Next Week Shaping Up To Be Memorable

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Dave Bradley

Next week is shaping up potentially to be memorable. Pay attention!

The January 6th Select Committee is scheduled to hold eight live hearings beginning next Thursday. Some will be held during prime time. We can probably expect some major headlines to come from these hearings as the Committee will reveal how Republican members of government, including the former president, fomented an attack on our seat of government.

We can also expect wild countering lies from what now passes for the Republican Party plus a load of disinformation from sources like Qanon to try to take the spotlight off Committee findings. We can also expect much of the news media to do what it can to suppress news from the Committee and promote other stories to deflect the spotlight from the bad news that is coming for Republicans.

Supreme Court, Washington, D.C.

Next week has traditionally been the week during which the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) begins rolling out decisions it has made during the year. I can’t remember what the normal schedule is. I believe decisions are normally announced on Mondays and Thursdays. The best way to keep on top of SCOTUS is to simply check in to scotusblog.com @ 9AM. The analysis of the ramifications of SCOTUS decisions is deep and insightful.

We seem to already know that Roe v. Wade will be overruled in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson. Even though the outcome is not in doubt, there will be loud and acrimonious reaction. We do not know when the decision will be announced. Normally the most controversial are saved until the end, but there is no telling what this Court’s schedule may be. It could be the first case announced.

With all the emphasis on the abortion law case, little attention has been given to a a gun restriction case out of New York that is poised to have the SCOTUS change gun laws across the country. From the Brennan Center:  

The Supreme Court is poised to issue a ruling in a New York gun rights case that will likely expand the scope of protec­tions the Second Amend­ment affords indi­vidual gun owners who want to carry a gun outside of their resid­ences. The biggest ques­tion in New York State Rifle & Pistol Asso­ci­ation v. Bruen may not be whether a major­ity of justices strike down the state’s century-old hand­gun licens­ing require­ment but how far that major­ity goes in signal­ing that other licens­ing meas­ures created by govern­ment offi­cials are now consti­tu­tion­ally suspect.

Can offi­cials prohibit hand­guns in courtrooms and schools? What about college campuses or hospit­als? When the Court heard oral argu­ment in Novem­ber, the six-member conser­vat­ive major­ity seemed far more inter­ested in explor­ing the contours of an expan­ded Second Amend­ment than in whether it ought to be expan­ded. This approach to gun regu­la­tion is a sea change from the Court’s histor­ical approach to the amend­ment, but it should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the arc of the Court’s juris­pru­dence in this area over the past 15 years.

The current Supreme Court is far more conser­vat­ive and far more friendly to gun rights than the one that first recog­nized a personal right to bear arms under the Second Amend­ment in District Columbia v. Heller in 2008. Or the Supreme Court that acknow­ledged two years later in McDon­ald v. Chicago that such protec­tions apply to state laws and regu­la­tions as well. Gone since then is Justice Ruth Bader Gins­burg, a foe of expan­ded gun rights. In her place is Justice Amy Coney Barrett, whose view of the Second Amend­ment is viewed by many as even more expans­ive than that of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, the author of Heller.

Pride Month gets into full swing this weekend. With the hate that the right has stirred up against certain groups especially including LGBT folks let us hope that pride month will be peaceful and go by almost unnoticed. 

Finally, primary season rolls along as does Donald Trump’s continuing attempt to turn what used to be the Republican Party into his cult of personality. Iowa will be joining the primary states Tuesday and Trump lovers Miller-Meeks, Ashley Hinson and Randy Feenstra run unopposed. Trump follower Chuck Grassley has only nominal opposition.

Over in Iowa’s 3rd district the Trumpinistas have been pitching a battle to show which one is the Trumpiest. It is sad.

For the Democrats the big race will be selecting who will oppose the faltering Chuck Grassley. This may be the year!

Keep those eyes and ears open next week. Life could get interesting. 

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Franken Nails Grassley In Campaign Email

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Dave Bradley

Admiral Mike Franken

Don’t forget that voting ends in the Iowa primaries this coming Tuesday June 7th. For Democrats in Iowa the premiere race is selecting who will be facing Grassley in the midterm election. While most of our races have one candidate, the senate primary has three very good candidates in Abby Finkenaeur, Admiral Mike Franken and Dr. Glenn Hurst.

It has been difficult to decide among the three. The overriding consideration we had is simply this – who can beat Grassley. That will be no easy task. It will take tons of hard concentrated work, the ability to raise lots of money,  a clear message that distinguishes the candidate and some stumbles from Grassley.

One such stumble seems to have appeared as Grassley’s relationship with the NRA rears its very ugly head following the slaughter of children in Uvalde, Texas by a young man who was able to very easily get a machine meant for killing. As if that tragedy wasn’t horrifying enough, since Uvalde there have been 20+ mass murders in the US including a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma Wednesday.

Admiral Franken’s email:

The firearm industry trade association – the literal gun lobby – just honored my opponent Senator Chuck Grassley with an award: Legislator of the Year.

“Senator Grassley is an unyielding champion of the firearm and ammunition industry on Capitol Hill,” they said.

Last year in the Senate, Chuck Grassley single-handedly blocked the most common-sense of gun bills: Universal background checks. Why? Because the NRA and the gun lobby have given him nearly $300,000 to get reelected.

President Biden asked last week, “When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?”

Well, I have my own question for Grassley: “How many gunshot victims will it take for you to vote for responsible firearm ownership legislation?” Iowa parents, students, and voters are waiting for a number…

I’ll never take money from the gun lobby. We have a gun violence epidemic in this country, and the only way we’re going to pass logical gun measures is if we elect more sensible Democrats willing to stand up to the NRA.

I’m ready for the fight, but I need grassroots donors like you behind me if I’m going to be able to take on all the NRA’s blood money and win.

(Donations to the Franken campaign can be made here:  https://frankenforiowa.com )

Iowans need to know that Grassley is much more concerned about protecting his huge contribution from the gun lobby than he is about Iowa’s children. We can expect Grassley to act as if he will NOW do some little pittance to regulate guns. Be assured it will be cleared with the NRA as it will be for all Republican senators.

Last week Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr made an impassioned plea calling out the small minority that blocks sensible gun regulation in this country – the 50 Republican senators. As Kerr speaks I can easily imagine him calling out Grassley by name. (3 minutes)

As Admiral Franken noted in his email, Grassley was the gun lobby’s Legislator of the Year. Do you really think he will change? After 42 years of Grassley’s act I doubt he will.

This is the year that we must throw out the corrupt politicians in Washington and replace them with those who will do what we want. Removing Grassley will finally send the message that politicians must answer to their constituents. Your vote has never been more important!

Posted in Charles Grassley, firearms, gun control, gun safety | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Franken Nails Grassley In Campaign Email

Wear Orange June 3-5, 2022 – Iowa Events

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Trish Nelson


Attend Wear Orange 2022

People around the country are coming together with a simple message: there’s more we can do to end gun violence. Join the movement by signing up to attend an event during Wear Orange Weekend, June 3-5.

For more information about events in your area, please contact info@momsdemandaction.org.

IA-Sioux City-Wear Orange at Sioux City Pride Festival (Public Museum)

Sioux City Public Museum
607 4th St
Sioux City, IA 51101

When: Saturday, June 4, 11:00 AM

Join Iowa Moms Demand Action for a statewide Wear Orange event to lift up partner voices and our survivor community at the Sioux City Pride Festival on June 4, 2022 11am to 4pm at the Sioux City Public Museum

IA-Sioux City-Wear Orange at Sioux City Pride (Convention Center)

Sioux City Convention Center
801 4th St
Sioux City, IA 51101

When: Saturday, June 4, 12:00 PM

Join Iowa Moms Demand Action for a statewide Wear Orange event to lift up partner voices and our survivor community at SUX Pride on June 4, 2022 from Noon to 4pm at the Sioux City Convention Center

IA-Cedar Rapids-Wear Orange Event

Beaver Park
2700 Bever Ave SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52403

When: Saturday, June 4, 1:00 PM

Our event will be painting rocks again this year. Smaller ones can be taken home and larger ones will eventually be placed in the Healing Garden. We will meet at Bever Park this year, tentatively between the Bever Pavillion that is near the south entrance and the bathrooms. I will try to find a shady area and I will have the rocks, the paint, brushes, paint pens, a tent or similar Gazebo structure to have our tables under to keep us cooler or dryer, in case of rain. I will have signs, treats and orange Koolaid, like last year. Come and join us.

IA-Johnson County-Wear Orange

Wetherby Park
2400 TAYLOR Dr
Iowa City, IA 52240

When: Saturday, June 4, 2:00 PM

Moms Demand Action welcomes survivors of gun violence, community members, faith partners, and community leaders as we recognize National Gun Violence Awareness and Wear Orange 2022. This is a family-friendly event to honor those impacted by gun violence. More details to come!

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Celebrate Pride Month

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Trish Nelson

Celebrate Pride Month by demanding equality for all.

Des Moines, Iowa — Progress Iowa Executive Director Matt Sinovic issued the following statement as we celebrate the start of Pride Month:

“Iowans believe that we all deserve dignity and respect, no matter our race, income or who we love. Iowa was once a leader in equality, and became one of the first states to recognize marriage equality and to enact comprehensive non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

“But now, lawmakers like Governor Kim Reynolds are stripping away decades of progress to push their extreme, partisan agenda. Queer stories and perspectives in books and school literature have been designated as obscene material this session by Republican legislators, and Governor Reynolds’ discriminatory trans-athlete ban will sideline children and prevent them from playing sports with their friends, missing out on critical social and team building experiences.

“This Pride Month, we must demand Republican elected officials stop playing partisan games with the lives of LGBTQ+ Iowans. Iowa was once a national leader for civil rights, and we need to ensure that our state is leading that charge once again.”

Facebook: ProgressIowa Instagram:  @ProgressIowa    Twitter: @ProgressIowa

Progress Iowa is a multi-issue progressive advocacy organization. Year-round, we promote progressive ideas and causes with creative earned media strategies, targeted email campaigns, and cutting-edge new media.

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Iowa Select Withdraws Hog Factory Application In Tama County

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Trish Nelson

From our inbox:

Public pressure stops Iowa Select in Tama county

Last week, Iowa Select withdrew a construction permit application to build a 5,000-head hog factory in Tama County!

The secret sauce? Public pressure! The neighbors organized and put direct pressure on Iowa Select to drop their plan which would have built the hog factory near the homestead of Iowa’s beloved “Butter Cow Lady,” the late Norma Lyon. Norma’s son and seven other neighboring families placed an ad in the local shopper, contacted Iowa Select decision makers and started to plan a press conference when they got the news last week that Iowa Select withdrew its application.

This isn’t the first time that a factory farm developer backed off as a result of public pressure, and it won’t be the last. If you hear rumors of factory farm construction in your community, please contact the CCI Statewide Headquarters at 515.282.0484. Together, we can protect our water, our land, our communities, and our quality of life from factory farms.

Background:

https://www.tamatoledonews.com/news/local-news/2022/05/05/proposed-tama-county-hog-confinement-proves-controversial/

Eric Lyon, a Tama resident, expressed his argument as to why construction should be delayed.

“Because not even one neighbor was contacted by either land owners, Iowa Select, Crystal Finishers, for citing large commercial hog factories — because Iowa Select made no good faith effort to be good neighbors that they advertise being, — because the DNR’s (Department of Natural Resources) own employees a few years ago when the permit was denied in another area that it would be nearly impossible for the DNR with their manpower to check every manure management plans phosphorus index — for every hog confinement field that was applied for,” Lyon said.

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

What Do Republicans Really Mean When They Say “Freedom?”

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Trish Nelson

Let’s be clear. When Republicans talk about “freedom” what they really mean is they should be free to do whatever they want without being tethered by rules, regulations and laws that are there to create a fair and just society. By “freedom” they mean their morality is the only morality that should apply.  What others think and what works best for the common good is an infringement on their “freedom.”  By “freedom” they mean they should be “free” to impose their will on everyone else. They use the word “freedom” as a dog whistle to others who also want to have it their way or the highway and think rules should not apply to them.

So who wouldn’t want rules? Anyone who would be willing to and could get away with lying, cheating, stealing or killing wouldn’t want rules.

Republicans have abandoned Democracy. They now want you to think Democracy is bad because they don’t want to be constrained by majority rule. They don’t want to be constrained by what is best for everyone. They think what is best for them is Right. They think this for no rational reason. Something is Right because it is best for them. It’s really that simple. They have become amoral.  As a result, Americans are becoming less and less free in the true meaning of the word.

Thom Hartmann writes about this in his newsletter today. Check out and subscribe to Thom’s newsletter here.

And watch out for trolls. There are fake Democrats out there going after Democrats in full force right now. I’ve been spotting them more and more in unexpected places.

https://hartmannreport.com/p/a-nation-cowering-in-fear-of-mass?s=r

A nation cowering in fear of mass shootings is not free. Neither is a nation where a simple accident or illness can result in homelessness. Or a nation where a raped woman is forced to carry a pregnancy to term at the point of a gun.

Only when Big Gun, Big Pharma, Big Church, Big Insurance, Big Oil, and every other special interest group in America empowered by SCOTUS to corrupt our political system are brought back to heel will America become the “land of the free..”

Read more

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Happy Memorial Day from Blog for Iowa

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Trish Nelson

Photo credit: Paul Deaton

This is one of my favorite flag photos taken by BFIA’s own Paul Deaton. Please have a meaningful and respectful holiday.

Below is a short statement about the history of Memorial Day. But to me, Memorial Day is also about community. I remember growing up in a small Iowa town where there would be, if not a parade, a gathering on the town square with a ceremony.  Taps was played by a member of the high school band. The American legion members would line up and fire a solemn salute. Family members long moved away would come home and visit grave sites and lay flowers. Then there would be family picnics. It was about gathering together as families, friends and as Americans, and remembering the home town Americans who had died in service to their country.

Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?

No, Memorial Day isn’t about a long weekend road trip, backyard barbecue or sales. The real meaning of the national holiday is much more somber.

Originally called Decoration Day, Monday’s holiday honors all soldiers who died during service to the nation.

Memorial Day was declared a national holiday through an act of Congress in 1971, and its roots date back to the Civil War era, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Unlike Veterans Day, Memorial Day honors all military members who have died while serving in U.S. forces.

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In Flanders Fields

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Dave Bradley

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was a soldier, physician and poet. photo from wikipedia.com

From Wikipedia: 

“In Flanders Fields” is a war poem in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres. According to legend, fellow soldiers retrieved the poem after McCrae, initially dissatisfied with his work, discarded it. “In Flanders Fields” was first published on December 8 of that year in the London magazine Punch. Flanders Fields is a common English name of the World War I battlefields in Belgium and France.

In Flanders Fields

BY JOHN MCCRAE

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

 

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

Posted in war | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

No High Five. Instead A Session Summation

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Dave Bradley

The legislature has adjourned. Thus Progress Iowa ha ended their daily newsletter. Earlier this week they sent out a great summation of the bad deeds of our Republican legislature. All for the rich and none for the poor I would put it:

2022 Legislature Adjourns: A string of attacks on working families

Des Moines, Iowa — Iowa lawmakers have officially concluded the 2022 legislative session. Republicans spent the session pushing Corporate Kim Reynolds’ harmful agenda and passing bills that attack working families and marginalized communities.

“Once again, Corporate Kim and the Republican-led legislature have failed Iowans,” said Matt Sinovic, Executive Director of Progress Iowa. “While we’re happy to see the Governor’s terrible proposal for private school vouchers fail, this session has been a disaster. Republican legislators spent most of their time this year attacking working families, bullying kids and targeting our public schools and educators. The laws they passed will make the Reynolds Workforce Crisis worse, all in an effort to give massive tax breaks to the rich and wealthy corporations. We need leaders who reward work, not wealth. Iowans deserve a Governor and legislature that prioritize Iowa families and make our state a place people want to live, work and raise a family.”

Harmful bills passed in 2022

  • An unfair 4% flat tax that will provide massive tax breaks for corporations and the ultra wealthy, while actually raising taxes on the lowest income earners in Iowa
  • Massive corporate tax cuts
  • Banning transgender girls playing female sports
  • Slashing hard-earned unemployment benefits from 26 to 16 weeks
  • An inadequate, under inflation 2.5% funding increase for Iowa’s public schools
  • Making child care centers less safe by allowing 16-year-olds to watch children without supervision
  • Making child care centers less safe by allowing adults to watch more children at one time
  • Allowing law enforcement to search and seize garbage placed outside the home, going against an Iowa Supreme Court ruling
  • Changes to Iowa’s judicial selection process, allowing Governor Reynolds to stack the Court as she sees fit
  • Making the penalties for manufacturing, possessing, or delivering heroin the same as methamphetamine, perpetuating a racist war on drugs
  • Making public schools less safe by preventing K-12 public or charter schools from performing health screenings on students without written permission from a parent or guardian.
  • Changes to the state’s bottle bill that favor corporate greed, not the need to recycle 

Let me add that Corporate Kim Reynolds was unsuccessful in her attempt to undermine Iowa’s once vaunted public school system. She won’t give up until we are competing with Mississippi for the bottom.

**********************************************************************************

In light of Republicans dominance in Iowa, I thought this quote from Republican Legislator Brad Zaun really sums up how arrogant Republicans are and how they demean democracy and Democrats. From Wednesday’s Capital Dispatch:

“I just I’m very frustrated about this. And I will tell you this. I look forward to when the minority party does not have power in this decision. And I look forward to our side being in the supermajority because what’s being done with these great Iowans is disgusting.” — Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, on the defeat of four governor’s appointees to the state judicial nominating commission who failed to win a two-thirds majority of votes.

**********************************************************************************

And finally once again from Progress Iowa on Corporate Kim’s disdain for Iowa’s children:

Kathryn Kuckelman (Press Secretary)

kathryn@progressiowa.org

(515) 490 – 8526

STATEMENT: Why doesn’t Kim Reynolds care about our kids?

Des Moines, Iowa — Progress Iowa Executive Director Matt Sinovic issued the following statement in response to the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school where 18 children and three adults were killed:

“Our hearts ache for the victims and the families impacted by the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School in Ulvalde, TX. But this feeling is all too familiar. 

“These senseless acts of violence keep happening. Enough is enough. When will Republican politicians like Kim Reynolds give up the empty ‘thoughts and prayers’ and actually take action to address the plague of gun violence in our country?

“When we drop our son off at daycare, we’re not allowed to know if there’s a loaded gun on site because of a rule the Reynolds administration created. When we pick our older son up from 4-year-old preschool, he tells us about the lockdowns they practice.”

“Our kids live in a world created by Kim Reynolds. Where their lives don’t matter as much as her corporate donations and support from the gun lobby.”

“Until the Governor does anything – literally anything – to prevent gun violence in our state, we will have to keep asking: why doesn’t she care about our kids?”

Posted in Children, iowa legislature 2022, Republican hypocrisy, Republican Policy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Sunday Funday: Memorial Day Edition

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Dave Bradley

“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun”: (10 minutes)

When were the inmates put in charge of the asylum called America? This is no way to run a country. Resolve this weekend to use your political power to return America to sanity.

Oy vey!

A) Following the slaughter in Uvalde, Texas stocks in gun companies went up or down?

B) “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.” What president was born 105 years ago today in Brookline, Mass.?

C) Seems like months ago, but it was only last week that CPAC was meeting in what city?

D) What candidate for governor in Texas confronted Texas Governor Greg Abbott at a news conference following the Uvalde shooting?

E) In Iowa Governor Reynolds was denied what piece of legislation as the legislature ended last week?

F) President Biden returned from a trip to what area of the world last weekend?

G) A four judge panel ruled that what politician must testify under oath in a civil investigation in New York?

H) A church in Tennessee lost its tax exempt status after the pastor proclaimed “You can’t be Christian and ..” Do what?

I) Performers Don McLean and Lee Greenwood refused to perform at what convention in Texas this weekend?

J) Joe Garcia of Uvalde, Texas died of what Thursday after his wife was killed in the Uvalde massacre?

K) What NBA coach made headlines after he blasted the country for not standing up to guns?

L ) what is the first clause of the second amendment?

M) An invasion of what earthworm relative threatens to devour gardens especially in California?

N) The Biden Administration has blunted what food shortage crisis with airlifts of the product from Europe?

O) In some good news, Pfizer said that 3 small doses of its covid vaccine would give strong protection to what now unvaccinated group?

P) Guns were not allowed at what convention held this weekend?

Q) Leaders of what Christian Church denomination decided to release a secret list of ministers accused of sexual abuse?

R) Researchers have developed a strain of what plant that will help vegans with a source of vitamin D3?

S) What former US Secretary of State said at the Davos Forum that Ukraine should give territory to Russia to achieve peace?

T) What former White House Press Secretary announced she will work for MSNBC?

Americans Opposed to Being Shot Seek Representation in Washington. – Andy Borowitz

Answers:

A) went up – “soared” according to the Washington Post

B)  Jack Kennedy

C) Budapest, Hungary to fete Hungarian authoritarian Viktor Orban

D) Beto O’Rourke

E) vouchers for private schools, but she won’t Gove up.

F) Asia. – South Korea and Japan

G) Trump – and his two eldest children

H) “vote Democrat”

I) The NRA convention in Houston

J) a heart attack two days after his wife was murdered

K) Steve Kerr of Golden State

L) “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,”

M) the Asian jumping earthworm

N) baby formula

O) those 5 and under

P) The NRA convention. They seem to know that guns can be used to kill.

Q) The Southern Baptist Convention

R) Tomato

S) Henry Kissinger

T) Jen Psaki

It’s just sick that gun manufacturers have spent two decades aggressively marketing assault weapons which make them some of the biggest profits. 

For God’s sake, let’s have the courage to stand up to the industry. – President Biden tweet

Posted in Humor | Comments Off on Sunday Funday: Memorial Day Edition