Coup #2 Starts In Iowa Next Month

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Dave Bradley

7 minutes 30 seconds:  Republican George Conway agrees with the Colorado Supreme Court:

Even as Colorado stands up for the constitution and upholds the 14th amendment by barring insurrection leader Donald Trump from their primary ballots, Iowa gears up to hand Trump the first piece in his scheme to end the American experiment in democracy.

Who can forget the response Benjamin Franklin gave to this question:

-Benjamin Franklin to Elizabeth Willing Powel’s question: “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” 

  “A republic, if you can keep it.”

We are now in a situation where the very continuation of our 250 year old democracy is dependent on the outcome of he next election. In case you have been in a box since Thanksgiving you have missed a torrent of unhinged rhetoric from candidate Trump promising that he will turn the US into an authoritarian dictatorship that he will use to wreak vengeance on his enemies.

Tip of the hat to EarlG on democraticunderground.com

Not an enemy so you have no worry? Well, maybe you are not an enemy yet, but that can change overnight. Just ask Kim Reynolds. Now she is suddenly on the outside looking in. Will she be on the revenge list? So you may not be on the list today, but a misstep tomorrow and you could be. Just ask Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

Even Trump’s public opponents are too cowardly to cross his path:

Tip of the hat to EarlG on democraticunderground.com

 

There is no hiding what is going on. Donald Trump has committed crimes and encouraged crimes against anyone who crosses him. Immediately following the decision in Colorado to keep Trump off the primary ballot the members of the Colorado Supreme Court were flooded with threats to their lives. This is what we fought a revolution to stop.

Yet even with all this authoritarian, violent and most would think anti-American movement led by Donald Trump he has become even more popular among Iowa Republican (MAGA) caucus goers. Even his opponents refuse to stand up to him saying they will do what they must to stop him (Trump) from being held to account for his words and actions. This from leaders in a party that once claimed the mantle of “the party of laws.”

Iowa was once a standard for measuring where the center of the country stood. Since the second coming of Terry Branstad Iowa has rushed further and further to the right to the point where we are indistinguishable from any former confederate state. This is so sad.

Therefore on January 15th Iowa will publicly proclaim that we support authoritarianism, violence, the end of democracy, extra-legal solutions to problems and a society dominated by money and corporations and the wealthy. It looks like Iowa Republicans will proclaim this by a sizeable majority.

However one must remember that Trump’s so-called opponents offer little if any policy difference between them and Trump. Since the Trump view dominates the current Iowa (and national) Republican Party, his opponents must be Trump wannabes – even to the point of offering to be even worse than Trump.

Most Americans will be losers no matter which Republican is chosen, but perhaps the single group with the most to lose is women. As we have seen since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade and especially in the past month, women’s control over their own bodies has been taken over by state legislatures with disastrous results.

Iowa women can expect to join the states who have insane abortion laws early in the new year. If any Republican becomes president women can expect that laws similar to Texas’ or Iowa’s will quickly become law of the land – in other words abortion will be outlawed for all practical purposes. It won’t stop abortions just drive it underground and make it incredibly dangerous.

Let me add that no matter how Trump does in any primary or caucus we can expect him to continue his lying and whining and however the election comes out next November there will be a Trump led rebellion. 

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Iowans For Gun Safety Sound The Alarm About 2024 Legislative Session

Posted on December 22, 2023 by Trish Nelson

Passing this on from Iowans for Gun Safety. Please take action and don’t forget to like and share. Thank you.  [Bolding in the text was added by BFIA].

A Call to Action!

SF 543, the Omnibus Gun Bill, will almost certainly be taken up by the next legislative session that starts on January 8. It was passed by the House and now needs to pass the Senate Judiciary Committee in order to go to the Senate for a vote.

There are some elements in the bill that insurance companies and their insured clients (public and private schools, school boards, the Board of Regents) find troubling. For example, the bill would allow guns to be stored in cars on the grounds of schools and other public buildings, and in school vehicles carrying students if the school has a policy of allowing staff to carry guns. (School districts in Spirit Lake and Cherokee have these policies.)

Insurers would be prohibited from refusing to insure school districts based on the district’s policy to allow armed school staff. Community colleges and the three Iowa Regent universities could not adopt policies that stop people from carrying or keeping guns in a locked personal vehicle on the school’s grounds, as long as the weapon is not visible from outside the vehicle. The bill includes a provision for mandatory gun safety education from kindergarten to 12th grade based on National Rifle Association curriculum and materials. (NRA is the largest gun industry lobbying organization in the US.)

We think any of these provisions should be enough to derail this bill, but the majority party may well proceed full steam ahead unless citizens speak up. Between now and January 8, the Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee members need to hear from many Iowans expressing their negative opinion about the Omnibus Gun Bill, SF 543. Their names and contact information are here: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/committees/committee?ga=90&groupID=697

There are 18 members. If you can’t phone or email all of them, the top three are the most influential members. If you know any of the members personally, they should also be contacted. Your message can be simple- “Please don’t advance the Omnibus Gun Bill, SF 543. I especially object to … (and here state your main objection, whatever it is- guns on school property, NRA curriculums in our schools, whatever it is.)” Always include your name, address, phone or email, and a request for a response.

Then, please contact your own state senator, regardless of party, with a similar message.

We think this will move fast through the Senate, so it’s important that you act now. I’m happy to hear your comments and answer your questions on this and related topics.

This email is also a request to support us with your donation here: Join – Iowans for Gun Safety. But given the challenges that lie ahead, your most important contribution is your willingness to speak out, especially during this busy holiday season. Thanks!

Art Roche
Chair, Iowans for Gun Safety
http://www.IowansForGunSafety.org

515-318-7685
Iowans For Gun Safety

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Children Working In Slaughterhouses

Posted on December 21, 2023 by Trish Nelson


I would recommend watching but I don’t recommend looking for the first thirty seconds.

“In towns across America, children working in dangerous jobs in slaughterhouses is an open secret. Data from the Labor Department says that children are illegally working at alarming rates. NBC News takes you inside these slaughterhouses in an investigation that spans six states, two countries, dozens of interviews and thousands of pages of public records.”

“You walk into the building but the operation’s enormous and as we walked I was just like that that’s a kid, that’s a kid and so we would stop and talk to them briefly.. we found a systemic failure on the company’s part. There were over 102 chilren that we verified their age and their identities that were working the night shift..”

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No Public Dollars To Out-of-State Charter Schools

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Trish Nelson

J.D. Scholten would like your attention for a moment, please. And don’t forget to hit the like and share buttons.

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Watch: Thomas Frank Discusses Rural Progressive Populism

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Trish Nelson

Rural Urban Bridge Initiative

RUBI’s December briefing was on Rural Progressive Populism: A Brief History with Thomas Frank, author of What’s The Matter with Kansas? and more.

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Join The Fight To Stop Book Banning

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Trish Nelson

I have only read one book by Jodi Picoult. It was My Sister’s Keeper, also a movie, the fictional story of a savior sister. The book was thoughtfully written and, contrary to Kim Reynolds claiming their book bans are about pornography and sex acts, there is nothing pornographic about this book. It is a story of a family dealing with a child that has cancer and needs her sister’s kidney. It examines the issues from everyone’s point of view. That’s it. It is an excellent book and there is absolutely no reason to ban it.

Or could the banning be because the sister with the healthy kidney at age thirteen gets a lawyer and seeks medical emancipation from the parents? What, a child with rights to defy her parents in order to control her own body? Definitely would run counter to conservatives’ ideological, hierarchical grain. See George Lakoff’s conservative Moral Hierarchy.

Here is an important action alert we received from Zach Wahls and Matt Blake.

###

This is Zach Wahls and Matt Blake. Last week, author Jodi Picoult sent you an email talking about the importance of public education and the ability of our kids to learn without interference from Republican politicians

Our state has traditionally been a beacon of progress and education. There’s even a classic scene in “Field of Dreams” about how book banning doesn’t belong in Iowa! The Republican wave of censorship and authoritarianism undermines our most important values. That’s why we’re fighting back with allies like the most banned author in Iowa, Jodi Picoult, and supporters like you.

Your split contribution to our campaigns will empower us to uphold the principles of free thought and robust public education. We cannot allow extremists like Brad Zaun and other Republican politicians to dictate our kids’ access to knowledge and diverse perspectives.

 

Your support can help us protect public education. Your contribution to our campaigns is more than a donation; it’s a pledge to stand against censorship and for the rights of every Iowan to access a broad spectrum of ideas and viewpoints.

With your support, we can turn the tide and preserve Iowa’s legacy of educational excellence and freedom.

Yours in the fight,

-Zach Wahls and Matt Blake

Matt Blake is the Democratic candidate running against Republican Senator Brad Zaun, who is Iowa’s “Book Banner in Chief,” and the GOP architect of banning books and limiting the scope of public education.

Zach Wahls is the Democratic Senator representing Coralville, North Liberty, Solon, and Iowa City in the Iowa Senate.

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Zach Wahls & Matthew Blake for Iowa

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What Is Their Job?

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Dave Bradley

Miller-Meeks defends her vote (37 seconds):

All supposed evidence that MAGAs like Miller-Meeks claim to have has already been debunked. But when you have an agenda to destroy political opponents by any means possible, that makes no difference. Miller-Meeks is a coward who is afraid to stand up to lying criminal Donald Trump. She does not represent her district by voting for impeaching an innocent person. She makes a mockery of the process.

Heather Cox Richardson sums up the beginning of the week – and especially Wednesday – by pointing out that Republicans in congress are totally avoiding their real responsibility:

In a day that was chock full of political stories in which Republicans were launching attacks on Democrats, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) made a key point. “We have not passed an emergency supplemental, a Farm Bill, or regular Appropriations,” he said. “The story is not what they are doing. The story is what they are not doing.”

Schatz was referring to specific, vital measures that are not getting through Congress: the outstanding funding bill for aid to Ukraine and Israel, border security, and humanitarian aid for Gaza; the Farm Bill, which governs the nation’s agricultural and food assistance programs and needs to be renewed every five years; and the regular appropriations bills that Congress must pass and that House extremists tossed out former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over because they wanted deep cuts that he had agreed with President Joe Biden not to make.

But there is a larger point behind Schatz’s observation. Republicans, especially the extremist wing, have garnered power by promising to stop the government from acting. The extraordinary gerrymandering in Republican-dominated states following Operation REDMAP in 2010 created such safe districts that Republicans did not need to worry about losing elections. That safety meant that their role was not to offer real legislative solutions to problems, but rather to gin up support for the party nationally by pushing party talking points on right-wing media. Those talking points focused on slashing the government, which they claimed was hurting their constituents by defending secular society and providing benefits to undeserving minorities and women.

Richardson goes in one direction and I will go in another. Iowans in congress are 100% behind this farce and waste of our time and money. As noted in Richardson’s second paragraph above, Congress does have very serious work that must be done including a Farm Bill that will have great impact on Iowa. Instead they use their time to play.

One thing that Richardson does not mention is the cowardice of congress members who are afraid to cross Donald Trump. Despite what they may say in public, you know every one of Iowa’s congress members is looking over their shoulders fearing the wrath of Trump that will launch a primary challenge. Cowardice!

OOPS! I just remembered Miller-Meeks has already committed a sin against Trump and she is already being primaried. No doubt her future in congress is already in Trump’s power. She had better supplicate herself properly. What a coward! She has no business in congress. 

Rather than serving the people of Iowa, Iowa’s congress members appear to be much more concerned about taking orders from an individual who has been indicted on real charges 91 times plus losing several civil cases. An individual who is making a mockery of our judicial system and is now making congress look like puppet monkeys on marionette strings.

Even with truly critical bills needing immediate attention, the US House plays games and then declares a holiday recess. As Ukraine’s very existence hangs in the balance the frat boys and sorority girls of the MAGA Party declare party time.

They get somewhere around $200,000 per year plus extremely generous staff allowances and travel budget for doing almost no work. If they were in line with their purported values, they would sheepishly apologize and give us back some money. They surely have not earned their pay. None of Iowa’s congress members could survive at McDonald’s.

Please remember that each of Iowa’s congress members are not appointed nor annointed. They are elected. If you are like me and you are sick and tired of seeing them refusing to do their jobs, if you are sick and tired of of seeing them represent Donald Trump and not Iowans, if you are sick and tired of them always blaming somebody else for what they won’t do it is time to vote them out. 

And if you see one of Iowa’s congress members on the street this holiday season, don’t be afraid to ask them why they aren’t doing their jobs? Why are they ignoring Iowa’s needs? Aren’t they embarrassed to be voting for the kangaroo court they are setting up for President Biden? 

It is time that Iowa’s congress members have a reality check from Iowans.

Posted in #nevertrump, #trumpresistance, 2024 election, Republican hypocrisy, Republican Obstruction, Republican Policy | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Sunday Funday: Satanic Temple Display Attacked Edition

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Dave Bradley

(30 seconds)

Iowa becomes more and more intolerant. Sure isn’t the same state I remember as a child. 

The first amendment guarantees the freedom of speech and religion. The best solution would have been to simply not allow religious displays on government grounds at any level, but that would not satisfy Christians. Therefore when they got to put up their displays freedom of religion made it incumbent on the state to allow others. Not good enough for Christians who insist they own the whole kit ’n’ kaboodle.

Now I see Ron DeSantis vows to stand behind the lawbreaker. Yet another MAGA hypocrite. 

Let me remind you once more what Barry Goldwater said about the religious right that owns the Republican (MAGA) party lock, stock and barrel these days:  

“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.” 

MAGA continues to operate in fantasy land as America’s problems persist. Questions about the winter solstice today.

A) Double No-Shows. What two defendants in civil trials independently refused to testify in their damage determination hearings this week?

B) The massacre of children at Sandy Hook elementary was eleven years ago last Thursday.How many children and teachers were murdered?

C) Kate Cox had to leave her home in Texas last Sunday. Why?

D) Is the earth closest or furthest from the sun on the northern winter solstice?

E) The man who destroyed the Satanic Temple display in the Iowa Capitol hails from where?

F) How much are Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss seeking in damages for the lies told by the MAGA defendant already found responsible for spreading those lies?

G) The heat is off! What MAGA entertainer has called off his boycott of Bud Light?

H) A pre-Christian festival that happened at the winter solstice in Scandinavia was known as what?

I) A new story Friday reveals that a binder of what kind of intelligence disappeared during the Trump Administration?

J) Soft Landing in sight, Santa. What hit an all-time high this week as MAGAs continued to claim the economy was in shambles?

K) Hitting the marks! Trump’s latest scam is to sell prices of what for $4,653 to his believers?

L) How long has House Oversight Committee Chair Jim Jordan ignored his congressional subpoena from the J6 Committee? 

M) There are actually two winter solstices every year. How does that happen?

N) This happened in Wisconsin last summer but was just reported this week. A woman getting an MRI was nearly killed when what happened?

O) Shares for what EV auto company jumped over 10% after they got a fleet contract from AT&T Wednesday?

P) What EU country blocked aid to Ukraine Thursday (vote had to be unanimous)?

Q) While the US House has been sent home for Christmas, the Senate has stayed behind to work on what vital issue?

R) Good news for future homeowners: The average mortgage rates for homes have dropped below what benchmark number?

S) What Renaissance astronomer came up with the heliocentric model of our solar system from which the concept of solstice flowed?

T) Apparently a shot at a possible Trump presidency, Congress passed a bill that any president would need approval by congress to leave what alliance?

Delaying a vote on aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan will do great damage to America’s reputation as a reliable global leader in a very dangerous world. Delay is a gift to Putin, XI, and the mullahs in Iran. The stakes are very high. No time to be playing logroll politics. – Michael McFaul

Tip of the hat to EarlG on democraticunderground.com

Answers:

A) Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump

B) 20 children, 6 adult staff his mother and himself so 28

C) To get an abortion that was denied by the Texas Supreme Court

D) That is when the earth is closest to the sun

E) Mississippi

F) they were each seeking $24M. They were awarded a total of $148M Friday

G) Kid Rock – it will be a great Christmas for Budweiser

H) Juul or Yule

I) highly sensitive information on how Russians interfered with the 2016 election

J) The Dow Jones industrials average. Stocks up, wages up, inflation down

K) Pieces of the suit he wore at his booking in Atlanta. Actually you get a free piece of the suit if you buy 47 of his bogus online trading cards at $99 apiece

L)  about 560 days. Jimmy is a bad boy and shouldn’t be in congress

M) One in the northern hemisphere, and another one in the Southern Hemisphere.

N) the concealed gun she was carrying shot her in the ass. Staff was behind protective barriers when the gun went off

O) Rivian

P) Hungary behind Viktor Orban

Q) aid for Ukraine (tied to immigration by MAGAs)

R) 7%

S) Copernicus

T) NATO

Why do women no longer have abortion rights?

Politicians like Susan Collins lied to protect Trump & Kavanaugh

Billionaire-funded Federalist Society hijacked our Supreme Court

McConnell rammed extremists through the Senate

THESE crooks are who assaulted the women of America. – Lindy Li

Tip of the hat to EarlG on democraticunderground.com
Posted in #nevertrump, #trumpresistance, 2024 election, Humor | 1 Comment

Winners, Losers from Cop 28

Posted on December 16, 2023 by Dave Bradley

CNBC – a part of NBC I seldom take excerpts from – provides a pretty good summary of COP28:

While much of our attention is focused simply on surviving daily and political games in DC and other world capitals commands some of what little time we have to spare, existential decisions are being made by powerful people who are deciding how the world’s now 8 billion people will face the dangers caused by climate change.

For the past couple of weeks we have heard less than minute long snippets in the news of a huge meeting in oil rich Dubai that will be one of the major decision meetings on how the earth will face climate change. Those little snippets gave us little information. 

theguardian.com online had a good summary of who won and who lost at the conference. It should come as little surprise that rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

Winners:

The oil and gas industry

The need to “transition away from fossil fuels” may finally have been recognised after three decades of climate talks, but there is no clear obligation or hard timetable to achieve this, and numerous loopholes in the form of “transition fuels” and allusions to carbon capture technologies and carbon credits.

The US and China

The world’s two biggest emitters will be breathing a sigh of relief after leaving Cop with few extra burdens to change despite growing global alarm about climate disruption. The US pledged only $20m (£15.7bn) in new finance for poor countries and remains the biggest oil producer. China can continue building coal-power plants.

Lobbyists

Industry representatives were present in record numbers in Dubai – 2,456 delegates from the oil and gas sector, 475 from the carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry, more than 100 from agribusiness and many more from elsewhere. Many will leave Dubai happy. The final text made no mention of the role of beef companies in the climate crisis, supported CCS, and a debate on regulating the carbon trading market was scuppered for now.

Losers:

Small island states

The Alliance of Small Island States, which represents those most vulnerable to sea level rise, said the agreement contained “a litany of loopholes” and represented only incremental change, which was not sufficient to keep heating below 1.5C.

Future generations and other species

The biggest victims of the climate crisis remain under-represented in decision-making processes. Despite the record heat of 2023, this is still likely to be one of the coolest years in the lives of many young people. The goal of zero global deforestation by 2030 was welcomed by conservation groups, but many ecosystems will continue to be eroded by rising temperatures.

These excerpts are just a piece of the Winners and Losers cited by the Guardian. I recommend you check out the whole article.

Remember that each and every one of us is responsible in some way for the climate. One of the most important actions you can take is to vote for climate responsible legislators, congress members and other leaders next year.

Democratic Party candidates are far superior to MAGA Party candidates in every aspect of climate policy. Voting for MAGA candidates is a choice to purposely make the problem worse. Are you so ill-informed that you are willing to condemn your children and grand-children to the ravages of a climate that has passed the tipping point.

There is a lot on the line in the next election – think long and hard about who you choose to lead.

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Sandy Hook Was 11 Years Ago Last Thursday

Posted on December 16, 2023 by Dave Bradley

1 minute:  

It is so incredible that in the eleven years since that horrible day MAGA Republicans and the National Rifle Association (NRA) have been able to totally stop any real action on the top killer in the country. The saddest thing is that guns are now the #1 killer of children. Guns do not indicate freedom, they are the tool to take someone else’s freedom – and their life – from another person.

There are many engineering applications that could be made to guns that could modify their lethality. There are many laws that should be enacted to make sure that guns are kept as much as possible out of the hands of those who kill wantonly.

Ninety per cent of Americans want something done to stop the bloodbath. I do not understand why Americans keep voting for the people that will let the carnage go on. Vote the whores to the gun lobby out and let’s see if America can’t join the sane countries of the world.

Remember that former Chief Justice Warren Burger called out the gun lobby as falsely representing the second amendment with lies about the founders:

Posted in 2024 election, gun control, gun safety, Republican hypocrisy, Republican Obstruction, Republican Policy | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Sandy Hook Was 11 Years Ago Last Thursday