Nate Willems, Ryan Peterman, Taylor Wettach Full Remarks At Steak Fry

Posted on September 3, 2026 by Trish Nelson

Polk County Democrats Steak Fry 2026 – photo credit: Iowa Capital Dispatch

Props to Laura Belin at Bleeding Heartland for covering the candidates’ entire speeches. I don’t know of another news source that covers more than a snippet, if that, except for The Des Moines Register state fair soapbox speeches. So please go to the Bleeding Heartland YouTube channel and like and share candidate speeches with your network. There are also a number of shorter reels that are of interest there and worth sharing.

Nate Willems is a Democrat running for Iowa Attorney General. Currently the office is held by a MAGA Republican Brenna Bird. He is great and we need to defeat her. Every vote is going to matter in these races so please give him a listen then prepare to volunteer, donate, vote, etc., whatever you can do.  https://www.natewillems.com/

Ryan Peterman, Democrat running for Secretary of State, office currently held by Republican Paul Pate who complied with Trump DOJ’s request and handed over our voter data even though he didn’t have to by law. Brenna Bird gave him the green light.  https://petermanforiowa.com/

Taylor Wettach, Democrat running for Iowa State Auditor, Rob Sand’s current job.  Wettach left his job as a lawyer with a large DC firm when they capitulated to Trump demands and agreed to provide Trump with free legal services. A vote for Taylor Wettach is a vote for integrity.  https://wettachforiowa.com/

And finally, check out this reel showing one of many reasons why Brenna Bird must go. She made it sound like people in Iowa are voting illegally right and left in massive numbers. Then she proclaims as if we didn’t know, that it is ILLEGAL and specifically mentions when non-citizens do it it is a FELONY! A SERIOUS CRIME!

Well, of course it is, but why did Donald Trump need Iowans’ voter data?

Not that she minds convicted felons as long as their last name is Trump.  There is virtually no illegal voting happening in Iowa. Bird must have darted away before the reporter had a chance to challenge her on her string of misleading statements but as usual, Republicans are making stuff up that sounds reasonable and rational but is based on faulty premises in order to mislead. Trump is the one who lost 62 court cases where he claimed fraud and election stealing. Trump is the one who tried to overturn the election he lost and still gets Republicans to say it was stolen. Trump is the one who led supporters to an attempted violent overthrow of our government on January 6, 2020.

The Jan. 6 insurrection was a violent mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, aimed at stopping Congress from certifying the 2020 election results that Joe Biden won. – AI

Republicans want to keep us from knowing what they are up to by making false claims that non-citizens are rampantly voting illegally.  It’s not the case but it did happen – once.

 Only one individual has been convicted of voting illegally in Iowa as a result of recent investigations into noncitizen voting, although there have been other cases with mixed outcomes. Overall, investigations have led to a very small number of prosecutions compared to the total votes cast in elections. – AI

You probably actually remember the one conviction likely referred to above.  In 2024 a spouse of a REPUBLICAN politician in Iowa’s 4th district was convicted by a jury and sent to prison for voter fraud. Here is a link to the strange tale that I found on good old fashioned Google.  https://www.thegazette.com/iowa-gop-politician-s-wife-sent-to-prison-for-voter-fraud/.html

“Prosecutors said Taylor used the ballots to fraudulently generate votes for husband Jeremy Taylor’s unsuccessful bid in the Republican primary for a seat in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District. The month after his primary loss, he successfully ran for Woodbury County Supervisor and still holds the position.

Jeremy Taylor, a former state legislator, was identified in court documents as an unindicted co-conspirator but was not charged with a crime.”  Gazette

So it seems when it comes to voter fraud Republicans are the ones with a record.

Very glad this question got asked of Bird. She didn’t answer the question posed as to why twenty court decisions supported states who refused to comply. Hoping someone is able to get a follow up in on camera in the future. Rs are practiced at evading the press. When they are forced to talk to the press, they count on their deceptive statements being the last word. Bird likely allowed the question for the purpose of getting the big lie out there.

My question would be yes, but what does what you just said have to do with Trump grabbing our voter data?

 

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Raskin And Whitehouse Rally Iowa Democrats

Posted on September 2, 2026 by Trish Nelson

Great speeches by Jamie Raskin and Sheldon Whitehouse in Des Moines at the Polk County Democrats steak fry August 29.  Credit to Laura Belin at Bleeding Heartland for the coverage. Follow Bleeding Heartland YouTube channel. 

 

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Epstein Reading Room and Tour Coming To Iowa

Posted on September 1, 2026 by Trish Nelson

From our inbox:

THE DONALD J. TRUMP AND JEFFREY EPSTEIN MEMORIAL READING ROOM IS GOING ON TOUR

trumpepsteinreadingroom.com/

Starting September 8 in Dallas, TX, we’re bringing the Reading Room to cities across the country. All the files. The timeline of Trump and Epstein’s relationship. A tribute to survivors. And ways you can take action to demand justice and accountability.

Stops scheduled in Des Moines, Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. Sign up to RSVP and receive notifications.

TOUR ITINERARY

https://trumpepsteinreadingroom.com/tour

THE DONALD J. TRUMP AND JEFFREY EPSTEIN MEMORIAL READING ROOM IS GOING ON TOUR

The Epstein Files Bookmobile is hitting the road, too.

To bring our fight for justice and accountability to as many communities as possible, we’re also touring the country in the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Bookmobile.

Find a tour stop near you →

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Epstein Files Incriminate Maxwell

Posted on August 31, 2026 by Trish Nelson

Donald Trump’s daily antics are irresistible to the media such that the most important news stories either never get reported or maybe a one-and-done, or they are out there for awhile, but only until a new bright, shiny Trump story comes along. Then they forget all about everything that came before. Every invented media lure launched by Trump for the purpose of controlling the narrative, is treated as “breaking news!”

The Epstein files saga is still happening behind the scenes but we won’t see much about it until after the mid-terms, most likely.  One person who never quits on this story however, is Julie K. Brown. If you don’t know her, she is a print journalist who writes for the Miami Herald.

Julie K. Brown bio from her substack page.

“Award-winning journalist whose investigations into Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking network led to his arrest and focused international attention on the case. On Signal jkbjournalist.25”

She posts her Signal contact information in part because she is still accepting tips about the Epstein files story. You can also follow her on Twitter and BlueSky.

Most recently, she has shown her fearlessness by making the following observation publicly.

Julie K. Brown, whose reporting on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for The Miami Herald earned her a string of major awards, branded [Natalie] Harp Trump’s “side piece” in a post on X. Brown made the comment on Wednesday, August 18, while responding to a post from Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson.

Wilson had shared a series of right-wing pundits and politicians who had criticized Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff for bringing the Trump-Harp controversy into the spotlight. Brown wrote, “None of these people defending Trump’s side piece seemed to have any issue with Trump calling female reporters ‘piggy’ and ‘hag.’” –   Link

But before we sidestep too far into Trump crazy land,  I wanted to share Julie K. Brown’s recent reporting about convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Follow this link to her Substack and I recommend becoming a paid subscriber. JKB is almost singularly responsible for breaking this story and keeping it alive. As Professor Tim Snyder writes in his book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, one way we can fight back against fascism is by financially supporting journalism and just causes.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s Pedophile Puppy Trick:  Judge slams door on her last-ditch appeal

by Julie K. Brown

Ghislaine Maxwell put a lot of sweat into representing herself in her quest to throw out her 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking.

It’s telling she didn’t hire a lawyer for this last-ditch, desperate quasi-appeal — maybe because she arrogantly believed that she could do a better job of winning her case than an experienced lawyer who has done these types of habeas corpus petitions their entire careers.

Her arguments, however, were dismissed by the judge almost as efficiently as Maxwell employed the pedophile puppy trick to lure girls into having sex with Epstein. (More on this later).

U.S. District Judge Paul Englemayer’s rejection of her petition was brutal. He took it apart — and then stuck a pin in it. He didn’t just deny it, he called it “rambling,” “frivolous” and filled with “falsehoods.”

Read the Miami Herald story here

Then, he said what I’ve been saying for months — that the Epstein Files actually incriminate Maxwell even more than what federal prosecutors did in 2021. In other words, there is additional evidence against her in the files that were released starting in December 2025.

Which brings me to the pedophile puppy trick, which is an actual tactic, called a “pet lure” that pedophiles use to trap children by exploiting their natural love of animals to approach and engage them in conversation with the goal of isolating them.

To read more subscribe to Julie K. Brown’s substack

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged | Leave a comment

Chris Jones Speaks At The Soapbox

Posted on August 30, 2026 by Dave Bradley

Chris Jones at the State Fair Soapbox (21 minutes):

It has been extremely interesting to see the Agriculture Secretary’s race in Iowa to be competitive. Usually this is a race that is simply handed to any Republican without much question. Not this year. Chris Jones is really shaking the race up by asking the tough questions. The Republicans that have owned this office have no answers.

 

In this speech Jones talks about clean water, cancer, diversification and Trump’s incredible impotation of cheap (and maybe tainted) beef. Republicans have no answers. Their only answer is more chemicals and corporate farms.

 

As you listen to his speech, you just think to yourself “he really makes sense – we should try it his way.”

From Jones’s campaign website we have this letter of introduction:

A LETTER TO IOWANS

I imagine a day when a miracle has happened.

On that day our streams run clear, our air smells of nature and not the moldered waste of a swine legion. Children play in our lakes while parents look on unconcerned about infection. From our faucet flows water we can know is safe to drink.

The work of prosperous farmers enhances the quality of life for all and not just a tiny fraction. Iowa remains a working landscape but one that fosters the well-being of native plants and animals, which have returned in abundance to comingle with a crop and livestock production system designed for human nutrition and environmental outcomes. The commerce from this system has rekindled rural life and reversed the migration of young people to big cities and distant states.

Many say these are impossible goals—the world has changed too much. Why do we let those that benefit most from the status quo define what is and isn’t possible?

Shouldn’t we, the people, define the possible?

Chris Jones

Posted in 2026 election | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Sunday Funday: Where’s Your Beef From? Edition

Posted on August 30, 2026 by Dave Bradley

11 minutes – Brian Tyler Cohen talks about Trump’s latest move:

Brought to you by the party and president that brought you a million dead with Covid comes another bet on your life and health with the “Where’s your beef from?” challenge of 2026. This challenge will fold in with the current “were your veggies inspected?” and the recently started “do you trust your eggs?” challenges.

Not sure when this challenge starts. Guess we will all be surprised. What we do know is that other countries tried to import beef from Argentina and rejected it. For that reason, the administration will not tell us where the beef is coming from. The administration no doubt believes that if people have no idea where the beef comes from, they won’t reject it. At least until people start dying.

As a bonus, the beef importation will screw over one of Trump’s most loyal voting blocs – the beef ranchers. A MAGA two-fer.

I can’t keep it all straight any more. Hopefully I have correct answers for the questions.

A)  Canada released its economic reports for the second quarter Friday. Were there numbers up or down?

B)  Did you see the move? According to Trump, Toronto no longer sits on Lake Ontario, but has been moved to what lake?

C) Unless you live under a log you know that Dolly Parton passed away Tuesday. Whose TV show in the 1960s did Parton gain fame on?

D) If you want to catch a WNBA game, you better do it today as the league will take 2 weeks off for what reason?

E) Some interesting stuff in science last week. For instance Facebook (Meta) were fined $17.1 B for purposely doing what?

F) The media barely reported this, but who recorded over 1000 equity (stock) trades in June despite some very sketchy ethics and legality in doing so?

G) In another effect of Trump’s war on Canada, what long standing separatist movement has shrunk to nearly nothing?

H) In Trump’s war on Iran, Iran has put a $10 M bounty on whom?

I) The US has recorded 2,777 cases of measles and how many deaths during this outbreak?

J) In more science news, global warming seems to be directly responsible for what disaster in Nepal last week?

K) What store chain apologized after it screwed up and offered a Jim Crow era minstrel costume for sale for Halloween?

L) In Iowa, what candidates for major office appear not to live in the district they seek to represent?

M) Why did the CIA chief go to Russia last week?

N) South Carolina held a runoff primary for the Republican to run for the US Senate. Who won?

O) We talked about this last week but this is such huge news we bring it up again. Moderna along with Merck announced last week that they appear to be on the verge of a vaccine against what?

P) As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, Trump has let it be known he may not attend the ceremony at ground zero on that day. Why?

Q) The FDA issued a recall of what ubiquitous food item due to contamination with Salmonella?

R) The Navy is considering naming an aircraft carrier after Trump. The ship, still under construction, had been set to be named after what WWII war hero?

S) What far right political commentator is being held by ICE in New Orleans awaiting deportation as of Friday?

T) NASA is launching a new what today to observe the universe?

The immigrant isn’t your enemy, the billionaire paying you substandard wages is. – YourAnonNews

How Fascism starts from Michael Moore: (12 minutes)

Answers:

A) Canada had a 3.3% growth during their first quarter.

B) Lake America

C) Porter Waggoner

D) International women’s basketball championship

E) addicting kids to social media

F) Trump – can a president legally make trades with his inside info?

G) Quebec’s

H) Barron Trump

I) 2 deaths were reported in Pennsylvania last week

J) flooding due to a clacier cracking and releasing the water it was daming up

K) Target

L) Joe Mitchell in Iowa’s 2nd district lives in Mount pleasant in district 1. Miller-Meeks lives in Wapello County in district 3, no district 1 where she is running.

M) The story that we are getting is that he went to tell Putin face to face not to attack NATO

N) Darline Graham, Lindsay’s sister

O) Cancer. they have had successful tests on melanomas

P) He is going to Ireland to watch a golf tournament one of his golf courses

Q) eggs. 1.7 million eggs

R) Doris Miller a hero at Pearl Harbor

S) Milo Yiannopolous – he was born in the UK

T) a space telescope that will be able to scan huge swaths of galaxies. It will be the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Watch the video

 

The Nancy Grace Roman observatory: (7 minutes)

 

 

If you can vote in person, vote in person. Trump thinks he is going to change the outcome by f–king with mail in ballots. He’s telegraphing his plan. Change yours accordingly. – Tim Hannan

Posted in #nevertrump, Humor | Leave a comment

Bohannan Responds to Miller-Meeks Ad

Posted on August 29, 2026 by Dave Bradley

BAM!! When I saw that Miller-Meeks ad I sputtered something about how I hope somebody calls it out. Well here it is. 1 minute of truth from Christine Bohannan:

BAM!

Posted in 2026 election | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Heather Cox Richardson Interviews Rob Sand

Posted on August 29, 2026 by Dave Bradley

28 minutes. Posted on August 27th.

Since it is on YouTube, Zach Lahn can watch it in Kansas.

Posted in 2026 election | Tagged , | Leave a comment

An Observation On Dolly Parton’s Death

Posted on August 29, 2026 by Dave Bradley

11 minutes: Ken Burns tribute to Dolly Parton:

 

We are not much followers of the entertainment world these days. With the venues shattered into seemingly a million pieces each one acting more and more outrageously to garner our attention, we have for the most part given up on trying to follow anything or anyone and instead slip into something more comfortable such as certain sports.

 

Yet there are still some corners of the entertainment world we at least have a working knowledge of. Dolly Parton was one such corner. She’d been around a long time and was always a likable person. Her life story made her seem like an old neighbor. But for many, Dolly Parton was much more than that. She was a person who lived the Americaan dream that we all hope to live some day or hope that our kids will live it.

 

Dolly Parton lived the dream, but in doing so was able to maintain a life open to all people. This is something that those in exalted places seldom do. As i was listening to the bits and pieces of yet another Dolly tribute a thought crossed my mind. Perhaps the reason Dolly Parton’s death is being mourned so widely and deeply is that in the current United States we have few people who are truly genuine. Most people with any celebrity are looking to exploit it for the ‘big score’ – making big bucks off their fame.

 

Thus Dolly Parton fit a niche that is rare in the US today that of a decent person. As such she stood in contrast to what we hear about day in and day out. The one person who owns the spotlight in this country is that jerk of a human being, Donald Trump. The differences between these two people is stark.

 

On the one side you have a woman who was born into poverty. She grew up in a one room cabin without running water or electricity. Her clothes were often hand-me-downs or homemade. No doubt her chances at succeeding in life were slim at best. But she had some talent and an indomitable spirit.

 

On the other hand we have a boy born into wealth with success pretty much guaranteed. He had every privilege a person could have, including the best schools. Yet despite all that young Trump caused problems where ever he went.

 

Dolly Parton went to Nashville – one of the music centers of the world with her talent and dreams and was able to become a star. But she never forgot her roots. She was always looking for opportunities to help those who were down and out. As her fame and fortune rose, she would find ways to share her fortune in ways that would, with little fanfare, help some segment of society.

 

Meanwhile as Trump grew, he would look screw over people, especially those of lower classes. He would exploit them by stealing their labor when he refused to pay bills. He would use his power and access to discriminate against people of different backgrounds, colors or religions. He was the living epitome of the miserable human miser.

 

While Dolly Parton built businessess that gave people good work at good pay, Donald Trump did all he could to ruin lives by not paying his workers and using the court system to ruin businesses that dare ask for him to pay his bills.

 

Trump has been given the job of overseeing our government. In that job where a person like Dolly parton could – would have – done so much good, Trump has use the awesome power of the office to really make people suffer. From taking away food and medical care from the poorest among us to having people of color murdered for the flimsiest of reasons.

 

What is really strange is that we have a political party that acts basically as a cult following, refusing to condemn his actions and by doing so encourages more and more venal actions. As Trump has moved from not paying bills to using his power as head of government to manipulate markets and reward cronies with no bid contracts while taking bribes, his party covers him from being prosecuted and investigated.

 

So there is today’s tale. Two people born in the same year, one in poverty and one to great wealth and power. It seems almost like one of those fairy tales we would read as a kid. But we know these stories are true. However, these tales are not quite finished. The ending will depend to some degree on you.

 

One of the most important parts of the story is just about to happen. We have a system of laws and justice in this country. That system should be applied to Donald Trump and his minions who have so perverted our way of life. Whlie Trump is the most powerful person, the people of the US through its system of justice are the more powerful.

 

Here is where your part comes in. You must vote in the midterm election. We must remove anyone with an “R” behind their name. If they have and “R” behind their name they will continue to support Trump’s malevolent administration. And for this story to have a happy outcome Trump must be held accountable for what he did.

Posted in #nevertrump, 2026 election, Blog for Iowa | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Indivisible Campaign Kick-Off Call

Posted on August 28, 2026 by Trish Nelson

#nokings protest photo: Trish Nelson

If you are looking for an alternative way to get involved and defeat MAGA in November,  Indivisible has a plan and an amazing  track record organizing on a massive scale.

Republicans are so worried about their unpopularity they are changing their messaging to sound like Democrats!  Ashley Hinson is selling herself as a friend of the little guy. They are lying about what they will do if elected and who they really support.  The ads are everywhere because their PACs have so much money.  The only question is will rank and file Republicans still buy what they are selling?

There are many ways to get involved – financial support, sharing on social media, helping register voters, volunteering for a federal, state, or local candidate or your local Democratic party. Whatever you can do, no matter how small, it’s vital for everyone to get involved. 

Announcement from Indivisible:

###

We need Democratic majorities in the House and Senate filled with progressive fighters who will hold Donald Trump and his MAGA cronies accountable for their cruelty and corruption. This November, we can elect leaders who will make the regime answer for their crimes.

We must organize like hell to win across the country in the midterms. How exactly are we going to do that? Join Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin for our general election kickoff call next Wednesday, September 2 (7pm CT/8pm ET/5pm PT) to learn more about our plans to elect a Congress that will truly fight for us.

General Election Kickoff Call Wednesday September 2 at 8pm ET

After an outstanding primary season, we couldn’t be more excited to share our general election plans with you. On Wednesday, Ezra will talk about what’s at stake this fall, why it’s critical to get involved, and how we’re going to hold the fascists accountable and take our power back. We’ll also announce our general election target races and our roadmap to securing Democratic majorities in Congress.

(Spoiler alert: We’ve got an expansive map with more district canvassing programs than we’ve ever had before. And as you read this email, our team is planning phone banks so that no matter where you live, you can be part of the grassroots groundswell that ushers in new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.)

Every day between now and November 3 is an opportunity to encourage our communities to vote early, make sure our friends and family have a plan to get to the polls, and share just how important it is to defend our democracy from Trump’s destruction. Let’s make them count.

RSVP now to get briefed on our plan to win this fall and learn how to get involved in our biggest general election program in Indivisible’s history.

See you on Wednesday!

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , | Leave a comment