Author: Paul Deaton

Categories
Living in Society

5 Take-Aways From The Wing Ding

Rural Polling Place
Rural Polling Place

Clear Lake, where the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding was held Friday, was an impossible venue for most Iowa working people.

Over 160 miles away in my case, driving there after work was not an option. To make up for the distance, I viewed the Des Moines Register webcast on my desktop. It wasn’t the same as being there, but it felt close in the twitterverse.

A key question for the Feb. 1 caucuses is who will show up, and this year one expects a significant number—not as many as in 2008—will not be activists. The campaigns will be judged by how well they organize and turn out their supporters that night. A failure to bring new people to the caucus process could be fatal for a candidate’s hopes. One of two tickets out of Iowa will go to Hillary Clinton.

Here are five take-aways from the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding.

What not to like about Martin O’Malley? Whether O’Malley can challenge Sanders for the second ticket out of Iowa is uncertain, but he is campaigning in a personal, energetic and personable way. He has had multiple bites at the policy-setting apple, and long time political activists, as well as quadrennial Democrats, can find a lot to like about O’Malley’s ideas and campaign tactics.

The Democratic political establishment is overly reliant on resources the eventual nominee will bring to the table. While Trump and Carson stage circus-like extravaganzas that bring new people into the political process, Democrats place stock in large, formal events like the Wing Ding which target existing political activists. Such events have a role. The better question is what are Democrats doing to bring new people into the process? Prove me wrong, but they aren’t doing much except dusting off the same old sawhorses for the post-caucus campaign. Is anyone else tired of hearing the name Jerry Crawford?

Bernie Sanders’ stump speech is getting old. Progressives are supportive of Sanders’ ideas, but the message is little changed since he appeared in Johnson County to support Bruce Braley before the midterm election. Maybe the idea of political revolution doesn’t need to change. His speech at the Wing Ding wasn’t helped by the fact he was losing his voice. The ideas remained strong, but delivery suffered. The novelty of Sanders is wearing off.

Chafee is actually a Democrat. If there is any question about Chafee’s allegiance to mainstream Democratic ideas, he inoculated the political bloodstream with his better than expected Wing Ding speech.

Hillary Clinton gets a ticket out of Iowa but her challenges lie ahead. In case you missed it, Hillary Clinton is a woman. Set aside all the policy ideas you agree or disagree with—your niggling objections—and it is much less than a sure thing the electorate will support a woman for president in the general election.

We live in a culture where women are considered to be second class citizens and worse. No one knows this better or has done more about it in public life than Hillary Clinton. She has done a lot globally to support women and girls, but the battle is not won. Far from it. Despite her impressive credentials, for reasons that include her gender, Hillary gets short shrift. Like many women, she will have to work smarter and twice as hard as the others to achieve her goals. The glass ceiling isn’t broken yet.

By Labor Day, most Democratic activists—people who invest time and resources into political campaigns—will have decided for whom they will caucus. Many already know or have signed up for a campaign. Some wear their preference on a T-shirt or car bumper. Others keep close counsel. The veil—already wearing thin—will be shed in a few weeks.

There is a desultory feel to this year’s caucus season, which began April 10 in Des Moines with speeches by Jim Webb and Martin O’Malley. Some show enthusiasm for their chosen candidate, yet most people I encounter are tuned out of politics. With each election the life cycle of interest in voting seems shorter.

As Iowans seek relief from summer’s heat and humidity we have had a chance to get to know the five Democratic contenders. Deciding which one to support will be easier because of Iowa’s first in the nation status. What everyday Iowans do about it is an open question.

~ Written for Blog for Iowa

Categories
Writing

Taking Local Out Of Local Food

Kale Salad
Kale Salad

Ingredients for this kale salad were grown within 100 feet of our kitchen. It is as local as food gets.

We enjoy garden produce in high summer — when nature’s bounty yields so much food we either preserve or give it away. Any more our household gives away more than it preserves because the pantry is well stocked with previous years’ harvests.

Friends and family talk about the “local food movement.” In Iowa it is being assimilated into lifestyles that gladly incorporate ingredients from all over the globe. This assimilation has taken the local out of local food.

From an intellectual standpoint, it wouldn’t be hard to replace food grown in China, Mexico, California and Florida with crops grown here in Iowa. The number of acres required is surprisingly small. For example, local farmer Paul Rasch once estimated it would take about 110 acres to keep a county of 160,000 people in apples all year. The political will to encourage home-grown solutions in the food supply chain doesn’t currently exist. Until it does, rational, local solutions to food supply remain in the ether of unrealized ideas.

A vendor at the Iowa City Farmers Market was recently suspended for violating a rule that produce sold there must be grown by the vendor. Just walk the market and ask booth workers from where they hail. Often he/she is an employee or contractor working for a farm seeking coverage around many Eastern Iowa farmers markets. Too often they are anything but local growers. What’s been lost in this commercialization of local food is the face of the farmer.

Knowing where one’s food comes from is a basic tenant of the local foods movement. I enjoy working with local growers on a small acreage to produce food for families. At the same time, I seldom purchase a box of cereal from the supermarket even though I’ve seen the grain trucks queue up to unload at the cereal mills in Cedar Rapids.

For example, my garden doesn’t produce enough garlic for the year. I’d rather buy a supplemental bag of peeled garlic cloves produced at Christopher Ranch in Gilroy, Calif. than cloves lacking discernible origin at a farmers market. I know how Christopher Ranch produces their garlic. Absent the face of the farmer, there is value in understanding food origins, and that means some percentage of a household’s food supply will not be local.

There is a lot of marketing hype around “organic,” “GMO-free,” and “gluten free” foods, and this has to be impacting the customer base of local food producers. If consumers feel they can get a reasonably priced, “healthy option” at the supermarket, why make an extra trip to the farmers market, except for the occasional special experience? Why wouldn’t one pick up a bag of Earthbound Farms organic carrots when local growers can never produce enough to meet demand? At the same time, marketing hype is just what the name suggests.

Food security and sustainability are complicated. Before the local foods movement came into its own, it already is being assimilated faster than one can say snap peas. From a consumer standpoint the local came out of local foods some time ago, and it may not be back.

Categories
Writing

Clearing Space

Notebook and Passport
Notebook and Passport

The lower level of our home is not finished.

In August 1993, as we trucked our belongings inside, I set up a wooden desk bought for a buck after returning to Iowa from Germany. It’s in about the same place today, with an accumulation of junk piled on it.

It is time to clear the old desk and get to work making something from the artifacts of a life.

I have been a reluctant downsizer, but it’s time. The process will involve writing — autobiographical writing. It will also involve shedding the detritus of hopeful projects that lost their luster.

Few people care about a single, ordinary life unless some broader lesson can be learned from it. Even I don’t care about much of what happened in my life. The main focus is always on what’s here and now, and to some extent, what’s next.

A few projects seem particularly important.

In 2013 I wrote “Autobiography in 1,000 Words.” I’ll expand that post to 10,000 or maybe 25,000 words. Brief enough to read in a single sitting, but more details.

Prioritizing my reading list will be part of the process. Last year I read a short list of books. If that is the future, choosing carefully from many options ranks high on the to-do list.

Since re-purposing in July 2009, my writing has been short form. Letters to the editor gave way to blog posts, and freelance work for the Iowa City Press Citizen provides an outlet. My topics have been catholic and need focus. I expect to continue freelancing as I have been, but funnel down blog writing as I go through the accumulation of artifacts. At my age some things are more important than others and there is not time for them all.

Since the digital photography era began—roughly in 2007 for me—thousands of images have been stored on computers and external drives in our house. I worry about the future of such images, so some photo printing is in the works.

The project end-game is a productive studio space. A place to go for creative endeavor that would include music, writing, reading and other outputs. If the space produces an income, that would be great, but I don’t have high hopes for that.

It’s time to be hopeful again, beginning not far from where I’m writing this post. I cleared a space on the oak desk last night, so the work has begun.

Categories
Environment

Oak Leaf Tatters and Herbicides

White Oak Leaf Tatters
White Oak Leaf Tatters Photo Credit Plant Management Network

What to make of a study of the impact of herbicide drift from farming operations on oak trees?

In a peer reviewed 2004 study at the University of Illinois, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences in Urbana, Ill., scientists found drift of chloroacetamide herbicides is a possible cause of the leaf tatters syndrome in White Oak trees.

During the last few decades, white oak (Quercus alba L.) in the north central region have developed malformed spring leaves often called “leaf tatters.” The symptoms begin with the death of some interveinal leaf tissues, eventually leaving only the main leaf veins with little interveinal tissues present (See Illustration Above). Leaf tatters reduces the overall canopy of trees, making them more susceptible to other stresses. Leaf tatters has been reported in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

It’s a single study, probably not enough data to fully ratify the relationship, even if there is concern among foresters about how herbicide drift may be affecting stands of trees in both urban and rural areas.

The topic is worth more study than it is getting, as chloroacetamide is the active ingredient in a number of herbicides used with row crop corn and soybeans.

Preserving our woodland heritage is more complicated than letting a stand of trees go on as it has. Existing oak-hickory forests are being subjected to a wide range of stress including growth of invasive species below the canopy, and a lack of significant events, like forest fires, to remove mature trees, permitting new growth. After being in place for thousands of years, the oak-hickory forest will become a thing of the past without modern forestry management.

If there are other studies of the impact of herbicide drift on forests, I couldn’t easily find them. In fact, I had to contact an acquaintance to locate the study referenced in this post. Besides a small group of scientists and foresters, I don’t know who else is even looking at this.

What this study suggests to me, and to others whose opinion I value, is chemical drift from large scale farming operations can impact life in urban areas where most of the population lives.

As we escape rural areas in favor of cities we remain connected to what goes on in the country. Part of that, perhaps, includes maladies caused by chemical drift from large farms.

It is time we, as a society, spent time and resources determining what the relationship between chemical drift and our lives in the city is.

Categories
Living in Society

Senator Rob Hogg In Coralville

State Senator Rob Hogg
State Senator Rob Hogg

CORALVILLE — The Johnson County state Senate delegation — Bob and Sue Dvorsky, Joe Bolkcom, and Kevin and Deb Kinney — hosted their colleague, Senator Rob Hogg at a fund raiser Tuesday afternoon.

Under a tent erected on the manicured lawn of Backpocket Brewing in Iowa River Landing, about 30 local Democrats gathered to hear Hogg’s positive vision for our future.

“Let’s work and get Congress to function to solve problems,” Hogg said.

Hogg is exploring the possibility of challenging incumbent U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley in the general election.

Hogg mentioned key issues Iowans are concerned with in his fifteen minute speech: ending discrimination, raising the minimum wage, addressing infrastructure, youth employment, and creating a vibrant, full-employment economy that works for all Americans. He would address the social safety net, public health including mental health, and his signature issue of implementing proven solutions to address the climate crisis.

“During the next presidential term there will be four justices — Scalia, Ginsburg, Kennedy and Breyer — over the age of 80,” Hogg said. “The question is who do you want making the decision about who’s going to confirm the next justices?”

“We do not want to go backwards on the Supreme Court,” he added.

Foreign relations is an important part of serving in the U.S. Senate, Hogg said.

“We need a foreign policy for the U.S. that is strong, and smart, to promote peace and to promote global environmental sustainability out of our own self-interest,” he said. “We need the United States to lead the world on these issues.”

Challenging Grassley will be a daunting challenge if Hogg decides to run.

“I believe in making government work,” he said.

“You need to elect candidates who want to make Congress work, who want to make government work,” he said. “We also need a new kind of politics.”

“The easiest way to change the way we do campaigns in this country is to run a campaign in a different manner. To draw upon our country’s best traditions and values to build relationships, build communities, educate and empower people at the grassroots, put forward a positive vision for our future, and to win,” he said. “If we can do that, in that singular act, of climbing the mountain, shocking the world, upsetting a 42-year incumbent, in that singular act we can transform American politics forever and for good and for the better for the citizens of this country, and our future.”

People organization ideas and money are what it will take to mount a campaign Hogg said. He invited attendees to join his effort.

For more information about Senator Rob Hogg, go to robhogg.org.

Categories
Living in Society

In Andrew Jackson’s Name

Andrew Jackson 1844 Photo Credit - Wikimedia Commons
Andrew Jackson 1844 Photo Credit – Wikimedia Commons

It is fitting the Iowa Democratic Party plunge into navel gazing in the wake of the June 17 shootings at the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. by renaming, or considering whether to rename, its annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner.

Knowing more than a little about both presidents, I never understood why it was named the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in the first place. I couldn’t afford to attend unless someone else was paying my ticket. Democrats are a party of the elites and moneyed interests these days, not of the common man. By a distance.

“I’ve had it with white males,” said a friend last night.

Let’s dump Jackson, and Jefferson, Jackson particularly, another said.

I would have suggested a prominent female office holder, but no Democratic female governors or congresswomen have yet been elected, and the prospect for closing the era of Iowa white males in 2016 is slim unless Hillary Clinton or Monica Vernon is elected.

The idea that Jacksonian Democracy is relevant in 21st Century America is absurd. “Jacksonian democracy promoted the strength of the presidency and executive branch at the expense of Congress, while also seeking to broaden the public’s participation in government,” according to Wikipedia. Just look at the reins Congress placed on President Obama, blocking much of his agenda, even when he had a majority of the House and 60 members of the Democratic caucus in the Senate.

The only political party I see encouraging new people to participate in politics is the Republican Party, with their extravagant affairs like Ben Carson’s in Des Moines last weekend, and Donald Trump’s a couple weeks back. We can say they border the wacky side as much as we want, but the truth is they are expanding their base. Witness Senator Joni Ernst, the first product of their base expansion. Unless Democrats get to work, there will be more.

It doesn’t matter who a political event is named after. A better option would be to annually sell the naming rights to the highest bidder. These big political wing dings are more about raising money in politics than inclusion, just be what you be Democrats.

Perhaps a little harsh, but if Andrew Jackson were still alive, the 247-year old ex-president, former slave holder, and veteran of the Battle of New Orleans and the Seminole wars would likely be enraged by what’s going on. That’s who he was, but outrage is has gone out of style unless one expresses it in social media.

I’m still registered as a Democrat and expect to continue to be. However, as a party we need to get beyond naval gazing and work to have a reason for new voters to sign up.

The naval gazing announcement in its entirety:

On Aug. 8, Josh Levitt, press secretary, released the following:

DES MOINES — Today the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee voted in favor of a resolution to begin the process to change the name of the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. The change will take place following the 2015 dinner. IDP Chair Dr. Andy McGuire issued the following statement on the resolution:

“Today the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee voted to begin the process to change the name of the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner following the 2015 Dinner.

“The vote to change the name of the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner comes after much debate and discussion among our activists and grassroots leaders around the state. This was not a decision that was made lightly. The vote today confirms that our party believes it is important to change the name of the dinner to align with the values of our modern day Democratic Party: inclusiveness, diversity and equality.

“Moving forward, we will continue the conversation with Iowa Democrats about what the new name should be. The process for changing the name will be as inclusive as possible. We will ensure that all Iowa Democrats have the opportunity to have their voices heard, and offer suggestions for a new name.

“Iowa Democrats are proud that we are never afraid to move forward and modernize, and we continue to work hard everyday to elect Democrats all across Iowa.”

The SCC today also elected Kimberley Boggus as the party’s new Affirmative Action Chair.

“The Iowa Democratic Party is wholly committed to making our Party as inclusive and welcoming as possible. Today the State Central Committee took a major step in advancing these goals by electing Kimberley Boggus as our new Affirmative Action Chair. Kimberley is a strong leader who has proven to be a fierce advocate for Democratic values. With Kimberley at the helm, I am confident that the Iowa Democratic Party will continue to grow more diverse and inclusive as we bring our Democratic message all across the state,” added McGuire.

Categories
Home Life

Weekend Miscellany

Swiss Chard
Swiss Chard

Bits and pieces of a life surface in the early morning of high summer.

A plastic bag holding brown rice disintegrated in the cupboard, leading to discussions with my spouse about what to do with old food.

The plastic bag was biodegradable, although the expectation was it would last a while longer. Removing the cupboard contents to clean up and reorganize turned up food with expiration dates going back to 2003. The hoarder in me wanted to keep or cook some of it, but best to compost and recycle as we can.

What project did I have with tapioca? Why weren’t there more celebrations for which to bake a box cake, and inadequate festivities to use up two bottles of grenadine syrup? What the hell with the marshmallow fluff? There are answers, but the memories conjured by this project we not so memorable.

Today begins my weekend, which of course, is not free of work. My editor sent me three story ideas and the three-day hiatus from the warehouse is filled with activities already. Not the least of these activities is picking apples, which are getting ripe fast. The first wave will be a big one, with lots of juice and maybe some sauce and apple butter in the works.

Categories
Home Life Kitchen Garden

Garden – Yard Work Day

Fallen Apple Pile
Fallen Apple Pile

The ground is dry with eighth-inch cracks under the apple trees. There has been talk about a wet spring, yet the rasp on knees as I picked up wind-fallen apples before mowing was uncomfortable… and harrowing.

Relenting, I poured a gallon of water on the cucumber plants which were withered in the sun from lack of moisture. It helped—they recovered this time.

Ripening Apples
Ripening Apples

The garlic patch is also dry, in fact the whole garden could use rain. I had better see if the 50 percent chance of precipitation materializes later this morning and then water if it doesn’t.

The branches of the apple trees are burdened with fruit, making it difficult to get under them to mow. The walking mower wouldn’t start, so I spent half an hour cleaning and troubleshooting it. After replacing the spark plug and adding fuel, it fired up. I mowed under the fruit trees and in the ditch near the road pushing the small machine.

Taking a quart of canned whole tomatoes to the kitchen, I went back outside and gathered basil, Swiss chard and an Amish Paste tomato for pasta sauce. Along with a kale salad it made a satisfying dinner… sustenance against tough times.

Categories
Living in Society

Revisiting Webb 2016 in Iowa

Photo Credit: jimwebb.com
Photo Credit: jimwebb.com

After re-reading my post “5 Reasons Jim Webb’s Stock is Up” I stand by what I wrote.

For a blog post it holds up reasonably well.

At the same time, tick-tock for #WebbNation in Iowa.

Two weeks later and three weeks until Labor Day, I don’t see the Webb ground game in action, except occasional emails, list-serve messages, and social media posts. Joe Stanley is working, and posts about activities occasionally in social media. Webb has a small number of Iowa events planned. If there is more, it’s invisible.

“There is a lot of work for him to do before Labor Day to catch up with Clinton and Sanders,” I wrote, believing the campaign would make progress. “It’s going to take more than Joe Stanley’s happy face to develop and execute a Webb ground game.”

I’m not the only one who noticed Stanley. On Tuesday Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post tracked me down for a discussion and quoted me in a blog post she wrote.

Stanley was quick to respond on Twitter and proceeded to protect his tweets, as Weiner reported. What gives?

Hillary and her staff know the game, having been through it before. Bernie Sanders’ campaign experienced rapid growth pains, but now also knows the drill. Martin O’Malley seems disciplined and personable, and the first time I attended one of his events, he had caucus commitment cards available and ready to sign. This is what Iowa Democrats expect of presidential candidates. Identification of and turning out your people caucus night is what provides a ticket out of Iowa.

If Webb is playing strategy close to the vest, what could it be if it doesn’t include the block and tackling typical of winning Iowa’s Democratic caucuses? One expects a canvasser from #WebbNation would have called or reached out by now, something the Clinton, Sanders and O’Malley campaigns have already done, multiple times.

There aren’t many other paths for #WebbNation.

There are a lot of veterans in Iowa—enough to win the caucus outright if a candidate can unite enough of them behind him or her. Veterans represent a natural Webb constituency, and a list of Iowa Democratic veterans exists. Webb should be working it. But is he?

Jim Webb ≠Joe Stanley, as Stanley tweeted yesterday. They have known each other and campaigned together for a long time. Stanley is one of the faces of #WebbNation and his antics on social media serve as a distraction from what else Webb may be doing to ID caucus supporters.

Whatever that may or may not be, there is very little evidence of a Webb ground game in Iowa. High profile events like the Des Moines Register Soap Box at the state fair, and the stock and trade of county fair and central committee meetings, yes. But not the political grunt work needed to organize for a candidate in Iowa.

“How different has this time been with the Internet?” emailed a friend from a past campaign yesterday. “I feel like everyone is mini-stalking people in Iowa through Twitter.”

The Internet serves a weird function this cycle, making for laziness among reporters anxious to generate clicks. Yes, some stalking is going on, but to win the caucuses actual people need to show up at a specific time and place. Making that happen takes work that lies outside the Internet.

The clock is ticking until Labor Day when the next phase of the canvass begins: a mad rush to end of year holidays, the new year and closing the deal with Democratic caucus goers.

I like Jim Webb and would like to see him win delegates to the state convention. The question is whether the campaign will emerge from the special ops mode it is in and organize. Today it is an open question and there is time, but not much time, to make it happen.

~ Written for Blog for Iowa

Categories
Living in Society

In Iowa’s Hands

#OccupyIowaCity Initial General Assembly
#OccupyIowaCity Initial General Assembly

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors set a public forum Aug. 12 to collect information regarding its proposal to increase the county-wide minimum wage to $10.10 per hour in three stages by 2017.

Something bigger than incremental hourly wage increases is at stake.

There are legal hurdles for the supervisors to jump in passing an ordinance, but to a person they are smart people and a vocal minority of the community has been supportive. State Senator Bob Dvorsky, who represents part of Johnson County, Cedar County and the City of Wilton weighed in favoring the proposal this week.

This action is indicative of local frustration with failure to act on the part of state and federal government. This is the third such prominent case where local authorities have taken things into their own hands absent governance.

The most familiar is the lawsuit initiated by the Des Moines Water Works over its increased costs of removing nitrates, mostly generated from farming operations, from the capitol city’s drinking water. Governor Branstad asked the public utility to “tone it down and start cooperating” in its criticism of the agricultural community. The water works is planning to spend $183 million for new nitrate treatment equipment because of increased levels in the Raccoon River resulting mostly from farm runoff.

Art Tate, superintendent of Davenport public schools, said he was going to break state law after the state legislature failed to provide adequate resources to his district during the most recent legislative session.

These examples present a dim picture for state governance, as each problem could be governed by the state with more effectiveness and broader impact.

Taking things into our own hands is a native impulse and very American. It is the same kind that gets small scale entrepreneurs to start businesses and community groups to form to solve local problems.

When in western Iowa a couple years back, a group of us stopped at a small diner attached to a truck stop in Missouri Valley, hoping to grab a quick breakfast before our scheduled event in Des Moines. The place was packed, but we placed our order, mindful of the time.

After about 20 minutes, a woman came from the kitchen and made an announcement, “Our cook just quit, and I’m not sure what we’re going to do about it.”

A regular patron stood up and said, “Hell, I can cook eggs, and rushed to the kitchen before anyone cold stop him.”

After ten more minutes, we tipped our server and said we had to go without eating.

The native impulse to take things into our own hands is part of what’s good about living in Iowa. What would be better is if people would connect the dots between the problems we all share and the purpose of government.

There are minimum wage earners who would spend extra money in their paycheck. Urban dwellers don’t deserve to pay for an unrecognized cost of agriculture. School children deserve the best education possible, and it’s possible to do much more than we are. Importantly, we deserve better governance.

Until people take matters into their own hands and elect men and women who will serve the electorate more than moneyed interests, we will be stuck. It is possible, using the same hands with which our country was built, we will engender democracy again by using the ballot box. It’s something sorely needed in Iowa.

~ Written for Blog for Iowa