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 →
Posted December 08, 2022in Morain
Christmas music has returned for the season, and we will hear it for the next three weeks or so wherever we go and wherever we listen. I knew the background story of “Silent Night,” but that’s about the only carol with whose origins I was familiar. Research turns up some
Read More →
Posted November 24, 2022in Morain
A little more than four years ago—on October 2, 2018—prominent Saudi Arabian journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi, 59, was murdered in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi had been living in the United States for a number of years and writing for prestigious publications, especially the Washington Post. Both
Read More →
Posted November 17, 2022in Morain
Iowa is a red state. Period. The Republican victories in the state last week rivaled the GOP’s dominance in Iowa back in the years following the Civil War, when most Iowans connected Democrats to the Southern rebellion. Both houses of the Iowa legislature now have Republican majorities of about two
Read More →
Posted November 10, 2022in Morain
Unlike everything you’ve read in the last few days, this column’s not about the results of Tuesday’s midterm elections. Well, not specifically, anyway. Because of the way the publishing calendar works, I have a deadline of Tuesday at 10 a.m. to submit my weekly column to the newspaper. Because Election
Read More →
Posted November 02, 2022in Morain
Although its safety mechanisms have improved, farming is still considered America’s most dangerous major occupation. Government service may fast overtake it. The recent attack on Paul Pelosi, 82-year-old husband of Nancy Pelosi, in their San Francisco home sadly doesn’t come as much of a surprise. The alleged attacker, a 42-year-old
Read More →
Posted October 26, 2022in Morain
October is a hot month for sports. The World Series is upon us. The National Football League is well underway, with millions watching games every Sunday, and other days as well. We’re in the midst of the Iowa high school football playoffs. While neither Iowa nor Iowa State currently provides
Read More →
Posted October 20, 2022in Morain
Cutting taxes has been a mainstay of Republican philosophy for decades. Iowa’s about to discover if it works. The 2022 session of the Iowa Legislature, with Republicans comfortably in control, enacted a massive state income tax restructuring whose strictures will steadily reduce state revenues for the next five years. Governor
Read More →
