Commentary: Winter’s Good and Bad

Area hospitals reported numerous broken bones and other damage caused when people slipped on ice. I heard tale of a friend who fractured a shoulder going outside to feed her dogs. Another person I know told of a friend who had a double break on a leg bone. That person had to wait several hours for surgery because the doctor was busy with other broken bones.

Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee spoke at Des Moines University on December 13th as part of the medical school’s “A Healthy Discussion” series. Huckabee offered up the usual solutions to health care costs. He asked as an example, why do we pay $30,000 to amputate a foot yet don’t pay $150 for a podiatrist visit to eliminate the need for amputation? He asked an odd question, though, and I’m not sure if it was meant to stand alone or to be in context of something unspecified. The question was, “If we don’t have enough people healthy enough to fight our wars, why have one?”

Huckabee said changing how we handle health insurance in this country will require a sea change. He then talked about three such changes he has seen in his lifetime. These were about litter, seat belt use, and drunk driving. He cited the beautification efforts of the late first lady Lady Bird Johnson and noted how public trash receptacles were one of the results.

I found the litter comment of interest because I have noticed how few trash cans there are in the Ingersoll business district or anywhere outside of the main downtown areas. In addition, when former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani entered the presidential contest, I thought of Mrs. Johnson. While he was mayor, Giuliani had so many signs put up in Union Square warning about feeding the pigeons and other behavior that it seemed the signs were more numerous than trees.

With Republicans irritated by the questions asked during the Des Moines Register’s presidential debate, the question is raised of how relevant the local daily newspaper is. Certainly the paper still holds power and receives attention. I heard recently that 53% of people get their news about the Des Moines Public Schools from the Register. However, that means 47% of residents are not getting their news from the daily paper.

The Polk County Democrats have their caucus location list finalized and online. As with the 2006 mid-term caucus, 2008 caucus locations can be quite a distance from the precincts themselves. I could not find information about the Republicans’ caucus locations but the state party does have an informational page on the history of the caucuses, including a link to the Iowa Secretary of State’s web site to find your precinct.

On a non-political note, I have been wondering what it would be like to observe a dance without sound. If the dancers wore head sets so they could hear the music but not the audience, what would the experience be like?

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.