Terry, our right wing tool of a governor, Branstad took out the old veto pen on Friday of Memorial Day  weekend to slice out a portion of the hard work that the legislature had done over an otherwise poorly productive session. Branstad sliced out a section of a bill that appropriated $500,000 to Food Banks of Iowa. I am not a fan of line item vetoes. At a public forum when Jim Leach pushed for a presidential line item veto I asked what his job would be then? He had no answer.

But even more reprehensible is Rep. Tom Sands (R – ALEC) who as chair of the House Ways and Meas committee refused to release a bill for $2 million for the Food Banks. Branstad doubles dips and Sands is a well fed banker. Maybe if they missed a few meals they would change their tune.

Bain experience didn’t help Romney in Massachusetts
Before he was elected governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney ran on his experience in creating jobs at Bain. But as governor his state had the worst record of any state in creating jobs. Once more, this is a warning of what a Romney presidency would be. I can’t believe any sentient human would listen to a word this man says. Look at his actions. They more than tell you all you need to know.

Single-payer state-by-state?
Rep. Jim McDermott offered an interesting plan that might make single payer very viable on a state by state basis. Essentially the plan would allow states to use Medicare and Medicaid money to fund a state wide single payer system. My guess is that with the savings that single payer systems have by virtue of being a pool of the whole and dramatically less overhead, this money could go a long way toward funding universal health care on a state by state basis.

China buying oil while we go to war.
While we have spent trillions in the Middle East to secure Iraq oil for corporations (excuse me, I mean secure freedom for Iraqis), China has been quietly securing oil contracts around the world http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/29/investing/china-oil-energy/index.htm including the Americas. Talk about irony.

The Jenny McCarthy body count
Jenny gets a special internet page because she supports those who claim vaccinations cause autism. Probably ain’t so, but lack of vaccinations cause whole lots of problems.
Romney 3rd businessman president?
Do the names Herbert Hoover and George W. Bush ring a bell? Among all the various occupations that our presidents have had, these two were primarily businessmen. Now if my memory serves me, neither were exactly successful presidents. In fact in most rankings of presidents they are usually the lowest two. My guess is that based on the Romney record and campaign, he could easily give them a run for the title of worst ever.

US has 2nd highest rate of children in poverty
I can’t make any snide comments about this. This is an utter shame in the richest nation ever. This comes less than a week after Terry Branstad saved Iowa from socialism by cutting $500,000 for a Food Bank appropriation.

And once more let’s give Tom Sands the recognition he deserves. As chair of the Iowa House Ways and Means Committee he sat on a bill from the senate that passed nearly unanimously to appropriate $2 million for the Food Bank. Tom Sands and Terry Branstad – two Iowans who make the world a much worse place to live.

Walmart quits ALEC

Walmart became the 19th corporation to leave ALEC Wednesday. This tells me that Walmart believes being associated with ALEC is toxic, even among those who shop Walmart. I believe they are right.

Remember, every Republican member of the Iowa House is a member of ALEC. And let us say that ALEC has a mighty strong influence on how they will vote. Governor Branstad was a founding member of ALEC. We need to stop their influence in Iowa. ALEC is one strong reason to vote against any of their members this fall.