DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Davenport’s 81-year-old Centennial Bridge across the Mississippi River creaks under the weight of tens of thousands of cars and trucks every day. Rust shows through its chipped silver paint, exposing the steel that needs replacing.
This city’s aging landmark is among more than 1,000 structurally deficient bridges in the area. The tally gives Iowa’s 2nd congressional district the dubious distinction of having the second-most troubled bridges in the country.
So, it struck some Iowans as strange when the district’s Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted against a bill that would pour more than $100 million in federal money to repair and replace bridges into southwest Iowa. Miller-Meeks objected to majority Democrats’ handling of the bill, never mentioning its contents, a common refrain from the minority that overwhelmingly opposed it.
If anyone in Iowa was surprised that the Republican would oppose money for a glaring local priority, few in Washington were. Strategists and onetime party leaders note it’s become so common for lawmakers to prioritize their party’s line over district needs that it’s hardly mentioned.
Eric Boehlert at Pressrun.media did some research on the sudden disappearance of CRT coverage in the media and got some interesting results. The “critical race theory” phenom is a clear-cut example of media malpractice that is quite common but in this case was exposed because someone took the time to examine the data. Follow Eric Boehlert’s media commentary on Pressrun.media and podcast Sign up for the newsletter. Follow on Twitter.
Whatever happened to critical race theory?
Just one month ago, the media bombarded news consumers with CRT coverage, announcing it had been the defining issue in the GOP’s surprise Virginia governor victory, and was likely going to sink Democrats nationwide during the 2022 midterms. All year, the press couldn’t be bothered with pointing out that CRT isn’t actually taught in public schools, and that the GOP’s hysterical campaign — it’s an attempt to “indoctrinate the kids” — was based on lies.
Yet suddenly, the topic seems to have disappeared into the ether. “No one is talking about CRT now that the election is over,” tweeted journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the acclaimed 1619 Project. “That media stopped reporting this made-up controversy speaks to the complicity in the propaganda campaign.”
“It’s clear that following the election, conservatives and journalists came to the exact same conclusion at the exact same time about CRT. That’s because journalists spent most of this year simply regurgitating right-wing lies and refusing to highlight the obvious holes in the race-baiting allegations. (CRT is an academic framework taught at the college level that examines how systemic racism is ingrained in America’s history.)
Two corporations plan to install Carbon Capture and Sequestration technology to collect CO2 emissions at about 40 ethanol and fertilizer plants spread across Iowa. Next, they plan to permanently bury the resulting liquefied CO2 in deep rock formations in North Dakota and Illinois. I don’t know who is swallowing this malarkey. Almost no one is.
The CO2 pipeline is planned to cross Karmen McShane’s family land in Linn County.
“It’s heartbreaking,” McShane told Gannett’s Donnelle Eller for a story. “My dad is 77. My mom needs care. And he feels powerless (to fight the pipeline).”
There is a lot of that going around.
The pace of news articles on CCS is increasing. Eller wrote about it in Monday’s Iowa City Press Citizen and followed it with another article in Tuesday’s newspaper. Erin Jordan of the Cedar Rapids Gazette has been covering CCS as well. When the regular news coverage is frequent, we should read what paid media writers have to say. That’s what I’ll be doing to see how the process unfolds over the end of year holidays. This is my seventh post on CCS.
The Iowa oligarchy of agriculture decided to do this thing, so resistance may be futile unless more people than have become engaged. If McShane is typical, the train left the station and once ground is broken for the pipeline, there will be no stopping it.
As long as Iowa focuses on ethanol, industrial agriculture using manufactured fertilizers, and monoculture row crops and livestock, the environment will get worse. It is pretty bad already if one looks at water and air quality. Implementing CCS does not address any of this and is a distraction from needed action to address Iowa’s water and air quality.
CCS is premised on a vague statement that we must decarbonize the economy. People have written books on this, and just because two companies are spending big bucks on the project, the one-off process in Iowa does not address broader concerns about reducing the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere as if it were an open sewer. As far as I can tell, the sole reason for the project is to protect agricultural oligarchs’ two children: corn ethanol production and fertilizer manufacturing.
To read the rest of Blog for Iowa’s coverage of carbon capture and sequestration in Iowa, click here.
Below is a video screen-shot of 10 seconds of the Miller-Meeks appearance on Iowa Press over the weekend. I posted about the program yesterday. You can see the whole program here. She told veteran Iowa journalists Kay Henderson, Erin Murphy, and Clay Masters “47% of fully vaccinated people will in fact get COVID-19.” What was their response? If you think as good journalists they asked her what data she was referencing, you’d be wrong. If you think they might have come back with facts you would be wrong. If you think they challenged this statement in any way you would be wrong. What did they do? They said nothing and moved on to the next question on an entirely different topic.
This is nothing less than journalistic malpractice. If they can’t even ask a follow-up question on something of this importance, why do they even exist?
The percentage of breakthrough cases is actually less than .08%.
On this episode of Iowa Press we see that any Republican can go on the program and spout non-stop, nonsensical gibberish for 27 minutes without fear of someone calling them out or exposing them. O. K. Henderson tossed in a clarifying comment once regarding the number of times MMM ran for congress and lost (3) which MMM had tried to brag were “repeated primary wins.” Hilarious. They did also ask her about moving to the new district and in the middle of a long disconnected string of reasons why this is okay she oddly pointed out that she has “a variety of housing options.” Well, good for her.
But nothing really important that MMM tried to maintain was challenged by the hosts of Iowa Press such as her defense of Mark Meadows, for one. I would not say she got the usual cadillac suck-up treatment they reserve for Republican guests. But they also didn’t bother to challenge her on very questionable assertions she tried to make. They brought up but didn’t press her on her lousy voting record. The most damage they apparently felt they could do was to point out that she voted differently than Grassley (God) did on one of the votes and demanded to know why. Watch for yourself. It is less painful if you turn up the speed.
Oh and btw, Christina Bohannan is a cool, smart, highly qualified Democratic candidate from Iowa City running for congress in the new District 1. Please support Bohannan. Let’s make MMM a one-term congress critter.
After the wild weather of the past couple of weeks many of us will be happy just to have a house to stay in this Christmas. As if the tornadoes that ravaged Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee last week weren’t enough, states across the midwest experienced derechos and tornadoes after a day that pulverized previous high temperature records.
Wednesday was, as far as anyone seemed to know, the first time tornadoes broke out in Iowa in December. The derecho that swept across Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska had winds surpassing 80 MPH. But compared to what happened to Arkansas, Illinois and Kentucky last week we were pretty lucky.
Two billion dollar storms in the past week.
No doubt one of the first questions on many people’s minds was “is it climate change?” Here is a response from Minnesota Public Radio chief meteorologist Paul Hunter:
“Incredible. And in December. Our atmosphere is broken,” said Minnesota Public Radio chief meteorologist Paul Huttner in a tweet responding to the announcement of the most 75-mile-per-hour or higher thunderstorm wind gusts in a day.
Also from the Common Dreams article cited above we have these observations:
The United States on Wednesday had the most hurricane-force gusts ever recorded in a single day after an after an “off the charts” storm system tore through the central part of the country, bringing tornadoes and triggering widespread power outages, dust storms, and warnings of the climate emergency.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said there were 55 such wind events throughout the day, more than ever seen at least since current record-keeping began in 2004.
“I’ve been doing this 30 years,” said CNN meteorologist Tom Sater, “and we’re seeing things today in the CNN Weather Center we have never seen before.”
As we all know one event does not indicate climate change. But many events way outside the norm happening over and over again in a short span of time seems to make a pattern that says the climate is changing.
Let us return to the days of yesteryear. I love old time radio – you know, tv without the picture. I really enjoy the old Christmas time comedies. Even through the war years, the radio shows reflected life in the US at Christmas. Here is a sample. It is 30 minutes long, so get yourself a drink, shut your eyes and enjoy. From December 23rd, 1948 we have the Aldrich family at Christmas:
So I go all goofy at Christmas? Don’t get mad just let me have a little fun. Besides it looks like Covid will be stopping any partying for another year.
Let me ask you, who looks more like the Grinch – Joe Manchin or Mitch McConnell? Better yet, which one acts more like the Grinch?
So glad Joe Biden is president. He seems to at least understand what the job entails.
Onward! The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh!
A) Speaking of the pseudo-Grinch Joe Manchin which piece of vital Democratic legislation is he undermining?
B) In the face of a possible overturning of Roe V. Wade by SCOTUS,the FDA announced that they will permanently lift a major restriction on access to what?
C) Warm up your sleighs, here we go: We often hear of this time of year as being the Yule time. What is or was Yule?
D) What has become the overwhelming choice of Japanese for their Christmas dinner for nearly 50 years?
E) Unvaxxed members of what major federal employer have started to be let go if they remain unvaxxed?
F) In an amazing about face what Kentucky senator requested emergency disaster aid for his state after over a decade of working to deny such aid to other states?
G) James Edgar started a tradition that is still going really strong when he dressed up as who in his department store in Brockton Mass. in 1890?
H) December 20,1956 (65 years ago tomorrow) saw the successful end of what year long protest in Montgomery, Alabama?
I) Robert May originally wrote Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as a promotion for what now-defunct department store chain?
J) California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he will use what bill from another state to attempt to remove assault weapons from California?
K) Electric Christmas lights go back to what inventor?
L) At age 82, Claudette Colvin had her court record finally expunged Thursday. Colvin was arrested for what violation in Montgomery, Alabama in March of 1955?
M) How many ghosts visited Ebeneezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve?
N) The master of the literary twist, O. Henry, wrote what famous tale of young love at Christmas?
O) What former congress member received a contempt of congress citation Tuesday?
P) What movie introduced the song “We Need A Little Christmas?”
Q) What university cancelled graduation ceremonies due to a high level of positive covid virus tests?
R) Virginia O’Hanlon asked what Christmas related question to a newspaper editor which produced a legendary answer?
S) Kraft set up a special website offering customers $20 due to a shortage of which of their products?
T) “There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found for when they placed it on his head he began to dance around.” Whose head?
You won’t find President Biden throwing paper towels at the crowd in Kentucky. He’s too busy delivering water, food, beds, and generators. – AvengerResister
It’s all true, everything messaging expert Anat Shenker-Osorio explains in this video. But she basically does exactly what she says Democrats must stop doing, that is, getting too far into the weeds of policy and not talking about the product (that great tasting brownie) enough. Instead, she explains, Democrats are always talking about the brownie recipe. Get it? Beyond that, not much practical help here, but still worth a listen.
Republicans poll test phrases and then they actually make sure everyone has the scripts so they all repeat these phrases over and over. That way, their politicians and supporters don’t have to think or work at how to apply this concept every time they want to make a point or write a letter to the editor. They just read their crib notes on the palm of their hand. Democrats probably need to do this too.
But it’s a little harder for us because we’re not lying. Unlike Republicans we actually want good public policy that will help average Americans. So we want to be able to explain policy ideas, whereas Republicans have nothing to offer so they make stuff up about Democrats. How hard is that?
It’s all good, everything Shenker-Osorio talks about here, but without top-down, organized messaging from someone on our side akin to the Koch Brothers, Frank Luntz, Fox News or Karl Rove, which we don’t have, we are likely to carry on in our usual bungling, unorganized, truthful fashion.
Let’s make sure that is still enough to win elections.
John F. Kennedy’s speech on Peace was given as a commencement address June 10, 1963 – nearly 60 years ago at American University. The dream of peace has never been achieved but is always worth pursuing.
Please skip to 2:30 to hear the section on peace. 3 more minutes from there.
’Tis that time of year when people of all religions and philosophies dream the dreams of the possibilities of what could come. Of course perhaps the ultimate dream for all is peace. Without the constant threat of war what could man achieve? That has always been the ideal.
So here we go into another holiday season with idealism busting out all over. But as usual in reality the greed and ambition of humans renders the ideals impotent while plans to conquer enemies and perceived enemies are what really dance in the heads of humans.
Here in the US we are just now starting to come to grips with what was really behind last January 6th’s attempted overthrow of our own system of government by enemies from within. As the leaders and perpetrators continue to walk free without punishment, they will continue to work to further the overthrow of our system of governmentby whatever means they can.
As Founding Father Benjamin Franklin noted, “we have a Republic if we can keep it.” Now we find ourselves in one of the gravest crises in our nation’s history. We are literally at the “can we keep it stage?” stage.
Without peace, without the stabilization of our form of government, all we have cared for will go away and man’s greatest experiment in self governing will fade with the sands of time.
Governor Kim Keynolds: (515) 281-5211 U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Iowa Members of Congress - Rep. Randy Feenstra (R) - Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) - Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) - Rep. Zach Nunn (R) Iowa US Senators - Senator Joni Ernst (R) - Senator Charles Grassley (R)
Below is a video screen-shot of 10 seconds of the Miller-Meeks appearance on Iowa Press over the weekend. I 
It’s all true, everything messaging expert Anat Shenker-Osorio explains in this video. But she basically does exactly what she says Democrats must stop doing, that is, getting too far into the weeds of policy and not talking about the product (that great tasting brownie) enough. Instead, she explains, Democrats are always talking about the brownie recipe. Get it? Beyond that, not much practical help here, but still worth a listen.
Blog For Iowa 