http://www.inlander.com/spokane/articles.sec-77-1-common-ground.html "Yeah, I�euro;�ll just walk �euro;” no biggie.�euro;� Todd�euro;�s old Riviera wasn�euro;�t going anywhere. We tried pushing, but it was stuck up on the snow berm. Funny, we made it all the way from Seattle �euro;” ice above Vantage, blowing snow from Ritzville �euro;” but a block from Katherine�euro;�s house, we wipe out into some guy�euro;�s yard.]]> Now a municipal bond is hopelessly quaint in our era of mortgage-backed derivatives, hedge bets against European debt and every other way paper can be packaged, traded and profited from. But what if, in this time of screaming public needs, there was a silver bullet solution to be found in Sherman McCoy�euro;�s little slice of cake?.]]> And this time it�euro;�s worse than ever, as all the early voting states have moved their dates up by a month. In fact, as America is just getting over its New Year�euro;�s hangover, we�euro;�ll have a result in Iowa �euro;” on Jan. 3. New Hampshire votes on Jan. 10, just a month from now.]]> What´s a young, idealistic American to do when his or her country seems to be slipping away? Join a protest movement, of course. In Richard Nixon�euro;�s time, it was to end the war in Vietnam; today it�euro;�s Occupy Wall Street to save Main Street. Both have been powered by a pesky unwillingness to sit quietly by while elected leaders sell them out.]]> From Costco to Condon, there were a lot of surprising results in this election. But by far the biggest head-scratcher was Initiative 1125, Tim Eyman�euro;�s anti-toll, transportation buster. Thanks to an epic fail in King County, 1125 has become Eyman�euro;�s third failed attempt at micromanaging transportation.]]> The Otto Zehm saga has been exhausting for Spokane. And just when we could finally let out a sigh of relief, we were treated to the spectacle of dozens of Spokane Police officers saluting convicted felon Karl Thompson. Perhaps it was done out of compassion for a wayward comrade; let�euro;�s hope that�euro;�s what was in their hearts.]]> This one�euro;�s up there with aliens crashing in New Mexico and the faked lunar landing �euro;” Shakespeare as a fraud is one of our most enduring conspiracy theories. But the film resonates well beyond literary circles for depicting the Baby Boomers�euro;� �euro;�Me, Me, Me!�euro;� ethic gone off the deep end.]]> It´s no surprise that after months of issue-free wrangling over who the GOP nominee for president will be, the first actual big idea to emerge is gaining traction. At one recent rally, when Herman Cain mentioned his “9-9-9” plan, the crowd finished the last two 9s with one rousing voice.]]> Here in the United States, our private insurance adds 20 percent to every transaction via administrative costs and profit; 44,000 Americans die from lack of health insurance each year � more than are killed by breast cancer; and Canadians, whose system our politicians routinely mock, live three years longer than Americans.]]> It´s so heartwarming to see two opposing camps solve their dispute � especially when a huge pile of money and the future happiness of a nation both hang in the balance. That takes real wisdom � the knowledge that no matter our differences, we really are all in this together.]]> NATIONAL MALL, WASHINGTON, D.C. � Over in the Smithsonian’s American History Museum, you can see the original Star-Spangled Banner. They keep it under low light in a tightly controlled environment. Way back, they used to haul it out and fly it on the Fourth of July.]]> It’s a familiar problem here in Washington: We vote in some new ballot initiative and then discover the loose ends. In the case of the legalization of medical marijuana, as passed in 1998, the s]]> Watching the snow dump on the East Coast over the weekend, you had to love New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg urging calm and doling out cash his city doesn’t have while wearing his crisis-mode bomber jacket. He was the perfect disaster manager � the highest purpose our elected leaders can fulfill.]]> A cultural moment was born. By the next holiday season, Americans were fighting all over the world and Bing’s dulcet tones were committed to a record. The Armed Forces Network had the song in constant rotation during the 1942 holiday season. It became an anthem of what we were fighting for � hearth, home and country, all in three minutes.]]> Ah,politics � the place where America gives its best second chances (or third if you’re Dino Rossi). Case in point: Rick Scott, the Republican nominee for governor in Florida.]]>