Living in Society
Politics mostly social commentary.
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The energy and excitement of Hillary Clinton’s Iowa organizers is very high. On a scale of 1-10, it’s a 16. In May I met with Clinton campaign organizer Janice Rottenberg at the North Dodge Hy-Vee in Iowa City. She was busy on a conference call when I arrived ten minutes early. Her handshake was firm,… Read more
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One has to credit former governor Martin O’Malley—he listened. After a lackluster and downright dull answer to a question about reducing greenhouse gas emissions at a house party in Mount Vernon last month, he now has a clearly defined plan to act on climate. An audience member in Mount Vernon asked O’Malley what he would… Read more
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Most millennials I know don’t subscribe to cable television or read many books. That’s not to say they are uninformed, just that with the explosion of the Internet after the mid-1990s, there is so much to occupy one’s attention and keep current, and not all of it is reading. That progressives read, and who we… Read more
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Editor’s Note: Trish Nelson is taking time off and will return to regular posting on Blog for Iowa after Labor Day. Here is my first offering in an effort to fill her shoes as we enter high summer in the land of corn, conversation and caucuses). For those who remember the political environment before Blog… Read more
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My distance vision is improving, whereas my near vision is deteriorating, said my eye doctor during a recent examination. I had broken three pair of glasses with the two most recent prescription lenses, and it was time to get a new pair. I don’t like it, but accept the inevitable progress of aging. “Forget about… Read more
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CLINTON—Every parking spot at Gil’s Restaurant, Ballroom and Limousine Service was filled, so latecomers had to park on the grass next to the road leading to the Clinton County Democrats Hall of Fame Dinner on Friday. A few Jim Webb ’16 signs marked the way. The one term Virginia senator, author and Vietnam combat veteran… Read more
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Another sign summer has arrived is the release of opinions by the United States Supreme Court as they end the current session. Yesterday they ruled on King v. Burwell, and on Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., two significant cases on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and… Read more
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There’s a reason we don’t use fertilizer, weed killer and other chemicals on our lawn and garden. This picture of the ditch in front of our house tells the story. Whatever runoff we may generate will go directly into the lake. Over the years, I’ve applied strategies to keep the rainwater on-site to keep things… Read more
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Buying and selling things is the heart of economic systems. Most people I know would rather be on the production side of the equation, yet someone has to do the selling, and there is a living to be made as a salesperson. When we lived in Indiana, one of my employees’ spouse worked in sales… Read more
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On April 21, 1996 our family gathered in the kitchen around a brand new Acer computer and logged in to the Internet for the first time. We didn’t understand what that meant, then or now. It was important to our daughter’s education to have home access to information via the World Wide Web. Important enough… Read more
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