Posted June 11, 2026in Morain
At least four important public policy questions keep rolling around in my head. Two deal with foreign policy, the other two with federal taxes. I’d like to see them ascend the priority scale of the people who can act on them. They’re not all that complicated, and I’m pretty sure
Read More →This is a trivial column. I turned 85 last Monday. Family saluted me with a birthday dinner, thoughtful gifts, and lots of well wishes. Many friends congratulated me as well. It all warmed my cockles. I’ve always considered 85 to be the starting line for the “really elderly.” And now
Read More →Kathy and I were privileged to be on hand for a grandson’s high school commencement ceremony at Adel-De Soto-Minburn (ADM) High School in Adel last Sunday. The event was hugely attended, impressive, and full of joy for the graduates, their classmates, families, and friends. The end of a high school
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Posted May 21, 2026in Morain
Suppose your Republican legislature is trying to carve up your mostly black Democratic congressional district and distribute its parts into two or more mostly white Republican districts? If you don’t like that, how do you prove that the legislature’s motivation is racially based (which is illegal) instead of politically based
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Posted May 12, 2026in Morain
Barrels upon innumerable barrels of ink have graced the pages of court documents for many, many decades in the quest for American justice. Attorneys for both sides have marshaled their best arguments for their clients, hoping to convince a judge of the rightness of their position. In civil court it’s
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Posted May 07, 2026in Morain
“Thou shalt not steal.” – Eighth Commandment — God, as reported by Moses —————— Americans have rarely faced the facts about the role of national theft in the history of their nation. From the time of the first Europeans’ arrival in North America, the newcomers employed theft to secure their
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Posted April 30, 2026in Morain
I had a commentary on foreign policy on my mind for this week. I still do. But it can wait. The attempted attack at the White House Correspondents dinner in Washington last Saturday can’t. It’s sadly ironic that the terrifying disruption of the dinner, just as it was getting underway,
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Posted April 23, 2026in Morain
As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday this year, it seems worthwhile to consider how closely we’ve hewed to the Founders’ vision for their new creation, and likewise how far we’ve strayed. One way the path we chose diverged almost immediately was the spontaneous explosion of political parties.
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Posted April 16, 2026in Morain
Winnie the Pooh turns 100 years old this year. Not bad for A Bear of Very Little Brain, as he was wont to describe himself. My folks introduced me to Pooh some 80 years ago, about 20 years after his first appearance, and he and his sidekicks have remained stars
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Posted April 09, 2026in Morain
In the movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird, attorney Atticus Finch’s young daughter Scout says to a schoolmate of hers at dinner, “What in the Sam Hill are you doing?” It’s the same question more and more people are asking President Trump about his war on Iran. It’s an
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