Disputing the facts

  I keep seeing the same thing repeated over and over. This time it was in the current Civic Skinny article (June 30).  “But the party whose governor (Branstad) has been in office longer than any governor in American history…” Gov. Branstad is not the longest serving governor in America.

Grassley’s power grab sets dangerous precedent

  Sen. Charles Grassley’s blockade of the Supreme Court confirmation process sets in motion a dangerous precedent for future presidents. Grassley and his Republican allies claim they have the right to freeze the Supreme Court confirmation process and refuse to hold hearings based on regaining the Senate majority in the

Making us all feel great again

  Given the recent terrorist attacks — the nine church members in South Carolina last year and now a member of the British Parliament — shouldn’t we expect Donald Trump to call for a ban on the immigration of white supremacy advocates? And the deportation — to internment camps in

Run, Bernie, run

  Bernie Sanders has never been elected to office as a Democrat. Bernie Sanders has always won as a Socialist. Now is the time for all good Progressives to write Bernie and encourage him to run for president as a Socialist. Keep up the good fight. Run, Bernie, run! Mark

Trim the excess branches

  Duffy’s editorial cartoon panel, “Chickens Coming Home to Roost on the Weakest Branch of Government” (June 2) implies that state tax cuts and a drop in state revenues are putting a strain on the State Judiciary; it is represented by branches growing downward. Any first-year forestry student knows that branches

Sanders is still a player

As I listen to the national media’s shock at Donald Trump’s current path of attacks, they are totally confounded. I think they forget one thing that Trump hasn’t — Hillary still has to win California and New Jersey against Bernie Sanders. They want to talk about the general election at

The inequality gap

How much money is enough for America’s top executives? The AFL-CIO just released compensation comparisons showing the average CEO pay is now 335 times that of the average worker. The average pay for America’s CEOs in 2015 was $12.4 million, while the average employee made $36,900.  The pay gap between

The Party of Lincoln is about to crown a con artist

  It’s certainly fascinating and very amusing watching the Republican Party attempting to justify, accept and unify around Donald Trump.  From the very beginning of the Trump campaign, most Republican leaders thought he was a joke and totally ridiculed his campaign. Romney called him a fraud and a phony. Cruz

Increase the minimum wage

  The Polk County Supervisors voted in April to appoint a task force to study increasing the minimum wage countywide. The current minimum wage in Iowa is $7.25 for hourly workers and $4.35 for tipped workers. The vote was 4-1 in favor with Democrats John Mauro, Angela Connolly, Tom Hockensmith

Preservation of historical documents is No. 1 priority I am concerned about the proposal to spend $80 million to renovate the State Historical Building on Locust Street. As I understand it, the east side would be razed and converted into an outdoor gathering space. The west end would be renovated