Base and Superstructure

Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Category: Iowa (Page 3 of 14)

An image of Massachusetts Avenue in blizzard conditions.

A Tough Winter?

January 29, 2024 /

For those of you Iowans (or Midwesterners) out there, how are you doing this winter?

It started easily enough. We had a milder than usual November and December. Even into the first week of January, things moved along without much trouble.

But man have we been hit hard since then! More than 2 feet of snow (cumulatively). Downed trees and power lines. Occasional freezing rain, even after all that stuff cleared out.

When you average it out, it’s probably just a normal winter overall. A milder season gave way to the big pile of ‘yuck’ we’ve had in the last 3 weeks. But it still hits pretty hard.

Let me know how you’ve handled it!

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A high altitude photo of Chapel, North Carolina. Intended to represent a college town for the purpose of college town activism.

The Frustrations of College Town Activism

January 8, 2024 /

I turned 40 last year, and I’ve reached a moment where I’m looking back at my activist history and thinking about my activist future. Among other things, that involves looking back at the frustrations of college town activism. And since I’ve spent the last 6 years as a member of Democratic Socialists of America, that means the frustrations of organizing with a socialist group in a progressive college town.

The landscape in our progressive college town features lots and lots of community activist groups. What frustrations could there be here? In a town full of progressive activist groups with goals broadly compatible to those of DSA, especially in the short term?

Oh, a few…

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A photo of a scales balancing a pile of money and and affordable housing unit. Meant to represent how 'affordable housing' functions as a political football.

‘Affordable Housing’ is a Political Football

October 2, 2023 /

Progressive cities love affordable housing. At least, they love something they call ‘affordable housing.’ Therein lies a series of problems.

Politicians in these cities know lots of people can’t pay rent. And that lots of people pay half their incomes just to rent a house, blocking them from buying homes or saving for retirement. Many of these politicos genuinely want to solve the problem. They turn to ‘affordable housing’ in order to do it.

And yet, finance capital dominates the politics of cities, even progressive ones. Bankers, developers, and landlords punch well above their numbers. Investors demand a return on their money. Developers and landlords demand a never ending flow of profits. In addition, mayors and city managers demand a steady, and rising, tax base.

Progressive politicians thus need to create affordable housing while also satisfying finance capital, profit, and the sustainability of local government. How can they do it?

To start, they can think about ‘affordable housing’ in a way that meshes with financial interests. And, indeed, that’s what they do.

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Living with a Dog (Molly)

September 25, 2023 /

When her mother died in 2020, my partner inherited a 13 year old dog, Molly. Now 16 years old as of July, Molly has lived with us these past 3 years.

Molly is a Peekapoo – a hyrbid breed between Pekinese and Poodle. She’s a very small dog, weighing in at maybe 12 or 13 pounds. And we’ve seen her through years of getting older, moving on from a senior dog to a quite elderly dog. Despite being quite elderly – and limited in various ways in her mobility – she’s a healthy and active dog for her age.

My partner and I have talked a number of times over the years about whether we want a dog (we’ve both firmly ruled out cats). And I think our experience with Molly has given us some insight into aging and care for the aging. Not to mention some good times taking walks and showing off our dog stroller to the neighborhood.

Do you have a dog? What are the joys of dogs for you?

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