Categories
Living in Society

Blips on the Legislative Radar Screen

State Capitol
State Capitol

LAKE MACBRIDE— During the second session of the 85th Iowa General Assembly, it appears legislators have been getting along swimmingly. The budget number was agreed behind closed doors, in what seems like record time. And if supplemental state aid for our schools wasn’t agreed within 30 days of the governor’s budget proposal, as required by state law… well, the school districts are getting used to that and it was a minor bump on the road to the 2014 midterms.

There were a few blips on the radar. There was the failed telemedicine bill, which passed the House, but from the beginning had no chance in the Iowa Senate. There was HF 2381, the gun suppression bill, that also passed the House with some progressive legislators, notably Rep. Mary Wolfe of Clinton, voting for it. It’s hope ended when Senator Rob Hogg, chair of the judiciary committee, said he didn’t plan to take up any gun legislation this session. In a bicameral legislature, where the consent of both chambers is required, any citizen who was taught the basics of our government should have known these bills were going nowhere, even if they piqued some interest in the media and among the uneducated. A basic lack of understanding of how government works could explain why these bills moved at all.

Is hope for the right wingers lost?

To get an answer, I went to Google and came up with an Iowa Gun Owners alert dated March 13 calling for gun owners to contact their state representative and ask for a vote on House File 2284, which, according to their web site is the “Constitutional Carry” bill that would make firearms permits optional in the state of Iowa. “The Speaker of the House Kraig Paulsen. He, above all the rest, can move bills at his leisure,” the author wrote. “Let him know that you’re tired of the excuses, the rhetoric, and the inaction. Tell him now is the time to move this legislation forward,” he added.

If the bill missed the second funnel, can it still move? The answer is yes by invoking House Rule 60 which under certain conditions, including a super majority of 60 House members in favor, could suspend the rules for a vote.

If we go into the wayback machine, it is a short trip to 2010 when Republicans wanted to recruit seven Democrats to vote with them to invoke Rule 60 and advance a bill that would allow the people of Iowa to vote on an amendment to the state’s constitution that would define marriage as the union between one man and one woman. The measure failed.

Fast forward to 2011, when former Representative Kim Pearson mounted an attempt to force a vote by using Rule 60, to give fetuses the full rights of U.S. citizens. She was unable to muster her own caucus around the failed effort.

So what is the point of this Republican madness? Don’t ask me. I am a progressive. It may have something to do with the low regard the Republican House leadership holds for moving on supplemental state aid for our schools.

In any case, have we heard the last of guns, gays and abortion as the 85th Iowa General Assembly fades into the history books? I don’t know that either, but rest assured, it is not too late for them to appear on the radar. If they do, one hopes the people of Iowa realize that elections matter, and are willing to roll up their sleeves and clean out the clown car that the Iowa House of Representatives will have become under Speaker Paulsen.

Elections matter. However, what matters more is the results produced for all of the people of Iowa. The special interest legislation mentioned above represents the nadir of social progress, something that matters to each of us, regardless of political party. We can all do better.

~ Written for Blog for Iowa

Categories
Living in Society

Living in the Body Politic

Gardening Books
Gardening Books

LAKE MACBRIDE— This week has been nonstop action from Monday morning until Friday night. I was worn out from all the engagement— so weary, I bumped into a parked car in a parking lot before heading home last night. Sour end to an otherwise positive week.

It is hard to count exact numbers, but I engaged with more than 50 people, not including my sales work at the warehouse. The human contact was welcome, and I dove in.

There were the chores. A township trustee meeting, transfer of the financial records to the new treasurer of my veterans group, writing two press releases for coming speeches, work at the newspaper, the warehouse and the farm— all part and parcel of a week’s work. Groceries were bought, seedlings planted, laundry done and a host of small errands run that together make up the logistics of a life. There was more.

In politics, I met with each of the three people running for state representative in my district. The incumbent, and two challengers who will face each other in a primary. Don’t try to read the tea leaves, as I’m not saying here who I’ll support during the campaign. They are all good men— a bit disappointing they all are men.

I took a friend who is running for county supervisor around my area to introduce him on Friday. We ended up at a local eatery, where we met a few more people. We had a great couple of hours while I carried the clipboard, watching and listening to him work the rooms. He too faces a primary with two others vying for a total of two seats on the board.

If the weeks ahead are like the one just past, before I know it, I will have passed through the this stage of life into the infirmity old age. One resists swimming in the body politic. Partly because we cling to the present— not wanting to let go of what we know and have. Yet we are compelled to engage— to let go of what we hold dear, and enter in with our fellow travelers.

Categories
Juke Box

Juke Box: My List

Categories
Work Life

Today’s New Path

Sunrise
Sunrise

LAKE MACBRIDE— A colleague at work is from Tanzania— in Iowa to attend the university. Until we met, I didn’t know much about his country, but in bits and pieces, I am learning.

“People think the Maasai are poor, but they are rich,” he said, describing the wealth found in their cattle herds. He also talked about how society is changing for the semi-nomadic people. They are becoming sedentary, he said.  No longer do they leave their dead for predators to consume. When they arrive in town they consume whiskey by the bottle, he added. We also talked about the difficulty of taking a census of Maasai. Census taking is a western notion, so it may be a futile effort.

I tried to preserve his emphasis, his words here. It is difficult, nearly impossible given my western outlook.

It is work to listen… even more work to hear. It’s a characteristic of people with a driving social style. This personality trait has gotten me where I am in life, but one wonders what has been missed while focusing on a task, goal or objective. My conversations about Tanzania remind me to work toward hearing what people say, which is much different than listening through a filter of cultural biases.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

Categories
Environment

Letter to the Editor

Self Portrait in ShadowTo the editor,

It is ironic that Gary Wattnem, a career ophthalmic instrument salesman, can’t see clearly enough to support Senator Rob Hogg and Representative Bobby Kaufmann in their opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, based on eminent domain concerns. In his recent letter to the editor, Wattnem signed as a U.S. Army officer, reminding us that old soldiers never die, but in his case, should consider taking Douglas MacArthur’s example and just fade away.

Under the Obama administration, there has been a resurgence of domestic oil production. “For the first time in nearly two decades, we produce more oil here in the United States than we buy from the rest of the world,” said President Obama on Jan. 16.

According to former oil man T. Boone Pickens on a recent episode of Iowa Press, the U.S. exports three million barrels of light sweet crude each day because of development in the Bakken and Eagle Ford formations, and West Texas. If refineries would retool to process light sweet, said Pickens, the oil could be used domestically. If foreign oil were a national security issue, that’s what we’d do.

Keystone is about getting tar sands oil to the global market, not about U.S. national security. Condemning U.S. property to serve the interests of a Calgary, Alberta based company would be plain wrong.

By throwing his uniform around the issue, Wattnem tarnished the rest of us who served.

Categories
Environment

Climate Reality in Independence

Earth Week Presentation at the Independence Public Library

the-climate-reality-project-logoINDEPENDENCE, Ia.– Paul Deaton, a climate leader for The Climate Reality Project, will make a presentation titled, “Earth Week: Climate Reality in Iowa,” on Thursday, April 24 , at 6:30 p.m. at the Independence Public Library as part of the library’s Earth Week activities.

The presentation will address the science of climate change, then focus on recent extreme weather events around the world and in Iowa. It will include discussion of the 2012 drought and last year’s weird hydrology cycle of a very wet and late spring coupled with drought throughout much of the summer, connecting the dots between climate change and the extreme weather. After the presentation, there will be a question and answer period.

About Paul Deaton

Paul Deaton is a native Iowan. He is a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, part of a global initiative with more than 5,000 leaders trained personally by former Vice President Al Gore. Deaton participated in the first Earth Day in 1970, and has been speaking and writing on climate change, nuclear non-proliferation, foreign policy and renewable energy for a number of years. He retired from CRST Logistics, Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was a director of operations. He has been a board member for a number of non-profit organizations during recent years, and worked on a number of projects as a consultant. He is currently serving a four-year term as a Big Grove Township Trustee. Deaton holds a Masters Degree in American Studies from the University of Iowa Graduate College, and is a former United States Army officer. An empty nester, he lives with his wife Jacque near Solon.

About The Climate Reality Project

The Climate Reality Project, founded and chaired by former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore, is dedicated to unleashing a global cultural movement demanding action on the climate crisis. Despite overwhelming international scientific consensus on climate change, the global community still lacks the resolve to implement meaningful solutions. The Climate Reality Project exists to forge an unwavering bedrock of impassioned support necessary for urgent action. With that foundation, together we will ignite the moral courage in our leaders to solve the climate crisis.

For more information click here.

Categories
Environment

Sunrise on Snow

Sunrise
Sunrise

LAKE MACBRIDE— Snow lies on the north side ground near the house, but not for long. The long winter is over, and once the ground thaws, spring will truly have arrived.

There are signs.

I walked the long ditch in front of our property to pick up a discarded can and newspaper. The ground was matted by the heavy snows, and sandy from snow pushed from the road by the contractor. It was also lined with acorns missed by wildlife. The hopeful sign that new Bur Oak trees will be possible— but not here, where I’ll put them under the tree for squirrels and deer to consume, if they wish.

When I arrived at the warehouse yesterday, the aisles were crammed with pallets of yard and garden goods, waiting placement before members arrived. The seedlings I planted indoors are doing okay, although the lettuce is not germinating as well as broccoli and kale. There will be more planting this week.

A retired U.S. Army soldier has been posting a letter to the editors of several newspapers around the state regarding the Keystone XL pipeline, and how we need it for national security reasons. I’ll believe that when the refineries re-tool to handle the 3 million barrels of light sweet crude being exported each day resulting from production in the Bakken and Eagle Ford formations, and in West Texas.

So begins another day in Big Grove— a place beaten down by winter, but ready for spring’s renewal.

Categories
Work Life

Drinking Fountain

At Sunset
At Sunset

CORALVILLE— Perhaps the best perquisite of my warehouse job is the public drinking fountain. At anytime, I can partake in the cool, filtered water to quench my thirst. Maybe I’d like something more substantial, something that would pay the bills or reduce expenses. Yet the water is very good— and it meets a human need.

All around me, in every social setting, I hear stories of people who work for low wages and no benefits. People don’t talk much about this as a collective idea, yet it is everywhere. It is a way for companies to minimize the cost of human resources. It is also becoming the new normal.

Understanding the low wage, no benefit, temp worker culture is important, as it’s the life many people live. I write often about temp workers, wages, unions, and work because to survive in the seventh decade of life every source of income and expense reduction has become important. In a way, it represents preparation for the infirmity of being elderly. Health and mortality have become an issue as I proofread the weekly obituaries at the newspaper. A lot of the subjects are people younger than me, and already, I feel like a survivor.

My newspaper colleague Milli Gilbaugh recently wrote about people in my age group. “What we need is another 20 year category between “middle age” and “elderly” that includes the years from sixty to eighty. Maybe the word “older” would work, or “retired” which isn’t necessarily accurate, but it does give an indication of the age span involved. […] The term “retired” has a bunch of problems in that not everybody in the 60 to 80 year age range is retired. Some may be retired from life-long careers and spend their time supposedly enjoying the golden years, […] but most are still working, or have retired and taken a “retirement job” with less stress, fewer hours, and considerably less pay.” While Milli doesn’t cover everyone who works a low wage job, she defines something relevant that people haven’t been discussing.

Recently, when applying for a job at a large company, I knew my chances were slim. They mentioned on their website that the normal retirement age was 62. When they replied to my application, “after careful consideration, we have decided to continue our search for a candidate whose background and qualifications more closely match the requirements of the position,” I wasn’t surprised. I recognized the legalese for “we don’t want you, whatever your qualifications.”

I’d rather work for people who want me in their organization. As long as our family makes enough to live in kind and money, we’ll be okay. Better than that, we’ll live in a way that is better then a large segment of the global population. A global village that doesn’t take drinking water for granted.

Categories
Sustainability

Pizza, Lemonade and Crudités

vfp_logo_200IOWA CITY— I dropped off a check at the Waterfront HyVee last night to reimburse the airfare of Daniel Hale, a veteran who worked with the armed drone program in Afghanistan, to come to Iowa. When I arrived, a group of about 25 people had just partaken of pizza, lemonade, coffee and crudités.

It was the beginning of a gathering of Veterans for Peace and Catholic Workers to protest the U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle program. Saturday at 10 a.m., there is a demonstration at the Iowa Air National Guard base in Des Moines. Monday, Saint Patrick’s Day, dozens of Midwest Catholic Workers are expected to commit nonviolent civil disobedience during a second protest at the base. The events have been well choreographed, and it’s not the first rodeo for most of the folks expected to participate.

Hale spoke of his experience in Afghanistan as an intelligence soldier, focusing on a particular mission where one target was killed, along with four other people. He had no idea whether the four others were combatants, even as the military identified them as such. What he described was consistent with other narratives about how drones are used. The event was life changing for him, and should be for the rest of us.

We’ll see if the corporate media covers the story, and importantly, whether the demonstration makes a difference in U.S. policy toward drones.

Categories
Home Life

Tortilla Hot Dish

Snow Melt at Cedar Bluff
Snow Melt at Cedar Bluff

LAKE MACBRIDE— Mexican-style entrée with no name. Maybe that’s a better appellation for a layered and baked casserole using tortillas, tomato sauce, refried beans, cheddar cheese, green chilies, home made chili sauce. cilantro and canned corn. I would never go to the store and buy ingredients for the dish. Rather, it’s a way of using up pantry ingredients. Mighty tasty for lunch, or breakfast.

So it is with a lot of things in Big Grove. The contemplative musings of winter gave way to practical work: fitting too much stuff into the short days. Like the nearby Cedar River, my banks are swollen with the stuff of life— vital fluids coursing through the heart of the country. Winter has signaled its end, and the lengthening days do not recompense winter’s beating. There is a lot to schedule and do.