LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Yes, Judeo-Christian principles are under attack
In her April 21 column “Christianity is not under attack, but Kim Reynolds governs like it is,” Rekha Basu lets the antiChristian bias pour out. The column contains paragraph after paragraph of misinformation, hypocrisy, and contradictions.
For starters Basu criticizes the voucher system because she does not understand Christians are part of the public, entitled to all public rights and privileges. Nor does she understand it’s not just about money. Does it occur to Basu, money or not, some people do not trust government schools? They do not accept the progressive LGBTQ+, CRT, and DEI concepts in the government schools, and do not accept curriculum that denies science, defies logic, bastardizes the English language, and promotes a singular anti-Christian moral lifestyle.
Not knowing the difference between refugees and immigrants, Basu confuses Gov. Robert Ray’s legal welcome of more than 2,600 Tai Dam people who were Vietnam War refugees with President Joe Biden ignoring U.S. immigration laws and allowing immigrants from all over the world to enter the country illegally.
Basu refers to Rob Reiner’s contention that Christians believe “America was ‘founded’ as a Christian nation that is now under attack.” But most Christians believe America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and that those “principles” are under attack. Basu thinks the constitutional separation of church and state should prevent public money going to private schools and ensure abortion rights. The words “separation of church and state” are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, but the words “right to life” are.
Ironically, after her column attacking Christians, Basu chastises Donald Trump for his exhortation “Christianity is under tremendous siege … Christians don’t use their power. You have the strongest lobby ever, but I don’t hear about a Christian lobby.”
John Malett, Des Moines
No free lunches
I agree with the Register editorial board’s criticism of corporate welfare, and am constantly surprised at the willingness of normal, hard-working people to defend corporate cronyism, because of the naive belief that “billionaires create jobs.”
In reality, projected consumer demand is the only reason nearly all jobs are created. Spending by poor people, creates many jobs and much profit, and is a main reason the super rich often support expanded social welfare spending.
Every dollar a middle-class family has to spend to subsidize someone else, whether a billionaire or the generational poor, makes it harder for that middleclass family to care for itself.
City has already bent over backward to help Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee sits on what was private property taken by the city via eminent domain to create an entertainment venue to enhance the district. Hy-Vee could have gone almost anywhere in downtown Des Moines but chose to go in the entertainment district. Hy-Vee also chose to undermine the existing restaurants critical to the district with many dining options and by featuring a large selection of alcohol sold “brown bag.”
Now Hy-Vee says workers don’t feel safe and wants to renege on the agreement for which they continue to receive millions. It seems the taxpayers of Des Moines are shortchanged again while Hy-Vee continues to reap the many benefits of the original agreement.
Joe and Cyndy Coppola, Urbandale
Either Biden or Trump will win, so hold your nose and vote for Biden
Guest columnist Walter Suza needs to wake up to the fact that there are only two choices this fall when it comes to who will be our next president. He may not be in love with either choice but to say he can’t vote for Joe Biden even after he explains how devastating a second Donald Trump term would be is admitting he is giving up.
John Moore, Newton
Vape regulations are much needed
As the Iowa legislative session came to an end recently, I wanted to call attention to an important bill that will keep young Iowans safe.
House File 2677 is designed to prohibit already illegal vapor products and permit only those sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration. Currently, illicit, non-FDA-authorized candy and fruity-flavored disposable vapes are directly marketed to Iowan children, hooking them on products that could carry a lifetime of negative health consequences.
My hairdresser told me her son is addicted. She has been beside herself and in search of solutions. I am pleased to tell her that the Iowa Legislature has listened to the cries of so many in similar situations by passing the bill. These dangerous products have no place in the United States and certainly no place in Iowa.
Thank you to those in the Iowa Legislature who voted in support of this bill. Thank you to Rep. Brent Siegrist and Sen. Chris Cournoyer for bringing this bill forward and thank you to Sen. Jack Whitver for ensuring the bill received the hearing it deserved at the end of session.
I now urge Gov. Kim Reynolds to sign this bill to ensure that we are keeping Iowa’s children healthy.
Danielle Akey, Adel
The buck stops here
During my career as director of a school nutrition program I was responsible for following federal guidelines in order to receive millions of dollars in federal reimbursement and for production kitchens and serving sites which always needed to be in compliance with safe food preparation and service regulations and guidelines.
I do not believe I could have ever used the excuse used by Iowa Health and Human Services Director Kelly Garcia when she indicated she was surprised to learn of a “compliance issue” within her department regarding violation of the National Voter Registration Act. The violation relates to voter registration availability for those applying for Medicaid. Personally, being “surprised” my department was out of compliance with regard to any regulation would have never had been an acceptable excuse. Although Garcia was made aware of the problem in January, it may be August before a solution is found.
An easy solution would simply be including a voter registration form, simple instruction sheet and an envelope correctly addressed when application and renewal mailers are sent. Adding more reasons why an immediate fix is not possible until late summer is just an empty excuse to delay compliance.
Diane Duncan-Goldsmith, Iowa City
Take back our country from rule by elites for elites
The 1% rule this country. They own the media, many politicians, and now the Supreme Court. They have hollowed out public education, nearly destroyed unions, and gerrymandered most of the country, Meanwhile, they use their media empire to distract us with useless polling, culture war nonsense, racism, and xenophobia.
There are many thousands of good people working hard to get our government back, but the oligarchy has used its power to make it so that a handful of bought-and-paid-for politicians can stop any progress. They only have to play defense, and they can afford it.
This is not a partisan issue, and it isn’t about philosophy. It’s money. The 1% isn’t loyal to anything but their own wealth and power. Before the Supreme Court Citizens United ruling, our government mostly worked.
Dark money means we have no way to know who is paying to influence our vote. We know that China and Russia and others are actively trying to exert influence.
It doesn’t have to be like this. We must work on getting big dark money out of politics for the benefit of all, and the sake of our country. If we don’t, the cruel farce that many now perceive our government to be will become a permanent reality.
Carl Homstad, Decorah
Protesters seem unconcerned by other travesties
Pro-Palestinian protests are flooding the country. Their cause is righteous with the massive killing and displacement of Gazans by Israeli forces.
But where were they while Russia has been raping, killing and displacing many thousands of Ukrainians, not to mention the juntas, generals and militias in Myanmar, Sudan, Ethiopia and so many other places? Is the protest against the treatment of Palestinians in Israel or its occupied territories by Israel, often compared to apartheid in South Africa? If so, why didn’t they protest with the thousands of Israelis who protested against the corruption by Netanyahu?
It looks like antisemitism, like racism, is a festering sore in our culture stoked by provocateurs.
Tim Urban, Des Moines
University of Iowa must divest
To what extent has the University of Iowa participated in Israel’s war in Gaza?
My open records request for its present fiscal-year investment portfolio has so far gone unanswered, but a recent year’s portfolio includes the following weapons manufacturers: Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Northrop Grumman, Orbital ATK, Monsanto, Israel Chemicals, Hanwha Corp., and Raytheon.
This is just a short list.
These companies make weaponized drones, cluster bombs, depleted uranium munitions, and white phosphorus. Some of these materials are banned by more than 120 countries on earth.
As the US mainstream media focuses its attention on campus protests at Columbia, NYU, UCLA, and other elite campuses, the IDF has devastated institutions of higher education in Gaza. All 12 universities in Palestine have been destroyed. At least three presidents and over 100 faculty have been killed in the attacks.
This includes the poet Refaat Alareer, whose poem, “If I Must Die,” appeared in print just before his death. The poem’s speaker imagines a Palestinian child looking up at heaven, who “sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above / and thinks for a moment an angel is there / bringing back love / If I must die / let it bring hope / let it be a tale.” An airstrike killed his eldest daughter and grandson.
The University of Iowa’s stated mission, vision, and core values include integrity, defined as the “highest standard of professional and scholarly ethics.” This means being “accountable for our decisions and actions,” and “treat(ing) one another with honesty and fairness,” the mission statement declares.
As a member of this community who wishes to uphold these values, the only ethical course of action is for the University of Iowa to divest from a weapons industry that has so far profited from the deaths of more than 35,000 Palestinians.
Stephen Voyce, Iowa City