment. The maximum sentence is six years for this charge; even if she receives this sentence, she could get out quite a bit sooner.We received one anonymous letter in support of…
When you're 107, you can talk about whatever you want. In John Babcock's case, he is "more interested in talking about his appreciation for women than the war" (See today's article about the World War I veteran).Today's loose thread is open for meandering minds, from…
Here's a progress report on red-light cameras in Seattle.Meanwhile, a Spokane contingent is headed to Baltimore to study the system that's run by the contractor favored by Spokane officials.
Today's editorial applauds Judge Christopher A. Washington for ruling in favor of openness in state negotiations with unions. There is still a ways to go, but we think increased accountability will serve the taxpayers.What do you think?
Wednesdays aren't easy. But perhaps a loose thread will help some of us unwind.What's on your mind today?
This Tuesday, the editorial board continues to interview City Council candidates. At the end of their interviews, we give them a chance to say anything they haven't yet had a chance to say in the interview. Some of the more interesting parts of their presentation…
A Matter of Opinion is really a matter of three opinions – those held by the people responsible for the opinion pages of The Spokesman-Review. Check in regularly to find out what they’re up to, what they think and where they differ and to joust with them if you want.
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