Intercourse With Foreign Nations

We need to create a Foreign Policy Constitution.  A document we hold up to the light to reveal how we should approach every foreign engagement.  We can refer to this document so that America can consistently carry the moral authority expected of this free and powerful nation without compromise. Am I being facetious?  Not really. …

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The Heritage of ObamaCare

Who knew that the concept of an individual mandate to purchase healthcare was initially proposed by the conservative Heritage Foundation? During the George HW Bush administration the conservative think tank devised an alternative to the single-payer health care being proposed by Democrats.  It followed the reasoning that was proposed by President Richard Nixon in 1974 (and…

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The Tail Wags the Dog

I had an interesting experience speaking to a first year government class. I began the hour by asking the students this question: “What form of government do we have in America?” No response. “I mean is this an oligarchy, a monarchy, a theocracy…?” Finally, a young man in front, probably no more than 18 and clearly…

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Power to the People (Right On!)

The ascension of a corporate-welfare bleeding, amoral, overrated host of a reality show to the Presidency of the United States was not the result of a populist movement alone, but was supported by a reaction to that populist movement. How else can we explain the contradiction that saw voters, terrified of oligarchic takeover of government,…

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“Stand By Your Manor”

With Republicans taking the majority in both the Iowa Senate and House there are going to be several Republican-based initiatives that have been waiting (im)patiently in the wings for several years, that will become front and center as the legislature reconvenes. One such issue is going to be Castle Doctrine. Castle Doctrine has been around…

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It’s Not the Size of the Boat, it’s the Motion of the Ocean

We hear more and more debate about the size of federal government and what powers have been drained from the states in contrast. The argument from Republicans and Libertarians, in particular, is that the powers of the federal government have expanded beyond its constitutionally outlined parameters and that state governmental authority has been diminished. Their…

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All This Aggravation

Life has a way with endless random collisions to occassionally produce a juxtaposition that is so uncanny it seems cosmically intended.  At the very least, it arrests our attention and we draw relevant conclusions from the coincidence. While reading Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, and contemplating his List of Virtues, I found myself most interested in “Industry” and “Silence.”  Franklin urged…

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The Needle and the Damage Done

Rick Perry is in the news again.  It is likely that President-elect Donald Trump will name the former Texas governor as his Secretary of Energy.  There is a peculiar irony here since it was Perry’s inability to remember the name of the Department of Energy in a televised debate that sank his own presidential bid. It is also a…

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A Christmas Story

The Prologue I’m going to step into an area that could be dangerous.  Dangerous because the topic is the most personal, yet debated and misunderstood of all socio-political realms. The topic is Gender Identification. The debate has swirled as long as I can remember, and even though there have been victories that signal acceptance of people…

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