Brian Gongol
Union at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics blocks H1N1 flu-vaccine mandate
The H1N1 flu is not a normal seasonal flu -- it's far more dangerous to certain patients, especially the young, who have never established immunity to certain novel flu strains. If hospital staff contract the flu and pass it along to patients who might be in for other reasons altogether, some of them could be put in very serious danger. The union is asserting its power here in a way that puts patients at risk.
Iowa's slowest crop harvest in 50 years
We've had too much rain, and that means 88% of the state's corn is still in the fields. In a normal year, most of the corn would have been harvested by now.
The Internet could literally look a bit different in about 18 months
Instead of relying upon the fonts you already have loaded on your browser, websites may be able to embed their own fonts -- just like what happens with an Adobe PDF document. That could make a lot of sites look quite different from how they appear today.
Britain takes a big step backwards towards state control
The government is going to create three new banks to set up a new sort of competition within the industry. Curiously, it's also setting up the arrangement so that foreigners are likely to buy out a bank or two in the process. Ostensibly, the decision is intended to help the British taxpayers recoup their losses from bank bailouts, but one of the banks is going to be completely government-owned. The British and American governments alike have dealt with some of the recent economic problems in ways that have largely served to disrupt the entire market for risk.
The President needs to learn more about trade
Not only has he held on to a "jobs first" economic focus that will hurt the country in the long run ("job creation" is transitory, but we're destroying wealth at a record pace in the process), but now he's calling the debate between trade protectionism and free trade a "false choice." That's hardly the case. Protectionism always ends up hurting all sides over the long term, by keeping efficient producers from being able to concentrate on what they're good at, and by raising prices for consumers in a way that only subsidizes the inefficient producers.
Small-town city council election draws huge number of candidates
(Video) The town of Palo was hit hard by the 2008 floods in eastern Iowa, and now there are 15 people running for three spots on the city council. Elected officials often don't get a lot of credit for showing a lot of foresight when preparing for things like natural disasters -- but the Palo example seems to suggest they will be punished if a disaster occurs and they weren't ready.
Debt crushes another newspaper
This one's the East Valley Tribune in metro Phoenix
Congress is set to give the EPA a much bigger budget than last year's
Podcast: Government big enough to change the weather is big enough to mess up your day
Podcast: Giving your phone a RAM dump
