Author Archives: Marty Ryan

Draft Day 1970, Part II

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Marty Ryan

Continued from Draft Day 1970, Part I On May 4, 1970, just four days after my decision to decline enlistment into the Navy, I walked downtown to get the mail for my mom. I was about halfway home when I … Continue reading →

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Draft Day 1970

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Marty Ryan

Part I Throughout the history of the United States, there has been a military draft. Conscription, as it’s called, was used first in the Revolutionary War. However, it was the states that drafted able-bodied men in the militia, since the … Continue reading →

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Fool me once

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Marty Ryan

As a lobbyist, having lunch with a legislator is a great opportunity to discuss the issues that matter most to you, and if it’s just the two of you, the legislator’s ear is all yours. And if the legislator is … Continue reading →

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Those dog-gone blues

Posted on April 7, 2023 by Marty Ryan

A good friend of mine, and also a homegrown native of Vail, Iowa, Tom Hawley, was the publisher/editor of The Record-Herald and Indianola Tribune when I lived in Martensdale with my sixteen-year-old daughter in 1994. Tom approached me to contribute … Continue reading →

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Life’s a drag

Posted on March 26, 2023 by Marty Ryan

A popular critique of current times involves the controversy of drag shows. There are actually proposed laws, rules, and regulations to prevent children from seeing a man or woman in drag. We’ve all seen the memes of Flip Wilson, Bob … Continue reading →

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Nailed It

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Marty Ryan

Al Johanson stormed into Leonard Bartson’s law office and shouted, “I need to sue my neighbor!” “Calm down, Al, calm down,” Bartson gently replied with his hands held up. It was a warm spring day in 1885. The doors and … Continue reading →

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