Viewpoints

To the Editor:

Iowans take their responsibility of voting seriously. And, after an election, regardless of whether or not a constituent voted for an elected leader, we expect that the individual listens to all constituents.

Both Rep. Ashley Hinson and Sen. Chuck Grassley claim to hold town halls in each of the counties they represent but the visits are often nothing more than a photo op. Both fail to hold public town halls where their constituents can ask questions and voice their concerns.

To the Editor:

The stench from Washington D.C. is growing every day and the focus of that stench is mainly, but not entirely, on the Biden White House. It is obvious from the testimony of two IRS whistle blowers last week that the Biden family and President Joe Biden are totally compromised and guilty of graft.

That testimony clearly pointed out that Hunter Biden received at least 10 million dollars from Burisma and from other sources in Eastern Europe. It also showed that President Joe Biden was a contributing factor in assuring that the extortion payments were made. It’s clear that at least ten shell companies were created by Hunter Biden and his associates to launder those funds and attempt to hide the true source. More information on this subject will be forthcoming next week.

To the Editor:

The speed limit on the Great River Road south of Lansing is 35 mph from just past the Lansing Harpers Road until you pass Columbus Road by the Driftless Area Education Center, where it changes to 45 mph. Of interest; at the intersection of Whalen Hill Road and Great River Road the visibility to the west is very limited; however, the speed limit has already been changed to 45 mph!

A short distance past the intersection with Whalen Hill Road the speed limit increases from 45 mph to 55 mph. The 55 mph is in effect from that point until you reach Harpers Ferry.

I have met with the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors asking them to consider reducing the speed limit from just past the Whalen Hill intersection to access to the Alliant Energy property, a distance of 1.8 miles. This reduction in speed from 55 mph to 45 mph would require an extra 25 seconds of driving time.

To the Editor:

Governor Reynolds and her MAGA Republicans will not stop until a woman’s right to control her own body has been taken away from her.

Most of us try to live our lives without interfering in other people’s lives. We know that a woman may end a pregnancy for different reasons. We cannot make a woman’s decision because we have not walked in her shoes. Tragically, sometimes a woman gets a diagnosis of a serious health complication that threatens her life or health. Other times, a family learns late in pregnancy there is a serious fetal diagnosis, or the baby is dying and can’t survive. When people are making difficult, personal medical decisions, one-size-fits-all laws don’t work.

To the Editor:

I grew up in the Iowa of long ago. My father, a small farmer, was able to provide all four of his children with a college degree from one of our state universities.
In those “before times” when the wise leaders in Iowa provided nearly 80% of the funding to those schools, tuition was affordable for the masses. Our legislature currently only provides 30.5% of Regent funds. A two- or four-year degree allows for more choices and employment opportunities.

To the Editor:

On the 4th of July, we celebrate our nation’s freedom and independence. Freedom is a bedrock value for nearly every Iowan and American.  We all want the freedom to make our own choices and be in control of our lives and our long-term pursuits.

Freedom allows us to make decisions that benefit our families and future generations, to think for ourselves, and to stand up for what we believe. We want the freedom that an education provides: to pursue a meaningful life, and to have the opportunity to thrive, and to retire with dignity.  But how free are we?

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Holy Spirit. There are varieties of services, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” – the apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

The more things change, the more they stay the same – or so goes the clichéd formula.

But you’d think followers of Jesus, empowered as we are by the promise of God’s Holy Spirit in Christ, would enjoy immunity from such apathy and inaction.

Yet, if you compare what the apostle Paul writes to early Church to what he might write to us some 2,000-odd years later, the similarity of message is stunning. In candid assessment of the sorry state of our affairs these days, a colleague pointedly observes: “If Paul could see the Church in America today, we’d be getting a letter.”

To the Editor:

Way back in the 1930s, President Roosevelt instituted the Social Security Scheme because we Americans were too stupid to handle our own money. Back in the 1930s, the Christian Church was very strong and they helped people in need and our communities were safe and had very little crime.

Now, the Democrat Party is disrespecting the Christian Church and our law officers with Defund the Police policy. David Horowitz, the very strong Democrat for years, has come full bore for Trump. I say, what took you so long to see the light? Horowitz says the Democrats have the mentality of gangsters, and how true that is.

To the Editor:

I talked to a friend recently about how I was bothered with all the abortions taking place in this country, and he told me the soul doesn’t enter the body until after you are born, so it was just a fetus. I told him that I read, in the Bible in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

So God has the whole life planned out for this child and someone kills it. Do you think that makes God happy? Then I told him I listened to Andrew Wommack the other day and he said that if you vote for a pro-abortion politician, you are an accessory to murder. He wanted to change the subject, so I just said that it is something to think about.

Dick Kistler
Waukon
 

To the Editor:

The following is in response to numerous accusations and attacks that WMT radio has been waging against me and my office on multiple media and social media platforms.

WMT Radio out of Cedar Rapids sponsors and hosts an annual “Tractorcade” event. WMT (branch of iHeart Media Incorporated out of New York, NY) is a large, private, for-profit business. The $150 entry fee plus additional costs, that go directly to the coffers of WMT/iHeart Media, is charged to each participant wishing to participate. Furthermore, there are multiple businesses and corporations that sponsor the event and that WMT profits from.

WMT has been sponsoring this event for many years. During this time, they have successfully been able to get publicly-funded law enforcement agencies to go along with providing private security functions, such as shutting down highways and busy intersections to motorists, for their private event and subsequent personal profit.