This blog is designed to give readers a glimpse of our editorial-page operation and how we make our decisions. We’ll let you know who we’re meeting with, what they’re telling us, what events and issues we’re looking at. We’ll also pass on information and observations that may not make our print editions. In addition to the editorial board members who post on this blog, the board includes Publisher David Zeeck, Executive Editor Karen Peterson and Managing Editor Dale Phelps.
Editorial board bloggers
Editorial page editor Patrick O’Callahan oversees the online and printed opinion sections of The News Tribune. He came to The News Tribune in 1987 and has worked at Washington newspapers since 1979. E-mail him at patrick.ocallahan@thenewstribune.com
Editorial writer Cheryl Tucker, in addition to writing commentary, manages the daily production of the editorial and op-ed pages and edits letters to the editor. She began her journalism career in 1974 at a Virginia newspaper and came to The News Tribune in 1978. E-mail her at cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com.
Editorial writer Kim Bradford manages the online opinion section of The News Tribune and writes commentary. She joined The News Tribune in 2005 after working 11 years at newspapers in Washington and Maryland. E-mail her at kim.bradford@thenewstribune.com.
Guest bloggers
Editor emeritus David Seago retired from The News Tribune in 2008 after 41 years at The News Tribune. E-mail him at sds99@harbornet.com.
Richard Davis’ column on state politics frequently runs in the print edition of The News Tribune. He was president of the Washington Research Council, a statewide think tank, from 1986 through 2006. Currently, as a principal with The Simeon Partnership, Inc. he coordinates the activities of the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy, a business coalition founded by the Research Council, the Association of Washington Business and the Washington Roundtable.
Karen Irwin of University Place, a mother of four, has been a frequent contributor to The News Tribune's print editions. She has also written for Seattle's Child, Puget Sound Parent, the Tacoma Weekly, the Fayetteville Observer Times and the political blog Right Meets Left. She graduated from California Lutheran University with a degree in English literature and is currently working toward a history degree.
Michael Allen, professor of history at the University of Washington Tacoma, was born and raised in Ellensburg. He served with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam from 1969-70. He has written five books, including the prize-winning "Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus' Great Discovery to the War on Terror," "Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination" and "Western Rivermen, 1763-1861: Ohio and Mississippi Boatmen and the Myth of the Alligator Horse." Allen lives in Tacoma and Ellensburg and has three children.
Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/tntopinion.
- All
- Editorial cartoons (285)
- Editorial outtakes (325)
- Election (121)
- How we work (191)
- Taking notice (1871)
- What's coming (989)
- Who's visiting (124)
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| << < | Current | > >> | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | ||||
- August 2009 (86)
- July 2009 (91)
- June 2009 (94)
- May 2009 (80)
- April 2009 (91)
- March 2009 (99)
- February 2009 (90)
- January 2009 (125)
- December 2008 (111)
- November 2008 (89)
- October 2008 (111)
- September 2008 (87)
- More...
XML Feeds- preserve
- artman77
- benramm
- Guest Users: 385
This editorial will appear in tomorrow's print edition.
Many wonderful commencement speeches have been given this month at this state’s high schools. Unfortunately, too many young might-have-beens weren’t there to hear them.
Randy Dorn, superintendent of public instruction, drew some welcome attention to the state’s abysmal dropout rate last week when he announced the latest round of results from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.
Dorn spent much of his campaign against his predecessor, Terry Bergeson, attacking the WASL. That may be why he wanted to de-emphasize the fact that 93 percent of the senior class had passed its reading and writing sections this year.
A high passage rate is meaningless in itself. It’s good news only if the test – which has been dumbed down – demands genuine proficiency from students. But any graduation test is better than no graduation test, which is what the state had until a few years ago.
I own a Chevrolet Colorado pickup, and I love that truck. But last year, when it became obvious that General Motors (the manufacturer of Chevrolets) was going bankrupt, I had to develop a backup strategy: I decided that, were I some day forced to replace my Colorado, my second choice would be a Ford Ranger, followed by a Toyota Tacoma.
Both Ford and Toyota are solvent. Their trucks are solid, comfortable and durable, with decent (not great) mileage. I am glad to pay the going rate, around $22,000. Many folks would choose an Isuzu, or a hybrid 4-wheeler or another ‘greener’ vehicle, and they should be free to make that choice. That’s how we buy and sell cars in a capitalist economy.
Or, rather, that’s the way it used to work.
You want a composite sketch of the American dad, look no further than the Father’s Day ads.
In the world according to retail marketers, Dad doesn’t like to read. You don’t want to give him a book, a Kindle or a gift certificate to a bookstore. It’s quite possible he’s illiterate. Also, he’s not big on music.
Probably not suits either. About 99 percent of all suit purchases are the woman’s idea. She wants to go somewhere dolled up like Carrie Bradshaw without looking like she’s got a day laborer in tow.
Dad does like clothes, though: polo shirts, shirts with NFL logos, shorts, golf duds, loungewear. No underwear, except maybe with NFL logos.
Despite not liking suits, Dad has a strange penchant for ties, preferably bad ones.
Dad is the Tool User. “Homo faber” is the scientific term. How many Mother’s Day ads do you see hawking cordless drills or power saws? Dad lusts for anything with a handle: socket sets, edgers, wet/dry vacuums, lawn shears, wrenches, utility knives, reciprocating saws. He’s constantly remodeling the house or building a new one.
