My father was a child of the Great Depression. He grew up in a family with 7 children in an abandoned caboose with no electricity or plumbing. He had only had one pair of overalls and ratty old shoes to wear to school every day. It was, after all, the Depression and everyone was poor in…
Category: Gary Kroeger
Have a Koch and a Smile!
Republicans have voted against Obama’s jobs bill…voted against a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to curb the fraudulent practices that contributed to the recession…voted against a bi-partisan budget…voted against ending tax breaks that did nothing but line the pockets of Big Oil…they voted against the “Buffet Rule” that would essentially lower marginal tax rates but also…
The Pursuit of Truthiness
It’s not easy to find the truth. Even when you do research by looking for unbiased views to form a clearer perspective, the information available, although vast, can be based on conflicting analysis, points of view and political influence. The other day someone mentioned to me as we talked about the financial situation in…
Follow me! I know a shortcut!
Shortcuts. We all take them. If there is a shorter, faster way to get to our destination why wouldn’t we take it? We don’t get into a car to maximize the time we spend in cars; we want to minimize our time getting to the destination. Even when our cars are comfortable and have the…
The Bridge From Selma
Today marks the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the violent assault at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on marchers protesting black voter suppression. I don’t need to use hyperbole here, nor is this a liberal-biased perspective; history, through its black and white lens, reveals clearly the systemic racism that led African-Americans to march for their right to…
An Empty Bag To Stand Upright
The assertion is often made that entitlements, which are, of course, taken from our taxes, “enable” poverty and that perpetuating circumstance is the goal of liberals. To counteract this cycle, many people propose that we (tax payers) take a position to inspire the poor to better themselves, because taking responsibility for their plight and hard…
Losing My Religion
I made a bold statement to some conservative friends over drinks. I said: “Conservatism is like religion and requires blind acceptance of its dogma without being self-critical.” First blood had already been drawn as I was being (with reasonably good nature) teased as a liberal. Actually, there is a name for my observation, it’s called…
Backstage at SNL’s 40th
Last weekend I went to the “Saturday Night Live” 40th reunion. I had two Willy Wonka Golden Tickets to the biggest event on earth (that weekend, at least) and I took my 15 year old son, Chris. To summarize what I will soon detail, it was the time of our lives. This wasn’t my first SNL reunion. I…
“I give you the next President of the United States…”
I introduced then-Senator Joe Biden at a rally in Waterloo, Iowa, in 2007 when he was running for President. Recently I found my introduction and I thought it would be interesting to post it here. Today, as I talk around the state to Democrats about the last midterm elections, I find myself saying many of the…
Trade Agreements, American Workers, and Pete Carroll
Okay. I’ll set this up as briefly as I can because I already know where you stand. You think that Pete Carroll made a bonehead decision because he didn’t run Marshawn Lynch at the 1 yard line. I agreed with you when it happened and I immediately posted on Facebook: “What???? A pass????” We all…