Alienation, autonomy, and ideology
I’m sure many readers know I live in Iowa City. And I’m sure many people in Iowa City know landlords here run a swindle each August and September. OK, so landlords run at least a few swindles. But I’m talking about the Great Annual Security Deposit Theft.
It’s a source of much wailing and gnashing of teeth among tenants in this college town. Anger over it stood out as a key reason for our local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America to start a tenants union.
Many readers know I live in Iowa and that Iowa stands in the middle of a big COVID-19 outbreak. I gave a brief local update awhile ago. But it’s time to check in again. Local liberals keep putting the heat on Governor Kim Reynolds. In particular, she’s in the middle of several data scandals. Is it warranted?
Let’s take a look at the data.
“Is this heaven?” “No, it’s Iowa.” Ah, Field of Dreams.
Is there anything more Iowan – and American – than the movie Field of Dreams and the novel Shoeless Joe?
Coronavirus – and COVID-19, the disease it causes – is obviously the elephant in the room for anything right now. Including blogging. As of today, we have 145 confirmed cases in Iowa. And they come predominantly from my own county – Johnson County, home of Iowa City.
That said, everyone’s fine in my household. And we aren’t seeing anything like New York or Seattle. I plan to continue writing and posting, and I’m working from home at my main job. Looking at the post schedule, I’ve got some upcoming stuff on: the film Black Panther, the transition from social democracy to socialism, and public housing.
How are all of you doing?
Iowa and New Hampshire have voted already, and Nevada’s coming up! With a large field and more attention to diversity in the Democratic Party, we’ve heard a lot of talk about who people of color support. Some people – notably Julián Castro – point out the whiteness of the early states.
Castro’s right, but Iowa and New Hampshire aren’t 100% white. There are lots of people of color in each state, and they voted. Who did people of color vote for in Iowa and New Hampshire? And do those numbers predict how people of color will vote in other states?
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