Sexually transmitted diseases at all-time high
By Nick Gier
Reader Columnist
The Centers for Disease Control has just released preliminary data on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and they show a dramatic increase in infections over four …
Tagged: Nick Gier
The negative effects of income inequality on mental health
By Nick Gier
Reader Columnist
In 2011 British epidemiologists Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett released the second edition of their book “The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger.” …
An update on unions in higher education
By Nick Gier
Reader Columnist
The advance of higher education unions has generally stalled at about 375,000 faculty—21 percent of private schools and 35 percent of public colleges and universities. …
Lost in a world of red and green
By Nick Gier
Reader Columnist
As I read about the fires raging across the western states, I’m reminded of my three years on “hot shot” crews in the late 1960s. …
Judge rules family separations “brutal and offensive”
By Nick Gier
Reader Columnist
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has quoted the Bible in support of his No Tolerance and Family Separation policies, but this passage undermines his case entirely: …
The Dissolution of the Iberian Religious Harmony
By Nick Gier
Reader Columnist
I’m just back from a one-month trip to Portugal, Spain and Morocco, and I was reminded, primarily because of the spectacular Islamic architecture, about the …
Morocco makes progress — politically, culturally and economically
By Nick Gier
Reader Columnist
Known as the “Door to the Sahara Desert,” Morocco and its great cities Casablanca, Tangier, and Marrakesh symbolize everything exotic about Arabic culture. The films …
Portugal comes back from the economic brink
By Nick Gier
Reader Columnist
Trump boasts about the nation’s economic recovery, but during his first year the economy grew only 2.3 percent. The average for Obama, as he brought …
Coming up this week! Don’t miss Live Music, the Summer Sampler, the Art Party, Monarch Grind, the Sandpoint Renaissance Faire, and more! See the full list of events in the 