Posted January 03, 2023in Stray Thoughts
In politics, having a “trifecta” in government is a good thing for a political party — until the trifecta’s inaction on some popular issue starts to haunt the party. Iowa Republicans served up an example of the consequences of such inaction in the days leading up to Christmas. The example
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Posted December 19, 2022in Stray Thoughts
It is amazing what takes up room in our memory. Yes, our basement can accommodate stacks of storage bins and shelves lined with boxes filled with what we politely assure our spouse is “important stuff” from our life. Our memory is no larger than our head, but long-forgotten details are
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Posted December 12, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Few people like being told what they must do. Lorie Smith is one of them. The suburban Denver, Colo., business owner, a devout Christian, builds websites for customers. She wants to expand her business and begin building websites for couples who are planning weddings. But she is adamant that she
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Posted December 05, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Judging from the furrowed brows and dire predictions in Iowa, you might have thought a national Democratic Party committee had voted to eliminate motherhood and apple pie last week. Actually, what the committee eliminated were Iowa’s first-in-the-nation Democratic precinct caucuses — a quirky, though coveted, kick-off role for Iowa Democrats
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Posted November 29, 2022in Stray Thoughts
A couple of generations ago, an up-and-coming Arkansas retailer was spreading out across America, and Kenneth Stone was inundated with requests to speak around Iowa and far beyond about the company. Stone was an economics professor at Iowa State University. His expertise was retail sales and business management. Merchants and
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Posted November 21, 2022in Stray Thoughts
It won’t be long before empty parking spaces near the Iowa Capitol will be as hard to find as a compromise between Democrats and Republicans. The Legislature returns to Des Moines on Jan. 9, more firmly in Republican control than it was on May 24, when this year’s session ended.
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Posted November 08, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Mamie Till came along at the right time in American history. During the 1950s, in an era when many Americans were blind to the grotesque toll of racial hatred, this courageous Illinois mother stepped forward and opened America’s eyes. What people saw outraged them — the mutilated body of her 14-year-old
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Posted November 02, 2022in Stray Thoughts
It is safe to assume Kirk Ferentz has not enjoyed the glorious autumn in Iowa the way he would prefer.He has feverishly worked his Bubble Yum during the Hawkeyes’ games this season. He has been worked over during his post-game press conferences and again at his weekly meetings with the media
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Posted October 24, 2022in Stray Thoughts
I try to stay atop the day’s news. But I must have dozed off last week — because I missed the response from Iowa Republican leaders to the Biden administration’s announcement of $1.3 billion in debt relief to 36,000 farmers who have fallen behind on their farm loan payments. In
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Posted October 03, 2022in Stray Thoughts
“Reasonable” is a word that is used often in Iowa’s laws. Reasonable fees. Reasonable rules. Reasonable efforts. Reasonable force. But events in recent weeks show government officials are not always following what many Iowans would think the term means. And when government officials deviate from “reasonable,” they should not be
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