As the student-led #NeverAgain gun-control movement continues to build momentum — causing companies to sever public ties with the National Rifle Association and politicians to, hopefully, rethink their slavish support of the gun manufacturing lobby over the majority of Americans who support common sense gun control — we are reminded of another, pre-Internet movement that encouraged the world to “Never Forget.”
There was a question floating around the Twittersphere recently, which asked parents to chime in on what they might do if their teenager “disrespected a member of the U.S. Senate on television.”
Let’s remember their names: Alaina, Aaron, Alex, Alyssa, Cara, Carmen, Chris, Gina, Helena, Jaime, Joaquin, Luke, Martin, Meadow, Nicholas, Peter and Scott.
It’s so easy to focus on what individuals can do to prevent and prepare for a disaster, that we often miss the bigger picture — what are our elected leaders doing to minimize the impact of disasters like flooding, wildfires and earthquakes on our communities?
While no one doubts the good intentions of downtown Camas merchants concerned by a perceived spike in the number of homeless individuals sleeping and living in the city’s business core, we must agree with police and advocacy groups and caution against criminalizing the unhoused.
President Trump patted himself on the back for “ending the war on American energy” and “ending the war on beautiful clean coal” in West Virginia and Pennsylvania during his first State of the Union address this week.
It may be tough to swallow, especially if you grew up in an area like Camas-Washougal, where 20th century paper and woolen mills once dominated the local economy, but America is now firmly in her post-industrial era.
Our president’s latest mean-spirited slur shows that, when it comes to understanding the world, many Americans simply don’t.
Ever since Trump nabbed the keys to the White House, many of us have been feeling like this country is locked in an unending, maddening version of the children’s game, “Mother, May I?” where we take two tiny steps forward only to have the administration scream, “Take five HUGE jumps back.”
Happy New Year, dear readers. We hope you had a safe and merry holiday season. Are you ready for the first Cheers & Jeers of 2018?
