“Bad-News Expert”
It’s not always easy living with me. But my husband, Peter, has to.
Opinions
“Two Degrees”
They call the impossibly complicated screen I am looking at a “dashboard,” which I do not find reassuring at all. It would be nice not to associate my ignorance of technology with crashing some out-of-control machine into a ravine, although, as I think about it, that is very much how...
Communities in every corner of the country now struggle with a lack of affordable homes, an ailment long associated with fast-growing urban areas.
A lack of affordable housing hamstrings rural towns’ abilities to attract workers and slows business growth. Quality housing is also linked to health...
The lack of internal scrutiny when it comes to a myriad of the United States’ problems is an ongoing issue. Media subverts attention to more trivial happenings—celebrity gossip, feel-good snippets, or pointing the mirror to reflect the problems in other parts of the world, rather than our own.
It...
Q: What’s wrong with the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act?”
A: The White House and Democrat-led Majority in Congress are taking yet another bite at the tax-and-spend apple. Despite 41-year high inflation and rising cost of living, the big spenders in Washington can’t keep themselves from...
“Lulu”
My husband, Peter, and I are back in our little place in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Of course, it is not really “our” place. We don’t own it and have no desire to own anything here larger than a pressure cooker (yes, Peter bought one). When we arrived, Pepe at the front desk said, “...
Fires are once again destroying homes, land, and air quality in the northwest, while places like Kentucky, Nevada, and New Mexico are experiencing catastrophic flooding resulting in lost lives, disappearances, vehicular accidents, and undrinkable water.
Much like the topic of COVID since 2020, the...
Watching the hearings held by the Jan. 6 committee as it delves into the events at the Capitol last year and what lay behind them, I’ve been struck by what you might think of as the “meta-coverage.” It’s been fascinating to see.
Most news stories, of course, have focused on the alarming...
When I was first elected almost four years ago, I walked into the Statehouse and vowed that I would always keep my eye on what is important and that is serving the PEOPLE of Iowa.
I’ll be the first to admit I’ve made some mistakes along the way. In today’s political climate where anger and hate...
“Good Enough”
I’ve decided that I’m good enough.
I had a big birthday, and it got me to thinking, as big birthdays will, about what would change and what would stay the same in the decade to come. I found my list of self-improvement chores much shorter than in previous years.
I used to exhaust...
As someone who loves adventures—near or far, big or small—but has more than mere distaste for driving and cars, it is beyond frustrating that our country insists on relying upon the oil, auto, and insurance industries so heavily, that the U.S. is decades behind when it comes to fast, affordable,...
