“Who died and made you God!” That was a saying back in coal-mining, small-town southern Iowa, where much of my philosophy about “telling it like it is” was born. To paraphrase this aphorism for my fastidious metropolitan and cosmopolitan compatriots, who elected President Obama the omnipotent judge of American (among
Read More →I’m always impressed by the class-act writing this newspaper delivers, but one commentary recently really struck a chord with me (“The Honest Problem of Gun Control,” Guest Commentary, Feb. 7). Maybe it’s my age, and I remember when our own government killed and harmed innocent college students in 1970. Or
Read More →Cityview’s recent cover story, “Shot or not” (Feb. 7) didn’t stray too far from its opening subject line. That of a fairy tale, Mary Poppins. While the author of the article seemed to want to dwell on every perceived negative of past vaccinations such as “needle injection, thimerosal, egg protein,”
Read More →Beyoncegate is officially behind us. America’s zaftig beauty reinstated her singing bona fides by belting out the “Star Spangled Banner” at a pre-Super Bowl news conference. The media spritzed mucho dish over whether her singing at the president’s inaugural was real or Memorex. That big whoop is now just a
Read More →New voter ID laws and voter purge rules proposed by Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz and Republican legislative leaders impose an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote. These vote-suppressing laws and rules will only disenfranchise many low-income, elderly and minority voters along with new immigrant citizens. In a
Read More →Amber Williams’ article (“Turn It Over,” Oct. 17) captured the essence of what most voters believed about the $50 million Polk County Water and Land Legacy Bond and why they ultimately passed the bond by 72 percent approval margin. I think voters would be very surprised to know that half
Read More →Referencing your Jan. 10 issue about The Des Moines Register numbers (Civic Skinny), another thing they have changed regarding vacation is that you used to be able to donate your issues to Newspapers in Education. Now that is no longer an option, which is even more disappointing now that you
Read More →Cityview’s Dec. 27 issue ran local citizen’s opinions about the Connecticut shooting. They demanded an end to gunned-up America. Their talking points were Miss Manners-sincere yet cub reporter routine. The gun issue is big and bad. It’s bombs away in the global and national media. Humpty Dumpty pundits drop facile
Read More →FLASH NEWS! From the Associated Press: “The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, the Ankeny-based agency that operates the state’s wholesale liquor monopoly, says the winter storm is delaying deliveries to alcoholic beverage licensees.” Yes, you read that right: Iowa, the most Puritan state in the North, has a state monopoly on
Read More →Together we make Des Moines better I just wanted to send a quick note of appreciation for the innovative approach to Chad Taylor’s feature story about the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival’s 10th Anniversary event (“Coming Up Roses,” Nov. 8). His story was well-written, and Kimberly and I enjoyed our
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