Category Archives: Jeff Stein

State of the Union   The President will deliver his State of the Union message to a joint session of Congress tonight. How far we have come from those first messages.   In one respect, this ...

The Name on the Front of the Jersey   I did not pay attention to the Winter Olympics. The foot of snow I had to clear at my house Friday was enough of a winter sport for me.   I did know tha...

First Funnel   Today is the first of two "funnel deadlines" in the Iowa General Assembly. The legislature establishes a calendar every year with self-imposed deadlines that supposed to streamline...

They Didn't Learn 'Rithmetic   You know the old saying about what we learned in school-readin', writin', and 'rithmetic.   Looks like those running the public schools these days missed out o...

Not Tots Too   The quirky film "Napoleon Dynamite" contains a few scenes with memorable lines tied to that unique food item, tater tots. In one scene, when a classmate tries to take his tots, Nap...

No Holiday Here   Yesterday was a national holiday, technically still called Washington's Birthday but most now say President's Day.   A staff member for a congressman sent me an email over ...

Happy Whatever Day It Is When I was growing up, in school we celebrated Abraham Lincoln's Birthday on February 12th and George Washington's Birthday on February 22nd. The latter was a federal holiday,...

Friday the 13th   Some view today as unlucky...it's Friday the 13th. It's especially a problem if you suffer from triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number 13.   Friday the 13th is relatively co...

Lincoln Land It was on this date in 1809 that the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was born near Hodgenville, Kentucky. We think of Illinois when we think of Lincoln...after ...

Money Flowing This is a midterm election year across the country, and as you might expect, money is flowing in for political advertising, according to the firm AdImpact, which tracks such things. Poli...