Stories

Dear Sen. Barack Obama,
You recently spoke with Cameron Strang, publisher of Relevant magazine. During that interview, Strang asked if you could clarify your position on “third-trimester and partial-birth abortion,” and you replied:
“…I have repeatedly said that I think it’s entirely appropriate for states to restrict or even prohibit late-term abortions as long as there is [...]

[Commentary] It’s the little things. Not just one by one, like the single instance I’m going to describe here, but all the little things put together. They add up. They creep up on us and take root in our thoughts. They fester and make us doubt ourselves. They are the thin and small voices that [...]

We are gathered here today to pay our final respects to a word no longer relevant:

Nerd.

[Commentary] I know there must be a place — somewhere either between or beyond the salvos of political rhetoric of Des Moines — for Iowans to have a real conversation about civil rights in our state. Unfortunately, when the rhetoric is so loud and so obscene, everyday Iowans tend to switch to a different channel [...]

[Commentary] There’s something disingenuous about the cigarette conversations taking place in Des Moines. On one hand, Iowa residents are being told that the statewide ban currently under consideration — recently passed through the Iowa House of Representatives — is in direct response to public health concerns. On the other hand, we’re learning that the word [...]

“If you want to be important, wonderful. If you want to be recognized, wonderful. If you want to be great, wonderful. But, recognize that he who is greatest among you will be your servant… You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love, and you can be that servant.”
- Dr. Martin [...]

[Commentary] In the messy system known as American democracy, “gotcha” politics takes many forms. When President George W. Bush was being pushed to answer questions about what he knew (and when he knew it) in terms of Osama bin Laden’s quest to hijack commercial airliners, some cried foul, claiming that such questions and assertions amounted [...]

[Commentary] Some people will tell you that they have a soundtrack for their life. They relate certain experiences or events with this song or that artist. I’m not one of them. My life flips through my mind as seasons.
I can tell you the weather on every significant day of my life in vivid detail. For [...]

[Commentary] I could very well be the world’s biggest fan of petits four, but even I must admit when enough is enough.
How many Democratic “debates” have we witnessed thus far? Four? Five? Honestly, I lost count. They’ve been roughly as memorable as a midnight drive through Nebraska. (For those who haven’t had the unique pleasure, [...]

[Commentary] Has there ever been a time that you stopped yourself from writing or saying something because you knew someone was not going to like it? This has almost been one of those times for me.
Back when I chaired my very first major political event in Iowa, a person I adore and trust told me [...]