Author
We can’t afford to leave centrists on the sidelines of politics
I cannot remember who recommended, when I was a much younger man, that I read Hermann Hesse’s novel “Steppenwolf.” I not only read it, but then embraced several more of his works. I think the reason I related to it was because there was a wolf in the novel, living in the mountains of the […]
Will mega-convenience store chains drive out the competition?
It is a pleasant drive, our journey to work in the morning. We get on North Union Road, a county black top two lane passage, and proceed toward Cedar Falls. For a while, the road runs parallel to the Cedar River, then by a collection of well-maintained residences and finally, as one approaches the intersection […]
Trump reveals the real GOP agenda
It is unclear whether former President Donald Trump unintentionally revealed the real 2024 Republican legislative agenda, or it was a meaningful disclosure to reassure the financial backers of the party that their goals will be the focus of his second term. The announcement caused only a momentary stir in news coverage and then it was […]
Campaign rules for the Iowa caucuses have evolved but not changed
There are three well-known rules to find success in the Iowa Caucus, also known as the Nagle Rule, since I first proscribed them: Rule No. 1 is Organize; Rule Number Two is Organize and Rule No. 3 is Get Hot at the End. In the 40-plus years we have held this event, time and time […]
Hold off on Trump trial until after the 2024 election
The Star Chamber was an invention of the British. The practice, which was abolished by Parliament in the 1640s, provided that an individual could be held in jail, tortured, if necessary, for an indeterminable length of time, then brought in secret before a panel of their imprisoners, found guilty, and sentenced to what they deemed […]
Biden should have followed Jimmy Carter’s example
President Joe Biden announced recently that he will seek reelection. The president and his staff have been saying for weeks that he intended to run again. The declaration of candidacy was not a surprise, but to me, the timing was questionable. Most observers accepted the decision to declare now. The reason was that he must […]
GOP bill threatens parties’ cooperative tradition for first-in-the-nation caucuses
It is difficult to discern whether the Iowa Republican legislative majority is attempting to stand with the Iowa Democratic Party on maintaining their co-status as first in the nation in the presidential nominating process, or very adroitly trying to either diminish the effect of the caucus or eliminate it all together. Republican Rep. Bobby Kaufmann […]
Child labor bill undermines Iowa workers’ protections
The concept of workers’ compensation did not first appear in the United States. It arose in Germany, under the leadership of Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. It then spread across most of Europe, reaching a consensus that if an employee was physically injured while working for their employer, then he or she was entitled to […]
The reward for higher education should not be a lifetime of debt
Those who are thinking of entering college, those who are already there and even those who have graduated might want to review their notes on the political theory of an Englishman by the name of John Locke. Locke is credited as one of the writers who laid the foundation and justification for the American’s rebellion […]
The donkey lives! Iowa Democrats are doing more than listening
There’s an old story about a minister who wanted his parishioners to think more deeply about the hereafter. One Sunday morning when all were gathered in their pews, he called three men to the front of the church and asked them to turn and face the congregation. He then said to the three, “Imagine you […]
Governor drafts veterans into her war on the poor
Yolando Loveless, veteran of 30 years of military service and the director of the Veterans Affairs Commission of Black Hawk County, says we have approximately 7,200 veterans living in our county with 1,900 of them eligible to receive additional benefits because of service-related disabilities. The program is overseen by the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs. […]
The DNC’s abandonment of the Iowa caucuses: ‘It hurt’
It hurt. I was sitting with a reporter Saturday morning, after the Democratic National Committee’s deliberations over the future of the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire primary’s first-in-the-nation status. He asked me how it felt, after it became clear that we were, in the eyes of the national party, history. I simply said, “It hurt.” […]