White House Party Crashers Met President, May Face Criminal Charges
The White House released a picture today of Michaele Salahi shaking hands with the president despite earlier reports that the couple who allegedly crashed the state dinner never came in contact with Obama.
This revelation comes [...]
At the request of my son, Tyler, I purchased a Netflix account. I can access the online Netflix library. My addiction: listening to documentaries while coding. Doesn't really require much viewing (a quick Alt-Tab at interesting points), and I'm totally digging the provocative dialogue in my head.
Currently: I'm listening to' [...]
This is slightly older news, but there is a group of conservatives who serve on the Republican National Committee who indentified ten key policy positions they would like to see 2010 candidates who receive money from the RNC hold (they have to agree with at least seven), they [...]
I'll start by saying this:The root of anger is when a person's expectations don't come to pass.Nobody gets angry when things go as planned. If Mom expects the bed to be made in the morning, and the kids do it, Mom isn't angry - she's pleased. If they don't make [...]
Rural Iowa Democrats Launch Group, Hold First EventDon’t be afraid. My checking account balance as of today: $0.05
I’ve always been ready to stack jobs, and have usually done so. I’m always the most responsible person on a crew of nutsacks with no direction or work ethic, a by-product of my Iowa upbringing. I have a reasonable [...]
My copy of Governor Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue: An American Life came a week ago. I’m typically not a fan of autobiographies or political memoirs. When I go into a bookstore that type of book isn’t what I usually leave with. So this [...]
Sullivan recalls:
I remember very vividly a heated argument with Karl Rove over eight years ago in which I worried about spending and deficits. “Deficits don’t matter!” Rove kept repeating in that nasal world-weary tone he has. After a bit, I said, “What do you mean, deficits don’t matter? Don’t [...]
It's coming up on the end of the year (believe it or not) and I thought it might be some good, lighthearted holiday discussion to think about who or what might be Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2009.
There are no real requirements for what a Person of [...]
It seems to me that Republicans are beginning to get a little carried away with the whole nostalgia thing. It’s one thing to bring back a former Governor who left on his own terms in Branstad, or even Paul Pate, who left his post as Secretary of [...]
Climategate - which is the release of inner-circle emails from the Climate Research Unit - gains steam. The media doesn't want to cover it. But some readers know about it anyway, as the link shows.
Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) is the issue here. The questions:Is the earth warming?Is man' [...]
November 27, 2009, 11:00 a.m.
Due to the reckless and irresponsible governance of the Culver Administration Iowans now face a billion dollar deficit and massive, massive, debilitating, immenent property tax hikes.
In his letter to author and historian, Samuel Kercheval, Thomas Jefferson wrote:
I am not among those who fear the people.
They, [...]
Iowans Should Support President Obama on Iran Policy
Mr. Bob Vander Plaats:
I saw your attack on former Governor Branstad in yesterday’s Des Moines Register and was extremely disappointed. Is this going to be the essence of your campaign?
When we met November 9th, you stated you wanted to run a campaign of substance and ideas. [...]
President George Washington made a historic proclamation signed on October 3, 1789 to set Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer. It wasn’t until October 3, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation making the 4th Thursday in November a national holiday.
I was going to make a comparison list of the things I don’t have versus the things I have, as a reminder of God’s great provision and blessing, but there is nothing to place on the “don’t have side”. In the shadow of the cross, I [...]
Some holiday-related links are after the jump, along with a bonus action alert and a couple of recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers.
Food Democracy Now wants you to write to your senator here to support The Access to Nutritious Meals for [...]
WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to [...]
Chris and I would like to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving from our entire family.
As you retreat to your meals, fellowship and togetherness, it is a wonderful time to focus on what makes Iowa such a great place to live, work and raise [...]
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats released the following Thanksgiving holiday message:
Thanksgiving is always a time of reflection and togetherness. Whether we travel all the way across the state or just down the street to a family member’s house, tomorrow is a holiday where we [...]
The coolest thing in the world is waking up to my dog barking at the world outside my bedroom door at 6:20 AM - and discovering that her reason is one of my adult kids, unexpectedly arriving from St. Paul, Minnesota, to spend Thanksgiving with us.
It's great to see Nick' [...]
Air America and Iowa Progressives Share Gratitudes This ThanksgivingGosh, somebody besides a crazy liberal hippie is noticing that Republicans have overseen the massive inflation of the filibuster, transforming the Senate into a 60 vote body rather than the foreagreed majority vote requirement.
According to research by UCLA political scientist Barbara Sinclair, there was an average of one filibuster [...]
The Iowa Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that three more adult Iowans have died as a result of the H1N1 influenza virus.
The three adults were from Carroll, Des Moines and Webster counties, and all had additional risk factors that increased the chance of complications from the virus.
Since Sept. 1, [...]
From RedState, Erick Erickson said that the numbers below likely came from the House Republican Conference’s Policy Shop which is overseen by Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN).
5.5 million — Number of jobs that could be lost as a result of taxes on businesses that cannot afford to [...]When I first saw Governor Sarah Palin post on this I wasn’t sure exactly what she was talking about since I hadn’t heard about it. Then Josh kindly directed me to this Fox New article. Man, my head wants to explode:
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the [...]
Smoldering culture clashes reignite in Postville
Defense attorneys for Sholom Rubashkin continue to assert that their client, despite being recently convicted on 86 fraud-related charges, is not a flight risk and should be granted bail pending sentencing.
Late last week U.S. District Chief Judge Linda R. Reade ruled that Rubashkin, who served [...]
Some in the religious left who embrace ideas like wealth redistribution under the guise of social justice. Many liberal churches in the 60s & 70s embraced liberation theology which embraces Marxist ideals and wraps them around the Cross.
So that begs the question is communism biblical? Is [...]
An Iowa District Court has reversed a $10 million verdict from 2007 against West Des Moines businessman Gary Kirke and his casino company, Wild Rose Entertainment LLC, saying they did not breach a contract with a consulting company.
One of the six attorneys representing Kirke in the case was [...]
Enjoy this T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G. acronym, then add your own Thanksgiving Day comments…
Troops - Thought I would say Turkey didn’t you. I am thankful for our troops across the globe. I thank God for them, their sacrifice and for the sacrifice their families give. Thank [...]
I thought they were going to start firing staff for on-air flubs?
I hadn’t been paying attention to the semantics but it’s no surprise that the Republican party’s cable network would try to assert that George W. Bush’s tenure began after September 11th and that the Fort Hood shootings constituted a [...]
Saying that the past three years have been “an honor” and “a wonderful privilege,” the man tasked with leading the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa resigned Tuesday so that the office could be led by Stephanie Rose, an office veteran and career prosecutor who was recently [...]
Former Des Moines school board member Jonathan Narcisse criticized Gov. Chet Culver and the Republicans hoping to unseat him in 2010, but remained coy about whether he will challenge the governor in a Democratic primary.
Jonathan Narcisse
Narcisse was speaking to Dave Price, reporter for Des Moines [...]
Below is a press release from Brad Zaun about his potential campaign for Congress. Zaun has also reworked his website.
Today, Brad Zaun moved one step closer to making a Congressional bid official by filing the necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.
“The support I’ve received from [...]
ICCT - At a sometimes somber, sometimes energized meeting Monday night, the Iowa City Community Theatre Board informed its members they were in bad financial shape, but vowed to regroup and make the theatre solvent again. At the public meeting, Treasurer David Roe informed the members [...] 
Iowa Ag Secretary Candidate Francis Thicke Talks to BFIA about rBST, GMOs, CAFOs, and Local Control 
GOP Gubernatorial candidate Chris Rants is worried that the Republican primary for governor is simply going to be a name ID and popularity contest, not a vigorous debate about the issues facing the state. In an effort to get people to focus on various [...]
One of the chief issues in the 2010 gubernatorial election will be job creation. The unemployment rate in Iowa is now 6.7%, and over 112,000 Iowans are currently out of work. To make matters worse, many Iowa businesses are now deciding whether to leave the state, as [...]
The difference in women could not be more pronounced! The condensation and snobbery in the Martha’s voice in this interview demonstrates how out of touch she is with the very people who purchase her towels and paint; her magazines and decorating guides. The rich don’t buy her towels, it is [...]
I can’t think of a better term to describe the following situation. Ahmed Hashim Abed, the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards which Gateway Pundit describes:
The USA Blackwater guards were burned, beaten, dragged through the streets of Fallujah and their decapitated [...]
According to the Associated Press, a news release from Kentucky State Police says investigators believe [Bill] Sparkman acted alone in setting the scene. They also say he had recently [...]
Just some random stuff I’m looking at on the world wide web (doesn’t it sound really corny when people say that?).
James Delingpole: Climategate: the final nail in the coffin of â€Anthropogenic Global Warming’? Iowa GOP Gubernatorial Candidates on Taxes – Christian Fong and Chris Rants [...]At least two Iowans will be dining at the White House tonight as Pres. Barack Obama celebrates the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his administration’s first state dinner.
Iowa Sen. Swati Dandekar, a Democrat from Marion, and her husband, Arvind, a prominent local businessman, traveled to Washington, D.C. [...]
When my husband and I were first married we were broke. Out of pure necessity we lived on a budget commonly referred to as the envelope system. Personal Money Management expert, Dave Ramsey is a big proponent of this budgetary method.
The idea is that upon payday the individual [...]
With all these new congressional districts the Obama administration is coming up with who will lead? Phantom congressional districts deserve great phantom congressional leaders like Bosse in New Hampshire. How will Iowans respond to build their districts? This video is well worth watching…
[There is a video that [...]
Jealousy is not something that is looked favorably upon in our culture. When the “green eyed monster” rears it’s ugly head it can bring great harm to relationships and lives, and has been at the root of any number of murders.
And yet, God describes Himself this way. Why? It seems [...]
Old Creamery – The Old Creamery Theatre kicked off the holiday season with an all-new show full of laughter and music. The Honky Tonk Angels Holiday Spectacular is playing now on the main stage in Amana and runs through December 20th.The National Republican Senatorial Committee is calling foul on Democrat Roxanne Conlin, saying she is trying to have it both ways on the issue of taking donations from lobbyists and political action committees.
Conlin has repeatedly said she will not accept donations from lobbyists or PACs, and Tuesday called on the [...]
As more American families question their ability to put food on their tables, there are actions that all of us can take to combat food insecurity.
“I believe hunger is one of the great challenges that confronts us today in a tough and difficult economy, and I think we have an [...]
Earlier today, Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn joined Rep. Chris Hagenow and Rep. Matt Windschitl to announce The Liberty Agenda. The Liberty Agenda consists of three elements.
Allow Iowans to vote of the definition of marriage.
Restore the number of State Troopers to the pre-1998 [...]
I just watched an incredible documentary on the Independent Film Channel about the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Wow. What an awesome legacy Mr. and Mrs. Hershey left for their community.
An introduction on their website is below. www.mhs-pa.org .
"At Milton Hershey School®, we believe that all students can" [...]
It was inevitable that conservatives would attack the Senate health care reform legislation over the proposed 0.5 percent hike in Medicare’s payroll tax for the country’s highest earners. Now they’re drilling down into the specifics.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has asked the Joint [...]
The announcement won’t be for a few days. I’m sure it’s because they’re still trying to figure out how to get those fiscally minded Blue Dogs on board with the decision.
-mg
[...]One of three Democrats vying to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is calling on the veteran lawmaker to decline all contributions from federal lobbyists and political action committees (PACs).
Des Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin said in an e-mail to Grassley that the senior senator has accepted millions from “the [...]
Iowa Christian Alliance President and Republican National Committee member Steve Scheffler is among 10 co-sponsors of a resolution being circulated that aims to impose a conservative litmus test on potential GOP candidates.
The resolution, dubbed a “purity test” by the media, became public Monday. It lists 10 positions Republican candidates should [...]
Is it just me, or has Lt. Governor Patty Judge been acting weird lately? On November 4th, Judge told the Omaha World Herald, “I am assuming he [Culver] will run. I think everyone in Iowa would be surprised if he doesn’t run.” At the time that [...]
Cedar Rapids residents who live in Iowa House District 33 have an opportunity today to vote in a special election. Candidates are: "The time for fear-mongering is over," Braley said. "I have listened to my constituents all week, and they have told me" [...]
George Monbiot, who is likely the biggest global warming propagandist in the press today, looks at the Global Warming emails that have been the topic of so much discussion lately and admits:
It’s no use pretending this isn’t a major blow. The [...]
By Emily Geiger
You know all of those people who are totally fine with pulling the plug on people in “vegetative states?”
Remember how the pro-life groups who oppose pulling the plug in such cases are always accused of being a bunch of Bible thumping, scientifically stupid, flat-earth imbeciles?
What [...]
Health Care Reform Update: Science or Rationing?
A dangerous illusion is that Iowa’s economy is healthy. Over the long-term, our jobs are being lost as businesses move jobs to lower-cost states. Wage growth, relative to the rest of the nation, has stagnated even as living costs rise – an economic situation known as [...]
Coralville Courier’s Group2012 (who is probably also commenter Liberal Shark), one of the Thayer boys, offers somebody else’s work (one sample link, this is circulating all over the right-o-sphere) as his own without citation.
Of course, NO IT IS THE DEMOCRATS WHO ARE THE LIARS, but the problem [...]
The Republicans were ready to ban the filibuster after we tried to block the most extreme of Bush’s judicial nominations.
Since the Democrats regained control of the Senate, Republicans have abused the filibuster rule like never before. Until 1970, no session of Congress had more than ten votes on [...]
If you say a beauty queen who couldn’t hack it as governor of Alaska or tell a scrap of truth to save her life shouldn’t be president, the teabaggers get upright and angry because they “identify” with her.
If you point out “Joe the Plumber” was completely wrong in his attack [...]
This has to break some kind of record for number of insanely wrong and empty-headed statements in a row.
Republicans are for good things! Democrats for bad things!
Do we really deserve to be the most powerful country in the world at this rate? Not if these people are calling the shots. [...]
UPDATED: Nine Iowa congregations have joined a new sect of Lutheran churches, signaling that they could leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the largest Lutheran denomination in the world.
The moves come after the ELCA voted this summer to allow gay and lesbian pastors in committed relationships to [...]
Wow, this is pretty cool. My first year here, and Oregon and Oregon State are playing their annual rival match for the right to go to the Rose Bowl (and trash Ohio State)!
Since I'm new to the area, though, now I'm at a loss about which team to root for. [...]
Former Gov. Terry Branstad’s endorsement of Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., in 2000 helped him win his seat and eventually allowed him to join fellow Democrats in moving their health care reform bill forward, GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bob Vander Plaats said Monday.
“Ben Nelson gave Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid [...]
Iowa estimated to recover millions now spent on care for uninsured
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released new state-by-state projections of the impacts of passage or failure of the Democrats’ sweeping health care reform package.
According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the projections demonstrate that “the health care [...]
I have heard a lot of discussions in the year since the 2008 election season that we as Christians must remember that Matthew 22 instructs us to render unto “Caesar” what is his. The discussion has been that this not only refers to our monetary concerns such as taxes, but [...]
Although a local medical examiner may be right that the number of deaths from the H1N1 influenza virus in Iowa is greater than official statistics would indicate, Iowans should not be concerned that this is because the virus has mutated as some rumors have suggested.
Instead, the disparity is caused by [...]
Liberal blog Bleeding Heartland reports that former Butler County Democratic Party Chairman Bill Maske has announced he will challenge Fourth Distict U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, R-Ames, in 2010.
Maske, who has launched a Web site, is a veteran school administrator with no previous electoral experience.
The Fourth District Democratic Central [...]
Iowa conservatives give former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee the highest favorability rating among potential 2012 presidential candidates, according to the most recent Des Moines Register Iowa Poll.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Des Moines [...]
I don’t have a lot of idiots this week. Maybe it’s because I’m more focused on turkey and football rather than politics. Here is what I’ve got. Please feel free to add your own in the comment section.
Erin Seidler and Troy Price
Seidler and Price are Governor [...]
As described by their outgoing General Counsel Bob Chanin at the NEA 2009 conference:
Despite what some among us would like to believe it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we [...]
