On March 2nd, Miller-Meeks cosponsored the American Energy Independence from Russia Act, which would require President Biden to make an energy security plan within 30 days and take action to unleash America’s oil and natural gas production to offset Russian imports. This bill would also immediately approve the Keystone XL pipeline, unleash U.S. LNG exports to boost natural gas production, restart oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters, and protect energy and mineral development from attacks by the Biden administration.
When I am discussing gasoline prices with people, inevitably someone will blame the cancellation of Keystone XL. That’s totally inaccurate, but the appearance is there superficially. I will say that in a few years, the failure to have Keystone XL in place could be a contributor to higher gasoline prices. If the demand is there, and it is more expensive to ship oil from Russia, for example, then gasoline prices are going to be higher.
Even Forbes admits the Keystone XL ploy is bullshit.
So once again, Miller-Meeks comes down against the environment for a project that is only symbolic. Once again Miller-Meeks does not do her due diligence. A very superficial member of congress. The high price of gas is now mostly due to greedy corporations:
Republicans push “culture wars.” Democrats have solutions to problems.
A daily news letter from Robert Reich reminded me that elections should be about issues. On of the biggest issues that affects nearly every American every day is health care. Somehow year after year Republicans stop health care legislation and Americans suffer because of it either physically or economically.
Here we have Washington representative Pramilla Jayapal on DemocracyNow explaining why Medicare for All is an idea whose time has come (4 minutes):
Our current system gives us the highest prices in the world and nearly the very worst results. It is amazing that Americans would accept this when there are so many easily implemented plans that would in the long run be cheaper while covering all Americans.
Even before the pandemic, the typical American family was spending more than $6,000 a year on health insurance premiums. Add in copayments and deductibles that doctors, hospitals, and drug companies also charge, and that sum rises to $6,400. Add in typical out-of-pocket expenses for pharmaceuticals, and it’s at least $6,800. That’s not all, because some of the taxes the typical family pays are for health insurance, too — for Medicare and Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Add them in, and the typical household pays $8,975 a year for health insurance. This number doesn’t include what typical workers’ employers spend on their health insurance – which might otherwise go to their wages.
American spending on healthcare per person is more than twice the average in the world’s other thirty-five advanced nations. Yet the United States ranks near the bottom among advanced nations for life span and infant mortality. Americans are sicker, our lives are shorter, and we have more chronic illnesses. Canadians, for example, can expect to live on average almost four and a half years longer than Americans, even though health care spending per person is only about half as high as in the U.S.
Finally, if the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that we need to decouple health insurance from employment. Losing a job shouldn’t mean the loss of a family’s lifeline to healthcare.
Why do we have such a ridiculous, badly designed, massively expensive system that we can’t seem to jettison? Near as I can figure it comes down to this:
First it is massively profitable for the for-profit health care companies. They in turn use those profits to buys US senators and representative. I am sure you can find huge donations to Iowa’s Republican congressional contingent.
Secondly, this is a leftover of the Jim Crow era. Unaffordable health care premiums serve as a way to keep “undesirables” out of the health care system.
Third, having privatized health care controlled by employers is a huge hammer that employers can use to keep employees in line and afraid to leave their jobs or rebel in ny way. One of the greatest control mechanisms ever created by the right. Makes me laugh out loud when the right talks about freedom.
Who here does’t know an individual who had a great idea for a business but chose to stay with their job because of fear of losing health care?
That is just one of the issues that Democrats will work for when they are elected. In this case, lower premiums and decoupling health care from employment are a great example of truly liberating ideas. Republicans ideas want o keep you tethered to a job you hate out of fear of losing health care. That is the opposite of the freedom they mouth but do not support.
The RuralVote.org folks don’t get into the whys, but I think we know why. Fake news, Fox News, Facebook, conservative talk radio spreading anti-democratic propaganda. But it’s too late to do much to change the mass media before November. So we just have to fight back with what we have. Please consider donating to the candidate or organization of your choice.
There’s a new poll out from Morning Consult showing the Democrats are losing the messaging war in rural America.
➡️ 65 percent of rural voters view the Democratic Party unfavorably
➡️ Only 23 percent of rural voters believe the Democratic Party cares more about their community than the GOP
This is a messaging problem. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act and the infrastructure bill made huge investments in rural communities, arguably the strongest investments we’ve seen in the 21st century. From child care assistance to rural broadband expansion to clean drinking water, Democratic policies are directly helping rural communities.
We have some exciting news on the horizon. We will be launching another rural strategy session to bring together the country’s leading rural organizers to strategize about the best way to get out the vote in the 2022 election. And we’ll soon be launching our first rural messaging campaign for the 2022 election. Stay tuned!
We are witnessing the onslaught of the COVID-19 virus at various locations around the world. The impact of COVID-19 has been most apparent over the last two years. The COVID-19 virus has truly reached a global scale as reports of outbreaks or surges come from cities and metro areas, rural areas and small towns and along borders. This virulent infectious disease spared no individual or country, rich or poor.
COVID-19’s dramatically different impact by age has been one of the virus’s defining characteristics. It tends to be mild for children and younger adults but more often severe for the elderly. Around three-quarters of all U.S. Covid deaths have occurred among people 65 and older.
The United States, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, fell victim to the scourge of this virulent infectious disease. The United States, in fact, just passed a somber milestone of 800,000 official deaths from COVID-19. This figure amounts to more than any other country, with the real death toll likely much higher.
Despite its wealth and renowned health care system, the United States has not avoided the scourge of this virulent infectious disease. The vast majority of deaths occur among the unvaccinated. In the weeks before vaccines became widely available in early 2021, Covid was the country’s No. 1 cause of death, above even cancer and heart disease.
Researchers have also observed higher COVID-19-related hospitalization and mortality rates among racial and ethnic minorities and low-income people than among the general populace. The factors associated with high poverty rates and racial discrimination include limited access to healthcare, poor housing conditions, and high-risk workplace environments. Studies have also shown a higher number of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths among individuals belonging to Indigenous, Black, and Hispanic communities.
The United States has long been regarded as having one of the world’s leading health care systems with well-known doctors, scientists, and researchers. But it has not always delivered the best outcomes for the poor, workers, minorities, women, and people of color.
Ironically, the very persons experiencing inequities often provide health care to others. They work, for example, as nurses, aides, and transcribers. They function, in short, as essential healthcare workers.
Consider also media images of nurses facing relentless demands for care and support. These front line personnel appear exhausted. And inside and outside of hospitals and clinics issues of employment and sick pay provide a swirling context.
Looming as a basic, overarching contextual issue here is the fact that the United States has no free, universal health care system available to all. This lack of a national health insurance program affects everything from vaccine hesitancy to the ability to get tested to how we manage the virus going forward. Inequities are built into the U.S. health care system because healthcare is not considered a basic human right for everyone.
While the struggle to make healthcare a right continues, political action generates an agenda to improve the American healthcare system from access to treatment. In the midst of these healthcare issues, we receive daily media briefings on the course of the virus. And the World Health Organization reminds us that the pandemic is not over, countries should remain vigilant, and that vaccines and boosters provide the best protection against COVID and its variants like omicron.
The corona-covid pandemic has touched the lives of people everywhere. We need to take care of each other in our families, our communities, our nation, and our world.
We will continue to post one of these daily emails from Progress Iowa each week. Iowa’s Republicans hit some new lows last week:
We made it to Friday.
But it feels like we made it to Friday in 1950. Iowa Republicans, after a week of national news coverage of their many terrible, harmful bills, have continued their attacks against everyday Iowans in favor of corporate greed.
Luckily, our team is connected with amazing grassroots advocates like you, and we will stand up together against Reynolds’ divisive agenda.
We are holding our third Iowa Legislative Website Training next Tuesday, March 8th, at 12pm to help equip you with the knowledge and skills to help fight against the Iowa Republican’s harmful agenda. You can pre-register for this training at the link here: Legislative Website Training Pt. 3
So, without any more delay, let’s take a look at today’s top news:
1. STATE, NATIONAL GROUPS OPPOSE IOWA’S TRANSPHOBIA: Yesterday, despite opposition from numerous local, state, and national organizations and businesses, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a law that would bench trans athletes in the state of Iowa and allow for state-sanctioned bullying against trans students.
Now, Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa Republican lawmakers want to undo nearly 150 years of progress by attacking marginalized children across our state. Our team stands unequivocally against transphobia, and will continue to support organizations like One Iowa and Iowa Safe Schools to keep up the fight for an inclusive Iowa.
Stand with us and share this message of hope for Iowa’s transgender athletes.
Click to tweet: Regardless of what Iowa’s bullies, @IAGovernor and Republican legislators, say, Iowa is a home for ALL. I support our transgender students and athletes.
Once you’ve shared that message, take a look at the other stories we’re watching today:
2.KIM’S TRANSPHOBIA WILL COST IOWA TAXPAYERS: Beyond the detrimental harm that the Republican ban on trans athlete will have on the mental health of already marginalized students, this bill will also open Iowa up to a host of lawsuits against this discriminatory practice. National organizations like the NCAA have pulled out of states like North Carolina for their transphobic laws, and Iowa may lose the national basketball tournaments University of Iowa and Iowa State University were set to host next month. Republicans are moving our state backwards, and it’s going to cost us.
3. REYNOLDS IS STILL THE LEAST TRANSPARENT GOVERNOR: After already having been named one of the least transparent administrations in Iowa history, Governor Kim Reynolds is still fighting to have lawsuits for illegally ignoring open record requests from three different media organizations in Iowa dismissed. We rely on our free press to hold our leaders accountable, but Iowa Republicans have made it clear that they don’t want that. Earlier this year, the Iowa Senate rebuked a century-long tradition of allowing reporters on the chamber floor, and instead chose to bar them from direct access to Iowa’s elected officials. We need leaders who are fighting for Iowans always, not hiding behind bureaucracy to push their agenda.
4.BONUSES FOR EVERYONE… JUST NOT YOU: Corporate Kim Reynolds was proud to announce a $1,000 bonus to Iowa’s education professionals in her Condition of the State address. What she didn’t mention? That money was made possible by American Rescue Plan dollars, and many school workers aren’t eligible to receive the bonus. People working in positions like school nurses, librarians, bus drivers, and more, are cut out of Reynolds’ band-aid solution to underfunding public schools for over a decade. We urge Reynolds and her Republican allies to properly fund Iowa’s public school system and pay our professionals what they are worth.
5. BIDEN’S ECONOMY IS BOOMING:Fortunately, we get to end our High Five today on a happy note, thanks once again to President Biden. February 2022 saw nearly 678,000 new jobs added to the U.S. Economy, up a quarter-million from earlier projections. Thank you President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democratic Members of Congress like Cindy Axne for always putting Iowan families and workers ahead of corporate greed.
Want to hear more from our team? You can go to our online news blog, Potluck, to hear from Iowans and leaders around the state. You can also hear more from our team on our podcast, “What a Week,” where we break down each week’s top news stories and speak with leaders from around Iowa about issues you care about.
Want to help progressive messaging and policy in the state of Iowa? Sign up at ProgressIowa.org to volunteer, donate, and hear more from our team!
Thanks for reading, and we’ll get back with you Monday for another Hive Five!
– The Progress Iowa Team
Progress Iowa | P.O. Box 548 | Des Moines, IA 50302
Katenji Brown Jackson is nominated as the first black woman for a seat on the SCOTUS
As President Biden gives his first State of the Union Address he is backed by VP Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, women who have achieved the highest level ever in our government.
History makers to start off Women’s History month.
To do my part I will be watching the Iowa women’s basketball team led by the transcendent star Caitlin Clark win the Big 10’s tournament championship. This follows watching many hours of the Iowa state Girl’s basketball tourney plus some of the Illinois girl’s tourney.
What Happened last week?
A) Gallows humor: A joke tweeted out of Ukraine said people will not have to declare what on their income taxes this year?
B) The Biden Administration Labor numbers remain super strong with how many new hires in February?
C) Women’s History: What FDR cabinet member is credited with developing policies on Social Security and Labor (including policy on unions)?
D) Who tied for the Big Ten’s Women’s basketball regular season championship last Sunday?
E) In one of the world’s worst nightmares, Russian troops laid siege to what kind of a structure Thursday night into Friday?
F) As summer turns to fall in Australia, massive rains caused huge flooding in what two Australian population centers?
G) What American senator called for Putin’s assassination by ’someone in Russia”?
H) To cover their number of losses in Ukraine, the Russian Army is doing what to the bodies of their fallen soldiers?
I) Governor Reynolds took what step to aid Ukraine last week?
J) Russia has blacked access to what tech giant inside its borders?
K) Who was the ecologist writer whose path breaking book, “Silent Spring” in 1962 initiated the environmental movement?
L) According to an IPCC report last week, the dangers caused by what are mounting so fast that it is almost beyond man or nature to mitigate them now?
M) Approximately what is the current value of the ruble?
N) Which two Republican congress members heckled President Biden during the SOTU as he spoke of his son who died of brain cancer?
O) Vice-President Kamala Harris is taking part in what commemoration this weekend?
P) What woman, born in Kyiv, Ukraine and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin grew up to be Israeli prime minister from 1969 to 1974?
Q) Last weekend the Conservative Political Action Conference selected who for second place in their presidential straw poll?
R) What normally neutral country broke that tradition to join EU sanctions against Russia?
S) Guy Wesley Reffitt, 3 percenter on trial for his part in the January 6th attack on our government, targeted what government leader that day?
T) Governor Reynolds signed a bill banning what group of people from participating in sports in Iowa?
“In a time of universal deceit — telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”— George Orwell
E) Europe’s largest nuclear power plant located in Ukraine.
F) Brisbane (up to 4 feet of rain) and Sydney
G) Lindsey Graham – great propaganda for Putin
H) cremating them in portable crematoriums
I) She banned the sale of Russian made vodka! It is the least she could do.
J) Facebook
K) Rachel Carson
L) climate change
M) 8/10ths of a penny as of Friday night (I think that makes a Big Mac about 700 rubles?)
N) Lauren Boebert and Majorie Taylor Greene – real classy.
O) the 57th commemoration of the crossing of the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama
P) Golda Meir
Q) Ron DeSantis of Florida
R) Switzerland
S) Nancy Pelosi
T) Transgenders.
If any normal American acted in their workplace the way Marjorie Taylor Greene acted last night, they would be fired from their job. – Marcus Flowers who is running to unseat Marjorie Taylor Greene
A most interesting article in Thursday’s Guardian explores the deep ties between associates of the former president and the Kremlin with current leader Vladimir Putin. This is information that has been out in the cyber world for a long time – since before the 2016 election – but this article really helps to pull the ties together.
Putin had and still has a plan to overturn the world order and bring an end to western style democracies. By using disinformation campaigns and useful stooges in various western democracies Putin would be able to slowly, almost imperceptibly to some, transform democracies to autocracies. He would also be able to break up western alliances that stood in stark opposition to what he was doing in Russia.
The tools were friendly news sources throughout the world and wide open social networks where wild lies could gain credence. As author Rebecca Soling describes it taking place in the US:
In 2014, the Putin regime invaded Ukraine’s Crimea. In 2016, the same regime invaded the United States. The former took place as a conventional military operation; the latter was a spectacular case of cyberwarfare, including disinformation that it was happening at all and promulgation of a lot of talking points still devoutly repeated by many. It was a vast social-media influencing project that took many forms as it sought to sow discord and confusion, even attempting to dissuade Black voters from voting.
Additionally, Russian intelligence targeted voter rolls in all 50 states, which is not thought to have had consequences, but demonstrated the reach and ambition of online interference. This weekend, British investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr said on Twitter, “We failed to acknowledge Russia had staged a military attack on the West. We called it ‘meddling.’ We used words like ‘interference.’ It wasn’t. It was warfare. We’ve been under military attack for eight years now.”
As she notes, Putin’s minions were not only directing their attention to the United States, and included pro-Brexit efforts and support for France’s far-right racist National Front party. The US interference – you could call it cyberwarfare, or informational invasion – took many forms. Stunningly, a number of left-wing news sources and pundits devoted themselves to denying the reality of the intervention and calling those who were hostile to the Putin regime cold-war red-scare right-wingers, as if contemporary Russia was a glorious socialist republic rather than a country ruled by a dictatorial ex-KGB agent with a record of murdering journalists, imprisoning dissenters, embezzling tens of billions and leading a global neofascist white supremacist revival. In discrediting the news stories and attacking critics of the Russian government, they provided crucial cover for Trump.
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What’s striking in retrospect is that all of this was made possible by corruption and amorality inside the United States. It was Silicon Valley’s mercenary amorality that created weapons and vulnerabilities and sat by pocketing the profit as they were exploited to destructive ends. It was corrupt Americans – from Manafort to Trump himself – that gave Putin his influence. It was international players such as WikiLeaks and Cambridge Analytica that helped. It was corruption of media outlets such as Fox News that continued – in Tucker Carlson’s case until last week’s invasion of Ukraine caught up with him – to defend Putin and spread disinformation.
The Republican party met its new leader by matching his corruption, and by covering up his crimes and protecting him from consequences, including two impeachments. The second impeachment was for a violent invasion of Congress, not by a foreign power, but by right-wingers inflamed by lies instigated by Trump and amplified by many in the party. They have become willing collaborators in an attempt to sabotage free and fair elections, the rule of law, and truth itself. As author Rebecca Soling describes it taking place in the US:
Speculation since Putin’s open aggression and invasion of Ukraine has been that just as in 2016, he had his minions working the social media for a Trump victory. Was Putin also working behind the scenes in the January 6th attempt overthrow the US government and have Trump returned to power by force? Hopefully, such questions will be answered by the January 6th committee.
Had Trump been reinstalled would he have looked the other way as Putin overran Ukraine?
Iowans need to be aware of the Trump connection to Putin. They also need to understand that most of Iowa’s leading Republicans are acolytes of Trump. Mariannette Miller-Meeks will not answer yet who won the 2020 election, thus playing into the disinformation game. How hard can it be to admit the truth?
Besides Miller-Meeks strange refusal to answer a straight forward question, Iowans had the sight of Iowa’s Republican leaders – Grassley, Reynolds, Hinson and Miller-Meeks welcoming Trump to Iowa last October. At this rally all four paid homage to Trump – which in turn gives approval to what he has done. Shameful!
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)
by Ralph Scharnau
