Posted May 16, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Aaron Salter Jr., 55, was on duty at the security job that supplemented his retirement income. Ruth Whitfield, 86, was buying groceries. Celestine Chaney, 65, stopped in for strawberries for the shortcake she and her sister were eager to enjoy. But their plans went awry Saturday afternoon. Salter’s work shift
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Posted May 09, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Irony has been so deep in recent days that we shouldn’t be surprised if people start walking around with their chore boots on or with the cuffs on their pants rolled up to avoid the mess. Consider: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made an observation Friday that caused some
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Posted May 02, 2022in Stray Thoughts
The legendary U.S. Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis once observed, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.”Brandeis was not talking about everyday cleaning around the home. He was concerned about the importance of transparency in rooting out or preventing corruption or abuses in the workings of a program,
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Posted April 29, 2022in Stray Thoughts
A common refrain from Democrats during Donald Trump’s years in the presidency was that he was undermining public trust and confidence in our courts with his talk of judges being biased and having political motives when they ruled against him. Trump’s comments were a bunch of hooey — and it
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Posted April 29, 2022in Stray Thoughts
I’m confused. Some of our political leaders seemed to be talking out of both sides of their mouths about why it is wrong for public school employees to engage in what the leaders think is pushing a point of view onto students. These leaders need to figure out whether it
Read More →By Randy Evans This is one of those times when people who have little appetite for politics need to pay attention — because a big change is coming that many folks won’t agree with. When the U.S. Mint asked each state to pick an image to represent the state on
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Posted April 06, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Des Moines Superintendent Thomas Ahart has been a lightning rod during the past three years over the way Iowa’s public schools have responded to the COVID pandemic. Ahart announced in recent weeks that he is leaving, effective June 30. But the Des Moines school board ensured that Ahart will continue
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Posted March 28, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Through history, some political leaders have been outstanding orators. Boy, could they talk. They knew how to mobilize and move people with their words. Think of Franklin Roosevelt and, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Or Ronald Reagan and, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
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Posted March 14, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Many years ago, I sat at the kitchen table of a pots-n-pans salesman from Pleasant Valley. We didn’t talk about cookware. He was laying out with lots of precision why the United States government had no legal basis for prosecuting him for willfully refusing to file federal income tax returns.
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Posted March 07, 2022in Stray Thoughts
Des Moines Superintendent Thomas Ahart has been a lightning rod during the past three years over the way Iowa’s public schools have responded to the Covid pandemic. Ahart announced last week that he is leaving, effective June 30. But the Des Moines school board ensured that Ahart will continue to
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