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Random acts of kindness

Columnists

Last summer Ginnie and I went to a reunion of the company I used to work for in Loveland, Colorado, Hach (pronounced “Hawk”) Company. It was great seeing some of my old work associates and friends. One person in particular who, when I worked with him, I wouldn’t have given him another five years to live, (Alcoholism, I was quick to judge) was, looking fit, healthy and happy, 35 years later. So much for my judgments. One young man at the picnic reunion came up to me. I say “young man” because he had a shaved head making it hard for me to judge his age, or remember who he was. ...

In between Testaments

Your View

When the Old Testament came to a close, there were preachers who brought their message to the people as instructed. Hosea began the preaching with the fact he was going to take a prostitute as a wife: Hosea’s wife is a picture of Israel seeking other gods. Joel says that “A nation is coming to my land, they will lay the land bare.” Amos says, “The Lord will roar from Zion and will not stop any Heavenly punishment dealt to the Israelites; Obadiah says, Israel’s pride has deceived you.” Jonah said that “in forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown.” Micah says that the Lord ...

Protecting the 340B program

Columnists

Iowa has 82 Critical Access Hospitals, the second highest in the nation. Critical access hospitals (CAHs) are healthcare facilities that offer inpatient, outpatient and emergency services. Located mostly in rural areas and typically have a maximum of 25 beds. A high percentage of these hospitals in Iowa face the possibility of closure. With just over 37 percent of Iowa’s population living in rural areas, these hospitals are, for many Iowans, their only nearby access to medical care. These hospitals are operating on tight margins and one way they are able to keep their doors open is ...

To drink or not to drink. Wrong question

Columnists

For anyone aiming to cut back drinking, January’s arrival times perfectly. Some may have simply overdone it through the long holiday stretch, when alcohol seemed piped into any vaguely celebratory event. Some may worry that they’re beginning to forget the last drink they accepted. Recovering alcoholics or others who don’t drink at all have it easier, in one small way. Their intimates get to know that they do not imbibe — not beer, not wine, not liquor — and so don’t push alcohol in their direction. Those who want a drink now and then — in some cases, every night — ...

Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Executive Order: What happens next

Columnists

The Supreme Court announced that it will hear oral argument in our birthright citizenship case. The case blocks President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to take away the right to birthright citizenship for many native-born American children, even though the 14th Amendment guarantees ...

In a gloomy winter, read a classic book

Columnists

After Christmas is over, and the sunrises start getting earlier and the sunsets later in the Northern Hemisphere, there are still two months of scarce daylight and lowering skies ahead. Here’s a suggestion for how to fill the gloomy hours with uplift: read. Read some great books, returning perhaps to those you ploughed through on school assignments so many years ago. Discover one of the pleasures of aging — how serious books turn out to be more interesting and enriching than what you remember from dutifully ploughing through them years ago. Sit in a comfortable chair, turn off ...