Social Commentary
Historical category no longer used.
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One of the roles I play in society is secretary of the Macbride Sanitary Sewer District, a public entity that manages wastewater treatment for our group of about 84 homes. I recently spent time writing a questionnaire about water softener usage and tabulating the results from a user survey. The report I sent to members… Read more
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The driver delivering pallets of yard and landscaping stone, peat moss, and dirt said his spring deliveries are running about two weeks behind last year. We just finished our annual inventory at the home, farm and auto supply store and are ready for incoming freight of garden supplies, utility trailers, wheelbarrows, fertilizer, three-point farm equipment,… Read more
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Defense Secretary Mark Esper wants to end federal funding for Stars and Stripes and re-purpose the $15.5 million to support the “Warfighter.” Whatever. When I worked for a logistics company we used the word “Warfighter.” It seemed a synonym for an ATM to me. Esper’s reasoning is a joke because those funds represent 0.002 percent… Read more
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“Right-wing media have been laying the groundwork for Trump’s acquittal for half a century,” Nicole Hemmer wrote in the New York Times. “These tactics (i.e. minimize Trump’s transgressions and paint a picture of non-stop Democratic scandals) are not inventions of the Trump era. They are part of a decades-long strategy by the right to secure… Read more
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When we had insufficient income to pay bills few errands were run. We made almost no home repairs, delayed maintenance on everything, and minimized activities that required resources not on hand. Now that our retirement income is set, and supplemented with a couple of extra jobs, I can afford to run errands. Yesterday I did… Read more
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Friday will be the anniversary of one of the most sensational mass murders in United States history. While the Aug. 9, 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan was far worse in terms of premeditation, number of human deaths, and physical destruction, I’m talking about the 50th anniversary of the murders of actress Sharon Tate and… Read more
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On Jan. 19, 1976, the day of the Iowa precinct caucuses that started Jimmy Carter on a path from relative obscurity to becoming the Democratic nominee for president, I was in U.S. Army Basic Training at Fort Jackson, S.C. I didn’t really care who became president because anyone would be better than Richard Nixon. As… Read more
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Racism is a feature of the Trump administration geared toward activating marginal voters who support his racist statements to get them to vote to elect Republicans, posits Thom Hartmann in the clip below. “When Trump said this he knew exactly what he was saying,” Hartmann said on his eponymous program, referring to the president’s statement… Read more
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Is the Ohio federal court’s recent release of Drug Enforcement Agency data about manufacture and distribution of oxycodone and hydrocodone pills significant? Maybe. I found last week’s Washington Post presentation of scrubbed data engaging for the ten minutes or so it took to drill down to Iowa and the county in which I live. Readers… Read more
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A summer parade in Iowa is a chance to showcase lives for the entire community. Farmers, restaurateurs, insurance agents, bankers, retailers, construction companies, government organizations and more cleanup their equipment and parade it through town handing out treats and small gifts along the route. People line the street to watch, sitting on lawn chairs, standing… Read more
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