Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Category: Iowa (Page 8 of 14)

One Year of COVID-19: A Review

So, there’s an anniversary coming up, and it’s one none of us are happy about. Which one? It’s been almost one year since COVID-19 became the issue in the U.S. and much of the world. I chose March 11 for this post for symbolic reasons: it’s the one-year mark since the last time I went to a movie theater.

I saw 1917 on March 11, 2020, in case anyone’s interested.

We’d all like to get past COVID-19. I’m sure almost all of us want to meet in-person more regularly. Some have handled these feelings better than others. Some – e.g., Kim Reynolds in Iowa – have tried to force it before it’s time. But everyone shares in the dissatisfaction with the COVID-19 world.

In the last year, we moved from a ‘normal’ world (for better or worse) to a scary one to a manageable one (if you have a mask) to a strange adjustment to a ‘new normal.’ Along the way, we saw lots of new terms and oddities, e.g., ‘essential worker.’ As the vaccines make their rounds (I’m getting my first shot tomorrow!), let’s reflect a bit on this.

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College Towns and Security Deposit Theft

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.

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