Democracy Hangs On In 2025

Posted on December 31, 2025 by Trish Nelson

December sunset

Happy new year’s eve, BFIA followers!

If we make it to midnight tonight, American democracy will have lived to see another day. The sun will not have set on democracy just yet.  It seems we have survived a year of the felon in the white house (tip of the hat to Dave Bradley) posing as a president. This is cause for celebration! Trump fever is breaking.

Much credit goes to Indivisible who along with 50501, MoveOn and other groups, organized millions of Americans from everywhere in the country to hit the streets for protests in their home towns.  Iowa had over fifty #nokings2 protests on October 18 and over 7 million Americans showed up nationwide that day to voice their disapproval of MAGA.

In a nobody saw this coming moment, former MAGA rising star Marjorie Taylor Greene has flipped on MAGA saying this:

“I’m going to live in reality from now on.”

I couldn’t find a link to the quote but I remember hearing her say it when she made her announcement that she was resigning from congress awhile back.  Cynics are skeptical but the smartest one amongst all of the DC politicos I know of is Simon Rosenberg whose framing about MTG is this:

“…part of what is happening is she’s going through the equivalent of deprogramming from a cult where she’s trying to extricate herself and restore her sense of self having given that over to Trump and the MAGA cult. The reason this is so important is that she’s creating an example of somebody who can now create distance between her and Trump and the cult and to criticize it and to be open about it and to expose the core corruption and the betrayal..”    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIIfGM8Nb24

He added it will take some time for her to redeem herself, like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who actively have been doing their best to alert the country to the danger of Trump and tried to remove him from office. But that is his take on what is happening with MTG and I agree. He spoke of her sense of betrayal.  I also observed that once she realized the boys were never going to let her into the inner circle of power, that was it for her.  When you have that kind of eye-opening, you can’t unsee it. This week she told the New York Times Magazine how naive she “was.”  Here is a gift link to the article.

MTG leaving the cult and the public backlash that kept Jimmy Kimmel on the air were two of our most important wins in my opinion. The Jimmy Kimmel win was a spontaneous uprising from citizen-consumers, not necessarily politicos or even liberals.  Citizens forced the network to back down, not the courts or congress. Free speech is still alive for the time being, thanks to ordinary American citizens.

Here in Iowa things that just a few months ago no one thought would ever happen are happening:

– Communities are standing up to ICE in support of their immigrant neighbors and successfully preventing illegal deportations without due process.

– Iowa’s cancer problem is in the political conversation, finally.

– Our poisoned water is in the political conversation.

– All eyes are turning toward Big Ag and its ravages on our environment.

– Angry Iowans have been packing GOP town halls and demanding to know why their so-called representatives have been doing nothing about the lawless administration.

– Chris Jones could be our next Agriculture secretary.

– Democrats are winning elections in Iowa.

– A Democrat could be our next governor.

– Joni Ernst is out.

– Kim Reynolds is out.

I’m not saying we’re home free, far from it. We have so much work to do, but Democracy is still alive so let’s celebrate for now, then together we must keep on keeping on.

Thank you all for everything you have done and will continue to do in the fight to save America from fascism.  From helping local legislative campaigns to contacting congress, attending protests and town halls, running for office, writing  letters to the editor, donating to pro-democracy causes, singing songs and carrying signs, we have no choice but to fight on.

Onward to 2026!

And this happened yesterday!

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Follow Your County Government

Posted on December 30, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Rod Sullivan, Johnson county supervisor

Do your county supervisors send out weekly newsletters? Johnson county supervisor Rod Sullivan does. It’s not a cookie cutter newsletter, either. It is his personal take on issues of interest to Johnson county residents and is available to anyone who wants one. Sometimes the newsletter touches on issues that all Iowans have an interest in. As stated, the newsletter is “solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.”

Sullivan’s Salvos 1/1/26

In this edition:

*RIP Gary “Smiley” Bloore
*Welcome to 2026!
*Grace
*January 6
*Workday
*Congrats to JCSO!
*Contributors to the Housing Crisis
*Did You Know?

*RIP Gary “Smiley” Bloore
I was sad to see that local legend Gary “Smiley” Bloore passed away. I always had a bit of extra insight into Smiley. One of my favorite high school teachers was in his class at the small school they attended. The school was called Delwood, which was a combination of the names of the two towns – Delmar and Elwood. Delwood was in our conference for some sports when I was in high school, but a couple decades later, the school got absorbed by Maquoketa. Anyway, my teacher shared Smiley’s life story, so when I first met Smiley, I told him about our mutual friend, my teacher.

Smiley began cleaning dishes at Oakdale Hospital in Coralville in 1970. The next year he took a similar job for UI residence halls, doing dishes at the dining rooms of Currier and Hillcrest Halls before ending up at Burge, where he stayed until his retirement in 2016. He moved back to Maquoketa in 2019.

Gary Bloore was just one of those people who brightened up the days of others. He was a huge sports fan, and will be long remembered for his buttons and his “Woo woo!” RIP, Smiley.

*Welcome to 2026!
Happy New Year! Here’s to a better and brighter year ahead! I have never been big on New Year’s resolutions – you can see that by my weight! But I certainly welcome the “fresh start” feel of the New Year. I hope 2026 is good to you and yours!

*Grace
I have mentioned that I am not big on New Year’s Resolutions. There is one thing I have been attempting to do more of, however, and I invite you to join me.

I am attempting to show others more grace. Forgiving mistakes. Assuming the best rather than the worst. Trying to be kind.

In Christianity, grace is not earned. It is given. You get it even though you do not deserve it. That can be a tough concept to put to work in today’s world. We tend to blame, complain, and point out faults. I do it. We all do it. Frankly, that is part of why we do not deserve the grace we get from God.

I know my readers include many non-Christians. I honor all belief systems. I also think the idea of giving people grace can help all of us, regardless of our individual beliefs. It need not be viewed through the prism of religion. So please join me in offering a bit more grace to those you encounter every day.

*January 6
January 6 marks the 5th anniversary of one of the lowest points in US history. The defeated former President riled up a bunch of insurrectionists who then broke into the US Capitol, killing cops along the way. It remains the only coup attempt in American history (unless you include succession.) January 6 is the most shameful day in American history.

Has there been any accountability? Some. Hundreds of people have been charged, and 378 individuals have been convicted thus far. But all were pardoned by Trump. None of the US Congresspeople nor US Senators who conspired have been charged. And most importantly, Trump himself has thus far avoided all accountability.

Please – do not treat January 6 as yesterday’s news! We still can and must demand accountability! Traitors attempted to overthrow the US government on that day. They killed cops. We must not let this go! Acknowledge what happened this January 6 and every January 6 until the end of time!

*Workday
This ran about three months ago in Salvos. I am reprinting it here because this really is a big deal, and has profoundly impacted a lot of Johnson County employees. So you ought to know about it.)

Johnson County recently went live with Workday, a platform for managing HR, Capital, and Finances. Workday is used by thousands of entities around the world, and comes highly recommended.

Implementing Workday is the type of thing that has been a *very* big deal to County employees, but if our implementation goes well the public will never know anything happened.

Workday essentially takes a lot of the daily tasks of HR and Finance and moves them from paper to online. It is going to ultimately save Johnson County a lot of time and money, and many employees will see processes that used to take them a couple hours each week reduced to minutes. In addition, it makes all sorts of data readily available; something we have been sorely lacking.

Getting started, however, has been a huge investment of time and money. Some employees are *really* stressed. And not everything has gone as well as hoped. I am cautiously optimistic that we will get everything figured out.

My sincere thanks to the folks who have led this charge, and my thanks to the County employees who have had to adapt to new ways of doing things. I believe is going to be a good thing for taxpayers once we get it fully implemented, but I also know getting there is difficult.

*Congrats to JCSO!
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is proud to announce they are the first Sheriff’s Office in the State of Iowa to achieve the Iowa Law Enforcement Accreditation Program’s (ILEAP) Law Enforcement Accreditation. The accreditation went into effect as of December 17, 2025, and will be effective for a period of four years. The ILEAP Accreditation Program was developed by the Iowa Police Chiefs Association and the Iowa Sheriffs and Deputies Association, and was made available for application near the end of 2024 with the goal of helping law enforcement agencies to:

  • Establish and maintain standards that represent current professional law enforcement best practices.
  • Increase the effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of law enforcement services.
    Establish standards that address and reduce liability for the agency and its members.

Major Randy Lamm, JCSO Chief Deputy, led the agency’s efforts in applying for the ILEAP Accreditation and ensuring the agency’s strict adherence to the accreditation’s numerous standards and requirements. Major Lamm and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office personnel spent nine months pursuing the successful completion of 21 different areas of assessment, including (but not limited to) use of force; professional standards; recruitment and selection; training and career development; and property and evidence control.

Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel said, “Professionalism is a priority at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. To meet this standard every day, we ensure that we have the policies in place to fulfill this expectation. The Iowa Law Enforcement Accreditation Program has taken our policy to a new level and reinforces our commitment to providing quality public safety. When this opportunity became available, Major Lamm took this project on without hesitation and never took his foot off the gas. He worked with key staff to move this project across the finish line in just a few months. I’m very proud of all the hard work by everyone involved.”

*Contributors to the Housing Crisis

We all know affordable housing is a crisis in Johnson County. I am often asked about the “cause” of the crisis. The vast majority of the US has an affordable housing crisis, so obviously most of the “causes” are not unique to our community. But there is one thing that contributes a bit that is somewhat unique to Johnson County that I would like to see addressed.

The University has about 23,000 undergraduate students, and another 10,000 or so graduate students. Of those 23,000 undergrads, only about 25% live in the dorms. This is not really unusual, and is quite similar to the UI’s peer institutions. But what if the UI required two years in the dorms, and built enough housing units to cover it? What if another 4,000 students lived on campus?

The impact would be pretty huge. Opening 4,000 bedrooms would make a meaningful dent in the availability of housing in Johnson County, and probably help to reduce some increases in the ever-rising rents. There would be additional benefits accruing to the students themselves – undergraduate students who live on campus graduate at higher rates, get better grades, have less law enforcement contacts, have better mental health outcomes, and generally fare better by almost every metric of well-being.

Remember – although college costs have risen precipitously, the cost of college has not risen as much as the cost of rent. Students are taking out loans in part to enrich private landlords. Is that the model we want?

The decision by the UI (that started in the early 60s) to outsource student housing has had tremendous impacts on Johnson County. It made a few people extremely wealthy, and saddled hundreds of thousands more people (over decades) with huge student debts and lower qualities of life. Was that a good trade off? I’d say no.

We are not likely to reverse this now. But the UI could decide to house a few more of its own students, rather than externalizing this responsibility. It would be better for students, and better for Johnson County.

Would this solve our affordable housing crisis? Nope. But it would be a very positive step.

*DID YOU KNOW? Within 36 hours of January 6, 2021 five people died: one was shot by Capitol Police; another died of a drug overdose; and three died of natural causes including a police officer who died of natural causes a day after being assaulted by rioters. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died of suicide within seven months. Damage caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million. (Source: Wikipedia.)

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website- www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov

“Sullivan’s Salvos” is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with “subscribe” in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!

—Rod

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Art Cullen: “It’s Not Easy Making A Living In Rural Iowa”

Posted on December 29, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Iowa’s own Dr. Robert Leonard interviews Pulitzer Prize winner Art Cullen, editor, Storm Lake Times Pilot.

Art Cullen’s new book, We Crapped In Our Nest and Bob Leonard’s book, Deep Midwest are available at icecubepress.com

This was an amazing conversation I hope you don’t miss.

“American democracy has survived this long, through the revolutionary war, the civil war, through the cold war, WW II, the McCarthy era.. we can survive this guy… And as long as we have a free press we can self-correct. And I think that’s the secret is a free and independent press that America will always self-correct.” – Art Cullen

 

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Santa Claus for Billionaires, Debt for You: Thanks Trump 

Posted on December 28, 2025 by Dave Bradley

The playbook that showers the rich, spikes the debt, then demands you sacrifice Social Security and healthcare…

On Christmas Eve Thom Hartmann recounted the story of how Republicans turned economics on its head and drove our country’s economy into massive debt that will be paid for by the working people while the rich pile up massive horde of dollars in their money bins.

 

It is well worth the read to understand how in the 45 years since the so-called Reagan revolution our economy is only for the rich. Led by people like Jude Wanniski and Arthur Laffer (of the infamous Laffer  curve) Republicans have sold this country into huge debt which is transfering huge amounts of money to the wealthy from the poor and middle class. The not rich need to understand that voting for Republicans for any office is bad for the country’s economic health.

 

I will post the lead in. Hopefully you will follow the link to the full post. It is a bit long but very important to understand how the debt and the coffers of the rich grew from Republican policies:

 

The Washington Post published an article this week titled A Middle-Class Family’s Only Option: A $43,000 Health Insurance Premium about how the GOP’s refusal to extend ACA/Obamacare subsidies means that Stacy Newton’s family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming will have to pay $43,000 a year for health insurance if they want to stay covered.

If, however, the United States had an extra trillion dollars a year — the amount we’re now spending every year on interest payments against the GOP’s $38 trillion national debt — the Newtons would only pay a few hundred dollars a month and we could also have Universal Childcare & Pre-K, Paid Family & Medical Leave, Tuition-Free College, Affordable Housing & No More Homelessness, End Child Poverty & Hunger, and, as mentioned, Affordable Healthcare for all Americans.

thanks to Thom Hartmann

Which raises the question: where did our $38 trillion dollar national debt — that’s costing us $1 trillion a year in interest — come from? After all, when Reagan came into office in 1981 we’d been paying down the debt from WWI and WWII to the point where the entire national debt was only $800 billion (less than $1 trillion).
 
 

So, where the hell did all this debt come from? Turns out, you could call it a conspiracy: there’s an amazing backstory to our national debt with the unique name “Two Santas.”

This conspiracy/strategy was developed by a Republican strategist named Jude Wanniski back in the 1970s, and he quite literally transformed America and the GOP with it.

Here’s how it works, laid it out in simple summary:

The Two Santas strategy dictates that when Republicans control the White House they must spend money like a drunken Santa and massively cut taxes on the rich, all to intentionally run up the US debt as far and as fast as possible.

They started this during the Reagan presidency when he dropped the top income tax rate on the morbidly rich from 74% down to 28%, and the GOP tripled down on it with four subsequent massive tax cuts for the rich during the presidencies of Bush, Trump I, and Trump II.

Massive tax cuts for the rich and uncontrolled spending during those four Republican presidencies produced three results: 

  1. They stimulated the economy with a sort of sugar high, making people think that the GOP can produce a good economy;
  2. They raised the national debt dramatically (it’s at $38 trillion today, 100% of which tracks back to Reagan’s, Bush Jr.’s, and Trump’s massive tax cuts and Bush’s two illegal $5 trillion off-the-books wars);
  3. They produced trillions in additional wealth for the richest families in America, who returned the favor by recycling billions into the campaign coffers of Republican candidates;
  4. And they made people think that Republicans are the “tax-cut Santa Clauses.”

Then comes part two of the one-two punch: when a Democrat gains the White House, Republicans and GOP-friendly media must scream about the national debt as loudly and frantically as possible, freaking out about how “our children will have to pay for it!” and “we have to cut spending to solve this crisis!”

From this point please link to the Hartmann Report to read the rest of the story of how Republicans drove us into debt.

 

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No Quiz This Week

Posted on December 28, 2025 by Dave Bradley
We are having a nice laid back Holiday season this year. In order to do that, like so many of us I need to get away from Trump for a while. We all need to refresh and prepare ourselves for what will no doubt be the battle of our lives as his administration fights to finally kill Medicare, Social Security and any remnants of democracy.
 
Do not be fooled into thinking we will have a “normal” election cycle next fall. Expect any and every dirty trick known to steal elections to be used. No doubt they are concocting new ones as I write. Also do no expect the election to be declared over on the day after election. Expect numerous claims of froud from the squealing Republicans. Their election prospects look bleak, but they will try to cheat at every turn possible.
 
Here is a short video sent out by Robert Reich on Christmas Eve that helps to remind us that we are the majority and the moral ones:
Posted in #trumpresistance | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Message From Accountable Iowa Concerning Pesticides

Posted on December 27, 2025 by Dave Bradley

 

From December 22:
The pesticide industry’s “science” is falling apart
How cancer families uncovered the truth Bayer wants buried
As independent science continues to demonstrate the cancer-causing effects of chemical pesticides, the ghostwritten “studies” from the chemical pesticide industry are falling apart.

Just last year Accountable Iowa reported on a peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers which found that certain pesticides may raise cancer risk at levels comparable to smoking cigarettes.

Meanwhile, the pesticide industry appears to be following Big Tobacco’s old playbook: ghostwrite their own “scientific studies,” spend millions on sleek advertisements to sway public opinion, and blame victims when the truth emerges. It worked…until it didn’t. And it won’t work now.

Bayer/Monsanto top-cited “scientific study” officially retracted

For 25 years, Bayer/Monsanto has leaned on this “study” to claim that glyphosate (found in Roundup) doesn’t cause cancer. The study was referred to as “foundational,” and the “hallmark paper in the discourse surrounding glyphosate and Roundup.” It has been cited over 800 times. This month, the entire study was officially retracted the original journal it was published in. Why? They discovered that it wasn’t independent science at all. It was corporate marketing dressed up in a lab coat.

We know this because litigation exposed it. Internal emails revealed that company employees drafted the study and paid outside academics to “just edit & sign their names.” That damning evidence didn’t come from a regulator, a university, or a newsroom. It came from farm families who got cancer, went to court, and forced the truth into daylight through discovery.

Here’s the devastating irony: the very people Bayer/Monsanto now want to shut out of the courthouse are the ones who uncovered one of the most consequential scientific frauds in regulatory history. And now Bayer is asking Iowa lawmakers to give them lifetime liability immunity so they can never be exposed again.

Bayer’s pitch to Iowa lawmakers is this: trust the Federal government’s regulatory system. But there’s one massive problem with that concept. The EPA relied on this very study to defend glyphosate’s safety. So did regulators around the world. The retraction proves what common sense already suggested: regulators can be fooled when companies lie. And the only reason we know they were fooled is because cancer survivors had their day in court.

Despite this, Bayer continues to push their pesticide liability immunity bill in Iowa (and nation-wide) designed to shield the corporation from accountability when its products cause cancer and other serious harm. If passed, it would strip Iowa farm families of their right to seek justice, the most powerful tool we have to expose dangerous products and hold wrongdoers responsible.

With Iowa facing the fastest-growing cancer rate in the nation, letting a multinational chemical giant off the hook is unthinkable. But Bayer will be back asking for their get-out-of-jail-free card, and we hope lawmakers will once againtell them to get lost.

 

Join 50,000 of your fellow Iowans in fighting back!
Posted in #trumpresistance, Environment, Farming | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Who’s Running For Iowa Statehouse In 2026?

Posted on December 26, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Click on the image to go to Insufferable Wenches or Iowa

Insufferable Wenches of Iowa posted on their FB page every Democrat running for statehouse (that they know of) with links to their pages or websites. Thank you, Wenches for this public service.

Our gift to you, a list of every Iowa House candidate that we know of so far. Incumbents are presumed to be running unless they’ve announced otherwise.

Google them, find their social media, get to know them 🧡
Don’t know what district you’re in, check here:https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find

“Insufferable Wenches is a volunteer organization dedicated to civics education & engagement, mutual aid, advocacy, and all things political.”

Plus they are doing this:

Hey!

We’re starting a new thing!

We are on a mission to chat with every single state candidate starting with Iowa House candidates!

Please do all the things for engagement (like, comment, share) and hop on to https://www.youtube.com/@InsufferableWenches

YOU can submit questions you’d like us to ask here: https://forms.gle/frniEhB91qTApcPR8

(If you are a candidate that would like to participate, email us at insufferablewenches.ia@gmail.com)

Here is their first one!

Visit the Wenches’ FB page to view and link to all 62 candidates.
Website: https://insufferablewenches.org/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InsufferableWenches

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Top 20 Christmas Songs Of All Time

Posted on December 25, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Follow musical historian Rick Beato on YT.

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The 60 Minutes Story We Didn’t See

Posted on December 24, 2025 by Trish Nelson

 

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110 Billion With a B

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Factory Farms in Iowa Generate 110 Billion Pounds of Manure Per Year. No One Tracks Where It’s Going.

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