Posted April 14, 2020in Stray Thoughts
It’s quiz time. What arm of the federal government has the most contact with ordinary Americans, people like you and me? Is it the Internal Revenue Service? Social Security Administration? The Food and Drug Administration? Or the Department of Agriculture? Nope. Not that one. Not that one, either. None of
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Posted April 06, 2020in Stray Thoughts
One of my memories, one that had been tucked away back where the cobwebs congregate, is from that day in 2004 when the oldest Evans daughter graduated from Saint Louis University. The graduates crowded onto the arena floor for the commencement ceremony. They were grouped by their areas of study
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Posted March 31, 2020in Stray Thoughts
We have all become acutely aware in the past few weeks why masks and face shields, respirators and ventilators are so important for hospital workers and their patients. The supply is not keeping up with the need, and that could have dire consequences for the doctors, nurses and patients. Likewise,
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Posted March 10, 2020in Stray Thoughts
Iowans take considerable pleasure in enumerating the various ways our state stands apart from the other 49 states — beyond our endangered first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. For many years, we pointed with pride to the fact that Iowa’s high school graduation rate was tops in the United States. We like to
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Posted March 03, 2020in Stray Thoughts
A bill now awaiting debate and a vote in the Iowa Senate is quite short. It adds a mere 10 lines to the Iowa Code. But those 10 lines are an important legal statement Iowa lawmakers should adopt before they finish their work for 2020. Senate File 2331 says employees
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Posted February 25, 2020in Stray Thoughts
If you are looking for something in government that can be quite messy, even under the best of circumstances, look no further than the power that allows presidents to issue pardons. I’m not a member of the Donald Trump Fan Club, as my friends and readers can deduce. But President
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Posted February 18, 2020in Stray Thoughts
Members of the Iowa Legislature are in the midst of tying themselves into knots over the issue of equality, and that’s unfortunate. The knot-tying involves what these lawmakers call “religious freedom.” That has a patriotic ring to it. Who would disagree? Our constitutional right to freedom of religion sets the
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Posted February 11, 2020in Stray Thoughts
Forgive me, but I think some government officials forget they work for the people of Iowa, or maybe they just don’t want the public asking too many questions, especially if those questions could be embarrassing. Regrettably, I come to this conclusion because every week or two I hear about another
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Posted February 04, 2020in Stray Thoughts
For 40+ years, Iowa has been pulling the wool over the eyes of the free world every four years. It is time our state’s political leaders put aside their love of the national spotlight and retire the much-ballyhooed Iowa caucuses — or overhaul the process to address the obvious flaws
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Posted January 22, 2020in Stray Thoughts
Every one of us probably has a moment of dread from our grade school days squirreled away in the dusty recesses of our memories. Or many such moments. For me, it was in elementary school when it was my turn to sing a solo in music class. I would have
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