Category: Living in Society

Politics mostly social commentary.

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Environment Kitchen Garden Living in Society

Politics Takes a Holiday – Local Edition

Kale Plot

The first session of the 87th Iowa General Assembly adjourned sine die on Saturday morning after pulling an all-nighter to wait for Republican leadership.

The decision was about improving Iowa water quality and reauthorizing use of medical marijuana. They did nothing positive on water quality and may as well have let the current medical marijuana law expire, saving everyone the trouble. However, harassment by Iowa Republicans has become de rigueur.

The best part of this year’s adjournment is legislators won’t be in Des Moines doing more damage to family and friends. The dark cloud hanging over the capitol is they are just getting started and the second session could be worse.

Lynda Waddington summarized my feelings in her Cedar Rapids Gazette column on Friday.

“The final straw came this week when lawmakers decided that if my daughters become pregnant the state can force them to continue the pregnancy and give birth,” she wrote. “It’s a decision that sickens me to my very core, and not just theoretically.”

“I will not encourage my daughters to return or stay here, and I will hasten plans for my own escape,” she concluded. “Thanks to the General Assembly, Iowa is no longer a safe place for women or families.”

I’ll make my stand in Iowa. Unlike Lynda, I was born here and have nowhere else to go without being a refugee. At the end of this legislative session, we’ve weathered the storm and are beaten but not down.

It is fitting the session ended on Earth Day.

Around the world people rallied to support a scientific method in solving problems. Except for the Dunning Kruger effect, I’d recommend state legislators pay attention.

Apple Tree in Bloom

As has become custom on Earth Day, I minimized my carbon footprint and spent time in our garden. The calm winds and abundance of pollinators made conditions nearly perfect for setting apple blossoms. Small white petals already had begun to fall, giving hope that the new apple crop will eclipse all of the bad news from Des Moines.

I gardened. Except for collards, all of the cold weather vegetables are planted. There is plenty of remaining space for crops to be planted after the last frost. I transplanted peppers into larger soil blocks to provide nutrients before going into the ground in a couple of weeks. I cleaned up four soil block trays to take back to the farm on Sunday.

I wasn’t alone. While Jacque was at work I did some neighboring and heard the sound of children playing, birds singing and bees buzzing.  People took advantage of perfect spring weather to get outside. Social interaction enabled me to stop thinking about politics and I could focus on simple garden problems which were eminently solvable. It’s easy to see that the support for the pea plants was off center, exposing them to predators. Adjusting it took only a few minutes.

Corn-Rice Casserole, Peas and Pickles

Our garden and interaction with local food sources make the kitchen part of the garden. I made a simple supper of corn-rice casserole, steamed peas and a dish of home made pickles (onions, cucumbers and daikon radishes). Such meals go well in our household because they taste good with leftovers to be heated up for another meal.

As I entered the world of low wage work in 2013, I stepped back from most social commitments. It’s time to re-engage. This week I re-joined the home owners association board and was elected president. Comes a time for people to step forward and get involved in community. If we seek a better society, our work begins locally.

It’s part of what sustains us in a turbulent world.

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Living in Society Social Commentary Writing

Defining Community

Pelican Swimming in Lake Macbride

Each of us defines community through our engagement in society.

Whether participation is passive, active, or in between, our lives and how we live them contribute in a meaningful way to how we live with others in a community.

Not everyone is a joiner. For some the focus is on the county seat, the state capitol, or the federal government. For some it is on school systems and the public library. For others it is the world of commerce — transportation, shopping, working a job. Many people just try to make it through each day with dignity. Community is broader than any one of these pursuits.

Misunderstanding our role in shaping a community and how we do and can contribute is a source of affliction in modern society. For me, the best remedy is getting involved at a local level. In consideration of that, I joined our home owners association board as a way to influence the place where we live. I wrote this note on the community Google group:

Association members:

Tonight at the regular monthly meeting of the Lake Crest Manor Home Owners Association Board of Directors I was appointed to the board and then elected as president to replace Bob Huber.

I appreciate the board’s confidence in electing me.

For those who don’t know Jacque and me, we moved here in August 1993 and raised our daughter who graduated from Solon High School in 2003. I “retired” in 2009 from CRST Logistics and currently work four different jobs in the community: at Theisen’s Supply in Coralville, at Local Harvest CSA, at Wild Woods Farm and at Wilson’s Orchard. Jacque works part time at the Solon Public Library.

I began serving on the board in 1994. My first tour of duty was ten years followed by a second tour from November 2009 until December 2013. I’m glad to be back for a third (I think). When we moved here we were told that everyone takes a turn on the board. While that turned out not to be true, I believe changing board members regularly is good for the health of our community. If you are interested in serving, there will be a position open at our next board meeting.

A couple of important things came out of tonight’s meeting.

Gene Lawson was elected treasurer to replace Rob Sprague who resigned effective May 1. Gene and Rob will be working together to make sure there is a smooth transition in our finances.

On Sunday, April 30, at 1 p.m. at the Solon Public Library, there will be a meeting about the boat docks. If you care about this issue it would be a good meeting to attend. The Iowa DNR made a proposal to change who is eligible for our dock spaces to include Lake Crest Manor Parts I and IV that are not part of our association. Note this is a proposal only. We will explain the proposal and get your feedback at the meeting. The board will get back to the DNR after the meeting saying that either 1). we accept it, 2). we reject it, or 3). we have a counter proposal. Since we lost our original grandfathered arrangement in 1998, the DNR has asserted more power in regulating our docks. This is a complicated issue so it’s best to attend the meeting if you are interested. Already there has been a lot of discussion about it by the board and in our community.

Tonight the board passed a motion to apply by May 1 to the Iowa DNR to add additional slips to our docks. I would point out a couple of things. 1). The DNR is open to adding dock space around Lake Macbride, so now is the time to secure that permission. 2). If we get approved for additional space we may or may not actually add it. There is some opposition in the association to the idea of adding dock space and those viewpoints should be considered. 3). The DNR approval of a request is not at the state park. Because of this, we may not get a response for this boating season. After a discussion the board decided to set a date certain for the application submission. I was the only board member to vote against the motion, with one abstaining.

I’m not planning to pepper you with constant emails. Just wanted to say hello to those in the Google group.

The best way to contact me about association business is via email. The response will be more timely than chasing phone mail messages, which is inevitable when dealing with a person holding four jobs.

Hope to see you at a board meeting soon.

Regards, Paul

Categories
Home Life Kitchen Garden

Week Night Productivity Window

Pepper Transplants with Broccoli

Between arrival home from the home, farm and auto supply store and sunset were three hours to work outside. I did.

I watered the garden, rolled up the garden hose, repaired the bird feeder, and emptied the kitchen compost bucket.

Broccoli and kale seedlings look good. After a third day of conditioning outside, they should be ready to go into the ground. I transplanted the hot pepper plants to larger containers. Three varieties in this batch: cayenne (8 each), conchos jalapeno (1 each) and early jalapeno (23 each).

It felt like I got something done. That’s saying something in a life consumed with work.

A gardener never knows what a season will yield. We keep busy planning and doing things to grow a crop to share with family, friends and neighbors. A window of daylight and temperate conditions can be well used on a week night.

It’s where we live — on the margin between hope and despair.

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Living in Society

Re-joining the Central Committee

Oakland Cemetery, Big Grove Township, Johnson County, Iowa. Dec. 17, 2016

After an absence since 2010, I re-joined the Johnson County Democrats Central Committee on Thursday, April 6.

My neighbor and long-time Central Committee member Bob Huber moved out of Big Grove Precinct. That left us with zero representation so I stepped up to attend the tedious meetings and do the grunt work of engaging in local politics.

After being voted in, I was asked to say a few words about myself. This is kind of backwards, as the speaking should more properly be done before the vote. I talked about my time as a township trustee and how things were pretty quiet at the cemetery the trustees manage.

Some things haven’t changed about the Johnson County Democrats. In typical style, the slate of delegates to the Second District Central Committee could not be filled at the meeting. That’s another tedious, albeit important political task that needs doing.

My first impression is members of this central committee operate in a political bubble. I’ve not gotten beyond first impressions. With time, I will. If it is a bubble I will decipher and endeavor to pop it. People I met seemed like good people even if protected from the reality of Iowa politics by the liberal slant of the only county to vote for Jack Hatch as governor in 2014.

Our precinct went strongly for Hillary Clinton at the 2016 caucus and friends from that campaign also attended the meeting. A self-described representative of the Bernie movement announced an event. This represents first impressions but there continues to be a party divide between people who supported Sanders’ failed effort to win the Democratic nomination for president and/or Clinton’s failed effort to win the presidency. My advice, if anyone is listening, is it’s time to move on.

Two candidates for governor spoke at the meeting, Johnson County Supervisor Mike Carberry and Davenport Alderman Mike Matson. It is way too early to pick sides in the gubernatorial field. On the plus side, hearing these brief statements is part of attending central committee meetings.

We’ll see how it goes. Here are some tweets I made after the experience. Twitter is a much better medium for political reporting.

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Juke Box

Down at the Twist and Shout

It’s time to focus on yard and garden for the weekend. But not before a little bit of musical fun.

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Reviews

No Surrender by Jack Hatch

No Surrender by Jack Hatch

If interested in Iowa Democratic politics, read No Surrender: Building a Progressive Agenda for Iowa with the Five Securities by former state senator Jack Hatch. Read it now.

There are few long, contemporary narratives about the state of the Iowa Democratic Party. Hatch’s 2016 book recounts where we are, where we have been and where we could go.

The importance of the book is twofold.

It serves as a great way for political newcomers to get up to speed on Democratic politics. The results of the 2016 general election activated people around the state to become more involved in politics. No Surrender serves as a briefing book of major policy issues and how Democrats addressed them. Our approach stands in sharp contrast to Republicans, according to Hatch.

The author has standing to address flaws in Democratic approaches to elections and governance. A 22-year state legislator, chair of the White House Task Force of State Legislators for Health Care Reform, and 2014 gubernatorial candidate, Hatch tells the story of the rise of Democrats in 2006 and what we did while occupying the governor’s mansion and holding majorities in both chambers of the legislature. He also recounts how we fell. To be effective going forward, politically active Democrats need the sense of history No Surrender provides.

As with most contemporary political writing, there is a short shelf life to this book. Nonetheless, Hatch asserts Democratic values are more enduring: a progressive tax system, better jobs and livable wages, soil and water protection, life-long education, and health care for all.

Hatch lays out how a focus on policy could contribute to Democratic electoral wins and effective policy-making going forward. No Surrender provides a framework for policy-making much needed in these turbulent political times.

~ First posted on Amazon.com

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Living in Society

Republicans Shell the Democratic Party

Polling Place

“The objective is to destroy the coherence of the enemy’s defense, to fragment and isolate enemy units in the zone of attack, and to secure operationally decisive objectives.” U.S. Army Field Manual No. 3-09.22

The political battlefield changed during the first session of the 87th Iowa General Assembly. Democratic efforts to hold the line while in the minority have been difficult at best. One distasteful bill after another has been signed into law by the governor.

On Dec. 1, 2016 I wrote, “The current Iowa Democratic Party should be completely blown up — new people, new office, new strategy, new tactics, new everything.”

I still believe that, although Iowa Republicans are doing some of that work without us. They are doing everything they can to weaken the Democratic hand in 2018 and beyond.

The swing toward Trump and more general Republican values has been an eye opener. What worked in 2006, the last time Democrats elected a governor, won’t work now. The good news is people who were not politically engaged before 2016 are getting involved in protecting what’s left of Democratic values in government — even if the horse is out of the barn.

The General Assembly has devolved into the majority saying, “f*ck you we’re doing whatever the hell we want.” The debate about bills seems mostly among Republicans. Egregious bills restructuring Iowa’s politic landscape are too numerous for a short post. I’ll mention just one: House File 516

While a majority of Iowans support use of identification at polling places, if passed by the senate, HF516 may impact marginal voters in Iowa who either don’t have an ID or are discouraged from participating in the process. Democrats have relied on those votes in the past. The bill passed the House on March 9. The Senate companion bill, Senate Study Bill 1163 passed subcommittee March 1. The bills are solutions looking for a problem.

“There is the ‘fake’ problem of ‘fake’ people casting votes – it is simply not a problem in Iowa,” Iowa Senate Minority Leader Robb Hogg said in in his 2017 opening day remarks at the state capitol. “People aren’t risking severe criminal penalties to cast an illegal vote. We don’t need government barriers to voting in Iowa. Voting is a fundamental right.”

“The fact is voter ID laws are intended to suppress the vote of the elderly and disabled, people who are home bound and/or do not normally drive,” Eva Mitchell posted on the Iowa Democratic Party web site.

These arguments miss the point. Under the guise of “election integrity” Secretary of State Paul Pate is working to adopt a nationwide agenda to create conditions more favorable for people to vote for Republican candidates. Republican operatives believe they do better in elections when the electorate is constricted. With less voters, their minority views on almost everything have the potential to dominate our elected offices and the legislative agenda. To my point, they are doing that now, without a Voter ID law. Any Voter ID law signed by the governor will force Democrats to develop a new playbook for future campaigns.

The Democratic Central Committee elected political consultant Derek Eadon as chair on Jan. 21. I met him during the 2007 Obama campaign. He seems like a decent guy. A lot is resting on Eadon’s shoulders as Iowa Republicans won the 2016 presidential contest by 9.6 points, and took control of the Iowa legislature.

If and when a Voter ID bill becomes law Democrats will have to adjust. What is more concerning is the Republican artillery barrage has only just begun. They control the legislature now and will until the 88th Iowa General Assembly begins in January 2019. People say the second session of a general assembly is less toxic but I don’t believe that — not now, not ever. Conventional ideas about politics flew out the window last year.

It rots to be in a defensive position. The key to maintaining viability as a party is to hunker down, let the shells fall where they will, and rebuild. It is incumbent upon the new party leadership to focus not only on people who register to vote as Democrats, but to build an electorate that supports our candidates.

For now, Democrat activists resist, constituents should contact legislators, and, if Eadon and his leadership team are worth their salt, rebuild our defenses to conduct a counter attack to recapture the legislature. This is possible, indeed likely over time. Time is the one commodity in short supply for Democrats as Republicans reshape the political landscape.

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Home Life Kitchen Garden Writing

Saturday at Home

Baked Carnival Squash

After a Saint Patrick’s Day meetup with friends in Iowa City I drove home, parked my car in the garage and haven’t moved it since.

It was too cold for outside work on Saturday so I stayed in, did laundry, cleaned the bird feeder, wrote, read, and cooked dinner of bean soup, Carnival squash and applesauce cake.

The ambient temperature is expected to rise to almost 60 degrees, so I’m planning to work outside after a shift of soil blocking at a community supported agriculture farm.

I read Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History in its entirety this weekend. Her combination of background information with personal stories of field trips is eminently readable. I can’t remember a day so absorbed in a book since leaving transportation. The main takeaway is how uncertain scientists are about changes in earth history over the long term and the consequences of our lifestyle.

Japanese Beetles

The broader meaning of words like “Anthropocene” is not settled, nor agreed. What I know after this immersion, and after reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Haran, I am ready to move forward with something other than narratives of how homo sapiens swarmed over the planet like Japanese beetles.

I buy more bird feed since working at the home, farm and auto supply store. Counting whole kernel corn, I have five different varieties in the garage. Each type attracts a different bird and we enjoy watching them through the French door off the dining area. Some days I feel like picking up a 20-pound bag on sale, and do. I went overboard with 50-pound bags of whole corn and millet, although sparrows seem to really like the millet. There is no science to my purchases.

Bartering is making this year’s garden planning a lot different. Part of the barter system is trading labor for a spring and fall share. Each side of the deal can be defined monetarily. I get a credit of $13 per hour for labor which is applied to retail price of the shares. I use greenhouse space and materials to germinate seeds and care for seedlings until planting in my garden. I will also acquire onion sets and seed garlic through the farms. Where there is a clear financial value, the barter system is simple and easy. This part of the exchange translates into things we can use in our garden or kitchen.

The exchange for specific produce is more complicated.

Canned Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a large part of summer. Last year I planted them in three different garden plots. This year I’ll decrease my plantings to what we’ll use fresh and rely on the farms for canning tomatoes. In 2013 the farmer provided crates of tomatoes which I canned. We split the canned goods 50-50 that year. That was a bit disadvantageous to me considering the amount of work. We haven’t finalized the split, but both farms I work on produce many more tomatoes than needed for their members. One farmer wants lots of canned tomatoes. Something can be worked out.

Bell peppers were a garden failure last year and for many previous years. I’m eliminating them completely. The farms produce bell peppers with a high frequency of imperfect fruit. I plan to trade labor for these seconds and get all of my bell peppers from them. In addition to fresh eating, I seed and freeze them to use throughout the year. We did a 50-50 split on these in 2013, however, this year I’m considering a straight trade of labor hours against a to be determined cost per crate.

There are a number of items we don’t use much in our kitchen but are abundant on the farms. I don’t plan to grow any kohlrabi or cabbage. Should be no problem getting what we need without occupying space in our garden. I’ll barter for some additional broccoli for freezing.

Likewise, I don’t plan to grow lettuce outside my small plot of Belgian lettuce. In between the spring and fall shares that’s coming from bartering.

Summer squash is abundant and available from the farms as are many kinds of greens: collards, chard and “braising greens.” I will grow my own kale and spinach, and everything else will be bartered from the farms.

Eggplant? If Johnny’s Selected Seeds proofs and sends Black Beauty seeds I’ll plant them along with Fairy Tale eggplant. The former can be sliced thick, baked and frozen. The latter are good for the kitchen while in season. There is always an abundance of eggplant at the farms.

Yesterday was the last winter Saturday of staying indoors. Going into the planting season it will also be my day off from the home, farm and auto supply store and the farms. Yesterday was a good day, made better by a feeling of accomplishment. As humans we sometimes need that.

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Living in Society

A Reluctant Analysis

Flooded Farm Near the Cedar River, Sept. 27, 2016

(Editor’s Note: A feverish writing session over two days resulted in this analysis of my house district. Maybe it’s too far into the weeds. Maybe it’s re-litigating a failed past campaign. Maybe there is something here after the fever has broken).

Progressive activists would like to see Rep. Bobby Kaufmann (R-Wilton) removed from the Johnson County delegation to the Iowa legislature post-haste.

Claiming ignorance about Kaufmann’s voting record, Democratic activists recently lamented that part of the liberal bastion is represented by a son of the Republican Party of Iowa chairman.

If people did their homework it would be clear the R after his name stands for Republican.

Those same activists suggested the state party help recruit a candidate against Kaufmann and others who ran unopposed in 2016. The sentiment belies progressive attitudes about IDP involvement in local races. Candidates recruited by the IDP have been viewed negatively, with prejudice.

Local activists worked to recruit a candidate against Kaufmann in every general election since redistricting. Kaufmann beat Dick Schwab in 2012 (9,068 to 7,016); David Johnson in 2014 (8,448 to 4,035), and ran unopposed in 2016 (12,388 of 16,889 votes, including write-ins and under votes). The attitude during the prelude to 2016 was that running someone against the incumbent would have been a waste of time and resources because of his popularity among district voters.

His success in Republican politics begs another question.

Is Kaufmann popular or just entrenched — part of the continuing Kaufmann family dynasty, the undeserving inheritor of the crown, embedded in the tribal loyalty of rural residents?

That’s hard to say. Kaufmann worked for his wins. During the 2012 campaign our team worked hard for the Democrat. Everywhere we went and in every aspect of the campaign, Kaufmann, his father and brothers worked equally hard. While less familiar with the 2014 campaign, little about his work ethic appeared to change.

At the end of the day, Kaufmann is a Republican. Senators Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio have all helped him raise campaign funds. He endorsed Rubio for president in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. He made a joint appearance with Tana Goertz, Apprentice finalist and state chair of Donald Trump’s Iowa campaign.

He is actively involved in the Republican House caucus, voting for SF 166 (Supplemental State Aid to Schools), HF 516 (Voter ID), HF 291 (Collective Bargaining) and HF 517 (Iowa Gun Laws). No progressive legislators voted for these bills.

What does the average Jane make of Rep. Kaufmann?

“Both (Democrats and Republicans) in Wilton vote for the Kaufmanns,” a district resident posted on social media. “Their roots run deep, and they remind voters about that all the time. They are also great at marketing their common folk ideals and charm, so people think how much they truly listen to them, and what independent thinkers they are, which we know is a bunch of $%&!”

On March 1, the Secretary of State reported active voter registrations in the district were again led by no preference registrants. The numbers were 6,360 Democratic; 6,392 Republican; 82 Libertarian; 7,884 No Preference; and 25 other. The appearance is the district could be a level playing field with the right candidate should one arise. It’s more complicated than registrations.

As Johnson County population continues to grow it seems likely Kaufmann will be sanded off in the woodshed of 2021 redistricting.

Until then, progressives should either quit complaining and work with Kaufmann where there is common ground, or join in a campaign to unseat him. I’m certain both money and shoe leather would be welcome in a struggle against the Republican flood that jumped the river banks in November.

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Living in Society

Into the Wilderness

Kate Revaux (left) and Monica Biddix at the Iowa Democratic Party Building Blocks Listening Tour March 7, 2017 in Coralville

The Iowa Democratic Party has its work cut out between now and the 2020 presidential election.

About 75 people gathered last night at the Coralville Public Library to air grievances, express hopes, make observations and promote causes to party representatives.

Almost everyone who wanted to speak got a chance at the Building Blocks Listening Tour event.

“We do have to pick ourselves up,” Congressman Dave Loebsack said at a December State Central Committee meeting. “We have to get up off the mat, folks. There’s no way around it. We just have admit that, you know, we’re not doing particularly well as a party in the State of Iowa right now and we know that for a fact and so we’re not going to give up. We’re going to pick ourselves up. We’re going to make it better.”

The series of Building Blocks Listening Posts represents the beginning of how the party will accomplish this.

People tend to hear what we are predisposed to hear at such events. In an effort to be objective I recorded part of the event and gave up after about an hour. I found no moments of inspiration or of brilliance, only the butcher block work of gathering ideas and culling them. A couple of themes emerged in the group dominated by Johnson County residents.

A number of attendees expressed concern that part of Johnson County was represented by Republican Bobby Kaufmann. I didn’t recognize the speakers and don’t believe they lived in the district. Kaufmann beat Dick Schwab of rural Solon in the 2012 election and David Johnson of West Branch in 2014. No one ran against Kaufmann in 2016. The attitude at the time was doing so would have been a waste of time and resources because of his deep popularity among district voters. Such concerns were more an airing of grievances than anything useful to local activists. Prior involvement by the Iowa Democratic Party in the House District 73 race has been consistently viewed negatively by district activists.

Many commented about improving Democratic Party messaging, and this is likely the most significant takeaway for the moderators. In short, the message was get a message and sell it.

Some spoke about the billionaire donor network using the Republican party as a tool to implement policy. Two suggested Democrats should take only small-sized donations. Others mentioned the influence of the funding network in the electoral process. Moderator Kate Revaux asserted Democrats will never be the party of big donors the way Republicans are.

Another recurring comment was about the supposed divide between rural and urban voters. Commenters tended to paint rural residents as monolithic voting blocks when anyone who spends time in rural Iowa knows better. One hopes other listening posts garner better feedback on this.

More than once Revaux mentioned pulling groups of activists who sprung up after the Jan. 20 inauguration under the umbrella of the state party. The party needs their help, she said. Whether this is likely, needed or possible remained an open question.

The question Revaux asked at the beginning of the meeting, “what is the Iowa Democratic Party doing right?” went without answer. To some there were no IDP positives.

There was not a lot actionable in the 90 minute session. I did catch up with some friends and met my county party chair, so not all was lost.

A report on the state-wide Building Blocks tour is to be published in April. Democrats may know who they are individually, but from this meeting, the party appears to continue to wander in the wilderness.  It remains to be seen if we will find our way.