Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Ohio Democratic Presidential Debate Live Blog Tonight
Iowa Political Alert and Iowa Independent's Douglas Burns will be live-blogging the Democratic presidential debate in Ohio tonight starting at 8 p.m. CST on MSNBC.
8:06 - Hillary denies that her campaign is behind that Druge photo of Obama in Somalia clothing.
8:07: Obama in classy move says he takes Hillary at her word,
8:11: Clinton accuses Obama of being in bed with health insurance companies because she thinks her plan is better. "I think it is imperative that we stand as Democrats fo universal health care."
8:12: Good comeback from Obama who makes the point that in Mass. people are being fined because they don't buy mandated health-care.
8:13: Any Democrat who doesn't know the differenes between these health-cate plans shoouldn;t be allowed to vote. Now Hillary makes the FDR Social Security reference, saying Obama's failure to mandate is like a weak FDR New Deal idea.
8:15: Obama says he doesn't want adults to be in situation where subsidies are inadequate and people get fined.
8:19 Another cheap line from Clinton asking if Obama needs another pillow to be comfortable, referencing a SNL skit. Obama wisely goes off on NAFTA.
8:24 Tim Russert asks Clinton if she will get out of NAFTA. She says he will renegotiate. Russert notes that she said NAFTA was a big winner for her husband in the 1990s.
8:26 Clinton is not handling NAFTA very well.
8:27 Like Clinton says he will renegotiate. Use "hammer" of opt out as leverage with Canada and Mexico. Chicago Tribune endorsed Obama in spite of his oppo to Nafta, Obama says. "We can't draw a moat around us," he said. "What I want to be is advocateon behalf of workers." seven years in which Bush looking out for well-heeled. "We're going to have to invest in infrascture to make sure US is competitive.
Rural reference with alternative fuels. Has plans on that.
8:31 Russert pledge to keep 5 million jobs. Net loss of jobs in Buffalo after her 2000 senate campaign qwhen she promised 200,000 in that area. "What happened in 2000" was that she thought Al Gore was going to be in White House. Install solar panels is one way for jobs, she says. Germany made a big bet on solar power. "These are jobs that cannot be outsourced."
8:34 Brian Williams ask about Clinton's attacks on Obama foreign policy experience.
Obama says he made right choice on Iraq.
8:37 Williams asks if Obama is ready to be president. Clinton says Obama didn't have responsibility when he spoke against war in 2002. Says she and Obama have voted the same. When not speech but action she and Obama are same on Iraq. Accuses Obama of threatening to bomb Pakistan last summer in debate. Says he shouldn't agree to meet with some or worst dictators with nothing hammered out in advance.
8:39 Obama made his anti-war speech in midst of Senate campaign. "One we had driven the bus into the ditch there are only so many ways to get out." Never said he would bomb Pakistan but would target bin Laden is evidence he is in Pakistan. Obama confident and presidential here.
8:45 Clinton really good on Russerts hypothetical question about iraq, standing strong and saying his questions are full of assumptions. She gets in a fair, strong hit on Obama with foreign relations committee experience, saying he hasn't subcommittee oversight hearings with Europe.
8:47: Good straight talk from Obama noting that he has not held those hearings because he took over subcommittee as prez campaign started. reserves right to act in Iraq and elsewhere if terrorist organizations planning there.
8:53 Obama gets good line off about Clinton having good delivery on some her slams against his hope talking. He effortlessly brushes off these attacks from her. Obama says his ethics reform legislation is significant.
8:57 Clinton says larger point is she can slug it out for health-care. "I know it takes a fighter," she says.
Invest money in American middle class.
Clinton's body language is better in this debate than the last. Confident. Not shrill yet. Hitting her points.
8:59 Obama notes that Clinton counts First Lady experience and has to take responsibility and credit for what happened in Clinton Administration in 1990s. Can't say she was working against NAFTA privately behind the scences. Obama says Clinton had good intention with health-care but went with fighter instinct instead of being a negotiator and concilliator. "I am absolutely clear that hope is not enough." "We're going to have to mobilize and inspire the American people to pay attention to what their government is doing." He's right that this substantive thing, not romantic whimsy.
9:05 Russert asks about President Clinton's tax returns, that they should be released as a result of 5 million loan to her campaign. Hillary Clinton says her campaing has hundreds of thousands people. Gets in hillaryclinton.com. Says she will release the tax returns upon becoming nominee or even earlier. "I'm a little busy right now." National archives released 10,000 pages of schedule as her first lady. Why not release the report of this, says Russert. Hillary ready for that, she says.
9:09 Obama brilliant answer on Farrakhan support. Says he can't tell somebody not to believe that he is a good guy. Russet hammer on this. Obama says strong support from Jewish community. The notion that he's a bigot or connected to some is not sicking. Civil rights movement involves Jewish people and blacks. Great switching this history in response to some hard questions. Really on his feet on this answer. Home run for Obama.
9:12 Clinton says she would reject support of people like Rev. Farrakhan. Good counterpoint. "There's a difference between denouncing and rejecting."
Obama just won the debate by saying he didn't think there was a difference between rejecting and denouncing but since Clinton does he would concede the point and reject Farrakhan support. I laughed and audience at Cleveland State responded in kind. He's cutting through the usual politics and linguistics haze of Clintonism with this answer. Highlight of his debating performances in the presidential campaign season.
9:23 Russert asks about Russian election. Who is Putin's successor? Clinton gives great answer and Russet goes all trivial pursuit. Had Obama got this question first and not known it would have been a big hit ... Russert should have gone at Obama first on this ... fact that Hillary fumbles pronounciation no big deal.
9:26 Clinton says she would have taken back vote on Iraq in 2002.
9:30 Obama has good moment with positive comments about Hillary.
9:32 Clinton "I still intend to do everything I can to win. It has been an honor." Who can actually change, Clinton asks. Says she can do it with experience. Very measured comments.
Iowa Newspaperman, Costa Rican Immigrant Give Hispanics La Voz
HUMBOLDT - Humboldt newspaper publisher Jim Gargano sees parallels between Iowa's burgeoning Hispanic community and his own Italian family.
Coming of age in the 1950s and 1960s in Fort Dodge, Gargano listened to his grandmother, Rosalia Maggio, speak Italian in his hard-working home.
"I learned both languages when I was growing up," Gargano said. "Fort Dodge had a lot of Italians back then."
He recalls hearing anti-immigrant smears about Italians from time to time.
Today, as a community leader in north-central Iowa, an area that is increasingly Latino-rich, Gargano on occasion will hear echoes of that bigotry in comments from some white native Iowans about Hispanics.
His answer is simple:"You can like or dislike the Hispanics but they are going to be here."
With shared immigrant experience as motivation, Gargano Communications launched the Spanish-language newspaper La Voz "The Voice" in late 2007.
"I had kind of a reason to do this," Gargano told Iowa Independent in his offices in downtown Humboldt.
The rest of this story can be found at Iowa Independent.com.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Nebraska Lawmakers Pass Statewide Smoking Ban
The Husker bill has major implications for western Iowa, particularly Council Bluffs and Sioux City, places with casinos that would pull bargoers and gamblers and even others just looking for an indoor place that still allows smoking.
Here is the Omaha World-Herald:
Voting 34-14, lawmakers passed Legislative Bill 395, which prohibits smoking in all public buildings and workplaces statewide, including bars and restaurants.
It makes exceptions only for tobacco shops, some hotel rooms and laboratories used for research on smoking. Private homes used for businesses would not be covered unless they were used as licensed child care facilities.
The bill would go into effect June 1, 2009.
Republican Gov. Dave Heineman has not announced whether he will sign the bill but the 34 votes are enough to override a veto so the measure, unless a few lawmakers are peeled away, will go into effect as passed.
This story also cross-posted at Iowa Independent.com.
Conservative Group Gives Iowa 'Stagnant' Economic Ranking
Contributing to the state’s lackluster ranking were very high business and property taxes, an estate tax, and a bloated government bureaucracy. On the pro-economic growth side, Iowa has a relatively low sales taxes, low workers’ compensation costs, a solid tort liability system, and remains a right-to-work state.
“We clearly need to improve many of our economic polices in Iowa in order to attract businesses, and jobs. That is what is going to keep our youth in the state,” said State Rep. Sandy Greiner, R-Keota, ALEC’s Iowa State Chairman.
This story also cross-posted at Iowa Independent.
Obama Dominated Television Advertising In Wisconsin
and outspent all candidates by over Two-to-One
Half of Clinton’s ads had negative content,
with first significant ad tussle taking place in Badger state
MADISON, WI – Barack Obama spent more than twice as much money on TV advertising in Wisconsin than all other candidates combined and nearly five times as much as Hillary Clinton. Not only did the Obama campaign enjoy a massive advantage in spots aired, but the Obama campaign was up on the air a full week earlier than Clinton. Obama aired his first ad on February 6, one day after Super Tuesday, while the first Clinton ad did not appear until February 12.
In the short Wisconsin primary campaign the four Democrat and Republican candidates for president aired over 8,000 spots in the Badger state spending approximately $2.1 million. Almost three out of four dollars spent on all presidential primary television advertising in Wisconsin was spent was by the Obama campaign with the Illinois Senator spending more than $1.5 million dollars to air almost 6,000 spots. Clinton spent a little over $300,000. Spending by Republicans John McCain and Mike Huckabee was significantly less with McCain spending $180,0000 and Huckabee spending $150,000.
All of the ads aired by Republican candidates McCain and Huckabee were positive, outlining their own positions and priorities. Half of Clinton ads had significant negative content while one quarter of Obama ads attacked or counterattacked Clinton.
These are among the findings of a new report from the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project that analyzed data obtained from the TNS Media Intelligence Campaign Media Analysis Group (TNSMI/CMAG). The report analyses political television advertising in five Wisconsin media markets (Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Wassau, LaCrosse) from February 6 to February 19.
“Advertising can tell us much about the state of a campaign,” says Ken Goldstein, a political science professor and the director of the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project. “The fact that Clinton was outspent so significantly speaks to the financial situation she faces. Furthermore,” he adds, “her late entry and the inconsistency in the messages conveyed through advertising and in her speeches speaks to some confusion among Clinton strategists. Clinton needed to define Obama and for first time we saw significant negative advertising. Half of Clinton’s ads were contrast and they were largely attacks on Obama. That said, most observers believe that for Clinton to have a chance, she needs to disqualify Obama on the experience issue. Going after Obama for not debating or not being liberal enough on health care reform simply did not resonate with Wisconsin voters.”
The study also found:
• In what most political strategists consider a "change" election, Clinton ads never mentioned the word “change.” Obama ads mentioned change 1824 times.
• Hillary Clinton never mentioned experience in her ads, either.
• Except for the BCRA disclaimer taking responsibility for her ad, Clinton did not speak in any of her ads -- all were by voiced over by a narrarator. Meanwhile, virtually, all Obama ads featured the Illinois Senator speaking on his own behalf.
• There was no third party or interest group television advertising during the Wisconsin presidential primary.
• Both Democrats focused most of their advertising on health care. John McCain’s top issue was national defense and Mike Huckabee talked most often about abortion in his ads.
• Obama and McCain advertised disproportionately in Green Bay, while Obama was on the air a bit less often in La Crosse than elsewhere, as was Clinton in Wausau.
TOTAL BY MARKET Airings Money Spent
Green Bay 2005 370,000
La Crosse 1338 250,000
Madison 1580 425,000
Milwaukee 1799 850,000
Wausau 1534 220,000
Hubler In Iowa's Fifth: 'Real Representation'
DENISON -- Democratic congressional candidate Rob Hubler has $83,000 so far to back him his political war cry of "real represenation."
Recent Federal Election Filings show that Hubler, a retired Presbyterian minister who has essentially been campaigning full-time for more than a year, has total receipts of more than $83,000. Hubler faces Joyce Schulte of Creston, the Democratic nominee in 2004 and 2006, and Bob Chambers, a retired businessman from Essex.
Hubler has told Iowa Independent he thinks can raise the money to give King some true competition.
In recent campaign appearances Hubler has been calling for "real representation" -- a knock on U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who Hubler thinks is out of step with the interests of western Iowa.
"That has always been and will continue to be the sole reason for this campaign's existence: real representation", Hubler said. "When I am elected there will be real representation for small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers who struggle to survive amongst the mega-operations. There will be real representation for the betterment of our economy by repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. There will be real representation for the American worker by eliminating the tax credits given to corporations that close factories here in the Fifth District and ship those jobs overseas. And there will finally be real representation for the overriding majority of Iowans who demand our brave troops, our precious blood, be taken out of Iraq sooner rather than later."
Hubler made the remarks to members of Iowa�s Democratic Fifth District Central Committee in Denison this past Saturday almost a year to the day he told the group he was running for office.
"We started a year ago to prove this would be a winning campaign, not just one that puts a name on a ballot," Hubler added. "Twelve months later, many have come to believe in our ability. They include past and present state legislators, county supervisors, party chairs, and activists who have endorsed our campaign by way of public statement, financial contribution, or both."
This story is also cross-posted at Iowa Independent.com.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Texas Democratic Debate Live Blog
6:49: starting in 11 minutes. 3 breaks. Fred Thompson would love this.
7:04 Candidates doing the photo thing in Austin.
7:05 Hillary talks about registering voters in South Texas 30 years ago. Says she got to know Barbara Jordan and was good friends with late Gov. Ann Richards. Says civil rights should extend to sick people. All in all her demeanor seems calm. She looks well rested, too, which isn't to be overlooked.
This is it for her.
7:10 - "We've been friends before this campaign started." defining moment. Hits on the economy right away. Smart move. Talks about couple that got hit with predatory loan and have a mortgage doubled in two weeks.
Good ideas aren't the problem. It's lobbyists. "The simple premise of this campaign is that we can bring this country together."
Barbara Jordan quote.
America as good as promise.
7:14 -- Jorge Ramos asks about post Castro. Will they sit down with Raul Castro?
Hillary ready to reach out to new govt. in Cuba. "there has to be evidence that the changes are real." She needs evidence first.
7:18 Obama would meet without pre-conditions. Hit Kennedy quote about not fearing to negotiate.
7:20 Obama early meeting would undermine US. More preparation to take the measure of the men. Lorena, who has interviewed Fidel Castro, thinks Clinton's position is right.
7:21 Doug is agreeing with Obama that the president needs to be more directly involved in diplomacy. "That's the kind of step I would like to take as president."
7:24 close tax loopholes for rich. Trade not through lens of Wall Street but Main Street. Touches on the toys with lead paint.
Green economy.
U.S. sends a billion dollars to foreign countries every day.
Hillary looks warmer tonight, not so steely.
Obama's demeanor is exceptionally gracious.
7:27 Hillary "the wealthy and the well connected have had a president." tougher standards in place on trade. Steps immediately on foreclosure. Moratorium on home foreclosures. Appeals to hairdressers and single moms who she suggests are victims of this. Also would freeze interest rates. She is giving more specifics than Obama, rattling them off. $5 billion investment in clean green jobs.
Invest in roads and crumbling bridges and tunnels. A great line on ending Bush's "war on science," Clinton said.
7:30 Clinton would consider stopping raids, references baby being left and children being left. "That is not the America I know." Stark admission of failure.
Hillary is on a roll here. She's winning the debate so far.
INtrouduce path to citizenship in first 100 days. She said this to Lorena in Carroll, Iowa, during out interview this past summer at Sam's Sodas And Sandwiches.
7:33 Ugly hate crimes result from the rhetoric. Improve relations with Mexico so they are producing jobs on that side of the border. Bush dropped the ball on outreach with Mexico.
7:36 Border question. Clinton voted for fence. Obama also voted it, Clinton noted. She's been on the border for the last week or so she says. Smart way to protect borders. "I've been fighting with them (Bushies)about the northern border."
"I would listen to the people who live along the border," Clinton said.
Obama: "The Bush Administration is not very good at listening. That is not what they do well."
Obama: 12 million undocumented. American people want fairness and justice. Not devoting all law enforcement resources to sending people back. "Comprehensive" reform. Pass Dream Act. Most applause of any item said in the Hispanic debate so far.
7:43 Univision's Ramos tells us 120 million Hipanics in the year 2050 -- up from 30 million. Clinton said Americans should try to learn more languages but the English should be common unifying language. Against English as official language.
7:45 Obama: "every student should be learning a second language."
"This world is becoming more interdependent."
7:47 With the Hispanic community crucial Lorena thinks the two are tied in appeal to that demographic so far tonight.
7:51 John King asks Hillary about "talk versus action." "All hat and no cattle??"
Says she and Obama have a lot in common. Vigorous campaign but civil. She's not hitting him hard on this so far. Goes with solutions line but not a swing really at Obama.
Referenced the Texas state senator who couldn't list Obama's legislative accomplishments on MSNBC the other night.
7:53 Obama "I have acted a lot." Opening up govt. with ethics reform. Behind transparency in government. Obama says difference in the way change comes about. The implication is that the people who support Obama are "dillusional." he gets in line about having newspaper endorsements. Must bring the nation together and stop the endless bickering. The reason this campaign has done so well is because people understanding it is not just a matter of putting forward policy positions.
Obama is now winning the debate. This answer is a home run.
7:57 Obama asked about using some of same language as Mass. gov. Deval Patrick uses some of the same as a national co-chair with Obama. Not really any traction on this for Hillary ... Got the line from national co-chair. Obama jokes that some his speeches are pretty good. Not just inspiration but $4,000 college tax credits and getting out of Iraq. "Senator Clinton has a fine record. So do I."
8:00 "It's change you can xerox." Cheap line that draws boos. He's a passionate speaker. "It's not enough to say, let's come together.'" If a campaign is going to be about words they should be your own. She contends he's looking at leaving out 15 million people in health-care. Obama not ready, she is saying.
8:03 Not taking bait with Clinton's cheap line. Describes his health-care plan. Talks about repeated debate: she;s for mandates for health insurance. He wants to make it affordable so people will buy it. Not different in goals ... Admire fact that Clinton tried to bring about health-care reform. Not just the companies were batling her. She went "behind closed doors" to attempt reform.
8:11 Ramos is super cool. Hillary is going after Obama on health-care again. "JOhn Edwards made a great point." Like Social Security, health care can't be optional.
Obama asks great question about what happens if people don't buy it. Do they get fined? This is a great question.
8:14 Hillary won't let go of health-care. He notes mandate for kids. Hillary is now in her shrill mode. "I want a universal health-care plan."
Obama: No excuses for parents not providing health care. Adults are going to be able to see they can afford it and get under the plan.
8:16 They are debating experience again. Obama talks about using military wisely and that Clinton was wrong on the run to war with Iraq. "That has significant consequences." Diverted attention from Afghanistan, Obama said.
Obama: "I have shown the judgment to lead."
8:23 Hillary would ask for plan on withdrawing troops in 60s day from Joint Chiefs Of Staff. She met someone in texas whose husband is on a third tour in Iraq.
8:24 Violence reduced in Iraq after surge, Obama said. "This is a tactical vicgtory imposed upong a huge strategic blunder." Easier for candidate opposed to war in Iraq from the beginning going up against McCain in general election. Latin America is overlooked in foreign aid. Annual aid in Latin America is what US spends in two weeks in Iraq. Still have veterans in Texas who have to drive 250 miles to get to vet home.
8:28 Obama: great line about McCain not understanding the economy.
Disclosed all earmarks he got for Illinois. Sponsored legislation to create database where people can see how federa; money is spent.
8:35 Clinton talks about going back to the 1990s economy. She thinks she can take on McCain on economics.
8:36 Ramos asks Hill about superdelegates. "I think it will sort itself out."
Obama responds that the primaries and caucuses determine nominee -- not superdelegates. People think the fix is in -- that leaders aren't interested in barrier breaking. "The American people are tired of a politics that is dominated by the powerful -- the connected."
8:40 Moments that tested them. Obama references being raised by single mom -- good appeal to women. Admits he made some mistakes as a youth. Gets in his bio.
8:41 "I think everybody here knows I've lived through some crises." With all of challenges she's had, nothing compared to what she sees with eday Americans. Spoke at San Antonio center for injured soldiers. Called by faith to run. Does God talk to Democrats now??? She and Barack have a moment with a handshake.
Templeton Rye President on Native Distillery
TEMPLETON — Templeton Rye Spirits president Scott Bush says the future of this southern Carroll County town can be seen in Lynchburg, Tenn.
While TR Spirits is more of a niche product and Jack Daniels — famously distilled in Lynchburg — is something of a Goliath in the booze business, Bush thinks Templeton can become a destination.
The draw: a rich mix of history, drinking and agriculture.
“We’d like to help turn Templeton into a Lynchburg where the whole town is involved,” Bush said in an interview Wednesday.
TR Spirits is about 70 percent through a major addition to its production and storage facilities in Templeton with a June completion slated. Rye Spirits will see its space jump from 1,500 square feet to just under 12,000 square feet.
The first bottles of the trademarked legal rye whiskey were produced in 2005.
In a fusing of its rich history with a contemporary ambition to break out of a niche as something of an Iowa novelty, Templeton Rye Spirits — the legal incarnation of the Prohibition-era booze — launched its product into the Chicago market with a classy, nostalgic affair last August.
With a growing reputation in bars and liquor stores around the nation, Templeton Rye has the very real potential of pulling tourists to Carroll County, Bush said.
“We have big plans,” he said.
This would include interactive tours in which visitors could select their own grains and other ingredients for a personalized batch of rye whiskey. Having lived in Chicago, New York City and Boston, Bush said he’s convinced well-heeled whiskey lovers, and others with interest, will trek to Templeton for this.
He sees Lynchburg as a model for this plan.
“Lynchburg, Tennessee, isn’t a place you ‘pass through’ on your way to somewhere else,” reads the city’s official Web site. “It is so off the beaten path, it’s either your destination or you are lost. It is a tiny little town in a tiny little county with one BIG industry — JACK DANIELS DISTILLERY.”
With the development of the distillery in Templeton Bush and his rye team are considering more expansion for tourism.
But there is a hitch, Bush said.
Unlike wineries in Iowa, the distillery is not allowed to sell even a limited amount, say a bottle or two, of its rye to tourists.
Bush has mounted a lobbying campaign to change the law to allow for modest “native distillery” sales. He’s posted a video on the subject on YouYube. (See above).
More than 600 people already have watched the video according to YouTube.
“We are looking for the ability to be able to sell a small amount to tourists,” Bush said. “When they come to the facility frankly its embarrassing that we can’t sell one to them.”
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
What Do You Say To A Pregnant Smoker?
These places are peopled with live and let-die folks. It's like being at the horse track. No one judges you. You can be 200 pounds overweight and missing an arm and people just don't care.
Which is why none of us in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport smoking lounge a while ago said anything about the unmistakably pregnant woman dragging down a cigarette in the facility.
Now, of course, pregnant women shouldn't smoke or drink or do any number of things. Some pregnant woman shouldn't even be pregnant.
When you see a pregnant woman firing up a smoke the "It Takes a Village" part of the brain wells up in you to the point where you believe confrontation is the correct course.
But, then again, if the woman can legally have an abortion, then it's sort of pointless to tell her she can't smoke.
"Oh, you think I should put my cigarette down just because I'm pregnant," I imagined her saying. "Good point. I'll just go get an abortion."
Then there's always that great fear that said woman is not in fact pregnant, that she has developed the corpulence of a McDonald's regular or a beer bulge. About the worst thing a man can do to a woman is refer to her as pregnant when she's not. I've done it, and vowed never to repeat the mistake.
In the not-to-distant future, smoking around kids may be illegal. Bangor, Maine, passed an ordinance banning smoking in cars in which any of the passengers are under age 18. At least one judge decided a custody battle based solely on the fact that one parent smoked and the other didn't.
Clearly people shouldn't smoke around kids (another argument to allow smoking in limited public places like bars so smokers can gather together and spare their families).
That being said, if the government intervenes in the smoking arena, then is a child's diet next?
Will Happy Meals be banned? Will parents with deep fat fryers be fined?
The Associated Press reported some alarming numbers with weight issues involving high school football players in Iowa. Do we start to prosecute pushy coaches and parents?
In the end, had this woman been someone I knew, had some connection or relationship with, I would have said something about the smoking.
But she was a stranger.
And I see strangers doing things as parents all the time that I find abhorrent. There are the ones who constantly demean and diminish their kids with cruel comments. The psychological damage surely rivals second-hand smoke in terms of life impact. You also see kids running roughshod over parents, doing whatever they please, showing about as much discipline as a cocaine-and-sex addict with a winning lottery ticket.
Unlike the 1970s, when I was growing up, parents are not too keen on being told anything about their kids by teachers or neighbors, much less strangers.
Short of seeing a kid being physically abused or abducted (where we have a duty to act) there's not much of a role for the concerned stranger these days.
People are making the case that smoking around a kid is a form of physical abuse even though the child may grow up just fine. Additionally, if you use the smoking-as-child battery logic, the choice to live in pollution-filled cities, like New York City, instead of in the cleaner-air environment of, say, South Dakota, would also be a form of abuse as well.
So there you have it. All of this considered, would any of you say something to a pregnant woman you don't know and will never see again who is smoking?
This commentary is cross-posted at Iowa Independent.com.
Joyce Schulte Plans Third Run For Congress In Western Iowa
CRESTON -- Retired educator Joyce Schulte of Creston, the Democratic nominee for Congress in Iowa's Fifth District the past two times, is collecting signatures for a third run she says will happen this year unless some unforseen circumstance cuts her off at the pass.
"I think you could put it down like that," Schulte said in an interview tonight.
As it stands she would make the Democratic primary here in western Iowa into at least a three-person contest as retired Presbyterian minister Rob Hubler of Council Bluffs and retired businessman Bob Chambers of Essex are in the race.
Schulte, 65, lost two elections by wide margins to U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron. In 2006, in a decidedly off year for Republicans that even saw the outster of Iowa icon Jim Leach in eastern Iowa, King pulled 58 percent of the vote to Schulte's 36 percent in the sprawling, 32-county western Iowa district. King spent $620,000 compared to just $73,000 for Schulte. A largely self-financed Independent, Roy Nielsen of Orange City, spent $150,000 but failed to break into double digits with just 5 percent of the vote.
In 2006, Schulte beat Chambers to get the Democratic nod, and in 2004, Schulte bested former State Rep. Gene Blanshan of Panora in the primary.
During the interview Schulte, retired as the director of support services for Southwestern (Iowa) Community College in Creston, said she is working on collecting the necessary signatures for a run.
"I generally don't start things that I don't think are feasible," Schulte said. "This is one of those things I want to do. I think its feasible."
What would make 2008 different for Schulte than her earlier two failed bids against King, presuming the congressman doesn't seek to trade up with a Senate run against Tom Harkin, D-Iowa?
"I wouldn't want to divulge everything," Schulte said.
Last week, Hubler told Iowa Independent he was well funded for a primary race with more than $80,000 raised. For her part Schulte said she's not stared on that yet.
"I haven't put my energies into that," Schulte said.
On Tuesday night, Schulte noted that Iowa has never elected a woman to a congressional seat or to the U.S. Senate, and the Hawkeye State has never had a female governor.
She touched on that theme in an earlier interview on women in politics.
Is there any way a female candidate can win in the most conservative district in the state?
"That's a fascinating way of putting a question, that women aren't electable in Iowa," Schulte said last spring.
Schulte said she knows the electoral history with women for top political positions in Iowa.
"Yeah, I know what the rule is at the moment," Schulte said. "We've gone all the way up the ladder except moving into those top three."
Why is that?
"It beats my five aces," Schulte said. "You know, women are good to keep home and whatever. We brag about them in every way except. And I just don't know whether it's a figment of our imagination in a sense that women can't do those top pieces in government. We do the top pieces in raising families. We do some of the top pieces in business."
She noted that women are fighter pilots and astronauts.
"Why we can't do it in Iowa for those congressional and senatorial pieces I'm not sure," she said.
Sioux City Journal reporter Bret Hayworth has reported that Chambers has the signatures needed to enter the race. Here is Hayworth:
It was just a formality, but Iowa 5th District cogressional candidate Bob Chambers of Essex has gotten the necessary petition signatures to officially file nomination papers for the post held by Republican Steve King. Democrat Chambers met the requirement of getting 16 counties with 793 signatures. The 5th District is composed of 32 counties.
This story is cross-posted at Iowa Independent.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Rotary Program For Monday Feb. 18
1AA. The Iowa Independent Story on Angelo/van Brederode
1A. About the Center For Independent Media
1. Washington Post feature on Obama interviews
2A. MSNBC runs analysis of Democratic debate.
2. Sky News piece
3. The Huffington Post picks up story on Obama before Iowa Caucuses.
4. Douglas Burns on the new journalism
5. The New Republic Blog on why Obama won the Iowa Caucuses
6. The Des Moines Register on smoking -- commentary pick up.
7. A pick up in Seattle For Obama.
7B. The Wired Magazine story on past Obama cocaine use.
8. Wisconsin Public Radio interview
9. The Dave Ramsey Show
10. This is the Hotline running analysis of JJ Dinner.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Iowa girl dishes for Kansas City Star
also pens nationally
syndicated column
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Some people are in search of money. Some seek fame.
Elk Horn native Mary Pepitone’s quest is a little more, shall way say, homespun, even Iowa-ish.
“One of my goals in life is to find the perfect meatloaf recipe,” Pepitone says. “Talking about food is really a great thing. It’s what binds us now.
And for Pepitone it pays the bills.
Pepitone, who writes the Kansas City Star’s “Come Into My Kitchen” column recently hit the big-time in journalism circles: she is now nationally syndicated.
Universal Press Syndicate, one of the largest in the nation, carries Pepitone’s “Hometouch.” It runs in more than 200 newspapers across the country.
“Come Into My Kitchen” still runs weekly in the KC Star and is the longest running column (and one of the most popular) in the newspaper with a 53-year run.
“We dish about life through food,” Pepitone said. “When I took over the column I told my editor what I wanted to do. You don’t get together and not eat.
So what’s Pepitone’s favorite meal?
“One that I don’t have to make — just kidding,” she said.
While she lives in the Kansas City suburb of Leawood, Kansas, Pepitone is still very much the Iowa girl.
“I really learned to cook at the loving elbow of my mom,” Pepitone said. “It’s that good old Iowa work ethic. It never leaves you.”
She got right to work with some stellar sources for one of her first Hometouch columns on home gyms. Pepitone interviewed Oprah’s trainer, Bob Greene, as well as fitness celebrity Denise Austin.
They talked a little about the pluses and minuses of joining a gym.
“Primarily my focus is the home, how to do it in the home,” Pepitone said.
She added, “I look at things from a very consumer-driven standpoint.”
Pepitone, 40, is a 1985 graduate of Elk Horn-Kimballton High School and a 1989 graduate of Briar Cliff University, where she majored in broadcast journalism and psychology.
She started her journalism career with KCAU-TV in Sioux City as a reporter and producer. In July of 1989 Pepitone covered the crash of United Flight 232 in Sioux City.
Later, she served as the communications director for the Madison, Wisc., Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“I was always writing and dealing with the media with that,” Pepitone said.
Pepitone and her husband, John, a television reporter with Fox in Kansas City, have three girls: Paige, 11; Gina, 8; and Mariel, 5.
Here is one of her favorite recipes with a lead-in as it appeared in the Kansas City Star:
“I’m a country girl from southwestern Iowa who mastered the meat-n-potatoes farm fare at the loving elbow of my mother, Joanne Greving. I have canned more tomatoes, baked more pies and peeled more potatoes than I care to admit.
“Since my culinary debut in the fourth grade, when I made an entire meal for ten (my family), I have adroitly prepared many cuts from a side of beef. A side of spaghetti, however, was another matter altogether.
“My husband of 16 years, John Pepitone, was born in Chicago and raised on pasta. His mother shared her “gravy” recipe with me, which was inspired by many different sauces, including Great-Aunt Rose’s Sicilian sugo.”
Grandma Pepitone’s Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs and Italian Sausage
1 1/4 pound of ground round
1 large onion chopped
3 six-ounce cans of tomato paste
1 29-ounce can of Italian-style crushed tomatoes
1 29-ounce can of tomato sauce
4 cloves crushed garlic
4 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 bunch of fresh parsley, stems removed, chopped finely, reserving 3 Tablespoons for meatballs
1 8 oz. package fresh sliced mushrooms
2 pounds mild Italian sausage links, browned in separate skillet
In a large pot, sauté chopped onion in oil until just brown around the edges. Add one-half pound of the ground round and cook until the meat is no longer pink.
Add tomato paste. Fill each can twice with water (total six cans) and add to pot. Add tomato sauce, followed by one-quarter can of water. Pour in crushed tomatoes and add one-quarter of can filled with water.
Stir in garlic, cheese, salt, sugar, basil, oregano, parsley and mushrooms.
Brown meatballs (recipe follows) and Italian sausage links in separate skillets. Add meatballs and Italian sausages to the sauce and simmer over low heat for four hours, stirring periodically to avoid sticking or scorching. Skim fat off the top of the sauce as it cooks. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley before serving over cooked spaghetti noodles.
Meatballs for sauce
3/4 pound ground round
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 egg
End pieces of a loaf of bread or 1/3-cup plain bread crumbs
If using end pieces of bread, wet the slices in water and crumble into a bowl. Mix all ingredients and form the meatballs. Brown the meatballs in a skillet using a little cooking oil.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Harkin Spots 'Dark Clouds' over Clinton Campaign
Citing reports that Hillary Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million before Super Tuesday, the officially "neutral" U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, today said that financial revelation placed "dark clouds" over Team Clinton, perhaps showing that the presidential candidate from New York is in some measure "running on fumes."
According to the Associated Press, Clinton acknowledged Wednesday that she loaned her campaign $5 million late last month as Obama was outraising and outspending her heading into the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday contests.
"That's very interesting," Harkin told Iowa Independent and other media on a conference call Thursday. "And that's before Super Tuesday. You wonder if their campaign is running on fumes."
Harkin added, "I think there are some real dark clouds there on that."
A veteran U.S. senator, Harkin -- who is also a superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in late August -- continued to tell reporters he was neutral and at one point joked that he would not reveal his hand regardless of how "ingenious" media members were with framing their questions to Harkin on the matter.
"I haven't made up my mind yet," Harkin said. "I'm still neutral in this race and I intend to stay that way."
Harkin did not endorse a candidate before the 2008 Iowa caucuses -- as he did in 2004 when Harkin stood behind third-place finisher Howard Dean on the stage during the infamous speech by the Vermonter, now the head of the Democratic National Committee.
Having known Harkin since the 1970s (he helped secure certain details of my little sister's arrival as a Vietnamese immigrant) I told the senator my instinct is that he's an Obama man.
"I'm neutral," Harkin said.
But moments later he made a number of statements that might indicate otherwise. The senator even went so far as to suggest that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., might be better prepared for the presidency than Clinton because he has served both as a federal and state legislator.
"Don't discount that," he said of Obama's time in the Illinois Senate. "That's sort of down at the nitty gritty level where you really have to work with people."
Harkin also noted that Hillary Clinton (elected in 2000) has been in the Senate just four years longer than Obama (elected in 2004).
"Four years, does that make that much difference?" Harkin asked.
Said Harkin: "I think they both have the necessary experience and background."
I asked Harkin if the superdelegate process was fair, if it in fact amounted to some "netherworld, English House of Lords" elitist process that could negate the will of regular people -- people Obama and Clinton have been fighting for to gain at times is a razor's edge of advantage in some places.
"Maybe this is something the Democratic Convention ought to look at," Harkin said.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Hispanics Flex Muscle For Clinton On Super Tuesday
"So what does that say? Bottom line, Latinos are a major political force in the state of California," Albert Camarillo of Stanford University told NBC11 about how many Latinos came out to vote.
The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza lists the Hispanic community as a whole as a "winner" for Super Tuesday because of the clear influence it is having in this razor-thin race.
Here is Cillizza:
As they did in Nevada's caucuses, Hispanics gave Clinton her margin of victory in several must-win states yesterday. In California, which was an emerging battleground between the two candidates, Clinton won Hispanics by 40 points -- a massive boost for the New York senator considering that Hispanics accounted for roughly 30 percent of the Democratic vote in the Golden State. The results were similar in other states that Clinton had to have -- in New Jersey she won the Hispanic vote by 35 points, in Massachusetts by 20 points.
"The turnout and the heavy Democratic vote suggest there is something to a ethnic bloc vote in a state like California and probably in a place like Texas," Camarillo told NBC11
According to Time magazine, Obama only got just over half of the Latino vote in Illinois — and lost it by a margin of 2 to 1 in California, suggesting his efforts to sway the demographic have so far failed.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Video: Labor Forum In Spanish
(En cumplimiento de nuestra misión, “Educar y orientar a la comunidad latina del noroeste de Iowa.” LA PRENSA, presenta Foro Educativo: COMPENSACION LABORAL Y DANOS PERSONALES. Bajo la responsabilidad del Lic. James (Jamie) Byrne, abogado bilingüe y especialista en leyes y derechos de los trabajadores.)
The following is video the event (In Spanish):
CREDITOS:
Cámara: Douglas Burns -- Iowa Independent
Lorena López -- La Prensa
Edición: Jon Sampson
Agradecemos la colaboración del padre Paul Kelly, párrafo de la Iglesia Santa Rosa de Lima. Denison, Iowa.
UNA PRODUCCION DE:
LA PRENSA Hispanic Newspaper
Is Northern Ireland A Model For Promoting Iowa Entrepreneurs
(Commentary) CARROLL -- Iowa's top economic development official made a provocative observation here the other day.
Iowa Department of Economic Development director Mike Tramontina had strong comments for what he believes is the prevailing mindset at the state's research colleges, which he says are more interested in research grants than entrepreneurship.
At some prestigious U.S. coastal schools master's students in the sciences and business are walking around with dreams of "making a billion dollars" by launching the next Google or Yahoo. They are interested not just in creating intellectual property but transitioning it to wild wealth, Tramontina said.
"At Iowa State, that is not cool," he said. "We do research. We need to spur entrepreneurship at our universities."
I asked Tramontina more about this after his presentation to the Carroll Area Development Corp., because his remarks hit on something I've observed for decades here: Iowans think more about working hard than smart.
"With the pace of change in technology places that are succeeding today are really able to shorten the time from a discovery until something is actually a company and that is producing jobs," Tramontina said. "That is something other places have had to do and we need to do, too."
Perhaps some of Iowa's answers with entrepreneurship can be found in Northern Ireland, a nation where, thanks to a raft of tax policies and incentives, start-ups are "flourishing," according to The New Tork Times.
This emphasis in Northern Ireland is new and took hold like wildfire. We have had various prescrptions to improve, for example, venture capital investment here in the state. But perhaps we need something more audacious.
Here is some of what The Times reports is going on in Northern Ireland:
Income tax rates in Ireland today are 20 percent on the first $50,000 of income and 41 percent on income above that. But there are value-added taxes of 21 percent levied on all goods and transactions, with the exception of health and medical services, children’s clothing and food. The tax on corporate profits, though, is 12.5 percent, which is an incentive to own a business.
This article is crossposted at Iowa Independent.com.