Living in Society
Politics mostly social commentary.
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However people want to portray their loved ones in a newspaper obituary is fine by me. It is great people continue to use obituaries as a form of expression. I understand the cult followings people have: for a sports team, a political party, a brand of consumer products, and the like. Want your recently deceased… Read more
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Like clockwork, the American Civil Liberties Union, along with other groups and individuals, sued in federal court over Senate File 2340, one of the worst, most far-reaching immigration laws ever passed in the state of Iowa. They said the law is unconstitutional. It is common sense the state has no primary role in policing immigration.… Read more
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Editor’s Note: This was posted on May 22, 2008 while the author served on the county board of health. Working with migrant communities was part of our public health outreach. Each year 2,500 or more migrant workers come to Iowa to detassel seed corn, walk the beans, prune plants and trees and pick melons, apples… Read more
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While walking past the boat docks between rain showers, a neighbor hailed me and asked, “Is the drought over?” I replied, “With the rain we’ve had in the last ten days, I hope so.” Because I was on the association board for so long, many know me by name, although I have to ask them… Read more
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George Will’s May 6, “Voters, think about the menace of nuclear annihilation,” makes me wonder what Gazette editors are up to when they select outside articles for re-publication. Will wrote, “Talk of ‘banning the bomb’ is pointless. These weapons are here forever.” Good grief! Hath a citizen no agency to effect change? The editors must… Read more
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War has always been devastating yet the devastation of the Israel-Hamas war is unprecedented. What makes this war different is it is occurring in the ever-present media-influenced eyes of a populace unfamiliar with the long relationship between Israel and Palestine. People young and old are being activated by this public war: donating money to relief… Read more
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Absent live performances during the coronavirus pandemic, the comedy troupe The Capitol Steps, whose periodic radio shows were called “politics takes a holiday,” turned off the lights and folded. It turned out they could not survive without live performances, and as many believed, no one wanted to attend a live performance if one of the… Read more
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A decent history of American politics in the post-Obama era has yet to be written. One can’t rely upon any of the conservative principals to author one, because they have been drinking at the well of minority rule for too long. A Trump autobiography? He didn’t even write The Art of the Deal. Enter Ari… Read more
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April is ending with rain showers. As hot as the atmosphere and ocean have been, I expect an abundance of rain in 2024. Our local newspaper wrote there will be “bouts of record-challenging high temperatures throughout the nation and the possibility of the hottest summer ever observed.” Call it the climate crisis, call it a… Read more
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When the U.S. Supreme Court decided Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 22, 2022, it was a matter of time before abortion would have another hearing in the high court. On Wednesday this week justices heard oral arguments on whether the State of Idaho’s abortion ban is constitutional in Moyle vs. United States.… Read more
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