Living in Society
Politics mostly social commentary.
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Here’s what I wrote in my last post: “Iowa Democrats have a paucity of large donors. There just aren’t that many in the state. The chair plays a role in party fundraising, but the effort would be better served by delegating it to prominent Democrats on a volunteer basis. The idea some have proposed of… Read more
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The Iowa Democratic Party should be blown up and its structure re-engineered — from scratch. There has been a lot of internet discussion about what’s next for the Iowa Democratic Party after three terrible election cycles. That is, terrible in terms of winning elections. Here are my thoughts, most of which have been expressed previously.… Read more
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Today is my first day on Medicare. It’s no time for rejoicing. This category of mandatory spending by the federal government garners renewed attention with each new congress. With Republicans having majorities in the House of Representative and Senate, it will continue to be under attack from conservatives and wing nuts. There is little comfort… Read more
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It saddens me to return to the Coolidge administration for guidance about the role of the press in contemporary times. “The chief business of the American people is business,” President Calvin Coolidge said during a speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on Jan. 17, 1925. “There does not seem to be cause for… Read more
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EDITOR NOTE: Last week I made the following comment on Bleeding Heartland’s web site on a post titled Iowa’s No Bellwether Anymore — And Neither Is Cedar County. I’ve heard the framing “bellwether Iowa” before and believe it is buncombe (H.L. Mencken spelling). To me the discussion should be about swing voters. Here are my… Read more
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BIG GROVE TOWNSHIP — The ambient temperature outside was 20 degrees this morning. It was time to break out oatmeal for breakfast and dig into the numbers behind our dreams. At Thanksgiving we turn inward toward family and friends to work on a plan for next year. That means being with each other and discussing… Read more
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Open Letter to State Representative Bobby Kaufmann Congratulations on your mentions on FOX News and in the Washington Post last week. Your proposed legislation to claw back money from state funded schools that supported students after the general election got their attention and raised your personal national profile. Well done on self-promotion! Your political supporters… Read more
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The president-elect has withdrawn into Trumpworld. “For nearly the entire week since he became president-elect, Donald Trump has been holed up in his gilded New York skyscraper,” wrote Julie Pace and Jill Colvin of Associated Press. “A steady stream of visitors has come to him, flooding through metal detectors and getting whisked up to Trump’s… Read more
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The weekend was a chance to get in the kitchen again. When memories of a god-awful general election campaign persist, work is the best antidote. I made a lot of dishes. First up was a big pot of chili. Onion sorting has become a weekly thing and there was a whole tub of the same… Read more
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The moon rose behind naked deciduous trees. Illuminated and bright white, the atmosphere blurred the view in a way vision did not. Night is coming and with it restlessness and yearning… For something once held in my hands… now gone. People I know are disturbed about the election of Donald Trump as president. His transition… Read more
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