Public media are carrying out an important mission
Those who are pushing to end funding for public media (NPR and PBS) misunderstand and promote misinformation about the role of journalism in our democracy and our society. Journalism, whether it is privately or publicly funded, provides a variety of public goods. It empowers people to build their best lives and best communities by providing fact-based information. Excellent, ethical journalism:
Tells people what is going on in their community.
Encourages community, connectivity, engagement and empathy through effective storytelling.
Encourages and satisfies curiosity, including intellectual and creative curiosity.
Helps hold powerful individuals and organizations accountable to their fellow citizens.
Helps people make thoughtful, well-informed decisions about their lives and communities.
Provides context and helps people make sense of their world.
Operates within a recognized set of ethical and legal guidelines that recognizes its power and responsibility to act for the public good.
As a longtime journalist, journalism educator and public media consumer, I believe that American public media, through their news and cultural programming, fulfill this mission in a fair and professional manner. I appreciate public media’s efforts to satisfy their traditional base while reaching out to a more diverse audience that better reflects our current and future America. Iowans who also listen to, watch, read and enjoy public media should make their voices heard.
Kathleen Richardson, Des Moines
Another View: I enjoy Iowa Public Radio, but NPR’s liberal bias complicates things | Opinion
America acts abominably with illegal deportation
Despite having a 2019 court order requiring that Kilmar Abrego Garcia not be deported to El Salvador due to a likelihood of persecution, he was detained along with other men and sent to a prison in El Salvador. In this prison, which can hold 41,000 men, up to 70 prisoners are placed into a single cell with two toilets per cell. They receive no visits, and civil rights groups have cited cases of abuse, torture, lack of medical care, and deaths.
No attempt was made to prove these men were gang members or that they had violated any law even though the Fifth Amendment guarantees that no person can be deprived of “life, liberty or property, without due process of law.”
Even though the Trump administration has admitted it was a mistake that Garcia was sent to El Salvador, it has refused to seek his return, arguing that once he was outside the United States, it had no power to obtain his return. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in this case, “The Government’s argument, moreover, implies that it could deport and incarcerate any person, including U.S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene.”
Arbitrary arrests and deportations to a torture gulag are the actions of a lawless authoritarian regime. America needs to be better than that.
Thomas Hill, Cedar Falls
Trump thumbs his nose at justice and the courts
Innocent until proven guilty; the bedrock of the American justice system. How is it that any American, let alone the president of the United States, can think it is OK to send him to a notorious prison in El Salvador without due process of law? Is this America? Even after admitting that sending him to El Salvador was an administrative error, our government is making no effort to bring him back. Instead, they are making excuses.
“He is a criminal,” they say, but he has no criminal record in the United States or El Salvador. “He is a gang member,” but there is no proof of that. The Supreme Court has ordered that the Trump administration facilitate the proper handling of his case, but it has done nothing.
Do we no longer believe in checks and balances in government? The Supreme Court has ruled 9-0 against the Trump administration. If the president can’t abide by the Supreme Court, he should be impeached. We do not want to be ruled by a dictator who ignores the Supreme Court and the constitutional rights of the American people.
He is already talking about sending American citizens to El Salvador; will you or I be next?
Sandra Olson, Altoona
Correcting the DOGE acronym
Destroying Our Government Entirely — that’s what DOGE really means. Smash, grab, take what you want and break the rest. Maybe they should take a look at trade and tariffs, next. Or flights to golf courses. Or hotel rates charged to Secret Service. Maybe they could tell us what happened to Sen. Joni Ernst, who disappeared shortly after joining DOGE.
Lance Rygh, Thompson
Paul Pate insults Iowans’ intelligence
During a recent appearance on “Iowa Press,” Secretary of State Paul Pate dismissed Ranked Choice Voting, or RCV, as “too confusing” and “not cost effective.” Apparently, the state’s top elections official thinks Iowans can’t understand a simple ranking system. That’s insulting.
Every year at the State Fair, Better Ballot Iowa runs a Ranked Choice straw poll and Iowans of all stripes find it simple and effective — even children. Contrary to Pate’s exaggerated claims, RCV is routine in 51 jurisdictions and two states. Voters like it and it’s cost effective — a recent study showed it saved Utah cities hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to FairVote, an election advocacy organization.
RCV isn’t even currently allowed in Iowa, yet House File 954 — introduced by his office — wastes time banning it symbolically. Why introduce legislation against something that doesn’t exist here? Because it’s part of a national trend: political insiders protecting their turf by limiting voter choice — politics over public good.
If Pate truly supports local control and home rule — as he claims — he should empower cities, not micromanage them. He should be working to make elections more efficient and representative, not shutting down smart solutions.
Iowans are smart. We deserve more respect — and more choices — at the ballot box. It’s disappointing that Pate thinks otherwise.
Matthew Wetstein, Ames
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: America acts abominably with illegal deportation | Letters