Author: Paul Deaton

Categories
Living in Society

Iowans for Sherrie Taha

Sherrie Taha for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Sherrie Taha for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

The fact that Sherrie Taha, candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, supports reduction of food imports to Iowa only makes sense.

“Rather than import the bulk of the food we eat from outside of our state, we need to reintegrate local food production back into our local economies,” said Taha. “We have great farmers markets. Now it’s time to take local food production to the next level and keep the bulk of our food dollars recirculating in our local communities.”

Set aside the inherent risks of recurring drought on the California Central Valley, and turbulent world-wide food pricing, and there remains the commonplace that Iowans can grow more of their own food. If local food production were diversified and scaled up, Iowa could do what it does best to produce more meat, dairy and vegetables for local consumption, and improve the state’s food security.

It’s a message few have heard, and not enough may have heard to tip the general election in Taha’s favor.

Last Sunday, Taha spoke in Iowa City. Her speaking slot followed a number of high-profile speakers that included Rep. Dave Loebsack, Rep. Bruce Braley, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. After Sanders, a segment of the crowd dispersed, but most would have liked what Taha had to say if they stayed.

“If you eat, if you drink water, if you breathe the air around us, you have a personal stake in how the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) works,” she said. “What that means to me is that along with the corn growers and the soybean association, I’ll invite groups like the Iowa Environmental Council, the Sierra Club, and consumer groups (to get involved at IDALS). We all have to have our interests addressed. Decisions that are made (at IDALS) need to take into consideration the long-term best interests of every Iowan.”

Taha went on to enumerate reasons to consider voting for her, focusing on her experience as a commissioner for the Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District. She said Iowa needs a better process for reducing soil erosion and improving water quality than the voluntary nutrient reduction strategy instituted during the incumbent’s administration.

While Taha faces an uphill battle against an entrenched incumbent, it is hard to concede that global food security can be left to proponents of the industrial model for agriculture. Because of Iowa’s prominent role in agriculture, the person who leads IDALS matters and it should be Sherrie Taha.

Click here to learn more about Sherrie Taha and to get involved with her campaign.

~ Written for Blog for Iowa

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Winter Spread

Serrano Tomato Garlic Spread
Serrano Tomato Garlic Spread

LAKE MACBRIDE— With approaching cold weather, and the year-end holidays, thoughts turn to entertaining and seasonal, celebratory fare. Spreads and on crackers today.

At the end of the garden there are bits and pieces: bell and hot peppers, tomatoes, kale, garlic and herbs. Today I made a spread for store-bought crackers like this.

Serrano Tomato Garlic Spread

8-ounce package of cream cheese at room temperature
One Serrano pepper thinly sliced
Large tomato cored and seeded
Two crushed cloves of garlic

Put the pepper, tomato and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the pieces are uniformly sized.
Add the cream cheese and run for 30 seconds. Repeat until the spread is fully incorporated.

Serve on your favorite cracker, instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches, or on toasted bread.

Categories
Social Commentary

Days of Gatherings

Rep. Dave Loebsack Addressing Democrats
Rep. Dave Loebsack Addressing Fall BBQ Attendees

JOHNSON COUNTY— It is possible to fall into a trap of believing that the world and society are about us— our small circle of friends and family and how we live. That would be perilous.

Not only is it impossible to live outside the broader context of global society, believing so isolates us from serving any greater good, and ultimately from taking care of our personal needs. A day’s events can become “all about me,” and the most pressing issues of our time—man-made contributions to climate change, nuclear proliferation, economic justice, food security and public health— can wrongfully be set aside. Not only does this affect society, it filters down to each of us in one form or another.

This weekend, I participated in different ways in a number of gatherings of people in diverse settings. Based on my personal interactions with hundreds of people, the definition of “us” needs broadening before substantial social progress is possible.

Make no mistake, there is a culture of “me.” I see it in everything I do outside our home. At the convenience store people line up to serve their addictions, whether it be tobacco, alcohol, sugar, gasoline or salted snacks. At the warehouse three generation families disperse in the aisles like an infantry squad on patrol exploring a foreign land. At the orchard, large groups of young friends bring along their usage of “perfect” or “awesome” as they head out to pick apples. At the political barbeque, activists gather to hear speeches and espouse judgments of each. At the same time, in the vast emptiness that is Iowa’s agricultural land, soybeans and corn stand ready for harvest and nary a person can be found as they were at home or in town, distracted from the leaching of nitrogen from last night’s rain. The culture of me creates isolation but not loneliness, even as people gather informally together in these settings.

To express my opinion, other than to select what is in this article, would be one more futile voice in the wind, and who has time for futility?

What I saw and participated in this weekend was a reminder of how little humanity has changed since Hieronymous Bosch made the painting below in the late 15th century. In a way we each seek our own giant strawberry to hold and consume. Despite ease of communication, we live compartmentalized and focused on personal delights, eschewing a broader perspective except as it serves our needs.

What to do about this weekend’s observations is uncertain. Figuring it out is important to sustaining a life at risk in so many ways as the days pass, and as people disengage from society.

The Garden of Earthly Delights
The Garden of Earthly Delights
Categories
Work Life

Labor Secretary Finalizes Minimum Wage Hike

Home Care Worker: Photo Credit San Francisco Sentinel
Home Care Worker: Photo Credit San Francisco Sentinel

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez issued a final rule raising the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 per hour, effective Jan. 1, 2015. According to the Associated Press, the change will impact more than 200,000 workers.

The top ten federal government contractors in 2012 were Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Boeing, SAIC, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Hewlett Packard, Booz Allen Hamilton, Computer Sciences Corporation, and DynCorp International. They will feel the minimum wage hike a bit, but for the vast majority of Americans, especially the working class, the changes by the Labor Department will pass unnoticed.

The Labor Department also announced that effective Jan. 1, 2015, most direct care workers will be entitled to receive federal minimum wage and overtime pay protections. Direct care workers are workers who provide home care services, such as certified nursing assistants, home health aides, personal care aides, caregivers, and companions.

This is how change happens: bit by bit, incrementally, and job by job.

While many hoped for big changes when President Obama was sworn into office, expectations were set so high, he had an impossible task to meet them. While some small companies may complain about the new federal minimum wage rules, it is a basic tenant of living in our country that companies that secure a federal contract should pay a reasonable wage. Likewise, the notion that home care is real work, and that when a person runs a business that provides home care, they should be subject to paying the federal minimum wage with overtime is obvious. The rules set by the secretary create a floor, one that has been needed for a long time.

People who operate businesses want to make a profit, and that’s no crime. Running a profitable business is something basic and needed in our society. The political debate has been about the amount of government regulation and subsidy, and the dynamic of our bicameral legislature has been to create an environment that favors large, corporate businesses in the post-World War II era. Businesses like the top federal contractors.

At the same time, there is an economy of low wage workers, like those that provide home care. Someone knows a friend or relative who needs care, and an agreement is reached for compensation. The amount of compensation may not be as important as providing the service, especially when people can’t afford professional care. Personal relationships enter into the picture. Often this work is done off the books.

My point is this. Between the publicized, formal programs of the Labor Department and the reality of daily life there is and always will be a gap. That’s where many of us live our lives. We should appreciate the work of the Obama administration to fix known problems like those related to federal contractor wages and home care workers. In the working class, we may view that as nice, but less relevant to our lives than all of the brouhaha suggests.

It is something that we even noticed President Obama did what he said he would with regard to setting the minimum wage for federal contractors. But then that’s what blogs are for.

~ Written for Blog for Iowa

Categories
Kitchen Garden

Growing Kale

Kale Plants
Kale Plants

LAKE MACBRIDE— Not knowing what to expect when I broadcast the kale seeds, this year couldn’t have been better.

Over time, the plants were thinned and picked until they look like a grove of palm trees. The leaves are cleaned from the bottom to the umbrella cover on top. The harvest has been exceptional.

There has been plenty to give away, and since the freezer is full, I dried and then flaked leaves to be added to soup during the winter. Since kale is frost resistant, we should have plenty for a few more weeks into November.

On deck is the apple harvest. The Red Delicious are about ready to pick and while we don’t need much apple sauce and apple butter, we’ll need to do something with them. Most likely a big batch of fresh apple juice, and if there are well shaped fruit, some dried apple slices.

I have been waiting for the Bangkok peppers to turn red before picking them. The plan is to dehydrate them and make red pepper flakes for the year’s cooking. It won’t take as many as there are, but when the danger of frost is imminent, there will be a lot of Bangkok, Serrano and jalapenos to pick.

It has been a decent year for the garden. It’s not over yet.

Categories
Living in Society

3 Things about the Iowa Senate Race

Jefferson's Autobiography
Jefferson’s Autobiography

Partisan politics, and the manner in which the founders set up the federal government with its bicameral legislature, yielded an inability to deal with problems much beyond our noses. The founders planned it that way.

“A government of representatives, elected by the people at short periods, was our object; and our maxim at that day was, ‘where annual election ends, tyranny begins;’ nor have our departures from it been sanctioned by the happiness of their effects,” wrote Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Adams in February 1800.

With due respect to a fellow Virginian, the Congress seems unable to solve the most pressing issues of our time and that is becoming problematic. In a choice between Congressman Bruce Braley and State Senator Joni Ernst, Braley is the only choice to meet today’s needs. He isn’t perfect, but who is?

The constant reference to getting things done through bipartisanship by both candidates indicates a failure to understand the nature of what the founders intended in favor of politics of the day. That is not all bad, but it misses the point.

What has changed since the 18th century is humanity’s increasingly global perspective and interconnectedness. I’m not only talking about the Internet, although that is part of it. On any given day, I run into people from most inhabited continents, but from China especially. They are in Iowa to study at the university, but they have an opportunity to make connections that was unlike anything the 1700s. These travelers will take home what’s best about Iowa, and I don’t mean corn, soybeans and pork.

Additionally, business has gone global. When I worked for the oil company, we did business in 89 countries. With their merger with BP, the footprint grew even broader.But that is not all of what is different.

A global perspective on business was evident in the 18th century, and one might say the “discovery” of the Americas was part of business growth. At the same time, the need and desire to comprehend laws and culture throughout the globe and leverage that information for profit has grown to a scale unimaginable three hundred years ago. The U.S. is not isolated from the rest of the world, and it is unbecoming for politicians to assert that we can do what’s best for Iowa without examining a global context.

That said, there are three things I would like to hear from the Republican contender to be Iowa’s junior U.S. Senator, but likely won’t.

I would like to hear something other than that there is a problem with Social Security. Ernst is a parrot of the Congressman Paul Ryan plan for Social Security. In a cynical ploy to retain votes, she asserts keeping the sacred trust to seniors and those approaching retirement, but advocates doing something else, although she hasn’t decided what, for younger people. She indicated privatizing Social Security is on the table, but what she really means is that future retirees will have to fend for themselves.

She recently criticized Braley for not solving the problems with Social Security during his eight years in Washington, but the truth is that Republicans have never been fans of Social Security and have worked to chip away at its benefits since its inception. Ernst is no different and Braley has defended Social Security.

I would like to hear how Ernst would address our nuclear complex. The late Robin Williams pointed out, “remember the big weapons− huge weapons− the ones that really can do us in− are not in the hands of us. Something much bigger. Whether you believe in intelligent design or just a guy named Phil who’s pissed.” The threat of nuclear annihilation is not funny, even if Williams was. Would Ernst have the U.S. join the international humanitarian campaign to abolish nuclear weapons, or is she already under the spell of John Bolton and other conservative hawks that continue to assert U.S. hegemony through a weapon that could end or change permanently civilization as we know it without solving any of our most pressing problems?

Finally, I would like to hear what Ernst will do about the tangible impact on business and society of our changing climate. I heard and previously wrote about her lack of understanding about climate change as stated in the debate with Braley. Either she is incompetent to be a U.S. Senator, or she can learn. If she can learn about climate change, what is she willing to do to protect our common interests in air, water and the conditions that currently nurture life in Iowa and throughout the globe? Bet we don’t hear from her on that either.

The challenge this election cycle is the media and its corporate backers have created such a firestorm of disbelief among voters, that many are expected to skip this cycle. There are more than three things I’d like to hear from Ernst, but I am already confident of where Bruce Braley stands, so why should I insist. That would be time taken away from convincing people to vote for Bruce Braley.

Click here to get involved with the Braley campaign.

Categories
Social Commentary

Pent Up Demand

FencelineLAKE MACBRIDE— While the dental hygienist was scaling, I noticed an odd shape on the upside down computer screen above my head. Leviathan? No. Ink blot? No. It was an image of a jaw bone and the hygienist was recording gingival margins as she poked and scraped with the tool. The screen is used to record information, view X-ray panels, and who knows what else. What I know is getting regular dental checks is one of the few remaining luxuries in life, and when at the dentist’s office, I pay attention to everything that’s going on.

Within earshot, another patient was defending Obamacare, saying the popular conception, that the law was a bad deal, was wrong. All of his children were now covered with health insurance thanks to the law, including one with preexisting conditions. He was grateful and appreciative, and spreading the good news.

For small talk, I chose my warehouse work where I was scheduled for a shift that afternoon. I had my work uniform on so discussion came naturally with the same hygienist I’ve had for a number of years. While we don’t know each other, we chat. She lives in the same town as the warehouse, so we had that in common.

When I changed health and dental insurance policies after implementation of the Affordable Care Act, I cancelled our dental policy because dollars covered were less than the cost of premiums. We have been paying directly for dental care since, and while there is a cost, it’s not that expensive with a successful dental practice.

When people don’t have enough money, dental care is one of the first things to go, especially if there are no symptoms. Right behind that is preventive maintenance on automobiles. That’s where my day of relieving pent up demand to take care of things began.

Motor oil has a useful life beyond the 3,000 miles shops write on the windshield sticker for the next change. My last oil change was in March, so even with my extended interval, service was past due. Partly, the challenge was making time, but partly, I knew from the last inspection some work would be needed, and was avoiding it. I inspect my own tires from time to time, and without a gauge, I could tell the tread depth was well below 4/32nds of an inch, and winter is coming.

The dealer had noted an axle going bad in March, and the local technician confirmed it and gave me a $700 estimate for four tires, a replacement axle and some other necessary repairs. The local labor rate is far below the $100+ per hour charged at the dealership, so it is good business to buy locally.

I declined the offer on the tires knowing my next stop was Cedar Rapids for the dental appointment. I had some time to kill. We have used the same tire dealer for most of the 20 years since we moved back to Iowa. I arrived and he had many options, including one priced much lower than our local repair shop. I bought four tires which were changed in about 20 minutes.

One thing led to another on a day designed to meet existential needs. I stopped at the hardware store and bought a couple of wooden toilet seats. I stopped to eat at a sandwich shop in North Liberty, spending the six dollars in my wallet on an Italian-style sub. I accessed the app for my hair salon and saw there was no waiting. I checked in and drove there to cut the shaggy ponytail beginning to grow in an effort to look my best at the presentation scheduled in ten days. There is a different stylist each time, so no relationship. We talked about my warehouse work.

From there I drove to the warehouse where I spent the shift chatting with scores of people. Afterward, I bought two loaves of bread, a gallon of milk and a bag of tortilla chips, all for $10.51, and headed home.

In the darkness of the drive home through the lakes, I thought about the mash-up that was the fourteen-hour day and about how, except for the Obamacare comments, there was no political talk whatsoever. That is bad news for the candidates in the 2014 midterms. Lack of buzz means lower voter turnout.

Delayed existential errands were checked off a mental list, however, the pent up demand was not for that. What we crave is human contact. In sustaining a life, we need it that way, and appreciate each day of living. Sometimes pent up demand takes care of itself.

Categories
Living in Society

Iowa’s Final Stretch – 2014

Photo Credit BruceBraley.com
Photo Credit BruceBraley.com

LAKE MACBRIDE— With yesterday’s top of the ticket U.S. Senate debate between U.S. Representative Bruce Braley and State Senator Joni Ernst, the Iowa political season moves into the final stretch. For those who don’t recognize it, that’s a horse racing metaphor, and at this point, Ernst looks to lead by a nose, although based on the aggregate of polling, it is still neck and neck.

A lot can happen between now and Nov 4. Braley is leveraging the existing ground organization of the Iowa Democratic Party, comprised of the usual cast of characters plus a contingent of out of state organizers. Ernst is doing a “full Grassley,” which means talking to the faithful in all 99 Iowa counties. Both candidates are raising every nickle they can.

Both have third party groups, financed by people we know, advocating for their respective campaigns. Based on the candidate comments last night, Charles and David Koch are causing the most trouble for Braley, and NextGen Climate, financed by venture capitalist Tom Steyer, is hitting Ernst’s campaign hard enough for her to omit from her comments the other groups backing Braley. The playing field is not equal between the Koch Brothers and Tom Steyer, but there is a tendency to depict it as such. There are other groups supporting both candidates, but they didn’t get a mention during the debate.

The race will be won by whoever secures the largest number of so-called “no-preference” voters. If the truth will out, and one hopes it does, Braley will win. Whether it will is an open question. Both Braley and Ernst confirmed who they are in their responses last night, something that is not news to those of us paying attention. The trouble is it will be a couple of weeks before most people, no preference voters particularly, start engaging. Most that I know with this registration have not begun to engage in the race.

Ernst was asked, “what do you believe about climate change? What would you do about it?” Her response began, “I grew up drinking well water on a farm. My dad is a conservationist. Most Iowa farmers are phenomenal conservationists.” The head scratching began.

“I don’t know the science behind climate change, but I cannot say one way or another whether it is man-made or not,” she continued.  “I have heard arguments on both sides.”

In framing up a well worn climate denier argument, Ernst affirmed her relationship with the oil and gas lobby. More importantly, she revealed that she does not have the intellectual capacity to evaluate what many believe is the most important issue of our time. This has larger consequences when applied to issues of war and peace, helping the needy, controlling our national budget, nuclear disarmament, and many others.

Her statements about the relationship between recycling, conservation, the Environmental Protection Agency, Cap and Trade, farming and well water would not stand up to the light of day if people could hear what she said. Whether the Braley campaign will effectively get the word out to likely voters remains another open question.

For those of us in the working class, this is pretty theoretical. We have bills to pay and a reality in which to live, one that is not always pleasant, as this news story indicates.

Richard Engel Interview
Richard Engel Interview
Categories
Work Life Writing

Life Minus Television

You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life

LAKE MACBRIDE— It has been a while, more than a year, since the television has been turned on with any regularity. I fired up the tubes to view President Obama’s address to the nation on the campaign in Syria, and occasionally we follow extreme weather, but mostly the set rests darkly in the corner, collecting dust.

That’s not to say we disconnected. We cut back the service to basic cable to save a few budget dollars, and maintained what we had for the bundling with Internet service. With the recent demise of my laptop, and acquisition of a desktop to replace it, I have less screen time generally. The computer has become a work station in a life with many of them— a post-television life of screen time.

Early on, I realized the boon to productivity that was word processing software. It’s hard to believe how much time was spent typing and re-typing a finished paper or article on my Smith Corona and Olympia machines. I kept the typewriters for sentimental reasons, and don’t know if I could find a new ribbon should I want to use them again. While we lived in Indiana, I bought a word processing machine and produced some documents that survive, including a journal— electronic word processing was a miracle.

On April 21, 1996 we bought an Acer home computer and logged on to the Internet at home for the first time. Making the decision to add the $25 monthly subscription to an already tight budget was a big deal. There’s no going back now, and communications services is a big chunk of our monthly budget, one I would like to cut back on.

Now there’s the hand-held mobile device with an Internet connection and many applications. It is used mostly to check email and news, and every once in a while, I make a phone call. Owning this machine has made a laptop less relevant, and communications with people who matter easier.

With the conversion of the industrial economy to one based more on services, the most important element, one that changed everything, has been constant human contact. At the warehouse, I interact with hundreds of people each day when working a regular shift. At the orchard, on a busy Saturday I will greet 500 people or more. It is this human contact we crave, despite how it drains energy from our day.

When we lived on Madison Street, before I entered first grade, I longed to stay up and watch “You Bet Your Life” with Groucho Marx on television. My parents would not allow it for reasons that have become obscure in the river of time. Partly they felt I should be in bed by 9 p.m. when the show aired, but there was more.

As I moved through the grades and left home, television viewing was always a second tier activity, one for after a day’s work was done, whether it be school work or a shift at a job. When I lived in Germany I bought a television late during my tour of duty, and got rid of it after a few months. There is no going back to television now. I’d rather spend my time with people, and see the diverse human experience for myself.

Categories
Sustainability

Letter to John Kerry on Nuclear Abolition

Iowa City Nuclear Free SignDear Secretary Kerry,

With the rise of Islamic State and  Boko Haram; Ebola; persistent drought in California and Texas; persistent tension between India and Pakistan; and continuing inaction over our relationship with Latin America, Russia and China, it is clear that nuclear weapons can’t solve our biggest problems.

If they can’t solve our biggest problems, they become more liability than asset.

Please accept Austria’s invitation to send an official U.S. delegation to the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons conference in Vienna, Dec. 8 and 9.

The Humanitarian Impact initiative is a growing international movement to understand the consequences of nuclear war and build momentum toward nuclear disarmament.

President Obama said that America seeks “the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.” I completely agree with him, and believe the United States must be represented at this conference. We need to eliminate nuclear weapons before they eliminate us.

There is no cure for a nuclear war, only prevention. U.S. participation in this conference would be a step in that direction.