To the editor: The Republican primary for the Fourth Congressional District is coming up fast. We are fortunate to have several good candidates running but one stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. I wish everyone in the Fourth District could meet Bret Richards personally. If they did, he would win by a landslide.
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
The diary of a coronavirus rebel
Diary entries by Cori O’Virus, as dictated to columnist Colleen O’Brien Dear Diary – Paradoxical parasite back on the job. My human is also back on the job also. At her computer, she writes about the “word war” that her president has started in her country, the war of true words versus alternative words. She calls it a civil war.…
Read MoreThe diary of a coronavirus rebel
Diary entries by Cori O’Virus, as dictated to Colleen O’Brien Last time I wrote, I was thinking of myself as the paradoxical parasite , Cori O’Virus on a mission to save my species – coronavirus, as well as my host’s species – humans. My human host has just fallen asleep, with the radio on, as usual, so I listen most…
Read MoreThe Diary of a Coronavirus Rebel, 2
~Diary entries by Cori O’Virus, edited by Colleen O’Brien When I left off last week, I was about to listen to my host’s radio. I am conversant with the language – all coronavirus know the language of whatever part of the world they’ve blown into. If we’re around individuals for any time, we begin to read their minds. In my…
Read MoreJust smile and go back to sleep
~a guest column by Sharon Whitehill As a teenager in love I romanticized the idea of falling asleep in my boyfriend’s arms, imagining his gazing tenderly down at my innocent face. Now, as a long-married woman, I hate the very idea of being watched while I sleep. Unlike babies and children, grown people look foolish at best when they’re sleeping.…
Read MoreThe diary of a coronavirus rebel
Diary entries by Cori O’Virus (as dictated to Colleen O’Brien) I have secured a safe place to watch. My name is Cori, short for Corona. I am from the Virus family. We have many friends and relatives who are categorized in that branch of human science that deals with viruses – “virology,” the study of us, named with the preciseness…
Read MoreIowa AG, Consumer Advocate urge H2O utilities to suspend disconnects
To avoid big balances, consumers should pay utility bills, if they are able DES MOINES — Iowans can get relief from many utility bills during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate recommends that consumers pay what they can to avoid problems in the future, however. The Iowa Utilities Board issued an emergency order on March 27 approving…
Read MoreDisgust turns to grief
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Have you noticed that the administration is not wearing face masks at the podium? And the wooden-faced in the background are standing too close to one another? We are told by the CDC to stay home; if we have to go out, keep a six-foot distance from others; wear masks because we’re dealing with what…
Read MoreIn the time of coronavirus
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Someday this will be over, and I will have succumbed or survived. If it’s the latter, I hope I have something to show for the hours I was forced to spend alone. This command to “quarantine” should be a walk in the park for me. It is no different from how I live all the…
Read MoreIn support of teachers – Bruce Banister
To the editor, We spend $35 million on a new school but are reluctant to give teachers what they deserve. Why should the superintendent earn well over $100000, and the principals? The county supervisors just gave raises to many, including themselves.
Read MoreO’Brien on Senate’s March 23 COVID-19 relief bill
~by Colleen O’Brien Five things listed in the Republican’s bill to help the American people during the covid-19 crisis, as reported in Roll Call by Niels Leiniewski 3-23-20, 1 pm: 1. “promoting charitable deductions.” A bipartisan group of senators, Lesniewski reports, is “reviving a proposal to create an ‘above the line’ deduction for contributions to charity. The expanded standard deductions…
Read MoreAnother ratcheting up of authoritarianism
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Since we now have a “war” president, he’s been press conferencing from the White House press room daily. This is unfortunate. When he eschewed the normal press conference routine that former presidents held in the Press Briefing Room of the White House and became the Tweeter in Chief, I wanted him to be a real…
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