~by Senator Jesse Green January 22, 2021 Last week I talked about some of the unique things I experienced being a first time legislator. In the newsletter I referred to the reality of our situation at the Capitol with this being the largest Republican trifecta since at least 1970. To describe the situation I used the farmer illustration, “When the…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
We can heal our divisions
~by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) January 20, 2021 Forty-six years ago this month, I swore an oath to the Constitution as a newly elected representative of Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. Those were tumultuous times in our nation’s political history. President Richard M. Nixon resigned three months before the midterm elections that would determine representation in the 94th Congress. I was…
Read MoreI finally understand what ‘stooping to conquer’ means
~a column by Colleen O’Brien On the evening of President Obama’s first inauguration, Jan. 20, 2009, leading Republicans spent four hours in a high-end DC restaurant plotting how to waylay anything they could in the new administration’s plans. The dinner was reported by Washington Post reporter Jonathan Capehart on Aug. 10, 2012, and by Frontline on Jan. 15, 2013. The…
Read MoreLetter to the editor: G. and P. Naylor on protests, democracy and farming
To the editor, As we write this on January 18, a day to collectively remember the non-violent leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, we also recognize National Women Farmers Day in India where farmers are leading the largest protest in human history. Over 250 million farmers and farm workers are protesting, brought together through farmer…
Read MoreLetter to the editor: What would Floyd Mahanay think?
To the editor: On Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Americans across the country will unite to celebrate the Inauguration of President-Elect Joseph R Biden, Jr. and Vice President-Elect Kamala D. Harris. A website https://bideninaugural.org/ details arrangements for the Inaugural events. The FAQ provided by the Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC, for short) states: “President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Harris will take their oaths…
Read MoreKudos to Jeff council, disses to the county supes
~by Tori Riley, GreeneCountyNewsOnline Last week was a good week for the Jefferson city council and a bad week for the county board of supervisors. First, the Jefferson city council… The council at its Jan. 12 meeting approved paying a local business, Sebourn Video Services, to record every regular council meeting and post it for public viewing on Jefferson Telecom’s…
Read MoreVibrant mainstream media, the light that nurtures democracy
~by Tori Riley, publisher/editor, GreeneCountyNewsOnline The short-lived takeover of the U.S. capitol Wednesday by supporters of President Donald Trump looked more Yemeni or Costa Rican than American. Shock and sadness were the first reaction of many of us. I cried as I watched the news unfolding. “That just can’t be happening here. We don’t do things like that,” I thought.…
Read MoreHow do I do it?
~a column by Colleen O’Brien After the election of Joe Biden as our 46th president, I relaxed, let go of politics. My four-year low-grade fever subsided. If I reverted and thought about politics, it was while I was catching up on things that didn’t have to do with divisiveness, cruelty, disdain, bullying, lying. I looked forward to peaceful discourse –…
Read MoreReynolds names priorities in Condition of the State Address
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds delivered her 2021 Condition of the State Address Jan. 12 at the Statehouse. Below are her remarks as prepared for delivery: Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Lieutenant Governor, legislative leaders and members, justices and judges, my fellow Iowans: Our state constitution says that, every year, the governor must communicate to the general assembly the condition of…
Read MoreB. Banister re: Trump presidency
To the editor, So, this is how the Trump presidency ends, with insurrection, violence and murder. Trump and son Don Jr. incited the MAGA crowd and the violence that followed but Republican politicians, including Iowa’s Grassley, Ernst and Reynolds, enabled him for four years, both vocally and in cowardly silence. You could say that all 74 million people who voted…
Read MoreHabits for a new year in a democracy
~a column by Colleen O’Brien In a college course on American history, I was given the opportunity to memorize and recite before the class the Preamble to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, or the Gettysburg Address. I chose the shortest, in typically freshman behavior, but I’ve been reading them since, reminders during times of greed or war or civil…
Read MoreReading through a pandemic
~a column by Tori Riley, GCNO publisher/editor While 2020 wasn’t a great year in some ways, it was a great year for reading. With so many activities suspended and with prudent people just staying home, there was more time to read. I surpassed my annual goal to read a dozen books and tallied 16 books. I chose the books intentionally,…
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