Columns

John Laird: You don't have to be a music virtuoso to soothe the savage

Some columns write themselves. And so it was, near the end of an excruciating week for all Americans.

Local View: Port prepared for future

Vancouver agency focuses on continuing to add employers, jobs

In anticipation of our upcoming Port Report breakfast on April 23, I'd like to share my perspective on the Port of Vancouver's recent history. Much is happening at the port. It's a dynamic organization that meets challenges and embraces opportunities on a daily basis. It is also a public agency, and we are truly grateful for the support of our community — and we want to tell our story whenever possible.

Other papers say: Senate's budget too low, House's is too high

This editorial appeared in The Seattle Times on Monday, April 15:

Our kids, seniors should trump tax loopholes

A state budget is an expression of our choices. Right now, Washington faces some big ones. What do we choose: Do we want to keep kids from going to school hungry, and help seniors stay safely in their own homes? Or do we want to enrich the few at the expense of the many?

Will: Republican is 'interesting'; is that enough?

America's most interesting development since November is the Republican Party becoming more interesting. Consider the congressman from Grand Rapids, Mich., who occupies the seat once held by Gerald Ford, embodiment of vanilla Republicanism. Justin Amash, 33, may seek the Senate seat being vacated by six-term Democrat Carl Levin, who was elected in 1978, two years before Amash was born.

Milbank: Cowardice trumps courage as gun control bill goes down

The gun bill was going down, but Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who reached a compromise to try to save it, went to the Senate floor Wednesday morning to give it one more try.

Marcus: Obama's reasonable budget faces unreasonable GOP

The conundrum of President Obama's budget is that he has produced a "come let us reason together" proposal aimed at a Republican Party that has demonstrated no interest in being reasonable.

Ambrose: Terror in Boston shows importance of preparation

Homegrown or foreign-directed, it was terrorism -- a coordinated act meant to kill, maim, confuse and frighten at a major American event -- that we saw at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Callaghan: Hybrid light-rail routes proposed in Tacoma fall short

A white tent marked something of a milestone for the long process of expanding the reach of Sound Transit's Link light-rail line in Tacoma. Inside the tent next to the Tacoma Dome station earlier this month, the latest of a series of open houses was hosted by the regional transit agency to let folks comment on plans to grow the line that has been running for 10 years.

Sowell: Response to N. Korea threats robs U.S. of leverage

Since when has it been considered smart to tell your enemies what your plans are? Yet there on the front page of the New York Times on April 8 was a story about how unnamed "American officials" were planning a "proportional" response to any North Korean attack. This was spelled in an example: If the North Koreans "shell a South Korean island that had military installations," then the South Koreans would retaliate with "a barrage of artillery of similar intensity."

Pitts: Remember, Barry, Goliath Principle also applies to you

Dear Barry: Ordinarily, I'd address you as Mr. Obama or Mr. President, in deference to your office. But we need to have us a guy-to-guy chat here, so I hope you'll excuse the familiarity, because I just have to ask:

John Laird: Cockroaches, taxes, grammar and other despicable topics

Notes, quotes and anecdotes while wondering how the gas-tax haters propose we pay for new roads and bridges:

Will: The vigorous virtues of Thatcher

Former British prime minister died last week at 87

She had the eyes of Caligula and the lips of Marilyn Monroe. So said Francois Mitterrand, the last serious socialist to lead a major European nation, speaking of Margaret Thatcher, who helped bury socialism as a doctrine of governance.

Public programs will pay price for pension greed

The firefighters and city governments who gamed the system -- and the taxpayers -- for massive extra pension payments have cost the state more than the extra million bucks or so they'll collect in retirement.

Local View: CRC project a product of a thorough process

We live in busy times with busy lives, and many of us don't get involved in major public issues or projects until implementation is imminent. Nowhere is this more evident than with the most significant public works project for our region, the Columbia River Crossing. Some who want to move forward and some who oppose the project have invested years of time and energy in advocating their positions.