Editorials

Ask 1,000 people in Jasper County to tell you about Howard Snyder and chances are less than 5 percent will even recognize the name. My fascination with this inventive genius dates back to reading about him years ago in the 1936 Fred L. Maytag biography. The book was in my wife’s family home when we started dating in 1952. It belonged to her brother, Roland Rosenberger, and now to his daughter, Mary Kay.

“Let it go, let it roll right off your shoulder/Don’t you know the hardest part is over/Time falls away, but these small hours, these small hours, still remain … “ The song “Little Wonders” by Rob Thomas inspires me like none other to let things go. I do this when I stop worrying, when I discontinue fighting for control — as much control as I can get my hands on. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but truth generally is — at least for the one who has believed the lie that worry is merely taking responsibility and showing concern for my life.

Groundhog Day was earlier this month. My youngest daughter (hard to believe my youngest is a teenager) and I celebrated the day by watching the movie “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray. If you haven’t seen it, the main character, Phil Connors, is a self-absorbed weatherman from Pittsburgh who visits Punxsutawney to report on the weather prediction by the world’s most famous groundhog. Unfortunately for Phil, he begins a cycle of reliving Feb. 2, Groundhog Day, over and over again. At first, he relishes the idea of having the ability to self-indulge without consequence, because he knows it all disappears and starts over again the next day. However, through time he realizes the futility of it all, and becomes depressed, attempting to end th

Sixty-seven years ago this week, American forces engaged in one of the most iconic and important battles of World War II when they fought to secure the island of Iwo Jima.

Springtime is just around the corner. Soon, tourists will flock to Washington, D.C., to view the cherry blossoms in full display on the Potomac. Perhaps it would be wise to recommend that they also schedule a tour of the Library of Congress.

Q: When I was in grammar school (many years ago), we often sang from a songbook. One song I remember was “Reuben and Rachel.” The first verse was sung by girls and went: “Reuben, I have long been thinking, what a good world this might be/ If the men were all transported far beyond the Northern Sea.”

Last week, two very important tax cuts were passed in the Senate that will help families and create jobs. The Iowa Earned Income Tax Credit was passed on a bipartisan vote. This working family tax cut will put more money in the pockets of families that are home to 37 percent of Iowa’s children.

Clue No. 1 that you’re getting up there in years is for Valentine’s Day you get your “Valentine” a four-barrel toaster.

A month after Congress backed away from legislation that would have given government unprecedented power over the Internet, the Senate is preparing to fast-track another bill that would regulate cyberspace.

DEAR ABBY: I respectfully disagree with the advice you gave to “Wants to Enlist” (Dec. 29). She is the 19-year-old woman who burns out of jobs quickly and is thinking about enlisting in the Air Force. You discouraged her.

Thanks to a story in The New York Times, we learn that median tuition at the 61 elite private schools in New York City has hit $36,970 a year for 12th-graders. A new school in the Chelsea neighborhood plans to charge $39,750 for a year of nursery school.

Dear Sara: Should I stock up on onions? A local store is having a one-day, 70-percent-off sale on two-pound bags of onions, with no purchase limits. I was thinking 10 pounds because chances are I’ll never see this price again. — A.S., Connecticut

The Capitol is quiet tonight as I sit down to write this week’s legislative commentary. Last night was a dramatic contrast as the voices of 650 Iowans, Chinese visitors and language interpreters echoed throughout the rotunda. It was a privilege to attend the official state dinner in honor of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.

It’s easy to criticize government benefits when somebody else is receiving them. Consider the national war on “welfare” waged by Republicans.

DEAR ABBY: My father died suddenly a year ago. My sister went to his house and discovered something that deeply disturbed her. Dad was secretly gay. There were lots of materials in his home that I’m sure he never intended for us to find. Personally, I find his interests fascinating, but my sister was unhinged by it. After all, she was the one who made the discovery.

The Obama administration appears so confident of its expansion of the George W. Bush-Dick Cheney surveillance of our personal lives — starting with the Patriot Act — that at times it is beginning to resemble the legendary FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who left many Americans fearful of saying or doing anything that could reveal an affiliation with communism.

Mitt Romney gets a lot of things right in his critique of the automotive industry bailout, but he makes one critical mistake in arguing that a managed bankruptcy without government intervention would have been just as effective.

DEAR ABBY: “Mild-Mannered Motorist in Virginia” (Dec. 26) asked you for a hand signal to indicate “I’m sorry” to fellow drivers when he makes mistakes behind the wheel. Not long ago, I made a not-so-serious mistake that angered another driver. When I flashed a peace sign, then moved my mouth in an “I’m sorry,” the person’s frown changed to a smile. We then drove on with pleasant attitudes, and I tried to watch my driving more closely.