Guns kill… and protect

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

Sacrifices we make to live in Iowa

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

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

  No shortage of nuts at the Register Sorry as hell to be a day (months) late and a damn dollar short — worth 10 cents in today’s Wall Street-wrecked money — to comment on a story that appeared in your drinking buddy’s paper (The Des Moines Register) this summer.             

  To be a united nation, we must unite The election is now past and in the aftermath, and half the nation is jubilant; the other half is shocked and angry. One thing is quite certain: We are NOT a united nation. Whether our particular candidate won or lost, there

Fairness and honesty? I enjoyed your article recently on the Civic Skinny titled “Ferentz gets $100,000 raise; Rhoads misses $200,000 bonus” (Civic Skinny, Nov. 29). I would have liked to have seen the comparison with the one remaining state school University of Northern Iowa.              

Will DART listen to ‘us poor folks’ next time?

To the disaffected transit riders in Des Moines, let’s begin by dispensing with the silly talk about DART not caring. Accusation of not caring cannot be substantiated, and caring is beside the point. It’s not the transit company’s PR people’s job to care. Their task is to communicate. How they

Where are the ‘blowhard’ Republicans now? You know, we haven’t heard much from Gov. Branstad since election night. What happened to him? He took millions in federal stimulus money from President Obama to keep the state afloat but didn’t say anything about that in his endorsement of Mitt Romney, which

Cole Smithey review of ‘Lincoln’ fails Before today I was not familiar with Cole Smithey. But having read his review of “Lincoln” (Film Review, Nov. 8), I’d suggest you read his work before printing. His take on the movie comes across as unreconstructed Confederacy boilerplate. His writing was dominated by

‘God will surely punish us’ When I was growing up in Iowa, the Methodists, as the largest religious denomination in Iowa, controlled the state legislature. Since Methodism is a dry religion, the sale and consumption of liquor was severely restricted. Each bottle purchased at a state-owned liquor store was recorded