by admin | Jan 31, 2018 | Careers, Education, Floodplain management, Government, Natural Hazards, Political philosophy, Politics, Public policy, Public safety, Urban Planning
Claiming to protect the public’s purse is always great politics, at least in some quarters. Actually doing so requires considerable thought and homework, but grandstanding is cheap and makes for great sound bites in an election season. And thus, it is often silly...
by admin | Aug 17, 2017 | Activism, Blogging, Civil rights, Government, History, Political philosophy, Politics, Racism, Writing
Ignorance did not make America great. Ignorance will not make America great again. Let’s all vow to stop the glorification of #ignorance. Like millions of other Americans, I have been deeply disturbed over the past week by the comments of President Donald...
by admin | Jul 2, 2017 | Aging, Books, Education, Government, History, Journalism, Personal history, Politics, Social Media
There is no doubt about it. President Donald Trump’s latest tweets have rightly triggered a firestorm of disgust and angry responses. The personal attacks on MSNBC reporters Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have revealed a level of meanness and misogyny even...
by admin | Jun 27, 2017 | Government, Healthcare, Journalism, National security, Politics
This is not going to be a polite blog post. It is going to be blunt and brief. Politeness serves a purpose in life, but mostly when engaging with other people of honest intentions but different perspectives, in an effort to keep discussion civil and respectful. It is...
by admin | May 7, 2017 | Agriculture, Business, Environment, Government, Politics, Public policy
The people of Iowa are about to get a new governor. Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will be sworn in as soon as Terry Branstad wins confirmation to his new post of U.S. ambassador to China and he resigns his position as governor. President Trump nominated him because of the...
by admin | Mar 19, 2017 | Activism, Climate, Economic development, Environment, Government, Housing, Infrastructure, National security, Natural Hazards, Politics, Public policy, Resilience, Science, Urban Planning, Water
The American Planning Association (APA), the organization that employs me as the manager of its Hazards Planning Center, made me proud last week. It took a rare step: It announced its opposition to President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget proposal. It is not that APA has...
