Two Iowa perennials were in the news in late May for predictable, but regrettable, reasons: Jim Zabel because he died at 91; U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin because of right-wing members of the Board of Regents messing with Iowa’s universities. Let’s take Harkin first, letting “Z” rest in peace for a
Read More →Those liberals always seem to be spreading confusion and misinformation about guns. Wayne LaPierre isn’t the only one getting tired of it. All this business about changing laws is ridiculous when criminals have no intention of obeying the law. And what criminal is going to use a weapon obtained through legal methods? Everyone
Read More →News coverage of breaking stories — such as the explosions at the Boston Marathon — are more miss than hit because of two fundamental flaws in such coverage. If you’re puzzled or confused by the breathless on-the-scene commentators, you should be. For one thing, almost everything we know about such
Read More →Since I originally wrote about the subject in 2008, Iowa has become a Mecca for data farms. The biggest names in digital communications have decided to build huge, new data farms in what used to be Iowa’s bountiful cornfields. Yes, the Iowa Economic Development Authority can add Google, Microsoft and
Read More →You may smile at the brevity, but here goes: Pencils don’t fail tests, hammers don’t build houses, cars don’t drive drunk. There are all kinds of laws on how to do things in this world, and most people who find themselves visited by law enforcement are not following those laws.
Read More →When my wife and I are among our elderly friends and I begin to tell a story, she often tells me: “You’ve already told them that one.” I agree but explain, “I know, but these old fogeys have forgotten it.” I feel that way about Iowans who may have forgotten
Read More →
Posted April 03, 2013in Guest Commentary
No need to be troubled if you were confused by Cityview’s April Fool’s edition — the one with the cover story about Des Moines police using android “robo-cops” for traffic tickets and such things. Even without April Fool!, day in and day out it’s more difficult to distinguish the jokes
Read More →“Jekyll and Hyde” is the perfect Broadway musical for the United States in the 21st Century. Major promotion indicates that it is the greatest musical of the century, but only 12-plus years out of 100 have gone by, so one might dismiss the hype. Hype! There is so much hype
Read More →Talk about Daniel in the lion’s den! Maybe Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal — an occasional visitor to Iowa because of his possible interest in being President some day — had better cross future visits off his list. That’s because in surveying the wreckage of the 2012 elections, Jindal told fellow
Read More →
Saving Floppy: a real dog fight
Since the scandal broke, the story has been on TV, radio and all over social media. The decision was apparently made by someone high in rank within the bureaucracy. Within an hour after the leak, the news quickly spread via social media. Apparently those responsible actually thought they could bury
Read More →