Book Review: The Decarbonization Imperative

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Paul Deaton

It’s easy to write a post on social media that says we should reduce greenhouse gas emissions then add a hashtag like #ActOnClimate. What’s harder is knowing what greenhouse gases are at work across the economy and the steps required to reduce them. The upcoming book by Michael Lenox and Rebecca Duff is here to help.

The Decarbonization Imperative: Transforming the Global Economy by 2050 takes “a deep dive into the challenge of climate change and the need to effectively reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.”

When the authors say “deep dive” that means the book doesn’t read like your parent’s latest mystery novel. It is packed with details and examples, along with questions about whether society can make the transition to a decarbonized economy effectively and in time to avert the worst effects of climate change. The authors remain positive about the prospects even if their narrative presents a bleak answer to both questions. The book welcomes a reader already engaged in how to combat climate change. It takes them beyond generalities.

“The challenge before the world is overwhelming, requiring a profound shift in so many large economic sectors over the course of a few decades. But try we must,” wrote Lenox and Duff. They present five sectors of the economy for review: Energy, Transportation, Industrials, Buildings and Agriculture.

Running throughout the book is the theme of electrification as a way of economic decarbonization. Energy, or electricity generation more specifically, is a key consideration. The other four sectors depend to varying extents upon the energy sector, according to the authors.

Lenox and Duff name all the carbon-free operating methods for generating electricity and point to solar as the one with the most promising capability to disrupt current patterns toward decarbonization of the economy. The narrative is familiar: solar technology is effective, it is currently inexpensive, and costs continue to decline. “Utility-scale solar is now competitive with fossil fuels,” wrote the authors.

Nuclear power is mentioned multiple times in the book as a potential solution to decarbonize electricity generation. Readers of this blog know my skepticism about building new nuclear power generating stations. Like many, I point to the failures at Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011). According to the nuclear regulatory commission, “Today, the Three Mile Island-2 reactor is permanently shut down and 99 percent of its fuel has been removed. The reactor coolant system is fully drained and the radioactive water decontaminated and evaporated.” The other two disasters remain ongoing.

Lenox and Duff acknowledge the high cost of current nuclear reactor technology. They also mention Bill Gates’ nuclear project. In his 2021 book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, Gates wrote, “I put several hundred million dollars into starting a company to design a next-generation nuclear plant that would generate clean electricity and very little nuclear waste.” While Lenox and Duff acknowledge new nuclear power is too expensive for economically disruptive potential by 2050, Gates’ investment is of the kind for which they advocate throughout the book. If Gates’ company resolves issues with nuclear power, as is its stated goal, it may be worth another look.

The authors emphasize no sector of the economy is without challenges in getting to decarbonization. The benefit of reading the book is its broad overview of these challenges.

There is a lot to absorb in The Decarbonization Imperative. Unless advocates are willing to do the work to understand this narrative, what’s the point? I recommend the book for its analysis by sector and for the ways each sector is connected with others. Climate advocates often focus on electricity generation and electrification of transportation yet to decarbonize the economy, all sectors must be addressed. Zero emissions will be a tough nut to crack, especially when zero means zero.

The Decarbonization Imperative: Transforming the Global Economy by 2050 by Michael Lenox and Rebecca Duff is scheduled for release from Stanford University Press on Oct. 29, 2021. Click here to go to the book’s page at Stanford University Press.

  • Michael Lenox
  • Rebecca Duff

About the authors

Michael Lenox is the Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He is the coauthor of Can Business Save the Earth? Innovating Our Way to Sustainability (Stanford, 2018) and The Strategist’s Toolkit (Darden, 2013).

Rebecca Duff is Senior Research Associate with the Batten Institute at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. She also serves as the managing director for Darden’s Business Innovation and Climate Change Initiative.

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Grassley, Ernst Vote To Shut Down Government

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Dave Bradley

known by the company you keep

Should come as no surprise. The government was anticipated to run out of money a week from tomorrow, October 18th. At that time the government of the United States of America would have quit paying its bills in what would become the biggest default ever. Such an action would have caused an absolute economic catastrophe.

The senate had a vote that would keep the government open at least another month and a half. That is a very short window. After that we will be in the same situation once again, with Republicans once again threatening to throw the world into economic disaster.

With dire consequences looming in the very near future, Iowa’s two Republican senators looked into the abyss and said “Bring it on!” While they did not actually do this, they did so figuratively.

Think about this. Facing true grave consequences with a “NO” vote for the world and for Iowans, Iowa’s two Republican senators voted “NO.”

Maybe they did not understand the consequences. If they didn’t understand the consequences they do no belong in congress. Maybe they didn’t care about the consequences. If they didn’t care about the consequences, they do not belong in congress.

Grassley and Ernst have been instrumental in running up the federal debt by voting for huge tax cuts for the rich under both George W. Bush and Donald Trump while supporting the forever wars in the Middle East. Yet when the bill came due they acted arrogantly and refused to pay the bill.

Had they crashed the economy, they hoped you would believe their lies that Democrats did it. 

In case you did not know, Grassley is up for re-election next year. Based on this vote alone he should be voted out. But just to add insult to injury, expect he and Ernst to repeat their votes in December. If the government does shut down most of us will be losing our retirements, our savings, our jobs and in short order our houses as the economy crashes. That will teach us a lesson.

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Sunday Funday: Paul Simon Turns 80 Wednesday Edition

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Dave Bradley

“And the signs say the words of the prophets 

Are written on the subway walls

And tenement halls 

And echo in the dwell of silence”

Those are some of the words that introduced many of us to the poetry and the song writing talent of Paul Simon nearly 60 years back. He and partner Art Garfunkel treated us to words of wisdom, words of wonder, words of questioning and exploration, words of love and sometimes words of whimsy. 

After splitting with Garfunkel, Paul Simon continued on still gracing us with great poetry set to music. The Paul Simon song book is large. Most of us have a song of Simon’s that really speaks to us from the profoundness of “Sounds of Silence” to the solitude of “I am a Rock” to the exploration of “America” to the whimsy of “59th Street Bridge Song” to the great music of “You Can Call Me Al.” 

Let us not forget his story songs such as “The Boxer” or “Late In The Evening” or “Me and Julio.” Happy Birthday, Paul Simon and thank you for the music.

A) Some people no doubt had withdrawal symptoms when what internet giant took a pause last Monday?

B) October 10, 1973. What high ranking politician resigned from office, signaling coming trouble for the administration in power?

C) Who replaced the resigned politician in the previous question?

D) Four former close associates of the former president have been subpoenaed by the January 6th committee. The former president advised these associates to do what?

E) As Iowa’s governor Reynolds cavorts with other Republican governors at the Mexican border, what is Iowa’s rate of Covid cases averaging daily?

F) A leak of over 12 million files that laid bare the hidden wealth, secret dealings, and corruption of hundreds of world leaders, billionaires, public officials, celebrities, and others Sunday is known as what?

G) In an outcome that was of little surprise to anyone, the Iowa legislature dealt with the proposed redistricting by doing what?

H) Proof of Covid vaccination will be required in what major American city for indoor shopping and major outdoor events?

I) Late last week, Chinese war planes flew sorties over what nearby nation?

J) The World Health Organization announced its approval for the widespread use of the first vaccine for what disease?

K) Which US state was identified as one of the world’s premiere tax havens on a par with places like the Cayman Islands in a leak of files Sunday?

L) US senators voted to extend the debt ceiling to what date in December?

M) As of 2019, what is the self-described Hispanic population of the US?

N) What was the name of Paul Simon’s girlfriend during his and Art’s first trip to England in the early ’60s?

O) What song did this girl inspire that Paul wrote on a train trip back to see her?

P) An oil spill due to a cracked pipeline spoiled some coastline in what state?

Q) Frances Haugen became a household name last week when she became a whistle blower against what company?

R) What elderly TV and movie star will be the oldest space tourist when he takes a ride on a Blue Origin rocket Tuesday?

S) As SCOTUS started its new term, which justice participated from home due to having Covid?

T) The winning ticket for a $700 million Powerball jackpot was purchased in what state?

U) BONUS: When Simon and Garfunkel first hit the music scene, what did they call themselves?

Billionaires don’t want to pay taxes because not paying for things is how they became billionaires.– Middle Age Riot

Answers:

A) Facebook

B) VP Spiro Agnew

C) Gerald Ford

D) Ignore the subpoenas (this is from the “we are a nation of laws” party)

E) over a thousand a day

F) Pandora Papers

G) voting it down on a party line vote. Here comes the gerrymandering!

H) Los Angeles

I) Taiwan

J) Malaria

K) South Dakota. This was revealed in the leak of the Pandora Papers

L) December 3rd. Merry Christmas!

M) 60.6 million or @18.5% of the population

N) Kathy Chitty. He inspired such songs as Kathy’s Song and America

O) She was also the inspiration for Homeward Bound that Simon wrote in a railway station getting ready to head back to Chitty

P) California – Huntington Beach specifically

Q) Facebook. (Ms. Haugen is a native of Iowa City and attended West High School)

R)  William Shatner who is 90 and is best known for playing Star Trek’s Captain Kirk (mythically born in Riverside, Ia.)

S) Brett Kavanaugh

T) California

U) BONUS: Tom and Jerry

If Merrick Garland feels that disrupted school board meetings merit an urgent FBI response, wait until he hears about what happened on January 6th. – Jeff Tiedrich

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Robert Reich On Friday’s Jobs Report

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Dave Bradley

Robert Reich started a newsletter last week. While he said the letter would land only a couple times a week, so far he has sent out some truly pithy comments daily – even Saturday. When I saw this, I felt I needed to share his insights:

Why yesterday’s bad news about jobs is really good news

The media is missing the big story.

I’d planned to take today off from writing but I’m riled up about how the media is characterizing Friday’s jobs report and I have to speak out.

The coverage was almost universally gloomy. The New York Times emphasized “weak” jobs growth and fretted that “hiring challenges that have bedeviled employers all year won’t be quickly resolved,” and “rising wages could add to concerns about inflation.” For CNN, it was “another disappointment.” For Bloomberg the “September jobs report misses big for a second straight month.”

The media failed to report the big story: American workers are now flexing their muscles for the first time in decades. You might say workers have declared a national general strike until they get better pay and improved working conditions.

They don’t call it a general strike, of course. But in its own disorganized way it’s related to the organized strikes breaking out across the land – Hollywood stagehands, John Deere workers, Alabama coal miners, Nabisco workers, Kellogg workers, nurses in California, healthcare workers in Buffalo.

Disorganized or organized, American workers now have bargaining leverage to do better. After a year and a half of the pandemic, consumers have pent-up demand for all sorts of goods and services.

But employers are finding it hard to fill positions. Yesterday’s job report showed the number of job openings at a record high. The share of people working or looking for work (the labor force participation rate) has dropped to 61.6 percent. Participation for people in their prime working years, defined as 25 to 54 years old, is also down.

These numbers have nothing to do with the Republican bogeyman of extra unemployment benefits supposedly discouraging people from getting jobs. The extra benefits ran out on Labor Day.

The reluctance of workers to return to their old jobs has everything to do with them being fed up. Some have retired early. Others have found ways to make ends meet other than a job they abhor. Many just don’t want to return to backbreaking, low-wage shit jobs. In the wake of so much hardship, illness and death during the past year, I think many peoples’ priorities have shifted.

The media and most economists measure the economy’s success by the number of jobs it creates, while ignoring the quality of those jobs. But when I was Secretary of Labor I met with working people all over the country who complained that their jobs paid too little and had few benefits, or were unsafe, or required lengthy or unpredictable hours. Many said their employers treated them badly, harassed them, and did not respect them.

In order to lure workers back, employers are now raising wages and offering other inducements. Average earnings rose 19 cents an hour in September and are up more than $1 an hour – or 4.6 percent — over the last year.

Clearly, that’s not enough.

Corporate America wants to frame this as a “labor shortage.” But what’s really going on is more accurately described as a living-wage shortage, a hazard pay shortage, a childcare shortage, a paid sick leave shortage, and a health care shortage.

Unless these shortages are rectified, many Americans won’t return to work anytime soon. That’s the real lesson of yesterday’s jobs report.

I say it’s about time.

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Editor’s note: I highly recommend getting Reich’s commentary. The subscribe button is right above us.

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History Doesn’t Repeat, But It Rhymes

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Dave Bradley

This video has 3 parts. The first two parts while very interesting are not totally relevant to the article below. The third part starts at 4:40 and goes about 6 minutes.

As the Covid pandemic continues with Republicans weaponizing the disease on a really strange battle over what “freedom” means it pricked a memory of a story I had heard decades ago of how the Muslim world in either the Dark or Middle Ages were the home for scientific and mathematical discovery.

This did not jibe with my then understanding of the Muslim world being much less open to scientific discovery that was at odds with Muslim religious teachings. At the time I did some research – the old fashioned way  using books and magazine articles. Remember the old “Readers Guide to Periodical Literature?”

What I found out is what Dr. Tyson discusses in the last half of the above video. There was a flourishing of scientific thought in the Muslim world around the year 1000 while what we call the western world suffered through a scientific blackout. The blackout was caused because where scientific discoveries collided with religious thought, religion was the winner and science was not pursued. 

At the time I was delving in to this, in the West scientific discovery was most important. At that time as a young man, I could never imagine that Western civilization would ever reverse that prioritization and once again put religion as the standard by which to judge ideas. History showed us that when humans did that, it led to serious consequences. Besides, science was bringing us some great benefits and toys. Why would anyone want to reverse that?

As an adult I learned that no matter how good an idea might be, there is always someone to louse it up. 

A couple of weeks ago I either read or heard on the internet (a great scientific discovery) that there had been a bill introduced in some state legislature – I think it was either Texas or Tennessee – to make all mandatory vaccinations optional. That included measles, mumps, rubella, polio, DPT etcetera. All those childhood immunizations which most states now require before any student is allowed to enter the school system.

Using the great search engine we have today – Google – I was unable to find any reference to such a story. While I am sure I heard this story, maybe I didn’t. But I would not be surprised that of it didn’t happen it probably will as some loathsome politician panders for religious votes. This would be, as Dr. Tyson describes, part of the slope heading back down to making religion pre-eminent over science.

Can you even imagine what our country would be like if we were to make vaccinations optional? Schools would be hugely affected. No doubt there would be constant epidemics of what we refer to as childhood diseases. And contrary to myths that have grown around “childhood” diseases, they do kill. 

Remember a few years back when the U of Iowa campus experienced an outbreak of mumps? It only took a few unvaccinated individuals to cause a small epidemic. If all vaccinations were optional you can bet that vaccinations would slide especially among children as time went on. Epidemics would certainly rise. And even more concerning is that mutations of once contained viruses would make these viruses beyond current scientific knowledge.

Considering how easy it is to show how effective the mandatory vaccination programs have been, especially for children, it is amazing that so many are so fearful of the Covid vaccines. These are among the safest and most effective vaccines ever created. Sadly one political party in this country has found that spreading lies, fear and disinformation about these vaccines to be politically advantageous. Making people fearful of something, whether founded on reality or not, brings in votes.

So as Dr. Tyson noted the 20th century in Western civilization was a time of great scientific advancement. But amazingly those that want to stop such advancement are always lurking ready to pounce. Unfortunately in our current day, those forces trying to stop such advancement are needlessly causing death and pain, not to mention hurting our economy.

Here is a truly sobering thought that just came out – more than 120,000 children in the US have lost their primary caregiver due to the pandemic:  

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic may be larger than previously estimated, and the toll has been far greater among Black and Hispanic Americans, a new study suggests.

More than half the children who lost a primary caregiver during the pandemic belonged to those two racial groups, which make up about 40% of the U.S. population, according to the study published Thursday by the medical journal Pediatrics.

During 15 months of the nearly 19-month COVID-19 pandemic, more than 120,000 U.S. children lost a parent or grandparent who was a primary provider of financial support and care, the study found. Another 22,000 children experienced the death of a secondary caregiver — for example, a grandparent who provided housing but not a child’s other basic needs.

Posted in Covid-19 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Iowans, It’s Saturday. Do You Know Where Your Governor Is?

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Dave Bradley

Kim Reynolds has much better things to do than hang around and govern Iowa. She is now a national leader. Seems like just the other day she was down on the border protecting Iowa from the scourge of immigration. Hey it was just the other day. She was down in Texas, protecting Iowa’s southern border.

While one would think that having a thousand plus Iowans getting sick with a pandemic illness that she refuses to take seriously would be something she might want to spend her time on. But Covid Kim has to burnish her credentials to become Border Guard Kim as she saves Iowa from a made up crisis that is only 1,000 miles from Iowa’s southern border. Feel safer, Keokuk?

Reynolds is just doing her part in the co-ordinated far right effort to equate Democrats with three election issues that they believe will bring Democrats down. Immigration is one of the three prongs. That is why Border Guard Kim is patrolling Iowa’s far, far southern border. That is why we spent $300,000 to send Iowa Highway Patrol members to the southern border this summer. Iowa doesn’t have any of its highways along the US southern border, but that didn’t stop Border Guard Kim.  

While there she made some ridiculous statements to scare Iowans, to ratchet up the fear factor, without any citation for her statements:   

Reynolds said Iowa is seeing an increase in fentanyl and methamphetamine coming from across the border, and she described increased border security measures as a way to protect the health and safety of Iowans.

“They are lacing pot, they are putting it in pills, and the purity of the fentanyl that is crossing the border and is making its way to the states is horrific,” she said.

As Reynolds plays border guard and ignores Iowa’s problems, the second part of the three pronged attack is to make it seem like the US withdrawal from Afghanistan was totally botched. While there were some glitches we are finally out of a forever war started by Republican George W. Bush in an insane attempt to supposedly apprehend Osama Bin Laden. Bin laden was killed by the Obama administration using special forces. Bush’s war sadly continued all through the Trump administration.

But Trump negotiated with the enemy behind closed doors and set up an impossible situation for us to withdraw. Republicans like Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley are pushing this second prong of the offensive against Biden with lie after lie. 

Prong #3 of the Republican strategy for winning elections in 2022 and 2024 is to pull out the old canard the Democrats are “socialist.” They offer no definition nor any evidence of what this means. But it is supposed to be bad. Imagine citizens having health care or enough food to eat, or education that will help the country or a place to live. What could be worse?

The socialist prong for the coming election appears to be the bailiwick of Iowa’s congressional delegation right now. We have seen both Miller-Meeks and Hinson making non-congruent statements about socialism in interviews and appearances. As with immigration, this is supposed to inspire fear in Iowans. Imagine decent paying jobs? Un-American!

I might say that Iowans should be fearful here. The extreme right is close to ending Social Security and Medicare. Imagine what a disaster that would cause, especially in Iowa with an older population. Who wants to live with their parents at age 50? Vote Republican and you may find out what it is like whether you want to or not.

And now to answer the question at the top of the page. With Insurrectionist #1, Donny Trump coming to Des Moines tonight, I am guessing she will be on his podium without a mask. Since Covid Kim has done more than her share to promote chaos in this country, especially in the Covid area and now in immigration, expect Trump to lavish praise on Reynolds. She has been a good soldier in their quest.

Posted in #nevertrump, Covid-19, Immigration, Kim Reynolds, Republican Policy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Watch Frances Haugen 60 Minutes Interview

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Trish Nelson

ICYMI here it is.

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Cedar Rapids Mayoral Candidate Courageous In Pursuit Of Justice

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Trish Nelson

Published with permission from the fall 2021 issue of  The Prairie Progressive, Iowa’s oldest progressive newsletter. The PP is  funded entirely by reader subscription,  available only in hard copy for $12/yr.  Send check to PP, Box 1945, Iowa City 52244. Click here for archived issues.

by Amara Andrews

I am a business leader, a social activist, a Black woman, a mom, and a candidate for Mayor of Cedar Rapids. I appreciate the opportunity to tell Prairie Progressive readers, especially those living in what we call the Corridor, why I’m running and what I hope to bring to city
government in my community.

My husband and I put down roots in Cedar Rapids because we saw an opportunity to raise our kids in a place with great family values. On first arriving from Illinois, we noticed the beauty of the city, the rolling hills, and the TREES! When asked by people in Los Angeles what it’s like living here, I would always say, “There’s no traffic!” It didn’t take long to identify other things to love: the people, the neighborhoods, the trails, and FIVE museums.

It was quickly clear that the many people who’ve come for jobs in industry, create a beautiful mosaic to rival any large city: African refugees, Czechs, African Americans, South Asians, to name a few. Having lived in cities across the country, large and small, we recognized and valued the quieter pace in a still thriving, vibrant place to live.

Cedar Rapids is the best of all possible worlds. We love it here. It’s only when you love something that you’d take the time and put forth the effort to contribute in ways that enhance and improve it. In that regard I have been active on several non-profit Boards of Directors. I am very proud of the work accomplished by the Advocates for Social Justice (ASJ) even during COVID. It is through our research, conversations with representatives from Civilian Oversight Boards, the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, and meetings (often contentious) with Mayor Hart and some City Council members, that the Mayor can tout the fact that Cedar Rapids now has a Citizens Review Board.

Policy issues affecting Cedar Rapidians are also key to the health of surrounding cities. Case in point: Cargill/Rompot. While community members weighed in at City Council meetings, they were not at the decision-making table. Destruction of the Prairie Pollinator Zone was something to which they were strongly opposed. It not only effects the value of their property – many having moved there understanding the City was committed to the preservation of that land – but more importantly, it eliminates the natural flood plain buffer. Bulldozers currently are literally scraping the zone of all flora, destroying fauna habitats. One need only look back at pre-Katrina infrastructure policy decisions of New Orleans lawmakers, and remember the ensuing disaster, to understand these policies have deep, far-reaching implications. It’s as if CR city leaders learned nothing from the devastating flooding of 2008.

Homelessness is a huge concern in cities across the country. Derecho displaced numbers of families increasing the need for shelters in Cedar Rapids. Plunging winter temperatures create an urgency for emergency shelter. Several local and statewide non-profits and social
action organizations, among them ASJ, are urging city leaders to allocate American Recovery Act funds to create at least 250 new shelter units.

Local governments need to partner with non-profits, neighborhood associations, and community leaders already on the ground, deeply involved with affected communities. It doesn’t work for governments to create policies and develop strategies affecting these communities in silos, unilaterally presenting their solutions to the communities which may have better solutions or other concerns.

Tactical skills are needed to actualize any goal. But without the heart investment, without a commitment to morally and ethically driven solutions, a key component goes missing. Deciding without community input results in contentiousness, leading to a closed-mindedness antithetical to successful alliances. We must be better listeners so we can be better doers.

Compelled to run for Mayor, I’m courageous in pursuit of justice, a committed advocate for vulnerable communities whose voices are mere whispers to others. I understand where compromises can be made while maintaining the integrity of the mission and leaving the goal intact, and I have the requisite credentials.

Service to the wide community cannot be accomplished without deep listening skills, sensitivity, and compassion. Government must be open, accessible, and genuinely interested in bringing residents to the table, voices not only to be heard, but welcomed. That will be my promise to the people of Cedar Rapids.

—Amara Andrews is the only progressive candidate on the ballot for Mayor of Cedar Rapids on November 2nd. She can be reached at amara4cr.com or info@amara4cr.com.  Follow Amara on Facebook and Twitter

photo: amara4cr.com

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Who Has Standing On Military Affairs?

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Paul Deaton
Mariannette Miller-Meeks on the Iowa State Fair Political Soapbox on Aug. 13, 2010. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

The Republican approach to oversight of our military is curious and ineffective. On the one hand they vehemently criticize the administration’s handling of our country’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. On the other, Senator Tom Cotton sponsored legislation ending U.S. funding for Afghan refugees brought here as a result of the withdrawal, something they said they wanted. Cotton was joined by the 49 other Republican senators, yet their measure failed.

Republicans, and some Democrats, don’t think twice about spending $7.7 trillion on the U.S. military over 10 years without scrutinizing details of where the money goes. They reject an audit of the Pentagon. At the same time, Republicans reject the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act which would help everyday Americans at half the price.

Cotton appeared with Second District congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks at her re-election announcement fundraiser in Iowa City. They then co-wrote an op-ed piece for the Des Moines Register in which they laid out their grievances about the Afghanistan withdrawal. It was pure politics in our red state. As far as I’m concerned, Senator Cotton should resign and return to Arkansas to peddle snake oil. Apparently that’s what he might be good at.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks was an ophthalmologist during military service. How does that qualify her to evaluate the Biden administration on military and foreign affairs? It doesn’t.

Unlike Democrats who are held to a higher standard of truth, Miller-Meeks can spew anything that comes to mind without regard to accuracy. If what she says is unhinged from reality, she thought it, asserted it with confidence, and therefore among Republicans it must be right. As a freshman in congress she’s proving to be little more than a parrot for what the moneyed class seeks: destruction of American democracy.

Whatever flaws the administration may have in military and foreign affairs, Joe Biden himself doesn’t have many vulnerabilities going into the midterm elections. First of all, he’s not on the ballot. More importantly, the man got the most votes of any candidate for president ever, 81,268,924 votes and 7,052,770 more than the next closest candidate. Despite the mad raving of pillow merchants and such, it was the most secure election ever. The results are not in doubt.

What galls me about members of congress like Miller-Meeks and Cotton is they have no respect for the authority embodied in the presidency that transcends administrations. We all get it. When they grandstand, it’s to make some political point rather than solve any of our pressing problems.

Neither respects the chain of command in civilian leadership of our military. They daily disrespect the president. Chain of command is a lesson both should have learned while serving in the Army. They assert what they present as factual about the military when the fact is they spin a yarn that ventures from the truth from its beginnings. Life in the military and management of foreign affairs is more complicated than the sawdust laden beef they peddle as hamburger.

A majority of Americans like Biden’s policies. The American Rescue Plan Act, which Miller-Meeks voted against, provided needed relief during the run up to distributing a viable vaccine for the coronavirus. Miller-Meeks did her part to add to quackery about the vaccine, including support for hydroxychloroquine treatment and misstatements about children getting sick with COVID-19.

We need members of congress with a grip on reality. Not those like Miller-Meeks who would say anything that comes to mind without regard for truth and logic. If she wants to opine about military and foreign affairs, that’s her right. She should stop taking talking points from conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, do her own homework and level with the American people.

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Cancel Culture and the Freedom of Expression

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Trish Nelson

Published with permission by Ralph Scharnau

The term cancel culture or call-out culture denotes a modern form of ostracism where someone is cast out of social or professional circles online, on social media, or in person. The phrase is commonly used in debates on free speech and censorship.

Americans have debated the parameters of free speech from First Amendment protections to political correctness and now cancel culture The internet has intensified these debates and raised concerns about tone and tenor.

In a September 2020 Pew Research Center poll, about 56% of respondents said they were mostly unfamiliar with the phrase cancel culture. The polling data also shows differences based on age, gender, education, and political affiliation.

Roughly two-thirds of adults under age 30 knew about cancel culture compared to 46% of those 30 to 49 and only 34% of those 50 and older. Men were more likely than women to be familiar with the term as were those with bachelor’s or advanced degrees. Political affiliation findings indicate a rather even split among Democrats, Republicans and Independents. But ideological differences within the two major parties reveal that about 60% of liberal Democrats show greater awareness of cancel culture than moderates or conservatives in their own party or among Republicans.

Cancel culture needs to be viewed in the context of the nation’s founding documents and freedom of speech values. Our country continues the ongoing struggles to provide equal opportunities for all people. The history of this republic can indeed be traced in the expanding freedoms for more and more people, women, racial and ethnic minorities, workers, the poor, and LGBTQ people. These folks have mounted movements to demand full participation in society as a human right.

The drive for opportunity and equality has coexisted with persistent efforts to deny or limit freedom and civil rights by race, gender, class, and in other ways. Republicans, led by former president Trump’s incendiary attacks on certain minority groups and segments of the press, have orchestrated a series of voter suppression laws and ordinances in cities and states they control. Examples include putting restrictions on early voting, eliminating same day registration. and shortening polling hours. These measures limit electoral activities among Democrats’ traditional constituencies, blacks, Hispanics, women, organized labor, poor people, and college students.

Yet, the promise of American freedom leaves no one out. The realization of this goal remains an ongoing struggle. All Americans should have the right to pursue their dreams, regardless of their skin color. sexual orientation/identity, and economic status. True American loyalty embraces the ideals of equality, pluralism, and an openness to dissent.
We have to rediscover the power of dialog for bridging divisions, for using peaceful protest to bring about change, and for upholding the ideals of freedom. democracy, and equality to inspire. The struggle against bigotry and intolerance need not—and must not—come at the expense of our foundational freedom of speech.

We live in a diverse, digital, and conflicted society. But we should care about both free speech and equality. While championing free speech, we should also be guardians of open discourse. We need dissenting voices, even ones that are offensive and shocking to others.
Speech must be protected in everyday life, in communities, and on social media. Freedom of expression promotes personal autonomy and tolerance, reduces violence and is a catalyst for progressive change.

Freedom of expression acts as the framework for all other freedoms. It is both a cherished ideal and a contested ideal. Like democracy itself, one that remains forever a work in progress.

Ralph Scharnau
September 29, 2021

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