Business as usual

The Iowa Democratic Caucus ended with a razor-thin margin between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Bernie wins in New Hampshire in a landslide over Hillary. Yet, as of Feb. 11 before the South Carolina primary, Clinton has 394 delegates and super delegates to Sanders’ 42. WHAT??? That’s right, according to CNN, NPR and the Associated Press, Clinton has a sizeable lead. Is it any wonder the citizens are fed up with “insider politics as usual?” So much for the one person, one vote ideology.

Mike Rowley
– Clive

Save our trees
I don’t know how the trees in this town made so many enemies, but the bulldozer jockeys down at the city hall have their eyes fixed on Gray’s Lake Park, and sometime soon they are going to mow down a mess of trees. Survey stakes have been hammered in, marking a half-mile long section of the Raccoon riverbank along the Gray’s Lake trail that will be “stabilized” as part of future construction phases. “Stabilization” is an engineer’s $100 word meaning “an attempt to keep the river channel from wandering.” What is planned for the Raccoon is the cheapskate’s version of the Los Angeles River, without all the smooth concrete for car chases. If you think a channelized river through Des Moines bordered by miles of busted concrete is pretty, get out the lipstick, because this pig is entering the pageant!  If you don’t, let city officials know this is a bad idea.

John Morrissey
– Des Moines