Monthly Archives: May 2009

Bike to Work Week and Rides of Silence Come to Iowa May 11-15 Did you know Iowa ranks sixth in the nation (up from 21st in 2008) as a Bike Friendly State?   Apparently, we moved up in the rankings before … Continue reading →

World Health Organization Says Pigs With Swine Flu Must Be Kept Out of Food Supply Reuters By Tan Ee Lyn [See also: Harkin says don't let China get away with banning pork imports  and Loebsack asks CDC to help pork … Continue reading →

President Obama, Don't Mess With the CIA! by Donald Kaul Donald Kaul as you all know, is a former Des Moines Register columnist and RAGBRAI co-founder.  You can find his column on Wednesdays at Minutemanmedia.org.  After all these years, he … Continue reading →

Senator Grassley Plays Politics With Health Care Radio Iowa is reporting that Senator Grassley met with President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Democratic Senator Max Baucus in the White House, Wednesday, just the four of them.  In his own words, … Continue reading →

U. S. Senate Candidate Bob Krause To Campaign in Iowa Thursday Bob Krause, a Democratic leader in the state for more than 35 years and a candidate for the U. S. Senate, will campaign in Iowa City on Thursday, May … Continue reading →

Health Care Reform Update: Where Do Braley, Grassley, and Harkin Stand on the Public Plan Option? by Alta Price, M.D. Since I was in Washington, D.C., anyway, moving my daughter there to work as an intern in Representative Braley’s office … Continue reading →

Emergency Health Care Reform Briefing With Dr. Howard Dean Democracy for AmericaMoveOn Urgent update on health care: Next week, Congress will begin making the actual decisions about what'll be in a health care reform bill. Meanwhile, conservative groups have launched … Continue reading →

Swine Flu Name Change…Putting Lipstick on a Pig? By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer [Note from BFIA:  Before we get to the name-changing story, may we also recommend Nick Johnson's blog for a predictably thorough review of the issues.  Here … Continue reading →

Iowa Supreme Court Decision on Same Sex Marriage Explained Reprinted with permission from the Prairie ProgressiveIn the Government's Interest by Nate Willems On April 3rd the Iowa Supreme Court struck down a state law defining civil marriage as only between … Continue reading →

Grassley Reneges on Mortgage Help by Ellen Ballas After publicly stating in February that he would support President Obama's stimulus bill if a mortgage amendment was included, Senator Grassley just voted NO on the “Helping Families Save Their homes Act … Continue reading →