Joni Ernst disingenuous on personhood

Joni Ernst disingenuous on personhood

Gazette Column
It’s time for Iowans to jump in the weeds. And, thanks to all the manure spread as part of and on behalf of the U.S. Senate campaigns of Joni Ernst and Bruce Braley, you should know these weeds are deep. Reproduction is a very personal thing. To launch discussion on the topic opens the door to faith, sexuality and mortality. There is no way — at least none that I’ve found — to mitigate the strong emotions these subjects evoke. Difficult conversations, however, are no excuse for complete avoidance or, worse yet, the half-baked excuses allowed to stand during the first U.S. Senate race debate. DEBATE RECAP [caption id="attachment_1650" align="alignright" width="228"] US Senate candidate Joni Ernst claps during an event at The Blue Strawberry Coffee Company in Cedar Rapids on…
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There’s a lesson in Atlantic City

There’s a lesson in Atlantic City

Gazette Column
I wandered aimlessly for hours, the quintessential tourist wanting to hold and press each experience between the pages of a mental travel memoir. I spent the better part of a day walking the historic boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., having been drawn there by my desire to see a Monopoly board come to life and visions of the 1964 political convention that aimed to heal a party, if not the nation, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Forget that reality TV Jersey shore garbage and Iowa Caucus speculation — this was where Frank Sinatra had crooned in the Copa Room of the Sands Casino and Marilyn Monroe had judged the Miss American Pageant in the Depression-era Claridge Hotel. [caption id="attachment_1654" align="alignleft" width="450"] Trump Plaza, the white structure with red…
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Too many questions on MRAP

Too many questions on MRAP

Gazette Column
Back during my college years, when there seemed to be unlimited time to sit with friends and discuss hopes and dreams, I once expressed my desire to go on a game show and win a new car. “It would be cool,” I dreamily pronounced, envisioning hugging Bob Barker in multicolored confetti rain, and never again searching for rides home. One of our friends — an economics type not adept in dreaming — snorted and began a now legendary rift on hidden costs of “free” things. It was the first time I understood the saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” It was also the night I made a promise I’d never purposefully be that economics friend, always pointing out the down side. I’d be positive and find solutions. That night,…
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It’s not just the money, honey

It’s not just the money, honey

Gazette Column
Food and living expenses have new meaning for three Eastern Iowa state senators who recently accepted a national challenge to Live the Wage for one week. Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids, Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City and Tom Courtney of Burlington agreed to try and live with only $77 of spending money. The national challenge is the product of a coalition of advocates who hope to draw attention to the issue of the federal minimum wage. A person working 40 hours per week at minimum wage has gross earnings of $290 per week. The $77 is what the advocates estimate remains after taxes ($35.06) and housing expenses ($176.48) are deducted. Facebook posts have documented the challenge for the trio, and their commentary has been what one might expect from three…
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Tar Creek: A case for oversight

Tar Creek: A case for oversight

Featured, Gazette Column
Visiting the remnants of the Tar Creek Superfund site PICHER, Okla. — The devastation of small towns near the Oklahoma-Kansas state line and at the heart of the Tar Creek Superfund site appears fairly straightforward. In the most simple terms, the problem is as prominent and overwhelming as the mountainous piles of mining tailings, known as chat, which blanket the landscape and dust what remains. [caption id="attachment_1623" align="aligncenter" width="750"] The parking lot for the abandoned Picher Christian Church at 201 S. Netta St. is now overgrown and the building is rapidly deteriorating as of Aug. 23, 2014. Just a year ago, the awning over the church doors was intact. Graffiti is also a relatively new addition to the site. (Lynda Waddington/The Gazette)[/caption] Closer inspection, however, reveals broken promises, shortsighted industries,…
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Stage set for Fort Madison battlefield

Stage set for Fort Madison battlefield

Gazette Column
Although leaders in Fort Madison have not reversed an earlier decision to split a historic parcel of land and allow retail development on one section, they have entered into an agreement aimed at historic preservation and management of the remainder of the property. While many, myself included, remain disappointed and disheartened by the prospect of a Dollar General store on a part of this significant and irreplaceable War of 1812 battlefield, the most recent action by the Fort Madison City Council nonetheless deserves praise as movement in a good direction. The city will expend a portion of the $51,000 grant money received from the National Parks Service American Battlefield Protection Program to partner with The Walker Collaborative, based in Nashville, Tenn. The organization was the only company of the nine approached by the…
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Developing War of 1812 battlefield shortsighted

Developing War of 1812 battlefield shortsighted

Gazette Column
Fort Madison battlefield only Iowa location where U.S. troops died defending country City leaders in Fort Madison have agreed to split a plot of land they know to be historic. While dividing the parcel does not immediately endanger further investigation or preservation of the site, it does clear the way for a section of the property to be developed by Minnesota-based RSBR Investments L.L.C. as a Dollar General Store. If this retail development is allowed to move forward, Iowa and the nation will likely lose a significant segment of history forever. The land in question is currently a dilapidated parking lot, owned by Holy Trinity Catholic Schools, that previously served Sheaffer Pen Co. It is situated just blocks from the Mississippi River and bordered by U.S. Hwy 61 (Avenue H…
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Iowa can learn from the Missouri tragedy

Iowa can learn from the Missouri tragedy

Gazette Blog
Michael Brown was an 18-year-old black man who died Saturday, gunned down by police outside his apartment complex. He was scheduled to begin classes at Vatterott College today and, according to friends who agreed to interviews, Brown wanted to be a business owner. News of the shooting spread quickly through the Ferguson, Mo. neighborhood. Brown’s body had been left in the street for hours, according to media reports, and photos of the scene were circulated. While there are conjectural stories of a struggle, that perhaps Brown, who was unarmed, tried to take a gun from the officer who ultimately shot him multiple times as he ran. a full investigation is not complete and likely won’t be completed for weeks. Mourning began on social media, rumors were circulated and those local…
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Public K-12 is a solid investment

Public K-12 is a solid investment

Gazette Column
Education funding shortfalls could get worse “It won’t hurt to look.” That was the advice of the school registration worker as she smiled and extended a paper with state income eligibility guidelines toward me. She had asked if our family qualified for free or reduced-priced lunches and I had mumbled something to the effect of, “I doubt it.” So, I took the paper and looked, my finger sliding down to our family size, then across to the yearly totals. It wasn’t even close. As I shrugged and handed the paper back to the worker, her smile widened and turned conspiratorial. “You didn’t know you were rich, did you?” HITTING HOME Every so often, when a writer is truly fortunate, personal and professional collide, allowing for the dissemination of information that…
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Voting ban is a mark of poverty

Voting ban is a mark of poverty

Gazette Column
President Lyndon B. Johnson announced a “War on Poverty” as part of his 1964 State of the Union address, promising and mandating the nation not simply treat the symptoms of the poor, but fetter out and eliminate root causes. “Today, for the first time in our history, we have the power to strike away the barriers to full participation in our society,” he said. “Having the power, we have the duty.” This appears to be a duty Gov. Terry Branstad is willing to shirk. By executive order, former Gov. Tom Vilsack said people convicted of crimes, who had served their sentences, should be able to fully participate as citizens by casting ballots and standing as candidates for public office. [caption id="attachment_640" align="alignleft" width="300"] "I Voted" buttons in a bowl. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)[/caption]…
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