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Thursday, January 30, 2025

Steven A Smith

Steven A. Smith is clinical associate professor emeritus in the School of Journalism and Mass Media at the University of Idaho having retired from full-time teaching at the end of May 2020. He writes a weekly opinion column. Smith is former editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington. As editor, Smith supervised all news and editorial operations on all platforms until his resignation in October 2008. Prior to joining The Spokesman-Review, Smith was editor for two years at the Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon, and was for five years editor and vice president of The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a graduate of the Northwestern University Newspaper Management Center Advanced Executive Program and a mid-career development program at Duke University. He holds an M.A. in communication from The Ohio State University where he was a Kiplinger Fellow, and a B.S. in journalism from the University of Oregon.

Sacred Texts: I Have No Sacred Texts

There are no sacred texts in my life. As I have written here before, I am an atheist. I do not believe in God.

The View from the Porch through One Eye

The view from my porch was different this week.

A Pothead Confession

From 1965 through 2021, more than 29 million Americans have been arrested for simple marijuana possession, mostly for violating state laws. But thousands were convicted of federal offenses.

Idaho’s Race to Bottom Continues

In Idaho's handling of public education at all levels, the state has been racing to the bottom for years. Financial support is continuing to decline, the legislature, dominated by nutjob Republicans, is convinced education at all levels exists to indoctrinate students in left-wing and woke ideology.

100 Seconds to Midnight

Last week, in a speech to his beleaguered countrymen, Putin issued his most serious threats yet to employ nuclear weapons, in the field against Ukrainian forces and against the West should he decide aid to Ukraine threatens Russian regional security or threatens Russian territory.

Values Have Roots

My personal values derive almost entirely from family. If you think about it, that is probably true in your lives as well. When you strip away the noise, family always matters most.

We Do Not Need This Re-Awakening

Thousands will crowd into the Stateline Speedway event center in Post Falls this weekend for the Re-Awaken America tour, a far-right political event that cloaks in ridiculous evangelical fervor an agenda aimed at restoring Donald Trump to power and sending to the sidelines all heathens who reject their pseudo-Christian lunacy.

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