An important message from the Iowa Senate Democrats
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Action alert for today from ProgressIowa
On Tuesday, January 9th, Governor Kim Reynolds will deliver her first Condition of the State address. Will you be there to help us respond? Join us at the capitol, and share online using the hashtag #OurIowa
A group of Iowans representing everyday Iowans and working families from across the state will deliver the People’s Condition of the State on Tuesday, January 9th, in response to the address planned by Governor Kim Reynolds. All Iowans are encouraged to attend the event, starting at 12:00 p.m. in the capitol rotunda, and speak out against the coming far-right agenda being planned by Governor Reynolds and the Republican-controlled legislature.
Speakers will share their stories about how the Reynolds administration has impacted their family, and call on all Iowans to stand together and fight back against further attacks on everyday Iowans during the upcoming legislative session.
Join us on Tuesday, and contact matt @ progressiowa.org with any questions!
Austin Frerick has rolled out his first campaign video and like all of his communications, it reflects who he really is and what he cares about.
Austin Frerick is one of the most exciting congressional candidates to come out of Iowa in a very long time. Iowa’s third district would do well to take a serious look at this 20-something brainiac who also happens to be a regular, down-to-earth Iowan.
Austin is not like the other candidates and we mean that in the best of ways. Read Austin’s Rurally Good Newsletter where you will actually learn important stuff you previously had no idea about. He doesn’t just have a staffer send daily, dull, robo- e-mails with cliche, click-bait subject lines that are supposed to scare you into donating, like most candidates running for office. Austin gives you something of real value before he asks for something in return. It is reciprocal. By the time he asks you to donate, you are already trying to figure out how much to send because you want to give money to support this candidate.
To find out more about Democrat Austin Frerick and to keep up to date with the campaign, sign up to volunteer, or make a donation. Visit austinfrerick.com. Follow the campaign on Facebook.com/Austin.Frerick and Twitter @AustinFrerick
An obscenity in all respects
Winter winds blow chillin’ cold. What blows even colder is the hearts of Iowa’s Republican Party. Next week they start part two of emptying out the state coffers – filled by taxes from you and I – and handing it off to their donors.
Next week they once more do nothing about the insane privatized Medicaid system that is now dedicated to enriching the management companies rather than helping the disabled and poor.
Next week they once more take a shot at taking away workers’ rights, lowering their pay and turning their retirement funds into a casino.
Next week Republicans in the Iowa legislature will once more try to take away the right to vote from valid voters in Iowa.
Next week Republicans will once more lower taxes for the rich in an attempt to emulate the smashingly successful economy in Kansas where they can’t even keep the schools open.
Once more Republicans in our legislature will cut spending for public schools in their continuing effort to privatize our education system.
And of course once more Republicans in the Iowa legislature will totally ignore the outbreak of public protests that will accompany their government for the oligarchs. If you didn’t notice, democracy died in Iowa many years back.
We may even have Kim Reynold’s version of what I consider to be one of the most obscene photographs I have ever seen that is posted above. A head of the government supposedly of the people, by the people and for the people signing a bill that takes away workers’ rights, under the watchful eye of an oligarch whose employers will profit greatly from such a bill. Absolutely obscene.
In short the Republican Party of Iowa know they have one last golden opportunity to rob the public blind and hand it over to their donors. They won’t miss this chance.
Having lived in an Iowa that was once fair and forward looking, it is so sad to see what Iowa has become.
Iowa City Women’s March January 21, 2017
In case you have forgotten, last year on January 21st massive protest marches – known as the Women’s March – took place across this country and around the world. These marches were in anticipation of what was expected to be the worst presidency in history. In the first year those expectations were realized and more.
The resistance continues though. Gather up those Pussy Hats and get ready to once more stand proudly against the man and administration that:
Last year the we sent a message. Let’s do it again on Saturday January 20th and Sunday January 21st.
Marches in Iowa:
If You Can’t Hear Our Voice, Hear Our Vote | Anniversary
Start: January 20, 2018 • 12:00 PM
Iowa State Capitol• 1007 E Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50319
Host Contact Info: Robin@womensmarchia.org
First Anniversary Women’s March-Lamoni
Start: January 20, 2018 • 1:00 PM
The Colesium• 100 North Maple, Lamoni, IA 50140
Omaha Women’s March (close enough)
Start: January 20, 2018 • 1:00 PM
Downtown Omaha• 1302 Farnam St., Omaha, NE 68102
Let this be the first step toward a huge repudiation at the polls in November
A mashup of Alfred E. Neuman and Dear Leader. Image from Pinterest
Except those who don’t.
Well it has been quite a week for team Dear Leader. Seems they have gone out of their way to make an unknown journalist into the hottest writer in the country almost overnight. “Fire And Fury” may be the fastest seller in publishing history due in no small part (pun intended) to Dear Leader. Michael Wolff has gone from “WHO?” to a full blown smear job from the right wing including their ultimate in insults: he is gay.
Can you imagine that they actually expect such a smear job to actually work in this day and age? Calling him gay is one level above calling him a black woman. No doubt this group of MENSA flunkies must have considered that. They may still use it.
I can’t keep up, but I try:
1) Hey, the truth about Dear Leader’s hair bonnet was released by what totally disloyal member of his circle?
2) The east coast was hit by what the weather bureau described by what unusual term for their midweek storm?
3) Iowa governor Kim Reynolds admitted she did not follow the ‘letter of the law’ in dealing with what issue?
4) On New Year’s Day, Britain got a new knight. What musician was knighted by the Queen on New Year’s Day?
5) Which state’s celebration of the legalization of marijuana was dampened by AG Keebler Elf announcement that the Justice Department would once again prosecute marijuana laws?
6) Orrin Hatch announced he would retire as senator from Utah which once again revived whose political career?
7) New jobs for the year hit the lowest point in how many years based on reports issued on jobs Friday?
8) The FBI announced it would be looking into what critical issue once more last week?
9) It looks like die hard racist Steve King will get what question added to the 2020 census?
10) In a truly bizarre event Thursday, who addressed daily briefing reporters on TV screens from a location just a few feet away?
11) Roy Moore has been sued for defamation of character by whom?
12) Dear Leader took credit for 0 commercial airline deaths in 2017. When was the last fatality for commercial airliners in the US?
13) Dear Leader ended the voter fraud panel, but not the target. What agency will now be investigating voter fraud for the administration?
14) Who suffered a sudden and inexplicable loss of his mind after he left White House employment, according to Dear Leader?
15) Communications sped up dramatically 180 years ago this coming Thursday when what invention was demonstrated in Morristown, NJ?
16) What two bordering countries took the first tepid steps to re-establishing broken communications when it was announced their hotline would be put back in service?
17) Rebekah Mercer usually tries to stay out of the news. However she did what this week – tied to the book furor – that landed her in the news?
18) One Virginia House race that ended in a questionable tie was settled by a draw of lots Thursday. Who won the draw?
19) Quietly, congress (Republicans) let a tax on oil companies expire last Sunday. The money from this tax was used to do what?
20) Chuck Grassley wrote the Justice Department Friday recommending that Justice pursue charges against who?
Heard on the John Fugelsang show Thursday: “{Dear Leader’s} only trusted political friend these days is Mayor McCheese.”
Answers:
1) his daughter Ivanka
2) “bomb cyclone”
3) balancing the state budget – oopsie!
4) Sir Ringo Starr
5) California
6) Willard Romney (aka “Mitt”)
7) 6 years – lowest since 2011
8) The Clinton Foundation
9) a question on citizenship
10) Dear Leader
11) Leigh Corfman – his first accuser
12) February 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 killed 50 people near Buffalo.
13) Homeland Security.
14) Steve Bannon – such a fine mind it was
15) the telegraph
16) North Korea and South Korea
17) ended her financial ties to Steve Bannon
18) the Republican
19) it went to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
20) Christopher Steele the British spy who wrote the Steele Dossier. This is an attempt to short circuit the senate investigation of Russian interference by Grassley.
Andy Borowitz: “I know everybody’s excited about the Wolff book, but the news that Trump is unfit for office doesn’t exactly qualify as a scoop.”
(Video 4 minutes)
Today we have a couple of videos for you to watch. The first one is a short straight to the point video done by a man named Carl Sagan. At the time this video was made, Sagan was perhaps the most noted astro-physicist in the world. An astro-physicist is a person who explores the universe.
One of the basic abilities of the astro-physicist is their ability to quantify things like vast distances and energy. Another is to understand the consequences of actions on other parts of the universe. In the above video, Dr. Sagan discusses what will happen to humans should nuclear bombs ever be exploded in an area.
Since you seem to think nuclear bombs are similar to a sword to be waved around in a threatening manner, we think that you need to learn what could happen if even one nuclear bomb is exploded. The consequences to humans and all other living creatures would be at best horrible.
While you, Dear Leader, were spending your time bullying people, screwing your friends wives and amassing money, Dr. Sagan was a learned man who was warning the world of the consequences of nuclear war.
(Video one hour)
In the above video, Dr. Sagan expands on the consequences of nuclear war. When Dr. Sagan spoke the world actually was facing the possibility of nuclear war between two major powers – the Soviet Union and the United States. That makes its much like today. However, neither side treated their weapons as if they were toys to be brandished about on a schoolyard playground.
Listen to this wise man, Dear Leader. Although Dr. Sagan has died his words of warning and advise belong to all ages.
Finally we have some words from a man who was a very good observer of human beings, especially those who lead. Listen well to this man. His observations may help you understand what drives your impulses to dangerously threaten the destruction of the world:
(Video 7.5 minutes)
Thank you for your time, Dear Leader. I want my family to live not in constant fear of nuclear war as my generation did, but in peace and cooperation that will create a better planet.
For Immediate Release: January 4, 2017
Contact: Matt Sinovic, (515) 423-0133
IOWANS CALL ON GOVERNOR, LEGISLATURE TO RAISE MINIMUM WAGE
18 states saw increase take effect on January 1st, while Iowans have waited longer than anyone in the country for a raise
Des Moines, Iowa — Iowans today called on Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature to raise the minimum wage during the upcoming legislative session. The Iowa minimum wage was last raised in 2008, and has remained at $7.25 since that time. A petition contacting Iowa’s elected officials can be found by clicking here: http://progia.us/raisethewage
On January 1st, the minimum wage increased in 18 states across the country, while Iowans continued to wait. And since 2008, the federal minimum wage was increased to $7.25 in 2009, 5 of Iowa’s 6 neighboring states have increased their minimum wage, and several counties in Iowa passed minimum wage increases before they were pre-empted by the 2017 legislature.
“Politicians like to talk big about improving wages, but last year the legislature literally voted to lower wages,” said Matt Sinovic of Progress Iowa. “With Iowa’s low unemployment rate, the problem isn’t a lack of jobs, it’s a lack of good-paying jobs and the workers to fill them. Raising the minimum wage would make it easier to keep workers in Iowa, and boost the local economy. It’s time for Governor Reynolds and Republicans in the legislature to not only talk the talk, but take action to raise wages.”
“Small businesses across the state have said time after time that their top need is more customers – the best way for that to happen is when Iowans have more money to spend,” said Sue Dinsdale, director of the Main Street Alliance of Iowa, a coalition of small business owners. “Iowa businesses know that when the minimum wage goes up, they see a boost in sales and it has an impact on main street by being spent locally. Our elected officials should listen to small business and raise the minimum wage.”
“Ten years after Iowa raised its minimum wage to $7.25, 29 states — including all our neighbors except Wisconsin — have gone higher, and so have costs for low-wage workers,” said Mike Owen, executive director of the Iowa Policy Project. “Raising the wage in steps to $12 would benefit more than 400,000 Iowa workers. Along with action to stop wage theft and to improve child care assistance, an Iowa minimum wage increase could help more families find a spot on the ladder of opportunity.”
###
Background:
Iowa: Once a leader, now a laggard on Minimum Wage
http://iowapolicyproject.org/2016docs/160304-minwage-FS12.pdf
Minimum wage hikes in 18 states set for new year
http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/366698-minimum-wage-hikes-set-for-new-year-in-18-states
New report says minimum wage hike could benefit businesses
We first posted this video back in March of 2017. Trevor Noah and The Daily Show did a brilliant and shockingly true segment, Who Is The Real President? suggesting that Fox News is the “real” president because Trump gets all of his information from Fox. ICYMI, here it is again.
Then scroll down and read yesterday’s fascinating article by Steve Benen, confirming what the Daily Show pointed out months ago, and providing documentation of Trump’s continuing use of Fox News as his primary information source.
Now is everything starting to make sense?
by Steve Benen, producer, The Rachel Maddow Show
Donald Trump raised more than a few eyebrows last night, boasting about the size of his “nuclear button,” and effectively daring North Korea to demonstrate its nuclear capabilities. But what went largely overlooked was the first part of the Republican president’s dangerous tweet: “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’”
But Kim Jong-un hadn’t “just” stated that; he’d actually made the comments nearly two days earlier. What had actually “just” happened was that Fox News had aired a segment on the North Korean leader’s remarks, and Donald Trump had “just” seen it.
The Toronto Star’s Daniel Dale published a fascinating observation last night, connecting the American president’s online missives to what he happened to see on his allied cable news network.
7:48 a.m.: Attacks Justice Dept., Abedin after Fox segment
8:44 a.m.: Tweets to Fox
8:49 a.m.: Tweets about taxes after Fox segment
9:08 a.m.: Talks North Korea after Fox segment
9:13 a.m.: Takes credit for aviation safety after Fox segment
7:49 p.m.: Mocks Kim Jong-un after Fox segment
8:16 p.m.: Urges people to watch Fox show
11:03 p.m.: Live-tweets Fox Business
And that was just yesterday. When Trump sat down with a New York Times reporter on Friday, he pointed to evidence of China providing oil to North Korea. Did he receive this information from a U.S. intelligence agency? Trump said he knew the information because “it was reported on Fox.”
Earlier in the day, he said his approval rating at the end of his first year was “the same” as President Obama’s. That’s ridiculously untrue, but Trump said he saw it reported on Fox News.
The week before, the president expressed amazement that the FBI had reassigned attorney James Baker. He said he learned about the developments by way of Fox News.
After White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had been on the job for a month, the New York Times reported that Kelly “cannot stop Mr. Trump from binge-watching Fox News, which aides describe as the president’s primary source of information gathering.” Evidently, this hasn’t changed.
Click here to read the entire article at MSBC.com
Click image to see Maddow segment of Mt Ayr town hall (@19:00)
In the first five minutes of the clip below from Tuesday night’s TMRS, Rachel calls out Chuck Grassley, reminding us that he made a public statement, replying to a constituent question at a town hall meeting in Mt. Ayr, Iowa in August, that the transcripts of Glenn Simpson’s 10 hours of testimony before the senate judiciary committee could be released to the public. Grassley is now going back on his statement. A lawyer for Simpson said in a statement Wednesday:
“The Chairman’s [Grassley’s] office misstates the history of Mr. Simpson’s cooperation with its investigation,” said Fusion GPS attorney Joshua Levy in a statement. Should the Committee choose to release his testimony, the public will see a 300-page transcript covering 10 hours of questions and answers.”
Contact Grassley and demand that the transcripts be released. Full segment of Tuesday night’s show can be found here: msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
Grassley contact info.
DC: 202-224-3744
Des Moines: 515-288-1145
Cedar Rapids: 319-363-6832
Council Bluffs: 712-322-7103
Davenport: 563-322-4331
Sioux City: 712-233-1860
