Irrational rage and political fearmongering have drowned out the voices of truth and reason in America’s health-care debate. What was once a civilized discussion now resembles downtown Iowa City after...

In order to diagnose what ails President Obama’s push for health-care reform, we need less heated rhetoric and more Cool Hand Luke. In a memorable line from the 1967 film, a prison warden surmises:...

While Iowa City leaders have been attempting to make Iowa City more biker friendly — and rightly so — one Iowa group is looking to do exactly the opposite. Citing safety concerns, the Citizens for...

I stand in the aisle of the local store slightly overwhelmed with the plethora of choices available to me. I count 15 separate shampoo brands and just as many hair conditioners, not to mention the hair...

The owners of Los Cocos bar announced last week they would close its doors. The decision to shutter the bar followed the latest in a series of shooting incidents outside the establishment. The bar, formerly...

The debate taking place over health-care reform has riled up both the left and the right. Screaming matches at town halls, hanging effigies outside of congressional offices, and accusations of euthanasia...

The health reform proposal by President Obama has spurred a national debate over the issue. As we know, America is famous for its skyrocketing health-care costs and leaving tens of millions of Americans...

Enough is enough, Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey said this week about our city’s underage drinking problem. Bailey and other city councilors voted to deny liquor licenses to two downtown bars on Tuesday. The...

To talk honestly about race is such a difficult thing to do. Even in the age of Barack Obama, the first black president, we find ourselves tiptoeing gingerly around the explosive and sensitive issue of...

Coffee used to be about consumption. It wasn’t supposed to taste very good and was often freeze-dried. I remember my introduction to the beverage that would become my livelihood: My parents laughed as...

Baseball rivalries, family vacations, midday tanning. Late July is surely upon us. But in Iowa City, furniture lining the avenues is the biggest giveaway that school is less than a month away. This week...

I have a terrible phobia of spiders, crippling, a sort of instinctual dread deep enough to outplumb rationalization. In the winter, they go back to the attics and basements, or underground, or back to...