Viewpoints

To the Editor:

Make no mistake; America has become an authoritarian country. The Trump administration no longer follows the constitution and the rule of law.

ICE has been transformed into a paramilitary answerable only to Trump. Masked men jump out of unmarked cars, stop, assault, arrest, and sometimes kill individuals all without probable cause. When ICE’s actions are challenged, the government lies about the behavior despite clear evidence to the contrary and refuses to investigate, claiming they have “absolute immunity.”

Ash Wednesday: Remembering Who We Are

Today is Ash Wednesday. Christians around the world will pause in the middle of an ordinary week to do something very strange: receive a smudged cross of ashes on their foreheads and hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

I remember my first Ash Wednesday as a pastor. I was serving at a church with an elementary school, and that day we placed ashes on the foreheads of children during chapel. Speaking those words over so many precious, little faces was jarring. I didn’t like thinking that even they would one day return to dust.

To the Editor:

Last week the Senate Republicans passed the education bill out of committee, now going to the House for debate. In it, there is a 1.75% increase for public education. Inflation is 2.7%. Now the bill has to go to the House.

What does this mean?  This means that for another year, schools are going to have to do with less. If a school district gives raises just equal to inflation, there will be less for every other expense. Since other expenses (utilities, technology, paper, etc) have also risen 2.7%, something will have to be cut.

Starting teacher pay in Iowa for 2023-2024, was almost at the bottom (46th out of 51). Then the state mandated that over two years starting pay should increase to $50,000 but the state did not increase the per student allotment. Thus, even though pay for first-time teachers has increased, other expenses must be drastically cut, or class size has to be increased.

To the Editor:

Every American now faces a clear choice: upholding democracy and freedom under our 250-year-old U.S. Constitution or succumbing to an authoritarianism characterized by a loss of individual freedoms and a white Christian nationalist agenda. It is my hope that clear-minded Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike will join together to oppose this direct attack by the current federal government on the people of the United States.

Furthermore, we must commit to working collectively to repair the deep damages inflicted by this administration as we look ahead toward a more just and peaceful future.

The choice is yours, America: Democracy or Dictatorship. For the love of all things good, please make the right choice.

Sincerely,
Shirley Vermace
Decorah

Once upon a time I lived on a tropical island where nearly every day of the year was sunny with a high of 75.  The beaches were always calling and shorts, sandals, and sunglasses were just part of the regular attire. True story. 

However, after 4 years of being stationed in paradise, this Iowa girl’s heart longed for the winter. When all the birds have flown south, the harvest is in, and the trees have lost all their leaves, creation itself is offering an invitation. It is an invitation to come away and be silent, to withdraw from the constant rush of activity and the noise.

To the Editor:

Learn Something, Do Something.

This mission may be simple, but it can shape Iowa’s approach to combating human trafficking. As we observe Human Trafficking Awareness Month this January, it’s a powerful reminder that every community, every business, and every individual has a role to play - not just now, but all year long.

Right now, an estimated 50 million individuals are being exploited through human trafficking worldwide. It’s easy to think something like this doesn’t happen in Iowa, but the reality is that it does. In 2024, the Department of Safety received more than 100 tips on labor and sex trafficking. In addition to this, there were more than 200 calls to the Iowa Victim Service Call Center in 2024.

Recognizing that this crime is happening within our state is a critical first step toward eradicating all instances of human trafficking within Iowa’s borders. It starts with raising awareness.

To the Editor:

A child of six years old has a well developed sense of fairness. An example can be heard on any playground. In a clear loud voice one can hear, “That’s not fair.” A child may not have language skills to clearly state their reasons, and they just know it is not fair.

Skills to describe fairness develop as we experience life. Our ability to name truth and hypocrisy follow. Information comes to us with the intensity and volume of a fire hose. Overwhelmed can be a constant state as we read social media, listen to podcasts and watch TV coverage.

An an adult, I count on my senses of sight, hearing and heart. Events I see leave little doubt in my mind. Commentary heard requires information to be credible. My heart has a gauge of compassion for human beings. These three senses inform my ability to determine fairness and truthfulness of a situation.

To the Editor:

While most TV news is concentrating on the ICE raids in Minnesota, Iowans better watch the Iowa legislature. Governor Reynolds’ number-one priority is reducing property taxes - to the tune of “$3 billion over six years” (DM Register, 1-15-2026, 1A), a 7.5% reduction. Another component is a 2% cap on revenue growth for local governments.

Property taxes set by the state are distributed by local taxing agencies. Since most of the local government spending is salaries, this 2% cap would limit raises and, thus, limit the local governments to be competitive in the labor market for keeping and obtaining qualified employees.

To the Editor:

I am angry, despondent, mortified and most important, ashamed. I am ashamed for how our country is now seen by the world. Half of our voters elected, against our dire warnings, a dangerous maniac who wants to rule the world for his own monetary gain and power.

An angry, vindictive man who has gone after his “enemies” with the weaponization of the Justice Department, the horrendous build-up of untrained and vicious ICE agents attacking anyone who is brown, killing American witnesses to their brutality.

A wanna-be emperor stealing into a country with oil reserves, in order to enrich his corporate cronies, and threatening to invade Greenland, again to enrich himself with their vast resources.

And don’t forget, raping our own country, opening up national treasures to exploitation through mining, oil drilling, clear cutting forests and destruction of sacred grounds and wildlife habitat that can never be restored.

To the Editor:

Just my opinion as a combat veteran and not a draft dodger like the man in the White House, who has been convicted after being found guilty of rape, but millions of MAGAs voted for the man anyway, including some of my family members. Just the verdict of guilt of a sexual crime didn’t make any difference - money, power and control were and are more important.

Many of these voters will prance up on Sunday in church and sit up front and try to look important and religious, and that just proves that they are hypocrites in reality. But who they voted for has no more morals.

Oh, where’s the voice of Chuck Grassley and his oath to the U.S. Constitution? He’s silent. You know Joni Ernst is silent because she’s quitting, but she will get a huge pension.

Patrick Ward
Waterville
Veteran who swore
an oath to this 
country and constitution