Desert Star Weekly Feb. 2, 2018 issue

Page 1

Your adjudicated newspaper for Riverside County

desert

STAR W E E K L Y

PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID

Catch the big game Sunday on NBC at 3:30 PM PCT

Desert Hot Springs, CA PERMIT NO 00005

Friday, February 2, 2018 Vol. 12 No. 10

State of the Union Trump’s most controversial applause lines from his 1st State of the Union By Desert Star Staff It was billed as a speech that would unite all Americans, but even with memorable lines, President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address seemed to only sharpen the contrasts between the political right and left. When Trump praised his special guest, 12-year-old Preston Sharp, for helping to place 40,000 American

flags on the graves of dead soldiers, the president subtly socked the NFL players and other athletes who have “taken a knee” during the US national anthem, most often to protest police abuse. Preston’s devotion, Trump said, reminds us of “why we proudly stand for the national anthem.” The line instantly brought Republican lawmakers to their feet for an extensive

Election Day By Desert Star Staff Off-Broadway farce about the price of political campaigns Tickets are now on sale for Desert Ensemble Theatre Company’s production of Election Day, an off-Broadway hit by Josh Tobiessen. Desert Theatre League Award Winner Rosemary Mallett directs this farcical take on contemporary politics, described by The New York Times as “An outrageous comedy...at double-espresso speed.” The play runs two weekends, February 16-18 and February 23-25, at the

Pearl McManus Theater in the Palm Springs Woman’s Club, 314 S. Cahuilla Road. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance through the company’s website, www.detctheatre.org, or by calling (760) 565-2476. The play is set on Election Day in a nameless city. Adam knows his overzealous girlfriend will never forgive him if he fails to vote. But when his sex starved sister, an eco-terrorist, and a mayoral candidate willing to do anything for a vote all show up, Adam finds that making that quick trip to the

standing ovation, while only a sparse few Democrats got up to join in briefly before sitting back down amid the applause. Trump boasted of eliminating more regulations than “any administration in the history of our country,” and ending the “war on American energy” and “beautiful, clean coal.” But not every American was so proud, particularly with the president’s word choices.

polls might be harder than he thought. Election Day is a hilarious dark comedy about the price of political (and personal) campaigns. The play had its world premiere at Second Stage Theatre’s Uptown Series. The cast from DETC’s core company includes Desert Theatre League Award winners Shawn Abramowitz and Kelley Moody, and DTL nominee Sean Timothy Brown; and, in company debuts, Brian La Belle and Maricela Continues on Page 3

Without dwelling on his failure to repeal Obamacare, Trump shifted to Big Pharma and the FDA, taking on drug prices and access to experimental treatments for the terminally ill. He brazenly promised that “[drug] prices will come down, substantially. Watch.” But many doubt his ability to carry through on the vow. The president’s call for

Congress to produce a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill, which he said is “desperately” needed, was roundly criticized, despite his giving no policy details. Trump did call for private partnerships and a streamlined permitting process, aiming for a maximum of two years. “Together we can reclaim Continues on Page 3


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.