Posted May 09, 2024in Morain
Several years ago Kathy and I walked into a restaurant for breakfast in North Carolina. On the wall was a floor-to-ceiling plaque bearing a message about the origins of the Civil War. The restaurant’s owner had selected that method to tell patrons that that great conflict had resulted from a
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Posted May 02, 2024in Morain
The story of our National Weather Service (NWS) is one of catching up and staying ahead. For more than 200 years, meteorologists, both amateurs and professionals, have steadily employed new scientific discoveries to gather atmospheric information and use it to predict pending weather conditions. Without their knowledge and messaging, damage
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Posted April 25, 2024in Morain
Congress may finally be getting it together. Overruling a few outspoken ultraconservative Republican members, the U.S. House by wide margins last Saturday belatedly approved crucial aid for nations and peoples that desperately need it. The favorable vote margins tallied 11 to 1 on one of the measures, 6 to 1
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Posted April 18, 2024in Morain
Tax bills in the Iowa Legislature have always been approved or disapproved by simple majorities. If most legislators want to raise taxes, or lower them, they do it the usual way: take a vote, up or down, and whichever side gets the most votes wins. That’s how democracy works. But
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Posted April 11, 2024in Morain
Our homeowner’s insurance carrier a few weeks ago sent me our annual premium notice for the 12-month period beginning April 10, 2024. The valuations of our house, garage, and personal property had climbed almost 7% higher than they were for the previous 12-month period. That wasn’t a surprise. In fact,
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Posted March 28, 2024in Morain
What rights do Palestinians possess? Are they citizens of any nation? The answers to those questions are murky at best, particularly right now with war raging in Gaza. Technically, under Israel’s Nationality Law, Palestinians are legal citizens of Israel. They hold “passport citizenship,” but not “democratic citizenship.” That means they
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Posted March 21, 2024in Morain
Want to get away from it all? The daily grind, the tough-to-solve challenges, the folks who bug you, the recurring insoluble problems? For a few weeks there’s a possible solution: it’s March Madness time. The brackets are out. Sixty-eight men’s college basketball teams, and 68 women’s teams, make up The
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Posted March 14, 2024in Morain
Two events within a few months of each other 75 years ago forever altered the political and military landscape of the world. Their combined effects play an all-powerful role in today’s diplomatic chess game. On April 4, 1949, in Washington, DC, 12 Western nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty to
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Posted March 07, 2024in Morain
I had a heart attack Tuesday evening of last week. All is well. Tuesday about 7 p.m. I was sitting at the press table at the Jefferson City Council meeting, taking notes, when my chest started to hurt. I figured it was probably acid reflux, which I have from time
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Posted February 22, 2024in Morain
House File 2544 survived last week’s funnel deadline in the Iowa Legislature. It now awaits consideration in the state House of Representatives. If I were a public school social studies teacher in Iowa and the bill were to become law here, I would begin to figure out how I could
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