Posted December 26, 2023in Stray Thoughts
We Iowans apparently have been kidding ourselves. Somehow, as we focus on taxes, water quality and allegations of big-government overreach, as we wrestle with immigration, inflation, drug abuse, school choice and women’s reproductive freedom, and as we contemplate transgender issues, academic freedom, religious rights and free speech on college campuses,
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Posted December 18, 2023in Stray Thoughts
I really should not be surprised by some comments that represent what passes for civic dialogue in Iowa these days. The latest example leaves me shaking my head, not just at the events themselves but at the reactions. Mrs. Gentry, my history and government teacher in high school, would be
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Posted December 11, 2023in Stray Thoughts
City leaders in Davenport have forgotten that city government there belongs to the people. It does not belong to the folks who were elected to city offices. This reminder is necessary because a troubling series of events that is unlike any I have seen in five decades of monitoring the
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Posted November 28, 2023in Stray Thoughts
A few months ago, I bumped into a former aide to Gov. Robert Ray. As we reminisced about the governor, our conversation turned to his nearly daily meetings with journalists. The aide said yes, those press conferences provided reporters with access to the governor and his comments on issues the
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Posted November 20, 2023in Stray Thoughts
This is my favorite time of the year. There is no late-night bombardment from infernal fireworks like there is with the Fourth of July. There is not the pressure of Christmas to choose just the right gift. With Thanksgiving, it is about enjoying the company of family and friends —
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Posted November 13, 2023in Stray Thoughts
The word for today is optics — but not the kind where your eye doctor is an expert. Instead of eyeglasses, I am thinking about the kind of optics that result when the perception of some person’s or some institution’s values are contradicted by the reality of the actions they
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Posted October 30, 2023in Stray Thoughts
Veterans Day is around the corner. For John and Bob, the day will be for remembering the men and women who serve in the United States military — and for two service members, in particular. For John, it will be his son, Robert, a Marine lieutenant who will forever be
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Posted October 23, 2023in Stray Thoughts
The rationale behind Iowa’s professional licensing laws is simple: People in certain professions and skilled occupations are required to hold state licenses to work in Iowa. This is to ensure they meet the minimum standard of training and skill necessary to serve consumers safely and effectively. But a state government
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Posted October 09, 2023in Stray Thoughts
For many years, an Iowa State University political science professor and I met several times a year for coffee and conversation. During our coffee klatches, I probed my friend’s thinking on world affairs, on government issues, and on politics in Iowa and across the United States. I suspect he
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Posted October 02, 2023in Stray Thoughts
Back where I came from, you do not expect to have a bomb-sniffing dog circle your car when you pull into the parking lot for Sunday church services. But that is what occurred. After the dog’s sensitive nose checked our car, a man on the front step gave us a
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