By LORENA LOPEZ and DOUGLAS BURNS
DENISON -- Several frightened Hispanic families, some crying with kids clearly in the background, made frantic telephone calls to a western Iowa Spanish-language paper over the last two days seeking information on what they falsely believed to be the start of a Postville-style raid in Denison, a community with a burgeoning Hispanic population and heavy packing-house presence.
La Prensa received the first call early Wednesday from a Spanish-speaking employee of a packing house in Denison who said he saw other workers being carted off in handcuffs. That event apparently sparked a rumor and something of a phone tree in the Hispanic community there.
Shortly after the initial call to La Prensa a Denison woman, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed through tears her belief that a raid may be underway. La Prensa received the last two calls -- to this point -- on Thursday from concerned employees.
Tim Counts, a Midwest spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told Iowa Independent that the Sioux City field office -- which has jurisdiction over Denison -- and the Omaha, Neb., office were not involved in any special investigations or raids in Denison.
"We're not conducting any sort of large-scale work site operation," Counts said when told about reports from Denison.
He said the reaction in Denison is not surprising considering the Postville raid is still very much in many people's minds.
"It is quite common for rumors to run rampant after we conduct an operation such as the one we ran in Postville," Counts said.
Counts was quick to point out that it is very possible that individual immigration officers are pursuing specific cases in Denison. The fact that there is not presently a large raid underway doesn't mean ICE is without ongoing presence in Denison.
Another possibility is that Denison employers, fearful of being targeted, are stepping up their own document verification efforts. One major packing house official in Denison who was reached by phone declined to comment on the record but gave no indication that any raid was underway.
(Editor's Note: Lorena Lopez is the editor of La Prensa. Douglas Burns is a fellow with Iowa Independent.)
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Dishy Bushie book follows dangerous trend
Democracy, the essence of which is the free flow of ideas, open dialogue and debate, does hinge on some people being able to keep their mouths shut.
Like former White House press secretaries.
But now we have Scott McClellan, 40, White House press secretary from 2003 to 2006 writing something of a tell-all book on the administration during the sale of the Iraq war and the post-Katrina blundering.
I have much trouble with former political staffers writing dishy books after having the privilege of serving behind the curtains of power. It’s the job of the press to get back there and reveal the warts — not well-paid Benedict Arnolds who jump from what should be high-minded public service to the low road of celebrity cable TV commentator.
For a year and a half in the mid-1990s I served as the Washington, D.C.-based communications director for U.S. Rep. Pat Danner, D-Mo.
For most of my tenure she was a two-term congresswoman. As a result of this lack of seniority our office had limited power, although we did speak in Congress for a wide swath of Missouri, and her membership in the conservative Democrat Blue Dog organization, which would swing over on some GOP initiatives, gave us more influence than most two-termers.
When you have the privilege of serving in this capacity, of being in the office when speeches are written, votes are determined and arguments aired, part of the deal is that, upon leaving, for good, bad or indifferent reasons, you go on your way. You don’t rip your former boss in a book or magazine article. I didn’t run over to the Kansas City Star and offer to write a piece for one of its Sunday sections when I left Danner’s employ. She taught me a lot about politics. End of story.
If political leaders suspect they are going to get McClellaned, they will put more of a premium on loyalty than robust thinking. They will isolate themselves even more, and the nation will be worse for it. There should be trust, not blind, unthinking trust, but trust in the offices of out elected officals.
For those of us, make that much of the nation, who have strongly believed what former Bush confidant and spokesman Scott McClellan reportedly writes in his controversial new book the “revelations” about alleged Bush deceptions and incompetence are powerful confirmations on long-held instincts of the sort one prominent Carroll High School graduate holds.
Charles Neu, the younger brother of former Republican Lt. Gov. Art Neu and a son of former 26-year Carroll Mayor Arthur N. Neu, has been with Brown University for more than 30 years, including a stint as chairman of that school’s history department.
Neu has dedicated his life to studying great men, and he finds no greatness in George W. Bush.
“He never had much of a serious purpose in his life,” Neu said in a recent interview with the Carroll Daily Times Herald. “He never really even had much of a business career. He’s not even well-educated though he had a chance to become well-educated, but not the will to do so. And this guy ends up leading the nation? He’s doesn’t even have good verbal skills. He’s clearly a person who doesn’t read very much. You just watch him speak and struggle to find words.”
Neu’s comments carry some weight because of his estimable background. These are things he should say in public.
McClellan writes from the inside what Neu said from the outside.
The book, “What Happened Inside the White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception” is slated for release next week but prominent news organizations like The New York Times as well as bloggers already have their hands on it.
According to The Times, McClellan uses the book to charge that the president was engaged in “self-deception” and that Iraq was a “serious strategic blunder.”
The Chicago Tribune reports the book recounts an evening in a hotel suite “somewhere in the Midwest.” Bush was on the phone with a supporter and motioned for McClellan to have a seat.
“ ‘The media won’t let go of these ridiculous cocaine rumors,’ I heard Bush say. ‘You know, the truth is I honestly don’t remember whether I tried it or not. We had some pretty wild parties back in the day, and I just don’t remember.’”
Some of this can be filed under titillating, but most of it appears to be the category of rehash for McClellan.
Even for those who have nothing but contempt for the president, McClellan’s book should be highly troubling. It follows a dangerous trend in which close advisers to presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, use their post-job memoirs (often released while presidents are still in office) to reveal what should be private conversations on policy and process and personalities in which the commander in chief and his circle can debate without fear of a town crier looming in their midst.
Attacks of conscience are different. If you quit over a decision you think is disastrous for the nation, it is fair to air that reason, although the timing of one’s departure in such a situation should send a clear signal without words having to be spoken.
There is also an important place for works of history with staff members discussing presidents and leaders and their recollections of events and decision-making. Such books and comments contribute greatly to American learning and allow future leaders to learn from the past.
And, of course, revealing illegal activity is a different ball game altogether, obviously.
McClellan’s purpose appears to be much more malicious where President Bush is concerned.
In the near term Bush detractors may cheer McClellan’s book, but is not good for American democracy.
Like former White House press secretaries.
But now we have Scott McClellan, 40, White House press secretary from 2003 to 2006 writing something of a tell-all book on the administration during the sale of the Iraq war and the post-Katrina blundering.
I have much trouble with former political staffers writing dishy books after having the privilege of serving behind the curtains of power. It’s the job of the press to get back there and reveal the warts — not well-paid Benedict Arnolds who jump from what should be high-minded public service to the low road of celebrity cable TV commentator.
For a year and a half in the mid-1990s I served as the Washington, D.C.-based communications director for U.S. Rep. Pat Danner, D-Mo.
For most of my tenure she was a two-term congresswoman. As a result of this lack of seniority our office had limited power, although we did speak in Congress for a wide swath of Missouri, and her membership in the conservative Democrat Blue Dog organization, which would swing over on some GOP initiatives, gave us more influence than most two-termers.
When you have the privilege of serving in this capacity, of being in the office when speeches are written, votes are determined and arguments aired, part of the deal is that, upon leaving, for good, bad or indifferent reasons, you go on your way. You don’t rip your former boss in a book or magazine article. I didn’t run over to the Kansas City Star and offer to write a piece for one of its Sunday sections when I left Danner’s employ. She taught me a lot about politics. End of story.
If political leaders suspect they are going to get McClellaned, they will put more of a premium on loyalty than robust thinking. They will isolate themselves even more, and the nation will be worse for it. There should be trust, not blind, unthinking trust, but trust in the offices of out elected officals.
For those of us, make that much of the nation, who have strongly believed what former Bush confidant and spokesman Scott McClellan reportedly writes in his controversial new book the “revelations” about alleged Bush deceptions and incompetence are powerful confirmations on long-held instincts of the sort one prominent Carroll High School graduate holds.
Charles Neu, the younger brother of former Republican Lt. Gov. Art Neu and a son of former 26-year Carroll Mayor Arthur N. Neu, has been with Brown University for more than 30 years, including a stint as chairman of that school’s history department.
Neu has dedicated his life to studying great men, and he finds no greatness in George W. Bush.
“He never had much of a serious purpose in his life,” Neu said in a recent interview with the Carroll Daily Times Herald. “He never really even had much of a business career. He’s not even well-educated though he had a chance to become well-educated, but not the will to do so. And this guy ends up leading the nation? He’s doesn’t even have good verbal skills. He’s clearly a person who doesn’t read very much. You just watch him speak and struggle to find words.”
Neu’s comments carry some weight because of his estimable background. These are things he should say in public.
McClellan writes from the inside what Neu said from the outside.
The book, “What Happened Inside the White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception” is slated for release next week but prominent news organizations like The New York Times as well as bloggers already have their hands on it.
According to The Times, McClellan uses the book to charge that the president was engaged in “self-deception” and that Iraq was a “serious strategic blunder.”
The Chicago Tribune reports the book recounts an evening in a hotel suite “somewhere in the Midwest.” Bush was on the phone with a supporter and motioned for McClellan to have a seat.
“ ‘The media won’t let go of these ridiculous cocaine rumors,’ I heard Bush say. ‘You know, the truth is I honestly don’t remember whether I tried it or not. We had some pretty wild parties back in the day, and I just don’t remember.’”
Some of this can be filed under titillating, but most of it appears to be the category of rehash for McClellan.
Even for those who have nothing but contempt for the president, McClellan’s book should be highly troubling. It follows a dangerous trend in which close advisers to presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, use their post-job memoirs (often released while presidents are still in office) to reveal what should be private conversations on policy and process and personalities in which the commander in chief and his circle can debate without fear of a town crier looming in their midst.
Attacks of conscience are different. If you quit over a decision you think is disastrous for the nation, it is fair to air that reason, although the timing of one’s departure in such a situation should send a clear signal without words having to be spoken.
There is also an important place for works of history with staff members discussing presidents and leaders and their recollections of events and decision-making. Such books and comments contribute greatly to American learning and allow future leaders to learn from the past.
And, of course, revealing illegal activity is a different ball game altogether, obviously.
McClellan’s purpose appears to be much more malicious where President Bush is concerned.
In the near term Bush detractors may cheer McClellan’s book, but is not good for American democracy.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
TR Spirits Showcases Expanded Distillery
TEMPLETON — Templeton Rye Spirits, the legal descendant of Carroll County’s historical and colorful bootlegged-booze business, Tuesday showcased a dramatically expanded distillery and facility to more than 100 local development leaders, state dignitaries and others.
Located in a Templeton business park, the TR Spirits distillery includes a new bottling line, whiskey lab, barrel warehouse, gift shop and grand tasting room — that latter which includes a smorgasborg of historical photos and shelves of shirts, hats and other memorabilia.
Now in the Iowa and Illinois markets, and about a year removed from a splashy launch in Chicago where some 2,000 businesses are linked with the west-central-Iowa crafted whiskey, TR Spirits is on a deliberate path to break into more states and overseas, Bush said.
“I’ve met and spent time with people from all over the world,” Bush said. “Templeton Rye is a product you will someday see on the top shelf in London, New York and Shanghai.”
Templeton Rye will hold an open house from 1 to 5 p.m. on June 7. The popular Iowa music group The Nadas — which performs a Templeton Rye song — will then have a concert starting at 6 p.m.
Specifically, the facility has increased in size from 1,500 square feet to about 12,000 square feet with production capability high-jumped 10 times for the whiskey, which is aged in new charred white oak barrels that are later shipped off to Scotland for use in the scotch trade.
The first bottles of the trademarked legal rye whiskey were produced in 2005.
Templeton Rye Spirits has trademarked the name “Templeton Rye” and is treating the recipe for Prohibition-era single-barrel rye whiskey as a trade secret, much like the formula for Coca-Cola or Kentucky Fried Chicken. It closely guards elements of the production process, but Bush did say the company is working aggressively to get more product out as the initial batches proved to0 small for the whiskey thirsty in Iowa.
“We’re still in a situation where our demand far exceeds our supply,” Bush said.
Bush said rye is coming back into favor with urban hipsters looking for something “cool” to serve friends.
“Even young adults are drinking the old-fashioned cocktails,” Bush said. “The American palate is really coming back to rye whiskey.”
Forbes Traveler recently named Templeton Rye one of the world’s hot new “deluxe distilleries.”
“Itsy-bitsy Templeton never cared much for Prohibition,” Forbes Traveler writes. “Townsfolk ignored it and continued creating their proprietary hooch, Templeton Rye. The spirit was affectionately known as ‘The Good Stuff,’ and its well-lubricated fans included Al Capone who sold it at his Chicago speakeasies — and reportedly had Templeton smuggled into his Alcatraz prison cell. The resurrected, and now legal, Templeton Rye is as spicy as it is smooth.”
Members of the Carroll Area Development Corp., Templeton Area Development Corp., and others toured the facility along with several state legislators.
State Rep. Helen Miller, D-Fort Dodge, said she recently took a bottle of Templeton Rye to her son-in-law in Baltimore, Md.
“Everybody sampled it and really liked it,” Miller said.
She said Bush and Templeton Rye are inspirational stories for potential business development in rural Iowa.
“There are so many places you cannot do this,” Miller said. “You can come to rural Iowa and start a business.”
TADC president Nick Romey, speaking during a luncheon at the facility, said that organization has an option on a 120-acre tract of land near utilities and rail.
“We have the space for you,” he told visitors.
For his part, Bush has been urging lawmakers to change provisions in regulation of spirits to allow Templeton Rye to sell bottles to visitors at the site as part of what Bush believes can be a major tourism push.
He said if TR Spirits secures the ability to sell bottles to visitors on site that there likely would be additional expansion with a potential museum and interactive features in Templeton — all of which could be a catalyst for more economic development in Carroll County.
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.
“One doesn’t have to stretch their mind too far to understand that,” Bush said. “We’d like to do a lot more.
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.
Located in a Templeton business park, the TR Spirits distillery includes a new bottling line, whiskey lab, barrel warehouse, gift shop and grand tasting room — that latter which includes a smorgasborg of historical photos and shelves of shirts, hats and other memorabilia.
Now in the Iowa and Illinois markets, and about a year removed from a splashy launch in Chicago where some 2,000 businesses are linked with the west-central-Iowa crafted whiskey, TR Spirits is on a deliberate path to break into more states and overseas, Bush said.
“I’ve met and spent time with people from all over the world,” Bush said. “Templeton Rye is a product you will someday see on the top shelf in London, New York and Shanghai.”
Templeton Rye will hold an open house from 1 to 5 p.m. on June 7. The popular Iowa music group The Nadas — which performs a Templeton Rye song — will then have a concert starting at 6 p.m.
Specifically, the facility has increased in size from 1,500 square feet to about 12,000 square feet with production capability high-jumped 10 times for the whiskey, which is aged in new charred white oak barrels that are later shipped off to Scotland for use in the scotch trade.
The first bottles of the trademarked legal rye whiskey were produced in 2005.
Templeton Rye Spirits has trademarked the name “Templeton Rye” and is treating the recipe for Prohibition-era single-barrel rye whiskey as a trade secret, much like the formula for Coca-Cola or Kentucky Fried Chicken. It closely guards elements of the production process, but Bush did say the company is working aggressively to get more product out as the initial batches proved to0 small for the whiskey thirsty in Iowa.
“We’re still in a situation where our demand far exceeds our supply,” Bush said.
Bush said rye is coming back into favor with urban hipsters looking for something “cool” to serve friends.
“Even young adults are drinking the old-fashioned cocktails,” Bush said. “The American palate is really coming back to rye whiskey.”
Forbes Traveler recently named Templeton Rye one of the world’s hot new “deluxe distilleries.”
“Itsy-bitsy Templeton never cared much for Prohibition,” Forbes Traveler writes. “Townsfolk ignored it and continued creating their proprietary hooch, Templeton Rye. The spirit was affectionately known as ‘The Good Stuff,’ and its well-lubricated fans included Al Capone who sold it at his Chicago speakeasies — and reportedly had Templeton smuggled into his Alcatraz prison cell. The resurrected, and now legal, Templeton Rye is as spicy as it is smooth.”
Members of the Carroll Area Development Corp., Templeton Area Development Corp., and others toured the facility along with several state legislators.
State Rep. Helen Miller, D-Fort Dodge, said she recently took a bottle of Templeton Rye to her son-in-law in Baltimore, Md.
“Everybody sampled it and really liked it,” Miller said.
She said Bush and Templeton Rye are inspirational stories for potential business development in rural Iowa.
“There are so many places you cannot do this,” Miller said. “You can come to rural Iowa and start a business.”
TADC president Nick Romey, speaking during a luncheon at the facility, said that organization has an option on a 120-acre tract of land near utilities and rail.
“We have the space for you,” he told visitors.
For his part, Bush has been urging lawmakers to change provisions in regulation of spirits to allow Templeton Rye to sell bottles to visitors at the site as part of what Bush believes can be a major tourism push.
He said if TR Spirits secures the ability to sell bottles to visitors on site that there likely would be additional expansion with a potential museum and interactive features in Templeton — all of which could be a catalyst for more economic development in Carroll County.
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.
“One doesn’t have to stretch their mind too far to understand that,” Bush said. “We’d like to do a lot more.
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.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Immigration attorney: Expect more raids
DENISON -- An Ames-based immigration attorney told a crowd of nearly 100 Hispanics at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Denison that she expects more immigration raids to follow the historic one earlier this month in Postville -- and perhaps soon.
"It's difficult to predict the future but it's going to be a long summer," said JoAnn Barten.
Speaking at a forum sponsored by La Prensa, a western Iowa Spanish-language newspaper, Barten noted that both Democratic presidential candidates, Sens. Barack Obama, Ill., and Hillary Clinton, N.Y., are likely to place moratoriums on the sort of raids that traumatized the Latin community in Postville, where Barten visited to assist those affected in days after the sweep.
"For this reason, expect more raids," Barten said.
Should some heavily Latino community communities in western Iowa prepare for similar raids by immigration officials?
"I think so, absolutely," Barten said. "I truly believe that (Postville) is not the only community they're going to hit."
In an interview with Iowa Independent Barten said the raids are largely political events.
"I think the raids are used for creating headlines and fear," she said.
She said the scene was a troubling one in the Posville Latin community.
"Almost every person I spoke to was crying," Barten said. "They were just exhibiting symptoms of psychological and emotional distress."
She warned Iowans against viewing the hateful messages on blogs and in newspaper Web sites as indicative of the state's view as a whole on immigration.
"I do believe that it is a vocal minority that is cheering the raids," Barten said. "I believe many people are ambivalent."
Back at the forum, Barten told those in attendance that they have the right to remain silent, that they don't have to move into a line of illegal or undocumented people in a raid if government officials ask for such a division.
"Many of the folks there (Postville) voluntarily gave the information against themselves to the government," Barten said. "You have the right not to tell them about yourselves."
(Note: Iowa Independent's Douglas Burns and La Prensa editor Lorena Lopez collaborated on a story on the Postville raid for La Prensa. It is published there in Spanish.)
"It's difficult to predict the future but it's going to be a long summer," said JoAnn Barten.
Speaking at a forum sponsored by La Prensa, a western Iowa Spanish-language newspaper, Barten noted that both Democratic presidential candidates, Sens. Barack Obama, Ill., and Hillary Clinton, N.Y., are likely to place moratoriums on the sort of raids that traumatized the Latin community in Postville, where Barten visited to assist those affected in days after the sweep.
"For this reason, expect more raids," Barten said.
Should some heavily Latino community communities in western Iowa prepare for similar raids by immigration officials?
"I think so, absolutely," Barten said. "I truly believe that (Postville) is not the only community they're going to hit."
In an interview with Iowa Independent Barten said the raids are largely political events.
"I think the raids are used for creating headlines and fear," she said.
She said the scene was a troubling one in the Posville Latin community.
"Almost every person I spoke to was crying," Barten said. "They were just exhibiting symptoms of psychological and emotional distress."
She warned Iowans against viewing the hateful messages on blogs and in newspaper Web sites as indicative of the state's view as a whole on immigration.
"I do believe that it is a vocal minority that is cheering the raids," Barten said. "I believe many people are ambivalent."
Back at the forum, Barten told those in attendance that they have the right to remain silent, that they don't have to move into a line of illegal or undocumented people in a raid if government officials ask for such a division.
"Many of the folks there (Postville) voluntarily gave the information against themselves to the government," Barten said. "You have the right not to tell them about yourselves."
(Note: Iowa Independent's Douglas Burns and La Prensa editor Lorena Lopez collaborated on a story on the Postville raid for La Prensa. It is published there in Spanish.)
Friday, May 23, 2008
Postville Raid Raises Worries In Denison Latino Community, Activist Says
DENISON -- A community activist in this Latino-rich city says last week's historic Postville raid is having an effect as families peopled by those of mixed immigration status are preparing for something similar in western Iowa.
"Some people are making plans not to spend much money," says Luis Navar, who operates Bravo Construction and is actively involved in politics. They want to be flexible if moving in a pinch is in order.
Navar said the well-chronicled imagery coming out of Postville provokes strong emotions in the Latino community here.
"I hear so many comments, people crying," Navar said. "You can see the injustice so bad."
Navar said people coming to the United States to work should not be treated as if they are stealing.
"They need a comprehensive immigration reform," Navar said.
One of his chief concerns is that fearful immigrants will be pushed deeper into the shadows and more exploitive working conditions.
"That's the worst thing," Navar said.
"Some people are making plans not to spend much money," says Luis Navar, who operates Bravo Construction and is actively involved in politics. They want to be flexible if moving in a pinch is in order.
Navar said the well-chronicled imagery coming out of Postville provokes strong emotions in the Latino community here.
"I hear so many comments, people crying," Navar said. "You can see the injustice so bad."
Navar said people coming to the United States to work should not be treated as if they are stealing.
"They need a comprehensive immigration reform," Navar said.
One of his chief concerns is that fearful immigrants will be pushed deeper into the shadows and more exploitive working conditions.
"That's the worst thing," Navar said.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
LATHAM SUPPORTS TAX RELIEF FOR IOWA'S SOLDIERS AND FIREFIGHTERS
Washington, D.C.—Iowa Congressman Tom Latham voted to support military personnel and volunteer firefighters in the U.S. House of Representatives this week. The congressman voted for the Heroes Earning Assistance and Relief Tax Act which will provide tax relief to members of the military and volunteer firefighters if it clears the U.S. Senate and the White House.
"We must do everything we can to help these men and women who volunteer to put their lives on the line," said Congressman Latham. "All too often do we hear about volunteer firefighters having to move out of their service area because taxes have become too high. Our service men and women have to weigh a decrease in their standard of living against moving farther away from things like grocery stores and schools. We must come together, with bipartisan support, to make sure this bill becomes law."
The Heroes Earning Assistance and Relief Tax Act, also known as H.R. 6081, makes tax relief permanent for Iowa's military families, including tax relief under the Earned Income Tax Credit. It further provides financial security for our soldiers by making sure that reservists called up for active duty will not suffer a pay-cut upon returning home. At the same time, it helps military families understand the availability of recovery rebates and expands homeownership opportunities for veterans.
"We must do everything we can to help these men and women who volunteer to put their lives on the line," said Congressman Latham. "All too often do we hear about volunteer firefighters having to move out of their service area because taxes have become too high. Our service men and women have to weigh a decrease in their standard of living against moving farther away from things like grocery stores and schools. We must come together, with bipartisan support, to make sure this bill becomes law."
The Heroes Earning Assistance and Relief Tax Act, also known as H.R. 6081, makes tax relief permanent for Iowa's military families, including tax relief under the Earned Income Tax Credit. It further provides financial security for our soldiers by making sure that reservists called up for active duty will not suffer a pay-cut upon returning home. At the same time, it helps military families understand the availability of recovery rebates and expands homeownership opportunities for veterans.
Senator Harkin launches “Building Blue” to support Iowa Legislative candidates
Harkin to help build progressive network for November, provide $30,000 in campaign contributions to Democratic Iowa General Assembly candidates
Des Moines, IA -- Senator Tom Harkin has launched an innovative online contest on his campaign website at www.tomharkin.com/action/building-blue, via an email, and online video to supporters. The contest, called "Building Blue" aims to help build a progressive infrastructure for the general election in November by providing $30,000 to Democratic candidates running for the Iowa House of Representatives and the Iowa Senate.
“In 2004 George Bush won Iowa. In 2006 Iowa Democrats turned things around by winning the Governorship and the General Assembly because we did an outstanding job of grassroots organizing,” said Senator Harkin. “Building Blue is a way to not only support local Democratic candidates with the resources they need to win-- it strengthens our Democratic organization.”
Since Monday, supporters of Senator Tom Harkin have visited the “Building Blue” website at www.tomharkin.com/action/building-blue and submitted their nominations for their favorite Iowa Senate and House candidates. Voting for the nominations is open until May 27.
On May 28, the top 20 House candidates and the top ten Senate candidates will be announced and entered into the second round. Supporters of these candidates can visit tomharkin.com to vote for their favorite candidate. The five House candidates and five Senate candidates with the most votes win a $2,000 contribution from Tom Harkin.
Voting in the second round will be open from May 28 to June 2.
The third and final round of voting will take place from June 3 until June 17. The top finishers will each win a grand prize, an additional $5,000 contribution from Senator Tom Harkin. “My campaign is focusing on a Democratic sweep from the statehouse to the White House, and this innovative online contest will help us get this accomplished.”
Des Moines, IA -- Senator Tom Harkin has launched an innovative online contest on his campaign website at www.tomharkin.com/action/building-blue, via an email, and online video to supporters. The contest, called "Building Blue" aims to help build a progressive infrastructure for the general election in November by providing $30,000 to Democratic candidates running for the Iowa House of Representatives and the Iowa Senate.
“In 2004 George Bush won Iowa. In 2006 Iowa Democrats turned things around by winning the Governorship and the General Assembly because we did an outstanding job of grassroots organizing,” said Senator Harkin. “Building Blue is a way to not only support local Democratic candidates with the resources they need to win-- it strengthens our Democratic organization.”
Since Monday, supporters of Senator Tom Harkin have visited the “Building Blue” website at www.tomharkin.com/action/building-blue and submitted their nominations for their favorite Iowa Senate and House candidates. Voting for the nominations is open until May 27.
On May 28, the top 20 House candidates and the top ten Senate candidates will be announced and entered into the second round. Supporters of these candidates can visit tomharkin.com to vote for their favorite candidate. The five House candidates and five Senate candidates with the most votes win a $2,000 contribution from Tom Harkin.
Voting in the second round will be open from May 28 to June 2.
The third and final round of voting will take place from June 3 until June 17. The top finishers will each win a grand prize, an additional $5,000 contribution from Senator Tom Harkin. “My campaign is focusing on a Democratic sweep from the statehouse to the White House, and this innovative online contest will help us get this accomplished.”
Indiana Jones No Classic, But It Has Moments
One of the summer’s expected blockbuster movies, “Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull” opened at 12:01 this morning.
For movie fans of a certain age, those of us who first saw now-65-year-old Harrison Ford in the initial Indiana Jones, “Raiders Of The Lost Ark,” back in 1981, the nostalgia of seeing the swashbuckling leading man is perhaps enough to justify the two hours its takes to watch the movie.
“For an old man you ain’t bad in a fight. What are you, about 80?” says Indiana Jones’ new protégé, Mutt Williams, played by Shia LaBeouf (an actor to watch).
Even the villains make one nostalgic. In this Jones installment, the fourth, set in 1957 at the height of the Cold War, it is the old Soviets who are Jones’ enemies, and in the end, of course, his foils. To be sure, the Soviets had us on the brink of nuclear war, of mutually assured self-destruction, and at 38 I’m old enough to remember the bomb drills in school, but with the more elusive, unpredictable Islamic terrorists as real-life contemporary foes, the Russians just don’t inspire the same fear they did back in the 1980s.
To get back into a fear-the-KGB mode is a stretch for a modern audience. But A-list actress Cate Blanchett does an effective job as Irina Spalko, a steely KGB agent sent to find the crystal skulls, which are supposed to unlock an ancient civilization with a link to aliens.
At times the script moves along with about as much logic as the old Dungeons & Dragons games I used to “dungeon-master” in as a geeked-out, Dr. Peppered-up junior high kid. But this is the movie’s target audience, and the wildly veering mix of ancient and supernatural is what Indy is all about.
The movie starts with Jones in New Mexico, in the area the government used to test nuclear weapons. Not only does he escape the Russians but Indiana Jones perhaps performs his coolest feat to date: he survives a nuclear bomb detonation, although it strains credulity that he’s standing close enough to see the mushroom cloud. But hey, school’s out in Carroll, the popcorn’s popping and this is the movies.
There’s a rollicking motorcycle chase through a college campus.
And, of course, there is a signature fight scene like the legendary one in “Raiders” where Jones casually watches a bad guy show off his martial arts skills, and just shoots him.
The one in “Skull” is not as classic but it has some cool elements.
Which is a fair way to sum up the full movie.
For movie fans of a certain age, those of us who first saw now-65-year-old Harrison Ford in the initial Indiana Jones, “Raiders Of The Lost Ark,” back in 1981, the nostalgia of seeing the swashbuckling leading man is perhaps enough to justify the two hours its takes to watch the movie.
“For an old man you ain’t bad in a fight. What are you, about 80?” says Indiana Jones’ new protégé, Mutt Williams, played by Shia LaBeouf (an actor to watch).
Even the villains make one nostalgic. In this Jones installment, the fourth, set in 1957 at the height of the Cold War, it is the old Soviets who are Jones’ enemies, and in the end, of course, his foils. To be sure, the Soviets had us on the brink of nuclear war, of mutually assured self-destruction, and at 38 I’m old enough to remember the bomb drills in school, but with the more elusive, unpredictable Islamic terrorists as real-life contemporary foes, the Russians just don’t inspire the same fear they did back in the 1980s.
To get back into a fear-the-KGB mode is a stretch for a modern audience. But A-list actress Cate Blanchett does an effective job as Irina Spalko, a steely KGB agent sent to find the crystal skulls, which are supposed to unlock an ancient civilization with a link to aliens.
At times the script moves along with about as much logic as the old Dungeons & Dragons games I used to “dungeon-master” in as a geeked-out, Dr. Peppered-up junior high kid. But this is the movie’s target audience, and the wildly veering mix of ancient and supernatural is what Indy is all about.
The movie starts with Jones in New Mexico, in the area the government used to test nuclear weapons. Not only does he escape the Russians but Indiana Jones perhaps performs his coolest feat to date: he survives a nuclear bomb detonation, although it strains credulity that he’s standing close enough to see the mushroom cloud. But hey, school’s out in Carroll, the popcorn’s popping and this is the movies.
There’s a rollicking motorcycle chase through a college campus.
And, of course, there is a signature fight scene like the legendary one in “Raiders” where Jones casually watches a bad guy show off his martial arts skills, and just shoots him.
The one in “Skull” is not as classic but it has some cool elements.
Which is a fair way to sum up the full movie.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Veterans PAC Challenges Harkin On McCain Comments
Vets for Freedom, a political action committee, says its is disheartened by the comments first reported by Iowa Independent Friday from U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. In challenging U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the likely Republican presidential nominee, Harkin said he thought McCain's views were shaped by “always having been in the military” and that was “pretty dangerous”.
“As an Iowa veteran who served on the front lines, I was troubled to hear my Senator demean the distinguished service of generations of American patriots.” said Iowa State Captain of Vets for Freedom and Iraq war veteran, Ben Hayden. “To make these comments the day before Armed Forces is Day is even worse. Some of our greatest leaders have been ‘steeped’ in military tradition - from our first President—General George Washington—to John F. Kennedy and General Dwight D. Eisenhower. To say that a view shaped by the military makes an individual less equipped to hold office runs completely counter to our country’s rich history.”
Hayden ads, “Senator Harkin’s comments are nothing more than a political cheap shot aimed at a true war hero, Senator John McCain. All Americans should welcome this type of generational commitment to service, as it provides the very foundation of our great nation.”
“As an Iowa veteran who served on the front lines, I was troubled to hear my Senator demean the distinguished service of generations of American patriots.” said Iowa State Captain of Vets for Freedom and Iraq war veteran, Ben Hayden. “To make these comments the day before Armed Forces is Day is even worse. Some of our greatest leaders have been ‘steeped’ in military tradition - from our first President—General George Washington—to John F. Kennedy and General Dwight D. Eisenhower. To say that a view shaped by the military makes an individual less equipped to hold office runs completely counter to our country’s rich history.”
Hayden ads, “Senator Harkin’s comments are nothing more than a political cheap shot aimed at a true war hero, Senator John McCain. All Americans should welcome this type of generational commitment to service, as it provides the very foundation of our great nation.”
Obama says Democratic nomination in reach
Back to its beginnings,
campaign draws 7,000
in Des Moines rally
as new delegate totals
show Obama winning
DES MOINES — With the Democratic nomination just a hairbreadth away Barack Obama brought his historic candidacy back to the state that high-jumped him into an epic political encounter with Hillary Clinton.
In a meticulously choreographed rally in downtown Des Moines, with the State Capitol as a backdrop, large American flags hanging from East Village buildings, and 7,000 people jammed into the blocks around the stage to shout trademark cheers, Obama, the Illinois senator, said what the numbers show: He’s secured the delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination.
“Tonight, in the fullness of spring, with the help of those who stood up from Portland to Louisville, we have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people, and you have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination for president of the United States,” Obama said.
Obama’s Iowa appearance, just after 9 p.m., had two intended effects. The setting of his commanding victory in the Iowa caucuses served as a strong jumping-off point for a more fully general-election campaign. And with questions looming about Obama’s ability to connect with certain white voters, after pummelings in West Virginia and Kentucky, the campaign wanted to showcase its support with the Iowa demographic.
According to The New York Times, since 1972, when modern exit polls first began, no Democratic presidential candidate has won a majority of white voters.
It appears Obama’s about to get a chance to deal with this in a general election.
The Associated Press projected Obama had 1,956 of the 2,026 pledged delegates and superdelegates needed to claim the nomination, compared with Clinton’s 1,776 total delegates. If Obama’s campaign doesn’t collapse in Montana, South Dakota (where he is expected to perform strongly) and Puerto Rico (where Clinton should do well) — he would then need only 25 more votes from superdelegates to secure the nomination. There are about 200 undeclared superdelegates.
For her part, Clinton has said she will complete the schedule of primary contests. With three months until the Democratic National Convention in Denver, a strong-finishing Clinton, would be well-positioned should unforeseen drama visit the Obama campaign and prompt superdelegates to reconsider. But her campaign is in something of a Hail Mary mode.
Obama’s Des Moines speech contained no new policy proposals and largely fed soaring rhetoric, much of it predictable, to the faithful, thousands of whom arrived hours before the speech. Many had heard Obama speak many times in smaller settings only months before.
The Illinois senator reached out with conciliatory language for the all-but-vanquished Clinton, a New York senator.
“The road here has been long, and that is partly because we’ve traveled it with one of the most formidable candidates to ever run for this office,” Obama said. “In her 35 years of public service, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has never given up on her fight for the American people, and tonight I congratulate her on her victory in Kentucky. We have had our disagreements during this campaign, but we all admire her courage, her commitment and her perseverance. No matter how this primary ends, Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and yours will come of age.”
Then Obama quickly turned his sights on the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
“This year’s Republican primary was a contest to see which candidate could out-Bush the other, and that is the contest John McCain won,” Obama said. “The Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans that once bothered Senator McCain’s conscience are now his only economic policy.”
In recent days McCain and Bush have challenged Obama’s plans to use more diplomacy and negotiation in foreign policy.
“The Bush Iraq policy that asks everything of our troops and nothing of Iraqi politicians is John McCain’s policy too, and so is the fear of tough and aggressive diplomacy that has left this country more isolated and less secure than at any time in recent history,” Obama said.
He also signaled that he would seek to portray McCain, popularly perceived as a Maverick reformer, as more of a creature of Washington.
“The lobbyists who ruled George Bush’s Washington are now running John McCain’s campaign, and they actually had the nerve to say that the American people won’t care about this,” Obama said.
(Photo: Barack Obama brought his presidential campaign back to its beginnings with an appearance in Des Moines Tuesday night to announce what the numbers show: he has the delegates to win the Democratic nomination for president.)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
King's Opponent Looks To Make Hay Out Of Oil Vote
U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, was the only Iowa congressman and one of 25 House members to vote against legislation that would direct the Bush Administration to halt the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to help with consumer prices at the pump.
"I will not be distracted by gimmicks that are made to sound like solutions," King told the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil said through his office. "To lower gas prices, I support more production of oil, natural gas and renewable fuels."
According to the Nonpareil, King criticized the "San Francisco-style liberals" in Congress for opposing efforts to increase energy production.
"We must push back on these San Francisco-style liberals that are running Congress and allow drilling in Alaska and on the outer continental shelf off Florida and Virginia," King told the Nonpareil. "If we did, we could produce at least 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Now, that would lower gas prices."
King's opponent in the fall election, Council Bluffs Democrat Rob Hubler, already is seeking to make the oil reserve vote Wednesday into an issue in western Iowa.
“He was the only Iowan to vote against health care for children, the only Iowan to vote against recommendations by the 9-11 commission to better secure our country, so why not isolate us further from common sense by wanting to deny some relief for those struggling to cope with runaway gas prices,” Hubler said in news release. “I am not saying it is magic bullet to cut costs at the pump, but at least it shows the American people that Washington is doing what it can during this time of economic insecurity.”
“Western Iowa must have Real Representation that encourages our development of renewable fuels; from ethanol to switch-grass to wean us off our oil addiction,” Hubler added. “Unfortunately, I do not see that happening while Steve King just beats the proverbial oil drum for more drilling while he drives, at taxpayer expense, an SUV with the lowest gas mileage, largest carbon footprint, and highest fuel cost of any Congressman in the region.”
Here is CNN on the legislation:
"I will not be distracted by gimmicks that are made to sound like solutions," King told the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil said through his office. "To lower gas prices, I support more production of oil, natural gas and renewable fuels."
According to the Nonpareil, King criticized the "San Francisco-style liberals" in Congress for opposing efforts to increase energy production.
"We must push back on these San Francisco-style liberals that are running Congress and allow drilling in Alaska and on the outer continental shelf off Florida and Virginia," King told the Nonpareil. "If we did, we could produce at least 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Now, that would lower gas prices."
King's opponent in the fall election, Council Bluffs Democrat Rob Hubler, already is seeking to make the oil reserve vote Wednesday into an issue in western Iowa.
“He was the only Iowan to vote against health care for children, the only Iowan to vote against recommendations by the 9-11 commission to better secure our country, so why not isolate us further from common sense by wanting to deny some relief for those struggling to cope with runaway gas prices,” Hubler said in news release. “I am not saying it is magic bullet to cut costs at the pump, but at least it shows the American people that Washington is doing what it can during this time of economic insecurity.”
“Western Iowa must have Real Representation that encourages our development of renewable fuels; from ethanol to switch-grass to wean us off our oil addiction,” Hubler added. “Unfortunately, I do not see that happening while Steve King just beats the proverbial oil drum for more drilling while he drives, at taxpayer expense, an SUV with the lowest gas mileage, largest carbon footprint, and highest fuel cost of any Congressman in the region.”
Here is CNN on the legislation:
The House of Representatives voted to direct the Bush administration to stop filling the strategic petroleum reserve temporarily in an effort to alleviate increasing gas prices.
Stopping deposits to the petroleum reserve is estimated to save drivers between a penny and 25 cents a gallon.
Both the House and Senate, which voted earlier Tuesday, exceeded the two-thirds vote required to override the president's expected veto: The House vote was 385-25, the Senate vote was 97-1.
President Bush opposes the reserve measure because, he said, limiting supplies to the reserve could have national security consequences in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack.
Hillary Clinton Will Bow Out in Early June According to Betting Analysts
Hillary Clinton’s win in West Virginia may have bolstered her waning campaign, but will it prove to be the catalyst that propels her into the Oval Office?
With the Kentucky and Oregon primaries only a week away – which are sure to be two more major determining factors in this historic presidential race – analysts at England-based BetCRIS.com posted odds on Clinton dropping out of the battle for the White House for good, as well as on whom the winner will be and which party will come out on top.
Will Hillary Clinton Drop Out of the Democratic Race?
Between May 14th and May 20th -- 9/4
Between May 21st and June 1st -- 9/5
Between June 2nd and June 3rd -- 9/4
Between June 4th and August 30th -- 1/4
She will not drop out of the race -- 4/5
Who Will Be the 2008 Presidential Winner?
Hillary Clinton -- 9/1
Barack Obama -- 20/33
John McCain -- 29/20
The Field -- 45/1
Which Party Will Win The Presidency?
Republican Party -- 9/1
Democratic Party -- 20/33
Any Other Party -- 50/1
“At this point it’s difficult to determine just what Clinton is trying to achieve,” said Esteban Siles, Spokesperson for BetCRIS.com. “Whether or not she remains in the race as a point of pride is debatable, but regardless, her presidential future is fast becoming increasingly precarious. As her campaign and funds diminish, the window of opportunity for her competitors continues to grow.”
With the Kentucky and Oregon primaries only a week away – which are sure to be two more major determining factors in this historic presidential race – analysts at England-based BetCRIS.com posted odds on Clinton dropping out of the battle for the White House for good, as well as on whom the winner will be and which party will come out on top.
Will Hillary Clinton Drop Out of the Democratic Race?
Between May 14th and May 20th -- 9/4
Between May 21st and June 1st -- 9/5
Between June 2nd and June 3rd -- 9/4
Between June 4th and August 30th -- 1/4
She will not drop out of the race -- 4/5
Who Will Be the 2008 Presidential Winner?
Hillary Clinton -- 9/1
Barack Obama -- 20/33
John McCain -- 29/20
The Field -- 45/1
Which Party Will Win The Presidency?
Republican Party -- 9/1
Democratic Party -- 20/33
Any Other Party -- 50/1
“At this point it’s difficult to determine just what Clinton is trying to achieve,” said Esteban Siles, Spokesperson for BetCRIS.com. “Whether or not she remains in the race as a point of pride is debatable, but regardless, her presidential future is fast becoming increasingly precarious. As her campaign and funds diminish, the window of opportunity for her competitors continues to grow.”
SENATE OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVES FARM BILL
Harkin, Chairman of Agriculture Committee, Garners 81 Votes for Farm Bill Conference Agreement
Washington, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and of the Senate-House conference committee on the farm bill, today announced that with a vote of 81-15, the Senate had overwhelmingly approved the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, the farm bill conference agreement. The bill will now be sent to the White House.
Earlier this week, a coalition of more than 500 farm, conservation, nutrition, consumer and religious groups who sent a letter urging Congress to pass this bill. “The conference report makes significant farm policy reforms, protects the safety net for all of America's food producers, addresses important infrastructure needs for specialty crops, increases funding to feed our nation's poor, and enhances support for important conservation initiatives,” they wrote.
“Senate passage of the farm bill conference report on a strong, bipartisan basis demonstrates support for core farm bill initiatives – conservation, energy, nutrition and rural development – while continuing and strengthening farm income protection. This bill benefits every American, from our smallest towns to our biggest cities, urban and rural residents, farmers and non-farmers,” said Chairman Harkin.
“Today, I urge the President to look at this farm bill with fresh eyes and an objective mind. To date, he has focused on a handful of elements in this vast bill that he disagrees with. I urge him to look at the bill as a whole, and to see the many critical investments and reforms in this bill that have won support from both parties, from every region of the country, and from rural and urban members of Congress alike. If he does, I am confident he will conclude that this is a good bill that he can and should sign.”
The farm bill would benefit Iowa in the following ways:
Farm Bill: Building a Stronger Farm Safety Net
Ø The bill continues basic features of the 2002 bill, which farmers have thought worked well, and it gives producers a new option to participate in a state-level revenue protection system. The Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program offers producers better options for managing risk of both yield and price declines on their farms in today’s uncertain, rapidly changing farm environment.
Farm Bill: Making Investments in Conservation
With intensified crop production and millions of acres of fragile, erodible land coming out of the Conservation Reserve Program and put into production, the need for investments in conservation, especially conservation on working lands is even greater. The new bill will help farmers and ranchers with funds and technical assistance to conserve soil, improve water quality and boost wildlife on their land.
Ø The conservation title increases critical funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program – previously the Conservation Security Program – to grow vigorously. It will enroll over 417,000 acres in Iowa every year. At anticipated rates per acre, this will add an additional $11 million each year in conservation funding in Iowa – nearly $170 million in new conservation funding over the 5 years of the farm bill. Over the same time period, Iowa would receive over $166.5 million in funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Together these two programs – now streamlined and much better coordinated – will deliver technical and financial assistance to Iowa’s farmers – and clean water, less soil erosion, and abundant wildlife to the rest of our state.
Ø The package also maintains the conservation benefits of the Wetland Reserve Program – protecting and restoring wetlands that serve as a critical filter between land and water sources.
Farm Bill: Making Investments in America’s Energy Security
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 included an energy title for the very first time. Yet since that time, dramatic new energy challenges have come into focus: oil prices have more than doubled, global warming is now beyond dispute, and we have grown even more dependent on oil imports from some of the most unstable regions of the world. The energy provisions in the farm bill will help unleash the potential of agriculture and rural communities to supply energy to our nation.
Ø A new incentive program will encourage farmers to grow biomass crops to supply energy production at biorefineries. This program will help farmers with establishment costs related to these crops and will cover costs related to lost income for crops they would have otherwise grown and the costs of harvesting, storing and transporting the crops to markets. It will also support loans to biomass processing plants.
Ø The energy title provides investments in farm-based energy that should assist projects in Iowa to get support from both USDA and the Iowa Power Fund. Provisions are also included that will give the University of Northern Iowa an opportunity to get increased support from USDA for biobased products testing.
Ø Section 9010 of the bill calls for USDA to establish 10 “Regional biomass crop experiments” at land grant universities. Iowa State University should have a good opportunity to become a site for one of those programs, especially with their New Century Farm initiative as a starting point to build on.
Farm Bill: Making Investments to Help Low-Income Iowans Put Food on the Table
The Food Stamp Program is our nation’s first line of defense against hunger, providing modest food assistance to 26 million people each year. Yet, current program rules have not been updated to respond to the challenges of low-income families and the asset limit has not been meaningfully adjusted in 30 years.
Ø The nutrition title strengthens our commitment to fighting hunger and promoting sound health and nutrition by updating archaic nutrition program rules, increasing Food Stamp benefit levels, and ending the erosion of benefits that has gone unchecked since 1996. These improvements to the Food Stamp Program will benefit many of the 225,000 Iowans who participate in the Food Stamp Program.
The farm bill is also an opportunity to invest in the health and nutrition of American children by expanding the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program and invest in the health of the nation by expanding access to farmer’s markets and organic produce.
Ø The Senate farm bill expands the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program created by Harkin in the 2002 bill to reach nearly 45,000 Iowa elementary school children when fully implemented.
Ø The bill greatly increases funding, grants and research to growers of fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops. It supports farmer’s markets, direct-to-consumer sales and helps ease the transition to organic farming.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Edwards Had Said Obama Would Drag Down Democratic Tickets
In politics life is like the Holiday Inn around 11 a.m.
The sheets are changed to make way for new bedfellows, convenient partners in the day's expediencies. The narrative we are getting now, the looped conventional wisdom, is that former U.S. Sen. John Edwards' endorsement of likely Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is this: The folksy North Carolinian will help the black Illinois senator with Hillary Clinton's Mountaineer cheering club of "white" working-class voters.
This is a different tune from the one we were hearing up close and personal amid largely white Iowa audiences from Edwards last summer in the heat of the caucus season when betting men were going with Edwards here. In a June stop in Carroll, Iowa, Edwards made the case that both Clinton and Obama would be drags down ticket. Edwards played the gender and race card without exactly playing it.
Here is what Iowa Independent reported that June day:
The sheets are changed to make way for new bedfellows, convenient partners in the day's expediencies. The narrative we are getting now, the looped conventional wisdom, is that former U.S. Sen. John Edwards' endorsement of likely Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is this: The folksy North Carolinian will help the black Illinois senator with Hillary Clinton's Mountaineer cheering club of "white" working-class voters.
This is a different tune from the one we were hearing up close and personal amid largely white Iowa audiences from Edwards last summer in the heat of the caucus season when betting men were going with Edwards here. In a June stop in Carroll, Iowa, Edwards made the case that both Clinton and Obama would be drags down ticket. Edwards played the gender and race card without exactly playing it.
Here is what Iowa Independent reported that June day:
Edwards warned Iowa voters about what he perceives as the perils of nominating a candidate who down-ticket Democrats in some parts of the nation may decline to appear with in their own campaign events.
Speaking in Carroll, Edwards made the observation after saying there are "three of us who are most likely to be the Democratic nominee."
"It's not just a question of who you like," Edwards said. "It's not just a question of whose vision you are impressed with. It's also a question of who is most likely to win the general election. It's a pretty simple thing. Who will be a stronger candidate in the general election here in the State of Iowa? Who can go to other parts of the country when we have swing candidates running for the Congress and the Senate? Is the candidate going to have to say, 'Don't come here. Don't come here and campaign with me. I can't win if you campaign with me.'"
He added later, "I think it's just a reality that I can campaign anyplace in America."
In an interview with Iowa Independent and The Carroll Daily Times Herald, Edwards strongly rejected the suggestion that his comments about being the most electable candidate in the Democratic field were a way of saying America won't vote for a black man (Obama) or woman (Clinton) without actually saying it - to a largely white, elderly rural audience in Carroll with no national media present.
"No, I think there are differences," Edwards said. "First of all, if you look at who led on the big issues that America will be faced with I came out with a universal health-care plan first. I am so far the only candidate with a truly universal health-care plan. I came out with an aggressive energy plan to deal with global warming, to transform the way we do energy."
Why Barbara Walters May Be A Fraud
In her ridiculously hyped autobiography "Audition," Barbara Walters, a kingpin dealer in America's celebrity-addicted culture, reveals much. She talks about affairs with powerful men and dishes on other notable women.
But in an interview this week with Larry King, it was something Walters couldn't say that revealed much about her true character. In questions about her mentally challenged older sister -- her only sibling -- Walters couldn't recall the year Jackie died, or even get the decade right. In fact, Walters, who used the interview to preach and scold about the way society deals with handicapped people, couldn't even narrow down her lone sister's death beyond this: "I think like in the late '80s, early '90s."
You can't write off her lack of an answer to stage fright because Walters lives in the lights. Come on. The late 1980s and early 1990 would comprise a seven-year window if fairly defined as 1987 to 1993. How many of us can't come closer with the year of departure for family members we cared about (or even didn't) than this?
It makes you wonder about how much Walters really thought about this sister.
Walters seemed pretty sharp and quick on the draw with other recollections during the interview so we can't write this off as a senior moment, either.
Here is the transcript from here interview with Larry King Monday night on CNN:
KING: Let's take a call for Barbara Walters. Mexico, Missouri. Hello.
CALLER: Hi, Larry. How are you this evening?
KING: Fine. What's the question?
CALLER: I was just wanting to ask Barbara how long has it been since your parents and your sister have been deceased?
WALTERS: I should have that -- my sister died of ovarian cancer. I don't have it in -- I think like in the late '80s, early '90s. You know, my mother died at -- they both lived long. My mother died at 91, and my father died before. You know, when my sister died, my mother was already going through some dementia. And I never told her that my sister died. I told her that my sister was with Carol Channing because Carol had loved my sister and my mother felt happy about that.
But in an interview this week with Larry King, it was something Walters couldn't say that revealed much about her true character. In questions about her mentally challenged older sister -- her only sibling -- Walters couldn't recall the year Jackie died, or even get the decade right. In fact, Walters, who used the interview to preach and scold about the way society deals with handicapped people, couldn't even narrow down her lone sister's death beyond this: "I think like in the late '80s, early '90s."
You can't write off her lack of an answer to stage fright because Walters lives in the lights. Come on. The late 1980s and early 1990 would comprise a seven-year window if fairly defined as 1987 to 1993. How many of us can't come closer with the year of departure for family members we cared about (or even didn't) than this?
It makes you wonder about how much Walters really thought about this sister.
Walters seemed pretty sharp and quick on the draw with other recollections during the interview so we can't write this off as a senior moment, either.
Here is the transcript from here interview with Larry King Monday night on CNN:
KING: Let's take a call for Barbara Walters. Mexico, Missouri. Hello.
CALLER: Hi, Larry. How are you this evening?
KING: Fine. What's the question?
CALLER: I was just wanting to ask Barbara how long has it been since your parents and your sister have been deceased?
WALTERS: I should have that -- my sister died of ovarian cancer. I don't have it in -- I think like in the late '80s, early '90s. You know, my mother died at -- they both lived long. My mother died at 91, and my father died before. You know, when my sister died, my mother was already going through some dementia. And I never told her that my sister died. I told her that my sister was with Carol Channing because Carol had loved my sister and my mother felt happy about that.
Edwards To Endorse Obama
Former U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is expected to endorse Barack Obama tonight in Michigan, The New York Times is reporting.
Here is The Times:
Officials announced the news shortly after Mr. Obama landed here late this afternoon. The campaign has timed the announcement to coincide with the start of the major evening newscasts, which would have otherwise focused on Senator Hillary Clinton’s landslide victory in West Virginia, which raised new questions about Mr. Obama’s strength with white working class voters.
Mr. Obama’s campaign is hoping it will be a big step toward the party’s coalescing around Mr. Obama as the Democratic nominee.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Congressman King: Hey, Wait, American Chicks Are Hot, Too
U.S. Rep. Steve King, apparently unable to resist the lure of David Lee Roth's ode to Midwest farmers' daughters, is defending American women against increasingly foreign encroachment into supermodeling.
American chicks, reasons King, are hot enough to handle the supermodeling jobs in The States. That's why King, a Republican from Kiron in western Iowa, opposed legislation that made it through a House subcommittee in recent days that would make it easier for foreign supermodels to work in the United States. He's calling it the "Ugly Americans" bill.
Some people are pretty psyched about the bill's prospects, though, including a blogger with the Silicon Valley gossip site Valley Wag who thinks Indian/French/Irish Saira Mohan (pictured here) should get more work.
Roll Call reports in some detail King's musings on the supermodel matter:
King's "homegrown" pitch recalls a Carroll Rotary meeting in which he referenced people in Singapore papering car windows so they could could have sex in private. He said Iowans need to have more kids themselves instead of relying on immigration to fill the population void here.
Here is the Carroll Daily Times Herald from April 24, 2006:
American chicks, reasons King, are hot enough to handle the supermodeling jobs in The States. That's why King, a Republican from Kiron in western Iowa, opposed legislation that made it through a House subcommittee in recent days that would make it easier for foreign supermodels to work in the United States. He's calling it the "Ugly Americans" bill.
Some people are pretty psyched about the bill's prospects, though, including a blogger with the Silicon Valley gossip site Valley Wag who thinks Indian/French/Irish Saira Mohan (pictured here) should get more work.
Roll Call reports in some detail King's musings on the supermodel matter:
King took umbrage with legislation that would let more foreign-born fashion models into the United States for shoots. The bill, which would amend immigration laws that apply to willowy Estonian mannequins and their ilk, was approved on Thursday by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law.
King seems to think there are plenty of good-looking ladies right here on our shores already, and that there’s no need to import foreign lovelies. “This bill is based on a faulty premise, the premise that there are not enough attractive people in the U.S,” King opined. “You might call it the Ugly Americans bill. In a country of 300 million people, don’t we have enough homegrown talent to grace the covers of Vogue and Mademoiselle?”
(Note to the Congressman: Mademoiselle is now defunct.)
But the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), wasn’t buying that argument, and he took the opportunity to rib King for his own less-than-model-material looks. “It is probably true that we have good-looking people in Iowa and other places,” Weiner said. “I’m sure we have good-looking people from Iowa on this panel, although I wouldn’t necessarily quit your day job.”
King's "homegrown" pitch recalls a Carroll Rotary meeting in which he referenced people in Singapore papering car windows so they could could have sex in private. He said Iowans need to have more kids themselves instead of relying on immigration to fill the population void here.
Here is the Carroll Daily Times Herald from April 24, 2006:
Former Lt. Gov. Art Neu of Carroll in a recent Rotary meeting asked the visiting King to elaborate on references the GOP congressman has made in the media to a “fertility” program King contends could plug a void now filled with immigrant labor.
“I gave them a whole list of things that we could do,” King said. “There are nations out there that encourage a greater birthrate.”
King singled out Singapore, a nation King said has had some privacy issues at the root of its birthrate problems.
He said the government of Singapore came up with the following plan to increase pregnancies: “We think you ought to put newspapers in your car (windows) to get more privacy.”
Added King, “I remember those things when I read them. They kind of stand out in my mind.”
King didn’t say more about his fertility plan. But for future reference he may want to note that Singapore also launched a “speed dating” program to encourage young professionals to meet and marry with dispatch.
Friday, May 09, 2008
McCain's Farm Positioning Opens Door For Obama In Rural America
The co-editor of The Rural Blog, a University of Kentucky professor with close ties to community newspapers in U.S. farm country, says Republican presidential John McCain's positioning on farm issues could provide a major opening for his likely Democratic opponent, Barack Obama.
Al Cross, a veteran Pulitzer Prize-winning Kentucky newsman who covered politics for the Louisville Courier- Journal before moving on to become director of The Institute For Rural Journalism and Community Issues, says McCain may find himself on flimsy footing in key heavily rural states like Iowa.
"His recent statement in Iowa that he would veto the new Farm Bill as now written helps firm up his reputation for independence from lobbying interests, but puts him more at risk in swing states like Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri, and maybe Indiana -- or even the critical state of Ohio, which people often forget is in the Corn Belt," Cross tells Iowa Independent. "Perhaps he expects that his national media campaign will mention his opposition to ethanol and other subsidies, probably not a bad idea at a time of rising food and fuel prices."
McCain's opposition to farm subsidies and hostility to ethanol are well-chronicled. Here is The Associated Press from earlier this month reporting on McCain's visit to Des Moines and comments on the farm bill:
Given Obama's "weakness with rural Democrats," perhaps McCain figures he has some room to run in farm country, Cross said.
"But he (McCain) had better beware those swing states," Cross said. "Farm prices may be high, but farmers and their economic allies are in the squeeze, too."
McCain is now being swept up in the "food versus fuel" debate that many in farm country regard as nothing more than a strawman for big oil.
Ethanol is far from the only energy source to be propped up with government subsidies as evidenced by a Texas Comptroller's report released this week.
And in Grand Island, Neb., this week -- an area where corn and livestock and biofuels are vital -- Rick Tolman, chief executive officer of the National Corn Growers Association, told the Grand Island Independent newspaper that a "massive disinformation campaign" against ethanol was started by the oil industry which doesn't want the competition.
Al Cross, a veteran Pulitzer Prize-winning Kentucky newsman who covered politics for the Louisville Courier- Journal before moving on to become director of The Institute For Rural Journalism and Community Issues, says McCain may find himself on flimsy footing in key heavily rural states like Iowa.
"His recent statement in Iowa that he would veto the new Farm Bill as now written helps firm up his reputation for independence from lobbying interests, but puts him more at risk in swing states like Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri, and maybe Indiana -- or even the critical state of Ohio, which people often forget is in the Corn Belt," Cross tells Iowa Independent. "Perhaps he expects that his national media campaign will mention his opposition to ethanol and other subsidies, probably not a bad idea at a time of rising food and fuel prices."
McCain's opposition to farm subsidies and hostility to ethanol are well-chronicled. Here is The Associated Press from earlier this month reporting on McCain's visit to Des Moines and comments on the farm bill:
"I do not support it. I would veto it," McCain said. "I would do that because I believe that the subsidies are unnecessary."
McCain was in the heart of farm country, a place where subsidies for corn and ethanol fuel are wildly popular.
His long-held position against subsidies has cost him in Iowa, the state that traditionally begins the presidential nominating process and is a potential swing state in the fall. Yet the Arizona senator didn't hesitate to bring up the issue.
"I just thought I'd start out with that non-controversial statement," he said as he began the town hall-style meeting.
The nearly $300 billion bill would pay for farm and nutrition programs for the next five years.
Given Obama's "weakness with rural Democrats," perhaps McCain figures he has some room to run in farm country, Cross said.
"But he (McCain) had better beware those swing states," Cross said. "Farm prices may be high, but farmers and their economic allies are in the squeeze, too."
McCain is now being swept up in the "food versus fuel" debate that many in farm country regard as nothing more than a strawman for big oil.
Ethanol is far from the only energy source to be propped up with government subsidies as evidenced by a Texas Comptroller's report released this week.
And in Grand Island, Neb., this week -- an area where corn and livestock and biofuels are vital -- Rick Tolman, chief executive officer of the National Corn Growers Association, told the Grand Island Independent newspaper that a "massive disinformation campaign" against ethanol was started by the oil industry which doesn't want the competition.
It also may have been started by those, such as the meat industry, that want corn to return as a low-cost feed for livestock, he said.
Harkin: Corn-Fed Food-Fuel Debate False
U.S. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has weighed in on the ongoing debate swirling around the economic and moral aspects of using commodities such as corn for fuel when food prices are skyrocketing and millions of people are starving or "food insecure."
Harkin said the debate presents a false choice, a myth, as the rise of ethanol facilities is not the culprit with higher food prices and hunger.
"It's not what we don't know, it's what we know that ain't so," Harkin said, quoting the humorist Will Rogers, in a conference call with Iowa Independent and other media.
Harkin said input costs for food production such as fertilizer, fuel, distribution are conspiring with higher demand from China and India as well as the relatively low dollar, to hike prices for consumers.
"You add all those up, that's what's causing the high food prices," Harkin said.
He noted that there is much protein left in corn after it used for ethanol production so it has use with livestock, and that the type of corn is different for food products and fuels.
"You really aren't losing much at all when you make ethanol," Harkin said.
Harkin said the debate presents a false choice, a myth, as the rise of ethanol facilities is not the culprit with higher food prices and hunger.
"It's not what we don't know, it's what we know that ain't so," Harkin said, quoting the humorist Will Rogers, in a conference call with Iowa Independent and other media.
Harkin said input costs for food production such as fertilizer, fuel, distribution are conspiring with higher demand from China and India as well as the relatively low dollar, to hike prices for consumers.
"You add all those up, that's what's causing the high food prices," Harkin said.
He noted that there is much protein left in corn after it used for ethanol production so it has use with livestock, and that the type of corn is different for food products and fuels.
"You really aren't losing much at all when you make ethanol," Harkin said.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
OBAMA CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES NATIONAL CHAIR OF LATINO AND HISPANIC FUNDRAISING
CHICAGO (May 8, 2008) -- The Obama Campaign has announced the appointment of Francisco “Frank” Sánchez, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Transportation, as the National Chair of Latino and Hispanic Fundraising. Sánchez is also an advisor on Latin American policy for the campaign.
In this capacity, Sanchez will Co-Chair the Obama Hispanic Leadership Council with Illinois Attorney Manny Sanchez. The newly formed Council will work with the national finance team to increase the already growing enthusiasm and fundraising efforts for the Obama campaign in the Hispanic community.
“Barack Obama is the candidate in this race who will deliver change we can believe in,” said Sánchez. “During the course of this campaign, we have seen thousands of inspired Latinos turning out to do whatever it takes to spread Senator Obama’s message of bringing our country together. We need a president with the leadership and judgment not only to unite our country but specifically to address the issues affecting Latinos. Senator Obama’s record proves that he will be a strong advocate for Latinos nationwide.”
“I am proud to have the support of such an influential pioneer in the Latino community,” Senator Obama said. “Frank will play a key role in reaching out to Latinos concerning our campaign’s vision for uniting the country.”
In 1999, Sánchez was the Special Assistant to the President of the United States working in the Office of the Special Envoy for the Americas. While at the White House, Sánchez worked with the National Security Council, the State Department, and the U.S. Trade Representative on Western Hemisphere economic integration and the promotion of democracy. He also served as the United States Assistant Secretary of Transportation in the Clinton administration, where he oversaw international negotiations.
Frank graduated from Florida State University, where he received his undergraduate and Law Degrees. He also holds a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
In this capacity, Sanchez will Co-Chair the Obama Hispanic Leadership Council with Illinois Attorney Manny Sanchez. The newly formed Council will work with the national finance team to increase the already growing enthusiasm and fundraising efforts for the Obama campaign in the Hispanic community.
“Barack Obama is the candidate in this race who will deliver change we can believe in,” said Sánchez. “During the course of this campaign, we have seen thousands of inspired Latinos turning out to do whatever it takes to spread Senator Obama’s message of bringing our country together. We need a president with the leadership and judgment not only to unite our country but specifically to address the issues affecting Latinos. Senator Obama’s record proves that he will be a strong advocate for Latinos nationwide.”
“I am proud to have the support of such an influential pioneer in the Latino community,” Senator Obama said. “Frank will play a key role in reaching out to Latinos concerning our campaign’s vision for uniting the country.”
In 1999, Sánchez was the Special Assistant to the President of the United States working in the Office of the Special Envoy for the Americas. While at the White House, Sánchez worked with the National Security Council, the State Department, and the U.S. Trade Representative on Western Hemisphere economic integration and the promotion of democracy. He also served as the United States Assistant Secretary of Transportation in the Clinton administration, where he oversaw international negotiations.
Frank graduated from Florida State University, where he received his undergraduate and Law Degrees. He also holds a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Bars Can Have Smoking patios under Iowa law
As the state works out final details on how Iowa's sweeping statewide smoking ban will be implemented on July 1, one officials tells Iowa Independent bars will be allowed to have patios with smoking.
"In the law bars can have smoking on their patio," said Bonnie Mapes, director of Tobacco Use, Prevention and Control with the Iowa Department of Public Health. "What's being determined right now is what is a bar."
In other states and cities with bans, the distinction between restaurants and bars have been drawn largely based on percentage sales of food. Mapes is giving no clues about how this will work in Iowa, though.
"We are close to coming up with a definition," she said.
Mapes said draft rules will be made public soon but she provided no date.
One major issue will be the protocol the Iowa Department of Public Health will use to enforce the ban.
Mapes urges business owners to refrain from adding patios or taking other innovative measures until the final rules are released.
"We are counseling patience," Mapes said.
"In the law bars can have smoking on their patio," said Bonnie Mapes, director of Tobacco Use, Prevention and Control with the Iowa Department of Public Health. "What's being determined right now is what is a bar."
In other states and cities with bans, the distinction between restaurants and bars have been drawn largely based on percentage sales of food. Mapes is giving no clues about how this will work in Iowa, though.
"We are close to coming up with a definition," she said.
Mapes said draft rules will be made public soon but she provided no date.
One major issue will be the protocol the Iowa Department of Public Health will use to enforce the ban.
Mapes urges business owners to refrain from adding patios or taking other innovative measures until the final rules are released.
"We are counseling patience," Mapes said.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Commentary: The Great Senate Race That Never Was
CARROLL -- Carroll County, Iowa, has long been known as a place that grows and nurtures priests and nuns — and even bishops — right along with the crops.
We have fertile ground for the faithful, that’s for certain.
But Carroll County missed an opportunity to have two of its native sons run for the U.S. Senate in what would have been the most substantive, inspiring political contest in the state’s history.
Imagine this: We could have had a race between the late Coon Rapids banker and internationally acclaimed agri-businessman John Chrystal, a Democrat, and Carroll County native and former lieutenant governor Art Neu, a Republican attorney who has served on numerous key panels and commissions, most recently the Board of Corrections.
Think how different the commercials would have been. Actually, there may not have been any commercials in a Neu/Chrystal race.
But it would have been high-minded and full of witty exchanges. You would have had a race where the two candidates liked each other, and one in which both men would rather be right than win.
“Arthur and John would have run the most decent, civil, lofty race we have seen, certainly in recent memory,” says David Oman, a former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party.
Oman says the hypothetical Chrystal/Neu match-up would have been a race centered mostly on economics, as they shared similar views on social issues and believed, similarly, in an expansive, global role for the state and country.
“The geography would have been fascinating, with both from west central Iowa,” Oman said. “Both would have had to work to get known in eastern Iowa.”
Oman said there would have been lots of cross-over voting.
And lots of humor.
“Arthur would have needled John in debates and his (Arthur’s) humor would have won friends,” Oman said.
Some very influential Iowans would tell you that Chrystal could have been more than a senator, that he had the potential for national leadership of the highest order.
Speaking at Chrystal’s memorial service in the winter of the year 2000, Michael Gartner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a good friend of Neu’s, said this of Chrystal: “Twelve years ago, I wrote a column in The Wall Street Journal saying John would be the perfect vice-presidential candidate — that he was smart and honest and caring, that he understood the nation and the world, that he knew about farm and factory, that he was a businessman with a soul and a savior with a brain.”
Even with that Pulitzer pen, Gartner probably couldn’t summon up such eloquence and praise for any of the people seeking offices in Iowa today.
Around the state, Neu remains one of our most respected political figures. Whether you’re walking around downtown Fort Madison with him or eating at a restaurant in Fort Dodge, you see it. Neu is approached by people who remember his service, and admire his continued involvement in state matters.
The Neu/Chrystal showdown would be all the more attractive today as even the most casual television viewer is bombarded with awful, negative ads that aren’t remotely creative and are just downright mean and often flatly false.
It could have been so much better.
How much pride would we as Carroll County residents have had in seeing our best — and the state’s best, for that matter — compete for the U.S. Senate?
We’ll never know.
But it’s something to think about when you’re watching politics in Iowa today.
We have fertile ground for the faithful, that’s for certain.
But Carroll County missed an opportunity to have two of its native sons run for the U.S. Senate in what would have been the most substantive, inspiring political contest in the state’s history.
Imagine this: We could have had a race between the late Coon Rapids banker and internationally acclaimed agri-businessman John Chrystal, a Democrat, and Carroll County native and former lieutenant governor Art Neu, a Republican attorney who has served on numerous key panels and commissions, most recently the Board of Corrections.
Think how different the commercials would have been. Actually, there may not have been any commercials in a Neu/Chrystal race.
But it would have been high-minded and full of witty exchanges. You would have had a race where the two candidates liked each other, and one in which both men would rather be right than win.
“Arthur and John would have run the most decent, civil, lofty race we have seen, certainly in recent memory,” says David Oman, a former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party.
Oman says the hypothetical Chrystal/Neu match-up would have been a race centered mostly on economics, as they shared similar views on social issues and believed, similarly, in an expansive, global role for the state and country.
“The geography would have been fascinating, with both from west central Iowa,” Oman said. “Both would have had to work to get known in eastern Iowa.”
Oman said there would have been lots of cross-over voting.
And lots of humor.
“Arthur would have needled John in debates and his (Arthur’s) humor would have won friends,” Oman said.
Some very influential Iowans would tell you that Chrystal could have been more than a senator, that he had the potential for national leadership of the highest order.
Speaking at Chrystal’s memorial service in the winter of the year 2000, Michael Gartner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a good friend of Neu’s, said this of Chrystal: “Twelve years ago, I wrote a column in The Wall Street Journal saying John would be the perfect vice-presidential candidate — that he was smart and honest and caring, that he understood the nation and the world, that he knew about farm and factory, that he was a businessman with a soul and a savior with a brain.”
Even with that Pulitzer pen, Gartner probably couldn’t summon up such eloquence and praise for any of the people seeking offices in Iowa today.
Around the state, Neu remains one of our most respected political figures. Whether you’re walking around downtown Fort Madison with him or eating at a restaurant in Fort Dodge, you see it. Neu is approached by people who remember his service, and admire his continued involvement in state matters.
The Neu/Chrystal showdown would be all the more attractive today as even the most casual television viewer is bombarded with awful, negative ads that aren’t remotely creative and are just downright mean and often flatly false.
It could have been so much better.
How much pride would we as Carroll County residents have had in seeing our best — and the state’s best, for that matter — compete for the U.S. Senate?
We’ll never know.
But it’s something to think about when you’re watching politics in Iowa today.
Monday, May 05, 2008
On The Ground In Indiana: Gas Prices, Clinton Fatigue Mix In Days Before Voting
CLARKSVILLE, Ind. -- As she took a break from cleaning the soda display windows early Sunday morning in this southern Indiana city just off Interstate 65 north of Louisville, Ky. Sherry Cheatham said the No. 1 issue among people she talks to (no surprise here) is the price of gas.
But she said it is striking to see the depth of people's frustration, up close and personal, hour after hour. She said customers are "real mad."
And often they they vent on her, blame the 51-year-old full-time clerk for the prices set much higher up the food chain than behind the counter here, where Cheatham spend her days clocking in hours and making change -- as well as serving up a generous side order of pleasant conversation.
Do customers take their anger out on her?
"Oh yeah, every day," she said.
On Tuesday, voters in the Hoosier will have a major voice in the Democratic presidential primary process -- and gas prices, along with the competing proposals from U.S. Sens. Barack Obama, Ill., and Hillary Clinon, N.Y., are factoring heavily into the campaign here.
It's easy to see why when it costs more than $60 to fill up a Toyota Avalon.
Judging by the conversations she has every day, Cheatham said, this southern Indiana area is decidedly Hillary Clinton country.
"They seem to be really leaning toward her," Cheatham.
Cheatham, who prefers Barack Obama, said the unfortunate truth is that race plays a major role in this part of the state.
"I think it is said he may not win because of the prejudice," she said.
Farther north on Interstate 65, in the southern reaches of Indianapolis, Jody Cook, 42, an employee of the circulation department at The Indianapolis Star, waited with her family to eat at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. She had a chance to shake hands with both Clinton and Obama as they made editorial appearance at the newspaper.
"I liked Obama personally," Cook said. "Obama has a really good charisma."
A few seats down in an outdoor waiting area Susan Tissot, a retired nurse, said Obama will be the first presidential candidate she votes for since Richard Nixon.
"He's not old money and he's not old politics," Tissot said.
Across the street in this gaggle of off-interstate restaurants and hotels, Brandon Shipp, a 27-year-old assistant manager at the Jameson Inn, said he likes Republican presidential candidate John McCain in the general election. But he's worked for Obama in the Democratic primary here.
"McCain's got it locked up so there is nothing you can do," Shipp said.
He's not gaming the system. Shipp, an independent voter who leans conservative, just can't stand the thought to Clinton in the White House.
"I just don't personally like her," Shipp said.
In volunteering for Obama, Shipp said he canvassed homes in a typically middle class neighborhood of southern Indianapolis. It was split among Democrats and Republicans, but the Democrats leaned toward Obama.
As he sat taking a break on his car in a motel parking lot outside of Indianapolis. Tovian Watson, 31, who works in auto detailing, said his sense of the race is that that Obama is the object of over-the-top criticism about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and other issues.
"I think they're just going at Obama too hard," Watson said.
But she said it is striking to see the depth of people's frustration, up close and personal, hour after hour. She said customers are "real mad."
And often they they vent on her, blame the 51-year-old full-time clerk for the prices set much higher up the food chain than behind the counter here, where Cheatham spend her days clocking in hours and making change -- as well as serving up a generous side order of pleasant conversation.
Do customers take their anger out on her?
"Oh yeah, every day," she said.
On Tuesday, voters in the Hoosier will have a major voice in the Democratic presidential primary process -- and gas prices, along with the competing proposals from U.S. Sens. Barack Obama, Ill., and Hillary Clinon, N.Y., are factoring heavily into the campaign here.
It's easy to see why when it costs more than $60 to fill up a Toyota Avalon.
Judging by the conversations she has every day, Cheatham said, this southern Indiana area is decidedly Hillary Clinton country.
"They seem to be really leaning toward her," Cheatham.
Cheatham, who prefers Barack Obama, said the unfortunate truth is that race plays a major role in this part of the state.
"I think it is said he may not win because of the prejudice," she said.
Farther north on Interstate 65, in the southern reaches of Indianapolis, Jody Cook, 42, an employee of the circulation department at The Indianapolis Star, waited with her family to eat at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. She had a chance to shake hands with both Clinton and Obama as they made editorial appearance at the newspaper.
"I liked Obama personally," Cook said. "Obama has a really good charisma."
A few seats down in an outdoor waiting area Susan Tissot, a retired nurse, said Obama will be the first presidential candidate she votes for since Richard Nixon.
"He's not old money and he's not old politics," Tissot said.
Across the street in this gaggle of off-interstate restaurants and hotels, Brandon Shipp, a 27-year-old assistant manager at the Jameson Inn, said he likes Republican presidential candidate John McCain in the general election. But he's worked for Obama in the Democratic primary here.
"McCain's got it locked up so there is nothing you can do," Shipp said.
He's not gaming the system. Shipp, an independent voter who leans conservative, just can't stand the thought to Clinton in the White House.
"I just don't personally like her," Shipp said.
In volunteering for Obama, Shipp said he canvassed homes in a typically middle class neighborhood of southern Indianapolis. It was split among Democrats and Republicans, but the Democrats leaned toward Obama.
As he sat taking a break on his car in a motel parking lot outside of Indianapolis. Tovian Watson, 31, who works in auto detailing, said his sense of the race is that that Obama is the object of over-the-top criticism about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and other issues.
"I think they're just going at Obama too hard," Watson said.
Harkin: Gas Tax Holiday Would Hit Iowa Roads Big Time
U.S. Sen Tom Harkin says Hillary Clinton and John McCain's proposals to temporarily suspend the 18-cent-a-gallon federal gas tax this summer won't earn congressional consideration and are causing some serious eye-rolling among economists -- and serious people for that matter.
Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, has objected to the idea because the proposal would eliminate at least $75 million per quarter – based on 2006 estimates – that the Iowa Department of Transportation gets to use on roads and bridges in the state. In effect, enacting a gas tax moratorium for the summer would amount to a loss of at least $75 million in revenues to rebuild the highways, roads and bridges in Iowa.
"No, Congress will not take it up," Harkin said on a conference call with Iowa Independent and other media.
Harkin said he's not sure the intended savings would even make it back to consumers were the proposal to go anywhere.
"Oil companies might knock off just as nickel," Harkin said. "We're not mandating that evety pump has to reduce its price by 18 cents."
Harkin has called on Congress to address the gas price crisis with substantive action that would provide real relief to American consumers. In the last year, gas prices have skyrocketed from $2.97 to $3.62. Harkin pushed for legislation he co-sponsored which would temporarily halt contributions to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) – a supply created in 1975 to keep prices down in the U.S. in the event of a war.
“Why should the federal government be purchasing oil to contribute oil to the strategic reserve for a time of crisis when the time of crisis has arrived? While this is by no means a long term solution, it is something we can do immediately to impact the supply of oil and give consumers some relief at the pump,” said Harkin.
Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, has objected to the idea because the proposal would eliminate at least $75 million per quarter – based on 2006 estimates – that the Iowa Department of Transportation gets to use on roads and bridges in the state. In effect, enacting a gas tax moratorium for the summer would amount to a loss of at least $75 million in revenues to rebuild the highways, roads and bridges in Iowa.
"No, Congress will not take it up," Harkin said on a conference call with Iowa Independent and other media.
Harkin said he's not sure the intended savings would even make it back to consumers were the proposal to go anywhere.
"Oil companies might knock off just as nickel," Harkin said. "We're not mandating that evety pump has to reduce its price by 18 cents."
Harkin has called on Congress to address the gas price crisis with substantive action that would provide real relief to American consumers. In the last year, gas prices have skyrocketed from $2.97 to $3.62. Harkin pushed for legislation he co-sponsored which would temporarily halt contributions to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) – a supply created in 1975 to keep prices down in the U.S. in the event of a war.
“Why should the federal government be purchasing oil to contribute oil to the strategic reserve for a time of crisis when the time of crisis has arrived? While this is by no means a long term solution, it is something we can do immediately to impact the supply of oil and give consumers some relief at the pump,” said Harkin.
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