State park trail entry point.

Journey Home

Tales from the pilgrimage.

Living in Society

Politics mostly social commentary.

  • Stronger Together

    If we accept the premise articulated by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, that we are stronger together, there is a lot in society requiring our collective attention. What did we work on? What are we working on? What should we be working on? What did we get done? If we are separated from the pack, answers… Read more

  • Into Fall

    The first leaves on our Autumn Blaze maple tree turned over the weekend — a reminder of summer’s imminent end. A lesson learned this season was of the limits of worklife and the tendency to let personal things go when engaged in a big endeavor. The garden, yard and house cleaning fell to the bottom… Read more

  • August Politics – 2016 Style

    Hillary Clinton spent three days in California this week raising money for her campaign and for those of selected state parties. Meanwhile members of the corporate media complained it has been a long while since she gave a press conference. Republicans complained about the trip for many reasons summed up simply as “it’s Hillary Clinton… Read more

  • August Is No Recess When Working Poor

    School is out for Iowans who work yet remain on the margins of society. There is no recess from the constant demand to secure basic needs of food, shelter and clothing. The add-on expenses of transportation, health care, interest on loans, and servicing addictions? It’s a question of what gets priority each week. Last summer… Read more

  • Dave Loebsack 10 Years In

    When I first volunteered to support Dave Loebsack for congress it was a dicey endeavor. In 2004 I’d supported Dave Franker and he was not the best of candidates. He seemed a throw-away placed on the ballot next to Jim Leach to fill an empty slot. He was serious about his candidacy, but others were… Read more

  • Opioids: A Conjured Crisis

    Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack scolded the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine about opioid abuse on Friday. The institution is not doing enough to train its soon-to-be health professionals on an opioid abuse epidemic that claims thousands of lives a year nationally, Vilsack said, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The university just… Read more

  • Not Quite A Tornado

    The rush of summer events is almost too much. August’s four jobs, combined with kitchen-garden work has been a constant whirl of activity. The lawn is showing my priority. It is long and tangled — a nesting place for rabbits, birds and other small creatures. It needs mowing, but when? It has been difficult to… Read more

  • An Iowa Onion Trimmer

    Between picture perfect onions and the compost heap lies an opportunity. A friend grows onions using organic practices as part of a Community Supported Agriculture project. Onions are harvested from the field then dried in the greenhouse for storage. Sorting, trimming the tops and roots, and removing excess skin comes next. As an experienced onion… Read more

  • Looking To 2020

    The sobering news of the NBC/Marist poll released last week is Hillary Clinton leading the Republican candidate in Iowa by only 4 points (41-37) among registered voters. In Iowa electing Hillary Clinton president will not be a slam dunk. If one lives elsewhere in the country, the news was better. Clinton leads the two-way and… Read more

  • Summer Of Weird Normal In Iowa Politics

    This has been a summer of weird normal, especially for people who follow politics. Given a presidential contest where many, including this author, predicted Hillary Clinton would be our next president before she announced she was running, nothing has happened to change that potential outcome. If anything, we are more confident than ever she will… Read more