Sadly...

It begins to look as though a weak, ill advised and badly executed foreign policy has made still another pointless war almost inevitable.

A rising gathering of Nazi like, evil and barbaric creatures, that no state could claim have become a threat to civilization itself ...

As usual...the World looks to the United States to confront this dark force. It seems incomprehensible that the United States has not done so. The longer we wait, the harder will be the task.

Sadly, Sadly, Sadly



The ship of state, doth falter...still

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They call us the "Flyover People"

 
 Actually there are many airports in Iowa and planes take off and land a lot, I have seen them. If you wish to belittle Iowa it would be better to say, "That place they don't sing about...much". In defense of Iowa and music it must be said that this place is the setting for four Broadway musicals. That, having been stated...

let Me tell you a story about something that happened to a group of friends and Myself many years ago.  We were at dinner in a restaurant on the beach in Makaha on Oahu, the Rusty Harpoon. The food was superb and a very good Samoan band played from a corner stage.  They were quite entertaining, and versatile, dabbling in many musical styles.  The breeze wafted their music out of the open walled restaurant, one of the reasons we chose to dine at the  "Harpoon".

There came an interactive phase of the set and the musicians began asking the tables where they might be from and launching instantly into music from wherever that might be. After four or five songs from several diverse places the Band Leader asked our table, "Where is your group from?".  A newly wed woman from our group proudly shouted out, "Iowa". 

There was a really uncomfortable and long pause, the Band Leaders eyes rolled up and he turned to the other musicians their heads came together and after more pause and rustling of sheet music, and we Heard..."Old Macdonald had a farm...EIEIO...OO".

 If you are from Iowa and have traveled a bit, something like this may have happened to you. However, we are not the "Fly Over People"...not really!
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    To My eye, the Wiley-Niley filling every vacant lot in town with filing cabinets to house students so they might not call themselves "Dormies" is...
Ugly, Stark and Soul Destroying!
These blocks of mud fence plain apartment blocks are creating a grim doughnut of short shallow concrete canyons around the entire downtown area. These things are put up by developers to make money for a few years and then peddled at about the time the students destroy the interiors and the refrigerators are all wearing out.
The general ambiance even make the damned parking ramps look stately by comparison. I have lived in Iowa City about 50 years and can recall the large homes and trees that once filled these blocks. Now whole neighborhoods are being destroyed by these ugly things. I Weep at the instant blight and cringe at what these things will become in 20 years.