Dick Goodson

Currently under consideration by the Iowa Republican-controlled legislature is the reinstatement of the death penalty. The General Assembly abolished the death penalty in 1965 under the leadership of Governor Harold Hughes. Across the nation, there are currently 30 states which still allow for it and 20 who do not. In my view, there are many…

As of almost the end of February, it looks like over 30 Democrats are in the presidential race or are at least considering it. As the candidates put together their platforms, every one is in some fashion or another talking about health care, climate change, income inequality, and of course terrible management and crazy positions…

After having served as a lobbyist for a number of groups I learned one important thing: the larger the number of people contacting Congress on a specific topic, the bigger the chance of success. The key here is that everybody also needs to support the same plan. It needs more than folks saying they want…

Although I am, and have been for many years, a registered Democrat, I have always held former President Herbert Walker Bush, the first Bush president, in the highest regard. Through the presidential campaign of 1988, Bush referred many times to “a thousand points of light,” primarily in reference to promoting volunteerism in American Society. As…

I believe it is extremely important to look at history as we deal with the partisan politics of today. We often hear, “I have been a Democrat most of my life or Republican most of my life.” For those who believe those comments resonate, I would suggest it’s important to occasionally review the underlying values…

After a very harried week of pipe bombs being sent to current and former high-ranking government officials, it looks like a suspect has been apprehended. Law enforcement agencies, including the Secret Service Protective Detail, the ATF, the US Postal Inspection Service, the FBI and many other state and local law enforcement departments were working full…

The Trump Administration would have you believe that the folks that slip over the boarder are murders, rapists and generally bad people. What statistics really show is that only a vey few meet that criteria, and by percentage, dramatically less then our own citizenry. A very large number are families with children who are looking…

It is obvious that the past two weeks have generated some very trying times in our political discourse as we moved from political differences into partisan tribalism. That said, we now have a new Supreme Court Justice who has been confirmed, but still has a cloud over his head. As the saying goes, “it ain’t…

Thursday, September 27 saw one of the most contentious committee hearings in many years in Congress. Luckily, it was followed by a day in which a semblance of bipartisanship showed it’s beautiful head. It was the work of Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and his friend on the other side of the aisle Senator…