Posted March 09, 2023in Morain
Americans, as is our wont, continually focus on “the questions of the day.” Some of those issues change over time, but sometimes it takes a long time. And sometimes it’s a puzzlement why they were relevant in the first place. A few examples: 1. Why do we need to know
Read More →
Posted March 02, 2023in Morain
Most every morning I meet with a group at a coffee shop in Jefferson. It’s informal – anyone who shows up becomes a member for that morning. We number anywhere from two to 10. There’s no penalty for absence or tardiness. We have no official agenda. We discuss anything that
Read More →
Posted February 23, 2023in Morain
We’re about to find out if the name “Fox News” has any meaning. For two decades before January 2021, Fox News had the largest viewer audience in all of cable television. But that month both CNN and MSNBC overtook and surpassed it. The reason? In the weeks just before the
Read More →
Posted February 16, 2023in Morain
Public officials, both past and present, who refuse to testify or to answer a subpoena take a big risk. And they have no good choices. Governmental executives, like presidents and governors, who choose not to cooperate with investigators enjoy some legal protections. American jurisprudence in some instances grants them the
Read More →
Posted February 09, 2023in Morain
Diplomacy is not for amateurs. Members of our Congress can easily make it political. The ever-present complexity of foreign relations tempts some members of our government to take positions entirely for or against some nation, citing one side of its relationship to the United States and ignoring the other side.
Read More →
Posted February 02, 2023in Morain
Sometimes it’s easy to understand legislative proposals. Other times, not so much. House File 3, filed early in the 2023 session of the Iowa Legislature, falls in the second category. To understand its potential effect on needy people, take a quick look at two preexisting food programs whose nutritional goals
Read More →
Posted January 19, 2023in Morain
If Senate File 23 were to become law in Iowa, all city and school elections would be partisan, and only partisan. Candidates in those elections would have their names placed on the ballot only by their political party; no independent candidates could run. State Senator Brad Zaun, Republican of Urbandale,
Read More →
Posted January 12, 2023in Morain
Political pundits are having a field day with the dramatic election of Republican Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the U.S. House last week. McCarthy finally won by a one-vote margin after 15 ballots, the most ballots needed in a Speaker election since before the Civil War. McCarthy desperately craved the
Read More →
Posted December 27, 2022in Morain
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Dec. 21 delivered a dramatic, crisp and impactful address to the American Congress in Washington. Dramatic because it brought front and center the danger the Ukrainian people face continuously from Russian aggression. Crisp because Zelenskyy wasted no words in describing Ukraine’s situation. And impactful because
Read More →
Posted December 22, 2022in Morain
Conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border these days are truly disastrous for everyone involved. Thousands upon thousands of migrants seeking entry to this country amass at the border at any one time. The challenge they present threatens to overwhelm both the American organizations and individuals trying to help them, and the
Read More →
