Chuck Todd/Rita Hart Convo May Surprise You

Posted on October 28, 2025 by Trish Nelson

photo credit: rollcall.com

So you’re thinking to yourself, groan, I know what these two are going to say already, I don’t have to listen, it’s going to be boring. But let me just say that I’m no fan of Chuck Todd either (although he’s better on his podcast than he was on Meet the Press).  I have always liked Rita Hart and some who opine she’s too old or too moderate or too this or that, should check out this conversation which surprised me in a variety of ways and was actually lively and entertaining.  Hart strikes me as having a good balance of perspective, experience, and historical memory, alongside an open mind and an even temperament. She also has respect for process and wants to find consensus.

She should be our MOC in IA-01 instead of Miller-Meeks. She never brings that up because she’s not all about ego or other petty concerns. I think she gets points for that. Chuck did bring it up.

There was plenty of nuance here and it turns out I did not know what Chuck Todd or IDP chair Rita Hart were going to say after all.

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Dr. James Zogby Joins Veterans For Peace on Armistice Day

Posted on October 27, 2025 by Paul Deaton
Dr. James Zogby.

IOWA CITY — On Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, beginning at 11 a.m. CST, the local chapter of Veterans For Peace will hold three public events in Iowa City to re-dedicate ourselves to the work of peace. Members of the public are invited.

Beginning at 10:45 a.m., we will assemble at the Iowa City Ped Mall. Bells will ring at the 11th hour, 11th day, 11th month, as is tradition. Dr. James Zogby will present brief remarks.

In 1985, Zogby co-founded the Arab American Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community. He continues to serve as its president. Zogby is also Director of Zogby Research Services, a firm that has conducted groundbreaking surveys across the Middle East.

Immediately following the outdoor observance, Veterans For Peace will host a free luncheon at the Iowa City Public Library. Dr. Zogby will address the group in a longer format. His topic is “The war that didn’t end all wars and instead launched a century of conflict.”

At 6:30 p.m., Veterans For Peace will sponsor a screening of the new film Earth’s Greatest Enemy at Iowa City FilmScene, 404 East College Street, Iowa City. This is a documentary exposé of the world’s biggest—and most unaccountable—polluter: the US military. Learn the environmental cost of having a military empire. The film was written and directed by Abby Martin and Mike Prysner. Prysner will attend and introduce the film. Afterward he will host a question-and-answer period. Tickets are pay-what-you-can.

This is the sole Armistice Day observance in the State of Iowa.

More about Dr. James Zogby from the Arab American Institute website:

James Zogby co-founded the Arab American Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community, in 1985 and continues to serve as its president. He is Director of Zogby Research Services, a firm that has conducted groundbreaking surveys across the Middle East.

In September 2013, President Obama appointed Dr. Zogby to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. He was reappointed to a second term in 2015 and concluded his service in May 2017. He was twice elected Vice Chair.

Zogby is featured frequently on national and international media as an expert on Middle East affairs. Since 1992, he has written a weekly column that is published in 12 countries. In 2010, Zogby published the highly-acclaimed book, Arab Voices. His 2013 e-books, “Looking at Iran: The Rise and Fall of Iran in Arab Public Opinion” and “20 Years After Oslo,” are drawn from his extensive polling across the Middle East with Zogby Research Services. His most recent book is, “The Tumultuous Decade: Arab, Turkish, and Iranian Public Opinion – 2019-2019” analyzes the fascinating transformations taking place across the Middle East region following the US withdrawal from Iraq and the Arab Spring.

Dr. Zogby has also been personally active in U.S. politics for many years; in 1984 and 1988 he served as Deputy Campaign manager and Senior Advisor to the Jesse Jackson Presidential campaign. In 1988, he led the first ever debate on Palestinian statehood at that year’s Democratic convention in Atlanta, GA. In 2000, 2008, and 2016 he served as an advisor to the Gore, Obama, and Sanders presidential campaigns.

For the past 3 decades, he has served in leadership roles in the Democratic National Committee. He currently serves as Chair of the DNC Ethnic Council, an umbrella organization of Democratic Party leaders of European and Mediterranean descent. He served on the DNC’s Executive Committee from 2000 to 2017 and for more than a decade served as Co-Chair of the party’s Resolutions Committee.

In 1975, Dr. Zogby received his doctorate from Temple University’s Department of Religion, where he studied under the Islamic scholar, Dr. Ismail al-Faruqi. He was a National Endowment for the Humanities Post-Doctoral Fellow at Princeton University in 1976 and is the recipient of a number of honorary doctorate degrees.

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How Close Is The US To Dictatorship?

Posted on October 26, 2025 by Dave Bradley

Potential SCOTUS case could make Trump untouchable

The Republicans knew where they were headed when they took control of the courts

17:30 – Heather Cox Richarson’s Thursday podcast. Discussion of dictatorial power starts about 13:00

This suddenly became a real possibility when the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that despite laws and history this president has SOME power to use the military as his police force. Joyce Vance in her substack fills in the details:

Sunday night, we discussed Trump’s plans to use the National Guard for domestic law enforcement purposes and the Seventh Circuit’s decision that he could not deploy them to Chicago. Monday, the Ninth Circuit’s decision, as expected after oral argument, went the other way, holding that Trump’s plan to deploy the Guard to Portland was lawful. The decision was 2-1. The majority ruled that sending 200 troops to protect the federal building for 60 days was a “proportional response” to the crime issues Trump believes exist in the city.

 But then Vance noted that the dissent was much more measured:

Writing in dissent, the third judge on the panel took a different view. Judge Susan Graber wrote, “We have come to expect a dose of political theater in the political branches, drama designed to rally the base or to rile or intimidate political opponents. We also may expect there a measure of bending—sometimes breaking—the truth. By design of the Founders, the judicial branch stands apart. We rule on facts, not on supposition or conjecture, and certainly not on fabrication or propaganda. I urge my colleagues on this court to act swiftly to vacate the majority’s order before the illegal deployment of troops under false pretenses can occur. Above all, I ask those who are watching this case unfold to retain faith in our judicial system for just a little longer.”

Vance then points out that this issue of what power the president has is probably headed to the SCOTUS:

Either way, two critically important issues are headed to the Supreme Court:

  • The scope of presidential power to federalize and deploy National Guard troops, and,
  • Whether a president’s decision that such a move is merited is effectively unreviewable by the courts, as Trump alleges, 

That’s the heart of the matter. These cases are part of Trump’s drive to make the executive more powerful and to have that power come at the expense of the courts, Congress, and the people. If Trump can deploy troops on American streets at will, then our democracy will be immeasurably weakened.

If SCOTUS decides that Trump has the power to deploy troops as he feels, that is pretty much the end of our democracy. That would be very close to the “plenary” power that Stephen Miller pronounced that the president has about a month ago. 

Remember here that just a bit over a year ago SCOTUS decided that the president could not be held liable for acts he committed as president. Now we have the US committing murder on the high seas claiming that those that are killed are drug smugglers without any evidence. This is what Trump wants the SCOYUS to give him the same type of power inside the country.

Also remember that Chuck Grassley’s refusal to allow President Obama’s nominee to the SCOTUS was a big cog in the current extremist right SCOTUS that may decide to give Trump dictatorial powers. 

 

Posted in #trumpresistance, Charles Grassley, SCOTUS | Comments Off on How Close Is The US To Dictatorship?

Sunday Funday: Reality Scarier Than Fiction Edition

Posted on October 26, 2025 by Dave Bradley

Well this just scares me to the quick (77 seconds): “We’ll just kill them.” Who will stop him? Will he just have people killed on the streets of the US with no due process? Who will stop him?

I was hoping to have a fun Halloween edition, but frankly I am being overwhelmed by the continuous destruction of our government and the corruption that those at the top are raining down on us to seek favor with the autocrat. It is truly, truly scary.

But I will wedge some Halloween questions in. I need to keep my sanity:

A) First, in a dose of real horror, benefits for what program runs out next Saturday?

B) The leader of what state has vowed to prosecute ICE officers who have committed crimes in his state?

C) In what appears to be a flat out quid-pro-quo, the FIWH pardoned Changpeng Zhao who was the chairman of what Crypto exchange company?

D) Halloween, like Christmas Eve is when all the fun happens. Halloween is the eve of what holy day?

E) Jack Smith, former special prosecutor during the Biden presidency, made what offer last week concerning his testimony?

F) The FIWH has once terminated trade talks with Canada because which province ran an ad disparaging tariffs featuring Ronald Reagan?

G) Who is Terry Rozier and why is he in the news?

H) Black and orange are all over during Halloween. Black, of course, represents death. What does the orange represent?

I)  The national debt has risen over 1 trillion since when in the fastest rise ever except for the covid period?

J) Comics have already given the FIWH’s new ballroom what as a working name?

K) Who ever thought this would happen – Iceland reported the existence of what pest in their country?

L) What is the derivation of the word “bonfire”?

M) In the brazen daytime heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris, what was the estimated value of the items stolen?

N) What cloud service went down for a time on Monday causing a huge disruption of the internet?

O) The FIWH called on what OTC drug to change its labeling Monday?

P) What is the name of the Celtic holiday that was the precursor to our current Halloween?

Q) Japan has their first female prime minister in Sanae Takaichi. Unfortunately she compares herself to what British female prime minister?

R) Who was the Headless Horseman in Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow?

S) Senator Chris Murphy pointed out that the money the FIWH gave to what country could have paid for subsidies for the ACA for a year?

T) What legendary character first carried a lantern made of a vegetable to light his way in the night?

Tuesday: Progress Iowa

KIM REYNOLDS NAMED MOST UNPOPULAR GOVERNOR IN AMERICA – AGAIN: For the seventh straight quarter, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds tops the list as the nation’s most unpopular governor, with 53% of Iowans disapproving of her leadership. Under her watch, Iowa has plunged to 49th in economic performance, 48th in income growth, and ranks second for cancer rate increases. After nearly a decade of Reynolds’ failed policies and one-party rule, Iowans are signaling they’re ready for change.

We have been watching Halloween related videos for the past month. It has helped me destress from the world Trump has created. Here is a somewhat long video of kids trick or treating in Cambridge, Ontario. Watch a little or a lot. I like it simply for the color and the mood. Happy Halloween, All!

Answers:

A) SNAP

B) Governor Pritzker in Illinois

C) Binance

D) All Hallows Day or All Saints Day

E) He would testify before the House and Senate Judiciary committees in open session – (of course they won’t) 

F) Ontario

G) Terry Rozier is a basketball player in the NBA who among other has been charged with violating gambling laws. Big scandal in the NBA

H) the harvest

I) since August according to NPR

J) The Epstein Ballroom

K) Mosquitos – hello global warming

L) from bone and fire – a huge fire where bones are burned

M) over $100 million

N) AWS or Amazon Web Service

O) Tylenol – based not on science but on how the FIWH feels about that product

P) Samhain pronounced ‘saw wain’

Q) Margaret Thatcher

R) He was supposed to be a Hessian soldier whose head was blown off by a cannon ball during our Revolution

S) Argentina – shows where the FIWH’s priorities lie

T) Stingy Jack – hence Jack’s Lantern

During a press briefing last week:

DOOCY: What do you see as the biggest difference in diplomacy between Trump and Biden?

ZELENSKYY: President Trump has a big chance now to finish this war. President Biden now is not the president so he doesn’t have a chance to finish this war.

TRUMP: I would say the biggest difference is one is extremely competence and the other is grossly incompetent (note: we agree – ed.)

Finally: the real address that the FIWH is having such a fit over. Yep, Reagan did denounce tariffs:

Posted in #trumpresistance, Humor | Comments Off on Sunday Funday: Reality Scarier Than Fiction Edition

On Miller-Meeks, Argentina and Soybean Farmers

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Dave Bradley

https://bohannanforcongress.com
First district Democratic congressional candidate Christina Bohannan

From the Bohannan campaign: ( Since I am so pissed about Republicans screwing over Iowa’s farmers, this fits right in:)

Dave, there are moments when you have to pause and say … what the????

While Iowa’s soybean farmers are struggling to stay afloat, Mariannette Miller-Meeks is proudly backing a $40 billion taxpayer-funded bailout for Argentina — one of the United States’ biggest competitors in the global soybean market.

This is great for Argentina, but not so much for our state. Mariannette Miller-Meeks ran on a platform of “America First” but this woman isn’t even putting Iowa first. It’s time to get her out of office and elect a leader who will actually fight for Iowans. Make a donation to support Christina Bohannan today >>

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Here’s how we got here:

Iowa is the top producer of soybeans and corn in the entire country. But thanks to the tariffs Miller-Meeks is actively supporting, the cost of farming in Iowa has skyrocketed. Prices on essential supplies like seed, equipment, and fertilizer have shot up anywhere from 10 to 40 percent.

At the same time, China — once one of our biggest buyers of American soybeans — walked away from the U.S. market because of those tariffs. Instead of buying from Iowa farmers, China is now buying from Argentina.

So what is Mariannette Miller-Meeks doing? Is she fighting to undo the damage her own policies caused? Is she pushing her party to stand with Iowa’s farmers? Nope.

Mariannette Miller-Meeks is throwing her support behind the $40 billion bailout for Argentina — all at the expense of Iowa farmers. The Argentinian government is taking full advantage of this money by making it as easy and as cheap as possible for China to buy soybeans from them.

Miller-Meeks has made her priorities clear. When politicians tell you who they are, listen. And when they put politics and the interests of foreign countries over the people they were elected to represent — it’s time to vote them out.

Christina is ready to be a voice for Iowans in Congress — not for Argentina, not for corporate special interests, and not for the party bosses in Washington. Chip in to Christina’s campaign right now to help send a leader to Congress who will fight for our farmers. >>

Thank you,

Bohannan HQ
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About Those No Kings Numbers

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Dave Bradley

 

12:30 – The Success of Non-violent Protests – Erica Chenowith

When I hear tv newsers and read posts on the internet that repeat a number that 7 million turned out for the No Kings 2 protest last Saturday, I just kind of shake my head in disbelief. No one gives any source for where they got that number – they just repeat it as if it were handed down from Gawd.

I am skeptical. It was bothering me all week until I was listening to the Stephanie Miller Show earlier this week. During a discussion with Glenn Kushner, Stephanie questioned that sacrosanct ‘7 million’ number also. She then said that her understanding that that number was the number who SIGNED UP online.

Good grief, most of the people I know didn’t sign up online. If people did anything online, they may have looked to see what the closest town to them that was holding a gathering. So if 7 million bothered to sign up online I think we could easily estimate that probably twice that actually showed up.

So that 7 million number has about as much validity as the “George Soros paid these protestors” meme does. But this is number that the extremist right that is in power in this country is very determined to have stick as the official number. In recent years the magic number for protests has become the frequently cited 3.5%.

Erica Chenowith is the researcher who discovered that number as the magic number for the success of non-violent uprisings is 3.5%. In the above video, Chenowith discusses how she discovered that number and why it is reliable.

Chenowith has plenty of examples of how that number has been tide turning number time after time. Thus those in power have a big stake in reporting a number lower – much lower if they can make it believable – than Chenowith’s 3.5%. If those in power can make a much lower number seem to be the “real” number and they can hammer it home through constant repetition it will become the accepted norm number.

More importantly, it will make a movement or an action seem to be a failure. 

So if we do the math: America has about 340,000,000 people. 3.5% of that is about 11,900,000 or let’s say 12 million people. Therefore the continually hammered home number from corporate media of 7 million falls way below 12 million – only a bit over half of the “goal.”

Now when I looked in on some of the major protests around the country on Youtube Saturday, the crowds were humongous. HUMONGOUS! In cities like NYC, Chicago, Washington DC, San Diego, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco the crowds seemingly had no end. Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta the same.

The last protest in June reported some 400 events. This time there were nearly 7 times that number with bigger crowds everywhere. And you expect me to buy the lie that there were barely only 2 million more participants. Get outta here with what you are selling, cause I ain’t a buying it. 

Iowa – for gawd’s sake IOWA! – had over 50 events. Julie Gammack sent out a live video from Spirit Lake in Iowa’s most Republican County that had over 50 people. I mean to tell you folks, that is quite a middle finger to the administration. I can’t remember how many they said turned out in Idaho, but more than 1 in that deep red state should be a red flag to Republicans.

So they said 5 million in June and only 7 million last Saturday? To use an old Iowa expression – Bullshit. I think we can safely say that there was probably at least 2X that bogus corporate media number of 7 million. So if we say there were 14 million in the streets last Saturday, I think that is much closer to reality.

If the number was 14 million then that blows well past that 3.5%. That indicates that Republicans are in deep trouble. And they are. And I believe they know it. And I believe they are huddling in offices around the country strategizing on how to rig next year’s election if we do have an election next year.

While they are mouthing one number of protestors out loud, I have no doubt they are looking at some real numbers and seeing their power slip away to the people. And that is what our founders designed. The people must have the power. 

I know not when the next event is planned. I am hoping it is before the SCOTUS takes a knee before Trump. Until then I am planning to make judicious shopping my lifestyle. I am planning on buying just what I need and only from companies considered woke. No Walmart, no Amazon etc. Vote with your dollars, folks. It is the only language that billionaires understand.

Posted in #trumpresistance, 2026 election | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Watta Kick In The Teeth

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Dave Bradley

 12 minutes – Trump’s beef plan is a kick in the teeth for cattle ranchers in the US:

Just as ranchers see beef prices climb due to various factors, including Trump’s unilateral tariff imposition, Trump turns around and kicks the ranchers in the teeth by trying to bring Argentinian beef into the US to lower beef prices. And thus yet another group of Trump supporters learn the lesson many other groups have learned the hard way: You can’t trust Donald Trump!

Another group of major Trump supporters that is once again learning that same lesson on Trump is farmers – especially those who grew soybeans this year. Trump policies have had the effect of closing foreign markets to soy producers. Because of when it happened not only are they not selling this year’s crop, there is little place to store this year’s crop since last year’s crop is still in the grain bins.

As an extra kick in the teeth for soy farmers, Trump’s policies that have resulted in closing soy sales to China have in turn created an opening for other countries to screw the US and sell their soy crop to China. Who was one of the first to step in to fill that void? Argentina, as I am sure you have all heard.

It almost seems as if Trump is trying to Make Argentina Great Again at the very expense of those who voted for him. In a way he is, for in the case of Argentina Trump is trying to bolster their economy so that the extremist right wing leader of the country does not see his party decimated at the polls in the upcoming elections.

Despite what Trump has done to try to make Javier Milei look good, Milei’s extremist right wing economics has ruined the Argentinian economy. Trump’s late game attempted rescue will not be enough to save Milei’s party, but it sure has kicked a couple of his (Trump’s) biggest supporting groups in the teeth. Very hard!

In all the outcry against Trump’s insane policies, we have heard almost nothing from Iowa’s congressional delegation. It appears they fear chastisement from Trump far more than deservedly losing the votes of their constituents. Where is Hinson? Where are Miller-Meeks, Nunn and Feenstra. Anybody heard from Chuck?

I have never understood why a farmer would ever vote for a Republican. All Republicans have ever done for the farmer is to espouse policies that set farmers up for failure. Meanwhile, Democrats have put in policies that have worked to keep farmers on their land, from rural electrification in the past to broadband today.

If Trump continues his shortsighted policies toward farmers, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him try to end ethanol production to bolster oil prices and use in this country. Imagine what that would do to corn farmers?

In his column on Thursday economist and Nobel prize winner Paul Krugman took on the subject of Argentina, beef and agricultural policies. He points out that agriculture’s vote for Republicans have long been against their self interest. Maybe this current kick in the teeth will finally make them realize what is happening to them: 

Policy wonks like me have spent decades pointing out that if rural Americans voted based on their informed self-interest, they would be supporting Democrats, not Republicans. Republicans are constantly trying to eviscerate Democrat-supported programs that benefited rural states like Medicaid spending, SNAP (the supplementary nutrition program formerly known as food stamps), and school lunches. Trump is also cutting subsidies for green energy programs like solar farms and wind turbines – subsidies that disproportionately went to red states. Iowa gets 63 percent of its electricity from wind!

Moreover, these programs in effect subsidize rural areas with dollars earned in urban areas: because rural areas have lower incomes than urban areas, rural Americans pay relatively little of the taxes that finance these programs. So Democratic “big government” is highly beneficial to the heartland.

Yet economic self-interest has been swamped by “rural consciousness.” This consciousness rests on a belief that highly educated urban elites don’t understand or value rural culture and rural lives. And I will admit that this belief contains a grain of truth. Urban elites are unlikely to fully understand the attachment of rural Americans to a particular place and its time-worn rhythms of life. Ensconced in salaried jobs, urban dwellers are unfamiliar with the constant anxiety of being a farmer or a small business owner in the heartland. Decades of being battered by the economic changes — deindustrialization, farm consolidation and corporatization, depopulation, loss of community ties, along with the loss of jobs, particularly “male-coded” jobs – have left rural Americans feeling adrift, marginalized and resentful.

And this created an opening to be exploited by the right wing. Much like how Trump peddled fantasies of a manufacturing resurgence or the return of coal-mining jobs, MAGA leveraged the deep discontent within rural America to inculcate the belief that only Republicans, and Trump in particular, respect rural voters. But this is false: MAGA actually holds its most loyal voters in contempt.

And the reality of this contempt is starting to show through — not, at least so far, via the One Big Beautiful Bill’s savage cuts to health care, which will be especially devastating to rural areas, but via the Trump administration’s bizarre fixation on aiding President Javier Milei of Argentina.

Krugman has much more to say so click on the link.

We can surely hope that the rural folks fixation for the Republicans has finally received a cold dose of reality and farmers and rural folk will realize that Democratic policies are the ones that have been keeping them alive and in some cases prospering for nearly a century while Republican policies have ground them down. 

Posted in #trumpresistance, Charles Grassley, Farming | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Watta Kick In The Teeth

A Storm Of Activism Is Needed To Save Social Security

Posted on October 24, 2025 by Trish Nelson

From the Fall 2025 edition of The Prairie Progressive, Iowa’s oldest progressive newsletter. The PP is  funded entirely by reader subscription, available in hard copy for $15/yr.  Send check to PP, Box 1945, Iowa City 52244. Click here for archived issues

For nearly a century, Social Security has provided life sustaining economic security to
millions of Iowa families. That guarantee is now under serious threat. The Social Security Administration projects a 23 percent cut in monthly benefits In just seven short years,
unless Congress and the president act to fix the system—a problem that experts have warned about for decades.

The good news? There are pragmatic responsible solutions to keep Social Security solvent for generations to come. The bad news? Congress—currently controlled by Republicans—
is mired in chaos and dysfunction, unable or unwilling to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, let alone fix Social Security.

Social Security is funded by payroll taxes paid by workers. But only wages up to a certain amount are taxed. In 2025, the cap will be $176,100. Every dollar earned above that is exempt from Social Security taxes.

That cap is outdated and unfair. One obvious and necessary fix is to raise it—or eliminate the cap entirely for the highest earners. Another option would be to tax investment income
for wealthy taxpayers, who now contribute nothing to Social Security from their investment gains. The Internal Revenue Service estimates that U.S. millionaires and billionaires fail to pay roughly $150 billion every year in taxes they owe. Applying the
rule of law to these wealthy freeloading tax cheats could help strengthen Social Security.

Some argue for the opposite approach: cutting benefits. Their proposals include raising the retirement age (again), reducing payments for higher-income retirees, or slashing the benefits that working Americans have already earned.

In 2024, more than 700,000 Iowans—including children, people with disabilities, and 513,000 retirees— rely on their monthly Social Security checks. Those payments pump $1.3 billion each month into Iowa’s economy. The average retiree receives about $2,000 a month. A 23 percent cut in 2033 would slash more than $5,000 a year from each retiree’s income.

Let’s be clear—cutting benefits would push millions into poverty, destabilize families, and create a bleak future. Picture your parents or grandparents forced to move in with you because their checks no longer cover rent, household expenses, medical care, or food. Without new revenue or deep benefit cuts, the system will eventually buckle. That looks like the current plan—inaction as slow motion destruction.

Many Americans believe Social Security is too sacred for politicians to jeopardize. But if the past ten months have taught us anything, it’s that absolutely nothing is sacred anymore. Under initiatives like Project 2025 and DOGE, Republicans beholden to their billionaire oligarchs have vocally and aggressively embraced efforts to dramatically
shrink the federal government’s role in supporting many vital programs that ordinary Americans depend on. Social Security appears next on the chopping block.

Here in Iowa, our Republican congressional delegation—Zach Nunn, Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Randy Feenstra, Chuck Grassley, and Joni Ernst — has
proposed zero reforms to save and strengthen Social Security. They refuse to consider any new revenue, period. Don’t take my word for it—ask them.

Democrats, for their part, know the math. Fixing Social Security requires more revenue. But too many are afraid to say it out loud, fearing nasty Republican attacks at even the
mention of a tax increase for wealthy Americans.

No one is coming to save Social Security unless we make them. Without a storm of activism—from MAGA voters, Democrats, Independents, and Republicans—Congress will continue to stall while the clock runs out. In legislative terms, 2033 is right around the corner. Americans deserve time to adjust to any changes that might come.

Social Security needs champions! People that can work across the aisle and are not afraid to speak the truth about long-term solutions. Who will step up and meet this challenge?

Social Security must be a top issue—not in 2033, not in 2028, but now. From now through the 2026 midterm elections, every federal candidate seeking our votes must answer two
simple questions:

What specific ideas do you support to fix Social Security? And will you make fixing Social Security now and for generations to come an urgent priority?

—Joe Bolkcom lives in Des Moines.

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She Voted For Him Because He Promised To Release The Epstein Files

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Sensitive content. Discussion of sexual assault and abuse.

Democracy Now!: 

Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s posthumous memoir has just been released, detailing how she was groomed by Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, whom she met at Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort. In Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, she writes that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times, beginning when she was 17, and was beaten and raped by a “well-known prime minister.”

Virginia Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year in Australia at age 41. Democracy Now! speaks with Amy Wallace, Giuffre’s ghostwriter, who says Giuffre experienced the “depths of hell” with Maxwell and Epstein. “It’s not just a catalog of horrors. It’s a woman who is terribly abused as a child, escapes from that terrible abuse … and then becomes an advocate,” says Wallace.

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.

 

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Iowa Congressional Republicans Called Out At No Kings

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch

Iowans criticize GOP representatives, Trump at Des Moines No Kings demonstration

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
October 18, 2025

Organizers and politicians urged the crowd of thousands gathered Saturday at the Iowa State Capitol as part of the national No Kings protest, to stay engaged and help flip Iowa seats in the 2026 election.

The Des Moines event was one of more than 2,600 nonviolent demonstrations planned nationwide, with millions of participants protesting Trump administration actions on issues from cutting funding for public health programs, deploying National Guard troops to cities and mass deportations. It was the second No Kings national protest – the first was held in June in response to Donald Trump’s birthday military parade.

At the event, state lawmakers, union organizers, immigrant advocates and teachers decried Trump’s and Republicans’ policies. Speakers also emphasized Iowa will play a vital role in putting a check on Trump’s power in the 2026 election, and encouraged Iowans to vote and stay politically engaged.

Mike Draper, founder and owner of Raygun, a liberal-leaning shirt and souvenir business headquartered in Des Moines, told the crowd he invited U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn to a town hall Friday, but held up an empty chair with the sign with the sign “Representative Nunn” to show the Iowa 3rd District representative’s response. He criticized Nunn for not holding public town halls and said the Republican “doesn’t work for us,” but for Trump’s agenda.

He told the crowd that if Democrats win three seats in the U.S. House, there will be an effective “check on Trump’s power.”

“And as fate would have it, there are three competitive races in Iowa right now,” Draper said. “If we flip those three seats — all of which have been Democratic at some point in the last decade — Iowa alone will win the House of Representatives.”

In addition to the 3rd District, which is expected to be competitive, the congressional races for Iowa’s 1st and 2nd Districts are also expected to be more competitive than in previous election cycles. All four of Iowa’s congressional seats are currently held by Republicans.

While larger political topics like the federal government shutdown and release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein came up, some speakers said Trump’s trade policies have hurt Iowa in a unique way. Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union and a farmer from Polk County, said Trump’s tariffs and recent federal trade policies have hurt Iowa farmers, pointing to China’s move to buy soybeans from South American producers instead of American farmers.

“I’m telling you, thousands and thousands of Iowa farmers are on the brink of a crisis,” he said. “Chaotic tariffs have devastated the markets for what we grow, and they have raised the cost of our inputs, and they have gotten us no closer to fair trade for farmers and workers.”

Elena Casillas-Hoffman, a communications specialist with Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, said Trump’s immigration policies are also negatively impacting Iowa. She said the only population growth Iowa has seen in recent years is because of immigrants and refugees, who are “revitalizing our communities.”

Members of these Iowa communities are now being detained by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Casillas-Hoffman said. ICE has had a presence in Iowa for years, she said, but since Trump took office, immigration authorities’ tactics have changed, with more individuals being detained and arrested.

“We know that ICE is in six county jails.” Casillas-Hoffman said. “… We know that children are scared to go to school, to leave their homes. People are afraid to be a part of our community if they do not have their paperwork on them at all times. Our communities are beyond terrified, and we should not accept these conditions.”

Some speakers also hit on more local issues, like the campaign to form a nurses’ union at UnityPoint hospitals in Des Moines. One of the nurses involved in the organizing effort, Gail Grimes, spoke about the effort to form a union through Teamsters Local 90 – and how the scheduled unionization vote in early October was delayed indefinitely due to the federal shutdown.

“We will stay strong, and we will stay resolute that the nurses of Des Moines will respond with a resounding ‘yes’ when asked the most important of questions when the federal government reopens and a new election date set,” she said.

Grimes asked for protesters to support the unionization effort, linking it with the larger movement to support health care access and working Iowans.

“The only way the working class can win against the tyrannical shift happening in our beloved nation is through numbers and through our solidarity,” Grimes said.

Protesters came to the event dressed in costumes parodying Trump and other historical figures, carrying American and Palestinian flags, and holding up signs calling for political action.

Toby Kalage, a 19-year-old, carried a sign stating, “I am not the enemy, they are.” Kalage said that as a queer person of color, who recently exited the foster care system, they have been targeted by GOP policies.

Kalage said the protest made them feeling hopeful for Democrats chances in Iowa and nationwide in 2026 and future years.

“I came down because I wanted to be another person who was here, and having that effort made,” Kalage said. “And that adds up, for everyone who showed up here … It’s the same for voting.”

Georgia Rains Traviss, an Urbandale resident, said she was happy to have celebrated her 66th birthday at the No Kings event. She said it was important to have spaces where people can voice their disagreements and opinions without attacking others or engaging in violence.

Rains Traviss also said the event went smoothly as there were not altercations with police, military members or ICE agents, who have been present at some earlier protests in cities like Los Angeles and Chicago.

“I had some friends that were like, ‘Oh, aren’t you worried about (your safety) going down there? Aren’t you scared?’” she said. “But that’s what they want. They’ve been building up fear, they don’t want us to feel like we can come out here. I said, ‘You know, if you’re afraid, that’s what they want.’ … The worst thing you could ever do, is not go, because that’s what they want.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

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