Tag Archives: Doug Burns

Joni Ernst vs the Tooth Fairy

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Joni Ernst’s “apology” for her heartless “we all are going to die” comment was one of the biggest political mistakes I’ve ever seen.

Last week, I was cautiously optimistic that Ernst’s likely Democratic opponent, J.D. Scholten (check out J.D.’s inspiring announcement video), had an outside shot at defeating her. But after Ernst’s blundering one-minute-and-eight-second snark, I’d call this race a toss-up.

Even if one tried, it’d be hard to pack so much political stupidity into one minute. The painfully close-up video. Strolling through a cemetery. Pretending to apologize. A self-serving religious plug.

But my favorite “duh” moment was when Ernst said, “I’m really, really glad I did not have to bring up the subject of the Tooth Fairy.”

Huh? Alright, I’ll give you my interpretation of that. Deep down, Ernst knows her political career is over. That’s why she’s walking through a cemetery, headstones symbolizing the many Iowans her votes have hurt. Continue Reading →

Stopping the slide into dictatorship

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Let’s cut right to the chase. Some of my Republican and Independent friends (yes, I have a bunch of them) don’t want to hear this: Donald Trump is leading America into dictatorship!

If that wasn’t obvious before, it’s becoming more and more obvious with each passing day. With every new executive order and presidential tweet, we can see where things are headed.

As we (individually and collectively) decide how to respond, it’s helpful to understand how we got here.

First, I blame the endless growth economy. Dictatorship is the logical outcome of an economic system that denigrates people as mere “consumers.”

Dictatorship is where you land when “the economy” becomes, essentially, the state religion, when people, land, plants, and animals are trampled because they’re in the way of resources coveted by industry.

You know you’re on the precipice of dictatorship when leading political figures are millionaires and even billionaires — some of them unelected. Continue Reading →