D-Day: Five Months Since The Attempted Coup

Posted on June 5, 2021 by Dave Bradley

Tomorrow is the 77th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Europe by the Allies in World War 2. This is a day that looms large in our family because my late father-in-law was among those who stormed the beach. As I have mentioned before he seldom spoke of his war experiences. It was too painful for him.

As I was thinking about this the other day it struck me that one of the most somber and important days in American and world history – June 6, 1944 – and one the most despicable days in American History – January 6, 2021 with just happened on the 6th of a month.

Not much to make a connection on. But as we come to the commemoration of D-Day, my mind couldn’t help but go back to the bravery of our soldiers in WW2 and juxtapose that with the – what? – cowardice and failure to stand up for America when they Trump Party used the cover of the BS senate filibuster rules to attempt to avoid and cover over any investigation of the January 6th attempted overthrow of our government.

Hard to think of the incredible bravery of our soldiers on June 6th, 1944 and then think of the cowardice of today’s politics without getting really mad. How many men gave their lives on D-Day? How many families were ripped apart that day? Then to have their memories just besmirched in such a way.

Don’t forget that what happened on January 6th was an actual attempt to overthrow our elected government and install an oligarchy. And as the Trump Party continues to obstruct justice, the big lie that gave birth to the overthrow attempt continues to incite folks who seem to still be willing to believe it.

Plus, as Trump himself and right wing media continue to fan the flames, at the state level laws are being passed that not only suppress voters but also have provisions that will give power to unelected bodies to be able to overturn the will of the voters. Unconscionable!

D-Day is one of the three highest of patriotic days that occur each year in the summery months. Memorial Day, D-Day and Independence Day. This year each of these should cause us to think on what has happened, and what is happening to our country that will end our democracy.

Posted in #trumpresistance, Blog for Iowa, media, Media Bias | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on D-Day: Five Months Since The Attempted Coup

Urgent Action Alert: Help Stop Republican Power Grab In Scott County

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Trish Nelson

Action alert from Johnson County Democrats. Scott County needs help collecting 10,000 signatures to force a special election or they will have a Republican auditor appointed by Republicans during the next election.

Republican Cronyism in Scott County, and How To Stop It

Our friends in Scott County need our help.

An elected Democrat has held the office of Scott County Auditor for many decades. (I’m not exaggerating – this has been true since at least 1977.) After the current Democratic auditor Roxanna Moritz announced that she would resign her office earlier this year, it was clear that a Democrat would be elected to take her place.

Enter the Scott County Board of Supervisors, which is currently 3R – 2D. They convened to decide on how Moritz’s seat would be filled. Can you guess what they decided to do?

From Laura Belin’s report in Bleeding Heartland:

Scott County’s three Republican supervisors voted on May 25 to appoint Kerri Tompkins as the county’s new auditor,
having considered no other candidates for the position, and giving members of the public no opportunity to comment.

…The three Republicans on the five-member board did not solicit applications for the vacancy or interview candidates. Rather, they decided to appoint Tompkins in a backroom deal, possibly violating Iowa’s open records law in the process.

They’re trying to shove one of their friends into the seat because they know they can’t win a special election. We know what Republicans do when they control voting systems: they disenfranchise as many Democrats as they can, and they implement every single barrier to voting that their handlers at the Heritage Foundation tell them to set up.

Scott County is the third-largest county in the state in terms of population; it’s no mystery why Republicans want one of their cronies to be handling elections over there when Kim Reynolds is on the ballot again next year.

The only way that Scott County voters can force a special election is to gather over 10,000 signatures by petition quickly. The Scott County Democrats are in the middle of just such a petition drive right now, and they need all the help they can get to pull it off.

If you have friends, relatives, or Democratic-sympathetic connections in Scott County, please direct them to the general petition drive signup link here.

Please spread the word about the effort on social media. If you’re in Scott County often (or just want to drive up to help out this weekend), please sign up and help them gather signatures!

One final note: our IDP Chair, Ross Wilburn, will be joining one of the petition signing events in Davenport this Sunday (June 6th). You can sign up for that event by clicking here.

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Urgent Action Alert: Help Stop Republican Power Grab In Scott County

The Backstory Behind Iowa’s Voter Suppression Law And How We Fix It

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Trish Nelson

ICYMI –  Presented by Iowa Chapter Sierra Club.  “There is a big scandal around Iowa’s new Voter Suppression Law. Tune in to hear the latest on how this law came to be.”

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged | Comments Off on The Backstory Behind Iowa’s Voter Suppression Law And How We Fix It

What Else Are Iowa Democrats Doing?

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Paul Deaton
We are living our lives, keeping our powder dry, and preparing for the next opportunity to mount a campaign to win in 2022

Associated Press ran a story on June 1, dateline Keokuk, Iowa, “Past the point of no return?” Iowa Dems hopes fading. It was a bit of a downer based on interviews with prominent Eastern Iowa Democrats bemoaning changes in the electorate that resulted in what we now know was a Republican rout in the 2020 general election.

The article featured the Second Congressional District race, which Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks won by six votes. Even this week some Democrats grumble, “count all the votes.” The race is over and candidate Rita Hart has not announced a rematch in 2022. The contest should never have been that close.

Johnson County, where I live, may be a liberal bastion in the state, yet that has little relevance to statewide elections. Even my precinct, in Iowa’s most liberal county, felt the sting of across the board Republican wins. My neighbors chose Donald Trump as president, Joni Ernst as U.S. Senator, Mariannette Miller-Meeks as U.S. Representative, Bobby Kaufmann as State Representative and Phil Hemingway for County Supervisor. Had there been two more Republicans in the race for county supervisor, they would likely have won here too.

So yeah, we Democrats are licking our wounds. We believed the results of the 2020 election would be much better than they turned out. What we didn’t expect was Secretary of State Paul Pate’s decision to mail an absentee ballot request to all registered voters because of the coronavirus pandemic would net so many Republican votes. The trope that increased voter turnout helps Democrats turned out not to apply.

What else are Democrats doing? Life goes on. We’re re-grouping.

Like most everyone in the electorate, we have lives that take precedence over politics. In my community that means continuing work with neighbors that never stops for elections. Unless I look at the county voting records, I don’t know if many of my neighbors are Democratic, Republican or something else. We felt the coronavirus pandemic here. One neighbor died of the virus and at least half a dozen got COVID-19. The condolence card I sent to the widow was no different based on party affiliation. As more people get vaccinated against COVID-19, thanks to the Biden administration’s work on vaccines, we’ll exit the pandemic and take up many of the things we used to do in early 2020. A lot of my neighbors are presidential election voters, so politics is not a constant priority.

Most of my political friends are wondering which Democrats will run for office in 2022. The governor and U.S. Senate races are at the top of the ticket, and there are plenty of public sources for information about which Democrats may be running for what. Rank and file Democrats are keeping our powder dry until we know who will run to replace Governor Reynolds, Senator Grassley and Representative Miller-Meeks. There is only so much to do before there is a candidate.

We are all watching the national political scene because it impacts Iowa politics as much as anything. The expectation here is now that a grand jury has been convened in New York, Donald Trump will be brought up on criminal charges. I read an article about how he could run for president from prison. There’s no telling anything to true Trump believers.

As far as the national Democrats go, they struggle to get their voice heard amidst the noise of FOX News, talk radio, social media and, increasingly, at large employers who have disclosed their politics. According to these right-wing outlets, Democrats can do no good. I mean, God help us if the Vice President of the United States posts on Twitter, “Enjoy the long weekend.” The flippin’ sky must be falling to hear their side of it. Information about the good Democrats have done during the Biden administration — and there has been a lot of good — is being actively suppressed. Active Democrats I know are trying to understand what the administration is doing and find ways to inject that into the negativity so prominent in daily life.

To answer the AP article question, no, Democrats are not past the point of no return. We are living our lives, keeping our powder dry, and preparing for the next opportunity to mount a campaign to win in 2022. In a way, that’s what Democrats always do. We don’t expect to take guidance from the media or Republicans.

Posted in politics | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on What Else Are Iowa Democrats Doing?

Republicans Have 0% Approval Rating

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Trish Nelson

In a sane and just world, that’s how it would be. But no, we now live in the  post-Trump era where Iowa Republicans are happily taking orders and actual laws from ALEC and the national Republican party. They apparently plan to upend Democracy and make the U.S. a one party state.  Their media has done enough twisting and distorting of reality that their voters are for whatever they do, largely because they have been brainwashed to hate and fear Democrats. No matter how bad Republicans are, it is all in the service of beating back the Democrats. So there’s never any question that the Trumpsters will turn on the party.

If you ever listen to right wing propaganda and conservative talk radio, this is the primary message:  Democrats are evil and scary socialist elites who hate you and think they are better than you and will ruin the country and so anything Democrats oppose is good and anything the Republicans do to oppose Democrats is good up to and including taking down Democracy. That’s it in a nutshell.

Democrats try, but good and honest people are no match for the level of evil currently being played out by the Republican party. They plan to criminally charge election officials – your friends and neighbors – who make honest mistakes. This is some kind of crazy.

Take it away, Senator Jochum!

Posted on: Iowa Senate Democrats Facebook page

Senator Pam Jochum, former President of the Iowa Senate, exposes the Iowa Republicans’ last day of session voter suppression bill.

The amendment clarifies who can return a ballot for a registered voter.

The person must be a registered voter in Iowa. A person can be an immediate family member which is defined as a someone in the within the fourth degree of consanguinity which extends out to a first cousin once removed or great-great grandparent. The delivery agent can only return a ballot so long as the person they are delivering for cannot deliver the ballot on their own due to blindness or disability.

A person can NOT deliver a ballot for someone if they are the voters’ employer, an officer or agent of the registered voters union, or a person acting as an actual or implied agent for a political party, or a candidate or candidate’s committee.

A delivery agent must fill out a form or receipt as prescribed by the Secretary of State. A delivery agent can only deliver two ballots per election. The delivery agent can NOT return the ballot to a mailbox or drop box and must return it to the county auditor’s office and must present an ID and must sign a statement saying they are eligible to return the ballot.

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Republicans Have 0% Approval Rating

President Biden Memorial Day Remarks

Posted on May 31, 2021 by Trish Nelson
Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , | Comments Off on President Biden Memorial Day Remarks

Memorial Day 2021 Honor. Reflect. Remember.

Posted on May 31, 2021 by Trish Nelson

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged | Comments Off on Memorial Day 2021 Honor. Reflect. Remember.

Wear Orange Next Weekend

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Dave Bradley

Why Orange?

Orange is the color that Hadiya Pendleton’s friends wore in her honor when she was shot and killed in Chicago at the age of 15 — just one week after performing at President Obama’s 2nd inaugural parade in 2013. After her death, they asked us to stand up, speak out, and Wear Orange to raise awareness about gun violence. Learn More

From email:

Wear Orange Weekend starts June 4th

Save the date and learn more about Wear Orange >>

Dave, we’re less than a month away from the start of Wear Orange Weekend. On June 4th, we’ll kick things off by commemorating National Gun Violence Awareness Day to honor the lives of people in the United States affected by gun violence and demand an end to this crisis. Learn more about what we’re doing this year to Wear Orange, including events happening across the country.

After Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in 2013 at the age of 15, her friends and family organized in Chicago to honor her life by wearing the color orange. Wear Orange originated on June 2, 2015—what would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday—and is now observed nationally on the first Friday in June and the following weekend each year in order to raise awareness for gun violence prevention.

This year, that means calling special attention to how the gun violence crisis has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the number of people killed by gun violence exceeded 40,000—the highest rate of gun deaths in two decades.1

So, on June 4th, we’ll #WearOrange and come together with communities across the country as we work to end gun violence. Save the date and learn more about how you can be a part of Wear Orange Weekend.

Learn More About Wear Orange

Thank you for being a part of this movement. We hope you’ll join us this year to make #WearOrange as impactful as possible.

Wear Orange 2021

P.S. You’ll find Wear Orange events on our website, with more added every day, including a national Students Demand Action virtual event. We’ll be in touch soon with more details.

Learn More About Wear Orange

Many folks may be surprised to find out that last year -2020 – had a huge uptick in gun deaths. This story just didn’t make headlines for two reasons:

A) At the end of the year the corona virus cases and deaths were peaking with nearly 300,000 cases per day and near 5000 deaths per day. Corona virus was story #1 all year.

B) Trump’s baby tantrums continued to occupy news space. Between corona virus and Trump, there wasn’t much room.

From Time’s December 30th, 2020 edition:    

This year, many Americans have experienced significantly higher levels of violence both wrought on and within their communities. Gun violence and gun crime has, in particular, risen drastically, with over 19,000 people killed in shootings and firearm-related incidents in 2020. That’s the highest death toll in over 20 years, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), an online site that collects gun violence data, and the Britannia Group’s non-partisan site procon.org.

This total includes victims of homicides and unintentional deaths but does not include gun suicides. And despite there being no “large-scale” shootings in 2020, the number of mass shootings—which are classified as an incident in which four or more people are shot and injured or killed—has actually risen, drastically, to over 600, the most in the past 5 years and a nearly 50% increase in 2019’s total.

When we talk about major health problems in this country, gun deaths is high on the charts and should be treated as such. Please find an orange shirt to wear to show your support.

Posted in gun control, gun safety | Tagged , | Comments Off on Wear Orange Next Weekend

Sunday Funday: 100 Years Since Tulsa Massacre Edition

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Dave Bradley

1921: The Tulsa Race Massacre | Goin’ Back to T-Town | American Experience | PBS (13.5 minutes) 

Most of you have heard references to the Tulsa Massacre at least in recent days. The stories of the attack by whites on the very successful black community of Tulsa, Oklahoma had been mostly buried. Only recently have the stories of what happened the last two days of May and the first day of June, 1921 been revealed. 

Stories like this are the history of our country that needs to be brought to light. How can we improve as a notion if we somehow are led to believe that everything is hunky-dory. While truth is sometimes hard to hear, it must be told in order to evaluate against standards. 

We know that once gamers became ubiquitous and police were being recorded did we start to understand the depth of police brutality against communities of color. Without real measurements on climate change we would not understand how serious climate change is.

Similarly we cannot hide from our racial history. Unless we really know what happened, how can we decide what to do to improve – “to make a more perfect union.” The recent spate of bills in Republican states to keep our kids is going to make the problem worse. It will also make those who will be lied to by their states though their teachers very resentful that they were not trusted with the truth.

We will include some questions on Memorial Day and the Tulsa Massacre.

A)  In a major faux pas last week Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene compared mask mandates to what horrific event in history?

B) As we head into the Memorial Day weekend approximately what percentage of adult Americans have been vaccinated for Covid-19?

C) In a major breach of international rules, Belarus hijacked a commercial flight in progress in order to do what?

D) On a speaking tour, President Biden conveniently had a list Republicans handy who had done what hypocritical act?

E) A jury in Davenport found defendant Bahera Rivera guilty in the death of what female college student from Brooklyn, Iowa?

F) And her chances of getting sick went way down, too. Abbigail Bugenske of Silverton, Ohio became the first winner in Ohio’s lottery staged to get people to do what?

G) Big news from New York this week was about a grand jury being empaneled to investigate possible criminal charges against what former politician?

H) The Greenwood area of Tulsa in 1921 was also known as what, which showed how wealthy the area had become?

I) Gordon Sundland, former US ambassador to the EU is suing former SoS Mike Pompeo because Pompeo’s State Dep’t failed to pay what fees they had promised to pay?

J) What war in American history is often referred to as “the forgotten war”?

K) President Biden is having our intelligence agencies delve deeper into what aspect of the Covid-19 story?

L) CNN fired what former presidential candidate after he made racist remarks concerning Native Americans?

M) What Democratic farmer and former county supervisor announced a run against Chuck Grassley for the Iowa senate seat up in 2022?

N) What was the original name for Memorial Day?

O) 911 systems in Georgia have been overwhelmed in recent days as citizens call in about what 17 year phenomena taking place?

P) In what year was Memorial Day moved from May 30th to the final Monday of May?

Q) The mother of fallen police officer Brian Sicknick lobbied Republican senators to do what last week?

R) Much of the destruction in the Tulsa Massacre was caused by fires. What was used to start the fires in the Greenwood area?

S) Pocket change! What company bought MGM for 8.5 billion last week?

T) A Dutch court ruled that what oil company had to reduce carbon emissions by 45% from 2019 levels by 2030?

Fauci Says Rand Paul Has Developed Full Immunity To  Coronavirus Knowledge. – Andy Borowitz

hat tip to EarlG on democraticunderground.com

Answers:

A) the Holocaust

B) 50%

C) Arrest a dissident reporter who was on the plane

D) voted against the recovery Act yet took credit for what it did in their districts

E) Molly Tibbets

F) Get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated gets you an entry into the lottery

G) Donald Trump

H) Black Wall Street for its prosperity

I) lawyers fees for his appearance before the impeachment hearing

J) Korean War

K) the possible accidental release from a Wuhan lab

L) Rick Santorum

M) Dave Muhlbauer

N) Decoration Day

O) the cicada emergence

P) 1971

Q) Vote for the independent commission to investigate January 6th. Her lobbying failed

R) Incendiary bombs dropped from airplanes

S) Amazon – whose value has skyrocketed since the pandemic

T) Shell

Republicans Agree To Commission On Hillary Clinton’s Involvement In January 6. – Andy Borowitz

Posted in #trumpresistance, Covid-19, Humor | Comments Off on Sunday Funday: 100 Years Since Tulsa Massacre Edition

ICYMI: Iowa’s economy sputtering as people flee the state

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Dave Bradley

From last week’s inbox, a very important message from Progress Iowa:

For Immediate Release: May 24, 2021

Contact: Ivy Beckenholdt, ivy@progressiowa.org

ICYMI: Iowa’s economy sputtering as people flee the state

Iowa losing jobs as younger residents flee the state under Republican leadership

Des Moines, Iowa — Two recent reports show a sputtering Iowa economy after years of attacks on working families under Republican leadership.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Iowa lost jobs again in April, as our economic recovery from the pandemic continues to fall behind other states. And Moneywise rated Iowa as one of the worst states when considering residents fleeing the state. The two reports come after five years of Republican control in state government that has seen the stripping away of worker’s rights, underfunding of education, and a partisan, ideological approach to health care and social policy.

“Iowa families and workers are falling behind, and the Governor is cutting the legs out from under us,” said Matt Sinovic, executive director of Progress Iowa. “Republicans have had complete control of Iowa for five years and the results are clear. They have failed our state. They have failed working families. Young people are fleeing the state. Our leaders must learn their lesson and invest in our future before it’s too late.”

According to the Des Moines Register, the most recent state jobs report shows a faltering Iowa economy has fallen behind the rest of the country:

“Iowa’s economy continued to sputter in April, as the state lost jobs for the second time in three months.”

“Overall, the state did not absorb as deep of an economic shock from the pandemic as most others because it does not rely as much on tourism-related industries. But its economic recovery has fallen behind the rest of the country’s.”

“Since October, the number of Iowans with jobs has increased by 4,700, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. That represents growth of about 0.3%. As a whole, the nation has added jobs at four times that rate over those six months.”

And according to Moneywise, Iowa is the eighth worst state in the country for residents moving out:

“Iowa sunsets over golden cornfields are the stuff of poetry, and its cities and job market are growing — yet nearly three-quarters of those moving away are looking for better employment.”

“By far, the largest group leaving the Hawkeye State is young people ages 18 to 34. They get their degrees from the University of Iowa or Iowa State and decide they’d rather settle down somewhere else.”

###

Background:

Des Moines Register: Iowa lost jobs in April, continues to trail the nation in economic recovery

Moneywise: The States Americans Are Fleeing

—

Progress Iowa is a multi-issue progressive advocacy organization with a network of more than 75,000 progressives. Year-round, Progress Iowa advocates for a stronger middle class, first-class public education, and fairness for all Iowans under the law.

Posted in Covid-19, Economy, Progress Iowa, Republican Policy | Comments Off on ICYMI: Iowa’s economy sputtering as people flee the state