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When will Grassley, Ernst and others stand up to Trump, rein him in?

The Trump White House is a firehose of lies that spreads chaos, confusion and hate-filled rhetoric every day. The list goes on and on. Trump is wreaking havoc on our economy – and my retirement funds – with disastrous tariffs and trade policies. He’s been disappearing law-abiding immigrants to foreign prisons without due process, attacking our global allies and independent news media, and trying to intimidate American universities by telling them what they can teach and who they can hire. And on the upcoming federal budget issue, Trump favors shredding our social safety net and ...

Appropriate language

Confession: I learned the word “fascist” from the Coen Brothers. In their 1998 film The Big Lebowski, the Malibu Chief of Police hurls his coffee at The Dude’s head who yells, “Ow! F— Fascist!” It’s a funny moment in the movie. But why is it a punchline? The Dude is beaten by the police because they don’t want people like him in their community. Sounds like fascism to me. But it’s funny because the words come from The Dude, right? A deadbeat. A hippy. You know the kind. People who are always playing the Hitler card. I’ll admit, not everyone who gets called ...

Astonished and dismayed

I was astonished and dismayed to see the results of the Weekly Poll that asked if Kilmar Abrego Garcia should be returned to the US from detention in El Salvador. 60% of the respondents voted No. Given that this is not a scientifically conducted poll and that there is opportunity to vote more than once, the response is still very worrisome. This man was deported from the US even though there was a court order that he not be moved to El Salvador and he was given no due process of any sort. To add to the injustice, the administration, while admitting weeks ago that this was a mistake, is ...

Standing ovation

I am the farthest thing from a knowledgeable critic. Just a simple patron of the arts. Always amazed at people with talent. That being said, I attended the Marshalltown Community Theater (MCT) annual Iowa Playwright Night where Iowa talent competes with one act plays. The plays are written, then judged by a committee of peers. Then the winning plays are actually performed live. Pretty cool concept. My understanding of the rules is surely off, but the important part is this is Incredible talent is right here in little old Mtown. I don’t want to spoil the fun, so I won’t tell ...

Good Samaritans and class reunions

On Monday, April 14, I was on my way to get a perm next to Sports Plus. As I approached the corner ready to step up on the curb, a pedestrian there said something. I was distracted briefly and I put my cane wrong and went down. While trying to figure out how to get up; two passersby, a male and a female came by. With their help, I got up. I thanked those three good Samaritans. With all the bad things that are happening these days, it is nice to encounter kind people. I am also a graduate of MHS in 1960 and this year would be our 65th class reunion. We tried to have our 60th reunion in ...

Why does Trump ignore judges?

As a former Marshalltown resident, I have a favor to ask. I saw a clip of Sen. Charles Grassley at a town hall meeting where he stated the El Salvadoran government does not have authority to abide by our Supreme Court ruling regarding the release of Abrego Garcia. True, but Trump does. Nice deflection, Chuck. So my favor is this: could someone ask Mr. Grassley at a future town hall meeting this question for me? “Would you have the same answer under the previous administration?” Put another way, “Why is it OK for this administration to ignore judges rulings?” But my real ...