Contrasting Rs and Ds

Posted on August 11, 2024 by Paul Deaton
Workers. Provenance unknown.

Democrats are riding a blue wave of excitement caused by Biden’s announcement he wouldn’t accept the nomination for president, Kamala Harris garnering enough votes from delegates to the Democratic National Convention to clinch the nomination, and Minnesota governor Tim Walz joining the ticket. Meanwhile, back at the country club, Republicans gathered and griped last Tuesday.

Ensconced at one of their favorite watering holes, the Cedar Rapids Country Club, Republicans laid out their grievances. They criticized President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Governor Walz. RPI chair Jeff Kaufmann had a take, Chuck Grassley did, too. Former Iowa Governor and ambassador to China Terry Branstad said, “a presidential candidate from California was ‘the scariest thing I can think of.'” Kaufmann thought Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro would get the nod for vice president and accused the vice president, whose spouse is prominently Jewish, of antisemitism in picking Walz. Such malarkey suggests they may have had a cocktail or two in the middle of the day on a Tuesday, even if I know many of them are teetotalers. Other than in the local newspaper, the event got little attention.

I have three comments for Republicans gathered to complain at the country club:

  1. Joe Biden is not running for president
  2. You can’t always get what you want.
  3. Get over it.

Country club membership is not something to which I aspired. I’ve been inside the Cedar Rapids Country Club a few times, for company holiday parties and political events, yet who even belongs to a country club? People with means. When Robert Reich talks about rich fat cats I suspect more than a couple were in attendance at Tuesday’s grievance party. Working people were… working.

That’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans. While regular people are busy contributing to society, Republicans are off at the country club making the rules. Wealth and political influence have the power to set the rules of the game. Jeff Kaufmann, Chuck Grassley and Terry Branstad are all aware of and have been participants in this dynamic. The 2023 legislative session provides a textbook example of the influence of wealth.

In May 2023, Governor Reynolds signed Senate File 228 into law. Under the change, Iowans hurt in truck crashes would only be able to get up to $5 million in a lawsuit. With her action, Iowa became the first state in the country to legally cap liability damages against trucking companies. Capping liability has long been on the trucking industry’s to-do list. With the Republican trifecta, they were able to get it done. This is a single example among many as to how wealth and power set the rules regular folk live under.

When Donald Trump announced for president in November 2022, it was in a speech to those gathered at Mar-a-Lago, his estate in Florida. Surrounded by allies, advisers, and conservative influencers, Trump delivered a relatively subdued speech, rife with spurious and exaggerated claims about his four years in office, according to CNN. His decision to announce two years before the general election may have been good for Donald Trump. He doesn’t understand, and probably doesn’t care, that that’s not how we do presidential politics. That’s another difference between Democrats and Republicans: we care about the rules of the game.

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Inoculating Against Disappointment

Posted on August 10, 2024 by Paul Deaton

July 21 was the day President Biden announced he would not accept the nomination of his party for another term as president. It is now 20 days later and we have Vice President Kamala Harris officially nominated for president along with a vice presidential running mate, Tim Walz, announced on Tuesday, Aug. 6. The campaign raised hundreds of millions of dollars, and recruited thousands of volunteers. Excitement is in the air. Something is bugging me. I don’t want to be disappointed again.

I’m referring to the 2016 election. Like many Democrats I worked hard to elect Hillary Clinton. She may not have had a chance in Iowa, yet we felt the rest of the country would pull through for her. As far as we know, they did not and we know what happened next. After the 2020 election, we must be prepared for shenanigans in November.

Attorney Marc Elias believes Republicans already have a plan to steal the 2024 election. “I think we are going to see mass refusals to certify the election (in November),” Elias told Rolling Stone Magazine. “Everything we are seeing about this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless, and more prepared.”

The Republican plan goes something like this, (h/t Iowa Democrat Kim Mathers):

Position Republican election deniers on election boards in swings states and across the country. Rolling Stone and American Doom identified nearly 70 pro-Trump election conspiracists, currently working as county election officials. These officials have questioned the validity of elections or delayed or refused to certify results. At least 20 of them have refused or delayed certification in recent years.

County election boards with election denier members would refuse to certify elections where their candidate loses. This results in state results that can’t be certified, they assert. If they can deny 270 electoral votes to a candidate other than theirs, the election goes to the U.S. House of Representatives. There, each state gets one vote and a simple majority wins. In this scenario, someone who lost in the electoral college and who lost the popular vote could be installed as president.

This scenario doesn’t keep me up at night. It does nag at me. Republicans, according to Elias, “are counting on not just that they can disrupt the election in big counties, they are counting on the fact that if they don’t certify in several small counties, you cannot certify these statewide results.”

By all accounts, the November election is expected to be close. Harris has multiple paths to 270 electoral votes and those paths depend upon fair play in the conduct of our elections. Because our election system has been so bulletproof, we take it for granted there will be fair reckoning of votes cast.

We mustn’t lose sleep over concerns about Republican shenanigans because most of us don’t control what election officials may do. Our election system held steady in the past, and we must trust it will again. With awareness of the potential disruptions, let us hope such awareness is proper inoculation against disappointment.

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Tim Walz Appears On Iowa Press With IDP Chair Rita Hart

Posted on August 9, 2024 by Trish Nelson

August 2023 – Tim Walz and Rita Hart on Iowa Press together. At the time of this airing, I kind of wondered what was up.

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First Rally For Harris-Walz in Pennsylvania Full Video

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Trish Nelson

Speeches start at about 15 minutes in. Shapiro first. Harris introduces Walz at about 46:00. Watch then go to KamalaHarris.com to volunteer.

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Free Webinar: How The EATS Act Would Harm Rural Communities

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Trish Nelson

Join Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, Inc. Executive Director Diane Rosenberg this Wednesday when she discusses the EATS Act with Farm Action President Joe Maxwell.
Learn more about what it is, how it harms farmers, consumers, and the environment. Find out how it can be stopped, and what we can all to do make that happen. Bring your questions for an audience Q&A!

Via Zoom • Register Here

Organized by
Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, Inc. (JFAN) – A member of Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture –  (IARA).  Join JFAN and Farm Action Fund President Joe Maxwell as we talk about Big Meat’s latest tactic to defeat Proposition 12 – the federal Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act (H.R.8467).

Big Meat waged a five-year legal battle against California’s Proposition 12 that they lost in 2023 at the US Supreme Court. Not willing to sit back and adapt to raising hogs without gestation crates, the livestock industry heavily lobbied Congress to negate Prop 12 through the EATS Act, a Farm Bill marker bill.

If passed, EATS Act would mandate that the weakest laws in the nation governing meat, dairy and egg products, as well as toxic pesticide usage, would become the national standard. States would be stripped of their right to enact anything more stringent and protective.

In a podcast format, JFAN Executive Director Diane Rosenberg will interview Joe Maxwell, President of Farm Action Fund, and cover the numerous ways the EATS Act would harmfully impact rural communities, farmers, and consumers.

They’ll also dive into the backstory including:

  • A brief history of Prop 12 and the similar Massachusetts Question 3 and Big Meat’s efforts to end states’ rights
  • Agribusiness that back the bill and federal legislators supporting it, including Iowa’s Congressional delegation
  • Big Meat’s tactics to influence public opinion
  • Legislators and organizations opposing the EATS Act
  • Its current status in the House and Senate Farm Bills
  • Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s position and influence
  • International corporations in China and Brazil that are pushing hard for its passage
  • Its threat to national food sovereignty and safety.

Most importantly, we’ll address widespread efforts that are being taken to stop passage of the EATS Act and what you can do to help defeat this terrible legislation – even here in Iowa.

There will be plenty of opportunity for audience questions and answers.

REGISTER HERE

ABOUT JOE MAXWELL

Joe Maxwell, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Farm Action and President of Farm Action Fund, is actively involved in working to defeat the EATS Act, including co-founding Defeat EATS , a coalition of 120 organizations of which JFAN is a member.

Maxwell has a long and varied career advocating for traditional, independent farming practices. He’s held key positions in both political and initiative petition campaigns. During the last election cycle, Maxwell assisted Presidential, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives candidates in developing their antitrust, agriculture, and food policy positions.

Maxwell served as a Missouri elected official for 14 years as a state legislator and Lt. Governor where he pushed for legislation supporting traditional animal husbandry while opposing large-scale, industrial livestock facilities. He and his brother are Missouri family farmers.

The webinar is FREE and pre-registration is required. REGISTER HERE

ABOUT JEFFERSON COUNTY FARMERS & NEIGHBORS, INC.

Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, Inc. (JFAN) is a 501c3 community organization dedicated to protecting Jefferson County and the state of Iowa from factory farms. JFAN is a co-founder of IARA and works on the community, national and state levels. Learn more about JFAN here.

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Seventy-Nine Years Ago Today

Posted on August 6, 2024 by Trish Nelson

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – Wikipedia

Submitted by Ed Flaherty

August 6th Through 9th, Hard Memories

August 6th marks 79 years since the US dropped an uranium bomb on Hiroshima.  August 9th marks 79 years since the US dropped a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki.  200,000+ people died, most of them civilians.

August 7th is less well remembered.  In 1964, just 60 years ago, the Tonkin Gulf Resolution was approved, opening the gates to our fateful war in Vietnam.  Zero members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted nay, and only two senators voted nay.  There should be statues and memorials to those two senators, Wayne Morse and Ernest Gruening.   But their names have been largely lost in the dust-bin of history. Tragically, U.S.  veterans and family members are still dying daily in the US from Agent Orange.  Tragically, Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians are still  dying daily from Agent Orange and unexploded ordnance.

Today, the compelling moral issue is the U.S. aiding and abetting the destruction of Gaza and its people.  There are a few voices of political leaders demanding that the U.S. stop arming Israel, but, despite the efforts of heroic groups like Jewish Voice For Peace, their voices are mostly ignored.  How will history judge us?  More importantly, what can U.S. citizens do now to end this obscene insanity?

 – Ed Flaherty is a peace activist and member of Veterans For Peace #161

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Endorsement Alert For Lanon Baccam In IA-03

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Trish Nelson

Lanon Baccam for Congress in IA-03


AFSCME Council 61 endorses Lanon Baccam for Iowa congressional district 03

DES MOINES, IA – On Saturday, August 3rd, AFSCME Council 61 members, who keep the State of Iowa running, gathered at Principal Park during an Iowa Cubs baseball game to officially endorse Lanon Baccam for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. The event drew a large crowd of union members and supporters, highlighting the critical importance of this election for the rights of working people and the communities that rely on public services.

Todd Copley, President of AFSCME Council 61, stated, “Lanon Baccam embodies the values that AFSCME Council 61 stands for. His commitment to lowering everyday costs for families, protecting Social Security and Medicare, standing up for reproductive rights, and revitalizing our small towns makes him the ideal candidate for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District.”

Melissa Speed, Political Director of AFSCME Council 61, added, “Lanon Baccam not only understands the challenges facing Iowans, especially in rural communities, but he’s also a candidate who actually has solutions—unlike Zach Nunn, who seems more interested in playing political games than in tackling the real issues. Lanon’s dedication to creating good-paying jobs, ensuring healthcare access, and fighting for public employees’ rights makes him the leader we are proud to support.”

Lanon Baccam addressed the attendees, emphasizing his commitment to labor rights, public service, and the well-being of Iowa’s working families. He spoke of his work under former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack at the USDA and his recent efforts to expand high-speed internet access in rural areas—key to creating good-paying jobs and lowering costs for families.

Baccam outlined key points of his campaign:

Supporting Public Employees: Baccam advocates for public employees’ rights and fair treatment, supporting broader protections under National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) standards over the restrictive Iowa Code Chapter 20.

An Economy that Works for Iowans: Baccam stressed the need to lower the cost of living while creating good-paying jobs, particularly in small towns and rural communities.

Fighting for Small Towns and Rural Communities: He is dedicated to revitalizing these areas, supporting family farms, and ensuring access to healthcare and jobs without extensive travel.

Standing up for Reproductive Rights: Baccam is a strong advocate for women’s reproductive rights and has pledged to fight against a national abortion ban.

Protecting Social Security and Medicare: Baccam emphasized the importance of protecting these programs to help seniors manage rising costs.

Bringing Iowans Together: He called for unity in a time of deep polarization, stressing the need for leaders who will serve their communities and work across divides.

In closing, Todd Copley remarked, “Our union stands united behind Lanon Baccam because he stands for us. We need leaders who will fight for working families and strengthen our communities. Lanon Baccam is that leader, and together, we will build a brighter future for Iowa.”

###

AFSCME’s 1.4 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in communities across the nation, serving in hundreds of different occupations — from nurses to corrections officers, childcare providers to sanitation workers — AFSCME members advocate for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and freedom and opportunity for all working families.

In Solidarity,

Melissa Speed
Political DirectorAFSCME Council 61
4320 NW 2nd Street | Des Moines, IA 50313
MSpeed@afscmeiowa.org

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News Heading Into November

Posted on August 4, 2024 by Paul Deaton
Photo by brotiN biswaS on Pexels.com

The weeks remaining until the Nov. 5 general election are likely to be a stemwinder. If not careful, we could fall under the spell of the 24/7 news machine whose stories circulate frequently in our news galaxy and are often out of touch with our communities. It could be easy to get caught up in the excitement without substantially contributing to the Democratic election effort.

Meta’s new social media platform Threads asserts they do not promote political news on their platform. Specifically, they say, “we won’t proactively recommend content about politics on recommendation surfaces across Instagram and Threads.” To get your political content on Threads, follow accounts with the kind of information you seek. This seems like a net positive. We should all be pro-actively curating the feeds of our social media accounts.

What should a progressive do regarding news?

Find a small group of close friends with whom you can discuss news and what it means. I have multiple groups like this and they provide consistency and sanity in a turbulent news environment which includes generous doses of disinformation and misinformation. Some of us in the groups have weathered many political campaigns together and that base of experience is useful in interpreting events in this year’s campaign. We aren’t always right about things yet we are less often wrong. We can usually tell what story is full of malarkey and what isn’t.

Connect directly with campaigns if you can: the further down the hierarchy the better. Essential to having a meaningful presence in the Iowa State Capitol is electing more Democratic Senators and Representatives. They have a different task from Kamala Harris and U.S. House candidates in getting their names known in a district. They also need to know a larger percent of the electorate personally. Their on the ground perspective from voters provides information in a way like no other. What is heard at the doors while knocking for a state house candidate is news gold in the currency of a campaign.

There is a role for breaking news from traditional news outlets. I subscribe to the Washington Post, but pick your major news outlet. When a major story breaks, like the prisoner exchange with Russia last week, they can quickly deploy a large team of journalists to gather information on the story. When I hear something is going on, I go to the website and see if they are reporting anything. Breaking news is never perfect, far from it. It is a way to bring relevant stuff on our radar for monitoring.

The distinction between social media and email in news gathering is significant. Email can have a much broader reach than social media. For outbound messaging it is clear. I recently attended my high school class reunion. The planning committee wanted to distribute and make available photos taken at the event on a web page. We posted the link on our Facebook group with 91 members and sent it via email to 100 email addresses. By far, the emailed link got more views, by a factor of 1.7:1. For inbound messaging there is even a stronger case for email over social media.

I wrote previously, “Some journalists found a way to make a living outside the world of newspapers. It is increasingly clear that with the rise of potentially profitable podcasts, substacks, YouTube channels, and the like, there is more money to be made in these new entities than in writing for a newspaper. There are important essays to read in this fragmented news media, yet our formal news environment is the worse for these one-off entrepreneurial enterprises.” I subscribe to specific journalist substacks with the benefit of receiving news analysis that goes beyond what one might find in a social media feed. By following a specific author, I gain insight into their world view by seeing how they report on different topics.

So what am I saying?

Get news from actual humans. Activate your network of friends to evaluate the news environment: have a place to go to discuss the news. Join a state house campaign and talk to voters in that context to know what is news at the grassroots level. Curate your social media feeds to produce the kind of news that is of value to you. Learn which journalists are doing straight up reporting and analysis and which are ideologues. Follow the former. Subscribe to at least one major news outlet plus a local one if it’s any good. Read some of those hundreds of daily emails in your inbox for the news content. Know which ones are valuable and unsubscribe from the laggards. Be open minded yet skeptical. Use your personal network to root out disinformation and misinformation.

May sound like a lot to do, yet I predict you will be more effective and happier if you can manage these things. Obviously, keep reading Blog for Iowa.

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It’s Go Time

Posted on August 3, 2024 by Paul Deaton

As the calendar progresses toward November, Kamala Harris is our nominee, having garnered enough delegates in virtual convention voting on Friday, Aug. 2. Her candidacy sparked a change in attitude, a change in possibilities, and the beginning of a short, tough campaign to elect her as president. In Iowa, she is holding a kickoff meeting on Monday, Aug. 5, at 7 p.m. CDT. Click on this link to join the statewide Zoom call.

It’s go time!

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Meme Warfare: Why Student Loan Forgiveness

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Trish Nelson

I was glad to come across this FB post by TheOther98% because the reason for the student loan “forgiveness” has not been well explained in the media. A brief, simple way to talk about it has been lacking. We needed a good meme.   Kudos to TheOther98%.

Visit their website at https://other98.com/

“Other98 uses meme warfare and savvy boots-on-the-ground actions to challenge the corporations and billionaires that have hijacked our democracy. We fight like hell for an America that works for the other 98% of us.”

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