Sunday, May 5, 2019 ● The Gazette 1D

INSIGHT
&BOOKS 24-HOUR DORMAN
TODD DORMAN

THE GAZETTE’S EDITORIAL Water

Laws in comes up
empty at
Statehouse
the fast lane W
ater has been the
center of attention all
over Iowa this spring.
Well, except beneath our Gold-
en Dome of Wisdom.
OK, to be fair, there was
one notable piece of legislation
affecting water quality that

Lawmakers’ mad dash to adjourn deprived Iowans cleared our Republican-con-

trolled Legislature. But it actu-
ally harmed efforts to clean up
of the opportunity to debate significant proposals waterways.
As I mentioned in a recent
column, and The Gazette’s
Erin Jordan described in a ter-
rific in-depth story even more

L
awmakers set out to ad-
dress a range of important
issues this year in Des
Moines. It’s the type of stuff
that demands thorough and
inclusive discussion among the
public.
Unfortunately, Republicans
who control the Iowa House
and Senate seemed to have
little interest in robust public
discourse. Again and again,
they brought forth proposals
that would have significant and
lasting effects on Iowans, even
though most of them never
campaigned on those plans.
At best, the 2019 legislative
session can be characterized
as hasty. At worst, it was hap-
hazard, sloppy and sometimes
petty. Even when the chambers’
leaders lent attention to worthy
The House chamber at the state Capitol in Des Moines. Thoughtful debate was a missing element in the recently concluded legislative session.
AT LIBERTY | ADAM SULLIVAN
topics, they often refused to
entertain thoughtful debate.
The last few days before ad-
journment provide a snapshot
of the process problems that
plagued this session. In the final
hours of negotiations, lawmak-
ers passed a set of highly ques-
tionable legislation:
l Block public funds from
sex reassignment surgeries
as a way to sidestep a recent
Iowa Supreme Court ruling
striking down a previous ban
on Medicaid payments for such
procedures
l Bar Planned Parenthood
from receiving federal grants to
support sex education programs
l Give the governor more in-
fluence in the process of picking
Iowa Supreme Court candidates
l Impose new restrictions on
recently, lawmakers approved
local governments seeking to a bill that would bar private
increase property tax rates entities — mainly the Iowa
Those are all public policy Natural Heritage Founda-
considerations where Iowans tion — from using low-interest
should be able to thoughtfully loans from a state fund to buy
debate and disagree, but law- land for conservation projects,
makers’ decision to ram them and then hand the land over to
through at the last minute de- government.
prived us of that opportunity. As a result, there will be
Of course, last-minute leg- fewer conservation projects
islative maneuvering and aimed at controlling runoff
lopsided partisan votes are not that carries nitrates and phos-
new to Iowa politics, but past phorus from farmland into our
precedent does not make it any waterways, and beyond. It was
more acceptable. backed mainly by the Iowa
To be fair, there were more Farm Bureau, which insists
than a few encouraging devel- farmers trying to buy land are
opments from the Legislature. being shoved aside by Big Her-
Legislators approved pre- itage in a state where the per-
liminary plans for a children’s centage of land held publicly
mental health system; loosened amounts to a kernel or two on
a very large ear of corn.
;; EDITORIAL, PAGE 4D
Gov. Kim Reynolds likely
will sign the bill any minute
now. She did say last year, as
she signed water quality legis-
lation also backed by Farm Bu-
reau, the conversation would
continue.
And it’s money that did
most of the talking.
After all, the Farm Bureau
donated roughly a half-million
dollars to state campaigns in
the 2016 and 2018 cycles to help
win and sustain this friendly
GOP majority. It’s true, the
state’s most powerful farm
group didn’t get the bill it
really wanted, a remarkably
broad power play designed to
thwart virtually all donations
of land for public use in Iowa.
Lawmakers abandoned it in
the face of heavy opposition.
So the scaled-back proposal
on Reynolds’ desk is a consola-
tion prize. And there’s always
next year.
As Jordan also reported
last week, Reynolds has yet to
name a new director of the De-
partment of Natural Resourc-
es, a slot that’s been vacant
for a year. Any day now, the
search will bear fruit. Clearly,
natural resources are an ad-
ministration priority.
But we’ve still got our En-
vironmental Protection Com-
mission, with the power to
shape water protection policy.
The Gazette The DNR’s website lists three
members of the nine-member
commission as farmers, but
a quick tiptoe through the
Google shows two more have
active farming operations.
There’s also a former Depart-
ment of Agriculture employee,

Iowa becoming the incarceration state a tractor dealership owner and

a John Deere executive.
We also have Iowa Secretary
of Agriculture Mike Naig as

I
owa is going the wrong
way in controlling the
prison population.
The national incarcera-
tion rate dropped more than
10 percent from 2007 to 2017,
according to a new report
from the Department of Jus-
tice. That figure was down
of Corrections annual report.
It’s still slightly below the
peak from 2011, but the most
recent trends are frustrating
nonetheless.
That’s the latest in a series
of disappointing headlines
about Iowa’s corrections sys-
tem. Our prisons have been
To hear some political ob-
servers tell is, these are easy
problems to fix.
Bleeding-heart liberals
and libertarians might argue
the best response is to end
drug enforcement and re-
quire police to undergo anti-
bias training. The prisons are
punishment they’re dealt by
the government. The solu-
tion is for individuals to sim-
ply obey the law, they say.
While there is some truth
to be found in each line of
thinking, workable solutions
to the incarceration crisis
are not so simple.
the face of our water quality
push. You might recall the
Farm Bureau-backed group
“Iowans for Agriculture”
raised more than $300,000 in
the final weeks of the 2018 cam-
paign for TV ads boosting Naig
to victory. The money came
from large commodity groups
© 2019 The Gazette

more than 2 percent from
only 2016 to 2017.
In Iowa, though, the prison
population has grown each
of the past six years, accord-
ing to the Iowa Department
over capacity for years, and
several national studies have
shown the racial disparities
in Iowa’s judicial system are
worse than in most other
states.
full of people who don’t need
to be incarcerated, they say.
Meanwhile, some tough-
on-crime conservatives and
moderates might insist of-
fenders deserve whatever
The biggest share of Iowa
prisoners, 37 percent, are
serving time for violent
crimes, followed by property
;; SULLIVAN, PAGE 4D
and corporations, including
Monsanto, which gladly tossed
some bucks behind its former
lobbyist.
;; DORMAN, PAGE 4D
2D The Gazette ● Sunday, May 5, 2019

INSIGHT
COMMUNITY LETTERS
QUOTES OF THE WEEK Why we should all care
about child care
“It’s pretty equal As a retired early child-
right now, but hood educator, I know how
important it is for young
I’m hearing a lot children and their families
to have stable, accessible, af-
from both sides.” fordable, high-quality child
care. When that happens,
Gov. Kim Reynolds, parents can enter and re-
describing the input she has main in the workforce.
received from constituents On April 19, I participated
about a bill to legalize in a Save the Children Ac-
sports betting tion Network (SCAN) Week
of Action event with 18 home
visitors and parents of young
children from the Cedar Rap-
ids area. We viewed a short-
ened version of “No Small
Matter,” a documentary
“If you look at the that is being screened across
bill in its entirety, Iowa and the nation.
No Small Matter explores
it is very clear the most overlooked, un-
derestimated, and power-
that it is patient- ful force for social justice
focused.” in America today — early
childhood education. It lays
Clay Bennett is a syndicated cartoonist distributed by Post Writers Group. Comments: postwritersgroup@qg.com

out overwhelming evidence

Lucas Nelson, general
for the importance of the
manager of MedPharm
first five years, reveals how
Iowa, applauding a bill to
our failure to act on that evi-
expand the state’s medical
dence has resulted in a crisis
cannabis program
for American families, and a
slow-motion catastrophe for
our country.
Following the viewing,
group members shared reac-
“We are very tions to the film as well as
their own personal stories.
conscious of They also insisted that oth-
ers should be watching this
the fact dollars meaningful and relevant
should be used documentary, to understand
the crisis.
for public safety That is why I’m encour-
aging Sen. Joni Ernst, Sen.
purposes.” Chuck Grassley and Rep.
Abby Finkenauer to increase
Jeff Pomeranz, Cedar funding for the Federal Child
Rapids city manager, on Care and Development Block
the city’s plan to reactivate Grant (CCDBG), which helps
its speed cameras and use
low- and middle-income
revenue to hire new police families afford high-quality
officers
care. Child care is an invest-
ment for the current and
future workforce as well as
an important infrastructure
support, like roads, schools
and utilities.
“What kind of a Mary Airy
Cedar Rapids
message is the
House seat belongs
governor and to voters, not McKean
the Legislature With regard to Adam
sending Iowans?” Sullivan’s April 26 column
(“Make the GOP great
again”) discussing state Rep.
Jennifer Terry, director of
Andy McKean changing his
the Iowa Environmental
party affiliation, I believe he
Council, criticizing state
policymakers for not naming missed the most important
point. That Iowa House seat
a permanent DNR director in
the past year McKean occupies belongs
not to him, but to the people
of his district.
Certainly a minority, and
probably a majority, of his
votes in the last election
were cast due to him run-
“I never viewed ning as a Republican. If he
wishes to change parties
this job as now, the honorable and ethi-
what should
be a lifetime
GUEST COLUMN | KURT ULLRICH
appointment.
The previous
two sheriffs did Questions abound as the night remains silent
four terms. I
O
ut here this time
think that makes of year the nights
are silent, almost
sense. That’s absolutely. There is the oc-
a pretty good casional creaking of the old
cedar trees out back when
number.” winds push through, some
from the cold north, or a sud-
Lonny Pulkrabek, Johnson den bark from the neighbor’s
County sheriff, announcing dog over a far hill. Spring
plans to retire at the end of peepers haven’t yet emerged
his current term down by the pond, their little
voices announcing to all who
hear that summer is com-
ing. By June the nights here
are a cacophonous chorus of
frogs, crickets, and whatever
else wishes to chime in. The
“In the last few night quiet will be gone.
One recent morning I was
years, the value awake at 3 a.m. — old men
of that degree will know whereof I speak —
and as I climbed back in to
as seen by bed I heard a small plane fly
over the house. Why in the
others has been world is some guy (I’m sure
dropping in some the pilot was male; women
are smarter) flying a small
of the rankings.
We need to stop INSIGHT & BOOKS
that, and stop • MISSION: Insight & Books is a forum
for discussion about and by Eastern
that now.” Iowans, their communities and the world
at large.
cal thing to do is to resign
and run as a Democrat in a
replacement election. Mc­
Kean seems to believe the
House seat belongs to him to
do with what he wants. This
shows a certain arrogance,
and a lack of respect for
democratic values.
Dan McGrail
Cedar Rapids
Where is the outrage
about water quality?
Reading about Iowa’s
contaminated drinking
water, I ask where is our
outrage, where is our love
for our state and its people?
Why are the majority
legislators in Iowa so
indifferent toward evidence
of harm for decades?
I think of pregnant moms
drinking that water, the chil-
dren whose immune systems
still are developing, girls and
boys whose hormonal sys-
tems are developing. When
we watch the Iowa girls’
state basketball tournament,
we see that it is sponsored
by the same complex of agri-
business that actively op-
pose clean water legislation
through purchased political
friendship. So it is OK for
those girls to drink hormone-
disrupting chemicals in their
drinking water. Add some
50 million pounds of weed
killers applied to Iowa annu-
ally, even as many farmers
have proved they are not
necessary.
In case you have not no-
ticed, Iowa is being taken
advantage of and treated like
a sacrifice zone and Iowans
for the most part are com-
fortable with it. Where is the
outrage, where is the love?
Kamyar Enshayan
Cedar Falls
plane out in the middle of no-
where at 3 in the morning?
These days I find myself
asking “why” much too
often. Ours is no longer a
world I can even begin to
comprehend. Why do people
continue to gleefully kill
each other? Why do so many
farmers plant their crops
right up to the crumbling
edges of rivers? We do we
blame the poor for their
plight? Why do banks contin-
ue to screw their customers?
And I have more ques-
tions: Why do politicians
shed their value mantles
as soon as they are elected?
Why is the NFL Draft some-
thing anyone cares about?
Why is it that I’d vote for
Anita Hill but not Joe Biden?
As you can see, my thinking
isn’t linear, or even logical.
As I said, the new world is
currently beyond my grasp.
Mine are not great, artful
thegazette.com/opinion/ for more
discussions. Submit questions or
suggestions to editorial@thegazette.com.
•BOOKS: Read past books coverage
Reader is skeptic of
libertarian promises
I have said this many
times and it is worth
repeating.
If you follow the liber-
tarian notion of radically
limiting government (“The
loudest critics of government aside.
want to run your city coun-
cil,” April 7) there are inevi-
table results:
We will have a land gov-
erned by warlords and/or
gangsters, toxic waste dumps
everywhere, our air will be
unbreathable and our water
undrinkable. There will be
no public education.
David Huddle
Cedar Rapids ally is self-employed and
Candidates for office
need green energy plan family, I welcome the idea of
Climate change is hap-
pening here and now — and Ernst remains in office, that
as a 66-year-old farmer and
Poweshiek County soil and
water commissioner, I’m
concerned.
The latest climate report
from the United Nations
says we have only 11 years
to transform our economy to terest of the majority.
preserve the stable climate
human civilization has de-
pended on for millennia. We do know who I will be voting
need a massive mobilization for. I will be voting for af-
of every sector of society on
par with what science and
justice demand.
A Green New Deal will
keep Americans safe from
climate change and create
millions of green jobs. It is tions and changes that help
common sense policy that
is overwhelmingly popular
with American people.
Any candidate for presi-
dent, indeed any office, needs fight for us and vote with
to support policies that re-
duce fossil fuel emissions.
John Clayton
Grinnell
questions, just the musings
of an old guy who spends his
days avoiding crowds, an old
guy who prefers the com-
pany of cats. Maybe that tells
you all you need to know.
Answers to these questions
will not reveal any existen-
tial truths, not about us, not
about the world, and certain-
ly not about why we are here.
Perhaps it doesn’t matter or
perhaps it’s simply the month
of May, winter gone and sum-
mer still light years away.
Years ago in London I
spent entirely too much
money on knee-high leather
boots, as if I’d been hop-
ing for a call from the folks
casting the musical “Les
Miserables.” These days I
wear them when working in
the woods, where I fear an
encounter with snakes. Thus
last week I donned them be-
cause a twenty-year-old rot-
ted pallet of limestone bricks
Ernst is standing in the
way of real progress
I am thrilled about the
presidential candidates, but
I worry that if we don’t make
a change in our representa-
tives locally, all of those
dreams will just get pushed
For example, Sen. Joni
Ernst has been a cheerleader
in the removal of the Afford-
able Care Act. If successful,
hundreds of thousands of
Iowans would lose their pre-
existing condition protec-
tions, including Iowans that
receive insurance through
their employers.
As someone who person-
paying well over $1,000 a
month in health care for my
universal health care but if
possibility will get tabled.
She may listen to stories
from people like myself who
struggle daily to make ends
meet but will vote accord-
ing to what her party wants,
even if it’s not in the best in-
I am not sure who will be
running against Ernst, but I
fordable health care.
I will vote for the person
who will fight against giving
tax cuts to the 1 percent.
I will be voting for a Green
New Deal that will offer solu-
protect our planet.
The fight isn’t just in the
presidential race, it’s local.
We need someone who will
their heart and not their
party.
Tanya Burgess
Cedar Rapids
behind my garage needed to
be moved and my experience
with stacks of just about
anything informed me that
there would likely be snakes.
With each lifting of a brick I
waited for my heart to stop.
Alas, no snakes.
Possums eat snakes; per-
haps I have them to thank.
After a recent rain a possum
went from puddle to puddle
on my drive, drinking a bit
from each, a miniature pub
crawl, and at the last puddle
she rolled onto her back,
like you see horses do in the
dust, enjoying her own small
bathing ritual for a brief mo-
ment before turning toward
home, stepping back in to the
woods. I never ask “Why?”
about the creatures that
share the woods with me.
l Kurt Ullrich lives in rural
Jackson County. His book “The
Iowa State Fair” is available from
the University of Iowa Press.
•GAZETTE EDITORIAL BOARD:
Gazette editorial positions on
public issues are the consensus of
The Gazette Editorial Board: Todd
© 2019 The Gazette

Bruce Harreld, University of
Iowa president, discussing
the school’s funding
challenges
•INSIGHT: We welcome and will consider
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Lynda Waddington, columnist; Adam
Sullivan, columnist; Zack Kucharski,
Gazette executive editor; Quinn Pettifer,
community outreach and engagement
manager

GUEST COLUMN | PAUL DEATON
Nuclear weapons
must be eliminated
I
’m mad about nuclear
weapons spending. The
Trump administration
plans to spend far more than
President Barack Obama on
the U.S. nuclear weapons com-
plex. Depending on time frame,
the administration will see
Obama’s trillion dollars and
raise it another half-trillion.
Why do we continue to
spend money at all on a weap-
ons system we are required by
treaty to eliminate? Why do
we spend money on weapons
that should never be used?
I’m mad, and that’s not the
half of it.
I’m mad at President Harry
Truman for dropping the
atomic bomb on Hiroshima at
the end of World War II. I read
Truman’s explanation in his
memoir, “Year of Decisions,”
and understand he thought
it was a good idea. However,
after Hiroshima, when our
government understood the
destructive capacity of nuclear
weapons, dropping a second
on Nagasaki was criminal.
I’m mad at the greatest gen-
eration for failure to comply
with Article VI of the Non-Pro-
liferation Treaty, which was
signed in 1968 and went into
effect two years later. By now,
we should be finished with
An out-of-service missile stands as a sculpture at the main gate of Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont.,
where hundreds of nuclear missiles are siloed over thousands of square miles. They are ready to launch from remote
underground rooms on the base.
GUEST COLUMN | CONNIE MUTEL AND JON ANDELSON
Caring for youth in the age of climate change
W
e came of age in the
late 1960s — a heady
time when major
environmental and political
problems (unmitigated air
and water pollution, the Viet-
nam War …) were matched
by student passions and, to
some extent, governmental
actions. College protests and
demonstrations led us into en-
vironmentally focused careers
where we taught students
about problems in our natural
world, and about the impor-
tance of addressing them.
“Look,” we encouraged in
the 1970s. “Consider how blos-
soming awareness and politi-
cal activism have produced
the National Environmental
Policy Act, the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Clean
Air Act. ... Get involved, so
your actions can further safe-
guard people, nature, and all
of Earth’s creatures.”
Little did we realize then
that an insidious environ-
mental disaster — climate
change — was blossoming
just out of sight. By 1980, both
greenhouse gas emissions and
global average temperatures
were creeping upward, leading
to today’s faster-than-expected
nuclear weapons. The treaty
binds us as follows:
“Each of the Parties to the
Treaty undertakes to pursue
negotiations in good faith on
effective measures relating to
cessation of the nuclear arms
race at an early date and to
nuclear disarmament, and
on a Treaty on general and
complete disarmament under
strict and effective interna-
tional control.”
The United States and Rus-
sia continue to hold the largest
number of nuclear weapons,
even though reductions were
made through treaty nego-
tiations. Treaties are being
dismantled by the current ad-
ministration. If nuclear states
had disarmed as the Non-Pro-
liferation Treaty compels us,
we wouldn’t even be having
this conversation.
I’m mad at my generation of
baby boomers. As the torch of
nuclear nonproliferation was
passed to us, my cohort chose
to focus instead on personal
liberation and financial well-
being.
There was a resurgence of
interest in nonproliferation
during the nuclear freeze
movement in the 1980s. This
global advocacy contributed to
negotiation of the INF Treaty
results: massive Arctic melt-
ing, oceanic heat waves chas-
ing fish populations hundreds
of miles northward, climbing
sea-level-rise predictions,
hotter heat waves and larger
wildfires. Today’s students of
the natural world recognize
incipient tipping points in the
methane bubbling from melt-
ing permafrost and the slow-
ing of the Gulf Stream. And
they understand the chang-
ing climate’s threats to food
supply, social and political
stability, human health, our
economy, infrastructure —
virtually every aspect of
modern human life.
With these trends in mind,
it’s a terrifying time to be com-
ing of age and peering into
one’s future. We have seen the
emotional weight of climate
change on environmentally-
aware students. Some respond
with despair and depression.
Others assume their actions
are inconsequential. At the
time when we most need
youth’s creativity and dedica-
tion, some are freezing up,
believing their attempts to
reshape the future are incon-
sequential. These approaches
do little either for students’
INSIGHT
between the United States and
Soviet Union on the elimina-
tion of their intermediate-
range and shorter-range
missiles. It was signed Dec.
8, 1987, by President Ronald
Reagan and Soviet General
Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.
The current administration
announced plans to abandon
the INF Treaty.
Why am I so mad? The prob-
lem of the existence of nuclear
weapons should have been
solved soon after society found
their destructive capacity. I
don’t want to pass that prob-
lem along to our daughter and
her generation.
Our community has out-
grown the fire station, and tax
levies aren’t sufficient to build
a new one. Firefighters are
determined to raise the funds
and implore us to “fill the
boot” they leave at local busi-
nesses. If we had eliminated
nuclear weapons, we might
have enough money to build
thousands of fire stations.
Where are our priorities?
As a society, we must create
a nuclear weapons free world.
There is no cure for a nuclear
war. We must prevent what
we cannot cure.
l Paul Deaton lives in rural Solon.
Los Angeles Times
mental health or for our
society and planet.
We believe that today’s
youth, especially those who
are most sensitive, are hungry
for mentors who recognize
and their vulnerability and
despair. They crave guidelines
for living in a world that is
warming too much, too fast.
With these youth in mind, we
have developed the following
ideas for initiating conversa-
tions:
l Now, as much as any time
in our history, we need minds
that seek novel solutions.
Continue to seek your unique
voice and to think outside the
box.
l Continue to speak out —
about your ideas and knowl-
edge, and your concerns and
fears. The first step toward
dealing with our problems
is to put them into words ad-
dressed to others.
l Rather than thinking of
climate change as a depress-
ing curse, address it as an
opportunity to improve our
economy, reduce health risks,
address water and air pollu-
tion, and move toward social
justice. Regardless of your
choice of field or profession,
Sunday, May 5, 2019
GUEST COLUMN | SONNY PERDUE
USMCA is a
victory for Iowa
agriculture
A USMCA creates
s secretary of agri-
culture, I’ve traveled
across the nation and
around the world, promoting
the bounty of the American
harvest. I like to say that
America is located in the best
neighborhood on earth, with
Canada and Mexico as some
of our top trading partners.
But as with all things that
age, the North American
Free Trade Agreement need-
ed some updates, tweaks,
and changes. The new U.S.-
Mexico-Canada Agreement
(USMCA) does just that,
making important fixes that
will benefit America’s hard-
working farmers, ranchers,
and producers — many of
those right here in Iowa.
Last year, Iowa exported
$6.6 billion worth of prod-
ucts to Canada and Mexico,
including billions of dollars’
worth of machinery, corn,
soybeans, pork, and pro-
cessed foods. The USMCA
creates more market open-
ings for Iowans to sell their
top exports to our closest
neighbors. This is a better
deal for Iowans that will
help continue to support this
great economy and lower
costs for families, all while
supporting American jobs.
Last week, I was proud to
visit the Hawkeye State and
stopped by to meet with the
men and women of two agri-
culture companies to see the
positive impact the USMCA
will have in your communi-
ties when Congress approves
the deal. Corteva Agriscience
and Vermeer Corp. both are
American companies that
lead the world in biotech
innovation and farm equip-
ment manufacturing. Not
only does the USMCA expand
market access for commodi-
ties and crops, but the agree-
ment specifically addresses
agricultural biotechnology,
including new technologies
such as gene editing, to sup-
port innovation and reduce
trade-distorting policies. The
USMCA ensures a level play-
ing field for American agri-
culture.
Additionally, the deal se-
cures greater access to mar-
kets and lowered barriers for
our ag products. Specifically,
it eliminates Canada’s unfair
Class 6 and 7 milk pricing
schemes, opens additional
access to U.S. dairy into
Canada, and imposes new
disciplines on Canada’s sup-
you will be able to creatively
discover ways to mitigate and
adapt to climate change. Your
life can really make a differ-
ence.
l Adopt hope as a verb — as
something that your actions
bring into being every day that
you live. Live hope.
l Develop a vision for the
future, an image of how you
want the earth to look and act
in the distant future. This will
give you a focal point so you
will not lose track of where
you are going.
l Climate change may rob
us of things that we love —
gentle springtimes, soothing
rains, certain migrating birds.
... Learn to accept changes we
cannot evade. And remember
to focus on things that remain.
Recognize the Earth’s natural
systems’ amazing ability to re-
bound and restore themselves,
when given half a chance.
l You may at times feel that
you are walking alone into a
dark future. At those times,
stop and consider that you are
one of millions of others who
care passionately about the
planet’s future and are devot-
ed to creatively improving its
options. Imagine yourself as
● The Gazette 3D
more market
openings for
Iowans to sell their
top exports to our
closest neighbors.
ply management system. The
agreement also preserves and
expands critical access for
U.S. poultry and egg produc-
ers into Canada. Iowa produc-
es more eggs than any other
state — the USMCA gives
Iowans more markets to sell
their healthful and whole-
some egg products. America’s
agricultural producers will
benefit from these improve-
ments, and our neighbors
will get to experience more
American agriculture.
On my first day as sec-
retary, President Donald
Trump promised he would
work to get better deals for
American farmers, and the
USMCA is proof of that.
Many of President Donald
Trump’s policies have been
beneficial to American ag-
riculture in the short term,
from tax reform to deregu-
latory actions to initiating
year-round E15. But they
also have laid the foundation
for long-term prosperity. Our
farmers, ranchers, and pro-
ducers have an abundance of
the highest quality products
they want to sell around the
globe. Trump is laying the
foundation for a stronger
farm economy through the
USMCA and other new trade
deals.
If we are to keep our
economy booming and con-
tinue to feed and clothe the
world, Congress must pass
the USMCA. Passage of this
updated 21st century trade
agreement will send a strong
signal to other key export
markets such as Japan and
the EU that the president
and Congress are serious
about pursuing and enacting
future agreements that will
create better economic op-
portunities for our country. I
thank Trump for successfully
renegotiating and updating
this decades-old trade agree-
ment, and I urge Congress to
quickly ratify it so Americans
can sustain our booming
economy for years to come.
l Sonny Perdue is U.S.
secretary of agriculture.
part of a circle of hand-holding
humans extending around the
globe, each sharing our con-
cerns and energy.
l Don’t forget to take care of
yourself. Take time off to relax
with friends or seek solitude
where you can meditate and
rediscover your core. Go out
into the natural world or other
places that renew you.
While no one can foresee
the future, today’s students
probably will be forced to con-
front difficulties we can barely
imagine. Our job requires us to
teach them processes and de-
tails, but also to foster the for-
titude and resilience to remain
positive and continue moving
forward creatively. This list
of suggested talking points is
far from complete, but it is a
beginning, one that we feel can
help today’s students trans-
form their fear and despair
into planet-healing action.
l Connie Mutel is the author of several
books on nature in Iowa, including “A
© 2019 The Gazette
Sugar Creek Chronicle: Observing Climate
Change from a Midwestern Woodland.”
She was senior science writer at IIHR-
Hydroscience & Engineering at the Univer-
sity of Iowa until her recent retirement.
Jon Andelson is professor of anthropol-
ogy at Grinnell College, where he also
directs the Center for Prairie Studies.
4D The Gazette ● Sunday, May 5, 2019

INSIGHT
GUEST COLUMN | BOB CARLSON

ABA survey shows civic literacy gaps

J
ohn Roberts is one
of the most powerful
people in America.
He has been chief justice
of the United States for
13 years, yet half of the
people who live in this
country don’t know who
he is.
That’s just one of
many surprising results
of the American Bar As-
sociation’s inaugural
Survey of Civic Literacy.
This year, the ABA
commissioned a survey
that asked 1,000 adults
in the United States a
series of questions about
the law, the U.S. Con-
stitution and the rights
of all people — citizens
and noncitizens — who
live here. We also asked
about support for the
First Amendment and
how it applies to every-
day life.
We initiated the sur-
vey as part of the ABA’s
annual celebration of
Law Day. Every year on
May 1, lawyers mark the
occasion with commu-
nity events, awards and
programs to teach stu-
dents and remind adults
about the strength of our
Constitution and the rule
of law.
This year, the ABA
decided to test how well
adults understand the
basic underpinnings of
our American democ-
racy. The results reveal
strong public support for
the First Amendment,
but also some puzzling
gaps in what most people
know.
While just over half
of the people surveyed
didn’t know that John
Roberts is chief justice,
23 percent thought Su-
preme Court Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
held that position and
16 percent thought Jus-
tice Clarence Thomas
did.
Many people — one
out of four — did not
know that the first 10
amendments to the U.S.
Constitution are called
the Bill of Rights. A large
number — also one out of
four — did not know that
the Declaration of Inde-
pendence declared our
nation’s independence
from Great Britain.
Eleven percent thought
it freed the slaves in Con-
federate states.
Many people also were
unaware of the rights
and responsibilities of
citizens compared to
noncitizens. Nearly one
in three — 30 percent
— thought freedom of
speech is a right reserved
for citizens. More than
one in five thought only
citizens must pay taxes,
and one in 10 thought
only citizens must obey
the law.
There was some confu-
sion, too, about the First
Amendment. More than
half of those surveyed —
55 percent — knew that
the right to vote is not
part of the First Amend-
ment. But 18 percent
thought freedom of the
press isn’t part of the
amendment, and another
18 percent thought the
right to peaceably as-
semble isn’t covered by
it. More than one in 20
people did not know that
freedom of speech is part
of the First Amendment.
The survey did find
strong support for the
First Amendment —
which, for the record,
protects the freedoms of
religion, speech, press
and assembly and the
right to petition the gov-
ernment for redress of
grievances. For example:
l 81 percent agree that
people should be able
to publicly criticize the
president or any other
government leader.
l 80 percent believe
individuals or groups
should have the right to
request government re-
cords or information.
l 75 percent say gov-
ernment should not be
able to prevent news
media from reporting on
political protests.
And yet, most people
— 54 percent — incor-
rectly believe that the
First Amendment does
not allow people to burn
the U.S. flag in a political
protest. That issue was
settled in a historic 1989
Supreme Court ruling
called Texas v. Johnson.
Clearly, we have more
work to do. American de-
mocracy depends on an
informed citizenry. It is
vital that everyone share
the same basic knowl-
edge about the founda-
tion of our democracy
— the rule of law — and
our rights and responsi-
bilities.
Moving forward, the
ABA will launch an edu-
cational program based
on these survey results,
to reacquaint the public
with the law and the
Constitution. As former
Supreme Court Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor
once said, “The prac-
tice of democracy is not
passed down through
the gene pool. It must be
taught and learned anew
by each generation of
citizens.”
On Law Day, and ev-
ery day, celebrate Ameri-
ca by learning something
new about the Constitu-
tion. Our democracy de-
pends upon it.
l Bob Carlson is president of the
American Bar Association. He
wrote this for InsideSources.com.

Dorman/Scant state commitment Editorial/

;; FROM PAGE 1D Lawmakers
leave some
And we still have a strict-
ly voluntary plan for curb-
ing polluted runoff known as
the Iowa Nutrient Reduction

Strategy.
Trouble is, according to a
recent analysis by the Iowa
Policy Project, we’re actually
spending less state money,
in 2018 dollars, on water
quality programs than we
spent a decade ago. And even
with the help of hundreds of
millions of federal dollars,
University of Iowa research
finds that Iowa’s contribu-
tion to the flow of Midwest-
ern nitrates feeding the Gulf
of Mexico’s dead zone has
grown. That’s the flow the
strategy, launched in 2013, is
supposed to curtail.
On the same day the Poli-
cy Project released its study,
the Environmental Working
Group reported that thou-
sands of private drinking
water wells in Iowa have ni-
trate levels above the federal
standard for safe drinking
water. And that’s just a sam-
pling from the fraction of
wells tested.
Also, this just in, the
same runoff carrying fertil-
izer into waterways also
feeds flooding. That runoff
is charged by heavy rain-
fall, and we’re seeing more
heavy rainfall as our climate
changes. The need to do far
more about runoff seems
pretty simple and compel-
ling amid this spring’s
floods.
But under the Golden
Dome of Wisdom, crickets.
We need more dollars to
make a dent. But the voter-
approved Natural Resources
and Outdoor Recreation
unfinished
business
;; FROM PAGE 1D
restrictions on medical cannabis
products; authorized industrial
hemp production; secured free
speech rights on college campuses;
provided tax incentives for rural
broadband development; extended
the sales tax for school infrastruc-
ture projects; and offered local
governments greater flexibility for
funding disaster recovery projects.
Those all earned at least some
bipartisan support, and several im-
portant bills were overwhelmingly
bipartisan. It was an encouraging
reminder that lawmakers still can
find ways to work together, even
as they strongly disagree in other
areas.
Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette Some of the best news from the
A sediment trap, seen Sept. 22, 2010, in Delaware County, is one of the water quality improvement practic- Statehouse came in the form of
es used by a landowner near the Fountain Springs Park trout stream. The trap is designed to improve water bills that didn’t pass. Republican
quality by reducing the amount of sediment, nutrients and bacteria reaching the watershed. The trap also can leaders backed off proposals to
reduce flooding by slowing water reaching streams. Funding from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources make sweeping changes to elec-
and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship support watershed projects. But the Natural tion procedures, charge new fees
Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund, although approved by Iowa voters, remains empty. for solar energy users and impose
work requirements for Medicaid
Trust Fund remains empty notion of any accountability because we put them recipients.
at this hour. now control the levers of there. And they sidestep Despite the previously stated
The Farm Bureau has power. Voluntary it is, no the problem because they concerns about legislative haste,
been pretty successful argu- matter how little progress think most Iowans don’t those examples show public pres-
ing filling the fund will lead gets made. care. Why didn’t the water sure can still make a difference.
to a scary land grab, which So it’s really not much of conversation continue? While the Legislature made time
is patently false. a surprise hopes for water Maybe we should talk about for some of the most divisive is-
We have a sound scientif- progress came up empty at that amongst ourselves. sues in modern politics, they failed
ic strategy, but no account- the Capitol. to adequately address some of the
ability for meeting its goals. But, the fact is, these l Comments: (319) 398-8262; major issues that could actually
The forces that abhor the folks control those levers todd.dorman@thegazette.com serve to unite Republicans, Demo-
crats and independents.
Lawmakers made no meaningful
progress toward protecting wa-

Sullivan/State shouldn’t act as morality parent

terways threatened by industrial
and agricultural pollution. In fact,
they may have reversed previous
progress with a bill that places new
;; FROM PAGE 1D opening of the 2019 legisla- program, where offenders crime as a crisis of morals. restrictions on private purchases
tive session, she praised return to the community We saw that in display in for clean water projects. That’s
crimes at 22 percent. Almost the prison apprenticeship with some supervision. the Legislature this year — after Reynolds said last session
everyone agrees those of- program, which has trained And in 2016, the Iowa Reynolds and justice reform she hoped the discussion on water
fenders should face some hundreds of inmates. Legislature passed a limited advocates pushed for a bill quality would continue in future
legal consequences. “Most of our inmates sentencing reform package, to permanently restore felon years.
Only 22 percent are drug aren’t inmates for life. They reclassifying some non- voting rights, but it was The majority party also did not
offenders. Even if we made will re-enter society — and violent crimes and allowing blocked by lawmakers who manage to find consensus on one
all drugs legal and retro- when they do, we want them some offenders to earn early argue some crimes warrant of the governor’s top priorities —
actively wiped out all drug to be successful. Those who parole. lifelong banishment from amending the state constitution to
sentences — including those can’t get a job often find Yet despite all these ef- civic life. permanently restore felons’ voting
convicted of manufacturing their way back to crime forts, the recidivism rate That is not based on rights. Reynolds astutely argued
and distributing hard drugs, and then back to prison,” has continued to creep up any sort of practical policy offenders should get a second
a political implausibility — Reynolds said. in recent years, hitting 36 calculation. It stems from chance at civic life after they fin-
Iowa prisons would still be The Legislature answered percent in the most recent the misguided belief that ished their sentences, but her GOP
near capacity. Reynolds’ call to pass a bill report, a full eight points the state is a sort of parent, colleagues got bogged down in de-
State and local agencies providing some legal protec- above the system’s target. responsible for teaching us tails about restitution payments.
continue to explore strate- tion for employers who hire So, Iowa is stuck. Legisla- right from wrong. Now attention turns to Reyn-
gies to better acclimate of- people convicted of crimes. tors and corrections profes- The truth is we all commit olds, who still has not said whether
fenders to life on the outside, It’s a promising law, but the sionals have so far been un- crimes, often unwittingly, she plans to sign off on some of
aiming to reduce the num- effect remain to be seen. able to strike a deal that will thanks to the incomprehen- the more controversial pieces law-
ber who re-enter the prison The department has a stymie the expanding prison sibly large body of state and makers sent her. Will she go along
system. statewide recidivism reduc- population. federal laws. Which laws with her Republican peers’ hasty
© 2019 The Gazette

Gov. Kim Reynolds
helped bring statewide at-
tention to some of those ef-
forts this year.
During her Condition
of the State address at the
tion strategy, intended to
promote the use of data in
re-entry and risk-assess-
ment practices.
There’s also robust com-
munity-based corrections
A grand bargain to mod-
ernize drug laws and reduce
sentences across the system
remains elusive.
One barrier I see is that
some policymakers see
the government chooses to
enforce, and how we punish
those convicted, are policy
choices.
l Comments: (319) 339-3156;
adam.sullivan@thegazette.com
instincts, or challenge them with
vetoes? It will be one of the biggest
leadership tests of her governor-
ship so far.
l Comments: (319) 398-8262;
editorial@thegazette.com

President Donald Trump reacts at a Make America Great Again rally April 27 at the Resch Center Complex in Green Bay, Wis.
LEONARD PITTS JR. | SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
The man of 10,000 lies
‘T
he first thing we do, let’s
kill all the referees.”
Admittedly, that is not
quite how the famous line from
Shakespeare’s “Henry VI” goes.
As you may recall, it was actually
the lawyers whose demise was
proposed.
But though no one is known
to have uttered the words above,
they still neatly encompass the
strategy conservatives long have
used against the so-called “liberal
media.” Namely, undermine
them — and thus, their ability
to act as arbiters of truth —
with relentless attacks on their
credibility.
No less an authority than con-
servative pundit Charlie Sykes
admitted as much in a 2016 inter-
view with journalist Oliver Dar-
cy. “We’ve basically eliminated
any of the referees, the gatekeep-
ers,” he said of himself and his
conservative colleagues.
Sykes spoke during the 2016
campaign when people still were
stunned at the barrage of un-
truths spewing from the Republi-
can candidate.
“We’ve created this monster,”
said Sykes, adding that, “At a cer-
tain point, you wake up and you
realize you have destroyed the
credibility of any credible (news)
outlet out there. And I am feeling,
to a certain extent, that we are
reaping the whirlwind at that.”
In related news, Donald Trump
told the 10,000th lie of his presi-
dency April 26. This, according
CAL THOMAS | SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
New York Times and anti-Semitism
I
t took a few days, but the New
York Times finally got around
to apologizing for publish-
ing in its international edition a
grossly anti-Semitic cartoon de-
picting a blind President Donald
Trump wearing a yarmulke and
being led by a dog resembling
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu. The dog wore a Star
of David around its neck.
At first the Times blamed a
single editor and poor oversight,
but Sunday the newspaper issued
a formal apology.
That might be acceptable were
the incident an aberration, but
Bret Stephens noted in a scathing
column for his own newspaper,
“The Times has a longstanding
Jewish problem, dating back to
World War II, when it mostly
buried news about the Holocaust,
and continuing into the pres-
ent day in the form of intensely
adversarial coverage of Israel.
The criticism goes double when
it comes to the editorial pages,
whose overall approach toward
the Jewish state tends to range,
with some notable exceptions,
from tut-tutting disappointment
to thunderous condemnation.”
The Israeli ambassador to
the United States, Ron Dermer,
responded to the cartoon, call-
ing the newspaper “a cesspool of
hostility” toward Israel. There is
much history of the newspaper’s
“coverage” of Jews and Israel
that proves him right.
Defenders of the Times claim a
difference between anti-Zionism
and anti-Semitism, but this is like
saying “I don’t hate black people,
to the Washington Post, which
maintains a database of all the
times Trump has exaggerated,
distorted or misled.
Ten thousand.
Feels like there ought to be a
statue, or something. And what
does Trump lie about? Pretty
much everything.
He lies about the border wall,
claiming it is now being built. It
isn’t.
He lies about his tax cut, claim-
ing it was the biggest in history.
It wasn’t.
He lies about the Mueller re-
port, claiming it exonerates him.
It doesn’t.
Indeed, the very same week-
end he notched his dubious mile-
stone, Trump told a particularly
gruesome whopper about sup-
posed legislation empowering a
new mother and her doctor to
“determine whether or not they
will execute the baby.”
And how did the New York
Times respond to this flaming
canard? It called it “inaccurate,”
which raised something of a stink
on Twitter. That’s not surpris-
ing. Calling that hogwash “inac-
curate” is like saying the Titanic
was “delayed.”
The Times is not alone; most
news organizations have resisted
calling Trump’s lies lies. Their
reasoning, it must be conceded,
is thoughtful. After all, to call
something a lie is to impose judg-
ment. Sometimes, when people
are incorrect it’s not a lie, only a
I am just opposed to recognizing
their civil rights.”
The Times’ coverage of the Is-
raeli-Palestinian conflict is clear-
ly pro-Palestinian. In its news
stories, editorials and columns,
the paper often portrays Israel
as the obstacle to peace because
it won’t surrender to Palestin-
ian demands to forfeit more land
and support a two-state solution,
by which the Palestinian leader-
ship means a one-state solution
achieved by the eradication of the
Jewish state.
There are more subtle jabs
at Israel and Jewish people in
the newspaper’s stories. The
list could fill several columns,
but here’s a sample. In 2015, the
Times published a chart labeling
Democratic lawmakers opposed
to the Obama administration’s
nuclear deal with Iran as “Jew-
ish?” or not. The chart was re-
moved from its online version
after an outcry.
In 2013, the Times published
the obituary of a woman whose
three sons died in attacks against
Israel. The headline read, “Mar-
iam Farhat, 64, the ‘Mother of
Martyrs.’ ” As Clay Waters of the
Media Research Center noted,
“The text box couched the terror-
ism in passive terms: ‘A woman
who took unusual pride in how
three of her sons died.’ The word
‘terrorism’ didn’t even appear in
the obituary by William Yardley,
who also called the murder-
ous part of Hamas the ‘military
wing’.”
In 2012, The Times’ East Africa
reporter worked in a swipe at Is-
Sunday, May 5, 2019
INSIGHT
JOHN KASS | SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
Smollett
showed up in
Obama White
House video
I
n Chicago we have
a saying: We don’t
want nobody nobody
sent.
But Jussie Smollett
isn’t a nobody, is he?
Reuters
He’s a somebody. And
I’ve just seen an Obama
White House video — in
which Smollett gets a
big shoutout from then-
President Barack Obama
— to prove it.
So, if it please the
court, I’d like to have
this video marked as
“Exhibit A.”
“Has everybody had
a good time tonight?”
mistake. Obama asked the audi-
But 10,000 times in a little over ence at a 2016 White
two years? How gullible must House event. “ ... Jussie
you be to believe someone could Smollett!”
be that wrong that often by ac- Smollett smiled
cident? If any other man told you and clapped, beaming
half that many untruths, you’d with excitement. Who
call him a liar. You wouldn’t hesi- wouldn’t be beaming
tate. Yet here, we do. after performing for the
It sets an extraordinary prece- president and the first
dent, yes, for a news organization lady?
to brand a president a liar. But It was obvious that he
these are extraordinary times was having good time.
and a liar, brazen and inveterate, Clearly, he was becom-
is precisely what Trump is. In ing somebody. A real
their refusal to call him that, in Hollywood somebody,
their insistence upon giving him star of the TV show
the benefit of nonexistent doubt, “Empire” with impor-
news media compromise their tant connections.
prime directive, which is to pres- Smollett became such
ent a picture of the world as it is. a somebody that Cook
That’s something we can ill County State’s Attorney
afford with the very idea of truth Kim Foxx’s office inex-
under attack and the need for plicably cut him loose
news media to do their jobs argu- from criminal charges,
ably more critical than ever. dropping 16 grand jury
This is a time for forthright- counts against him for
ness, yet too often journalists are allegedly fabricating a
anything but, from coverage of racial hate crime and
race, to climate change to this, blaming it all on sup-
as the newspaper of record porters of President
dubs a grotesque lie merely Donald Trump.
“inaccurate.” Well, it’s almost inex-
It makes you wonder if all plicable. Foxx did admit
the effort conservatives put into she had inappropriate
neutering the referees was not a contact with the Smol-
waste of time. lett family and with Tina
Seems the referees have done a Tchen, a top lawyer and
fair job of neutering themselves. former chief of staff for
Michelle Obama.
l Leonard Pitts is a syndicated colum-
nist distributed by Tribune News Service.
Foxx said she recused
Comments: lpitts@miamiherald.com herself from the case be-
cause of the questionable
contacts. But in reality,
she hadn’t.
And then she dropped
the whole thing.
Hate crime? What
hate crime?
Tuna sandwich? The
one Smollett kept with
him even after fighting
rael in a story about the genocide those MAGA racists?
in Rwanda. Jeffrey Gettleman What tuna sandwich?
wrote, “ ... like Israel, Rwanda has What MAGA racists?
succeeded in leveraging the guilt Those bodybuilding
that other countries feel for not brothers, the Osundai-
intervening in its genocide.” Ah, ros? What Osundairos?
that old trope about Jewish guilt. When Foxx mysteri-
In 2011, Times columnist ously dropped all the
Thomas Friedman wrote about charges, it smelled so
the favorable response Mem- badly that retired Illinois
bers of Congress gave to visiting Appellate Judge Sheila
Prime Minister Benjamin Netan- O’Brien was compelled
yahu: “I sure hope that Israel’s to petition the courts
prime minister ... understands and ask for a special
that the standing ovation he got prosecutor.
in Congress this year was not It’s all so theatrical,
for his politics. That ovation was like a courtroom drama
bought and paid for by the Israel turgid with Chicago Way
lobby.” politics. That’s why I’m
There are many more recent offering this video to the
examples. The cartoon merely courts.
adds to the list. In February 2016, the
The Times’ reporting and com- Obama White House
mentary is one thread — but an held a musical tribute to
influential one — in a pattern con- one of the great Ameri-
tributing to the rise of anti-Sem- can artists in our his-
itism worldwide. These include tory, the one and only
recent shootings at American Ray Charles.
synagogues, the defacing of Jew- Just type “White
ish cemeteries, the return of Nazi House tribute,”
symbols and the proliferation of “Obama” and “Ray
white supremacist web pages. Charles” into a YouTube
Denunciations of such talk, search and you’ll see.
symbolism and acts of violence Top entertainers per-
are not enough. Sadly, more formed that night. Big
houses of worship are hiring stars like Usher. So did
armed guards, but even that only Smollett, who was by no
addresses the symptoms of hate, means a big star like the
not the disease itself. The Times others, but somebody up
might consider contributing to there must have liked
solutions, rather than adding to him.
the problem. It was a fantastic
l Cal Thomas is a syndicated colum-
show. The president and
nist distributed by Tribune News Service. the first lady were cool,
Comments: tcaeditors@tribpub.com singing and dancing
● The Gazette 5D
and having fun. Finally,
President Barack Obama
said the goodbyes.
If I were directing,
I’d have had the White
House press corps —
which loved Obama and
still carries a torch for
him — sing a few songs
of farewell too.
They’d do a great
job singing that Celine
Dion love song “My
Heart Will Go On,” from
“Titanic.”
They sang that one to
him for eight years, and
most are still singing it
to this day, with tears.
But look, ah, here’s
the thing. Celine Dion is
not Ray Charles. C’mon,
man.
And on the night in
question, in February
2016, as he was saying
his farewells, President
Barack Obama had Ray
Charles on his mind.
“Has everybody had
a good time tonight?”
Obama asks on the
video. “Let’s say, ‘Thank
you’ to all our outstand-
ing performers!
“Yolanda Adams!
Leon Bridges! Demi Lo-
vato! Anthony Hamilton!
The great Sam Moore!
Usher! Brittany Howard!
I want to make sure I’ve
got everybody here ...
Andra Day! Can you give
everybody a big round of
applause for the band!”
But he’d skipped
Smollett. And just then,
Michelle Obama is
standing next to her hus-
band. She leans forward
and whispers into his
ear.
“The Band Perry!
Jussie Smollett! Did I
forget anybody? I got
Sam Moore!”
You didn’t forget any-
body, Mr. President. And
you got the important
name on the record.
What does this video
prove, if anything?
Oh, I’m no lawyer. I’m
not a former appellate
judge seeking answers
to a strange case. And
I’m not a state’s attorney
who’ll never be anyone’s
wing man now.
But it is interesting.
And it kind of, sorta
answers the question:
Where does Jussie Smol-
lett’s clout come from?
Judge O’Brien wants
to know that, too, among
other things.
“She is our lawyer.
We are her clients.
We should be able to
rely upon our lawyer’s
word,” O’Brien wrote
in her petition. “To find
that Foxx’s clear state-
ment of recusal was
something other than a
recusal would indicate
that she was being less
than truthful in her han-
dling of the Smollett case
and in her statements to
the public.”
Less than truthful?
That’s an understate-
ment. Her pants are on
fire.
Once word got out
that Foxx had her pri-
vate contacts with Mi-
chelle Obama’s former
chief of staff and others,
Foxx’s office kept saying
she’d “recused” herself.
But when I asked
Foxx if she’d really re-
cused herself, her office
said the state’s attorney
had meant it only in “the
colloquial” sense.
In other words: Tax-
© 2019 The Gazette
payers sure are stupid,
aren’t they?
l John Kass is a columnist for
the Chicago Tribune. Comments:
jskass@chicagotribune.com