Author: Dick Goodson

Currently under consideration by the Iowa Republican-controlled legislature is the reinstatement of the death penalty. The General Assembly abolished the death penalty in 1965 under the leadership of Governor Harold Hughes. Across the nation, there are currently 30 states which still allow for it and 20 who do not. In my view, there are many reasons to not reinstate it, but one of the most compelling reasons is statistics put out by the Death Penalty Information Center. Due to the increasing use of DNA, since 1992 more then 20 death row inmates have been exonerated and released who could have […]

As of almost the end of February, it looks like over 30 Democrats are in the presidential race or are at least considering it. As the candidates put together their platforms, every one is in some fashion or another talking about health care, climate change, income inequality, and of course terrible management and crazy positions of the current White House resident. As the race proceeds, Democratic candidates will be honing their positions to put more “meat on the bones.” Over the next few weeks/months, I hope to give some suggestions as to what I think might be a few good […]

After having served as a lobbyist for a number of groups I learned one important thing: the larger the number of people contacting Congress on a specific topic, the bigger the chance of success. The key here is that everybody also needs to support the same plan. It needs more than folks saying they want to go back to work. Regarding border security, most experts agree that there are a few additional places a fence, wall, or some other kind of barricade would be useful. It’s also important to include in the proposal monies to pay for added personnel and […]

Although I am, and have been for many years, a registered Democrat, I have always held former President Herbert Walker Bush, the first Bush president, in the highest regard. Through the presidential campaign of 1988, Bush referred many times to “a thousand points of light,” primarily in reference to promoting volunteerism in American Society. As the years passed I believe it may have taken on an even broader connotation and referenced who we are and the work we still need to do to become a more giving and kinder society. There were any number of policy disagreements between President Bush […]

I believe it is extremely important to look at history as we deal with the partisan politics of today. We often hear, “I have been a Democrat most of my life or Republican most of my life.” For those who believe those comments resonate, I would suggest it’s important to occasionally review the underlying values of each party, to determine if your values still align with the one you have voted for in the past. Party values change over time. Example: if we go back 50 years and look at the Democratic Party, George Wallace, the segregationist Governor of Alabama […]

After a very harried week of pipe bombs being sent to current and former high-ranking government officials, it looks like a suspect has been apprehended. Law enforcement agencies, including the Secret Service Protective Detail, the ATF, the US Postal Inspection Service, the FBI and many other state and local law enforcement departments were working full time to stop this home grown terrorism. On Friday morning, October 26, Cesar Sayoc was arrested in south Florida as the prime suspect. At the time, he was driving a van covered in political statements supporting the President and other posters in opposition to various […]

The Trump Administration would have you believe that the folks that slip over the boarder are murders, rapists and generally bad people. What statistics really show is that only a vey few meet that criteria, and by percentage, dramatically less then our own citizenry. A very large number are families with children who are looking for a better life and are afraid of the violent gangs in their home countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, known as the Northern Triangle.  A program started under President Obama called the Alliance for Prosperity was designed to improve the economy of the […]

It is obvious that the past two weeks have generated some very trying times in our political discourse as we moved from political differences into partisan tribalism. That said, we now have a new Supreme Court Justice who has been confirmed, but still has a cloud over his head. As the saying goes, “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” and this controversy is far from over. It is assumed that the Democrats will take the House of Representatives in the upcoming election and that an investigation into what the FBI was allowed to do, or not do, in Kavanaugh’s most […]

Thursday, September 27 saw one of the most contentious committee hearings in many years in Congress. Luckily, it was followed by a day in which a semblance of bipartisanship showed it’s beautiful head. It was the work of Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and his friend on the other side of the aisle Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware. Both senators have been concerned for some time about the partisan bickering over the process to confirm a new justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although both Senators are diametrically on different sides and have different philosophies, the thing […]

Many years ago, I believe it was Marv Selden, the comptroller under Governor Bob Ray, who said it first (although many others have said it since), the cover up of a bad event is always worse than the event itself. A woman has come forward toward the end of Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She is accusing Judge Kavnaugh, who is seeking a seat on United States Supreme Court, of improper sexual conduct while attending a private high school. Let’s assume for a minute that the circumstances described by Dr. Ford, 30 plus years ago, was […]