Tag: news

Campus stress–all the BS from the outside

On By Catherine HausteinIn Uncategorized2 Comments

I’m writing a novel series about a college for monsters from the perspective of the faculty and this gives me a reason to reflect on what college is about and what creates stress for faculty.

If you look up what colleges do, you’ll read that they are intended to give broad training in arts, humanities, and sciences with an emphasis on intellectual development. Intellectual development strengthens critical thinking skills and personal growth, or at least we can hope.

Faculty guide students in these pursuits. Despite what outsiders will tell you, respecting student differences of opinion is important to colleges and their faculty in creating an environment where learning can take place. However, students need to learn the material.

Faculty serve as mentors or masters to their apprentices, the students. Faculty mentors, drawing upon their expertise and experience, provide students with invaluable insights into their chosen fields of study. They offer personalized guidance, tailored to each student’s unique strengths, challenges, and learning styles. Through everything from imparting up to date information, career counseling, and “navigating the complexities of academic writing”, faculty work to help students grow and adapt to the modern world.

Faculty often make less than their industry counterparts but are motivated by factors such as commitment to learning and the ability to work with autonomy Most are passionate about their fields, want to contribute to new knowledge, want to help others learn, and thrive on intellectual challenge. I moved to academia from industry because I had research ideas not supported by my industry. In academia, I was allowed to follow my curiosity, engage both sides of my brain, build relationships, and work towards something important to my family—equality.

Stressors on faculty include increased workload, lack of funding, variability in student ability and background knowledge, and constantly needing to learn new technology, including learning platforms. Stressors come from the outside, too. It seems like a lot of people want to remake college to suit their own image and to punish all those unruly faculty members out there.

You’ve probably heard about outside groups which put professors on watch lists. You can scroll through these watch lists and find out that transgressions might include calling out racism, signing a petition, and recognition of pronouns. There might be one incident, reported on a social media platform, and that will be enough to put the offending professor on a list of the damned. 

However, outside groups maybe more covert (as reported by students) and direct their members on how to fill out faculty evaluations. There are also rate my prof sites which are not monitored for accuracy and might even feature evaluations for courses the professor doesn’t teach.

Teachers put up with a lot of BS and not much comes from students.

When you consider that the brain remains in adolescence until the age of 30, it can be reasonable to view these outside groups as predatory. They encourage students to not trust or communicate with their professors and to put faith in their group instead. Some even call themselves ministries. There is one thing they lack: scholarship.

For those who care about scholarship, intellect, and quality of thought, the Iowa Legislature has handed us what could be a state expense lacking scholarship: The Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa.

The University of Iowa is my alma mater and like many, I’m not enthused by this center. It seems somewhat haphazard, not particularly scholarly, and possibly too debate focused. Mostly what leads me to these opinions, besides its description and current course offerings, is what those who are involved have to say. Another red flag is that it was dictated by the Legislature, not scholars. It isn’t even an original idea.

At a recent inaugural event paid for by the public, lots of chests were beaten and accusations made. The whole idea of teaching civics isn’t bad, it’s done in intermediate school, high school and even college. The unscholarly part is accusations that the liberals are somehow terrible and need to be replaced. This makes the whole “freedom” idea confusing. At the recent celebratory event, a campus shooting was given as an example of conservative speech being censored but a professor didn’t shoot the man.

Another antecdote hinting at a huge bias problem in higher ed was “the example of former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who stepped down from his Harvard University presidency after suggesting women were less represented in STEM fields because of “intrinsic aptitude.” Summers, who was teaching at Harvard …has stepped away from the university again due to his ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.” (quote is from here.) Personally, sticking up for that particular man doesn’t cast a good light on intellectual freedom.

At the inaugural event (paid for by taxpayers) a speaker from the American Enterprise Institute, a group that advocates for trickle-down economics and limited regulations, was quoted thus,: Katz separated those responsible for higher education’s issues into two categories — “sheep” and “crazies.” The sheep are “almost everybody,” he said, with the crazies at the fringes of both ends of the political and ideological spectrums. Nearly all university faculty fall into the sheep category, and if they follow a bad idea things can, and have, gone very wrong. Crazies used to be a small minority of academic units, Katz said, but now there are more of them and they are “malevolent.”“Don’t hire crazies, don’t be a sheep, and let’s hope that the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa can fix whatever problems there are,” Katz said.

What grade would you get if you gave a speech like that in high school or college?

To quote a student at the event, the speakers didn’t “provide any sort of solid, consistent argument to support the creation of the center.” And “Other(s)… have expressed disappointment in the center’s structure, as its director will have near-total control of hiring professors, inviting guest speakers and other actions…I think that it’s very clear that folks here are not actually interested in freedom of expression,”

Those who have forced this on our state allege college professors are too liberal and not fostering debate. I have news— scholarship depends on new ideas and new creations. Complaining that conservatives don’t have a voice on campus is implying that they can’t engage in scholarship. As for debate as a desirable means of learning, it is not always a useful learning tool and can lead to oversimplification and an oversized emphasis on winning. Debates can cater to the best BSers and create polarization. Dialogue is a better learning experience for most people.

As a parent or student paying tuition for scholarship, intellectual development, and training, I’d be damn mad about these speakers and their baseless claims. I’d be mad about outside organizations preying on students and watch-listing professors.

On the other hand, should you want to do your own research, you can sign up for one of the courses offered at the new Institute. It’s pass/fail and according to the course description, papers will not be graded. Even better, you get a whole class credit and only have to attend 5 of 7 lectures! Another quote associated with the inaugural panel is “Admissions must also be controlled to ensure students “are on board with the mission” of the center.” Looks like this course could be an easy pass for all those who need one.

Bloom’s taxonomy of learning. 

Who’s here for the apocalypse? (My neighbor for one)

On By Catherine HausteinIn chemistry, Uncategorized2 Comments

You may have heard of a consequence of the US, in 2018 under Trump, getting rid of the Iran Nuclear Deal. The deal, made by the Obama Administration, limited and surveilled Iran’s nuclear capacity. Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, did not like the nuclear deal—saying it could bring another Holocaust. The reason he had for his qualms was sanctions on Iran were lessened and they got financial relief for their concession. Israel had approved the deal but he represented new leadership. As a consequence, he wouldn’t negotiate with Biden (who did not bring back the deal) for peace in Palestine and is happy Trump won. Trump has a policy of maximum retribution to Iran.

The above graphic is from the Obama White House

The outcome of the having no nuclear deal is maybe a bust. Iran’s nuclear program is getting no surveillance. They don’t care about our feelings and thus, Iran has made enriched uranium. They are close to making it weapon-grade. What is that and why should anyone care? Sit back for a science lesson. (or skip to next paragraph with a bold font if you want to avoid it)

Uranium is a dense heavy metal that decays–meaning it’s radioactive and gives off particles and energy and transforms into a slightly lighter metal, thorium, which is also radioactive. 

It emits an alpha particle, the Mac truck of subatomic particles, which is also a helium nucleus. This is where earthly helium comes from! All forms of uranium are radioactive, but not the helium it emits. Don’t worry, your party balloons are safe. (If you want to learn more about sub-atomic particles, let me know!)

Uranium is unstable and thus radioactive. The word radioactive was coined by the Curies in 1898, with radio being related to ray as in a ray of light Many radioactive elements and nuclear reactions cause their surrounding to glow due to their energy. Uranium is slowly radioactive with all isotopes having long half-lives. It can be found in deposits across the globe.

Uranium can be made into a source of power when it undergoes fission. During fission, the core of the atom (the nucleus) is hit with a neutron and split into smaller pieces and new lighter elements are made. The lighter elements are more stable and the energy needed to hold the large unstable uranium together is released. More neutrons fly out and if enough atoms of the right isotope of uranium are nearby, they split other uranium atoms. A chain reaction ensues and this keeps the energy release going. If the reaction is fast enough, a bomb is created. 

Here’s the catch, not all forms of uranium undergo fission. Only the isotope with 92 protons and 143 neutrons in the nucleus, uranium 235 or U-235, is unstable enough to be broken in this fashion. And it’s not very plentiful. Only 0.7% of naturally occurring uranium is this isotope. And to allow for the chain reaction to occur, you need to concentrate this form of the metal. This is needed for both weapons grade and power reactor uranium but weapons grade uranium needs more concentration aka enrichment. This is not easy. Why does it take so much work? Chemical reactions occur with the outside of the atom–the electron cloud. This is an easy way to separate chemicals–by their different reactivities due to different electron clouds surrounding them. 

All isotopes of uranium have the same cloud of 92 electrons. This means the isotopes have to be separated by mass. The uranium is reacted with fluoride and forms a gas, then is passed through a porous membrane which only lets the smaller 235 isotope through. Alternately, it might be centrifuged. There are a few other less efficient methods of enrichment. This process demands lots of energy. Monitoring the energy use of enrichment facilities is one way to watch to see if a country is working on producing weapons grade U-235. 

What’s going on in Iran? After the Iran-Nuclear deal was trashed, they used centrifuge technology to enrich uranium to a concentration of 4.5%. The allowed limit with the Nuclear Deal was 3.67%. However, it takes 90% enrichment to make a bomb because a bomb reaction must go faster with more U-235 atoms close to each other. Getting to this level is a huge challenge needing a high tech centrifuge. Yes, Iran can get there if the nuclear deal remains sour for years and apparently, it will.

Right now, the world has a surplus of enriched uranium because of the many enrichment plants world wide. This is why tech billionaires want to use nuclear-powered AI. It will be fairly cheap. What country has a surplus of weapons grade uranium? The United States. We are sitting on a “gold mine” so to speak. Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan also have plenty of the stuff.

Scientists worked hard to create the bomb. Some did it unknowingly and others suffered remorse at how it was used. Scientists approved the Nuclear Deal, they supported it, and scientific collaboration is suffering at its end.  The end of the nuclear deal helped Trump achieve victory by gaining support from Arab-Americans and from his overseas pals, who are willing to make others suffer to achieve power. 

I suppose that’s nothing new but disappointing for idealists everywhere. People are terrible—they will draw out a war to get their way. Fortunately for me personally, I’ve been a scientist for so long, I no longer score in the idealist category on personality tests. That influence came from my educator parents. I’m one of those pattern seekers. I play the long game.(click for vacation photos). 

You know who also plays the long game, Christian Nationalists. They now have the president who has promised to bring the apocalypse. Yes, he did. And some of them are here for it, as this flag in my neighborhood shows. It says: The final chapter God Wins.

Here’s a view of a similar one.

It might seem harmless but look up Christian Nationalism. They are planning on seeing the Final Chapter, as in the final chapter of Revelations, which ends in destruction and god and angels coming down. The Apocalypse. You can read about these folks cheering on the apocalypse here. And by the way, they hate Jimmy Carter. 

I saw apocalypse flag flying homeowner today as we both walked our dogs. We look similar when out walking. Our paths didn’t quite cross or I would have asked her to explain more about the flag.

Do I really think the apocalypse is at hand? No. It would ruin the world economy and that’s the last thing the autocrats want. But according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, it’s 90 seconds to doomsday. Better stock up on necessities, maybe a water purifier, and get your vaccines while you can! And personally, I’m going to cut back on social media because it’s full of inaccuracies and products I don’t/won’t need.

When moms turn bad

On By Catherine HausteinIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I had a great Mother’s Day. My family is amazing. But I can’t help be a little disturbed about what “Mother” is coming to mean these days. Have you noticed all the women and politicians who are playing their Mom card when they do mean things to other women? “I’m a mom and I want to regulate your pregnancy.”

It really doesn’t matter if you are a mom, a grandma or whatever. Those labels don’t get you off the hook for your misogyny. Misogyny, hatred of women, runs deep. 

Women have faced so much oppression that naturally, some seek refuge in being misogynists themselves for their own safety. This link points out the numerous forms of female misogyny, some of which I have no doubt embraced at a point in my life. Certainly, we can have different opinions. But let’s face it, betrayal and denial of autonomy, is the ultimate crime against women. At its core, misogyny takes away choices and sadly, some females are more than happy to take away the choices of others.

Take a moment to read about the hellscape Idaho has become for women of childbearing age. The idea that you and your doctor can’t make pregnancy decisions is a blatant form of misogyny. Why do females subscribe to these views? The answer is: we’ve all been indoctrinated into a society that devalues women. Some of us may have been mean girls. We may have gotten our promotion but kept other women down. Maybe we’ve felt that a capable woman didn’t deserve a leadership position. Maybe, like Queen Victoria, we’ve disparaged feminists, because we are good girls, worthy leaders, and they are bad.

 Let’s not forget that the Nazis treasured motherhood and gave women gold crosses for having kids. Lots of women loved this and were Hitler fans because it gave them a purpose and a justification for being and a godly reward for their piety and submission to their husbands. Not to be too graphic here but these women let others be shot and lead to the gas chambers in order to make themselves feel good about their lives. That’s how bad women have it. They kill for respect. Some women who have low self-esteem and have been abused even find serial killers of women sexually appealing.

Yes, women are misogynists. They even hate themselves. Hatred of women rubs off. I don’t think many can escape it. Now it seems, we have a whole crop of female politicians and Supreme Court justices who are here to support the devaluation of female life. It’s getting to be too much. Doctors won’t put up with this unhealthy, inhumane behavior.Heck, normal people won’t either. But misogyny is sneaky and takes many disguises. The most recent is to pretend to be a gynomorph. 

The gynomorph, combining male and female characteristics, has always had a certain allure. Think David Bowie, who has recently had a gynomorph lobster named after him. Many of us love unisex fashion, unisex fragrance, and gender neutral baby names. In the past, Bacchus, the ancient god of ecstasy, has been portrayed as a gynomorph. The gynomorph is powerful, but it’s being used for unsavory ends that betray the whole concept.

Here is a modern-day interpretation of a gynomorph. It’s a female but a tough woman with a gun down there to represent her “masculine side.” How many political ads have we seen like this? The far-right, guns, and misogyny go hand in hand.Easy access to guns is part of a misogynist’s toolbox. Mass shootings and misogyny are buddies.  Misogynists are more likely to be violent.  Yes, misogyny is the gateway for violence. Despite this, politicians, including female politicians, glorify violence in their advertisements. Most of these violent types claim the label of mom. Exposure to violence is bad for kids by the way. 

A cartoon character in a dress Description automatically generated

If you think about it, a woman who is willing to define and betray her sisters and/or who embraces violence, is a warped evil gynomorph, embracing the male art of betraying females and being a violent misogynist. Gynomorphs are supposed to be symbols of unity. Too bad this symbol is being used for false purposes by politicians.

It’s difficult for women to get ahead without some form of gynomorphism. It might be brandishing a gun, drinking men under the table, or most blatantly, making laws targeted at other women. I wish I had a dollar for every man who said positive things about women who hold the very same views as misogynistic men. These false gynomorphs are reversing women’s rights and obediently doing everything misogynic men would love, as this person points out so clearly. 

And don’t forget—the new false gynomorphs are wives, mothers, and grandmothers. In case you didn’t know, their biographies, group names, and they will tell you. They want you to believe that what they stand for is what a normal woman would do. Well, I’m a mother too and I don’t like what they have brought us–women airlifted to abortion friendly states to save their lives or tossing doctors in jail for example. And let’s not forget some of the things the man they endorse for president has said about women. Claiming that infanticide is a thing is blatant misogyny—it’s aimed at taking away rights. Terrorizing women is the goal of misogyny. 

There are “moms” who support the assault on information both in the forms of library bans (claiming some sort of knowledge about books harming children)  and bad mouthing public schools—because censoring and ignoring other opinions is a sign of these control freak moms married to control freak men who lose their cool. It’s sad to say but their kids will suffer—struggling to make choices and exhibiting low self-esteem. Maybe that’s the way they like it. 

There is nothing wrong with a woman being strong, decisive, informed, a scientist, a rugby player, a Jezebel, a homemaker, or even liking target practice. Several people in my family are good shots. There’s nothing wrong with protecting children.

One beef I have with these evil gynomorphs is the way they downplay the expertise of other women and their advocates (such as OBGYNS) as if there are only so many seats at the table. Another problem comes when they deny autonomy to others, because autonomy is at the heart of happiness. Having autonomy in life choices is key to adolescent happiness. It makes for a better workplace. Lack of autonomy is why traditional roles can be stifling and it’s why, people are drawn to the power of the gynomorph.

A gynomorph should be a unifying symbol, a fun way of celebrating inclusivity. Sadly, those masquerading as a gynomorph want to take away the choice and self-expression of others. Women, let’s stop killing each other, and our pets, to try to get self-respect. And please, stop labeling hate groups with the word “mom”. It’s truly degrading.

Killers in America

On By Catherine HausteinIn Uncategorized2 Comments

As I was traveling on highways a couple weeks ago through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana, I saw signs, particularly in Indiana, where politicians were really pushing fear and bragging about how strong they were and how they were going to make sure you weren’t going to be a crime victim. Crime is not a laughing matter, but the crime rate has plunged and people over estimate how common it is. (A notable exception is domestic violence. )

The political billboards were showing how tough on crime each politician was. The irony was, it was rainy, the traffic was terrible, and trucks in particular were just driving like crap. Unlike the crime rate, the motor vehicle accident rate is on the rise.

A road with lights on it Description automatically generated

On a dark desert highway…

Trucks were in a hurry and they were doing bad jobs of merging. I saw one pull in front of a little Honda and almost take it out.  At a merge, two trucks didn’t want to give each other room and almost crashed. Another truck wove all over the road, the driver looking at a screen in her hand.

To my horror, I saw a truck driver getting out of a truck at a gas station. He was wearing slides with thick soles. My chemist danger signs flashed. Flip flops and sandals have caused over a million accidents. Not only do they fall off and get stuck under pedals, they double driver reaction time. Add thick soles and you get even slower at pushing the brake pedal. Imagine this in a truck.

A skeleton sitting in a car Description automatically generated

Welcome to Indiana!

That was just on a small stretch of Indiana highway. I started thinking. Really, what should be we be worrying about? Should be we be worrying about getting mugged and robbed? I mean, sure, we should be, but what is more of a danger to us—other peoples’ bad driving or a stranger’s criminal intents? What’s most likely to kill us?

The top causes of death in the US in order are heart disease, cancer, covid, and accidents. Of the accidents, accidental poisoning is the most common type of accident. You might think of prescription drugs at this point but carbon monoxide is a big source of poison. Alcohol is the top killer by poison. Motor vehicle accidents are the second cause of accidental deaths.

A close-up of a graph Description automatically generated

Above: what is most likely to kill those under age 75.

There are highway improvements that can increase safety including rumble strips, medians, increased signage, and high friction curves. I swear, the last politician I heard taking about safer highways was Leonard Boswell, who died in 2018.

One really frightening thing I saw on my nail-biting trip across Indiana and points south was trucks merging with barely a signal. Yet here in Iowa, we don’t care about that. We have a law limiting truck liability. We have a law making it easier to get a trucking license—a national and bipartisan push. Here’s the rub. Iowa is a top state for fatal truck accidents. In fact, it ties for number one! (Indiana is up there, too, as shown on this map.)

The political billboards were meant to make people afraid of death by homicide. It isn’t a top cause of death overall, especially not compared to heart problems, cancer, poisoning, or motor vehicle accidents. I suppose one thing that makes people afraid of it is that you can choose to get in a car but you can’t choose not to be mugged. But politicians are notoriously guilty of ramping up the fear. Interestingly enough, people who are more educated are less likely to commit homicide.  (Domestic violence is also less common for educated women and educated couples.) Educated people are less likely in general to commit crimes. What do you want to bet that some of those tough on crime politicians complain about student loan forgiveness? If they really cared about reducing crime, they’d make college free. They’d pour money into public education.

Meanwhile, drive safely. Watch out for the other guy.

The case against the SSB

On By Catherine HausteinIn Uncategorized1 Comment

When I was a schoolgirl in Rockville Maryland, someone, a group of teachers I think, asked the students to decide if they wanted a new national anthem. I like new things and was enticed by the idea. We sang all sorts of patriotic songs as part of our research on the proposal. This was a DC suburb, and many kids were from military families. In the end, most of us decided that we could do better as a nation than the Star-Spangled Banner (SSB). It wasn’t fun to sing and since we’d all been irradiated by the above ground nuclear testing, the bombs bursting in air was a pointed reminder of the health effects of bombs. 

Yes, a flag is a symbol and people tend to think symbolically, but to my child’s mind, it was a limited symbol. I really gravitated towards the “wilder” songs with references to the beauty of the national landscape such as God Bless America or the collective love of country as in This Land is Your Land. The idea of a new national anthem never got much traction but let it be known, I have never enjoyed singing the Star-Spangled Banner.

The tune was from a popular drinking song and the lyric writer was a racist who wanted to send slaves back to Africa. The song itself has only been the national anthem for around 100 years and was selected because of the symbolism of the flag and its association with war. Before this, America (My Country Tis of Thee)  was the unofficial anthem. 

In my novel Lost in Waste, the residents of the dystopian wasteland are forced to sing an anthem while pressing their fingers to their forehead to show they are thinking about their country.  Most countries have a national anthem and quite a few of them are dirges or if you prefer, hymn like. Some are marches. Others are kind of violent.  This one from Bangladesh makes you want to kiss the sky. 

A bill has been introduced to mandate the singing of the SSB in Iowa classrooms.  I have a few issues with this. First of all, the bill sponsor sounds way too stuck on himself. Also, it’s going to make kids hate the SSB if they are being forced to sing it every single day. And I don’t care what country we are talking about. Most anthems are dated. They often sound much better when sung professionally.

Not to mention, there’s something confusing about forcing kids to sing something about the land of the free. The bill requires singing the entire thing at some events despite offensive lyrics. Perhaps one of the saddest things about this is that the representative pushing it is from one of the most cancer ridden areas of the state. He really should be thinking about other issues..

Confident happy usa star character devil mascot vector illustration

Monday’s Iowa Caucus–and my opinion on it

On By Catherine HausteinIn Uncategorized4 Comments

The Iowa caucuses will take place this Monday, January 15. A caucus is a party meeting and both the Democrats and the Republicans will meet separately to discuss who should run for president and what their party goals and beliefs should be.

Iowa has had the first in the nation caucus since 1968. It’s my opinion that the caucuses have made Iowa a mean, attention seeking, and stressed-out place. That’s the goal of authoritarians, and a big part of the Republican base here in Iowa are authoritarians (evangelicals).

In case you haven’t followed the Republican caucuses here, candidates have been crisscrossing the state trying to prove which one is the biggest, toughest bully. Ever since Joni Ernest won a Senate seat with an ad about castrating pigs and shooting Obamacare, Iowa has been racing towards the bottom of the valley of incivility. We have an attorney general who never tried a case, so understandably needs an extra million dollars to run her office. But she wanted to give Biden the Bird and this mean message won over the hearts of Iowans.

In a local election, the library was disparaged to the extent that some highly sheltered people became afraid to go there. The worry? They were lead to believe porn was sitting out in the childrens’ section. When a library crack-down referendum lost in a local election, the head of the group pushing for the oversight called those who didn’t support her views porn loving Marxists for government spending. And on matters of book censorship, my own state senator implied I was a pervert when I pointed out that for books, context was important.

Our governor ignored the urging of medical professionals on several issues numerous times, yet took the advice of Moms for Liberty, even posing with them. It really doesn’t matter if people in these groups have kinky sex or shoplift.  There’s money to be made from endorsements after all.

What happened to Iowa? I’d credit money pouring into misinformation. Take a look at the local county website. It’s filled with conspiracy theories and misinformation. Their antics have been reported, yet people still vote for them. It’s no secret that money has fueled their opinions and packed the Supreme Court. Iowans are no match for the conservative media sites popping up, many of which inflame stories and harass people they disagree with.  Studies have shown that conservative people are more susceptible to misinformation, more likely to repeat it, and that conservative news sites spread more misinformation.

Conservatives are lied to more and they believe it. Those who believe it and repeat it the most have a high desire for chaos. Republicans are associated with more inequality—and also more violence.  What isn’t discussed enough is that these people are also bored. They want to dress up and spread chaos because being a Republican is like putting on a costume and getting attention, especially here in Iowa where we have the first in the nation caucus.  Maybe they feel they can’t fit in with polite society and  they feel marginalized. In any case, it’s a circus of single issue voters and misinformation here in Iowa. Thankfully, it will be over soon.

The Democrats are having a caucus but not voting for the presidential candidate. The vote will be done through a mail in ballot. According to the Marion County Democrats:

On November 1, 2023, the window opened for Iowa Democrats to request their Presidential Preference Cards for the 2024 Iowa Caucuses.  The IDP Disability Caucus was instrumental in this process.  This is a major change in our Caucus; however, it’s definitely more inclusive and something that many will appreciate this year with the extreme weather that we’re experiencing.  It enables participation by those who are sick, don’t drive at night, work evening shifts, stuck at home due to nasty weather, babysitting or elderly sitting and the list can go on and on.

If you’ve not requested your Presidential Preference Card, please note that February 19th is the last day to make your request. The on-line process is the easiest and quickest way to ensure your request is received in a timely manner. The online submission form meets accessibility needs and does provide an option for Spanish translation. If there are questions regarding the online process, they’ve created a helpline to call (515-216-3893) and if necessary, leave a message and they’ll call you back as soon as possible.

Another option to request a Presidential Preference Card, is to print & complete the attached IDP Request Form.pdf and mail it to the address on the form.

The bold is my addition. I always liked the caucus and the discussion with neighbors. However, I find the “discuss now, vote later” approach more appealing than I thought I might. It’s true that it’s more inclusive. Additionally, COVID is on the rise again, and although Iowan’s don’t like to admit having it, wastewater don’t lie and our level right now is “very high.” Not everyone can afford to be exposed.

If that’s not enough to show that an in-person vote isn’t inclusive, get a look at the weather forecast!

It’s not just cold.

It’s windy!

It’s too bad the weather won’t allow more people to attend because one useful thing that will happen is to discuss the party platform.

Here is the Democratic Party Platform

Here’s the Republican one.

The weather is likely to suppress the rural and elderly participants. Iowans are being told to let god guide their vote.

Many will probably see this as a test of their faith. These are the same people who ignored COVID warnings and had and continue to have higher death rates.

Iowans want personal attention. However, it’s notable that one candidate who ignored warnings slid off the road during a snow storm on the way to an event and has slowed down his campaigning. We have a blizzard warning here today and candidates are altering their schedules by cancelling or going virtual. As for the Republican front runner, he’s been in court and is keeping a light schedule here.

Biden’s American Rescue Plan has been good for Iowa but our governor has given him the cold shoulder, downplaying his help, ignoring his visits, and even rejecting summer food aid to feed kids.  Needless to say, he hasn’t been here. Smart guy.

Update: within 31 minutes, Trump was declared the winner.

Science News 2023: a dozen stories highlight the trivial and the profound

On By Catherine HausteinIn Uncategorized4 Comments

  1. German monks developed an easy to ship powdered beer. It’s environmentally friendly but at least for now, non-alcoholic.

   2. You get a pesky itch but your skin looks perfectly normal. Why?  Bacteria overgrowth may cause itching. A new study discovered Staphylococcus aureus can activate itch enzymes without causing inflammation.

    3. On a more serious note, a Sickle cell treatment has FDA approval.  The Sickle Cell mutation affects  hemoglobin and the blood’s ability to carry blood. It’s a painful, debilitating condition that shows up in adulthood. The new therapy is a gene editing technique and reverts red blood cells to their adolescent form. There is a catch for females. The treatment destroys egg cells and causes infertility.

    4. Vaccines have made the news more than once. An effective malaria vaccine is both safe and inexpensive. A new mRNA vaccine (the same type as the COVID vaccine) is being used to treat pancreatic cancer.  A vaccine to prevent RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, is now available to the public. Although it’s not new, studies have supported the safety and effectiveness about the HPV vaccine. Too bad Iowa schools have dropped teaching about it.

  5. If you are still soured on vaccines, even though the United States leads to world on COVID deaths, probiotics might ease COVID symptoms and enhance vaccine effectiveness in a variety of cases.

  6. Are you creeped out by public restrooms or bathrooms in general? A new silicone treatment creates a Slippery toilet bowl which repels bacteria.

   7. This past summer in the Northern Hemisphere was the hottest on record.

  8.  Iowa’s high cancer rate made the news. Our legislature’s response? To ban books.

 9. Plastic particles are everywhere, including in microwaved foods.

10. The year’s top extinctions– birds and mussels.

11. A new treatment for Muscular Dystrophy may make it a disease of the past. Children born with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disease, lose muscle power until they are unable to breathe or pump blood effectively.

12. India is the first country to land a spacecraft on the Dark Side of the Moon.

What stories caught your attention?