Opinion

   Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” focused on manners and goodness, two virtues sometimes forgotten today.

   Shortly before the novel was published, our Founding Fathers settled on the free exchange of ideas as one of the fundamental concepts they wanted to guarantee in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

   But in 2025, there is an uncomfortable tug-of-war occurring over pride and prejudice, expression and oppression.

To the Editor:

   There’s a reason he was called “Maverick.”

   July 27, 2017, at 1:30 am showed this again when audible gasps were heard throughout the US Senate chamber…Senator John McCain had just voted “no” on the bill to repeal Obamacare.

   With a 52-48 Republican majority for votes, it could’ve been close…maybe even a tie…Vice President Mike Pence waited in the wings if the vote reached 51-51. It didn’t.

To the Editor:

   Iowa residents need to pay attention to what your US senators and representatives are doing.

   The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by the House and in debate in the Senate, contains several provisions that would impact Medicare, including cuts to some programs. The Trump-backed bill is expected to add between $2 trillion to $3 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. It is also expected to increase the number of uninsured people nationwide by at least 7.6 million by 2034.

   Last week, the Pentagon accepted the emir of Qatar’s gift of a Boeing 747, a $400 million bauble donated for our president to enjoy by a monarch whose family has ruled the tiny Mideast nation for more than a century.

   Our commander in chief said the United States would be stupid to reject the donation – a present he hopes to use as a temporary replacement for Air Force One. The key word there: a temporary replacement.