Living in Society
Politics mostly social commentary.
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It’s time to focus on yard and garden for the weekend. But not before a little bit of musical fun. Read more
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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… Read more
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“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… Read more
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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… Read more
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(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… Read more
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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… Read more
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I turned the first spade of garden soil Saturday. In a couple of hours I removed cages, stakes and last year’s brush from the cherry tomato patch, turned over and broke up the soil, planted six kinds of lettuce, and posted the afternoon’s highlights on social media: First spade of dirt turned; chives, walking onions,… Read more
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Shed no tears because it has been an unfair fight between the moneyed class and the rest of us. I hear laments about lack of organization, policy and management within the Democratic party and shake my head. Neither “organization” nor “policy” nor “management” reflect an answer to the question why Republicans were so successful against… Read more
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BIG GROVE TOWNSHIP — Sweeping sand signals the beginning of an outdoors season. I spent part of Saturday collecting sand from the road in front of the house. I harvested more than we used this winter, so inventory is net positive by 1.5 buckets. It has been so warm we didn’t use sand at all on… Read more
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The month since the inauguration of our 45th president was characterized by sleepless nights, stress and constant weariness. It’s not sustainable. With that in mind, I’m planning to reduce the political content on this blog and focus on other, equally important issues. How do we grow food as global temperatures steadily, predictably increase? What kinds… Read more
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