Calling All Democrats

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Trish Nelson

iowa legislative districtsHere is an action alert for Iowa Democrats from Iowa Starting Line.

10 Iowa Legislative Districts Democrats Need To Field Candidates In… Just In Case

With Donald Trump likely to be at the top of the ticket for the GOP, independents and even moderate Republicans could abandon the party in droves this year, causing Democrats to pick up some surprise down-ballot seats.

Donald Trump is viewed unfavorably by an astonishing 2/3 of the American people. [although seriously, the only thing astonishing about this is that it is only 2/3, rather than 99% – BFIA].

But you can’t win if you don’t run, and there’s 10 Iowa legislative seats that went unfilled after the filing deadline that could potentially be won in a wave election year. You can still put a candidate on the ballot with a special nominating convention this summer, so local Democrats need to work overtime to find people for these seats.

Check out our list and see if you know anyone living in those districts. Share this post around so more know about it:

Local Democrats Need To Step Up And Run In These 10 Districts

Posted in 2008 Election, 2016 Election Campaign, Iowa Legislature, Iowa legislature 2016 | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Calling All Democrats

When Your Opponent Is Drowning Throw Him An Anvil

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Dave Bradley
When you don't do your job there is lots of time for gardening

When you don’t do your job there is lots of time for gardening

That was some sage political advice from James Carville

Chuck Grassley is one of the national leaders of the Republican Party. As a member of leadership Grassley helped come up with the current insane Republican policy to not even hold hearings on a replacement for the departed Antonin Scalia. Thus Chuck and his buddies have put themselves in a real lose/lose situation. We thank him for that.

Republicans came to their policy of refusing to even hold hearings because they claim Obama is a lame duck. Based on that way of thinking they must believe that Obama has been a lame duck since Jan. 20, 2009. That is the approximate date they began their policy of refusing to do anything that President Obama has pushed. They have practiced a policy of refusing to do anything while Obama was president. The only question was coming up with some excuse that sounded legitimate.

Of course the excuses all come under some misinterpretation of liberty or freedom (the people don’t want health care. They want the freedom to die in the streets). No matter how outlandish the excuse, they knew the press would never question it because they owned the press. Very convenient. So in this case only on the few left leaning outlets will you hear that the Republican strategy to declare Obama no longer president is insane.

Thank heavens for the still open and neutral internet. It is about the only place left for a true exchange of ideas. Because of that, many people quickly realized that the excuse that Grassley and his mates concocted is a big old load of horse manure spread thick. Trying to sell this pile of horse manure to the public as air fresheners is not going really well. Citizens are really, really mad that their government refuses to do its job. They are mad enough to fire the highly pampered idiots that make $3,000 + dollars a week and have incredible privileges that refuse to do their jobs.

However, not all citizens are that mad. There is a small band of people that are the core supporters who want their senators to maintain their idiotic stand against the constitution, else those senators will lose their votes. Now since these are voters who will vote for anything with an ‘R’ behind their name, the threat of losing those votes scares them.

Therefore Republican senators, especially our friend Chuck, have painted themselves into a corner. If they continue to refuse to do their constitutional duty they risk pissing off voters who think they should let government work. Republicans have once more found a way to shut down government which makes people mad, real mad.

On the other hand, if Republicans relent and go back on their current stand and decide to even go through the motions of allowing a hearing they will piss off those who are their base voters. You have to admire a party that has leadership that is so dumb that it puts its members in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.

So now that they are out in the water and starting to drown, here comes another group of Republicans to throw them an anvil. The anvil’s name is Donald Trump. There is no need to recount the tales of how Trump has come to be the anvil that many Republicans will have to contend with as they go underwater in their races this fall. You would have to be living under a rock not to know.

Let’s just imagine a summer scene where Chuck Grassley shows up at a picnic and wants to give a little speech. Some of the crowd starts shouting “hey, how about doing your job.” Others say “hey, don’t let ‘em have a vote.” then when Chuck finally gets the crowd to quiet down by pretending he doesn’t know what they are talking about, he has to launch into a speech where he has to praise “that great American Donald Trump!” and then solicit voters to “vote for Trump for President!”

Just to add a little weight on top of that anvil we really need to remind the public how Chuck signed that letter to Iran that tried to interfere in the President’s conduct of foreign affairs – very much against the constitution. Or we can remind the public of how Chuck and his cohorts want to raise the age to receive Social Security and cut benefits. Or we can remind the folks of how Chuck wants to repeal the ACA and return to the days of pre-existing conditions. There are just so many things that Grassley has done against Iowans especially in his last term.

It will be so much fun to watch even the vaunted Grassley stay afloat trying to swim with the anvils of his own making.

Posted in 2016 Election Campaign, Charles Grassley, Republican hypocrisy, Republican Obstruction, Republicn Policy | Tagged , | Comments Off on When Your Opponent Is Drowning Throw Him An Anvil

Sunday Funday: Smoking Of The Green Edition

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Dave Bradley
this picture has nothing to do with today's puzzle. But Easter is next week

this picture has nothing to do with today’s puzzle. But Easter is next week

Another great quote from John Fugelsang this one concerning St. Patrick’s Day festivities:
“Alcohol: 75,000 US deaths per year. Cannabis: Zero. Maybe next St. Patrick’s Day more people need to go green.”

And there is green in that there green: Oregon generated $3.48 million in taxes in their first month of legalized sales. Iowa can’t even let sick people who desperately need medical marijuana have a sniff.

Were you paying attention?

1) Despite repeated warnings from Republicans that they would stomp their feet and refuse to play, Pres. Obama named who as his SCOTUS nominee?

2) Sad incident on the Iditarod trail in Alaska when at least one dog was killed by a what?

3) Five Sheriff’s deputies in Cumberland County (Fayetteville) N.C. were demoted and lost pay due to their conduct at what presidential campaign rally?

4) Chuck Grassley relented a bit and said he will meet with the SCOTUS nominee for what purpose?

5) Big primaries last Tuesday. Who put a small roadblock in the way of Donald Trump’s path to the Republican nomination Tuesday?

6) The man who shot people in Kalamazoo Michigan claimed his mind had been taken over by what?

7) On the Democratic side in Tuesday’s primaries, despite some very close races who ran the table Tuesday?

8) In a major reversal of a previously announced policy, the Obama Administration said that it will no longer allow oil drilling where?

9) March 25th, 1911 fire raged through a garment factory in NYC, killing 123 young women and 23 men. This incident is infamously known as what?

10) A three member panel from the Legislative Services Agency labeled Iowa’s economy as what last week?

11) An NFL official last week admitted there was a link between football and what?

12) An internet video went viral last week that showed a man at a Kellogg factory doing what?

13) Monday who announced a withdrawal of troops from Syria, surprising the world?

14) How many states did Marco Rubio win before dropping out of the presidential race Tuesday?

15) Once again Donald Trump said what may take place at the convention if the power brokers deny him the nomination?

16) Despite what happened in Indiana and Arkansas when those states passed a bill allowing discrimination by religious followers, what state passed another such bill last week?

17) What two former Iowa Lt. Governors led a group calling for Senator Grassley to hold hearings for President Obama’s SCOTUS nominee?

18) Having made the ethanol industry mad, what Republican congressman now faces a primary challenge in June?

19) Appearing before the House Oversight Committee Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said blame for the Flint water crisis belongs to who?

20) The Economist listed the election of what presidential candidate as a threat to the world economy equal to jihadi terrorism?

The High Holy Days of Basketball reach a crescendo this week with the start of the NCAA tournament. Enjoy

Answers:

1) Merrick Garland

2) a drunken snowmobile driver

3) a Trump rally

4) to tell Garland that he (Grassley) will refuse to hold a hearing on his nomination

5) John Kasich won Ohio. Trump took the rest

6) the Uber app

7) Hillary Clinton

8) the Atlantic Ocean

9) the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.

10) “lackluster”

11) brain damage (CET specifically)

12) peeing on products made at a Kellogg production plant in Memphis, Tn.

13) Putin

14) one – Minnesota

15) riots

16) Georgia

17) Joy Corning (R) and Sally Pederson (D) with the group “Justice, Not Politics”

18) Steve King will be challenged by State Senator Rick Bertrand

19) not him of course – the EPA.

20) Trump.

Posted in Humor | Comments Off on Sunday Funday: Smoking Of The Green Edition

Iowa Supreme Court Upholds Spirit Of Open Meetings Law

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Dave Bradley

Iowa Supreme Court photo 2013 No seats have been replaced since then

Iowa Supreme Court photo 2013 No seats have been replaced since then


Why wasn’t this ruling unanimous?

We congratulate the Iowa Supreme Court for ruling that governmental boards could not hold meetings via proxy. This they said violated the the open meetings provision of Iowa law.

If a majority of a board conveys communication on policy matters back and forth and in some way seeks to do this in a way that blocks the public from from these discussions it definitely violates the spirit of the law that sought to stop the practices of secret meetings with policy made in secret and without public input.

Briefly, the three members of the Warren County board of supervisors held individual meetings with the county administrator concerning downsizing. The county administrator then relayed information from those individual meetings to the other members. Thus he acted almost as a meeting facilitator even though there technically was not a meeting. Very sneaky and at that time technically not illegal, but certainly seemed on the edge.

America moved away from decisions made in back rooms long ago, or so they thought. Any attempt to circumvent the open meeting rules should be viewed as an egregious betrayal of the public trust. These supervisors were not elected to ignore the public input and purview.

It is strange that there was even a dissent let alone three. When lawmakers draw up laws they can’t possibly think of every conceivable way to get around a law. It is hard to believe that an Iowa Supreme Court justice could say “this specific instance isn’t listed in the law, so therefore meetings held this way are legal.’

Thank you, Justices, for a decision that keeps the public from being shut out of its right know what goes on in their government.

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Legislators Offer New Clean Water Proposal

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Dave Bradley

Marti Anderson

Marti Anderson


Contacts: Rep. Chuck Isenhart (563-599-8839) Rep. Marti Anderson (515-360-2397)

NEWS RELEASE

A new state clean water commission funded by a partnership between taxpayers and farm commodity producers will be the focus of a bill to be introduced this session by two state legislators.

State Rep. Chuck Isenhart of Dubuque and State Rep. Marti Anderson of Des Moines presented the framework for an “Iowa Clean Water Partnership Plan” to the Iowa’s Soil and Water Future Task Force sponsored by Capital Crossroads on February 25.

Isenhart and Anderson participated in the task force meetings as state legislators.

“We offer the proposal in response to the task force’s challenge to come up with sufficient, permanent and dedicated funding for clean water plans and practices to effectively leverage federal resources,” Anderson explained.

“We suggest the creation of a clean water commission as the vehicle to achieve the task force’s key recommendations,” Isenhart continued. “These recommendations include identifying watersheds of greatest need that are ready for action, directing funds through watershed management authorities empowered to bring stakeholders together for planning at the local level, developing monitoring and measurement systems, providing for transparency and public reporting, as well as engaging the private sector to supplement public sector outreach and action.”

The commission would be supported by the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Department of Natural Resources, but would not have regulatory authority. That would remain with the Environmental Protection Commission.

“The task force observed that fixing and maintaining our state’s water quality will require a commitment similar to the investments we make in roads and bridges,” Isenhart noted.

“This is the basis for our plan to establish a Clean Water Commission, modeled on the set-up and processes of the Transportation Commission, which is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.”

Under the proposal, a Clean Water Fund to be held by the state treasurer would receive water quality check-off assessments approved by commodity groups via voluntary referenda of producers.

The monies would be matched dollar for dollar by a standing appropriation of state funds. If the legislature and governor fail to approve funds or take funding back, then any water quality checkoff assessments by commodity groups would be suspended. Individual producers would be able to seek checkoff refunds for approved conservation practices installed on their own land.

The largest checkoff programs are run by corn, soybean and pork producers. Money is used by the groups for research, education and industry promotion. If producer groups approve water quality checkoffs at even half the level of existing checkoffs, up to $80 million a year could flow into the clean water fund, once the private money is matched by state taxpayers.

Some of the money could be dedicated by the Clean Water Commission to the Iowa Finance Authority, where it can be used to maximize the impact of federal water quality funding.

“Bottom line, the General Assembly needs to get serious and triple-down on our commitment to fix our impaired waterways,” according to Isenhart and Anderson. The two have offered to sit down with any group to explain their proposal and receive suggestions for improvement.

“The task force led by Steve Bruere, Larry James and the folks at the Greater Des Moines Partnership has moved the discussion forward in a number of key areas, including the need to scale up our efforts on watershed basis,” Isenhart and Anderson said. “We need to move from demonstration projects to wide-scale implementation. The task force deserves an ambitious, pro-active response from legislators, and that is what we are offering.

“Water quality problems in Iowa require all hands on deck,” they continued. “The effort may be voluntary, but it can’t be optional. For the most part, the Legislature has been AWOL, and we want to change that. Thank you to Iowa’s Soil and Water Future Task Force for challenging us to step up to the plate.

“We need to treat our lakes, streams and other waterways like we treat our roads: worthy of massive investment, to access not only the economic benefits, the health benefits, the benefits to nature, but also the quality of life benefits that make Iowa so attractive to residents and visitors alike. We need to do more, we need to do it better, and we need to do it faster.

“Simply put, we can retain our young people or attract workers to our state only when we make clean water one of our top priorities. Time to stop skipping the rock down the stream. Time instead to roll up our sleeves and the legs of our pants and get to work.”

Chuck Isenhart

Chuck Isenhart

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It’s Time For Healing And Uniting

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Dave Bradley
No matter what differences we have, Democrats must win this fall

No matter what differences we have, Democrats must win this fall

I am a Bernie Sanders supporter and proud of it. Sanders shined some lights and rekindled some hopes in areas where it has seemed that government feared to tread since Ronald Reagan and his band of thieves were in power. Taking on the wealthy, the entrenched, the powerful was not for the weak of heart. Sanders made taking on the entrenched interests the central theme of this years campaign.

Hillary Clinton joined in in a slightly more tepid approach. But with either Sanders or Clinton, the focus of the Democratic party will be in one form or another for the Democratic Party to begin to reclaim the legacy of FDR, HST, JFK and LBJ along with the legacy of all the office holders, volunteers and voters who gave much of their lives to making the Democratic Party truly the party of the people.

We have been in a sometimes contentious fight to decide who will lead this great party into our next battle for leadership of the country. At this juncture it is becoming increasingly likely that Hillary Clinton will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. Once again the Democratic Party will be shattering barriers as a woman heads a ticket into what has almost become a cliche – the most important election ever in this country.

As it looks as if Republicans will also be making a historical nomination in the person of Donald Trump. Mr. Trump has never been associated with government other than to try to buy influence. Trump has little knowledge of the machinery of government and seems to care little about learning the workings of government. He has ascended his ladder to the nomination through racist, misogynistic, homophobic statements and junior high school bullying behavior. Even if Trump somehow fails to secure the nomination the likely alternative – Ted Cruz – is nearly as bad.

While some folks may have specific gripes with the Clinton candidacy there should be nothing in her platform or background that should cause one to sit out the election and let a Donald Trump become president. That would be hard to live with.

To remind folks here are a few of the issues that are crucial in this election:
1) Picking the president who will choose the next, maybe several, SCOTUS justices.
2) Continuing internet neutrality
3) Continuation and perhaps expansion of the ACA
4) Continuation and perhaps expansion of Social Security and Medicare
5) Confronting climate change.

Just a reminder of a few of the issues that the SCOTUS may be deciding on in the near future: Women’s reproductive health and abortion rights, voting restrictions, religion in public events, claims for religious freedom that cause discrimination and many others. Republicans would like to roll the clock back prior to FDR’s administration, Democrats would like to see the country progress.

If you think that the the Republican Party will be imploding because of the Trump insurgency, think again. While there may be trouble at the top, below that level let me remind you that Republicans hold power in most of the elected offices in this country:
First – in both houses of congress. They are hostile majorities in that they refuse to work with or compromise with anyone.
Second – Republicans control both houses of the legislature AND the governors office in 23 states
Third – democrats control the legislatures and governors office in only 7 states with 20 states having divided control
Fourth – Republicans control 34 governorships, 55% of all state senate seats and 56% of all state house seats in the country.
Fifth – Election districts have been gerrymandered to prohibitively favor retention of those ratios.

While it may be fun to watch the fireworks at the top of the party, the body below seems much healthier than what the Democrats offer. On a state level we need every Democrat voting to recapture state legislatures and governorships. If for no other reason we need to recapture legislatures to get in shape to stop even worse gerrymandering following the 2020 census.

Also expect much of the money that the Koch Brothers and associates will be pouring into this election to bypass the presidential race and fall down to controlling even more state legislatures.

Staying home in Iowa will mean the re-election of the very obstructionist Charles Grassley as Senator. We look to have competitive US house races in the 1st, 3rd and possibly the 4th district. Staying home will greatly hurt our chances in those races.

Possibly most importantly in Iowa, right now the state senate is controlled by Democrats by one vote. If we lose one seat, the Republicans will have the governor and both state house trifecta here because Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds becomes the deciding vote in case of a tie in the senate. We don’t have to look too far afield to see what kinds of disasters having Republican one party rule can mean to a state. Look at the disaster in Kansas where schools can’t even stay open or Wisconsin where unions have been gutted, or to Michigan where children have been permanently damaged by lead in the water in Flint.

So now is the time to heal. Now is the time to put away differences. Now is the time to resolve to take on the true enemy – the Republicans and their party of catering to the oligarchs.

Posted in 2016 Election Campaign, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Republicn Policy | Tagged | Comments Off on It’s Time For Healing And Uniting

Iowa Senate Passes Tax Breaks For Teachers, College Students

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Trish Nelson

iowa capitolSeems strange that we are having to use education money to pay for clean water, but there is always room for more tax breaks.  Good thing these tax breaks actually help Iowans who need them, teachers and college students. Rob Hogg explains why this bipartisan legislation is fiscally responsible.

 

Posted in Iowa legislature 2016 | Tagged , | Comments Off on Iowa Senate Passes Tax Breaks For Teachers, College Students

Loebsack’s Legislation Helps Iowa’s Small Internet Service Providers

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Trish Nelson

Rep. Dave Loebsack explains how this legislation helps small ISPs in Iowa.

“Broadband development is a critical issue to my home state of Iowa… Broadband development is especially important in our country’s rural areas. Less than half of Americans living in rural areas have access to broadband…This bill is a common sense bipartisan effort…”

 

Posted in David Loebsack, Internet Issues | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Loebsack’s Legislation Helps Iowa’s Small Internet Service Providers

Michael Moore Discusses His New Film, “Where To Invade Next”

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Trish Nelson

michael mooreTalks at Google

Academy award winning filmmaker Michael Moore stopped by Google to discuss his latest film, “Where to Invade Next.”

“Where to Invade Next” is an expansive, rib-tickling, and subversive comedy in which Moore, playing the role of ‘invader,’ visits a host of nations to learn how the U.S. could improve its own prospects. The creator of “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Bowling for Columbine” is back with this hilarious and eye-opening call to arms. Turns out the solutions to America’s most entrenched problems already exist in the world—they’re just waiting to be co-opted.

 

Posted in Art | Tagged | Comments Off on Michael Moore Discusses His New Film, “Where To Invade Next”

This Week On The Fallon Forum: IUB And The Seven Minutes

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Trish Nelson
Listen live Mondays at 11 am

Listen live Mondays at 11 am

Dear Friends,

Governor Branstad’s appointees to the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) — Geri Huser, Nick Wagner and Libby Jacobs — should be ashamed of themselves. Sure, it was clear all along that Branstad had stacked the deck in favor of Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the Texas company wanting to build the pipeline. But in previous meetings Huser, who chairs the IUB, at least seemed to want to take adequate time to air the range of concerns raised by landowners, environmentalists, Native Americans and defenders of property rights.

But any good-will Huser may have generated over the last month was squandered last Thursday when the IUB took all of seven minutes to summarize its rationale for a unanimous vote in favor of granting eminent domain to ETP.

I don’t use the words “travesty of justice” too often. But that’s the best way to describe the cavalier manner in which the IUB bulldozed its way through a discussion that should have been thoughtful, informative and respectful of public opinion.

Iowans deserve better. Sure, what we really deserved was a “no” vote. But even anticipating the probability of a “yes” vote, the public should have heard a serious, measured discussion before the final vote.

We didn’t get that. And the IUB, DNR, Governor, and Iowa House and Senate lackeys of Big Oil should brace themselves for the next round of popular resistance. Prepare to see us in the Courts, at the Statehouse, and in the “Town Square,” as I call it, where we’ll continue to bring our case before the people of Iowa, whose opposition to the pipeline dropped by 10% over the past year. (In the most recent poll, less than half of all Iowans now support the pipeline.)

And if you want to know who specifically are some of the elected lackeys supporting the pipeline, click HERE to find out which Iowa politicians received donations from ETP. (Kudos to Gavin Aronsen for an excellent piece of investigative journalism.)

This week on the Fallon Forum, Dr. Charles Goldman and I will talk about the ruling. We’ll also prognosticate on the possible outcome of Super Tuesday 2. We’ll hear from Katy Heggen with the Iowa Environmental Council, and State Rep. Dan Kelley discusses his proposal to divest state funds from Exxon because of that corporation’s decades-long deceit, now coming under increased public scrutiny.

Listen to the Fallon Forum live Mondays, 11:00-12:00 noon CST on La Reina KDLF 1260 AM (Des Moines) and online. The number to call is (515) 528-8122. The program re-broadcasts Wednesday on KHOI 89.1 FM (Ames) at 4:00 p.m. and Monday at 6:00 a.m. on WHIV 102.3 FM (New Orleans). Check-out podcasts here.

Thanks! – Ed Fallon

EVENTS

Tue, Mar 22 – Environmental Lobby Day (Des Moines)
Join the Iowa Environmental Council from 9:00-1:00 to lobby lawmakers to support the Resource Enhancement and Protection Program and other sustainable funding sources, including the Natural Resources & Outdoor Recreational Trust Fund. For details, contact Katy Heggen at Heggen@iaenvironment.org or (515) 244-1194 (x210).

 

Posted in Ed Fallon, Fallon Forum | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on This Week On The Fallon Forum: IUB And The Seven Minutes