After being honorably discharged from the Army Air Corps in 1945, my dear friend Howard Riggs held various construction management positions and worked abroad in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Peru. In 2007 he moved to Spokane to be close to…
Fact checking Trump’s convention speech: There he goes again!
Trump’s acceptance speech at the GOP convention was filled with lies and misrepresentations. Yes, it is true that “43 million Americans are on food stamps,” but the number rose because of the Great Recession not because of Obama. Obama’s economic…
Where is our Iraq War report?
After seven long years of investigation, a British commission led by Sir John Chilcot has issued its findings on the British participation in the Iraq War. The report, 2.6 million words in 12 volumes, concludes that plans were “seriously flawed”…
Memo to Trump: American Muslims do assimilate and they do turn in suspected jihadists
Nick GierLeave a Comment on Memo to Trump: American Muslims do assimilate and they do turn in suspected jihadistsLast December President Obama praised sports heroes who are Muslims. A clueless Donald Trump tweeted: “What sport is he talking about, and who?” Trump must have forgotten about his friend Muhammad Ali, whom Trump once called a “terrific guy” and…
Benghazi: the GOP is beating a dead horse
The GOP House Select Committee on Benghazi has interviewed 100 witnesses, spent $7 million of its own funds, and has forced other agencies to spend an additional $13 million. The Defense Department is at its wit’s end and is rightly…
The Buddha on judgement and acceptance
Siddharta Gautama the Buddha was born in Southern Nepal in 563 or 480 BC, depending which scholar one chooses. Buddhists around the world celebrate his birthday in the months of April or May. So Happy Birthday, Buddha! Both Jesus and…
‘Panama Papers’ force resignation of Iceland’s Prime Minister
The “Panama Papers,” millions of documents released by a German newspaper, has uncovered major international financial misdealing. The papers were leaked from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm, which has set up dozens of offshore tax havens. The first casualty…
Happy Birthday Thomas Jefferson
As we celebrate Thomas Jefferson’s 273rd birthday next week, we need to be reminded about what a controversial figure he was. In the election of 1800 he was called “that atheist and leveler from Virginia.” Alexander Hamilton was so committed…
The nation’s public defender crisis:
For almost a century the American Civil Liberties Union has been in the forefront in protecting the people’s constitutional rights. For this column I will focus on the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees full due process to criminal defendants and their…
America’s largest slave rebellion and the mutilation of Louisiana cane cutters
Nick GierLeave a Comment on America’s largest slave rebellion and the mutilation of Louisiana cane cutters“If heads on poles were symbols of control, they were also symbols of the ritual violence that was the constant underlying element of Louisiana society.” —Daniel Rasmussen, “American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt.” This column is…