A Socio-Political Blog
Recently, I joined a group that was invited to the State Capitol to petition legislators during the 85th Iowa General Assembly and I must admit to being a bit awestruck. Even as a salty old wonk that has followed, written and lectured about government and civic duty for decades, I felt like a grade-schooler on a…
I saw a commercial for Marty Huggins….I’m sorry! I meant Mark Jacobs, a Republican running for the senate seat about to be vacated by Tom Harken. In it he makes his case by saying that he’s been a businessman who has had to “make payroll” and has “balanced budgets.” That is the criteria that many Americans…
I…am…a…hetero…sexual. There! I said it! You can’t imagine the relief. I didn’t choose to be this way, I just AM. Some fateful decision was made before I was born, not by me, but by whatever forces that conspired to create me, to make me straight. And somehow that choice is made for me every day because…
How many of you are aware of an issue that’s been called “Net Neutrality”? If you aren’t already, it will be coming to your town soon—WHOA!- It’s already there! Quickly explained, “neutrality” is what has governed the Internet and that means basically–nothing. Internet content, and accessibility to it, has been on a neutral plane with…
In August of 2011 my family met in the Rockies to spread my Dad’s ashes in the mountains he loved. He had passed away 10 years earlier but it took that long for my brothers and our mother to coordinate schedules with our own children, work, and all that comes with adult lives. And, truth…
Because I am fairly vocal, people often ask me to participate in debates at the drop of a hat. Sometimes, I find myself in an area where I am woefully unqualified or not really prepared, but I often have a gut feeling that provides some indication to feel a certain way, and I’ll weigh in. Such was the case when the opening…
I’m always a little sad by Christmas afternoon. The tree will stay up another week, the same with the lights outside, but I have to be honest; rather than serve as low wattage, multi-colored beacons for the hope that Christmas brings, they become reminders that the day has passed and won’t be around again for another year.…
We, humans (at least the ones in Western Civilization) have a tendency to take a good idea, implement it, then forget its purpose and finally betray its intention. One of those good ideas was brought forth by the American Disabilities Act of 1990. ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disabilities and it also…
Economics The collapse of 2008 was the result of legislation from neoliberal economic theory (not to be confused with social liberalism) and those policies have controlled the argument for over 30 years. It favors the well-to-do by creating tax loopholes along with too much de-regulation, and that allowed for toxic assets in a volatile subprime market. I support regulations to…
Sometimes it is easy to write these posts. In fact, I usually find it fairly simple because I write about political issues where I already have some knowledge and a feeling about my position and the words come out rather quickly. When matters are of a more personal nature, it is more difficult. Partly because there is a…