Sunday, February 10, 2019 ● The Gazette 1D

INSIGHT
&BOOKS
Iowa Ideas 24-HOUR DORMAN
TODD DORMAN
Iowa Ideas is a nonpartisan, statewide learning experience
designed to explore the key questions and big ideas
that will shape the future of Iowa. Know your
limitations,
Created by The Gazette, Iowa Ideas includes community conversations,
solutions-focused journalism and a two-day conference in Cedar Rapids set for
Oct. 3-4. Eleven key topics — each crucial to Iowa — are being explored.
EDUCATION • ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT • HEALTH CARE • POLICY • REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• WORKFORCE • DIVERSITY & INCLUSION • INFRASTRUCTURE • YOUNG PROFESSIONALS jobless
Iowans
• HUMAN & SOCIAL SERVICES • AGRICULTURE

Balancing act
TODAY: DIVERSITY & INCLUSION — THE IMPORTANCE OF MALE ROLE MODELS FOR COMMUNITY LEADERS

I
n Marion, we live by the
proud motto “Reach High-
er.” It’s on the water tower,
which is high.
But a state senator from
Sioux City has a different mes-
sage for unemployed Iowans.
Reach too high, for a job you’re
not qualified to fill, and maybe
you’ll be investigated by Work-
force Development. Maybe
you’ll lose your unemployment
benefits.
So reports the Register of
Des Moines, which chronicled
Senate File 99, filed by Sen.
Jim Carlin, R-Sioux City. He
believes a bunch of Iowans
who receive unemployment
payments — and who are re-
quired to prove they’re looking
for work — are applying for
jobs they’re not qualified to
hold. They’re clearly gaming
the system, and don’t really
want to work.
He’s seen it firsthand. The
Register reports that Carlin
once sought to hire a paralegal
for his law firm and received
applications from “pizza
delivery people.”
Under his bill, employers
could report these unqualified,
unemployed applicants to state
officials. These underskilled
underachievers then would
get written notice. After three
such reports, an investigation
would be launched.
Was the individual “ear-
nestly and actively” seeking
work? If not, penalties would
follow, maybe even disquali-
fication from unemployment
payments. Bootstraps, not
included.
The bill, so far, has gone no-
where. But Carlin told the Reg-
ister he’s determined to pursue
the issue.
Even if it’s an overreach?
Personally, this doesn’t sit
well. It’s, frankly, worrisome.
Working at a newspaper in
Adobe Stock 2019, the thought of becoming
unemployed has crossed my
mind a time or two. (“Please,
GUEST COLUMN | OKPARA RICE GUEST COLUMN | CARLOS GRANT soon!” you might be thinking.)
Truth is, I have a very spe-

Issues of equality, Education reform,

cialized set of vocational skills,
;; DORMAN, PAGE 3D

justice affect us all justice reform linked AT LIBERTY

A A
ADAM SULLIVAN
s a black executive raising two biracial s a school district leader, I am compelled
sons, issues of social justice and equality to bring relevance to tough issues that
are a personal passion of mine. Growing
up in Chicago, I experienced firsthand the
effects of inequality in a public school sys-
influence the lives of our children. I am
truly excited to attend Adam Foss’ discus-
sion around privilege and opportunity
From the
tem, a system that didn’t care, a system that showed
a lack of support for both those struggling with ad-
and its connection to the reform of the American
justice system. There is much work to do in this are- bottom of
diction and for their families, and a system that led
young black men more easily into incarceration
than into college. Many of us have lived complicated
na, and the time for action is past due. In that vein, I
believe the foundation of justice reform begins with
a fundamental review of how we shape experiences
the legislative
lives and have not given up hope. I, too, choose to
stay engaged in the fight to ensure all families have
the opportunities to thrive.
for young people. Education is the great equalizer
and the best vehicle in driving students toward their
passions. When done right, these passions then lead
barrel of silly
I
I have to say at the outset, I am not an expert in students to a life where they can thrive — and not t’s silly season at the Iowa
criminal justice reform; however, I pride myself on just survive. This fundamental understanding re- Statehouse.
being someone who works to be aware of the issues quires a mindset that will allow us to both question Policymakers spend the
that face not only our community but also our the current system and evaluate what needs to be first few weeks of each session
introducing a multitude of
;; RICE, PAGE 4D ;; GRANT, PAGE 4D bills, most of which will never
become laws. Since they gav-
eled in about four weeks ago,
FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION lawmakers have filed more
than 500 pieces of legislation
on a wide range of subjects.
ADAM FOSS — SWORDS AND SHIELDS This is my favorite time of
the legislative season. Any-
A Discussion of Power, Privilege and Opportunity thing is possible and nothing
l 10 a.m. Friday at the Sinclair Auditorium at Coe College
has yet been formally desig-
Foss is executive director of Prosecutor Impact and is a leading voice on how to improve our system for all. He was nated dead. I skim the new
recognized by The Mandela Foundation as the 2017 Nelson Mandela Changemaker of the Year. His TED talk, “A prosecutor’s bills posted each day and keep
vision for a better justice system” has been viewed more than 2 million times. a log of the good, the bad and
the weird.
“UNCOMMON ALLIES” Here, I have gathered a few
© 2019 The Gazette

of the head-scratchers. These

A documentary film about a mother struck by the tragedy of her son’s murder who takes a stand are by no means the very
against gun violence and homicide. worst bills I have come across,
but the ones that are bad in
l 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, at Kesler Lecture Hall (Hickok Hall) at Coe College.
;; SULLIVAN, PAGE 4D
2D The Gazette ● Sunday, February 10, 2019

COMMUNITY LETTERS
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Assertions are not
“I think legal backed by science
marijuana is It should hardly astonish
us that Republicans con-
coming to the tinue to do the same thing
over and over, and predict-
Midwest. It’s ably, they expect the same
results. The latest instance
time for us in would be yet another bill to
Iowa to begin to defund Planned Parenthood,
co-sponsored by U.S. Sen.
have a serious Joni Ernst.
Ernst has attempted to
discussion about sell this bill as a “modest
how we might proposal.” But if enacted into
law, women and children
tackle that or will come last, especially the
poor. This finding is sup-
move away from ported by the work of Jona-
prohibition.” than Gruber, who discovered
that before Roe v. Wade was
State Sen. Joe Bolkcom, decided in 1973, marginal
D-Iowa City, announcing children would be 70 percent
a proposal to legalize more likely to live in a single
recreational marijuana and household, 35 percent more
regulate it like alcohol likely to die within the first
year of their life and 50 per-
cent more likely to be in a
welfare recipient household.
He also determined these
“We’ll start with children were 19.1 percent
less likely to experience pov-
a ban, but I think erty in adulthood and had an
there’s room for incarceration rate that was
29.5 percent lower.
a compromise.” Now, even if we assume
restriction of abortion has
State Rep. Jerad Klein, substantial value as a moral
R-Keota, discussing bills good, analyses that examine
in the Iowa Legislature to data on a global scale, like
ban or regulate automated a 2016 study conducted by
traffic enforcement Sedgh et al., have demon-
cameras, such as those strated rate of abortion is not
used in Cedar Rapids correlated with level of re-
striction. Rather, relative to
countries that apply no con-
straints, it’s more prevalent,
“I’m not by a value of 3 per 100,000, in
places where it’s prohibited
interested in altogether.
On all matters of public
regulation.” policy, we should not expect
Ernst to understand the
State Sen. Brad Zaun, underlying science, but we
R-Urbandale, who is should demand she at least
proposing a ban on traffic defer to the experts.
cameras Scott Roland
Cedar Rapids
Pay attention to what
“At the end of Dems are saying
the day, this is The dozens of Democratic
presidential candidates seem How residents can
a big increase. to be on a quest to out “lib-
We’re talking eral progressive” each other.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria
about serious Ocasio-Cortez is discussing a is a very flawed person.
70 percent tax rate for those He’s had three wives, each
money.” with incomes in the millions
of dollars. This is despite
State Rep. Linda Upmeyer, 2016 data showing income
R-Clear Lake, advocating tax bringing in $1.44 trillion. self-fixated, has no empathy assessing popularity, looks,
for a 2.1 percent increase The top 1 percent of those
in state funding to Iowa taxpayers paid 37.3 percent
schools of the total. The top 50 per-
cent paid 97 percent, mean-
ing the bottom 50 percent
paid only 3 percent.
“The last two
years have been GUEST COLUMN I KURT ULLRICH
pitiful. I think a
INSIGHT
Clay Bennett is a syndicated cartoonist distributed by Post Writers Group. Comments: postwritersgroup@qg.com
Meanwhile U.S. Sen. Eliza- more than monosyllables
with the emergence of presi-
beth Warren is discussing an and doesn’t use name calling
dential candidates for the
annual tax based on wealth. and insults. What can we do?
2020 campaign, it would be
Pay attention. That is wealth, First, don’t waste time
an excellent time to develop
meaning your total dollar with impeachment. Sixty-
a list of core competencies.
value, not income. If you seven senators never wouldTherefore, I offer the fol-
have a $200,000 house, $5,000
in the bank, and $20,000 in
be brave enough. We will
lowing minimum list:
have a flood of candidates1) An accomplished lead
your IRA, you would be taxed coming through Iowa, hop-
executive for a principal gov-
on $225,000 of wealth. ing to replace him. What if
ernmental entity.
I fear the next discussion he lost the nomination? 2) Possesses an under-
will be something even more Express your concerns by
standing of geopolitics and
ridiculous. I can see some- email, by calling your rep-
related challenges.
thing like combining a wealth resentatives locally and in
3) Demonstrated ability
tax and the estate tax. We Washington, by visiting their
to draw in expertise from a
still have an estate tax where offices and by attending their
broad spectrum of viewpoints
the federal government takes town halls. For the last two
to inform decision-making.
40 percent of the estate’s years, residents have pro-4) Skilled in resolving
wealth after the allowable ex- tested on Eighth Avenue by
conflict.
emption. On an annual basis the federal courthouse in Ce-
5) Conveys a cogent vision
the federal government could
calculate how much money
dar Rapids every Tuesday at
for addressing America’s
noon. Yes, even in rain and
domestic and international
it needed, and then kill, or snow. When you drive by,
challenges.
humanely euthanize, the cor- honk and let us know your 6) Possesses demonstrated
rect number of billionaires support. If you can spare a
leadership in complex orga-
and millionaires. Such a plan few minutes, come join us
nizational systems.
would likely get some trac- with your creative signs. We
7) Can accurately express
tion in the liberal progressive have extras if you need one.
familiarity with the U.S.
community. After all, capital- And vote. Your voice
Constitution and its obliga-
ism should be not only dis- needs to be heard. Our coun-
tions, especially concerning
couraged but punished. try needs you. the oath of office.
Bob Hepker Steve Patterson
I look forward to the
Center Point Marion
various candidates enriching
our understanding of their
Assess candidates expertise in domestic and
combat Trump era on their competency international affairs, and
illuminating their satisfac-
President Donald Trump Over the past two presi- tion of the criteria above.
dential campaigns, I observed However, I fear that without
our selection of a president some sense of competencies
of whom he has cheated on, mimics the process of elect- from which to evaluate the
and had his people pay the ing a high school class presi- candidates, we will endure
women to cover it up. He is dent. It’s more an exercise of nothing but a combative bar-
rage of personal assaults and
for others and acts on the showmanship, bluster and ill-formed policy positions,
spur of the moment. He’s cal- drama production, rather resulting in two fundamen-
lous and ruthless, while pos- than an actual examination tally flawed candidates being
sessing superficial charm. of the candidate’s competen- presented to the electorate.
It would be nice to have cy and fitness. Grant Harper
a president who speaks in Now that we are blessed Marion

In winter, civilization in
higher number is
in order.”
State Sen. Herman

small doses, and a small doe

Quirmbach, D-Ames, calling
for a higher increase in
education funding

B
y the time you read
“I’m not this, the worst of the
necessarily cold will be past. But
right now I’m watching a
saying the very small doe hunkered
down on the edge of my
commission as drive, curled up in whatever
warmth the sun can offer,
currently set occasionally lifting her head
up makes bad when other deer pass by,
high stepping in the deep
decisions.” snow. I worry about her.
I have bigger concerns
State Rep. Steve about humans who cannot
Holt, R-Denison, who get warm, humans who live
is sponsoring a bill to on the margins, those who
change the way Iowa can’t even afford a decent
selects judicial nominating car, let alone snow tires.
commission members But my world is small, so I
worry about living creatures
within a stone’s throw of my
windows.
“The plan by Deliberately I have
stepped back from civiliza-
drive in to town for groceries
and gas. Even Thoreau spoke
with people on a daily basis.
Being of the world is impor-
tant, even if it’s disagreeable
and a little confounding.
The other day I was fill-
ing my tank when I heard a
man yell, “I thought you was
a colored boy!” And then he
said it again, as a follow-up,
“Yep, I thought you was a
colored boy.”
This was a chubby, mid-
dle-aged guy getting out of
his vehicle at a convenience
store in a nearby small town
and he was addressing a
young man he obviously
knew, a young man who
looked pretty dirty, probably
the result of whatever job he
was doing that day, cleaning
chimneys maybe.
stuff come from? Who is
to blame for our profound
cluelessness, our bigotry,
our refusal to accept others
as equals? Why has this not
ended? I used to blame poor
public schools but now I
blame politicians. Every day
we are confronted by small
men and women who claim
to speak on our behalf but
who, in fact, speak only for
those with money who will
assure they stay in power.
I’m profoundly tired of it.
Those who aspire to the
U.S. presidency have begun
showing up here, politicians
with extraordinary egos,
men and women who will for
the next year try to convince
us that they are just like us,
that they understand rural
America, that they too come
cabin without electricity.
I love these people. They
will be sashaying around the
state, smiles fixed in place,
television cameras whir-
ring, chewing on stuff on a
stick at the state fair, all the
while oozing earnestness
and sincerity. My own cyni-
cism tells me not to believe
a word they say, a cynicism
I can date back to the war in
Vietnam, wherein I blame
Richard Nixon.
Meanwhile the doe still is
out there. Maybe later I’ll go
in to town and pick up some
alfalfa cubes for her, perhaps
a block of salt. Like almost
everything I encounter, both
here and in a town, I wish I
could do more.
l Kurt Ullrich lives in rural

legislative tion, but I am not the her- For a moment I thought from humble beginnings
Jackson County. His book “The
Iowa State Fair” is available from
mitic, misanthropic sort, so I it was 1963. Where does this and perhaps grew up in a log
Republicans to the University of Iowa Press.

politicize Iowa’s INSIGHT & BOOKS

court system is • MISSION: Insight & Books is a forum thegazette.com/opinion/ for more •GAZETTE EDITORIAL BOARD:
bad news for for discussion about and by Eastern discussions. Submit questions or Gazette editorial positions on
Iowans, their communities and the world suggestions to editorial@thegazette.com. public issues are the consensus of
Iowans.” at large. •BOOKS: Read past books coverage The Gazette Editorial Board: Todd
© 2019 The Gazette

State Sen. Janet Petersen,
D-Des Moines, criticizing
the Republicans’ judicial
nominating proposal
•INSIGHT: We welcome and will consider
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guest columns (500 words) and other
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Dorman, Insight editor, columnist;
Lynda Waddington, columnist; Adam
Sullivan, columnist; Zack Kucharski,
Gazette executive editor; Quinn Pettifer,
community outreach and engagement
manager
 Sunday, February 10, 2019 ● The Gazette 3D

INSIGHT
GUEST COLUMN | JOE BOLKCOM

Iowa should regulate marijuana like alcohol

T
en states now regulate marijua-
na like alcohol.
In November, Michigan vot-
ers approved legal sales of marijuana
to adults. The newly elected governors
of both Minnesota and Illinois want to
do the same.
Iowa should follow their lead.
Marijuana prohibition hasn’t worked
and has hurt taxpayers and everyday
Iowans.
Despite the best efforts of the crimi-
nal justice system to protect us from
this overly exaggerated threat and the
hundreds of millions spent on police,
courts, jails and prisons, Iowans are
not safer or healthier.
By legalizing and regulating the sale
of marijuana to Iowa adults, we can
refocus our criminal justice system on
serious crime and expand substance
abuse treatment programs.
We also can capture our state’s
share of the businesses, jobs, revenue
and commerce created by regulating
marijuana like alcohol.
It’s time to face facts. In Iowa, mari-
juana is available to about anyone who
seeks it. Iowans objectively know that
it’s less toxic, less addictive and less
lethal than the alcohol that is available
at every Hy-Vee, Casey’s and Kum &
Go.
Iowa’s continued prohibition of
marijuana imposes a heavy burden on
Iowa families in the form of lost jobs,
legal bills, jail time, broken families,
violence and crime. Why should we
keep spending millions and millions
each year to arrest, prosecute, jail and
punish thousands of Iowans for pos-
sessing a substance less harmful than
legal alcohol?
I’m not naive. As with the legaliza-
tion of alcohol, marijuana legalization
will bring its own set of challenges.
One major concern is the use of
marijuana by teenagers. Like smoking
cigarettes or drinking alcohol, using
marijuana is bad for their health and
social development. That’s why, teen
use of marijuana must be aggressively
discouraged and prevented.
Other states have done this success-
fully. After moving from marijuana
prohibition to marijuana regulation,
government surveys have found that
teen marijuana use has not increased.
It is time for Iowans, and the Iowa
Legislature, to take a hard, clear look
at what Iowa’s marijuana prohibition
has accomplished.
Despite marijuana prohibition, Iowa
has a working underground market
for marijuana. Just like with illegal
alcohol in the 1930s, Iowa’s illegal un-
derground marijuana market is profit-
able, unregulated, untaxed and supply-
ing its customers.
The enforcement of marijuana
prohibition has been grossly unequal.
Even though black Iowans and white
Iowans use marijuana at the same
rate, black Iowans are four times more
likely to be arrested for marijuana pos-
session. A law that cannot be equally
enforced is blatantly unfair and erodes
trust in our justice system.
The prohibition price tag is enor-
mous. Through the decades Iowans
have spent hundreds of millions on
marijuana prohibition. Last year, Iowa
taxpayers paid $12 million to enforce
5,200 marijuana possession violations.
There’s a better way. It’s time to end
Iowa’s failed, unfair, costly history of
marijuana prohibition.
We should replace Iowa’s criminal
marijuana underground market with
one that is well regulated. Estimates
are that state regulation and taxa-
tion of the legal sale of marijuana will
create many new businesses and
4,000-7,000 new jobs across Iowa while
generating $40 million to $70 million in
new state and local revenue.
Those new resources can help us
respond with effective treatment for
the abuse of marijuana, alcohol, other
drugs and tobacco. New revenue can
also be used for urgently needed new
investments in early, healthy child-
hood development and child care as-
sistance.
As the Midwest moves forward to
regulate marijuana use for adults,
Iowans will need to decide whether
we will continue wasting money and
destroying lives on failed prohibition
or whether we will learn lessons from
other states and capture our share of
jobs, revenue and commerce by regu-
lating marijuana like alcohol.
l Joe Bolkcom is a Democratic
state senator from Iowa City.

GUEST COLUMN | TRAVIS WEIPERT GUEST COLUMN | RICH PATTERSON

Voter voices Aging gracefully needs preparation

were silenced I
in District 55
I
  promised interested
parties that I would
take a minute to
share my thoughts re-
garding the Iowa House
55 contested ballots as
a county auditor. For
those who do not know,
District 55 received 29 ab-
sentee ballots after elec-
tion night that lacked the
required U.S. postmark.
Why would we even
consider counting votes
without the required
postmark?
This is where things
get interesting.
Iowa code 53.17 states,
“In order for the ballot
to be counted, the re-
turn envelope must be
received in the commis-
sioner’s office before the
polls close on Election
Day or be clearly post-
marked by an officially
authorized postal service
or bear an intelligent
mail bar code traceable
to a date of entry into the
federal mail system not
later than the day before
the election and received
by the commissioner not
later than noon on the
Monday following the
election.”
House formed a com-
mittee, a committee of
three republicans and
two democrats who
elected not to hear ex-
pert testimony, includ-
ing testimony from the
registered voters whose
ballots were excluded,
and moved the decision
to the full chamber. Af-
ter a lengthy debate in
the Iowa House, with no
input from the citizens
whose votes were ex-
cluded or relevant voter
law or postal service
experts, and no comment
from the winner of the
election in question on
whether those ballots
should be counted, the
decision was made along
party lines to exclude the
29 ballots.
In my opinion, your
vote is often your loudest
voice. Unfortunately, 29
Iowa citizens who were
legally registered to vote
were disenfranchised
when the rules clearly
were followed. The
American Postal Union
of Des Moines posted the
following statement Jan.
29 on Facebook:
“These 29 people (in
  was heartbroken as I sat
alone in the house I grew up
in. Mom and Dad lived there
during 72 years of marriage but
at age 95 had recently moved to a
senior residence. Over the years
they’d stuffed the house with
clutter and family memorabilia.
My task wasn’t easy. Despite
20 years encouraging them to
prepare for declining health,
they procrastinated and chose to
“wait and see” what would hap-
pen. Their ability to care for the
home declined as they aged, and
it became ever more cluttered
and dirty. Various appliances
and furnishings broke and went
unrepaired. Eventually, living
there became untenable. As
gently as possible, I helped them
move to the senior residence.
My brother and his wife spent
days cleaning and fixing items in
the old bungalow. Much went to
the landfill and Goodwill, but I
needed to decide the fate of fam-
ily photos, memorabilia, books
and other sentimental items.
Pressured by time and fatigue,
I was forced to send precious
memories to the landfill. It was
hard but was a lesson on how to
ease the aging process.
This year my wife and I turn
70. We are in good health, enjoy
our home and intend to live there
as long as possible. However, we
realize years will catch up with
us. So, we gradually make deci-
sions and reduce possessions,
making our life easier and the
disposal chore simpler for our
children when we move or die.
We are not alone. Millions
Pressured by time recycled and never accumulate.
Develop relationships with a
and fatigue, I was lawyer, doctor, dentist, financial
adviser, tax preparer, Realtor,
forced to send
yard care specialists and other
professionals who are younger
precious memories than us.
to the landfill. It was Investigate senior residences
in case we choose or need to
hard but was a lesson
move to one.
Keep finances as robust as pos-
on how to ease the sible. It’s difficult to get old but
aging process. it’s easier with more than a few
bucks in savings.
Maintain an enduring positive
of Americans are helping their relationship with a clergy person
elderly parents with late life deci- or counselor who can help guide
sions, moving, and purging pos- us through difficult life decisions.
sessions. Here are ways we are According to Jami Gordon,
preparing for aging: a Realtor with Keller Williams
Keep important papers, such Legacy Group, keeping a home
as our wills and advanced direc- in good repair and modernized
tives and financial papers updat- helps it sell and brings the best
ed and accessible to our children. price. “Often, older people must
Digitalize important family maximize the sale value of their
photos and dispose of the tan- home to financially enable mov-
gible ones. ing to a senior residence. It is all
Keep our home and contents too often I find they simply don’t
updated and in good repair. We’ll have a plan. I encourage family
restructure the physical space so and friends to help their aging
we have a kitchen, bedroom, and loved ones to begin the process
bathroom all on one floor. We’ll early, before retirement. Chunk-
make entry accessible and peri- ing it down into steps over five to
odically freshen the house with 10 years decreases stress and is
new paint, shades, carpets and easier on the budget,” she said.
furniture. As the years mount, it’s daunt-
Declutter. We’re disposing of ing and scary facing a future
things unused in recent years of declining ability and health.
and are unlikely to ever be need- However, proactive planning and
ed. Old camping gear went to the action will help make our senior
Sierra Club auction, beloved, but years as simple and pleasant as
no longer read, books go to the possible for us and our children.
library. Functional unneeded l A New Jersey native, Rich Patterson and
tools are donated to the Matthew his wife Marion, have lived in Iowa for 41
25 Tool Library. Magazines are years and co-own Winding Pathways LLC.

Dorman/Let’s scrutinize other issues

Because Winneshiek
County Auditor Ben
Steines does not use In-
telligent Mail Bar code
(IMB) and instead relies
on the traditional post-
mark, as I do in Johnson
County, we could assume
the ballots should not be
counted, correct? One
small problem here, the
U.S. Post Office placed a
tracking code on the bal-
lots but did not use the
traditional postmark or
IMB detailed in the Iowa
code.
The question is wheth-
er the tracking code
placed on the ballots con-
stitutes a U.S. postmark.
Iowa code states that the
IMB code, which is dif-
ferent from the mailing
code placed by the U.S.
postal service, should be
placed on the ballot by
the auditor and traceable
in the U.S. postal system.
Even though not a tra-
ditional postmark, the
traceable code placed on
the envelope by the post
office clearly shows the
ballots in U.S. postal sys-
tem before deadline, so
District 55) followed the
law, properly mailed
their ballots. The USPS
received the ballots,
processed the ballots
and printed a bar code
on them, identifying
when they were accepted
into the USPS mail pro-
cessing system. Now a
handful of state repre-
sentatives are making
a mockery of the USPS
process by blaming the
USPS for not placing a
‘postmark’ on the bal-
lots. The USPS does not
have to put a postmark
on mail. The USPS is
business and it evolves,
names change in pro-
cesses and procedures.
These 29 people should
not be denying their
right to vote, because a
handful of elected offi-
cials want to play games
with semantics.”
It is my view as a
highly trained election
official that these 29 bal-
lots legally cast from
registered Iowans were
unjustly ignored. Their
voice was silenced. It’s
my hope the Iowa Leg-
;; FROM PAGE 1D
which I’ve spent all of my adult
working life using.
The flip side is I have few, if
any, other marketable skills, un-
less I can be paid for watching
televised sports and avoiding
household chores.
Consequently, if my work-life
balance ever is abruptly reset to
100 percent life, I would be imme-
diately underqualified for virtu-
ally every other job: restaurant,
retail, manufacturing, zoo-keep-
ing, spelunking, gene-splitting,
you name it. I’d be applying for
jobs without the skills needed to
do them.
But as a product of our Mid-
western can-do culture, and pos-
sessing a tireless Iowa work ethic,
I’d have no choice but to try, and
try again. Soon, under SF 99, I’d
be under scrutiny by the brand-
new Iowa Bureau for the Investi-
gation of People Who Don’t Know
Their Own Limitations. That’s
IBIPWDKTOL, for short.
That name isn’t in the bill. It’s
just a suggestion. Any openings
in the acronyms bureau?
We pay millions upon
millions of dollars
for water quality
programs without
timelines, bench
marks or checks to
prove we’re actually
making progress.
Large agricultural
interests don’t want
such scrutiny.
Wisdom often operates under
the assumption that the ranks
of our fellow Iowans in need of
help are riddled with deadbeats,
cheaters and frauds. That’s why
we need tough new limits, tests
and requirements. They can’t be
trusted. And it’s great politics.
Broad evidence? Data? Who
needs it? We’ve got anecdotes.
Food stamps for crab legs and
out tax breaks and other pricey
perks to business interests to the
tune of hundreds of millions of
dollars, and don’t always know
what exactly we’re getting for all
that generosity. We need to take
a good look at that, one of these
days.
We pay millions upon millions
of dollars for water quality pro-
grams without timelines, bench
marks or checks to prove we’re
actually making progress. Large
agricultural interests don’t want
such scrutiny.
We’re paying out millions of
dollars in legal settlements for
sexual harassment cases because
of a lack of basic accountability
throughout state government.
The list of oversight failures goes
on, and on.
But, by God, let’s make sure
pizza delivery guy is earnest and
active.
The good news is there’s at
least one job most of us could
qualify for easily. All you need to
be is older than 25, a U.S. citizen
and an Iowa resident for more
than a year. Oh, and having a
pulse helps.
© 2019 The Gazette

why wouldn’t the ballots
count?
Iowa law states the
decisions rests with the
Iowa House of Repre-
sentatives. The Iowa
islature will clarify the
law so no Iowan sees a
legally cast ballot go un-
counted.
l Travis Weipert is the Democratic
county auditor in Johnson County.
Wisecracking aside, this is a
lousy idea, turning employers
into informers. There have to be
far better ways to improve the
unemployment system.
But our Golden Dome of
Mountain Dew! We rest our case.
It couldn’t be that the tough bar-
riers and requirements we’ve
already set up are setting these
folks up to fail in myriad ways.
At the same time we hand
Clear those very low bars and
you too can be a state senator.
Reach high.
l Comments: (319) 398-8262;
todd.dorman@thegazette.com
4D The Gazette ● Sunday, February 10, 2019
GUEST COLUMN I ANTHONY ARRINGTON
Get past negative assumptions
to identify untapped talent
I Negative assumptions made about
   live in a middle-class
neighborhood in Cedar
Rapids — or maybe I
should say a middle-class
“block” given that two blocks
up the street there are several
“low income” apartment com-
plexes in the neighborhood.
As I thought about justice
in America and this column,
a real-world story that hap-
pened in my family came to
mind — a story that will dem-
onstrate why justice reform
must happen in the court-
rooms as well as the c-suites.
Six years ago, my daugh-
ter’s new car was hit by a
drunken driver while parked
in our driveway. The car
was hit so hard that it was
thrown into our garage where
it destroyed the garage door
and the rear end of both cars
parked inside.
The police took a bumper
with a serial number as
evidence and promised to
investigate.
Here is where the story
relates to justice reform:
Nearly everyone who
heard about the accident and
knew where I lived — even
Grant/Local schools taking a bold path to future
;; FROM PAGE 1D
redesigned. This is the bond
that could link education
reform and justice system
reform together.
The Cedar Rapids Commu-
nity School District is being
bold in the quest to ensure
every student is properly
situated to realize their pas-
sions. We believe that we
must provide an environment
where each student can learn
and excel at high levels while
exploring their passions and
dreams.
During the past 20 years,
our community and the stu-
dents we serve have changed
dramatically. We are more ra-
cially, socioeconomically and
linguistically diverse in Cedar
Rapids Community Schools
than ever before. More than
48 percent of students are
eligible for free or reduced
lunch. More than 800 students
in grades K-12 are from more
than 45 countries speaking
more than 60 different lan-
guages.
Thirty-three percent of
our students are members of
minority groups. This is great
news, because diversity is a
source of strength and pride
that we consider essential to
realize our vision — Every
Learner: Future Ready.
Significant achievement
Rice/No immediate solutions to pressing issues
;; FROM PAGE 1D
nation. I have witnessed
and read countless stories of
how the scales of justice are
unequal. I have participated
in many roundtables and
worked with groups that are
trying to address disparities
in multiple systems. There
are no easy solutions or quick
fixes. Sometimes these con-
versations make us uneasy
and uncomfortable. It is dif-
ficult to address issues of bias
in the systems we rely on as
a nation. It makes us uncom-
fortable to think that the play-
ing field is indeed not equal
and difficult to own that we as
a society don’t always live up
to our rhetoric.
I am a person of optimism. I
have lived in various parts of
the country and have engaged
in these conversations with
diverse groups. What makes
our community different is
that we actually listen to each
other. When I was considering
moving here, I was told about
the historic “Iowa nice,” and
it has lived up to its billing. In
certain groups of people create a false
fear and an unwillingness to engage with
them, which leads to decisions that can
be devastating long-term.
some people who live in my
neighborhood — would say,
“It was probably someone in
those apartments, there is
always trouble up there.”
Well, lo and behold — the
investigation didn’t lead
police to the low-income
apartments about which all
the assumptions were made.
Rather, it led to a wealthy
family who lived about six
blocks from my house, whose
home is worth well over
$400,000. Their home is sur-
rounded by a white picket
fence and has curb appeal
that would hold its own on a
Parade of Homes tour.
My point, you ask?
It is that negative assump-
tions made about certain
groups of people create a false
fear and an unwillingness
and opportunity gaps and
inequities persist in our sys-
tem across lines of racial,
linguistic and socioeconomic
difference.
Our equity imperative is to
eliminate the predictability
of success and failure that
is predetermined by race,
ethnicity, family economics,
language and disabilities.
When I think of justice
system reform, I continue
to draw on the same paral-
lels that are driving school
reform. One such example is
how we are using exclusion-
ary practices to respond to
student misbehavior. Student
behavior is a form of com-
munication. It requires inten-
tional ways to meet student
needs. This is driving us to
become a system based on
restorative practices to elimi-
nate the predictability of fail-
ure and reduce exclusionary
responses that have dispro-
portionately affected students
in underserved populations.
A laserlike focus on harms
and consequent needs of vic-
tims, the community and the
offender is the result. Resto-
ration addresses obligations
resulting from those harms.
This applies to the offenders’
and the communities’ they
live. Through inclusive and
collaborative processes, we
seek to “make it right” with
my work at Tanager Place, I
have the unique opportunity
to meet many types of people.
I get to hear their concerns,
their fears, their hopes and
their pain. I have had many
conversations that have left
me with much hope and opti-
mism for our shared future;
I smile as I write this. We
are a community that cares
about each other; however,
sometimes we need to engage
in conversations that may be
uncomfortable but are crucial
— conversations that push us
out of our personal comfort
zones.
The national headlines talk
about historic tribalism as a
country. I challenge that con-
cept. Issues of fairness, equal-
ity, bias and justice affect
us all. We all have a vested
interest in making sure that
our community lives up to the
promises of our nation. Our
local law enforcement and
school districts have actively
been engaged in addressing
these issues, as have many
community members and lo-
cal politicians from all types
INSIGHT
to engage with them, which
leads to decisions that can be
devastating long-term.
Assumptions like those
made about the character of
people in those apartments
near me happen every day.
Companies with hiring man-
agers make assumptions
that all applicants who have
a checkered past are high
risk for problems because
they were in prison before.
So re-entry candidates are
not hired, doors continue to
be closed in their faces, and
the constant pain of rejec-
tion leads many of them right
back to the environment that
led them to prison. They are
at high risk to be arrested
again, and the cycle contin-
ues.
What if leaders took the
those that are harmed.
School suspension still can
be an effective strategy for
short-term responses, but the
biggest leverage is in repair-
ing community when harm is
done.
Criminal justice reform,
like education reform, should
take on this underlying mind-
set, practice, and simply
“how we do business.” We are
choosing to recognize how
communication across cul-
tural norms and experiences
can have positive effects on
student measures.
This journey has landed on
the recognition that culture
is not static. Rather, it is dy-
namic and ever-changing. We
acknowledge that in most ed-
ucational systems, the norms,
values, and beliefs usually
are shaped by a few cultural
groups. I think there is power
in acknowledging how unbal-
anced this power is in society.
Often, this imbalance leads
to unintended consequences
when a monocultural lens is
used to shape policy, prac-
tices, and behaviors. The
ways in which school leaders
manage and respond to issues
of diversity are essential to
promote the systemic change
needed to best meet the needs
of our changing student
population.
The same can be true in the
of political persuasions. I
know we can continue to have
these conversations. We can
debate differences, and we
can strive to make sure the
playing field is level for all.
To that end, I am excited
that I have been a part of a
community initiative that will
be hosting two very valuable
community conversations
this month. As you talk about
criminal justice reform and
bias, Adam Foss’ name rises
to the top of the list of nation-
al thought leaders. His TED
Talk has garnered over 2 mil-
lion views and has given him
a voice across the country in
helping lead conversations
about justice.
Adam will be in Cedar
Rapids at 10 a.m. Friday at
Sinclair Auditorium on the
Coe College campus for a
presentation titled “Swords
and Shields: A Conversation
about Power, Privilege and
Opportunity.” This event is
free to the public, thanks to
community donors. Following
his presentation, he will be
part of two roundtable discus-
time to understand a re-entry
candidate’s history and what
they have done to change
their lives? What if that candi-
date has the exact skills that
you need, received degrees or
certificates while incarcer-
ated, and was a model inmate
who mentored other inmates,
yet you did not know this be-
cause you could not get past
their robbery conviction from
10 years ago?
Can you imagine the un-
tapped talent that lies in our
backyard if more companies
for one moment would to stop
and think, “How did this can-
didate get to this point? What
if that was me?”
I ask corporate leaders:
What if you were forever
banned from living a produc-
tive life because of a mistake
you made in the past that you
paid for?
Would you still call it
justice?
l Anthony Arrington is a managing
partner at Top RANK, a professional
and executive search firm in Cedar
Rapids with a special emphasis on
helping companies that have a desire
to expand the diversity, inclusion and
engagement of their workforce.
redesign of the American
justice system.
Now, we can’t be naive
and believe we are going to
spread the balance of power
among hundreds of different
groups. But we can take small
steps. I am reminded that we
should value the changing de-
mographics happening in our
city. Leaders must have the
ability to be bold and embrace
the challenges of moving the
mindset dial for the doubters
within systems.
It is too important for
families, and we risk losing
many essentials that could
benefit us in the long term.
By embracing these rich di-
verse ideas and experiences,
schools will contain fresh
ideas that are valuable. We
also must acknowledge there
are other ways to experience
the world.
The responsibility to teach
our young children about the
power of cultural diversity
is on the elders and adults.
If not, we risk our children
growing up in a world that
does not take advantage of
cultural differences. Even
more, they would not even
know. But as momma told
me, “Now that we know bet-
ter, we must do better.”
l Carlos C. Grant is executive director
of middle level education with the Cedar
Rapids Community School District.
sions with community leaders
and students.
In addition, a public screen-
ing of the documentary, “Un-
common Allies,” will be held
at 1 p.m. Feb. 23 at Kesler Lec-
ture Hall, Hickok Hall, on the
Coe College campus. This doc-
umentary is a powerful story
of how one mother’s tragedy
resulted in her working with
the police department to ad-
dress violence in her com-
munity. A panel discussion
with the film’s director and
the documentary participants
will immediately follow the
screening.
I believe these events will
provide an opportunity for
those in attendance to re-
flect on issues of equality,
and I know they will create
valuable conversations in
our community. I invite you
to join me at these events
and encourage you to lend
your voice to the conversa-
tions. Collectively, we are
the change that can improve
equality for all.
l Okpara Rice is chief executive officer
of Tanager Place in Cedar Rapids.
Sullivan/
A review
of bad
legislative
ideas
;; FROM PAGE 1D
interesting ways. Each of
these has a realistic shot at
advancing, since they’re spon-
sored by lawmakers from the
majority party. I give them
all credit for at least sparking
discussion.
l House File 139 by Rep.
Mary Ann Hanusa, R-Council
Bluffs, is what’s known as a
sore loser law. Anyone who
seeks a partisan nomination
for office and fails to get it
would be barred from running
in that election as a no-party
or third-party candidate. Iowa
is one of only three states
without some form of a sore
loser law on the books,
according to Ballotpedia.
Erecting barriers to ballot
access is plainly undemo-
cratic, and helps to tighten
the two-party stranglehold on
the electoral process. This bill
would give too much power to
a relatively small and unrep-
resentative group of primary
voters. In the 2018 election cy-
cle, statewide primary turnout
was about one-fifth of general
election turnout.
Ballot restrictions often
have been challenged, but they
usually prevail. Courts have
said sore loser laws provide a
check on “intraparty feuds”
and “unrestrained factional-
ism.” If that’s the goal, they’re
doing a bad job, as those phe-
nomena are easily observable
in states with the law in place.
l SF 75 by Sen. Zach Whit-
ing, R-Spirit Lake, would
establish a grant program for
people who relocate to Iowa
and work remotely for an out-
of-state company. Newcomers
would be eligible for $10,000
over two years to cover work-
related expenses, like com-
puter products or membership
to a coworking space. The
program would get $750,000 in
state money its first year.
Vermont started a similar
program this year, and many
municipalities across the
country offer relocation incen-
tives. Newton, for example,
saw an increase in single-fami-
ly home construction after the
city started offering cash and
loan assistance to builders.
I appreciate the intent of at-
tracting new Iowans, but we
should be skeptical of propos-
als aimed at targeting special
incentives to certain classes
of people. Instead, policymak-
ers should focus on securing a
competitive tax environment
and facilitating wage growth
to benefit all Iowans.
l Senate File 66 by Sen. Tom
Shipley, R-Nodaway, would
increase the legal age to buy
or use vaporizers from 18 to
21. It’s a response to the con-
cern that teens are picking up
nicotine habits from trendy
e-cigarettes, like the popular
Juul brand devices, in line
with the Trump administra-
tion’s nationwide crackdown
on youth vaping.
I am immediately opposed
to this kind of paternalistic
overreach, because 18-year-
olds are adults who deserve all
the rights and responsibilities
fellow adults enjoy.
But this bill is much worse
than that. It would leave
the legal age to purchase
cigarettes at 18, giving young
adults a full three years of
easy access to cigarettes, but
without a legal way to get
nicotine alternatives that are
likely much safer. The unin-
tended consequences are
glaring.
Unfortunately, this is one
of the bad bills that has a good
chance at becoming a law this
year. It has already advanced
from a House subcommittee
and drawn support from sev-
eral lobbying groups. Even
© 2019 The Gazette
lobbyists for Juul Labs, sensi-
tive to the threat of even great-
er restrictions, are supporting
the bill.
l Comments: (319) 339-3156;
adam.sullivan@thegazette.com

LEONARD PITTS JR. l SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
Time to reconsider
cost of not knowing
T
he most dangerous
place for black people to
live is in white people’s
imagination.
So says comedian D.L. Hugh-
ley. And surely Tamir Rice and
Trayvon Martin would concur
if they were alive to do so.
But if white people’s imagi-
nation is the most dangerous
place for black people, it is also
the most denigrating. Fresh
but superfluous evidence of
that arrived Friday in the form
of a photo on the med school
yearbook page of Virginia
Gov. Ralph Northam. The im-
age, taken in 1984, the year
Northam turned 25, depicts
two young men, one wearing a
KKK hood, the other painted in
blackface.
Northam, a Democrat who
attends a black church, has
trotted out shifting explana-
tions. First he apologized,
though he failed to say which
man in the picture was him.
Then he said neither man in
the picture was him. Then
he admitted that he did once
darken his skin — to imitate
Michael Jackson in a dance
contest.
By now it’s immaterial
whether either man in the pic-
ture is Northam. The very fact
that he thought it could have
been, never mind that he ad-
mits to having worn blackface
at least once, speaks to how
ubiquitous this sort of thing —
white people pretending them-
selves black — must have been
in his circle.
Sadly enough, this story
broke on the first day of Black
History Month. Worse, it broke
in the state where, 400 years
ago this August, the first Afri-
can slaves arrived.
Unfortunately slavery —
like most every other aspect of
black history — is something
about which many of us, many
white Americans in particular,
know precious little. Too bad.
If more white people had more
than a fleeting grasp of that his-
tory, maybe Northam’s career
would not be in flames. Megyn
Kelly might still be a talk-show
host, Michael Ertel might still
be Florida’s secretary of state
CAL THOMAS | SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
The state of what union?
E
loquence is not a charac-
teristic associated with
President Donald Trump,
but in his State of the Union
address Tuesday night, the
president not only rose to the
occasion, he also delivered a
message that was beautifully
crafted by his speechwriters,
a speech devoid of much of the
divisive and combative lan-
guage that has characterized
his first two years in office. It
was also well-delivered and,
well-received, if not by every
member of Congress, then
by 76 percent of those who
watched it, according to a CBS
News instant poll.
Unfortunately, the likeli-
hood of anything changing
in Congress is less than nil.
Democrats mostly sat on their
hands, or smirked and shook
their heads in response. The
partisan divide that character-
izes modern Washington is not
likely to be bridged by a single
speech. Most likely this was an
address designed to enhance
the president’s re-election pros-
pects. If that was the goal, it
may have served him well.
Some viewers may have
been surprised that the
president directly and with
conviction addressed the anti-
abortion issue in light of New
York’s newly passed Reproduc-
tive Health Act, which protects
a woman’s access to abortion if
Roe v. Wade is overturned, and
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s
defense of a proposed bill that
would, writes the Washing-
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, accompanied by his wife, Pamela, speaks at a news
conference Feb. 2 in Richmond, Va. The governor has been under pressure to
resign since racist images were found on his 1984 yearbook page.
and dozens of other white
people might not have found
themselves squirming in em-
barrassment, trying to explain
why they would appropriate
someone else’s denigration as
their costume.
Nor is this ignorance ac-
cidental. Rather, kids — white
kids in particular — have been
protected from knowing cer-
tain hard and ugly truths about
their country. Granted, the
teaching of history in general
is in decline. But only the his-
tory of people of color has faced
laws and policies attempting
to strip it from classrooms.
Only these stories have been
bleached in textbooks to the
point that people who were
kidnapped from home and sold
like horses can be referred to
as “immigrants.”
In banning ethnic stud-
ies classes a few years back,
Arizona suggested they might
“promote resentment toward a
race or class of people.” Trans-
lation: they might make white
kids feel guilty about things
their forebears did. To which
ton Times, “ ... allow abor-
tion up until the moment of
childbirth.” Trump called on
Congress to prohibit late-term
abortions, which is not likely
to happen, but kudos for him
saying “all children, born and
unborn, are made in the holy
image of God.”
The president listed the
economic achievements of his
administration, which Demo-
crats will have a hard timing
rebutting. These include record
numbers of people working,
low unemployment numbers
for minorities and high em-
ployment numbers for women,
which even the white-clad fe-
male congressional Democrats
were forced to applaud.
The president also chal-
lenged the growing appeal of
socialism among young people.
He said he was “alarmed” by
it and pronounced, “We were
born free and we will stay
free,” adding that we should
“renew our resolve that Amer-
ica will never be a socialist
country.” Even Speaker Nancy
Pelosi was forced to stand and
applaud that line to the appar-
ent consternation of “demo-
cratic” socialists Sen. Bernie
Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alex-
andria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
The president’s use of guests
in the balcony was the most
effective since Ronald Reagan
inaugurated the practice. From
a Holocaust survivor, to one
of his liberators; from a first-
responder hero of Pittsburgh’s
Tree of Life synagogue shoot-
INSIGHT
Reuters
theologian and Rabbi Abraham
Joshua Heschel provides the
best rejoinder: “Few are guilty,
but all are responsible.”
Rather than accept that re-
sponsibility, America seeks to
protect white kids from hurt
feelings. In the process, it often
inculcates in them an arrogant
ignorance. From that, you get
Ralph Northam, moonwalking
with shoe polish on his face.
From that, you get Donald
Trump as president and a 17
percent spike in hate crimes his
first year in office. From that,
you get one woman dead in
Charlottesville, nine other peo-
ple slaughtered in Charleston.
So this Black History Month
in the quadricentennial year of
American slavery would be an
excellent time for white people
of conscience to reconsider the
high cost of not knowing.
Yes, it’s hard to live in their
imagination. But living in their
ignorance is no picnic, either.
l Leonard Pitts is a syndicated colum-
nist distributed by Tribune News Service.
Comments: lpitts@miamiherald.com
ing, to a former inmate recent-
ly released under the new “first
step” law, designed to address
the disparity in sentencing of
non-violent, nondangerous of-
fenders, the president chose
life stories that no one could
oppose.
There was his call to “choose
greatness” over division and
partisanship and to “move for-
ward together,” which again is
unlikely to happen. If it doesn’t
and especially if there is an-
other government shutdown
mid-February, the president
can say he tried and it was the
opposition of Democrats that
thwarted him. Whether such
a charge would stick is any-
one’s guess. It all depends on
whether he can rally, not only
his base, which is a given, but
that part of the country that is
sick of the bickering and wants
it to end.
People who tuned into the
speech expecting some sort of
drama obscuring substance
— perhaps a staged walkout,
or protests from the balcony
— were disappointed. Such
a demonstration would not
have served Democrats well.
In the end, the dignity of the
occasion, however fragile, was
preserved.
“Victory is not winning for
our party,” said the president.
“Victory is winning for our
country.”
If only.
l Cal Thomas is a syndicated columnist
distributed by Tribune News Service.
Comments: tcaeditors@tribpub.com
Sunday, February 10, 2019
JOHN KASS | SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
For Democrats,
blackface scandals
beat defending
late abortions
A
merica has been told,
relentlessly, that the
nation became of-
ficially and irrevocably un-
hinged in November 2016.
That’s when a vulgar re-
ality TV star flipped off the
calcified Washington estab-
lishment, became president
and triggered much hys-
terical weeping and teeth-
gnashing among pundits
and other palace guardians
who play journalists on TV.
But as we lurch toward
the 2020 presidential
campaign, what of the
Democrats?
Is the party of the angry
American left — moving
ever leftward and angrier
by the minute — any more
stable than Republicans of
two years ago?
No. There’s a frenzy
among the Democrats un-
leashed by the upcoming
presidential campaign. We
haven’t seen its like except
in those Hieronymus Bosch
paintings of hell.
The Democratic center
has collapsed. Moderates
are hunted down and cast
out by the hard left that
pulls the party’s chain. The
late poet Maya Angelou fa-
mously warned that “when
someone shows you who
they are, believe them the
first time.”
And that’s the scary part.
What are Democrats show-
ing the nation other than
that many of them want to
take us to Venezuela?
“It concerns me that
so many voices within
the Democratic Party are
going so far to the left,”
said former Starbucks CEO
Howard Schultz, who’s
thinking about running for
president as an independent
and wondering how
Democrats can possibly pay
for all the things they’re
promising, from universal
health care to free college,
free everything.
Now the left that rules
the party wants his head on
a pike.
The Democratic Party
itself has become unbound
in an orgy of the extreme.
They’re fixated on the sin
of some Democrats wear-
ing blackface decades ago.
And this becomes their fig
leaf to cover a push for late-
term abortions and in some
cases, infanticide.
That doesn’t win elec-
tions. That loses elections.
But they don’t want to hear
it. Addiction to anger over-
whelms them now.
How else to explain those
standing ovations and the
wild applause in the New
York Senate chamber when
abortion up until birth, for
any reason, was approved
and signed into state law?
Gov. Andrew Cuomo had
One World Trade Center
lit up pink in victory over
helpless infants. And then
he insisted that he was Ro-
man Catholic and an altar
boy. Cuomo’s skin must be
made of wood.
Wood can’t blush. Wood
can’t feel any shame. And
apparently, neither does the
old altar boy.
Most Americans don’t
support abortion deep into
the third trimester. Most
Americans wouldn’t ap-
plaud in triumph. They’d
feel shame for those clap-
ping, like the old altar boy
thumping his chest in vic-
tory. And they’d feel sorrow
for the babies.
That’s most people. But
Democratic politicians in
New York felt the need to
display triumph, loudly and
stridently. The leftward tilt
of the Democratic Party is
almost a desperation, a hun-
ger of the zealous.
This has already hurt
presidential candidate Sen.
● The Gazette 5D
Kamala Harris, the Califor-
nia Democrat. She made it
clear she wants to get rid of
private health insurance.
“Let’s eliminate all of that,”
Harris said. “Let’s move
on.”
Let’s eliminate all that?
Harris tried to walk that
back, but she went too far.
It is a disaster for
her. But a rival for the
Democratic nomination,
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of
Massachusetts, is worse off.
Warren finally and formally
hammered the Faux into
her own Fauxcahontas
narrative.
The Washington Post
reported that Warren had
identified herself as “Amer-
ican Indian” on a 1986 reg-
istration for the state bar
of Texas, though she was
not Native American. She
foolishly took the infamous
DNA test that proved she’s
no more Native American
than my late Sicilian father-
in-law.
Warren had insisted she
didn’t use her “minority”
status to climb the career
ladder.
Ah, but of course she did
just that. She danced the
dance of race and favor. She
didn’t check her privilege.
Instead, she checked the
box that said minority.
Now there’s another
wildfire consuming the
party of identity politics:
The Virginia Democratic
Blackface Spectacular.
Democratic Gov. Ralph
Northam, who won office
accusing his opponents of
racism, apologized for being
in a racist medical school
yearbook photo. Then he
said he wasn’t in the photo
but had worn blackface for
a Michael Jackson dance
contest in the 1980s. He
almost moonwalked for
reporters until his wife
stopped him.
Then Virginia Attorney
General Mark Herring, a
Democrat, admitted he, too,
wore blackface in the ’80s.
And the beneficiary of all
the chaos, Democratic Lt.
Gov. Justin Fairfax, was
ready to succeed Northam
when he was accused of
sexual assault.
When Supreme Court
Justice Brett Kavanaugh
was dragged through the
mud in his bloody confir-
mation hearing, unfairly
accused without evidence
of being a sexual predator,
Democrats and media allies
shrieked that we had to be-
lieve the women making the
accusations.
But are Democrats insist-
ing that Fairfax’s accuser
be believed?
No.
The talk of Democrats
wearing blackface has all
but covered up something
else that Northam, a
pediatrician, said about
aborting a child who had
been delivered.
“When we talk about
third-trimester abortions,
these are done with the con-
sent of — obviously — the
mother, with the consent of
the physicians — more than
one physician, by the way.
... If a mother is in labor, I
can tell you exactly what
would happen. The infant
would be delivered.
“The infant would be
kept comfortable. The in-
fant would be resuscitated if
that’s what the mother and
the family desired, and then
a discussion would ensue
between the physicians and
mother.”
A discussion. You mean
© 2019 The Gazette
the discussion that America
isn’t having about the value
of human life.
l John Kass is a columnist for
the Chicago Tribune. Comments:
jskass@chicagotribune.com