Steve King Archives » Lynda Waddington

30Mar 2019 by Lynda Waddington

Just like love is love, hate is hate

Gazette Column

This is what we’ve been reduced to and the saddest part of all is that we no longer find such behavior shocking. On March 22, at a Fort Dodge restaurant, a 26-year-old man — a Jefferson, Iowa, native transplanted in Lafayette, Colo. — tossed a glass of water onto U.S. Rep. Steve King and the congressman’s dinner mates. The man, Blake Gibbins, was immediately arrested and charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. That same day a woman who knew Gibbins when they were both younger and now lives in King’s congressional district, Carly Johansen of Ames, began fundraising online for Gibbins’ legal defense expenses. The GoFundMe site had a goal of $3,000 and, as I type, it has raised more than $5,000 from 254 donors in a five-day span.…

31Dec 2017 by Lynda Waddington

A 2017 summary in four quotes

Gazette Column

If anything, 2017 was a quotable year. Here are four that sum up a year’s worth of news in the Hawkeye State. SEXUAL HARASSMENT “Several of the staff members interviewed indicated they possess a fear of retaliation, which is why they did not feel comfortable reporting any instances of harassment.” — Senate GOP internal report on sexual harassment at the Statehouse. Although several quotes surrounding the Iowa Senate Republican Caucus sexual harassment scandal that put taxpayers on the hook for $1.75 million could be used — many of them absurdities uttered by Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix as he has repeatedly attempted to whitewash bad behavior — this statement from the GOP’s internal investigation is most troubling. To date, no one has been held accountable and Statehouse employees, which include teenage…

09Oct 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Food is critical part of academic achievement

Gazette Column

Researchers have long highlighted links between academic achievement and food, noting that hunger eventually manifests as cognitive issues. Newer studies show such negative outcomes aren’t problems that appear years down the road. Hunger negatively impacts a child’s ability to learn and achieve, increases the likelihood of behavioral issues and slows development of social skills. Multiple studies indicate hungry children grow into adults who are less likely to reach their full potential. It’s why the nation invests in nutritious school meals and provides food assistance to the most vulnerable. It’s also why communities support food pantries and other food programs to bridge local gaps. But a newer study completed by scholars at the University of South Carolina and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh shows the detrimental effects of hunger are not only devastating, but…

13Feb 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Last-minute public schedules benefit no one

Gazette Column

Are we witnessing the final throes of the “full Grassley” era? Some readers may remember the Congressional recess in the summer of 2009. As a reporter, I covered then Congressman Bruce Braley’s town hall forums, which were overrun with concerns about the Affordable Care Act. The reports I and other journalists filed about those meetings were peppered with words like “feisty,” “lively” and “contentious,” but still fell short of conveying the level of combativeness on display. Constituents got in each other’s faces as well as those of their representatives. A few cried. Some brandished signs. Others yelled. Nearly everyone arrived with an agenda, and a willingness to fight. That was the summer when U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, speaking at a forum in Winterset, made his infamous “pull the plug on…

28Dec 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Learning from our history of finding scapegoats

Gazette Column

Sadness, fear and confusion. Those are the three emotions woven throughout conversations I had in the wake of a 2008 immigration raid in Postville. For nearly the same reasons, these emotions also surrounded the Muslim residents taking part in a community demonstration last weekend. The alignment is understandable, if regrettable. [caption id="attachment_913" align="aligncenter" width="640"] People of many faiths gathered on May's Island on Saturday, Dec. 19, in a show of support for Muslims and other immigrants, who have recently been targeted in political rhetoric. The solidarity demonstration was organized by the Inter-Religious Council of Linn County. (Lynda Waddington/The Gazette)[/caption] Some Postville Hispanics were spared the felonious identity theft convictions faced by 389 male workers — a prosecution strategy that the U.S. Supreme Court later found lacking. Instead of being bustled…

04Aug 2014 by Lynda Waddington

Bertrand defamation case changes nothing

Gazette Column

Transparency makes attack ads palatable In September 1895, Woodrow Wilson was more than two decades away from his move into the White House and spent a great deal of time studying government via the lens of history. It was at this time, well before history and political science were distinct disciplines, the scholarly Wilson wrote a magazine essay establishing his thoughts on how historians should present their work, summarizing why it is often difficult to see into the past as well as into the future. “The truth of history is a very complex and very occult matter. It consists of things which are invisible as well of things which are visible. It is full of secret motives, and of a chance interplay of trivial and yet determining circumstances; it is…

28Jul 2014 by Lynda Waddington

Cracking the unblessed pasta code

Gazette Column

Several years ago, a dinner mishap altered my perspective. While visiting with my abundant Southern relatives — gatherings always noisy, crowded and overflowing with food — I helped my two daughters with their plates, and sent them off to find a seat while I navigated the options with their younger brother. As always, he was picky and we were soon strolling toward his sisters, plate populated with cheese cubes and crackers. My middle daughter, three or four at the time, was angling a scoop of mac and cheese mouthward when my sister struck. One swift smack across the back of my daughter’s hand. The silverware thudded onto the plate, a few pieces of sticky mac took flight. “Don’t eat that,” the sister warned. “It’s not been blessed yet.” My girls…