Forum On GOP Policies Killing Public Schools

Posted on May 30, 2024 by Trish Nelson

From our inbox – please like and share this invitation to join the Heart of Iowa Democrats, Thom Hartmann and Rob Sand on a forum about the current state of public education and what citizens can do to reverse the damage done by republican policies.

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Join us for a lively conversation about the state of public education in Iowa and across the U.S. Our guests are Thom Hartmann, who has been following with alarm the national Republican move to privatize education and downgrade public schools, and Rob Sand, who has spoken out on the need for more accountability and oversight of spending in the Iowa education voucher program.

When: Wednesday, June 5, 8-9 pm (Note that start time is an hour later than usual)
What: Republican Education Policies Are Killing Public Schools
Where: On Zoom
Register at: heartofiowadems.com/register

Thom Hartmann is an American radio personality, author, progressive political commentator, and community activist. Hartmann has been hosting a nationally syndicated radio show, The Thom Hartmann Program, since 2003 and hosted a nightly television show, The Big Picture, between 2010 and 2017. He has published more than twenty books on diverse topics and publishes a daily newsletter at hartmannreport.com.

Rob Sand is currently serving his second term as Iowa’s State Auditor and is currently the only Democrat holding statewide office in Iowa. He was elected in 2018 after serving seven years as Iowa’s chief public corruption prosecutor in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, where he led the discovery and prosecution of the largest lottery rigging scheme in American history, as well as dozens of other financial crimes.

The forum is hosted by Heart of Iowa Dems (Benton, Iowa, Marshal, Poweshiek, & Tama counties) and will be livestreamed to our Facebook page at heartofiowadems.com.

If you have any questions or have trouble registering, please contact  heartofiowadems@gmail.com.

Hope to see you on Wednesday, June 5!

Heart of Iowa Dems Comms Team

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History Of SCOTUS Take Over And How Dems Should Fight Back

Posted on May 29, 2024 by Trish Nelson

Alex Aronson, former Chief Counsel to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, currently Executive Director of courtaccountability.org, is a guest on Thom’s show. They discuss the 50-year scheme going back to Brown v. Board of Education, the Powell Memo, and galvanizing the religious base to overturn Roe v. Wade.  Worth ten minutes of your time to be reminded how committed republicans are to their evil schemes. Includes how Democrats should fight back.

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Iowa Democrats Outraising Republican Candidates

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Trish Nelson


Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial opening of campaign season. Now is the time to get involved. It is vital to elect more democrats to push back against the republican trifecta in Des Moines. Details about how you can help can be found below in the Iowa Senate Democrats newsletter.

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Welcome to the Iowa Senate Majority Fund’s monthly newsletter! We’re excited to inform you about our latest initiatives, campaign updates, and opportunities to get involved. Together, we can work to deliver a better deal for Iowa.

Democratic Candidates Outraise Republicans

We are thrilled that our Democratic candidates running for the Iowa Senate have outraised their Republican counterparts this year! This incredible start shows how hard our campaigns are working this year. Your contributions and efforts are making a significant impact, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

Let’s continue this momentum and ensure we have the resources needed to win in November. While our candidates are off to a good start, the Senate Majority Fund needs your help to ensure that we can hire staff to help our candidates turn out the vote, pay for rapid response ads to combat attacks from Republicans like Kim Reynolds and the Koch dark money machine and help us expand the number of Democrats we have in the Iowa Senate.

So please help fuel our work by donating today.

Candidate Recruitment

Thanks to the help of our Caucus Members, especially Leader Jochum and Assistant Leader Weiner; we are thrilled to share that Democratic candidates are running in over 75% of the State Senate races this cycle so far!

You can learn more about our candidates by going to iowasenatedemocrats.com/candidates/

This is a fantastic accomplishment, and we’re eager to fill the remaining spots. Please reach out if you know anyone who would be a great fit or is interested in running. Every connection counts as we strive to have a candidate running in every district this cycle to hold Republican Senators accountable and get Iowa back on track.

Engaging with Iowa Voters

Our Iowa Senate Democratic candidates are deeply engaged in the community, listening to and addressing the concerns of Iowa voters. So far, our candidates and their volunteers have knocked on 15,579 doors, having countless conversations with constituents about the issues that matter most to them. Additionally, our incredible volunteers have written over 12,873 postcards, reaching out to voters across the state to encourage participation and support for our candidates.

Our campaigns are off to a good start, but to deliver a better deal for Iowans, we need your help in your communities. If you want to be a part of the movement to take our state back, please fill out this form and let us know how you want to help. We will connect you with your local Democratic State Senate candidate and help give you the training you need to help our candidates win in November.

Join us at an upcoming event!

Our Senators and candidates have many exciting events coming up over the summer, from parades to meet & greets to fundraisers! These gatherings are fantastic opportunities to connect, learn more about our campaigns, and see how you can join us on the campaign trail to take back Iowa. For more information on events and to find out how you can participate, visit iowasenatedemocrats.com/events

As our candidates put in the hard work, we need your support to ensure their success in November. Let’s stand together and help deliver a better deal for Iowa. With your help, we can get our candidates elected in November.

Thank you for your unwavering support and dedication to our cause.

DONATE NOW

Iowa Senate Majority Fund
5661 Fleur Drive
Des Moines, IA 50321

Paid for by the Iowa Senate Majority Fund

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Happy Memorial Day 2024!

Posted on May 27, 2024 by Trish Nelson

Today we remember the nation’s fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to save democracy. Voting for those who are committed to democracy is the least we can do to make sure they have not died in vain.

Enj0y the national Memorial Day concert brought to you by PBS. Even if you’re not a fan of patriotic songs, the musicianship and production are always of the highest quality.

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The Forgotten Story of the First Memorial Day

Posted on May 27, 2024 by Trish Nelson

“Imagine a hidden chapter in history, one where the first Memorial Day was born not from official decrees, but from the hearts of freed slaves in a war-torn city.”

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Letters, We Write Letters

Posted on May 26, 2024 by Dave Bradley

What MAGA legislators seem to want for Iowa schools

On a patriotic holiday weekend I enjoy sharing Letters to the Editor with our readers. After all what could be more patriotic than using your first amendment right of free speech against an elected official who is determined to spread false information and fear.

So we turn it over to one of our favorites, Don Paulson of Letts:

So, Iowa Republican State Rep. Taylor Collins is concerned about Muscatine students visiting China.   This is another instance of local control being tossed out the window. Would it be surprising for Republicans to call for a special session of the legislature so they can pass a law prohibiting such trips? They already had legislation proposed to force schools to teach specific items in their social studies curriculum. And their war against kids in the gay community remains unabated.

This is another case of Republican “do as I say, and not as I do”.

If Republicans gave a hoot about public education they would fund it properly- they brag about 50% of the budget goes toward education, but it used to be closer to 60%.

They also wouldn’t siphon a billion dollars over four years from the state’s coffers for private religious school vouchers. Note that these schools raised tuition prices in anticipation of increased profits. They do not have to take in students they do not want, and there are no accountability standards.

But the two biggest points of Republican hypocrisy with public school students lie with women’s reproductive health and guns.

A political party has no business interfering with health discussions and decisions between a woman and her doctor.

And the Republican idea of arming teachers is just wrong. If educators wanted to handle weapons they would have joined the army. When many trained law enforcement officers in Texas wouldn’t go after an armed suspect in a school, why should we expect a teacher to suddenly become Rambo? That’s why insurance companies would not issue policies to those schools. There are several things that could be done to further prevent school gun violence, but Republicans will not bring them up for a vote.

Here is one idea for school choice- choose Jeff Poulter (D) over Taylor Collins (MAGA) in November!

Quick comment: Looks like Mr. Collins wants to open another front in the MAGA Party’s war on Iowa’s public schools. Perhaps drain a few more bucks from their budget.

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Sunday Funday: Memorial Day Edition

Posted on May 26, 2024 by Dave Bradley

Randy Rainbow’s newest (4 minutes)

First we send out our hopes for a full recovery to the city of Greenfield and the other areas that were devastated by Tuesday’s fierce storm outbreak. Trish Nelson posted a list of items needed for the recovery (especially money) and where to send it here.  

The best way to honor those who gave their lives for this country is to NOT turn it over to the fascist-like party headed by Donald Trump.

Wow what a week again!

A) Despite calling Trump “unfit to be president” who announced Wednesday they would vote for Trump?

B) It is a national holiday. What SCOTUS justice’s house do we need to check to see how they fly the flag and which flag they fly?

C) In a really unusual move at Trump’s election interference trial, the judge did what when a defense witness made comments to the bench during testimony?

D) The tornado that struck Greenfield registered what on the Fujita scale?

E) Well, many expected AI would cross a line. What actress hired legal help to get to the bottom of an AI recording that sounded very much like her?

F) Well she did it! Kristi Noem has now been banished from all what in South Dakota?

G) In Des Moines, Superintendent of schools and former Olympian Ian Roberts was beaten in a 100 meter race by whom?

H) What national restaurant chain filed bankruptcy this week, a victim of the private equity scam that has eviscerated many companies in the past couple of decades?

I) What Mecca for aging rock’n’rollers was saved from bankruptcy this week by a late stay from a judge?

J) In an out of character move, what state will give families of newborns 100 free diapers a month until age 2?

K) What state introduced a bill to outlaw mask wearing in public with only a few exceptions? (Disabled people are really scared of this one)

L)  Target, the big box retailer, sent a minor shockwave across the retail sector when it announced it would do what?

M) What country’s president and foreign minister were killed in a helicopter crash last week?

N) What major politician claimed the Biden Administration had sent out instructions to have him (this politician) killed?

O) What genius football place kicker gave a commencement address at Benedictine College where he said women should stay home and raise babies?

P) July 4th of this year – What country will be having an election?

Q) Now here’s a bargain! Manhattan apartment marked down from $6.5M to $5.7M because what owner owes $148M in a court judgment?

R) In Iowa, the state Environmental Protection Commission referred the fertilizer spill that killed a massive amount of fish in the East Nishnabotna River to what office to follow up on?

S) Microplastics are everywhere. This week it was announced they have even been found where in humans?

T) Spain, Norway and Ireland announced they would do what this coming Tuesday that drew an immediate response from Israel?

Judge Cannon says that “jury may struggle to understand charges” 

What’s there to understand? Trump absconded with classified documents, refused to return them, and tried to hide them from the FBI. Where’s the struggle?

Tip of the hat to EarlG on democraticunderground.com

Answers:

A) Nikki Haley

B) Sammy Alito

C) The witness was Robert Costello and the judge cleared the court to speak specifically to the witness about contempt without prejudicing the jury.

D) EF4

E) Scarlett Johanson

F) She has been banished from all 9 tribal lands in South Dakota

G) A 5th grade girl (Amayah Vilmael)

H) Red Lobster – the bankruptcy was not due to the “all you can eat shrimp” promotion as many news outlets are reporting.

I) Elvis Presley’s Graceland

J) Tennessee. Not as many as they need but better that nothing

K) North Carolina 

L) Cut prices on 5,000 items. 

M) Iran

N) Delusional Donnie Trump

O) Harrison Butter of the Kansas City Chiefs

P) Great Britain

Q) Rudy!

R) The AG’s office. We do not expect AG Brenna Bird to do anything 

S) Men’s testicles

T) recognize a Palestinian state.

Trump repeatedly called Nikki Haley a “bird brain.”

Looks like she’s proved him right. – JoJoFromJerz

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Professor Timothy Snyder On Fascism

Posted on May 25, 2024 by Dave Bradley

The Path to Authoritarianism: Historian Timothy Snyder (9 minutes):

 Of course the reason for Memorial Day is to consider the contributions of Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice to their country. Now we have people in this country following a person who is incorporating much of what the fascist movement brought to the world in the 20th century. 

What America tried to purge from the world in WWII costing hundreds of thousands of Americans their lives, Donald Trump is trying to impose on America. It is amazing that an American political party could select a person like this to run as their nominee. It is also frightening that everyone in his party is too scared to stand up to Trump. It is also frightening that millions of Americans will vote for him

The following thread reader app comes from Timothy Snyder Professor of History at Yale University:   

From Wikipedia:

Timothy David Snyder (born August 18, 1969) is an American historian specializing in the history of Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. He is the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.[2][3]

He has written several books, including Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, The Road to Unfreedom, and Our Malady. Several of them have been described as best-sellers.[4][5]

Snyder serves on the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

From https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1793288021783031909.html 

1/11. The people who told you that fascism was not a threat were wrong. 

2/11. The people who told you that Russia was not fascist were, if possible, more wrong. 

3/11. Fascism is might over right, conspiracy over reality, fiction over fact, pain over law, blood over love, doom over hope. 

4/11. Fascism advances every injustice. Its victory will leave us serfs of a vengeful nature, of relentless technology, and of unquestionable oligarchy. 

5/11. Analytic clarity is needed for political clarity. If you do not know what you face, you do not know how to act. 

6/11. Once named, fascism can be defeated. Indeed, once named it can be easily defeated. 

7/11. Russian fascism must lose on the battlefield. Americans can bring this about by supporting courageous Ukrainians. 

8/11. American fascism must lose at the ballot box. Americans can bring this about by organizing, canvassing, phone banking, donating, and voting. 

9/11. We know from history that fascism can lose. And we know today the contests that must be won. 

10/11. Compared to challenges that others face around the world, our odds in 2024 and 2025 are excellent. Americans have chances, not excuses. 

11/11. A defeat of fascism is not a negation. It is an affirmation: of a future that can be more beautiful, more just, and more free. 

Heed these words as the campaign plays out.

Remember also that Mr. Trump is not singular in his views. Every Republican running for office from the courthouse to the White House and every office in between has endorsed Mr. Trump and therefore his policies. That is all of Iowa’s Republican statehouse delegation and their congressional delegation.

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Unconnected Stories Paint A Picture When Connected

Posted on May 25, 2024 by Dave Bradley

Howler monkeys dropping dead due to heat in Mexico (2:15):

As we eat breakfast in the morning like many couples my wife and I have the radio on in the background. Our radio station of choice is an NPR station to listen to Morning Edition. We have done this for at least a decade. While NPR news has some noticeable right leanings it is about the closest to bias free news I can find. 

This week and last week I noticed an interesting pattern to the stories that were being presented. Sometimes different stories may be lumped together because they share some common theme. What I noticed is that stories that have a common theme of consequences of the climate crisis were placed apart from each other. 

Since I only had this brain spasm I didn’t take notes on times or approach to the story. It just struck me that had these stories been played together rather than in an isolated pod, it would have painted a picture of a problem that spreads across the world rather than isolated hot spots.

I didn’t even note what the specific stories were. What I do remember is that there were several stories in the past week that related to consequences of the climate crisis popping up in various places around the globe. Included in these stories were:

 – Howler monkeys in tropical Mexico falling from trees dead having died from higher temperatures than they can handle (see video above)

 – The Thwaites glacier referred to as the doomsday glacier because of its potential to raise sea levels dramatically as it melts. Is melting much faster than thought

  – Turbulence on airplanes is getting much rougher, actually resulting in a death on one flight with dozens hospitalized. Increasingly turbulent weather is pointed to as the cause.

  • More and stronger storms are predicted for this years hurricane season

  • The midwest has already been battered by extremely strong storms this spring

  • Insurance companies are dramatically raising insurance rates due to mounting losses caused by storms

  • Through distraction and denial, governments play politics at the cost of the planet.

  • Tree rings show summer of 2023 was hottest in 2000years

  • And once again forest fires all over Canada

Taken together those are some scary stories about where the world is headed. But split apart, individual stories do not pack near the punch as the bundle that points to a trend.

Something very serious to ponder on this year. We are careening toward a climate disaster. We need elected officials who will stand up and make tough decision. As money seems to control more and more of the political direction in this country, people that they can decide the direction of the country.

Get registered and get a plan to vote, either on or before Election Day. Your ballot is secret, so no one else will know how you voted.

The stances on policy positions have never been more stark. No MAGA politicians at any level care about climate policies. They will continue policies that allow polluters to poison our air, water and land in pursuit of short term profits. 

The planet is in crisis. 

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New Report On Nitrate In Iowa’s Drinking Water

Posted on May 24, 2024 by Trish Nelson

It’s time  to start talking about clean water. Here are some new findings by the Iowa Environmental Council published earlier this week.

“The Iowa Environmental Council published a new report Nitrate in Drinking Water: A Public Health Concern for All Iowans, outlining the risks of nitrate in drinking water to Iowans of all ages. Research provides compelling evidence that long-term exposure to nitrate at levels well below the current drinking water standard of 10 mg/L can lead to higher risk of adverse health outcomes. Recent rains after a long period of drought have led to a huge influx of nitrate in Iowa’s waterways. Iowans should be informed of the risks.”

“In a recent analysis of private well testing data in Iowa, we found that the vast majority of private wells in Iowa are not tested regularly for nitrate, despite high levels of contamination in the wells that were tested,” said Anne Schechinger, Midwest Director for the Environmental Working Group and a reviewer of the new report. “Rural Iowans on private wells may be at greater risk of drinking water with elevated levels of nitrate.”

“In addition to providing summaries of the scientific findings, IEC’s report outlines recommendations for policy solutions to reduce the risk of nitrate health impacts for Iowans. As elected officials and government agencies consider how to protect public health, they must consider regulatory solutions.

“We cannot wait for voluntary approaches to reduce nitrate pollution to protect public health 30, 50, or 100 years from now,” said Vasto. “We’re seeing the impacts to public health now. We need solutions now.”

Read the executive summary and full report.

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