Posted October 03, 2018in Stray Thoughts
It’s confession time: I cannot say with confidence what transpired in that upstairs bedroom in a suburban home in Montgomery County, Md., on that summer evening, apparently in 1982, during a gathering of unsupervised, beer-drinking teenagers. Unless you have just awakened like a latter-day Rip Van Winkle, you know the
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Posted September 05, 2018in Stray Thoughts
Distraction appears to be a main focus so far in the race for Iowa governor. Election Day is two months away. The decision Iowans make on Nov. 6 will be an important factor in where our state is headed. But instead of having a full and frank debate over important
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Posted August 22, 2018in Stray Thoughts
At most services, Father P.J. McManus moves quickly through the announcements — typically covering such things as the coming Christ the King Church sweet corn festival, the signup for the fall retreat, or a new book study group that soon will begin. This past weekend, however, the announcements took a
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Posted August 15, 2018in Stray Thoughts
Once again, our government has demonstrated that common sense really isn’t so common. I understand that Americans are not of one mind on the issue of immigration. I understand that people who break the law ought to face punishment. What I don’t understand are two cases involving foreign-born women —
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Posted August 08, 2018in Stray Thoughts
There was snow and ice on the ground in Burlington on the morning of Jan. 6, 2015. About 10:30 a.m., police were summoned to 104 S. Garfield Ave., where Autumn and Gabriel Steele were arguing outside their house. Less than a minute after Officer Jesse Hill arrived to investigate, Autumn
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Posted July 31, 2018in Stray Thoughts
The Iowa Legislature wrote some wonderful concepts into the state’s government transparency laws. For example: “This chapter seeks to assure, through a requirement of open meetings of government bodies, that the basis and rationale of governmental decisions, as well as those decisions themselves, are easily accessible to the people. Ambiguity
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Posted July 17, 2018in Stray Thoughts
The University of Iowa announced last week that it will close seven academic centers, shrink three others and eliminate 33 jobs. The reductions will save $3.5 million, officials said. The announcement should come as no surprise if you have been paying attention to events in our state. The university has
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Posted July 10, 2018in Stray Thoughts
Don’t be surprised if a guy named Jamie Campbell turns out to be one of the key players in the 2018 race for Iowa governor. Campbell’s name will not be on the ballot in November. He will not be crisscrossing the state, appearing at one campaign event after another. But
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Posted July 04, 2018in Stray Thoughts
The economics of foreign trade The school year is finished, but whether we like it or not, Iowans have been sent to summer school this year. The subject for our summer education: the economics of foreign trade and tariffs. Professor Donald Trump assured us this would be really simple to
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Posted July 03, 2018in Stray Thoughts
Sunday morning, government officials gathered in Des Moines to brief journalists about the storm that swamped the city and surrounding area with between 5 and 10 inches of rain Saturday night. Among the reporters there was William Petroski, who has covered state government for the Des Moines Register for 37
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