Review: Landscapes and New Places

The opening reception of the Summer Landscape Show at Olson-Larsen Galleries was well attended on May 30, 2008. There was not time for me to take my turn looking at all of the pieces before I had to leave. Regardless of the time I had to see any particular piece, the entire show left me uninspired.

The scenes were of images I have come to find ordinary and the artists did not offer me any new perspectives. A group of hay bales by Gary Bowling brought the same reaction as a similar scene by Bobbie McKibbin, although up close the different brush strokes and other individual techniques could be seen. Barbara Fedeler’s charcoal on paper pieces were sketches that brought to mind maps and land documentation before the age of photography. For these pieces I found that having the titles connecting the scenes with specific geographical locations complemented the art. However, for most of the show I became less enchanted with the work when the title put the scene in a specific location instead of letting it stand as a generic, yet mystical, example.

John Preston’s scenes of roads on rolling hills, when painted on linen, attracted my interest. The texture of the linen added a suggestion of reality and made it seem as though I could be driving (or riding a bicycle) down that road. Preston also painted similar scenes in watercolor on paper. The shapes of the clouds and the path of the road did not change but the images flattened and the colors washed out.

Eugenie Torgerson had several pieces in the show with a variety of mediums and mixed results. Her three-dimensional mixed-media pieces were my favorite of the show and I would liked to have had time to look at them more closely. The easiest to describe is a piece called “Map Room Box and Journals.” It had bound booklets inside it, suggestive of notes an explorer might take. The outside reminded me both of an at-home craft project and an expensive art-inspired container, such as a person who is wealthy enough to spend time exploring unknown places might have.

People were also finding their way to the Hentschel Art Gallery’s opening of Larry Roots’s “New Places” show on May 30th. For Roots, new places are not geographical. They are the places where art can take a person, mentally and emotionally.

His choice of titles can flummox somebody who takes them too literally. His “Minerology” evokes thoughts of rocks that time intertwined and left veined with a multitude of colors. Roots chose the title because the paints used in the piece gained their color from dyes created from minerals. Two of his pieces incorporate large circles, dabs, of color, in a faux marble effect. I was trying to interpret “Florencia” in terms of ancient Italy, flaking mosaics, and peeling paint. Roots said he choose the title “Manchurin” because the image reminded him of cherry blossoms with which he associated Asia.

Most of the pieces in the “New Places” exhibit are pigment on lexan. This creates an intense image. Add in the size of the paintings and the simple process of moving from one shade of a color to another creates a dynamic, powerful map. It is up to the viewer to interpret and to understand the map. Roots also has works that are monochromatic but again the use of black’s numerous shades creates depth and structure in his paintings. The inclusion of monochromatic paintings in the exhibit allow the viewer to see repetition of brush strokes and shading techniques in the paintings that use color.

M.R. Field writes reviews for AroundDesMoines.com. 

A million grandpas and grandmas

I live in Des Moines and work in Grinnell. There is often not much to do driving over on Mondays. Sometimes I think about stuff like this:

Each of us has had

2 parents
4 grandparents
8 great grandparents
16 great great grandparents
32 great great great grandparents.

In doing that exercise we have gone back five generations to account for one person’s 32 great great great grandparents. My grandson in the left photo below can claim two of my great grandparents (the two people front and center) in the second photo below as 2 of his 32 great great great grandparents.

If you go back 5 generations in your family, that is 32 people from whom you are directly descended. If you go back 10 generations, it is 1024. If you go back 15, it is 32,768. If you go back 20 generations, that’s a million people. About the time Columbus landed (20 generations at 25 years each), a million of your ancestors were gathering the DNA that is part of you today.

Pretty great, eh? Thirty-two ancestors to make one child in 5 generations; a million to one in 20!

Guest Writer: James G. Lindberg (Jim) is the Purple Wren’s sweetie and is a visiting chemistry professor at Grinnell College and retired from Drake University.

[tags] Iowa, Des Moines, Central Iowa News, Ancestors, Population[/tags]

Passions Fuel Transportation Meeting

(Des Moines, IA, May 29, 2008) For two and a half hours residents of the Des Moines metropolitan area offered ideas for the future of central Iowa’s transportation network and expressed frustration at years of being ignored. Staff of the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (DMAMPO) were pleased with the turnout for a public meeting held at Roosevelt High School to gather input into the Horizon Year 2035 Long-Range Transportation Plan’s goals and objectives. In addition to reporters and DMAMPO staff there were about 40 people participating in the meeting. While most people were middle-aged, there were people in or approaching their 80’s and others under 30.

At one point in the meeting DMAMPO Executive Director Tom Kane felt a need to step in and address some of the concerns he had been hearing. He said that the DMAMPO should have tried to have some members of its executive committee attend the meeting to hear directly from the residents. He also acknowledged that the DMAMPO may need to expand their meeting locations. One man had expressed concern that the long-range plan was focused too much on the urban areas, ignoring the needs of unincorporated Polk County. I suggested a Saturday morning meeting at the Northside Library. (My suggestion was made because advocates for better academic performance by minority students had urged a similar time and location for one of the school district’s special forums.)

More than one person stated that she had been attending DMAMPO meetings for years but never seemed to be heard. I added a related opinion about attending meetings of the public transit authority, DART. Many people wanted to know who had the power to start looking at true transportation planning and called the DMAMPO’s plan a short-range step that merely reacts to existing conditions. The answer varied. Some people said local elected officials need to make decisions, particularly since the DMAMPO and the DART commissions are comprised mostly of those office holders. Other people thought the elected officials were part, and perhaps most, of the problem. Bob Mickle, who is a citizen member of the DMAMPO policy committee, said the power is with the citizens. He cited curb-side recycling as an example of a service that was started because the public demanded it.

One man kept returning to the theme of the DMAMPO using its position to refuse passing along any funds for transportation projects made necessary through new business or residential development funded with tax increment financing (TIF), tax abatements, or another type of public subsidy. Other people thought the DMAMPO needed to identify transportation needs based on input from a cross-representation of the public, not just from developers. This included deciding the best places for the various components of the transportation plan instead of building more roads because somebody built a new mall.

There were many specific suggestions made, from observing what similarly-situated communities have done to demanding communities have ordinances that promote multimodal transportation to questioning whether promoting the airport as part of the freight network will be practical in the future. In another context, one man suggested that the airport be considered as a multimodal point since the land is already owned by a public authority. This would include having buses and trains, as well as planes, using the airport as a destination.

Everybody at the meeting seemed to agree on the reality that transportation decisions are also decisions about land use, economic growth, business development, and quality of life. There was also consensus that it will take time for individuals’ attitudes and behaviors to adapt to a new transportation model.

M.R. Field writes about transportation issues for AroundDesMoines.com. 

Commentary: Disrespecting the individual voter

I want a Congressman who is willing to stand and defend his or her voting record and views in a public forum.

I don’t have one. In fact, I have a representative (Leonard Boswell) who has dodged all attempts to get him to debate. The 12th and most recent evasion was May 28th, a debate led by Mary Brubaker and sponsored by the State Historical Society. Moderator Brubaker acknowledged that Boswell’s empty podium in the debate at the State Historical Museum was a first in her two decades of leading such political forums.

Earlier in May after Boswell’s 10th refusal to debate, WHO TV ran a piece about the great decliner. It’s posted on You Tube.

I am one of those old-fashioned innocents who believe that all members of a democratic society should have equal access to power and protection. I don’t think I should have to buy that access, and I don’t think I should have to bid for attention from an elected representative. I want a representative who is so excited about positions, that he or she will clamor to discuss them.

I don’t have a representative like that. In fact, I have one who tells me he is “too busy” to debate. The words that come to my mind are “too rude,” “too embarrassed,” and “too complacent.” By evading an honest exchange with Fallon Congressman Boswell has shown disrespect toward the voters, toward his party, toward his opponent, toward the media and toward the democratic process itself.

As Dave Price of WHO-TV pointed out, Leonard Boswell was willing to debate Republican Jeff Lamberti in 2006, but now in 2008 he is “too busy” to debate fellow Democrat Ed Fallon. Could it be that Leonard Boswell thinks he is a good enough Democrat to beat a Republican, but not a good enough Democrat to publicly face his own party?

Boswell is not too busy to litter thousands of Central Iowa homes with negative attack ads and shallow position statements on a near daily basis. I lose respect for a candidate who uses mudslinging and loaded language to discredit an opponent whether in an ad, on TV, or in a mailing. If Congressman Boswell wants to associate Ed Fallon with X, Y, or Z, why not do it to his face where Fallon can defend himself. It is disrespectful of all of us voters to do otherwise.

I want a representative who will stand in public to defend his or her views, and I don’t have one…. yet. Maybe I will get one soon.

That’s my opinion, and I’m stickin’ to it.

Credits:Photo on flickr by Mark Warner

Photo on flickr by

IowaPolitics.com

Guest Writer: James G. Lindberg (Jim) is the Purple Wren’s sweetie and is a visiting chemistry professor at Grinnell College and retired from Drake University.

[tags] Iowa, Des Moines, Central Iowa News, Boswell, Fallon, 3rd Congressional District, Debate[/tags]

Weekend Pick: Grill Fixins

Although Sunday is the first of June, the traditional summer festivals do not start until next weekend. There are a few activities going on this weekend but nothing that should take up an entire day. It would be a good weekend to finish the spring cleaning. Cut the grass, pull some weeds, and clear the sidewalk of debris.

After all the rain, you should remember to check your yard, including the gutters, for standing water. The City of Des Moines has information about mosquito control on its website now. If you need to report standing water, call the city at (515) 248-6099 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. After 5:00 p.m. you can dial the same number to hear a recording of the anticipated spray schedule.

Another civic duty to occupy your time this weekend is Tuesday’s primary election. Do you know where you will vote? Do you know who or what will be on the ballot? Do you know what it takes to register at the polls? Check out your county auditor’s website. (Click here for Polk County.)

There are two gallery openings on Friday, May 30, 2008. The Olson-Larsen Gallery (203 Fifth Street, West Des Moines) kicks off its Summer Landscape Show from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The Hentschel Art Gallery (835 42nd Street, Des Moines) holds a reception from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. for Larry Roots’ “New Places.”

Ballet Des Moines premieres “Elevation,” with original choreography at Hoyt Sherman Place on Friday and Saturday, at 8:00 a.m. The base prices for tickets are $15 to $25 but with a $2 facility fee and potential handling fees, depending on where you buy your tickets, the actual cost will be higher. I’m looking forward to seeing this show because it will be structured, hopefully, for the small stage at the performance location and should take into account specific abilities of local talent. An artists’ reception will follow the May 31st show. The cost to attend is $40 for adults, $25 for children.

Saturday will see the third annual Gay in the Gateway event (approximately 15th Street between Grand and Locust) from 3:00 to 10:00 p.m. Admission is $5.00. There will be a stage with a variety of performers, vendors, food, and a silent auction. This is the 30th year for the event’s host, Capital City Pride.

If you can find your way to Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines on Saturday, there will be free admission to the Principal Charity Classic golf tournament. Tickets usually start at $15 for adults if you want to attend another day. The event raises money for five charities that help children.

For people who like to plan in advance, consider running in the Governor’s Cup to raise money for Iowa Homeless Youth Centers. The assorted walks and races will be held on Saturday, September 6th, but registration has already begun. The website for the event is also very easy to load and very easy to read. That always gets my attention.

M.R. Field encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com. 

Music in the Summer

There have been several requests made to AroundDesMoines.com for information on Jazz in July. This is just one of many musical series hosted in Des Moines during the summer months. In addition, numerous performers will lift voices and instruments to the sky during the state fair. Some of the other places where musicians can be found in the hot season include the downtown and Valley Junction farmers’ markets, the September 20th peace fair on the Court Avenue bridge, and other festivals and events. Don’t forget the numerous year-round venues, such as the House of Bricks, Blues on Grand, and a multitude of karaoke establishments that will continue to have entertainment despite the outside competition. There are also singers who perform regularly at coffee shops.

This is just in the Des Moines metropolitan area. There are many other weekly venues and special events in other parts of the state to entertain Iowans and visitors. For example, at the State Center Rose Festival on June 21st, there will be a preliminary competition for the Bill Riley Talent Contest. Finals for the talent contest will take place at the state fair. Here’s information on some of the local highlights:

Blues Before Sunset 2008 at the State Historical Building (600 East Locust) is a function of the state’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Performances are on Fridays from June 6th through August 1st, except no event on July 4th. The time is 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. There is no charge but bring your own seating. This is a family-friendly event but beer and wine will be sold. New talent is the theme for this year but Bo Ramsey is the performer scheduled for August 1st.

Music Under the Stars is in its 62nd summer. Hear the music for free on Sundays on the west side of the state Capitol beginning at 6:30 p.m. This event is brought to you by the Des Moines Musicians Association. Performances are scheduled from June 8th through August 3rd, except for June 22nd when the Hy-Vee Triathlon will be needing the space. The Des Moines Municipal Band will play on June 8th, June 15th, July 6th, July 13th, and August 3rd. The 34th Army Band, Iowa National Guard plays on June 29th. Brass in Blue (from Offutt AFB, Bellevue, Nebraska) is here on July 20th. The Iowa Military Veterans Band is scheduled for July 27th.

Nitefall on the River is an event put on by the City of Des Moines. If you want to sit in the Simon Estes Amphitheater (75 East Locust Street) the cost is $8 per person, $64 for a season pass through June 5th. Children under 12 years of age are free with a paying adult. Tickets can be bought at City Hall or through IowaTix. Gates open at 6:00 p.m. and performances begin at 7:00 p.m. The schedule runs from Thursday, June 5th through July 31st.

The Des Moines River Blues Festival is being hosted by the Botanical Center (909 Robert D. Ray Drive) on Sunday, August 3rd, from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. Musicians scheduled include Brian “Taz” Grand, Gil and George Davis, Cindy Grill, Alan Smith, and Kevin Bodtke. Cost is probably the $4 adult admission to the Botanical Center.

The Iowa State Fair is August 7th through the 17th in 2008. As the dates get closer, take time to check out the daily schedule to see who is performing where and when on the free stages. The Grandstand performers and ticket prices are already posted on the fair’s website. There are quite a few musical groups that can be heard for the price of admission to the fair, but Iowans know the real entertainment is in watching the people.

Jazz in July is a project of the Metro Arts Alliance. Performances are scattered throughout the city during the month of July. The Metro Arts website does not have specifics for this year’s events listed. The Botanical Center’s website notes that it will be a site for a free performance on July 22nd but does not identify who will be performing.

If you want to plan your schedule around particular performers, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, held July 4th through the 6th, has its schedule posted. Maybe Iowa Tourism’s office should start promoting a jazz tour. July also sees the Bix Beiderbecke festival in Davenport and the summer convention of the Iowa All State Jazz Choir in Mason City.

As part of Pride Week festivities the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus will perform at Drake University’s Sheslow (2507 University Avenue) at 7:30 p.m. on June 13th. On July 4th and 5th in Western Gateway Park, the Des Moines Music Coalition with funding from the Des Moines Community Foundations hosts the 80/35 event (as in I-80 and I-35). Passes cost $30 to $60.

M.R. Field writes a weekly Weekend Pick post for AroundDesMoines.com.  

What Will Gas Cost in 25 Years?

Do you know what vehicle you will be driving next year? In 10 years, do you know where you’ll be working or living? In 20 years, do you know how many children you will have and where they will be going to school or participating in activities? Which restaurants will you want to try when you retire in 25 years? Will the senior center and medical clinic be the only places you want to visit? These are some of the questions the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (DMAMPO) is asking you to think about this week.

A public meeting will be held in the library at Roosevelt High School at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, 2008. This meeting will be to gather big-picture goals and smaller-scale objectives for the needs of the area transportation system in the year 2035. Officially the meeting is to discuss and to gather input into the Horizon Year 2035 Long-Range Transportation Plan Goals and Objectives. There will also be a meeting for the Citizen Transportation Congress immediately following the long-range planning meeting. The Congress is more of a regularly-scheduled informational meeting about the DMAMPO and any transportation issues or concerns the public may have, whether they be about roads, bicycles, pedestrians, or public transit.

Luke Parris of the DMAMPO talked with me about the long-range planning meeting for this article. He said the reason people should participate in this planning process is that this is their opportunity to be in at the beginning of the concept. Often when public hearings are held the plans have already been worked out so few changes can be made. But the long-range plan can take into account a variety of concerns and desires.

The draft plan includes 9 broad goals, each with more specific objectives. Here is a summary of the goals:

1. Integrate pedestrians into the year-round traffic patterns.

2. Integrate bicyclists into the year-round traffic patterns.

3. Ensure the operation of a public transportation system. The specific objectives include both passenger rail and a downtown (i.e., Des Moines) tram.

4. Improve the street and roadway system to promote safe passage by all types of users. This includes reducing congestion to reduce accidents, to remove opportunities for automobile/pedestrian collisions, and solving the complaints of bicyclists who get shooed off of roads and off of sidewalks.

5. Promote movement of goods within and through the region. While the I-80/I-35 highways may come to mind, the DMAMPO is looking at expanding cargo coming into the Des Moines International Airport and utilizing Foreign Trade Zones. (Note: Think of this as the antipathy of buying locally-grown and locally-produced food and products. Yet, it could also increase the options for Iowa manufacturing and agricultural industries to export products.)

6. Promote a safe and secure transportation system. This revolves mostly around the points where different types of traffic tend to intersect, e.g., at railroad crossings and at crosswalks.

7. Maintain the transportation system in a good state of repair. This includes making sure bridges do not collapse and roads do not have giant potholes.

8. Promote development that supports an efficient intermodal transit system. This includes making pedestrian and bicycle routes more direct and combining shopping and residences in compact districts. (Note: Many people think intermodal transit should also include bus or rail service to airports, to intercity bus stations, and to park-and-ride sites that include access by pedestrians and by bicyclists.)

9. Protect environmental, natural, and historic resources through use of alternative fuels and choice of routes.

For anybody who’s been paying attention to transportation discussions over the past year, this list looks very familiar. How much it can change depends upon visionary and community-focused citizens.

As a comparison, think of a long-range plan for 2010 created in the year 1983. Think of your own transportation needs, from the ease of night-time driving to the need for driving your teenage children to various entertainment venues, as well as getting to work. Think of the businesses you frequent. Are you driving farther for a bargain or are you supporting your locally-owned business? What roads would you like to see built for a more direct route to your favorite locations? Answer that question then think how much it will cost to maintain the extra roads, with ice in winter and patrol officers in summer. Would you be able to save more for retirement if you gave up a vehicle? If you gave up a vehicle what would you need to access jobs, community meetings, and other necessities of life? Would it be public transit or more consolidated communities? Do you want clusters of communities separated by expansive highways and acreage, such as the small towns of Iowa, or would you prefer as much density as possible in one location?

M.R. Field thinks back to 1983 and is shocked by how little her transportation concerns have changed.

Review: Purington’s Blues

Nancy Purington’s paintings capture both the simplicity of the Mississippi River and some of its complexity. She looks for the rhythms and the patterns that are created as the water moves between banks and other constructed items and moves over the ridges of its bed. Her latest work is based on the flows of the river at Davenport, Iowa, and the music of fellow Davenport native, Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke.

Not being familiar with Beiderbecke’s music, I asked friends to describe it. The response was 1920’s dance music, which I confirmed after picking up a CD at the public library. I’m listening to “Mississippi Mud as I write this” It is a baritone song with short bars that makes me think of taking high steps to pull legs out of the mud and then slipping down into the muck as the foot goes down.

Purington’s “In the Dark” paintings come across as geometrical designs without the knowledge that they are based on music. Think about Beiderbecke, though, and those shapes become choreography. There are ridges to slide along and valleys to dip into. Some patterns zig then zag; other patterns swirl around an eddy. There are also paintings that capture the changing moods of a song and depths of a river through colors that change as the viewer moves his or her eyes over a painting.

Another series on exhibit uses distinct lines and angles to capture the impression of the Mississippi at very narrow points. There is the small image of water lapping gently at the shore. Another image, “Waiting at the End of the Road,” gives the impression of driving a pick-up truck down a back road that stops at the river’s edge. Cool clouds hang in the sky and the river awaits whatever activity is planned for the day.

Larger pieces capture many more elements of the river. “Interlude in Blue” is the painting that faces the sidewalk outside the gallery. It was painted with a line down the middle to create two images of the same stretch of river a nanosecond apart. Swirls become fish and fish become swirls as light and shadow also play a role in presenting the Mississippi. A picture of a guitar suggests an island, the moon, a wave, shallow and deeper levels of water, banks, and a flood.

Purington works with gauche on paper. The pieces are intense not only in color but also due to the multiplicity of meanings worked into each moderately-sized painting.

“The Blues” is on exhibit at the Hentschel Art Gallery (835 42nd Street in the Shops at Roosevelt) through May 27, 2008. The next exhibit opens May 30th with a reception from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. That exhibit is “New Places” by Larry Roots.

M.R. Field writes reviews for AroundDesMonies.com. 

Libertarians Nominate Barr/Root

It took 6 rounds of voting for the 643 delegates at the Libertarian Party’s national convention to select their nominee officially. The outcome was fairly certain after the first round, though, when the conservatives Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root combined took almost 43% of the votes. In the final round of voting, Barr beat out the liberal Mary Ruwart by a vote of 334 to 276.

According to a press release posted on the Libertarian Party’s website, Wayne Allyn Root and Steve Kubby, another candidate originally seeking the presidential nomination, moved to a second round of voting to decide who would be the vice presidential candidate. Gail Lightfoot, Jim Burns, and Daniel Williams were eliminated in the first round. The party’s official totals omit None of the Above votes even though all ballots include that option and a few delegates chose it.

The line of state delegation chairs as they gathered to read the first-round ballot results made very clear that the Libertarian Party lacks diversity in terms of ethnicity or skin color. That was confirmed by the lack of any faces that were not white as the C-SPAN cameraman moved around the convention floor. There were women, but they were outnumbered by men. Of the 49 states that had delegates at the convention, only 5 of the people reading first-round results were women. (North Dakota did not have any delegates. Some states had a single delegate.)

Iowa’s delegation cast its first-round votes for George Phillies (3), Wayne Allyn Root (2), Mary Ruwart (1), and Mike Gravel (1). After reading the results, state party and delegation chairman Ed Wright recited Iowa’s motto: “Our liberties we prize and our rights we shall maintain.” In the final round, 2 of Iowa’s delegates supported Ruwart and 5 voted for Barr.

C-SPAN had non-stop coverage of the convention floor for close to 7 hours on May 25, 2008. A person giving a nominating speech for Christine Smith said she just missed out having enough tokens to participate in Saturday night’s televised debate. She used the support she had received from delegates to give enough strength to other candidates in order to expand the number of people participating in the debate. Candidate Michael Jingozian gave the nominating speech for Mike Gravel.

There was humor displayed by several delegation chairs during the first-round voting announcements. When the convention chair was corrected for skipping from New Hampshire to New York, the New Jersey chair said, “Once again, New Jersey is the butt of all jokes.” The Washington chair took pride in saying the airplanes on which delegates flew, the computers they used, and the coffee they drank to keep them awake at the convention were all from his state. Alaska “welcomes global warming with open arms,” according to its delegation chair and the lack of votes for the local candidate, Mike Gravel. The Minnesota chair said it is hard to tell the Democrats and the Republicans apart because they both “trip all over themselves trying to get stadiums built.”

Candidates worked the convention floor between voting rounds. The C-SPAN camera captured both Smith and Ruwart warning that, based on messages they have received, a ticket headed by Barr would result in many Libertarians leaving the party. Smith said Barr needed more distance from his Republican past and Ruwart cited Barr’s lack of support for the legalization of all drugs.

Correction: Barr voted for the Patriot Act but was not an author, as was reported in the article on the May 24th debate.

M.R. Field was editor of Leading Voices: Iowa, a newsletter focusing on politics, women, and change. 

The Libertarian President

Freedom was a frequent topic of discussion during a debate between seven candidates vying to be the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president. Liberty was also mentioned. In essence, liberty is freedom from government control of a citizen’s money and body. One person’s freedom ends where it meets another person’s property, with property being defined as body as well as land, or even as the air we share.

This was the final debate before delegates to the Libertarian Party’s national convention choose their nominee. That decision will be made today, May 25, 2008.

I watched the debate live last night as it aired on C-SPAN. Although labeled a debate, it was a forum. Candidates were asked a question and they all had the opportunity to answer with no opportunity for rebuttal. The result was much more the impression of a team sport. That image was first created when the moderator introduced the candidates. As each candidate entered the stage, he or she went down the line of previously introduced candidates clapping backs and shaking hands. Once the forum started, the candidates were more likely to hand the ball, or issue, to the next candidate, or team member, for his or her own chance at a better shot.

Bob Barr took some slings from other candidates for his days as a Republican congressman from Georgia, when he was among the authors of the Patriot Act and of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). He promoted his loyalty to the Libertarian ideology by mentioning his service as a member of the Libertarian National Committee and his chance to meet Charlton Heston as a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Mike Gravel, a Demoratic two-term U.S. Senator from Alaska, faced a tough crowd as he tried to convince the convention delegates that a Libertarian could also be a liberal. In his opening statement, Gravel said that the United States is at an “important juncture” and to “follow the money if you want to find out what will happen next year,” if a Republican or a Democrat is elected president.

George Phillies, a professor of physics at a technical institute in Massachusetts, describes himself as a centrist Libertarian. His theme for the forum was that he already has a network in place for his campaign, no doubt because he also heads the Massachusetts state party. He has formed political action committees, sent out news releases, and reached out to Ron Paul supporters in an effort to help local and statewide candidates get elected..

Michael Jingozian is a business owner. His closing statement sounded more like a commercial for his business than a pitch for his candidacy. Answering a question about oil and gas drilling in the U.S., Jingozian said the arctic has more uses than just energy. He also pointed out that petroleum is used in many raw materials and products besides gasoline, so the discussion is about much more than energy.

Mary Ruwart is a physician who has run for the party’s nomination before. She stressed that she has had 25 years of Libertarian campaign experience. She played the gender card during the forum, arguing that many women in the country want to vote for a woman. She believes in traditional political issues such as a clean environment, reduction in crime, and affordable healthcare. However, she believes that only freedom, not government, can help us reach those goals.

Steve Kubby has adrenal cancer and that led him to battle for legalization of medical marijuana. When answering a question about philosophers who inspired the candidates, Kubby said he was inspired by David Nolan, founder of the Libertarian Party, who taught him that liberty works and from that everything else follows. When asked who he would appoint to the Supreme Court, Kubby said the justices “have too much power, and they’re idiots.”

Wayne Allyn Root has been a sports commentator and is a small business owner. His niche issue is education and he describes himself as a person who home schools his children. When he said he favored drilling for fuel in protected Alaskan lands, off the shore of California, and in other environmentally sensitive locations, the delegates let out a mix of boos and yeas.

More information on the background of the candidates can be found in an April 29, 2008, Reason Magazine article.

M.R. Field writes about events for AroundDesMoines.com. Kevin Litten is a delegate from Iowa at the convention. 

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