The first time I saw a 20-something student wearing hearing aids in class, it surprised me. Not only was there one student, but two in the same class with adaptive equipment. Full disclosure: I wear hearing aids and have for the past 20-plus years.

Do you worship somewhere as a group, such as in Spokane? Or do Hindus worship only in their homes? Do you have spiritual holidays, like some have Christmas, Ramadan, etc.?

It is a mystery about chasing human greatness. Why do many of the totalitarian movements — whether the dreams about the Third Reich of the Nazi Germany or messianic dreams of a Proletariat Paradise of International Communist movement — always start with idol of restoring or increasing human greatness?

The recent passage of SB 5599 — a Washington Senate bill that supports minors who need shelter and are seeking protected healthcare services — awaits Governor Jay Inslee’s signature.

Known as the Atheist Street Pirates, the group formed in 2021 as a subset of the LA-based Atheists United, a nonprofit that’s been in the city for 40 years and that seeks to “empower people to express secular values and promote separation of government and religion.” The street pirates’ goal is to clear city streets of religious propaganda.

Our friend had said that we would be seeing a group called Shen Yun, which performed traditional Chinese dances. She had been wowed by this group on YouTube, and she knew we enjoyed traditional Chinese dancing when we lived in China. Since she was buying the very-expensive tickets, and since she was doing the driving up from the Palouse, we thought, “why not?” We looked forward to the event.