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“Where were you born?” The reporter asked one of my Colorado cowboy friends. “Iowa,” he answered. “Iowa!” she said. “Why did you move?” “Because it’s hard to be a cowboy in Iowa.” Well, it might be harder to be a cowboy in the Midwest but they’ve got a bunch of good ones anyway. No matter how much dependence modern cowmen place on man-made mechanical devices, there are times when nothin’ beats a good roper a’horseback. Illinois is an anthill of bovine activity. They have an abundance of cow-ca...
After last Sunday's cut-off deadlines for passing policy bills in this year's legislative session, floor action has focused mostly on House and Senate concurrence calendars. Bills that have passed with amendments by the opposite chamber must be returned to the house of origin for concurrence-agreement with the amendments, and for a vote on final passage before finalized bills can be sent to the governor for his signature or veto. So far, each chamber has concurred on several dozen bills, with dozens more scheduled for action in the remaining...
OLYMPIA–I want to give my Democratic colleagues in the state Legislature credit. In a year when state coffers are overflowing and there is no financial emergency–still they have managed to break the bank. This couldn't have been easy, and it warrants special recognition. In a year when our majority colleagues in the House and Senate are pushing extreme legislation designed to turn the state into a Seattle-styled progressive utopia, their budget proposals wrap all the worst ideas into a sin...
A while back I was asked who has had the greatest influence on my life. I hadn’t ever given it much thought, like most folks, I guess. After considerin’ for a while, I came up with five people that I could say actually affected the direction of my thinkin’. My dad, Doc Brimhall, John Basabe, Red Steagall, Patrick Gottsch and Rupert Mansell. Mr. Mansell was my vo ag teacher in Las Cruces, New Mexico, from 1961-1962. “Here by the owl. The owl is the symbol of wisdom...” It’s hard for a 16-year-o...
OLYMPIA–After Senate Democrats passed a pair of bills Thursday night that would cause gas and diesel prices to skyrocket, Sen. Perry Dozier is warning food costs would rise and small farmers would be driven out of the business. Dozier, R-Waitsburg, a life-long wheat grower, called the measures “a poison pill for agriculture” and said they would have the most profound effect on farming of any legislation passed in the last 40 years. The steep increases in fuel costs are a top priority for major...
To the editor The silent majority. The silent majority must raise its voice in protest to the radical left that has surreptitiously taken over the Democrat party and is attempting to take over our nation. We are losing the Liberties that have made our Christian/capitalist country successful. Here in Dayton, we have been relatively untouched, but it’s coming. Tim Quade Dayton, Wash....
As you may have already read, the House Democrats passed H.R. 1 with little opposition, paving the way for Senate approval, where, if passed, it will transfer election authority to the federal government, where there is no oversight. Just this change in policy will open the door to attacks on individuals for their political views, silencing any opposition to any issue. Who does this benefit? Not the “people” of the United States. It gives government the power to manipulate and query election protocols at anytime for the purpose of swinging a v...
When it’s springtime in the Rockies And my lips are turning blue I’ll be slogging through the blizzard like a brain dead caribou… Ah, springtime. That first hint of life beginning anew, the annual transformation, its throat in long tubercular coughs that turn rain into birdshot, sleet into ice, ice into snowflakes shaped like goatheads or bob wire, Not falling but slicing by you like shrapnel, sandblasting your face, freezing your rein hand into a claw and turning forty-five degrees and balmy...
OLYMPIA–What started out as an effort to prevent lawsuits over retroactive overtime pay for farmworkers has turned into a policy that would hurt both farmers and farmworkers, alike. Senate Bill 5172, the agriculture overtime bill, is an unusual piece of legislation. It will either help protect employers from retroactive overtime or be disastrous to the agriculture industry. How could one bill have two outcomes that are so completely different? This legislation, as it was originally i...
OLYMPIA–Voters approved the Death with Dignity Act in 2008 with support from 30 of 39 counties, including my home county of Walla Walla. When voters approved this law by initiative, we became only the second state in the nation to allow mentally competent, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to request a lethal prescription from their doctor. Qualifying patients may take the prescription at a time of their choosing, only by self-ingestion and without assistance from others, w...
“Have I got a deal for you! Got this horse on a trade. He don’t squint half as bad ridin’ him in the shade. I know he limps a little. Yer eyeball is astute. But fair is fair, my friend, so I’ll throw in a case of Bute. No! He ain’t got the heaves! Though I know he looks the part. He’s just a heavy breather, but he’s got a lot of heart. Bloodlines? Talkin’ royal blue. A genuine contender. I’ll have these papers printed; fit any race you enter.” The would-be buyer of this horse just stared a...
We have our first Title Only bill of the session–HB 1564: Concerning transportation spending. It was introduced on March 28 and has already been scheduled for a public hearing on April 1 (no fooling). This essentially blank bill is sponsored by seven Democratic members of the House Transportation Committee. Based on the limited text, it appears this bill will eventually transform into a major transportation tax increase proposal. Don’t worry though, the sponsors promise the real text will be...
To the editor, There are some things I like very much about Amazon and my Amazon Prime Account, but Amazon isn’t perfect. I like the fact that I can stay at home and order the exact hardware fittings I want without sorting through bins at hardware stores. I like knowing my order will be at my house within a few days. I like the fact that I can send things back and get a refund simply by printing a label, going to a local address, and turning my purchase over. I like the idea that while a hundred people who all want just one thing might use t...
OLYMPIA–Last week the Legislature got a terrific piece of news. State tax collections have rebounded despite one of the worst economic situations we’ve ever faced. The latest projection adds $3.3 billion, and we’re right back where we were before the COVID shutdown. The strange thing about it was the reaction of our Democratic colleagues. They said they wouldn’t let this good news stand in the way of their brave and noble effort to impose an income tax on the people of Washington. And never m...
Imagine you were a livestock man in medieval England a thousand years ago. It’s early spring. Snow on the ground, mud in the cow lot. You walk the small pasture where the heavy heifers are kept. It’s hard to see much with just the moonlight. But you spot one that’s down in a swale. She’s on her side in the process of calving. One foot is showing. You check the rest of the cows the best you can and go back to the heifer. No progress. You wait a little longer, then resigned to your duty, you wal...
By Mark Harmsworth & Mariya Frost The Washington Policy Center has advocated for limiting the ability of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Governor’s office to circumvent legislative authority regarding funding and projects within the state transportation budget. Currently, Washington state statute allows WSDOT to make administrative transfers between transportation projects on a legislatively approved project list. This can happen only if the transfers are less than $250,000 or 10 percent of the total p...
OLYMPIA–One of the biggest issues coming into the 2021 legislative session was the battle over police reform. This is a very serious issue and there's no question we need to find some real solutions. We must act cautiously to ensure fair and balanced reform that not only protects citizens from bad officers, but also keeps our law enforcement officers safe. Without this balance, our communities will be more at risk. I recognize the public's trust in law enforcement has been damaged. My heart g...
He’s the tumbleweed chef and rides with the wagon Ahead of the thunderin’ herd. His pots and pans clack like a diamondback’s rattle. He growls or he don’t say a word. His face is a roadmap. Looks like a carcass Hung too many days in the sun. He smells like a mule and cooks with a shovel, And his fly is always undone. The riders kin tell when he’s in the kitchen, The buzzards all come onto view. He spits in the pan and shaves in the taters, And clips his toenails in the stew. His gunpowder...
OLYMPIA–The state has a responsibility to protect the environment for all of us and future generations. It's a commonly agreed-upon sentiment, but like so many other issues, approaches differ widely on solutions. I am committed to economically sustainable environmental policies that do not place excessive costs and financial burdens on the taxpayers of Washington state. We continue to see a push for a low-carbon fuel standard mandate, year after year. This year, it comes in the form of House B...
