I-235 freeway at 23rd and Day streets behind Drake park. Photo credit: Tom Gilsenan
This is a Facebook post by Tom Gilsenan. Posted with permission.
SOUTHERLY WINDS BLOW ROAR OF FREEWAY INTO OUR
DRAKE NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE EARLY MORNINGS
That roar from the I-235 freeway has been back again in the Drake area this week. In fact, it has been a regular feature of early mornings all during this fall.
You likely have heard it if you live south of University avenue, especially east of 31st street. It’s particularly strong in the early mornings, before the city awakens for the day.
At times, the wind this week has been strong enough to carry this ‘roar’ across University avenue and into the Drake university campus. Visitors to the campus one morning last week could clearly hear the freeway in the open area north of the library.
This roar doesn’t happen every day or night, so it can often come as a surprise to those living in Drake area neighborhoods. First thought: What’s going on out on University avenue? Second thought: Is there somebody holding a car rally in the neighborhood?
Neither is the case. It’s the sound of the I-235 freeway, amplified by winds from the south and southwest.
By the time freeways came to Des Moines in the 1960s, highway engineers were lowering the roadbeds to decrease the noise. Much of I-235 is sunken for this reason.
Many earlier freeways, especially in California and Florida, were built at ground level. Walls were added later to lessen the noise level in nearby neighborhoods. That helped those close to freeways, but often resulted in louder noise for those living further away.
The federal standard for freeway noise is 67 decibels. Above that, cities and states are supposed to take steps to lessen the impact, especially in urban areas.
But it turns out that the noise standard doesn’t take weather into account. It ‘assumes neutral conditions — no wind and no temperature effects,’ says Darlene Reiter, president of a highway consulting firm. ‘That happens only occasionally,’ she told writer Meryl Davids Landau in an article for Undark magazine.
Nor does the noise standard account for the fact sound doesn’t travel in straight lines. The noise travels in waves, says Mariano Barrios, who works for the Florida department of transportation.
Those sound waves are amplified by wind.
So when the wind blows from the south or southwest, it carries the sound of the freeway into Drake area neighborhoods. It can sound like there’s a racetrack or truck route in your backyard.
We all have access to the news, so I need not recap what happened during the Nov. 5 election. Suffice it the front face for the Heritage Foundation, which is the front face for right-wing billionaires like Charles Koch and his club, was elected president. The Republican win was so deep it was and will be disabling for a while. It’s time to begin getting over the loss and move forward.
In a Nov. 20 article originally published in Hankyoreh, John Feffer provides a possible future as progressives pick up the pieces of our shattered dream of continuing the successes of the Biden administration with Kamala Harris. The entire article is printed here.
The challenge of navigating uncharted political waters is we don’t always know what to expect or what it might look like. Feffer provides some ideas toward envisioning the future as follows:
In 2016, Trump himself was surprised by his own victory, and his team was ill-prepared to take power. In 2024, his team is ready to hit the ground running on day one.
A demoralized Democratic Party is busy trying to figure out why it lost so badly in the elections.
The next four years promise to be chaotic, vengeful, and dangerous.
What can be done to prevent the new administration from doing its worst?
At the global level, many countries will step into the vacuum created by U.S. withdrawal—from the Paris agreement, the effort to supply Ukraine, and various global human rights institutions. European powers will likely step up their assistance to Ukraine if the Trump administration ends all military support for the besieged country. Europe, too, will continue to take the lead in terms of a clean energy transition. China, Brazil, and India are also producing a growing amount of electricity from renewable sources.
Inside the United States, the greatest resistance will come from the states. These states controlled by Democrats—California, Washington, Massachusetts—are already preparing to work together to block Trump from executing his extremist agenda. This resistance will likely take the form of filing suits that tangle up the new administration in court.
States have authority to set policy. For instance, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v. Wade, a number of states preserved access to abortion services through court rulings, legislative policy, or popular referenda. Regarding mass deportations, some Democratic governors have already said that they will not allow state police to assist federal authorities with the removals. Democrat-led states will do their best to create islands of sanctuary against the overreach of federal authorities.
NGOs and social movements will also mount resistance. A women’s march in Washington, DC just after Trump’s inauguration in 2017 demonstrated the depth and breadth of anger at the new president’s attitudes and proposed policies toward women. A comparable march is planned for January 2025.
The resistance is organizing to push the Democratic Party toward economic populism. The goal is to highlight the economic costs of Trump’s early moves—mass deportations, tariffs, corporate tax cuts—to build momentum to win the 2026 midterm elections. As we crawl out of our cave, and the outrage at Trump’s actual policies explodes, new movements will emerge to mobilize public anger.
While I am as guilty as the next person in being shocked and angry about the choices of the U.S. electorate, it would be a mistake to accept the next four years as set in stone. When Trump’s policies begin to bite, the anger will return and, with it, a new determined resistance. I, for one, want to be a part of that.
Little Village Magazine published a very timely and important story this week concerning the continuing rise of Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC) in Iowa and the potential harm that could be done to a pregnant woman seeking help.
A huge tip of the hat to author Amy Zine who covered the phony “help” centers and the harm they can do in this article. With the extremist right wing administration coming we all need to be aware of how CPCs work and how they fit into the forced birth agenda.
Here are a couple of excerpts from Zine’s article:
Chances are, you’ve seen a crisis pregnancy center — also known as a CPC, anti-abortion center, pregnancy resource center or fake clinic — without realizing it. They market themselves as healthcare clinics for women facing unintended pregnancies while targeting women who are considering having an abortion. They make it seem as though they will walk you through your options and support you as you make your decision about what to do next by offering free services like pregnancy testing, ultrasounds and counseling. Once you walk inside the door, however, it becomes clear their mission is to persuade you to continue your pregnancy no matter what.
Despite appearances, these religiously based institutions are rarely staffed by licensed medical professionals or accredited by legitimate regulatory bodies, and therefore are not bound by HIPAA confidentiality laws or clinical regulations. This allows them to employ predatory practices based in fear, deception and shame to influence what women decide to do with their bodies. Many of their websites also include disinformation on contraception, abortion, sexually transmitted infections and other healthcare topics. For example, some claim abortion causes lasting consequences such as cancer and infertility, which is not backed by science.
One of the most common services advertised by CPCs is a free ultrasound, which appeals to many who think they may be pregnant. However, the majority of ultrasounds are performed by volunteers who are not medical professionals and can, unintentionally or maliciously, provide women with incorrect information.
There have been documented cases of CPC volunteers inaccurately estimating how far along a pregnancy is, causing a woman to believe she has plenty of time to decide if she wants an abortion when she is in fact fast approaching the legal deadline, or alternatively informing her she is too far along to get an abortion when she still has time.
From there Zine goes on to list how CPCs are NOT real health clinics and how their incompetence can be very harmful. She also goes on to explain how and why our state is entangled with these religious fake set ups.
In this time when Roe v. Wade has been overturned and women are losing rights in our country on a daily basis everyone, especially women need to be fully prepared should they be faced with an unwanted pregnancy.
The article also includes examples of the misleading literature that vulnerable pregnant women are assaulted with at CPCs. Thank you very much for this article, Amy Zine. Let’s hope it creates awareness where there was none before.
So much happening all at once and so much of it bad or portending to a bad future. At least one thing good happened and that was Matt Gaetz being thwarted in his quest to be Attorney general of the US. However, Trump was able to find someone almost as repugnant to fill the spot. Former Florida AG Pam Bondi who took a “campaign contribution” from Trump and then refused to prosecute Trump University is the next clown nominated as US AG.
Last Friday was the 61st anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. Everyone has their own take on the event. Sure seems like the US has been on a downhill slide ever since.
But this is Thanksgiving week. For some a religious type holiday. For many the beginning of the winter holiday season. Whatever is your direction we wish you all a pleasant holiday.
So of course we will sprinkle in some Thanksgiving trivia.
A) One of the big stories in DC this week was Speaker Johnson closing access to congressional bathrooms to who?
B) We didn’t mention why Matt Gaetz abandoned his quest to be AG. Why did Gaetz withdraw his name from consideration for AG?
C) What other Trump nominees have problems similar to Gaetz?
D) TV seems to be falling apart these days as old cable stations seem to be in jeopardy. What major cable newser took a voluntary $5 million pay cut as her home cable station swirls in limbo?
E) The mixing of football and Thanksgiving goes back a long ways. What two Ivy League rivals began the tradition of football and Thanksgiving in 1876?
F) Reports are that Rudy Giuliani’s plight due to his defamation of election workers is so bad he is begging to keep what appliance from his apartment?
G) In the video above, did you catch the country where the monkeys are running wild to the point where police hide in their station?
H) Speaking of cable newsers, what pair of newsers caused big ripples when they admitted to taking a trip to Mar-a-Lago to speak with Trump?
I) Well it looks as if Trump has indeed gotten away with serious crimes as what Judge announced Friday that he has suspended sentencing Trump for his 34 felony convictions?
J) Walmart announced Friday that Trump’s tariffs would be paid by who and not the exporting countries?
K) How many people watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in person in NYC?
L) This should have happened in the US. What western hemisphere former national leader was charged by his country for plotting a coup?
M) What state raises the most turkeys?
N) Speaking of leaders being charged with crimes – What international leader had a warrant issued for his arrest by the International Criminal Court last week?
O) In Oklahoma, the state’s education secretary sent an email to all public schools to be shown to students that included a video of him doing what?
P) What was the name of the Native American who acted as interpreter between the NA and the Pilgrims?
Q) In Wisconsin a man has been revealed to have faked his own death last summer in what water craft?
R) The first Thanksgiving day parade took place in what major eastern US city in 1920?
S) TV broadcasting is getting stranger and stranger. Friday a merger between what two former satellite TV companies was called off?
T) What president refused to declare Thanksgiving a holiday?
I know we’re all distracted by Trump’s cabinet picks, but I don’t want to leave out the astounding sterling intellects of those very serious Republicans who haven’t yet been chosen for a role in the new Administration.
Like recently reelected Lauren Boebert.
Who is right now, right this very minute, working hard in Washington D.C. on a super important House panel investigating if…
… space aliens have secret bases under our oceans.
A) the new transgendered congress member from Delaware, Sarah McBride
B) because the allegations against him of having sex with minors was about to officially come out
C) Pete Hegseth and Linda McMahon
D) Rachel Maddow
E) Yale and Princeton
F) his refrigerator
G) Thailand
H) Mika Brezhinski and Joe Scarborough
I) Merchan
J) customers in the US. They also added that tariffs would drive prices much higher
K) 3.5 million
L) Jair Bolsanaro in Brazil
M) Minnesota
N) Benjamin Netanyahu
O) Praying for Trump
P) Squanto
Q) a kayak – he faked his death so he could leave his wife and family for a Uzbeki woman
R) Philadelphia sponsored by Gimbel’s department store
S) Dish and DirectTv
T) Thomas Jefferson – he thought it was too much mixing of church and state
I have shared the same bathroom with Sarah McBride on several occasions, and she never once made me uncomfortable. She did however help me fix my makeup. That congresswoman knows how to blend her foundation, which is more than I can say about Donald Trump. – Dana Goldberg
Deutsche Welle from Germany just posted this documentary on Argentina’s deep dive into neo-liberalism after a year of Javier Milei’s taking over power. While nowhere near a perfect match, Argentina may gives some insights into what may be coming.
Remember that Argentina has had decades of inept governments and at the time of election last year inflation was eating them alive. Yet the policies enacted by Milei are nearly the same that Trump is planning to use.
Also remember that the US is enjoying one of its best economies ever under President Biden and VP Kamala Harris. Trump intends to fix that.
I took some very brief notes that I will post below the video. The running length is 28 and a half minutes. There will be some folks praising Milei. As far as I could tell those were business people. Anyway, this is in no way trying to predict what will happen but may give you an idea of what may be coming:
Here are a few of the notes I scribbled:
Movie on Milei:
business man praising Milei
Poor getting poorer and government workers out of jobs
Like many I am still licking my wounds from the election. Kamala Harris ran a great race. Tim Walz ran a great race. Candidate Trump stunk it up and his running mate, Mr. Vance, barely registered as a blip on the meter. Yet somehow, after the votes were counted Trump and Vance got more votes and the anachronistic electoral college once more showed why it is long past time for it to be put to rest.
Once again the nearly totally right wing media is spouting loudly with their advice. “You know what the Democrats ought to do” they start out. Yep, I think. The first thing we should do is ignore a media that through ownership or fear of Trump is in the back pocket of America’s extremist right wing.
The power balance in the media is almost completely tilted to the right. Where this really matters is that anytime an American turns on a TV, more especially a radio or goes to social media (such as Facebook or Xitter) the message that is most likely to be delivered to that person either overall or covertly will be a right wing message.
These are the criticisms of Kamala Harris, Tim Walz and the whole Democratic Party post election. It is being delivered on an almost uniform media all geared to make the Democrats look like mumbling, bumbling idiots. That is not what I saw. What I saw was a woman with fire and passion for her country and its people against a fumbling, bumbling caricature of an old man who lives in an unreal world of movie villains and fantasy reality. The old man won.
In the wake of the election results, one of the most common media postmortems has been the Democratic Party’s supposed failure to reach those Americans who they were unable to persuade over the course of the campaign; rural and working class voters, especially. The airways have been filled with politicians and talking heads offer their critiques and suggestions on how Democrats need to rethink how they are messaging.
I’m sorry, but that’s largely nonsense.
This election result isn’t about Dem messaging.
Their messaging during the campaign was pitch-perfect in any other iteration of America. It was about helping the middle class, lowering taxes for the average American, continuing with sound economic policies to cut rising grocery prices, preserving democracy, taxing the wealthy, affordable healthcare and education, the rights of women, strengthening the border, unity, opportunity.
<<snip>>
There is no messaging strategy that can overcome deeply-held prejudice and rising ignorance, and those two factors are the only explanation for someone like Donald Trump even being the nominee, let alone getting 76 million votes.
Trump neither attempted to embrace working Americans nor offer them any substantive plans to help them, because he knew he didn’t need to. He simply peddled wild, racist fever-dreams and continually repeated grotesque fabricated nightmares about immigrants eating pets and sex-change operations on middle school students, knowing that terrified people without critical thinking skills are an easy mark.
So do not listen to the right wing media whose only interest is to keep power in the hands of incompetent politicians who will serve the wealthy.
The Democratic Party desperately needs to create their own media infrastructure. That will take time and money. It is not that the Democrats have a bad message. We have a great message and it was delivered well by our candidates from top to bottom. But no one heard it because it was only delivered on a few outlets such as MSNBC and Free Speech TV.
This is literally in real life the old saw about a tree falling in the forest. Does it make a sound if no one is there to hear it? We need to make sure that people can hear us. Even with the right wing monopolizing the media, Democrats still get 50% of the vote.
IARA presentation at the Iowa City Public Library 11-13-24
Factory Farms, Your Health and the Cancer Connection
“The Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture (IARA) is a diverse coalition of community, state, and national, organizations who are concerned about the harmful impacts of factory farms and are each working to promote traditional and ethical agriculture in Iowa. Our Mission Statement: The Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture seeks to educate Iowans about the destructive impacts of industrial livestock production, advocate for a statewide factory farm moratorium, and promote traditional and humane livestock production.”
This event took place at the Iowa City Public Library.
“Iowa ranks second in the nation for cancer cases and it’s the only state where cancer rates are rising. Last year the Iowa Cancer Registry’s report pointed a finger at binge drinking. But Iowa water is loaded with nitrates and other toxins, and Iowans are exposed to a wide range of harmful agrichemicals liberally used throughout the state. The cancer/industrial agriculture connection should not be shunted aside.
Water quality expert Dr. Chris Jones, public health expert Audrey Tran Lam, registered dietician and public health advocate Mary Jo Forbord and Field to Family’s Michelle Kenyon examines how our current agricultural practices are harming human health and ways to access cleaner, healthier, environmentally-friendly local foods.”
Overview – Diane Rosenberg
06:32 Dr. Chris Jones – How nitrates get into waterways
23:21 Audrey Tran Lam – Impacts of nitrates on health
36:47 Mary Jo Forbord – Agrochemicals and health
51:31 Dr. Chris Jones – Why Iowa isn’t changing
56:33 Michelle Kenyon – Accessing healthy, safe foods
1:09:48 Questions and Answer Session
1:29:11 Diane Delozier Lahr – Action Steps
The idea “don’t obey in advance” is something I heard first from Timothy Snyder, an expert on fascism. I like it and plan to hold onto it.
Follow Tim Snyder’s YouTube channel. You can buy his books on Amazon and elsewhere.
I don’t know about you but most everyone in my circles and social media are going crazy, understandably. Me too. But I think it would be better if we could move away from fear and get back to using our cognitive minds to figure out how we get through this with democracy intact. In 2016 Indivisible led the way for the resistance. This time I don’t know where the leadership will come from.
Since it doesn’t help to be scared into paralysis, I’ve found the calm and steady Simon Rosenberg is one of the best resources for your daily dose of Trump Redux survival info.
“Because 95% of Iowa’s land is farmed, the largest contributor to the nitrate problem is runoff from farmland.” Pam Mackey, Iowa Sierra Club
The federal Environmental Protection Agency told the Iowa Department of Natural Resources that several Iowa rivers need to be put on the impaired waters list.
EPA is seeking comments about adding the 7 water quality-limited segments to Iowa’s 2024 303(d) list
Tell EPA to add the 7 segments to Iowa’s 2024 303(d) list:
• Cedar River for nitrate plus nitrite as N
• Des Moines River – 2 segments – for nitrate plus nitrite as N
• Iowa River – 1 segment for nitrate plus nitrite as N
• Iowa River – 1 segment for nitrite as N
• Raccoon River for nitrate plus nitrite as N
• South Skunk River for nitrate plus nitrite as N
Governor Kim Keynolds: (515) 281-5211 U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Iowa Members of Congress - Rep. Randy Feenstra (R) - Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) - Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) - Rep. Zach Nunn (R) Iowa US Senators - Senator Joni Ernst (R) - Senator Charles Grassley (R)
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