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Posted April 01, 2020in Rants & Reason

Iowa’s 2020 legislative crops: Hate, fear and scorn

Awful proposals are introduced every legislative session, but not with the frequency and with the support they have this year. Forget about corn and soy beans. The Iowa bumper crops [...]

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Posted March 04, 2020in Rants & Reason

Monty Python’s Flying Caucus

Always look on the bright side! As our Iowa caucus chaos unfolded, I half expected the British comedy troupe — Monty Python’s Flying Circus — to appear on TV in [...]

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Posted February 05, 2020in Rants & Reason

Religion’s harvest

Hope or hatred? Invitations to social gatherings may request: “Please, no talk about politics or religion,” but that’s likely redundant because talking about one often invokes the other. So while [...]

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Posted December 04, 2019in Rants & Reason

Yes, Santa, there was a Virginia!

…and other Yuletide thoughts OK. OK. I didn’t really interview the Virginia who was 8 when she wrote the famous 1897 letter asking The New York Sun, “Is there a [...]

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Posted November 06, 2019in Rants & Reason

Folly and Fortitude

Pathos and Poets Call it what you will — Armistice Day, Veterans Day, Remembrance Day. By any name, Nov. 11 is at best nine parts grief and one part glory. [...]

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Posted October 02, 2019in Rants & Reason

Democracy should not be a spectator sport

President Trump being “completely rational” just does not compute. At this stage, it makes no sense to make fun of Iowa’s U.S. Senator Joni Ernst for her late-August comment in [...]

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Posted September 04, 2019in Rants & Reason

Oyez! Oyez! God save our independent judiciary

…from the U.S. Senate and the Iowa governor Welcome to September. Congress is back in session, and Supreme Courts begin their 2019-2020 terms — the U.S. Oct. 1 and Iowa [...]

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Posted July 31, 2019in Rants & Reason

The ‘First 100 Days’

An Iowa caucus delusion. Like the proverbial bad penny or unwanted guest, an Iowa caucus question pops up from the press and the public in search of sound bites instead [...]

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Posted June 05, 2019in Rants & Reason

Hate or hope? Take your pick.

Across the nation, protests draw both revulsion and respect. Maybe fear, hate and hope are where you choose to find them. An ample supply of all will be available with [...]

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Posted May 01, 2019in Rants & Reason

Marking a centennial for the freedom it led to

And how we might lose that. This year marks the 100th anniversary of two U.S. Supreme Court cases often characterized as miscarriages of justice. Those cases, however, also led to [...]

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