New Ad: “Zach Nunn Would Cost Us More”

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Dave Bradley

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2023

CONTACT

Sarah Bell | press@fairnessforiowa.org

New Ad: “Zach Nunn Would Cost Us More”

Nunn Would Cut Social Security and Medicare Benefits So He Can Give Billionaires Bigger Tax Breaks, and That’s Just Not Right (30 seconds)

Des Moines, Iowa — Fairness for Iowa released a new ad this week that features Jim—a welder from Urbandale—talking about the Social Security and Medicare benefits he’s paid into and Zach Nunn’s plans to cut those benefits to give more tax breaks to billionaires and corporations. The ad will air on TV, digital, and radio in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. 

Since he joined Congress earlier this year, Nunn has already aligned himself with corporate special interests and the ultra-wealthy at the expense of his constituents: 

You don’t just walk in here on day one and be the best welder. It takes a lot of effort. It’s a back-breaking field to be in.

Down here in the weld shop, this is where all of the work really goes in.

And every paycheck I’m paying into Social Security and Medicare.

Zach Nunn introduced a bill in Congress that would lead to huge cuts in Social Security and Medicare.

But he’s pushing to give billionaires more tax breaks.

We earned those benefits. 

Zach Nunn shouldn’t be able to take ‘em away so he can give billionaires bigger tax breaks.

Just don’t think it’s right.

###

Fairness for Iowa is a statewide grassroots campaign to uplift the stories of hard-working Iowans. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable. Our coalition includes Iowa Citizen Action Network, Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, AFSCME Council 61, Health Care for America Now, Lower Drug Prices Now Iowa, Iowa Main Streets and Country Roads, and Progress Iowa.

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Ironically Ironic Week

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Dave Bradley

Funny thing – Trump not that popular in Iowa these days:

I have always had a snarky sense of humor, one that looks for the contradictions and internal ambiguations in pronouncements from on high. I think a lot of Americans share my skepticism and distrust of those with power – especially those with power who seem ill-prepared and ill-suited to have that power. Since Ronald Reagan, a preponderant number of ill-prepared and ill-suited folks seem to fall on the MAGA side of the ledger.

This week we had a couple of events where MAGA politicians seem to be little more than caricatures of themselves. The first came right out of the chute Monday. It came from Iowa’s new Attorney General. Now most of you know that Attorney Generals are supposed to be the highest law enforcement officer of the state. One would think that by definition therefore they would be fighting on the side for the law and those who uphold the law.

One would normally think that. Yet in Brenna Bird, Iowa has an AG who is a bit off the beam. She has previously come out against having the state pay for rape kits for women who have been physically assaulted. To me that is coming down on the side of the assaulter. Add to that that the the rape kits included the morning after pill, it looks like Bird wants victims to bear the child of that rape.  

Monday Bird, Iowa’s top law enforcement officer, openly endorsed Donald Trump for President. For this who may have been sleeping for 20 years, one could make a case that Donald Trump is arguably the biggest criminal the US has ever seen. When my ears heard that I let out huge guffaw. It was like J. Edgar Hoover endorsing Al Capone for president. 

I almost can’t think of anything comparable in our history. Of course arguably there really is no one on the MAGA side that is worth an endorsement of any kind this round. Yet, Iowa’s top law officer endorsing America’s top alleged criminal sure sets off the snark alarms in full blast. 

Also this week we have the interesting case Of Marianette Miller-Meeks Iowa’s first district representative who often doesn’t seem to have a clue what to do. Her indecisiveness has caused her some distress this week. When the MAGA caucus picked the pathetic Jim Jordan of Ohio as its Speaker candidate, Miller-Meeks should have assessed him and voted against him for many reasons one of which is that he doesn’t do anything.

Yet she took her marching orders and voted for him. Jordan did not win the speakership in the first round. Miller-Meeks changed her vote from Jordan in the second round as Jordan lost again. Miller-Meeks raised the ire of the MAGA Jordan and Trump backers. Miller-Meeks has stepped off the Trump train before and raised the ire of Trump. 

This time the Trump (and Jordan) goons came out in force to tell Miller-Meeks of the error of her ways by threatening her life. It is quite ironic that Miller-Meeks does not seem to understand who she is dealing with. She would have been much better off to base her campaign and time in office on seeking truth and quit playing games with the MAGA forces in our country. But she long ago opted to try to keep their votes to stay in office. Wednesday she paid the price.

Ed Tibbets writing for the Iowa’s Writers’ Collaborative and the iowa capital dispatch had this analysis:

It should be no surprise that Jordan is Donald Trump’s guy for speaker. And why wouldn’t he be? Jordan was a legislative lieutenant in Trump’s attempt to overthrow the 2020 election. And even as Trump was fueling the Jan. 6, 2021 riot and insurrection, Jordan was on the phone with him that day. We don’t know what they talked about. But we do know Jordan went on to vote to reject the unambiguous results of two states Joe Biden won, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

{snip}

Yet, every single Iowa Republican in Congress voted for him to be next in line to the presidency behind the vice-president. And if this wasn’t insult enough to our Republic, then what about the economic interests of the state they’re supposed to represent?  

{snip}

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who represents my congressional district, was one of the Iowans who threw her support to Jordan on the first vote. There were reports that Miller-Meeks waffled. But not when it counted, when it came time to vote. Instead of joining the 20 Republicans, largely from moderate districts, who couldn’t stomach a vote for Jordan, who resisted the pressure, Miller-Meeks jumped on board

{snip}

I’d like to think that when voters go to the polls next year, the ones who complain that our politics is so divided and dirty and that nobody knows how to get along and compromise, they will remember this sad day.

Voting for Miller-Meeks is truly voting against your own interests, Iowa’s interests and the interests of the country. Even she doesn’t know what side she is on. There is a very viable, very constituent oriented opponent in the first district in Christina Bohannan. 

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President Biden Addresses The Nation

Posted on October 20, 2023 by Trish Nelson

Timothy Snyder American historian and author of On Tyranny and The Road to Unfreedom, on Biden speech:

“People will pick and parse but I thought it was a wonderful speech… I’m frankly grateful that he’s the president at the moment.”

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Democrat Sarah Corkery Enters IA-01 Congressional Race

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Trish Nelson

Sarah Corkery has a powerful story and an authentic style. A two-time breast cancer survivor, in her opening salvo she nailed Hinson who she had a Zoom meeting with during Covid to ask her to be a co-sponsor on the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act. Hinson said no.

TV coverage of her announcement was across the state but most all of the media outlets included comments from the Ashley Hinson campaign that sounded more like internet trolls than an elected official. The best media coverage I saw was a Des Moines Register article by Stephen Gruber-Miller.  I hope you check out her announcement video below.  It is awesome and will make you want to vote for her.

Visit Sarah Corkery’s campaign website corkeryforcongress.com.
Follow Sarah Corkery on Facebook and Twitter

You can make a donation here

From her donation page:

“Sarah Corkery, a community leader and small business owner, is running to represent Iowa’s second congressional district in Congress.

Iowans deserve better and need a representative who will take their everyday issues to the national stage. Unfortunately, the current Congresswoman consistently votes against Iowans best interests — failing to support legislation that would improve our health, our economy, and our safety.

As a candidate, Sarah is ready to leave political infighting aside and work towards what unites us.

This is not Democrats versus Republicans. This is voters standing up against a legislator who does not represent their values. And that’s why Sarah is running.

Donate today and become a founding donor to help Sarah defeat Ashley Hinson in IA-02.”

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All Four Iowa Republicans Vote In Lockstep for Jim Jordan

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Trish Nelson

Jim Jordan stands with dozens of people calling for stopping the vote count in Pennsylvania, in Harrisburg on 5 November. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Excellent article about Jim Jordan in The Guardian.

All four Iowa representatives in congress voted for Jim Jordan for speaker yesterday.  Jordan did not have enough votes to win on the first round. They are voting again today at 11:00. There is still time to contact Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson and Zach Nunn.

Quite a bit of chat at the beginning of the podcast. They get to the facts about Jim Jordan about 20 minutes in.

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America’s Favorite Historian Discusses Her New Book

Posted on October 17, 2023 by Trish Nelson

Heather Cox Richardson

“On Point host Meghna Chakrabarti moderated a conversation with historian Heather Cox Richardson about her new book, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. Following the phenomenal success of her newsletter “Letters from an American,” Richardson continues her mission to distill bleak headlines and wide swaths of America’s past into a coherent story. With her command of history and her calm, accessible prose, Richardson masterfully explains how our country got to where it is today and the steps we must take to preserve democracy.” 

Follow Heather Cox Richardson on Facebook Twitter  YouTube

My two favorite quotes from the program:

“Today’s Republicans are not within the American mainstream. They are radical extremists.”

“Let’s go out and keep the faith”

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DNR Should Say No To C02 Pipeline Water Permits

Posted on October 16, 2023 by Trish Nelson

From our inbox here is an urgent action alert from Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI):

Water is one of our most important resources – we drink it, we bathe in it, we recreate in it.

But in Iowa 94% of the population is experiencing drought. Most recently, Osceola was forced to increase water restrictions for residents last week after a lack of precipitation and closely monitoring their only water source, West Lake.

Despite a historic statewide drought the DNR has issued a “notice of intent” to grant Summit Carbon Solutions a permit to extract up to 120 gallons of water per minute for a cooling system for their proposed CO2 pipeline.

Will you email the DNR today and tell them to say NO to water permits for CO2 pipelines?

The application for the water permit was submitted under a new LLC created by Summit – Goldfield SCS Capture LLC.

While the DNR has issued a “notice of intent”, the process is not over – public comment is open until Tuesday, October 24. The DNR must consider whether the project is of beneficial use before issuing the final permit.

A water permit for Goldfield SCS Capture LLC is NOT a beneficial use for everyday Iowans because it would:

  • Use massive amounts of water for a greenwashing scheme that doesn’t protect our environment or tackle the climate crisis
  • Create a strain on nearby rural Iowans who depend on well water for daily use
  • Prop up unproven “technology” that over-promises and under-delivers
  • Extract up to 120 gallons of water per minute so the pipeline profiteers can line their pockets

Please take 5 minutes to email Carmily Stone and Michael Anderson at the DNR today.

Carmily and Michael lead the Water Supply Engineering Section of the DNR that is responsible for granting or denying water permits like Goldfield SCS Capture.

Thousands of Iowans already oppose the CO2 pipelines because they’re a false climate solution and they want to use eminent domain for private gain. The DNR needs to deny Goldfield LLC’s water permit.

Take action today, then let us know what you hear.

For a better Iowa,

Ava Auen-Ryan
Farming & Environment Director

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Latest From Inequality Media

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Dave Bradley

6 minutes:

Not a lot different today, is it? Money is power and power is money still.

Child labor, crushing unions, political corruption, monopolies in all aspects of daily life – sounds like Iowa today doesn’t it? Bribery? Citizens United basically codified bribery so it is still there. Dangerous working conditions? Have you seen a slaughterhouse?

Wealth taxes have been greatly diminished and wealth has been allowed to accumulate in just a few hands. The middle class has been hollowed out. Policies espoused by the Biden Administration has started to reverse that trend. It will take election victories and continued “bottom up and middle out” policy to keep that momentum.

Where Reich calls for new taxes we have a MAGA party that will only raise taxes on the poor and cuts taxes for the rich massively. The thought of raising taxes for the rich is not even allowed in conversation any more. When a MAGA politician talks about the debt does anyone ever ask “How about taxing the rich?”

Due to ad revenue and fabulous salaries our media has become little more than pet lapdogs for the wealthy. There are a few brave souls that call out the inequality and problems in America, but for the most part the media – let’s be more specific, the corporate media is little more than a propaganda outlet for the rich.

Even Public Radio and Public Television bow to the money. It is so sad to be listening to a story or interview and not hear the obvious followup questions.

Robert Reich and others like him are at present national treasures in my opinion. Like Ida Tarbell, H.L. Mencken and Upton Sinclair of the previous gilded age the truth tellers are one of America’s most important commodities.

Posted in #trumpresistance, 2024 election, Biden-Harris, Republican hypocrisy, Republican Policy | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Latest From Inequality Media

Sunday Funday: MAGA Mess Edition

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Dave Bradley

Today’s question is: Can the MAGAs get a person in place in time to shut the government down in a month or will they screw that one up also? If you did your job as badly as they are would you get paid and how long do you think you would last? A week? A day? Or maybe a month if you worked for a real fool? 

So we don’t have to think about an internal party doing what the Nazis in WWII and the Communists during the Cold War couldn’t do – stop the US in its tracks  – let’s see if there are some Stella the leaf jumping dog videos. this is from a couple of years ago, but so fun (4 minutes)

Also try not to think how Tommy Tuberville is beating the military by himself  – oh maybe a little help from guys like Grassley.

If MAGAs in charge aren’t enough of a fright, here are Iowa’s top spooky spots on iowastartingline.com –  Hats off to the folks who did the research on this one.

A) So who is running to be Speaker of the House?

B) Much of the world’s attention has been focused on the Gaza Strip this week. About how big is the Gaza Strip?

C) Robert F. Kennedy, jr. has dropped from the Democratic race for president and has moved his campaign to what group?

D) This afternoon in Iowa City as many as 50,000 people may show up to watch what event?

E) Today is the end of Hispanic Heritage Month. What president established National Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968?

F) In a move to slow climate change Friday, President Biden establish seven hubs for what fuel across the US?

G) The tally is coming in. Kim Reynolds and Iowa’s MAGA legislature’s handout to private schools could take how much from Iowa’s public schools this year?

H) Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark signed an NIL contract with what insurance company to represent them last week?

I) Best Buy announced they would end sales of CDs and DVDs in early 2024 after the holidays. How long have DVDs been on the market in the US?

J) The UAW walked off the job Monday morning in a strike against what major truck manufacturer?

K) It looked like this person had the inside track to be Speaker of the House until he suddenly announced he was withdrawing his name from consideration Thursday night?

L) The family of what 1984 Olympic gymnastics star announced she had a rare pneumonia and no health insurance as they started a crowdfunding effort to pay her bills?

M) Thursday was the 25th anniversary of the death of what LGBTQ person in Wyoming where he was beaten and left tied to a post in the cold to die?

N) Approximately what percent of the US population is of Hispanic heritage in the 2020 census?

O) Reports claim the Social Prosecutor Jack Smith also has the motive for why who took Top Secret documents?

P) A provision in what state’s budget established a secret police to be run by a legislative committee that is currently run by MAGA Republicans last week?

Q) Indicted congress member George Santos had his indictments superseded to add how many new charges last week?

R) In California, what former athlete announced his bid to fill the senate seat Diane Feinstein held as a Republican?

S) In a decision that may lead to an outpouring of information a judge finalized orders that voided Donald Trump non-disclosure agreements with what group of people?

T)  What states did the US create out of land taken from Mexico at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848?

Since Middle East, Gaza, Israel, Hamas and Iran are all trending……it’s a good time to remind everyone that putting extreme religious conservatives in power always leads to the opposites of what their religions teach. – John Fugelsang

Answers:

A) Last I heard Jim Jordon is back in and someone name Austin Scott threw their name in – update – looks like just Jordon left – pray for Biden’s and Harris’s health. 

B) 140.9 miles square (25 mi X 3.5 to 7 mi. wide)

C) Independent

D) The Iowa Women’s basketball team play Depaul in what is called the ‘crossover game in Kinninck stadium

E) Lyndon Johnson

F) Hydrogen

G) $144.2 million

H) State Farm insurance

I) since March of 1997

J) Mack truck (owned by Volvo)

K) Steve Scalise

L) Mary Lou Retton

M) Matthew Shepard

N) around 18%

O) Donald Trump

P) North Carolina

Q) 23 

R) Former Dodger Steve Garvey

S) Trump’s 2016 campaign workers

T) New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and California.

Why is it so hard to believe Donald would provide damaging secret intel to a bad foreign actor?

He showed maps of North Korea to Kid Rock. – Mary L. Trump

Posted in #trumpresistance, Humor | Comments Off on Sunday Funday: MAGA Mess Edition

Prove It!

Posted on October 14, 2023 by Dave Bradley

Robert Reich points out a few fake crisis that MAGA politicians have pushed. Might I add that the corporate media has done little to debunk these crises and in fact often pushes them despite having no corroborating evidence that such crises are real – 5 minutes:

(Excerpt from Robert Reich’s sub stack column of Tuesday October 10)

Reich wrote about how right wing economists twist economic news to fit their agenda. Here he fights the claim that the national debt causes interest rates to rise. Funny, just a couple of years ago the debt was high and the interest rate was near zero, but a MAGA was president.

But there’s not a shred of evidence that long-term interest rates rise and fall with the size of the budget deficit or the nation’s debt. No current economic data point to budget deficits as the cause of the higher long-term rates we’re now seeing.

When the mainstream media fall for this narrative, they give credence to the views of right-wingers who want to slash federal spending — which, as a practical matter, means Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Some of these people are the Republican extremists who nearly caused a government shutdown (on which, more in a moment).

The truth is that long-term interest rates rise when uncertainty about the future rises. (Ed. note: This can be easily driven by corporate media) 

And the biggest uncertainty right now is not found in economic data. The biggest uncertainty is political — not just about what will happen in global hotspots like Ukraine and now Israel, but more directly, about whether America is still capable of governing itself.

This uncertainty has been caused by those same Republican extremists who didn’t want to raise the debt ceiling, and then refused to fund the federal government, and have abdicated political leadership of the House for the first time in the history of the nation.

Include the increasingly wild ravings of their party leader, Donald Trump (along with the hair-raising possibility that he could be president again) and you have reason to be frightfully uncertain about the future.

Among other things this article got me thinking about is the absolutely piss poor job America’s media does of informing the public of what the real nature of America’s problems are and of what solutions are available. As we hear about the debt, do we hear any corporate media calling for tax raises on the wealthiest Americans who can afford it? I sure don’t.

Iowa’s media in particular has a unique position to ask the questions that need to be asked. As MAGA candidates for president crawl across Iowa’s landscape and make outrageous statements claiming things such as a need for border walls or more tax cuts for the rich or how America is a Christian nation where is that one “journalist” who will stand up and say “Prove It!”

Oh there are a few journalists in the state who would do that. No MAGA candidate would dare invite them to a press briefing. If they were to get in, staff would make sure that journalist would be ignored. The regular media in Iowa learned long ago during the Branstad reign that asking real questions will get a journalist blackballed from ever doing that again.

Every Friday night here in Iowa we are treated to an exercise on public TV where MAGA politicians are treated with kid gloves by what is supposed to be top Iowa journalists. Instead of being confrontational which it should be, the Iowa Press show is nice and polite with few followup questions. 

National politicians are now running around the state making ridiculous claims. Where is the journalist, or for that matter the citizen who will ask questions such as “Back your claim with facts, please” or “Why are you in favor of banning books in a free speech country?” or “What makes you think that the January 6th coup was not lead by Donald Trump?”

Let’s just play a game. Since I see a lot of Tim Scott’s ads, let’s play one and ask some questions. C’mon Iowa, you can do this: (30 seconds)

“Mr. Scott – how then do you feel about subsidies for farmers? 

  • What about forcing people to pay back loans that were made fraudulently? 
  • What about white collar crimes – People are greatly hurt by them? Shouldn’t those crimes be dealt with harshly? We have a case of a politician committing fraud – how do you feel about that?
  • Is there a particular group of people in this country passing themselves off as victims? I can think of some
  • In the case of trans participating in sports – is your aim to isolate people based on some difference with the majority so they can’t live a full life?

I would so love to see these lying politicians answer real questions just once. Biden does it. Democrats up and down the line do it. C’mon press, do your job.

Posted in #trumpresistance, 2024 election | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Prove It!