Now that I have your attention…. An article was posted today in the Iowa Daily Democrat and it perfectly illustrated the role of government in our society. The subject was the application of manure from large animal confinement feeding operations. Current state laws are weak with regard to animal waste and with relatively few inspectors…
Category: Gary Kroeger
The Die Hard Constitution
Bruce Willis has a message for advocates of stricter gun control legislation: “Don’t infringe on my rights!” “I think that you can’t start to pick apart anything out of the Bill of Rights without thinking that it’s all going to become undone,” said Willis. “If you take one out or change one law, then why…
The Measure of Our Purpose
The Iowa Legislature finally adjourned at 6pm on Friday, April 29th. Issues that remained unresolved include Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, water quality, and medical marijuana. While we must consider any agreement to be a positive result and Democrats and Republicans came to an agreement on a $7.35 billion budget that will now go to…
Monica Vernon for Congress
When I was running for Congress I was running against two other Democrats in the primary for the nomination. Naturally, the political stump is competitive as it is essential to differentiate ourselves so that voters can make a decision, but, my strategy from the beginning was to clarify myself, rather than define the other two.…
Historical Histrionics
Stop! The claims being made on both sides, Republican and Democrat, regarding historical triumphs are flawed! The political parties do not represent consistent ideologies throughout their histories. The essential ideological arguments today are (and always have been) between Conservatism and Liberalism, and not Republicans and Democrats. Republicans, for example, can make a legitimate claim to being…
A Job Worth Doing!
For most of my life I have been involved with programs that deal with poverty. My mother was a Head Start teacher and I helped her during semester breaks in high school and college, as a professional actor in Los Angeles I helped raise funds for Homeless Health Care. Since coming back to Iowa I have been proud…
“Silly, flat, dishwatery, utterances”
I spend a lot of time thinking about how our government does business. I also think about the way the public debates the issues and how we are informed (or become uninformed). And I think a lot about how bad things have gotten and how they are getting worse. Several times I’ve said or written: …
It’s No Laughing Matter
It has been 11 months since I declared my candidacy for the United States Congress. With a good staff, I ran hard and our message was heard, but momentum was never our ally in a crowded primary and I withdrew from that race last month. Today I will file to run for the Iowa State House…
My Love/Hate Relationship
I love Politics. I love the practice of influencing one another on civic and individual issues. I like the debate over what is best for the common good because it is from this dialogue that we can emerge stronger and more secure in our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. I hate Politics. I hate…
“It’s YOU!”
There’s an outtake from a Beatle recording session where they are trying to lay down vocal tracks for “One After 909” and someone keeps messing up causing them to start over. Finally, after John Lennon stops one more time, presumably to correct the others, Paul McCartney jumps in (laughing), “It’s you, John, it’s YOU!” The…