Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Sorted by date Results 1536 - 1560 of 1893
Originally published online on October 10 on a Seattle NPR affiliate website The job of the Washington State Auditor is to root out waste, fraud and abuse in government. But the Democratic candidate for that position, State Representative Troy Kelley, has come under scrutiny for his private business dealings. This includes wiring millions of dollars around to an account that was eventually linked to a bank in Belize. That was key evidence in a lawsuit against Kelley. On the morning of Monday, August 2, 2010 Troy Kelley sat...
I just returned from several days in Portland, where the weather was wonderful – two days of glorious fall sun and color, and two days of precious, beautiful rain. I loved it. It was interesting. And you know they say that “may you live in interesting times” is an ancient Chinese curse. Mind you, there is apparently no proof that the supposed curse originated in China. I just can’t help wondering what the story is behind each and every vignette I observe when I’m out and a...
Does the word “dictator” scare you as much as it scares me?! To put us on the same page let’s get the dictionary definition of dictator: One who assumes absolute control without the free consent of the people. Does that remind you of the narcissist who slithered into the White House under the radar? If I’m not mistaken he swore under oath at his inauguration to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States! He must have had his fingers crossed behind his back because it seems he thinks the Constitution is just so...
Our national debt has increased from $10.6 trillion to $16 trillion in 4 years. Each taxpayer owes more than $140,000 as their share of the debt. Not a person in any nation of the Euro zone owes as much as we do. Our national debt increased more in the last 4 years than it did in the previous 17 years. Thirty-two cents of every dollar our government spends is borrowed. We spent $479 billion on interest this year and that figure would have been larger except a lot of our debt is borrowed at low interest. Last year our credit...
Byron Behne watches the international grain markets for the Odessa Union Warehouse. 10/19/12: The wheat market got some bullish news on Friday, as the Ukraine is looking to possibly ban exports in the middle of November. There was also a fairly large sale of U.S. wheat to an unknown destination which included 4.3 million bushels of HRW, 1.8 million DNS and 2.13 million of soft white. This sounds like China and comes after they bought a significant amount of Canadian wheat earlier in the week. At the end of the day the gains...
I did not realize that in this election cycle, Washington voters will have two education-related initiatives to consider. One is Initiative 1185. In a nutshell, it requires a two-thirds majority of the legislature to increase taxes. In other words, a one-third minority can stop any funding for education in the state if the majority of the legislature approves it, among other issues. The state Supreme Court has ruled that the legislature must fully fund education, which it has not been doing for years even though voters have...
As the heads of various governments arrived in New York prior to the opening of the United Nations general assembly there were some who were surprised. Several of these people requested one on one talks with President Obama prior to the general assembly and they had to be appeased with Mrs. Clinton. President Obama had a previous commitment to have banal conversation with the five ladies from The View. Both Mr. Romney and President Obama have made the rounds of TV programs. However, I see putting bold faced banality ahead of...
I know most of you already think I’m a little over the edge. You’d be right. And now I’ve gone completely off the map of good decision making. I have a puppy. OH MY GOSH HE’S THE CUTEST THING EVER!!!!!!!!! That’s why I have a puppy. This was possibly one of the most impulsive things I’ve ever done. I saw a flyer on the door of the drugstore advertising puppies for sale, and I walked into my husband’s office and picked up the phone.Well, not immediately. I did talk to the h...
When we go to vote (but let’s vote where it will make a difference) please do not keep voting for the same person that holds the House seat now held by Cathy McMorris Rodgers. I do not understand how she keeps her seat. Cathy no longer represents us here. She has pledged her votes to Grover Norquist. I don’t know about you, but I did not vote for him; no one did! He is for big corporations. He held up the farm bill and Cathy supported that because to pass the farm bill and help farmers in this area would make the Pre...
Byron Behne watches the grain markets for the Odessa Union Warehouse. 10/11/12: There were no Earth-shattering revelations on the most recent USDA supply-and-demand report, however it was considered at least favorable to corn, soybeans and wheat. Corn supplies were reduced a little more than expected and in line with the drop from the stocks report at the end of September. Soybeans didin’t get as big a bump to ending stocks as traders feared they might, due to corresponding increases in projected demand. Wheat supplies w...
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits? Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes? You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don’t w...
Not too long ago I rewrote my will. There’s nothing like such a project to remind me of my mortality. But imagine not just your own individual death, but the finality of the death of all the members of your species. You’ve likely heard of the mass extinction that removed the non-avian (non-bird) dinosaurs from the face of the Earth some 65 million years ago. There have been other periods, too, of enormous “die offs” in Earth history. And even apart from times of mass extinct...
Being the mom of a special needs son changed the direction of my life, from the day the nurse put him in my arms to this day. I was headed my own way in life and the Lord said, "No, you are going my way now." This special child has brought tears, laughter and, most of all, love into my life, and the lives of many, many others. I always dreamed of that perfect family - me having 2 boys and 2 girls. Instead, we adopted 3 boys and 1 girl. I was a young mother with a child that never slept more than 45 minutes at a time, during t...
The next time someone counters your political view, don’t get too excited. Just tell him or her you’ll be glad to discuss politics when he or she has read the U.S. Constitution and made an attempt to understand it. And go ahead and read it, yourself. You can find a readable, printable copy of the Constitution at www.wallbuilders.com. You may say, “Well, my political opponents aren’t going to read it, and, now, I have no chance to debate the issues with them and change their minds.” Right. Someone who might be convinced...
1/3/12: Prices started the day lower once again on Wednesday. However, a sharp rally midsession brought the futures markets back to unchanged by the end of the day. Egypt bought Argentine and French wheat overnight, and there were no offers out of Russia or any of the Black Sea countries. U.S. prices were much closer this time around, however we still didn’t get any of the business. Stats Canada will be out in the morning with some updated production information for north of the border. 10/5/12: Once again Portland e...
I don’t know how I managed to reach this advanced age believing I had to do it all. Or that I could do it all. I’ve never been able to decide if it’s an inherited trait or something I learned (or didn’t) along the way. What I do know, and have already announced to all and sundry, is that I must give up my beloved pumpkin patch. It’s so easy, in January when the world is dark and bleak, to allow myself to be seduced by seed catalog pictures of cheerful orange orbs. It’s easy...
9/28/12: There were no cash soft white markets this afternoon as Portland exporters went to basis only bids for white wheat due to extreme volatility in the market. Nobody wanted a repeat of two weeks ago when the wheat market matched its high for the year only to be down 50 cents on Monday. The lack of a futures market on Friday afternoon leaves only cash sales as the outlet for market risk and when there’s no sales to be had there’s no market. Going forward I expect this to become a theme this year with soft white pri...
I always get a good laugh from Mr. Pitts’ rantings. His “facts” remind me of quotes attibuted to Mark Twain, among others. Mr. Pitts seems to “get his facts first and then distorts them as he wishes.” Mr. Pitts appears to be one of those in expressing opinions that do not confine themselve to the facts. And when it comes to his use of statistics it reminds me of “lies, damned lies and statistics” in using the persuasive power of numbers to bolster his weak arguments. Ron Peterson Colville...
After seeing the letter to Mitt Romney in last week’s paper, I believe that letter got addressed to the wrong person. No matter what Mr. Romney says or does or how you twist his words to your liking, he can do nothing. He is still a private citizen. He is not President yet. It is not Mr. Romney's fault that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on the government. It is not his fault that 23 million Americans are out of work. Nor is it his fault that 47 million are on food stamps. Who is the president now? Who spent 5 t...
How many have heard of a PBM? It’s the acronym for Pharmacy Benefit Manager, the intermediaries between your pharmacy and your insurance company. PBMs set the contract prices and conditions for your pharmacist and do field audits to ensure that private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid are not being taken advantage of. A good thing, right? Yes, until the PBMs start abusing their position to intimidate independently owned pharmacies, like those we rely on in small town eastern Washington. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers stood up t...
I am a retired handicapped educator who votes independently. I am considered to be middle-class. Therefore, I must vote for Romney-Ryan, as President Obama has done enormous harm to middle-class households. Obama signed his stimulus spending bill in January 2009 when the median household income was $54,983. By June 2012, it had tumbled to $50,964, adjusted for inflation. That is $4,019 in lost real income. Even if you start the analysis in June 2009 when the recession ended the median household income is down $2,544 or...
I have news for you, people! Mitt Romney is not going to single-handedly restore the American economy. Neither is Barack Obama. Or any other politician, economist, businessman, corporation or political party. No, I’m afraid that what it all comes down to is us. We the people. I’ve been convinced for some time now that our system is broken. “Broken” might not be the right word, though. “Corrupt” might be more accurate. We the people have allowed our voice to be, if not silence...
Lots of us have observed that foods that are good for us - broccoli and bean sprouts - don't trigger intense cravings. In the late afternoon, when my energy is low, I want a cookie or a piece of chocolate, not a green pepper. Similarly, when I walk around the grocery store, I go through the meats and produce section without feeling deep cravings for the food I see. But when I get to the bakery, all bets are off, even if I'm not hungry. These patterns of cravings are...
You may not have noticed this. I like words. Actually, I love words. I love searching for, and especially finding, that exact word that can make my meaning clear. Clear to me, anyway. Everyone else, not so much. Lately, I’ve been thinking about words to live by. “Could,” “should,” “can’t” and “won’t” are just a tiny part of that particular lexicon. “Could” is such a hopeful word. When I was young, I could be anything I wanted. I could grow up to be a forest ranger or an arche...
9/10/12: Our recent pattern continues, as we seem to stall out as white wheat prices rise to near the $8.30 level locally, then falls back to just below $8. Monday'’s slide took us back to the middle of that range. Again, there wasn’t anything in particular that caused today’s slide, just retracing the same pattern we’ve been in recently. Egypt liked it and tendered after the close. Whether we’re higher or lower tomorrow probably hinges on whether or not Russia feels like doing any more business with them. There’s a...
