The Resurgence of Measles
“So far, we have been fortunate not to have any cases of Measles in the great state of Iowa. However, in 2025 we have seen measles cases increase significantly in the United States, including cases in three of our neighbor states. While I believe vaccination is a personal choice between you and your doctor, I strongly encourage each and every one of you to get the measles vaccine if you have not done so already.”
– Governor Kim Reynolds
This quote is fake. I made it up.
I came up a statement I would like to see from Governor Reynolds regarding the status of measles in the United States; I hope she issues some statement to that effect…..
Democrats to be Arrested?
In the last few days, the Trump Administration (specifically, the Department of Homeland Security) has stated plainly that arresting Democrats for protests is “definitely on the table”.
Interestingly enough, I actually agree with the underlying premise behind this concept. If someone is breaking the law in a manner consistent with an arrest being the appropriate outcome, they should be arrested. It should not matter who they are. However, please note from the article
Why Give Special Treatment to South African Refugees?
Why are we focusing on support for South African Refugees?
Over the last few days, there have been increasing reports that the Trump administration will start granting refugee status to South Africans of Afrikaans decent.
I invite civil, bipartisan discussion on this post.
As my last African Politics Class at Iowa State was in about 2007, my knowledge is slightly dated – the last two stories I remember about South Africa specifically are questions about which…..
Trump and Taxes
Today, I want to start with a compliment for President Trump.
While I generally appreciate consistency, I can also respect the ability to adjust when it is necessary. We saw this in a pretty shocking fashion in 2017 when Donald Trump struck a deal with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi related to DACA recipients. We are now reportedly seeing him change his tune on income taxes for high income earners as a way to protect Medicaid. The reporting is somewhat ambiguous, but it seems the proposal is approximately to raise the top marginal income tax rate from 37% to 39.6% for people making over $2.5 million.
So what do we mean by top marginal tax rate? The marginal tax rate is…..
This Isn’t Just deportation.
I invite civil, bipartisan discussion on this post.
Stories of the United States deporting people to El Salvador have widely been reported, including many without criminal records, and many, apparently, without due process. This isn’t just deportation.
In addition to El Salvador, discussions have been ongoing to send deportees to Rwanda and now they are underway to send prisoners to Libya. This isn’t just deportation.
Similarly, we have seen reports on the conditions at CECOT in El Salvador…..
The Buck Stops Here – Tariff Edition
On April 2nd, Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs across the world, declaring his “tariff policies would never change”. After the stock market plummeted, the President ultimately capitulated and almost completely reversed his tariff policy on April 10th, except for those on China, by pausing them for 90 days.
On April 9th, right before cancelling his unchangeable policy, President Trump…..