March 2007 Archives

Members of the Iowa House voted 54-40 to pass HF 611, known in most circles as the 'sex education bill.' Unfortunately, two amendments allowed blankets of ignorance to remain on many of Iowa's young.

Amendment 1493 inserts a sentence into the bill which allows state accredited but non-public schools to choose curriculum "in accordance with doctrinal teachings."

Amendment 1496 is both ignorant and unnecessary. It essentially offers an interpretation of the proposed law and, no doubt, was written to reassure certain constituents of the continued status of abstinence-based and abstinence-only programs. Perhaps members of the Iowa House need a lesson about the three branches of government?

The first amendment was proposed by Rep. Dave Heaton (R-Mt. Pleasant) and Rep. Jodi Tymeson (R-Winterset). The second amendment was put forth by Rep. Cindy Wincker (D-Davenport).

Lawmakers did, however, reject changes to allow groups such as the Heritage Foundation to be named as reliable sources of fact/research-based statements for sex education curriculum.

This bill was written and intended to ensure researched-based, age-appropriate sex education in Iowa schools. It also calls for school districts to provide such curriculum information to agencies and organizations upon request. When this law is in place any school which is accredited by the state will not be able offer statements in relation to intercourse, sexually transmitted disease and HIV/AIDS which are false and cannot be backed up by scientific research.

This is what makes the second amendment completely unnecessary. Not only is it attempting to interpret as well as create a law, but it is overlooking the scientific, research-based fact that the best way to avoid exposure to sexually transmitted disease, pregnancy and HIV/AIDS is to practice abstinence.

The doctrinal teachings bit is just one more nice, ineffective line in our law books which was placed there only to appease those who believe anything which doesn't force their own particular religious-based 'doctrine' on everyone is wrong. We can only hope those peace-loving, globally orgasmic folks don't head into Iowa and start up a school. (Then again, think of the homework assignments.)

An interesting item of note is the changes in lobbyist declarations since we last discussed the proposed law. Most recently the Concerned Women for America have stated their opposition. Of course the various right to life groups have opposed as well (although I'm still trying to wrap my head around why). We noted last time that the Iowa Association of Christian Schools was undecided on the bill (as of March 6), this surprisingly has not changed. There are no other religious-based lobbying groups who have remained either for or undecided on this bill. In the interim, it appears organized labor and the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault are promoting the bill.

Ironic as it may seem, the bill allows for each and every parent in Iowa to request his/her child not participate in the required sex education curriculum. So, schools that are comprised of families who believe sex education can and should only be taught in the home only need to provide waiver forms and the entire requirement can pretty much be dropped in the nearest litter box. Sure a district will still need to have a plan, but no one will ever have to benefit from it.

The bill was sent immediately to the Senate and should be placed in the record there at the start of next week. It will be interesting to see if state senators attempt to do the right thing and put some teeth back into the bill. It is possible since they've just sent SF 514 which calls for insurers to cover the HPV vaccine over to the House. And if that doesn't seem like excitement enough for you, SF 427 (an act relating to the Iowa civil rights Act and discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity) has been put into a house subcommittee for consideration.

If you have time, be sure to visit the Cedar Rapids Gazette article on this bill. Not only does it have some wonderful quotes from Rep. Mary Mascher (D-Iowa City), it lists some of the misinformation which has been distributed via sex education curricula prior to this bill. Here's a taste:

Poverty, depression, suicide and many other problems may be totally eliminated by remaining abstinent until marriage;

One half of gay male teens have tested positive for HIV;

The Edwards campaign has extended to me an invitation for some quality time with John and Elizabeth. While I do not plan on recording or blogging my entire conversation with them, I am open to asking questions on behalf of readers. If you have a comment or question you'd like me to pass on, please post it here or email it this weekend.

Let me first tip my largest brimmed sun bonnet with a big pink remembrance ribbon to Molly Ivins. My sodas have less fizz since she's been gone.

As some of our readers have commented in email "this *deleted expletive* blog is supposed to be *deleted expletive* covering *deleted expletive* women in *deleted expletive* Iowa politics" and we've "not uttered one *deleted expletive* word on the *deleted expletive* problem with *deleted expletive* Dawn." For reading ease, please note that each deleted expletive in the quotes above began with the letter F. For our ever-loyal - however foul-mouthed - readers, please be aware that, after the first few launches, additional f-bombs are left without a target.

For the record, we have made three separate posts featuring Rep. Dawn Pettengill. We doubt, however, the quantity of mentions is the crux of the recent correspondence.

Exposed for the entire state in first the Cedar Rapids Gazette (no online version available) and then in the Des Moines Register, is the fact that Pettengill hasn't been winning many popularity contests with the Democratic leadership.

Rep. Dawn Pettengill said she takes pride in being an independent thinker.

Independent thinking, closely held personal beliefs and a keen sense of what will play best back home are all important traits for a legislator. As evidence, have a look at one of Iowa's most prolific politicians, former Rep. Jim Leach of the 2nd Congressional District. While Leach didn't have the high-energy and tenacity of Pettengill, he did possess something she has not yet discovered: political respect.

For the 2006 election, Pettengill raised $89,121. Of that amount, $39,422 (or just over 44 percent) came from the Iowa Democratic Party and her local Democratic Central Committee. Her next largest contributor was general trade unions including Hawkeye Labor Council, Iowa Federation of Labor and Cedar Rapids Building & Construction Trades Council. Pettengill also had no problem accepting contributions from the steelworkers, roofers, electrical workers, ironworkers and auto workers. To bring it all home, well over 50 percent of the money she used to fund her campaign came from organizations she knew actively sought advancement of certain issues.

What Leach understood -- and what Pettengill evidently does not -- is a politician can break from his/her political tribe in as much as the overall good of "them what brung ya" is addressed. Most special interest groups, whether they be filled with church or workplace activists, are forgiving of politicians who vote to protect their future political aspirations.

When the brick wall is reached, however, and your individual vote is key to failure or victory, those who helped you get where you are today will be upset, concerned and, yes, even a bit angry if you -- a politician who has happily taken not only money but also gifts of people and time -- decide you'd rather sit this one out.

Sounds harsh? Well, there's a simple way for any politician to head off to office without such stress. Don't take special interest money. Don't take it first hand, second hand or even third hand. Don't take money from groups who are going to expect you to address issues in a way you know you will not.

If you looked over our three linked articles referring to Pettengill then you already know that two out of the three are positive of both her and some key things she's working to accomplish. Our belief in those areas hasn't changed. Our overall impression of Pettengill has. She chose to go to the dance. She chose which date she'd ride with and who she'd place on her dance card.

Tear-stained or dry-faced, it's now decision time. Leave the dance or take the hand of them that brung ya and cut a rug.

Not much time today, but we'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge the great work which has been accomplished.

As you may have read in today's Register, the Iowa Pharmacy Examiners Board has dropped a proposed conscientious objection clause which would have allowed a pharmacist to refuse to fill any prescription on moral or ethical grounds.

The board voted unanimously to withdraw the section after hundreds of Iowans wrote letters against it. While we at EE would love to take credit for the surge of interest, the applause belongs primarily to Planned Parenthood. If you are inclined to offer more than your thanks, please consider stopping by the PP Spring Book Sale in the 4-H Building on the State Fairgrounds sometime between now and 6 p.m. on Monday. Proceeds will be used to support the education and community outreach programs.

While the section has been set aside for now, don't count it on it staying that way forever.

State regulators said they plan to revisit the issue. They also said the matter could wind up in the Legislature.

As you drive through rural Iowa, you decide to stop and eat at a local restaurant. The place looks and smells wonderful. You have a seat and the waiter brings you a big glass of water with a slice of lemon on the side and asks if you're ready to order. You're really hungry and decide on the ribeye plate and ask for cottage cheese in place of the green beans. The waiter's face goes red and he begins to explain that he will not serve orders containing both meat and dairy as this contradicts his religious belief and Kosher practices. Although you are not sure why his religious beliefs should dictate what you (the customer) do, you leave and eat at another restaurant. Unfortunately, this is the only restaurant in town and you'll have to drive another 59 miles for another.

You manage a group of road workers and need to ensure a proper number of active workers on each day. As you move individuals to various teams and send them out on jobs, you get word of severe traffic delays at one particular work site. Upon arrival at the location, you discover one of the workers assigned to assist with narrowed traffic flow is a Muslim and requires several breaks each day to pray.

A local boy asks your permission to date your 15-year-old daughter. Impressed with his respect for you and your family, you agree, but only if you are allowed to chaperone. When the first big night arrives, the group travels to the local theater for a movie. The orthodox Mormon at the ticket counter, however, refuses to sell tickets to young couples on dates since his religious beliefs dictate teens should not date until they are 16.

Back in mid-January, the Iowa Pharmacy Examiners Board approved a series of amendments which affect how pharmacies and pharmacists in our state implement and maintain services. These approved amendments (PDF) are set to be incorporated into existing law unless interested persons object.

While the amendments cover a wide variety of subjects, we'd like to concentrate on a new rule (located on page 2 of the PDF), 657--8.10(147,155a), and in particular the second clause of that new section.

657--8.10(147,155A) Refusal to fill prescription or dispense drug. Pharmacy personnel shall assist a patient requesting an unavailable drug, or a patient requesting a drug not provided based on the pharmacist's conscientious objection or refusal, to identify another pharmacy or other legal source that may be able to provide the drug.

8.10(1) Discretionary refusal. A pharmacist may exercise discretion and refuse to fill any prescription or dispense any drug based on any of the following factors:

a. The pharmacist is unsatisfied as to the legitimacy or appropriateness of the prescription presented.

b. The pharmacist is unsatisfied as to the validity of any photographic identification.

c. The pharmacist is unsatisfied as to the identity of the patient presenting a prescription or of any person acting on behalf of the patient.

8.10(2) Conscientious objection and refusal. A pharmacist may refuse to fill any prescription based on the pharmacist's ethical or moral beliefs. The pharmacist shall notify the pharmacist's employer prior to invoking a conscientious objection to the dispensing of any drug or class of drugs.

This new section allows pharmacists to refuse to provide medications to anyone, regardless of the presence of a doctor's prescription or urgency of need. While pharmacist conscientious objection has typically been an issue only in terms of emergency contraceptives and more traditional birth control, the proposed change is not limited to reproductive-related medications. This has led other groups to wonder if their medications might be next.

Such a policy (as outlined in the hypothetical situations at the top) is impractical, especially late at night in emergency situations where medications must be taken within a certain time period. Even outside of those urgent cases, however, working class and poor women have a difficult time getting enough time off work or money to travel from one pharmacy to another. Young women, who are often frightened and unsure of themselves, may simply give up when confronted by a judgmental pharmacist.

Finally, pharmacists, although aware of the medication being prescribed, may not be aware of the conditions prompting the prescription. Two years ago, my then 13-year-old daughter was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). As one portion of treatment, her doctor prescribed birth control pills (regulate menstrual cycles, inhibit increased hair growth and help with skin problem). She and I took the prescription into the pharmacy our family had used for years and presented it to the pharmacist. Once the pharmacist realized who the prescription was for, he refused to fill it, citing religious objection.

Without consideration as to my daughter's diagnosis, this so-called professional attempted to make a medical decision based on his religious beliefs?!

Needless to say, we no longer use that pharmacy and never will again. Fortunately, we live in a metro area with several pharmaceutical choices and the prescription was not an urgent need.

If you see distinction between abortion and contraception; between what a physician does and what a pharmacist does; or between performing a medical procedure and dispensing medication the Iowa Pharmacy Board needs to hear your voice.

If you believe the Fifth Amendment prohibits deprivation of personal liberty without due process, then the Iowa Pharmacy Board needs to hear from you before 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Correspondence on this matter should be sent in writing to Terry Witkowski, Executive Officer, Iowa Board of Pharmacy.

Postal address:
400 SW 8th Street, Suite E, Des Moines, IA 50309-4688

Email:
terry.witkowski@ibpe.state.ia.us

Fax:
(515) 281-4609

In the end it boils down to burden and, when the choice arises, the burden must fall on the pharmacist (who knows in advance of his/her own moral reservations) and his/her employer (who should also know in advance the self-imposed obligations of employees). The customer who may well be pregnant, frantic, poor and short on time cannot have expectations of timely, professional service undermined by another person's religious belief. Nor should the physician who wrote a medical prescription in good faith and after patient consultation be undermined by another individual outside the scope of medical decisions.

Yeah, you know what's coming...

What a difference a week makes! Just 10 days ago, Senate Minority Leader Mary Lundby was praising Gov. Chet Culver for his four nominees to the Iowa Board of Regents.

Culver's appointments are subject to Senate confirmation, and initial reaction from lawmakers was positive Thursday.

"They look like outstanding Iowans," said Senate Minority Leader Mary Lundby, R-Marion. "They certainly appear to be qualified."

Lundby praised Culver for shaking up the board's membership.

"I think it was a very wise thing to do, and it was necessary," Lundby said.

Within hours praise had turned to grumbling as the Register announced two of the nominees "gave almost as much to [Culver's] gubernatorial campaign as more than 100 new appointees to state boards and commissions combined." Donations from Bonnie Campbell, David Miles and their spouses totaled over $60,000. Of the 180 appointments announced at the same time, the appointees represented over $135,000 which had been contributed to his campaign... or roughly $750 per person. What the article does not state, however, is how many out of the 180 gave no donations to the campaign. Toward the end, it does take note that overall the campaign raised more than $8.2 million.

Doing some quick math:
Miles and his wife gave $39,500
Campbell and her husband gave $23,000
David Erickson (Iowa Finance Authority Board) gave $29,500
Rich Eychaner (Iowa Civil Rights Commission) gave $15,000
Donald Timmins (Accountancy Examining Board) gave $4,500
Margaret Whitworth (Board of Pharmacy Examiners) gave $2,900
That's a total of $114,400
Subtract that from the $135,475 total listed in the Register and you're left with $21,075

There were originally 180 people appointed
Minus the six listed above
Leaves 174 people to share those remaining contributions.

Basically, if what was left was divided evenly among those remaining, it would amount to $121.12. Wow. Stop the presses.

"If he is that indebted to them and they are that indebted to him, you have to question it," she said. "It also creates the perception that you can buy an appointment. What will average Iowans think? 'God, I'll never aspire to a high committee in government because I simply can't afford it.' "

Well, obviously, we aren't the first to think of doing the math. For those wanting to make an issue of the campaign contributions, there was also another big roadblock: the other two nominees to the Board of Regents weren't supporters... they weren't even Democrats.

Craig Lang serves as President of the Iowa Farm Bureau, an organization which actively opposed the Culver-Judge gubernatorial ticket and donated at least $40,000 to the Republican gubernatorial candidate. Jack Evans, president of The Hall-Perrine Foundation, donated at least $1,750 to 2nd District Republican Congressional candidate Jim Leach and at least $250 to Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle.

When it became obvious that Iowans weren't buying the 'buying appointments' memo, a new complaint emerged. If confirmed, the new Board of Regents would have no representatives from Western Iowa serving. Previously Tom Bedell, of Spirit Lake, served on the Board but resigned following the chaos involved in the University of Iowa president search.

When the nominees appeared before the House Education Committee, Evans highlighted his governing role at Coe College while also pointing out that he was originally from Early (Sac County) in northwestern Iowa and continues to maintain a family farm in that area. Although the committee sent the nominees to the floor with only one dissenting vote, the confidence and geographical history didn't seem to be enough for Lundby.

"I grew up in Carroll," said Senate Minority Leader Mary Lundby, R-Marion. "And you can ask my caucus any given day if I represent western Iowa. They will tell you no."

Two-thirds of the Iowa Senate must approve for the nominees to be confirmed. Democrats control the chamber 30 to 20 which leaves them four votes shy of what is needed. The Iowa Board of Regents governs University of Iowa, Iowa City; Iowa State University, Ames; University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls; Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, Vinton; Iowa School for the Deaf, Council Bluffs; Lakeside Lab Regents Resource Center, Okoboji; Quad-Cities Graduate Center, Quad Cities; Southwest Iowa, Regents Resource Center, Council Bluffs; and Tri-State Graduate Center, Sioux City.

The Regent Nominees (taken from a press release by the Governor's office)

Bonnie Campbell: The only woman who has ever been Iowa's attorney general, a position she held from 1990 through 1994. Currently, she focuses on providing crisis management in publicized matters in her legal practice. She is a Democrat and lives in Des Moines.

Jack Evans: The president of the Hall-Perrine Foundation, a private Cedar Rapids philanthropic corporation. He sits on the Board of Directors of Gazette Communications and has experience on the floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange. He is a Republican and lives in Cedar Rapids.

Craig Lang: The president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, an organization that he joined in 1992, when he was elected as the District 6 representative. Along with his father and brother, Lang farms more than 1,000 acres, where they own 400 dairy operations. He is a Republican and lives in Brooklyn.

David Miles: The chief financial officer of Countryside Renewable Energy Inc. He has financial experience, which he developed as the executive vice president of Principal Mutual Funds. Miles is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a Democrat. He lives in West Des Moines.

This afternoon, a very historic event took place in the Russell Senate Office Building. U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy and Barbara Boxer joined with U.S. Representatives Carolyn Maloney, John Dingell, Lynn Woolsey and Jerrold Nadler to announce the reintroduction of the Women's Equality Amendment. The group of legislators were joined by Ellie Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority and strong leader on the fight for women's equality.

Originally introduced in 1923, the ERA passed Congress in 1972, but fell three states short of ratification. Of course, Concerned Women for America (not to be confused with women who are actually concerned for women) have already come out swinging.

(Historical Note of Interest: Sen. Kennedy and Rep. Maloney introduced ERA bills in the 108th Congress (2003-04) -- SJ Res 11 and HJ Res 37, respectively.)

For those who either never knew or have forgotten:

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

A military recruiter has come under scrutiny following a heated email exchange which she initiated. According to reports, a male civilian placed his resume on Careerbuilder.com where it was noticed by Army Recruiter Marcia Ramode. Ramode sent an inquiry email to the civilian who responded that he was not interested in a position and that he was gay.

What followed was a three-day email exchange in which Ramode, using her official military account, labeled the civilian as "disgusting and immoral" and tells him to "migrate to another country." (All the while using some of the most horrible grammar I've ever seen. When I first read the emails, they were so horrible I thought it must be a joke. Sadly, it isn't.)

In one email the recruiter states (capitals and all): "YOU GO BACK TO AFRICA AND DO YOUR GAY VOODOO LIMBO TANGO AND WANGO DANCE AND JUMP AROUND AND PRANCE AND RUN ALL OVER THE PLACE HALF NAKED THERE AND PRACTICE YOUR GAY MORALS OVER THERE THAT'S WHERE YOU BELONG."

More information available at The Frontlines and Pam's House Blend.

The good folks over at IowaPolitics.com (We just discovered today that EE is included in their blogwatch -- THANKS!) have the full text of Sen. Staci Appel's comments on Election Day Voter Registration.

Here's a taste:

...While access to participate in our democracy is important, it is equally critical that we maintain the integrity of every vote.

This proposed legislation is quite strict. It requires an individual to provide proof of residence with a photo id in order to register and vote on Election Day. It also requires the individual to sign a written oath testifying that they have not already voted in any other precinct.

This legislation I believe with the proper safeguards and training is an effective way to improve voter access and participation...

Marie Wilson and all the great people at The White House Project have finished up training sessions in Minnesota.

The sessions were held over a three-day period in Chaska at the Conference Center. For those interested in running for office (soon or someday) the information provided is extremely valuable. There are two more training sessions planned this spring. The next will be April 27 to 29 in Mableton, GA and the final will be May 19 and 20 in Denver, CO. Applications are being accepted for both sessions.

For those who want a sneak peek of the program, several video clips have been posted.

If you haven't already, head over to Crooks and Liars and check out the video of Ann Althouse and Jessica Valenti. Wow.

Planned Parenthood has formed a Pill Patrol and needs volunteers to sign up and check local pharmacies for emergency contraception.

Last night while driving I-80, I took advantage of the quiet (and forced myself to stay awake) by listening to conservative talk radio. I wish I could tell you which head was talking. I think it was Michael Reagan... at least I know another topic of conversation I listened to ("John Edwards must think his wife's cancer is a blessing") was hosted by Reagan but I cannot remember if what I want to discuss here was also Reagan or if I flipped the station. Oh well... it was definitely one of them.

I almost changed the channel after listening for a few moments because I thought it was a rerun. The topic of conversation was... of course... Hillary Clinton and Merle Haggard's song, "Let's Put a Woman in Charge." For most of us this song is... well... old news. It seems, however, that FOX news just picked up on it while covering Clinton's weekend fundraiser in Hollywood. In any event, the announcer picked up on that song and asked if listeners felt that song was true. "Is there anyone out there who is voting for Hillary Clinton just because she is a woman?" he asked. "Call in and let us know why you think a woman needs to be President."

He went on to add his thoughts on the Clinton campaign targeting women (and how the GOP should be very leery in placing Clinton against Giuliani because of his past 'indiscretions' with women). He also inferred the only reason someone would vote for Hillary was because of her gender since, according to the host, she had no other credentials.

While this discussion offered a great deal of blog fodder, I hadn't planned on writing about it. That changed this afternoon when I was once again in the car and once again tuned into conservative talk radio. This afternoon Rush Limbaugh launched into yet another castigation on feminism. According to Rush, we all know someone who had a boy and painted his room pink and gave him Barbie dolls to play with. We also all know someone who had a little girl, painted her room blue and give her G.I. Joe to play with. Also according to Rush, such people had been fooled into believing something which wasn't true. Basically, Rush launched his own 'nature' vs. 'nurture' argument without using those words and, according to Rush, nurture has nothing to do with how we interact and behave. Such differences, again according to Rush, are a part of us from the beginning.

While discussing the little boy in the pink room with the Barbies, Rush said the parents were shocked when the boy had the Barbies fight, "kill each other and play war." He added, "that is what boys do."

If that is the case (and, of course, Rush has never been mistaken... just ask him!) then I guess the other conservative talk show host now has his answer.

Why would anyone give preference to or vote for someone just because of their gender?

Well, according to Rush Limbaugh, it's because boys like to make things fight, kill each other and 'play war.' Those of us who wish to see an end to war then can play politico-eugenics and remove boys from the system.

Unfortunately, Rush gave no insights as to how the girls in the blue rooms behave with G.I. Joe. There's always tomorrow!

The Denver Post is reporting Angela "Bay" Buchanan has been named one of the top advisors in Rep. Tom Tancredo's possible presidential bid. Bay is best known as the sister of Pat Buchanan. She directed Pat's three bids for the White House. She continues to share many of the same goals as her brother and they work together (she as president, he as chairman) on The American Cause, a site which attacks globalism and preaches what they call "conservatism of the heart."

In addition to working with her brother, she also served as U.S. Treasurer during the Reagan Administration. (At age 32, she was the youngest person to ever serve in that post.) Bay is chairwoman of Team America, Tancredo's PAC. It primarily collects and distributes money to politicians who share Tancredo's views, especially his extreme immigration views.

She has also been a commentator on The Situation Room and Inside Politics. Most recently she earned the ire of many Democrats when she falsely claimed on ABC's Good Morning America that Nancy Pelosi was "letting everybody know that she's going to spend two years with impeachment hearings."

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this announcement is from a religious viewpoint. Originally a Roman Catholic, she converted to Mormonism in 1976. While Buchanan hasn't typically had much pull within the overall Mormon community, her appointment must be a blow to former Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign which thought the Mormon angle was sewn up.

While everyone knows we Iowans are all about the warm fuzzies, yesterday's Vilsack endorsement of the Clinton Campaign may have been less about the fuzz and more about the dough.

According to a post at the NY Times, the Clinton Campaign has agreed to help 'erase' at least a portion of the $430,000 debt Tom Vilsack accumulated in his own Presidential bid. The politicians are pointing to past personal connections (Christie Vilsack's brother, Tom Bell, served with Clinton on the Watergate Committee), but the public doesn't seem to be convinced.

A random poll of four people on the streets of downtown Cedar Rapids this morning showed that while all believed the endorsement was done for monetary gain, none found it shocking. "It's politics," said one woman while she laughed and walked away. "What do you expect?"

Another gentleman lamented the irony of Vilsack's recent calls for clean elections and grassroots politics while planning to back "one of the largest political machines in the world."

Iowans still remember when Vilsack took employment opportunities with MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. as a consultant on renewable energy and Drake University Law School as a visiting professor. In short, Iowans know their former Governor was not left penniless when he walked out of Terrace Hill two months ago.

While it will still be interesting to view the financial papers filed by the Vilsack and Clinton campaigns at the end of the month (made available April 15), don't expect any big revelations as to where the money came from and where it went. Chances are, the strategists have already decided not to let loose any funds until after the March 31st deadline, ensuring nothing will be reported until the next cycle. Even then, it will probably be buried under salaries, with Vilsack then paying his vendors from his private pockets. (Wonder how much a national chairman and Iowa Co-Chairwoman make?) The campaigns are no doubt hoping that most will forget by mid-summer and no one will take the time to dig deep enough to make the connections.

Those interested may also wish to view the two letters Tom Vilsack signed recently. The first requests money for his own campaign and the second requests the same for the Clinton campaign. The first letter went into the mail late last week and the second was an email blast by the Clinton Campaign just moments after the endorsement was official.

Be sure to read the second and let us know your thoughts on this statement:

Today, Christie and I made a contribution to Hillary's campaign, and we did it for two reasons.

Does that say/read what I think it says/reads?

A Women for Hillary Power Lunch has been scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. tomorrow, March 28. At that time, there will be a live web chat with Campaign Manager Patti Solis Doyle, Senior Advisor Ann Lewis, Director of Policy Neera Tanden and Senior Policy Advisor Leecia Eve. More info available on the Clinton web site.

There's a quick and interesting read in the Quad City paper today about one of Iowa's newest Democratic Congressmen, Bruce Braley. It seems that Braley, a freshman from Iowa's first district, chaired a House meeting. While this may not seem like a big deal, the article states that historians at the paper "could not find any Iowa freshman to chair a subcommittee back to at least 1959."

EE is also happy to note that the 'initial chairing' was done in order to take testimony from female business owners in reference to the difficulties they've faced in winning federal contracts. The hearing coincided with the Women's Chamber of Commerce conference. Braley has stated that he plans to push government agencies to lower barriers and reach out to female-owned companies, especially those in the midwest.

We'll be holding you to that promise, Bruce!

Perhaps because he was aware Sen. Hillary Clinton would be in Des Moines this morning, Sen. Sam Brownback is scheduled to begin his in Iowa in the typical liberal stronghold known as Iowa City. Here are the particulars for those interested:

Iowa City Coffee Reception with Senator Sam Brownback
9 to 10:30 a.m.
Wig and Pen, 840 South Riverside Dr., Iowa City

Des Moines Luncheon with Senator Sam Brownback
Noon to 1 p.m.
Machine Shed, 11151 Hickman Rd., Des Moines

While in Des Moines, Brownback plans to address the Iowa House GOP Caucus and meet with the Register's editorial board.

Very quickly, because even I'm growing tired of the Clinton-Vilsack speculation... There's an article at the New York Sun stating that not only will the Vilsack's be endorsing Clinton, but will take on key roles within the campaign.

Sources said Mr. Vilsack will be named a national chairman of the campaign in Des Moines today, while his wife, Christie, will be named co-chairwoman of the Iowa operation.

The article also quotes former IDP Chair Gordon Fischer about the strength of both Vilsack's endorsement and his ground operation in our state. While Gordon is a terrific person and overall good man, he's far from an unbiased bystander when it comes to Tom Vilsack. Lest we forget, Gordon stated his prediction about the Vilsack campaign from the very beginning:

...As I said, I'll be blogging much more about this, obviously, but for now, I'm predicting it flat out: President Vilsack.

While most activists in Iowa understand and appreciate Gordon's position, it is worrisome when he is picked up by the national press and slapped with only his 'former chair' label. As of late, and especially when discussing Vilsack, Gordon has been more of a stalking horse than a state ambassador.

One other issue with the article: "The Vilsack endorsement could deliver the biggest blow to Senator Obama, because Senator Edwards already has a strong Iowa infrastructure from his run in 2004. It could also prompt some of Mr. Vilsack's Iowa staffers to defect to Mrs. Clinton."

Those Vilsack staffers who haven't already found a home with another campaign are probably jobless for a reason. This is Iowa! Last week my dog received a lucrative offer from one of the hopefuls. The cat is debating between local or national races.

As for dealing blows to other campaigns, it is doubtful -- at least from our perspective -- if Sen. Barack Obama will be touched by the endorsement. Currently, he seems to be utilizing his 'rockstar' image to full advantage in Iowa, tapping potential pools of previously non-active caucus-goers. While his campaign won't be purposefully pushing anyone away, some long-time Iowa activists have expressed they feel overlooked and/or ignored while the Obama folks court the newcomers.

The article is on the money about Sen. John Edwards. As we previously reported his staff went quickly to work, pulling Vilsack supporters into their own camp.

There are good quotes and insights toward the end of the article from Drake professor Arthur Sanders.

One thing is for certain, Iowans have seen Vilsack come from the bottom to win more than one political contest. It's difficult to ever completely rule him -- or his influence -- out.

A few moments ago I received a phone call which lit the light bulb dangling above my head. While it is true the Clinton Campaign expects two major endorsements tomorrow, my caller informed me the only name I need to know is "Vilsack." That is, both Vilsacks.

The scenario -- and I have to admit here that I don't know for sure if the speculation is true -- makes sense. While then Gov. Tom Vilsack remained neutral in the 2004 Presidential race, First Lady Christie Vilsack provided strong support to Sen. John Kerry. Many believe her support was crucial to his win in the Iowa caucus. It was also a move which pushed Christie into the national spotlight during the convention in Boston.

You may have read the article in today's Des Moines Register which discussed a roughly $250,000 spending boost for the Iowa Highway Patrol's Executive Protection Unit. The funding increase, according to the article, is to provide salary, benefits, equipment, training, uniforms and cars for two additional troopers.

The additional troopers are needed, said Communications Director Brad Anderson, because of the two young Culver children and "additional security concerns." Gov. Chet Culver and his wife Mari Culver have two children: Clare, age 6, and John, age 4. In addition, Mari continues to work part time for a Des Moines law firm.

While a quarter of a million dollars isn't 'chump change' by any means, it also isn't too much to ask when lives are at stake. Our Governor, his family and our Lieutenant Governor are well worth the investment, regardless of which letter falls behind their names.

According to staffers in the Clinton campaign, there will be two key endorsements on Monday. Former Gov. Vilsack has already indicated he will be one. Is Sen. Tom Harkin (a former Vilsack supporter) the other? Or, is it Rep. Leonard Boswell? He might be beholden to do so since Clinton has agreed to keynote his fundraiser on April 21.

In the Granite State, former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen has stated she will remain neutral... her husband, Bill Shaheen, has come forward to publicly endorse Clinton.

On Friday, the Chicago Sun-Times ran an article about three Waverly women who get together for knitting and conversation -- mainly political conversations. It was a great piece which shows just how intelligent and interested Iowa women are in the political process.

Lt. Gov. Patty judge toured at least two corporate darlings of the renewable energy industry this past week in order to generate support for the Iowa Power Fund. The fund, currently under consideration by the Iowa Legislature would provide $100 million over four years for research projects and assisting renewable energy industries in developing alternative energy sources. To date, specific details on how the money would be invested have not be released.

The Pew Research Center has released figures which show not only is the Bush legacy in trouble, but the entire strategy of the GOP -- to bridge the national divide between individuals who identify as Democratic and those who identify as Republican -- has been placed in danger. Americans are moving back to their historic roots of roughly 50 percent of the population being Democratic and 35 percent Republican.

GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is stuck between a rock and a hard place. That is, he is stuck between President Bush and a key endorser, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. One of Romney's key achievements is the salvation of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and it was followed by Romney vouching for Anderson in the 2003 campaign ad for re-election.

Currently, however, the mayor has gone on the record calling for the impeachment of both Bush and Cheney. This has prompted Romney to state to the Associated Press that he does not endorse or support the mayor's views on the Bush Administration.

Speaking of Sen. Dodd, he sent out an email to supporters this week comparing the race with American Idol: "Running for President has become a bit like American Idol. But beyond the glamour and glitz of celebrity politics, there are some time tested barometers measuring success: leadership, momentum, and fundraising," he wrote.

Since the Senator has quietly but effectively won straw poll victories in both New York and South Carolina and has come in second in the money race, we think more folks should probably be paying attention to his campaign.

The Iowa Democratic Party is seeking nominations for the 8th annual Hall of Fame scheduled for Saturday, June 2, in Cedar Rapids.

First, its so good to see the IDP doing anything outside of Des Moines. Here's hoping this starts a trend.

Each year, two individuals are inducted into the Hall of Fame and placed in a photo gallery at the headquarters. There are several categories:

Outstanding Elected Official Hall of Fame Award
Criteria: This award is presented to an elected official whose tremendous support and dedication influenced both the State of Iowa and the Democratic Party. The nominees for this award may be selected from all levels of government including elected officials of the United States or State of Iowa, and county elected officials.

Outstanding Supporter Hall of Fame Award
Criteria: This award will honor an individual who has supported the Iowa Democratic Party and all aspects of Democratic politics throughout the years. This individual has selflessly been a resource to Iowa Democrats through means of organizational efforts, monetary support, volunteer work, and overall steadfast dedication.

Minnette Doderer Award for Outstanding Leadership
Criteria: Presented in recognition of outstanding leadership as a Democratic Party Activist.

Jim Lodwick Award for Outstanding State Central Committee Member
Criteria: Presented in recognition of outstanding leadership as a Democratic State Central Committee Member.

Bob Creech Award for Outstanding Democratic Party Chair
Criteria: Presented in recognition of outstanding leadership as a Democratic Party County Chair.

Dixon Terry Award for Outstanding Democratic Party Activist
Criteria: Presented in recognition of outstanding service as a Democratic Party activist.

Rising Star Award
Criteria: Presented to someone who has recently become very involved in Democratic politics in Iowa and shows promise to become an outstanding activist.

Those wishing to nominate someone for any of the seven awards listed above, should prepare a statement as to why the person deserves the award and either fax or email the documents to Carissa Swanstrom at 515-244-7292 or cswanstrom@iowademocrats.org. Nominations must be received by Monday, April 16.

We were considering nominating either Deeth or Miller, but there doesn't seem to be any blogger categories. Sorry guys!

It's pretty easy to get caught up in the politics of the day. Did you see that video? How many people turned out for that rally? He said what in Nevada?! Actually, it is way too easy to find yourself buried under the daily happenings and ripples. What I want and need you to do right now is step back from it all and count to 10, slowly and backwards. Go ahead... do it.

There. Doesn't that feel better?

Now I want you to see the box of everyday politics but not go back inside of it. Instead, I want you to consider what was going on prior to the 2004 election. Sen. John Kerry had been named the Democratic nominee (although not officially). He was looking around for a running mate and several names were being tossed around. Who was being considered?

At that same time, the DNC was considering another dress rehearsal of the dreaded (at least in Iowa and New Hampshire) calendar committee which would take a look at, and possibly make adjustments to, the 2008 Presidential contest calendar.

Who holds the most power in the DNC? (Hint: It isn't the Chairman) One of the most powerful men in Iowa was on very good terms with the person who could, effectively and with one word, put an end to the calendar committee. Knowing what was at stake for Iowa, why wouldn't that "Iowan" go to bat for the home team?

Skip forward now to the formation of the calendar committee and the Iowans who were a part of the voting process. Once everything was made public, those same individuals were the first to claim to voting with New Hampshire (that is, voting against the calendar which placed Nevada between Iowa and New Hampshire, VIOLATING OUR OWN STATE LAW). If that was true, why was/is New Hampshire so ticked off at Iowa? Could it be that there was a series of votes and the Iowans only sided with our longterm NH friends on the final vote? Knowing a strong partnership with New Hampshire was a very good thing for Iowa, why would those sent to the DNC to represent Iowa vote against our best interests?

And why now, when faced with the fact that the current DNC calendar violates our own state law (the one which requires the Iowa caucus to be at least eight days prior to any other Presidential contest), why has no action been taken by the State Central Committee to rectify the situation? Hell, the way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if party leaders asked Democratic elected officials to change the election law to allow for Nevada to be put between Iowa and New Hampshire!

As we've stated before, this is the time for Iowa's true leaders to stand up. We must repair the relationship with Iowa and New Hampshire. We must take any and all necessary steps to guarantee Iowa goes first in the nation -- and at least eight days ahead of any other contest.

Above all else, we the people need to make our voices heard. We need to remind our Democratic leaders they were sent to the DNC as representatives of Iowa -- not to represent the DNC to Iowans. What is happening right now is proof those representing Iowa to the DNC are either disingenuous or incompetent. Either way, they should be immediately replaced.

Getting back to the daily political box of happenings, let's consider what the rumor mill is serving up: former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, fresh from ending his own campaign for lack of funds, is set to endorse the candidate with the deepest pockets (Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton). Why?

Clinton has just about everything going for her right now. She has money, name recognition, money, Bill, money, JoDee, money, powerful friends, money, huge rallies, money and, of course, money. While all those things are pretty important when facing a Super Tuesday event such as what is shaping up on Feb. 5, they aren't 'all that' when campaigning in Iowa. Matter-of-fact, nearly all of those things she has going for her are liabilities in Iowa where retail politics just don't play.

There is a reason why Sen. Barack Obama and Clinton are seeing their campaigns lose steam in Iowa while others (i.e., former Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Chris Dodd) are moving forward. Iowa's caucus-going public doesn't like being one of 1,000 at an event. Candidates are not merely convincing a constituent to go behind a curtain and pull a lever or fill in an oval. Here people must be inspired to become ambassadors of their chosen candidate and bring others to him/her. That, thank God, cannot happen by advertisement and mega-events alone.

In short, all the money in the world cannot buy an Iowa caucus win. It's what makes us different from the rest of the nation and one of the key reasons we have and should be first in the nation.

If you want to understand the importance of meeting or beating expectations when it comes to Iowa, go visit with Gov. Howard Dean. When Iowa goes first, and there is at least an eight day window for the press coverage and bounce, candidates know they must win the game of expectations.

I know that box is calling you to come back and look at the latest video or transcript, but before you go... please consider: Who would benefit if the importance of the Iowa caucuses was diminished?

Okay... let's get that out of the way first...

I'm one of the lucky quarter of all Iowans who live in an area requiring those purchasing a legal substance to leave their name and number behind... for eternity. That's right, if you're gonna buy a keg in Marion, you're gonna register your keg in Marion. (Unless, of course, you drive the five minutes into Cedar Rapids.)

Let me first mention I'm a little concerned about the fact that I'm once again getting ready to plant my ass firmly on a Republican point. (Whoa, boys, it's not to be taken literally!) The keg registration legislation is the same for the state as it was for Marion: pointless.

Here's my disclaimer: I'm not a drinker and I don't believe I've every purchased a keg in my entire life. I can only think of perhaps two or three parties I've attended where there were kegs. Quite frankly, I've seen more kegs at political events than I've ever seen at parties. Contrary to my children's belief, however, I was young and a bit wild on the edges once. I attended my fair share of parties both as an underage person and as a 'legal adult.' So... some of the things I know to be true:

1. Most people buying for underage people aren't buying kegs! (Usually they are buying for the underage folks because they are:
   1. Barely legal drinking age
   2. Three sheets to the wind already
   3. Wanting more alcohol
   4. Spending the money the underage kids provided for the booze
2. Most of the time the kids who get into the keg do so without an adult knowing about it
3. When preparing for a weekend party, the 'kids' will often travel from store to store, buying a 12-pack or case at each one. This is done because:
   1. If the buyer is underage, the clerk/cashier is less likely to card him/her for such a small amount
   2. if the buyer is an adult and buying for someone underage, purchasing a small amount is less memorable than a large amount
4. The holy grail of the underage party is Cowboy Kool-Aid (no beer required)

Quite frankly, this legislation doesn't and won't affect me at all. I doubt there will ever come a time when I'll need or want to buy a keg of beer. It is, in my opinion, useless government red tape which only serves to complicate matters for people who are doing something completely legal. Further, it is quite possibly an infringement on privacy since personal information isn't destroyed upon the keg's return... or even 48 hours or week after the keg's return.

Instead of making such laws, we should concentrate on changing our society's relationship with alcohol. After all, we should be a country which learns from it's ... *cough* prohibition *cough*... mistakes.

Our society will not be able to overcome the 'mystification' of sex, alcohol and drugs until we stop putting them up on pedestals in front of our children.

It has always been my belief that people come into your life not for specific periods of time, but for specific purposes -- some of which will not be realized until years after you and the person have parted ways. Life and its lessons are just that way.

Several years ago when I was having a particularly difficult time dealing with the death of our son, I picked up the phone and called a friend I hadn't spoken to in months. I just felt we needed each other in that moment. Sure enough, she was also having a difficult time. A very close friend of hers was battling breast cancer and the outlook was not good.

We spoke at length about life, death and the so very precious moments in between. I told her I could never understand why it always seemed to be the best people who had to go through the worst. (You never hear of Charles Manson contracting cancer or dealing with the death of a loved one.) She agreed with me and then explained it better than I could have:

"That's because the shits would never inspire us."

It is difficult to watch good people go through crappy situations, but there is a purpose. They inspire us.

All our love and prayers, Elizabeth. You are an inspiration and an excellent role model. We're happy to have you in the public arena and know you possess strength we haven't even seen yet.

Clerks in the Iowa House and Senate continue to collect items and monetary donations for "Operation May Baskets" and could use your help, but the final deadline is looming. The baskets will soon be on their way to Iowa soldiers serving overseas.

Project Coordinator Jean Olson reports, "As of today, we have collected 125 names of Iowans serving overseas. The last day we can accept names and addresses and/or donations will be Thursday, March 29. We plan to fill and mail the boxes on April 5."

Those who wish to contribute are asked to remember that the containers are roughly the size of shoe boxes. Therefore, small items are needed. Participants are also encouraged to pack items in small plastic containers to avoid crushing. Such containers don't add weight to packages, and are invaluable for storing opened foods and for keeping the sand out of treasured possessions.

It is very important for personal care items and really anything with a smell (such as air fresheners) to be packed in a separate box from food items. If it isn't, the warm weather allows the odor to seep into food items (even if they are double-bagged). Soap should never go in the same box with food.

Checks should be made out to "Operation May Baskets." Donations (including checks) can be mailed to:

Operation May Baskets
House Post Office
2nd Floor, Iowa State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319

Personal care items on the soldiers' wish list include:

The most requested food and snack items are:

A few other highly requested items and/or nice things to include in care packages are disposable cameras, batteries (AA and AAA especially), international phone cards, panty liners, laundry detergent in individual packs, fabric freshening spray, clothes pins and a clothesline, fly swatters, rodent traps, fly paper, letters of support, pens, stationary, greeting cards, journals, puzzle books, small sports equipment, travel size games, freezer weight zip baggies, Bounce dryer sheets, insect repellent (look for the type that helps with sand flies), cigars, Brita sports bottles with extra filters, small picture frames (especially magnetic ones) and flash lights.

For more information on this very important project, please send email to clerkmaybaskets@aol.com. As always, our deepest gratitude to our military families.

It appears at least one issue is able to draw bipartisan support in Des Moines this legislative session: Brain Drain.

Brain drain is a slang term to describe the exodus of young and bright Iowans from their home state. (As a side note, your author has long lobbied for a bio-dome over at least parts of Iowa... like my home... which would maintain the environment at a blissful 80 year 'round. I believe such an advance would go a long way toward encouraging people to weather yet another Iowa winter. But I digress...) Earlier this month, we told you about a bill seeking the formation of a Generation Iowa Commission. Now there is a similar bill in the Iowa House sponsored by Rep. Tami Wiencek (R-Black Hawk), Rep. Dawn Pettengill (D-Benton) and Rep. Jeff Kaufmann (R-Cedar) dubbed the "Iowa Advantage Fund."

This new bill has duel aims:

1. Make Iowa employers more attractive to young graduates just starting out
2. Help new graduates pay down college debt

These goals are accomplished by providing tax incentives to businesses who agree to help repay education loans for students from Iowa institutions. The students would become employees and would need to make at least $25,000 per year for the incentive. Businesses would be given a tax credit equal to 30 percent of the paid loan. The repayment would be scheduled over a three year time frame.

In addition to the three sponsors, the measure is also - surprisingly - being supported by Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D-Johnson) who anticipates introducing similar legislation on his side of the dome. The support is surprising because the measure is the original brain-child of University of Iowa professor Jay Christensen-Szalanski, a gentleman who ran against Bolkcom.

The proposed legislation is in the Ways and Means Committee on the House side and, as such, was not subject to the recent funnel week. Kudos to all involved for walking across party lines and building legislation to fill needs.

While it's unusual to see a generally conservative group dining on a Republican lawmaker, it seems Iowa Sen. Nancy Boettger (R-Shelby) has drawn the ire of a national tax watchdog group for her vote to add $1 per pack to cigarettes.

In a recent press release, Americans for Tax Reform stated disappointment in Boettger for breaking a signed promise to "oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes."

"It is disappointing that Sen. Boettger violated her Taxpayer Protection Pledge...Her constituents were counting on her to vote against higher taxes and she let them down," continued [ATR President Grover] Norquist.

The press release added that six of Iowa's Senators have signed the pledge; however EE administrators could only find five listed on the ATR site: Boettger (SD 29); Sen. James Hahn (SD 40); David Johnson (SD 3); Larry McKibben (SD 22) and Mark Zieman (SD 8). In another discrepancy, the release indicated 19 members of the Iowa House had signed the pledge, but the document referenced above provides 23 names. Perhaps four have already broken a promise?

The obvious person missing from the list of Senators is Mary Lundby. Perhaps Boettger should take a page out of the longtime lawmaker's book, "never say never," and save herself some future embarrassment.

Newspapers throughout the state (and probably the nation) are applauding the death of a measure in the Iowa Senate which would have allowed government "28Es" to post public notices electronically instead of in the traditional print format. While there is another, similar proposal in the House, it has been chewed down to the bone with no meat left to threaten the rags.

For Iowans, this is a good thing, although they might not see it that way at first. On one hand, governments could save thousands upon thousands of dollars by posting public notices on their web sites instead of paying the local newspapers to print them. On the other hand, however, the steady revenue streams from public notices are sometimes the only things keeping smaller papers afloat. As so many of our communities begin to either lose their local newspaper or see it swallowed by a large communications company, few will disagree with the importance of keeping many voices within the Iowa press or with keeping a local voice within each of our communities.

While the proposals in the Iowa Legislature this year were very limiting in scope, allowing only for "28E" entities to escape the newsprint requirement of public notices, the newspaper industry would see any move to chip away such steadfast revenue as a major threat.

While not relevant since it seems both measures in the Legislature are doomed, here's a very elementary definition of 28Es:

Such entities are formed when state and local governments cooperate to provide joint services and/or facilities (i.e., regional ambulance services, cooperative fire protection agreements). The name stems from the chapter within the Iowa Code which defines and limits them.

While this issue may have died for this particular session, it's bound to return. Local governments believe a better use of taxpayer funds would be on emergency services and infrastructure. Technology is becoming more and more the norm in Iowa households (although access speeds are still a major issue in the rural areas). In the majority of communities, Internet subscribers far outnumber newspaper subscribers. When push comes to shove (and it will), Iowans will need to decide if their local newspapers should stay in business, even if that means they are mainly subsidized by taxpayer funds via public notices.

Obviously the nation could not depend on evil Iowa, the land where people of color are not allowed to walk the streets - much less engage in the caucuses - to go first in the selection process. The nation also couldn't depend on tiny, but equally evil, New Hampshire to get it right. After all, you try to find a black man in either state who hasn't been turned white in his soul.

Because the nation would obviously fall apart with the Iowa-N.H. partnership leading off the selection process... and because the nation saw no benefit to allowing an open field of candidates (even ... *GASP* ... poor candidates!) compete for the nomination to our highest office... and because candidates in Iowa basements and living rooms with 20-25 local activists is just asking for trouble... we now have a brand new world to enjoy!

When it comes to the Super-Primary emerging for Feb. 5, 2008, your guess is as good as mine... of course, there are insights to be had. OH MY!! That's so much better than allowing Iowa and New Hampshire lead the way, isn't it?!

Here's a quick rundown of some of the bits and pieces you've might have missed:

Upcoming Peace Rallies

The folks over at Century of the Common Iowan have a nice list of the upcoming peace rallies in Iowa.

Clinton to headline for Boswell

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to headline a fundraiser to kickoff Iowa Rep. Leonard Boswell's re-election campaign. The fundraiser is slated for April 21 in Des Moines, according to the Clinton camp. No other details are yet available.

Judge appointed to national council

Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge was appointed to serve on the State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Government Coordinating Council for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The appointment is for one year and Judge said she plans to keep rural areas a focus of the group as well as major population centers.

Judge was also earlier named by Gov. Chet Culver as the Homeland Security Advisor for our state.

Fair Share bill waits for another day

There were not enough votes in the Iowa House for Democrats to want to debate Fair Share this week. And, according to the Des Moines Register, Rep. Dawn Pettengill (D-Mt Auburn) was seen by Republicans leaving the Democratic meeting with tear-stained cheeks.

The bill will sit throughout this week and is anticipated to come to the floor the week after.

Jacoby steps in for Petersen

Rep. David Jacoby (D-Coralville) was named interim Chair of the House Commerce Committee while Rep. Janet Petersen (D-Des Moines) is out on maternity leave.

The committee regulates business, financial institutions, insurance, utilities and real estate. It is one of the most powerful in the Iowa House.

In addition to his new assignment, Jacoby also serves on Appropriations, Human Resources and State Government committees. He is also a member of the Administrative Rules Review Committee.

It could be worse

According to Reuters, a Finnish member of parliament is aiming for re-election by campaigning with a translation of his web site into Klingon, used in the television series "Star Trek."

While we sometimes wish candidates spoke in obscure languages so they couldn't dominate every new cycle, Klingon is extreme even for us. Further the foreign politician said there have been translation difficulties since Klingon doesn't have words for tolerance and many colors (such as green, the party under whose banner he is running in the national elections tomorrow).

Of course, non-warriors can access his site in English, Swedish and Finnish.

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
The sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Alternate ending for our die-hard feminist friends: "May God hold you in the palm of her hand."

Much love to all of you today and always.

We (your friendly EE bloggers) are a bit frightened of opening our monthly phone bills. Since last weekend, we've been discussing, at every possible length, words which came from Sen. Barack Obama's mouth during his last trip into Iowa. And, no, this has nothing to do with the Middle East.

While speaking in Clinton last weekend, Sen. Obama made an off-hand comment (or at least that's what Lyn thought it to be at the time) about Iowa people wanting to grill all the Presidential hopefuls before making up their minds. He went on to add that he knew we all wanted to hear what "good-looking" Sen. John Edwards had to say.

Lyn at event: WHAAAAAAA?!?!

A short time later, Lyn placed a (the first of many) call(s) to Paige and relayed the oddness of the comment. Paige arranged to be in attendance at the Senator's stop the next day in Burlington and there heard him use basically the same strange statements, but with a twist: This time Edwards was referred to as "cute."

Paige at event: EEEWWWWW!!!!

Paige then phoned Lyn back and the two entered a conference call with Dee. Knowing that campaigns have often used Iowa as a testing ground when it comes to new ideas and so-forth, it was unfortunate we'd run out of consecutive Obama events in Iowa. Who knows where the progression would have led next?!

Throughout the week, we've batted our feelings about the Obama utterances back and forth in one-on-one and conference phone calls. One thing is for sure, no matter how the phrases were intended, they came out wrong as evidenced by the change between the two campaign stops. What the EE bloggers disagreed on was the level and intent of wrongness.

Wednesday evening we came to the conclusion that since no others seemed upset or even talking about the statements, we would just let it slide... unless Obama used them again. (While it's not likely such large groups in Iowa would still be considered 'testing grounds' by the campaign, we were willing to give the benefit of the doubt.) Unfortunately for Obama, The Hill picked up on the references too. Their take seems to be Obama was taking a jab at Edwards. This, at first glance, was one of our observations as well, but we eventually ruled it out as illogical. In polls, Edwards trails both Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Knowing that, why would Obama want to purposefully draw attention (even negative attention) to a contender ranking behind him? After all, one needs to only consider how the Edwards team made lemonade out of lemons during the recent Coulter nastiness to see how resourceful his staffers can be.

Speaking of the recent Coulter incident, we stand by our previous post stating the problem had nothing to do with Edwards being accused of gayness. The problem was -- and is -- the use of a term which negatively describes a group of people in such a way as to make that term even worse by its association to something so ugly that no one would want to be referred to with it. In other words, the term "faggot," ugly enough all on its own, was placed in a sentence as if being a faggot was the worst thing a person could ever be. Because of the outcry against Coulter for her continued blatant disregard for anything civilized, we highly doubt Obama was trying to use 'good-looking' and 'cute' as double-edged swords.

The core, however, of what we find offensive in the comment is Obama seems to believe Iowans -- arguably the most politically attentive and issue-driven people on the planet -- are swayed by a person's physical appearance, good or bad.

While all three of us will be first in line to confess Edwards is easy on the eyes, it is also true only one of us caucused for him in 2004. Along those same lines, none of us find Obama physically offensive yet none of us have hopped on his 2008 bandwagon. So,if Obama is trying to infer Iowans aren't up to the task of looking past nice suits, young faces, sparkling eyes, rosy cheeks or washboard abs in order to ask tough questions or understand key issues, then we expect him from this point forward to only stand on stage, bat his lashes and wiggle his ass while campaigning in the Hawkeye State. After all, Senator, why are you even wasting your time talking policy to all of these shallow Iowans? Let's see how far your good-lookin' face will get you come caucus time.

Two women and two men were added to the Environmental Protection Commission today by Gov. Chet Culver.

Susan Healthcote -- head of water quality efforts for the Iowa Environmental Council since 1996 -- and Charlotte Hubbell -- a lawyer who has served as trustee of the Nature Conservancy and co-founder of the Iowa Environmental Council -- will join the nine member panel.

The two male appointees are Dale Cochran (Fort Dodge farmer who served as Secretary of Agriculture from 1987 to 1998 and a former Speaker of the House) and Ralph Klemme (LeMars farmer and former Republican legislator who headed the House Ag Committee and Resources Committee).

Interesting choices.

Former Sen. John Edwards announced his campaign staffers and now Sen. Barack Obama has followed suit:

Jackie Norris (Senior Advisor) -- worked for former Vice Pres. Al Gore and former Gov. Tom Vilsack; Democratic activist and teacher at Johnston High School

Fran Starkey (Trip Director) -- former deputy communications director for Vilsack

Tommy Vietor (Iowa Press Secretary) - Obama's press secretary and staffer on the 2004 Edwards' campaign.

Marygrace Galston (Deputy State Director) - was coordinated campaign director for Washington State & was Sen. Murray's Field Director. Previously worked in Johnson County for the Kerry campaign

Mitch Stewart (Iowa Caucus Director) - was the coordinated campaign director for Minnesota for the 2006 elections, was Sen. Daschle's field director and an Iowa regional field director for Edwards in 2004.

Steve Chasse (Outreach Director) - worked for Sen. Kerry in 2004 and the the IDP during the general election before joining AFSCME's political staff in 2005 and 2006

Tsehaynesh Abebe (Field Director) - Waterloo native, grassroots community organizer (part of the Paul Wellstone Action Network); also executive director of the Living Project

Mike Blake (Deputy Political Director) - former Director of external affairs for the Michigan House

Gannet Tseggai (Iowa Deputy Press Secretary) - previously Sen. Ted Kennedy's Deputy Press Secretary in D.C.; worked for Kerry in 2004 in both Missouri and Ohio

If you missed it, Benny has the skinny on the Edwards staffers in his diary at Bleeding Heartland.

Earlier this week, USDA Rural Development Director Mark Reisinger announced the limits on maximum home mortgages available through the agency's direct loan program have increased.

The new limit is $174,500 for residents in Adams, Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Shelby and Taylor counties. Rural development assisted nearly 1,300 families in buying a home in 2006 and the increased limit is expected to entice more rural families to the program.

The direct and guaranteed loan programs provide low-interest, no-down-payment loans to eligible families living in rural communities and areas purchase new homes. The new lending limits affect only direct home loans from Rural Development which is geared toward low-income individuals. (There are no lending limits for guaranteed home loans.) No down payment is required and closing costs may even be included in the loan. Eligible homes must be located in a community of 20,000 or fewer residents although they can be either existing to new development. Finally, the property cannot have any income-producing outbuildings.

More information is available by visiting the USDA Rural Development web site.

In addition, Wednesday Gov. Chet Culver announced more than $60 million in tax credits (10 years worth) from the federal government will be used to pay for affordable housing for low-income Iowans in nine communities. The monies come from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and the HOME Investment Partnership program and will allow the state to create 621 housing units. The Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Dept. of Economic Development will administer the funds.

The communities to benefit include:

• Boone
  • Cedar Manor, 2003 Cedar St. - $1.5 million
• Council Bluffs
  • Heartland Homes, 1505 Avenue J - $2 million
• Creston
  • Creston Plaza Apartments, 1001 So. Sumner St. - $3.2 million
• Davenport
  • RiverWalk Lofts, 420 River Dr. - $5.9 million
  • Horison Homes, 3525 W. 42nd St. - $5.4 million
• Des Moines
  • Deer Ridge V Apartments, 6000 SW Creston Ave. - $5.5 million
  • The Rose of East Des Moines, 1331 Idaho St. - $8 million
  • Cherry Lane, 4500 Hubbell Ave. - $6 million
  • Stockbridge Apartments, 1815 High St. - $5 million
  • Southview Senior Housing, 1720 SW 1st St. - $4.7 million
• Fort Dodge
  • Town Square Apartments, 328 Central Ave. - $3.1 million
• Iowa City
  • Berry Court, various sites - $1.9 million
• North Liberty
  • Jefferson Point II, 45 W. Jefferson St. - $3.8 million
• Pleasant Hill
  • Canterbury Park, 700 NE 56th St. - $5.4 million

In total 94 units will be created for people with disabilities, 104 for seniors and the rest for families. The tax credits are sold by developers to investors who, in turn, use them for reductions in federal tax liability on ordinary income.

The only down note here is that although more than $60 million will be distributed, the Iowa Finance Authority received over $130 million in funding requests. Projects are selected based on the following criteria: Service-enriched, preservation, rural, non-profit, and affordable assisted living. Projects which fall into those categories are considered "set asides" and are given top priority.

A group of 20 women from the University of Iowa are spending spring break in Louisiana, but it's not what you think.

The group is working through Volunteers of America of North Louisiana to spend their vacation helping Hurricane Katrina evacuees living in Shreveport. They have recently been working on a Habitat for Humanity home in Bossier City and have also spent time in local food banks.

The Shreveport Times has a brief article about the Iowa students along with a photo of them working in the food bank.

Just over two weeks ago, I sat quietly in the backyard and said goodbye to an old friend. It was, for the most part, a happy goodbye even if it has been difficult to continue to function without the friend in my life.

Since that time, I've made some new friends (such as Hubba Bubba and Trident), but nothing seems to completely fill the void left behind when I stopped smoking cigarettes.

I realize there are several people reading this right now and shaking their heads in confusion. 'Cigarettes are friends?' or 'It is unhealthy, your body is thanking you' are what I imagine most are considering while reading. However illogical or difficult for a non-smoker to understand, cigarettes were my friends and, at least in my mind's eye, helped me through some very difficult situations. While I realized the medical community's ire for them, I'm still not convinced that they are any more unhealthy than other items in which people partake. For instance, I wasn't washing my troubles away with a bottle of wine and then driving around town.

My reasons for quitting are many. Primary was the want of my children for me to do so. Secondary was my personal want to smell better. I think, if I'm honest with myself and you, I'll have to admit that mostly I quit because I wanted to prove to myself that I could. I needed to know that no matter how much I had become use to my little tobacco friends, I was still in charge.

One thing which did not factor into setting the cigs down was the proposed $1 per pack tax going through the legislature at the time. The more I think about this tax, however, the more I believe it will end up causing more problems than it solves.

Proponents of the tax increase have stated that the dollar will be funneled into health care expenses -- in particular, new health care expenses for the state. They also voice their hope that the tax will both discourage young people from starting to smoke and will encourage existing smokers to either cut down or quit. Quite frankly, those goals -- use of the tax money for new services and smoking prevention -- are in direct competition. Consider the ramifications to one if the other succeeds:

If the monies are successful in creating a new healthcare program it will take progressively more and more funding to maintain the same set of services. (Statewide, our population is increasing with each census.) Therefore the legislature will need to either find a new way to supplement the $1 per pack tax, will have to increase the tax or will need more people to smoke and pay the $1 per pack tax.

On the flip side, if the tax is successful as a stop-smoking incentive how will the state fund the new healthcare initiatives? Obviously, the government has a dollar figure in mind for their healthcare budgeting. How many smokers does the state require to meet that goal? Also, if the people enacting this law agree that smoking is one of the world's greatest evils, why are they willing to base so much on what is obviously 'blood money'?

While this little diatribe of a former smoker has cost me some points in liberal circles, my concerns are valid. No matter the outcome of the $1 pack tax increase, there will come a time when the legislature will need more money from all of us in order to fund their new healthcare initiatives. Because of that it's too bad that the people of Iowa haven't been able to debate the new initiatives as much as they have the $1 per pack.

Finally, this article was written with the expressed intent of ignoring the proposed smoking ban. Because when you add that proposed legislation (which looks like it will pass and let the government decide whether there can be smoking in private businesses) with the budget and the tax increase, it pretty much seals the deal that our legislature has serious mental defects.

You know, I have a spreadsheet showing my children purchased 100,000 packs of bubblegum last year. I've informed them that from now on I'll be charging them an extra dime for each pack of gum they buy. We'll be using the dime to remodel our kitchen. I've further informed them that not only will gum chewing be banned in our home, I've told neighboring parents, their school and the local police department to help me enforce a community-wide chewing ban (because the sugars can be so hard on the teeth). Finally, because the remodel of the kitchen is more of a necessity than a luxury, I'm prepared to pull money from the children's allowances if the gum tax doesn't provide what's expected... but that final piece of information is on a strictly need to know basis.

Yesterday, the following ended up in the email boxes of two out of the three EE women:

Dear Friend:

As we begin the 110th Congress, I am writing to ask you for your thoughts, ideas and opinions. This e-mail is being sent to women across the state of varied backgrounds and geographic locations.

As you know, I have been a long-time advocate for issues relating to the fair treatment of women in the workplace and our society. I am always looking for new and innovative ideas from those most directly involved. This is where you come in. I need your suggestions. If you would please respond to this e-mail with any suggestions you have, I would greatly appreciate it.

...

Again, I want to hear from you. Please take some time to respond to this e-mail and let me know what your priorities are.

Kudos to Sen. Harkin!

Women who were not included in the initial mailing, but would like to receive future information can contact us -- webmaster@essentialestrogen.com -- and we'll forward the subscription information to you.

I was just over at the DMR looking at the total list of bills which survived funnel week when I spotted this:

"Banning hunting of live animals with an Internet hookup"

Wow. Granted I'm not the most savvy person when it comes to the latest advances in hunting, but this one had me Googling. Nope. I didn't find one survival tip on how to use your net connection to bag a buck.

Re-Reading... banning hunting of live animals with an Internet hookup... Hmmm

I realize Iowa has an alarming deer population. Most any given morning, you can see a family or two while running along the Des Moines river trail. So, yes, we and the deer are kinda co-habitating the same spaces. I had no idea, however, that the deer (or any other animals) had net access. If they do, I think someone should look into it. No doubt those furry critters are snagging someone's wifi.

Anyone want to enlighten me as the to the true nature of this, no doubt, highly important piece of legislation?

Kudos to Jerry at Iowa Voters for his excellent piece on corporate-run elections.

While private-public partnerships are often to the benefit of citizens, this one is a grave mistake. No one corporation should have so much power over such a very public and critical process.

A few days ago while writing a piece about Christie Vilsack, I promised to return with more information about one of her pet projects. Today is the day! So, I invite you to meet one of Iowa's most prominent women of the 1800s, Arabella (Belle) Babb Mansfield.

Mansfield passed the bar exam on June 15, 1869 to become the first woman licensed to practice law in the United States. That however, is only one chapter of her story.

She was born in Sperry (Des Moines County) and graduated from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1866. She taught briefly at Simpson College in Indianola and then began studying law with her brother in the Ambler Law Office in Mount Pleasant. In June of 1968 she married John Mansfield, a professor of science at Iowa Wesleyan.

In June of the following year, she was admitted to the bar. The Henry County attorneys who examined her wrote, "Your committee take unusual pleasure in recommending the admission of Mrs. Mansfield, not only because she is the first lady that has thus applied for this authority, in the State, but because in her examination she has given the very best rebuke possible to the imputation that ladies cannot qualify themselves for the practice of law."

Unfortunately, she never practiced law in the traditional sense. It is likely that she was too involved with women's issues at the time. Not only was she the first woman admitted to the bar, but she was a strong advocate for women's voting rights. In l871 she served as a delegate to the 2nd Iowa Woman Suffrage Convention in Des Moines. Also in the early 1870s she traveled extensively in Europe observing the courts of London and studying law in France.

In the late 1880s when her husband accepted a position at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana she served as professor and dean, but returned often to Iowa Wesleyan to teach and lecture during the fall semesters. In the summer of l893 she addressed the National League of Women Lawyers at the Chicago World's Fair, where she was officially acknowledged as the first woman to be admitted to the bar in the U.S. She was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in l980.

As Christie Vilsack wrote in a letter last month, visitors seeking Belle in Mt. Pleasant will be sorely disappointed. There is only a small conference room named in her honor on the second floor of the Iowa Wesleyan Library.

"I want young women who consider attending Iowa Wesleyan to know that this community has always nurtured women who achieve," Vilsack wrote.

The short-term goal is to create a nationwide grassroots fundraising campaign to raise $250,000 for two projects -- a bronze statue on the Iowa Wesleyan campus and a yearly symposium.

Those who would like to contribute can send donations to: Iowa Wesleyan Foundation, 601 North Main, Mt. Pleasant, IA 52641. Further information can be found by viewing Belle Babb Mansfield Project brochure.

It's been an interesting week in Des Moines as state legislators worked overtime to clear bills through House and Senate committees. Most left town last night for their homes across the state... most likely to spend some time with their favorite journalist about their views of the session thus far.

A few, however, didn't allow the cheese to become aromatic at room temperature before opening a big bottle of whine.

"I'd give them an A for the fact that they've been committed to their issues," said Senate Minority Leader Mary Lundby, R-Marion, of the new majority.

"I'd give them an F for caring about Iowans and what most Iowans need and want. They have left behind so many Iowans with this agenda," Lundby said.

While on the surface it looks like just a nice spark of wit, this comment is actually a pretty good slap to every Democrat in the state. Lundby says she'd give Dems an A for commitment to their issues... then follows with an F for caring about Iowans. With that one statement Lundby says Democrats, their platform, their key issues and everything they stand for is bad for our state and our people. Those are pretty strong words, Mary.

It is difficult to see Lundby's diatribe being more than sour grapes when we recap what the Democratic majority has accomplished so far this session: raising the minimum wage, protecting Iowa students from bullying, and allowing existing stem cell research to be applied in patient care. She didn't even bother to mention that the doves appear to be in the clear.

If you've ever wanted to know the ideological fiscal differences between conservatives and liberals, you get a good peek by reading the quote from House Minority Leader Chris Rants (R-Sioux City).

"Democrats are determined to get every anti-business piece of legislation shoved out of committee."

There seems to be this divide between the political parties when it comes to business and individuals. That is, legislation which helps individuals is anti-business while legislation which benefits business is anti-people. Republicans (especially true Conservatives) tend to view everything through business-enhanced glasses. True progress in our state would be both parties realizing both entities are required to be health for society to flourish.

As Funnel Week comes to an end, wave goodbye to open meeting and records reform; the statewide smoking ban (which really didn't make much sense when the state *needs* the extra $1 a pack to pay for new initiatives); undoing Steve King's English-only bill and the resurrection of TouchPlay. Only divine intervention in the form of political maneuvers can save them now.

Three high school girls from a New York City suburb were suspended for saying the word "vagina" during a reading of The Vagina Monologues. According to the school's principal Richard Leprine, the word was not appropriate at a community event open to children. (I know there's a pun in there somewhere...)

Eve Ensler, author of the play, has surfaced to defend the girls and use of the word for female genitalia.

According to reports in the Des Moines Register last weekend Iowa Rep. Janet Petersen took a few moments -- during labor -- to speak on the phone with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Two hours following the phone call, the legislator gave birth to a healthy son, Buck Henry (7 lbs, 3 oz.).

Not only do we send kudos to the entire Petersen family, but we're very impressed with Janet's ability to multitask!

Newspapers in Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Michigan have pulled conservative commentator Ann Coulter's syndicated column following her comments at the CPAC, according to an article at Fox News. In addition, it was reported that three companies - Verizon, Sallie Mae and NetBank - have dropped their advertising from Coulter's site.

You'd think Ann would have learned a few things following the "spawn of satan" comment. which got her dropped from USA Today.

Prominent feminist and long time abortion activist Kate Michelman has not only endorsed former Sen. John Edwards, she took to the stage at a California rally to assert "as a lawyer, as a husband, as a father of two daughters, he understand the reality of women's lives. He understands the centrality of women's lives and experience to the health and well-being of society as a whole... He understands that on an extremely personal level."

Needless to say, the comments weren't met with only cheers. Some have commented that just as Toni Morrison christened Bill Clinton the first black president, Michelman is attempting to dub Edwards our first woman president. It is obvious to most, however, that Michelman still has a difficult time swallowing Clinton's 2005 speech.

Despite what you might have read in email this week, staring at a woman's breasts is not a form of exercise which will add years to your life.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin announced today he will be sponsoring three farm bill listening sessions on March 24 as a part of his role as chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

• 9:30 a.m. - North Scott High School Cafeteria, 200 S. 1st St., Eldridge
• 12:45 p.m. - Northeast Iowa Community College, Conference Center, 10250 Sundown Rd., Peosta
• 4 p.m. - CR Prairie High School Auditorium, 401 76th Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids

"As we begin drafting the 2007 Farm Bill, it is important to hear you comments and suggestions," said Harkin. "The best ideas come from my constituents who are directly affected by farm and rural policies. I look forward to hearing from you at these upcoming meetings."

For more information or if you have special needs, call (515) 284-4574.

Rep. Linda Upmeyer (R-Garner) is one of three Republican legislators who plan to formally introduce a bill to benefit beginning farmers this week. Because the bill will include tax breaks, it is not subject to the funnel week deadlines.

Upmeyer joined with junior Representative Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford) and Rep. Jeff Kaufmann (R-Wilton) to sponsor the bill which takes aim at both the cost associated with becoming a farmer and motivating women and minorities to enter farming. In total the bill would allow extended relatives of farmers (not just children) to avoid inheritance tax for family farms; all for tax exemption of a new owner agrees to crop-share with a beginning farmer; provides $5 million in property tax credits for beginning farmers; and offers $25,000 to create a program encouraging women and minorities to enter farming as a profession.

The section which deals with outreach to women and minorities is credited to Upmeyer. "We sometimes forget that young women can be young farmers," she said.

While the three legislators have not expressed a great deal of hope for the bill's passage in such a minority hostile climate, they also believe the values projected in the bill are bipartisan and good for Iowa.

Committees in Des Moines have squeezed two more bills out ahead of a funnel week deadline.

The so-called bottle bill remains alive after being approved 20-0 by the House Environmental Protection Committee. While the bill creates a beverage container task force, the primary focus of the bill is the doubling of redemption center revenues (increase reimbursement per container from one penny to two). This would mark the first change in revenue in three decades.

While it wasn't really a full bill, members of the Iowa Senate Human Resource committee have passed enough of a bill summary to keep adoption regulation alive in this session. Committee Chair Amanda Ragan (D-Mason City) says the "shell bill" includes only a basic intent of the future full bill (which will be completed in the next week or two).

The bill takes aim at adoption facilitators by allowing the Iowa Department of Human Services to oversee their operations. Such facilitators are individuals or companies that charge a fee to match prospective adoptive parents with women looking to place their children.

The bill was prompted by problems which surfaced with a company known as Adoption Insight out of California. The company (like many other similar agencies) places classified ads in newspapers throughout the U.S. and advertises on the internet for pregnant women who are considering adoption. Through a court case spawned by a mother who refused to give up her child to an adoptive family, the public learned that Adoption Insight was bringing such pregnant women into a certain apartment complex in Sioux City where they were introduced to prospective parents for their unborn children.

Such facilitators often get paid an up front fee of $5,000 or more to match an adoptive family with a mother. They charge so much more than the traditional nonprofit agencies because they are typically much more aggressive with recruiting mothers which leads to quicker placements.

When the Florida woman who was relocated in Sioux City and then refused to sign the final papers to release her newborn daughter to the chosen adoptive family, she says the adoption agency retaliated by evicting her with one day notice and phoning the hospital with concerns about the woman's ability to care for her newborn and older daughter. The state, upon discovering the woman had no home, took both children and placed them into foster care.

Unfortunately, this legislation comes too late for the mother mentioned above. I attempted some phone calls today to see if the mother had ever re-won custody of her children, but have not been able to find an answer. The last update I have is from Feb. 2006 when the woman and her mother were living in a Sioux City home and continuing to fight to get the children back. It was expected for the children to remain in a foster home throughout the summer.

There are few things in life which really stick with you. Clothes are updated. Friends move in and out of your life. For Pete's sake, please remember to replace eye make-up every now and again! Furniture gets handed down to a relative, placed on the curb with a 'free' sign or sold in a garage sale. It seems nearly everything is temporary... except Southern accents.

Seeing how my friends at Media Matters have picked up on the Sen. Hillary Clinton 'fake' accent in Alabama last weekend, I've decided maybe my own life experiences can shed some light here. You see, I'm not a native Iowan. Although I married an Iowan, but I am -- and forever will be -- a southern girl. Forget the fact that we've made our home in Iowa for more than a decade, my roots remain just a phone call away.

In times of intense emotion (sadness, joy, anger, elation) my southern accent returns to me just as strong as the day I hopped in the U-Haul. After a half-hour of speaking with my sister on the phone, you'd swear I just blew into town from Mississippi. As the saying goes: You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl.

From my own experience then I call foul on those who believe Clinton was faking an accent in Alabama. The woman lived in Arkansas for nearly two decades and the drawl sticks with you.

While I'm quite sure I could turn on the southern-speak if I desired to do so (just as I'm sure Clinton could as well), there are only certain times and places I'd do so. For instance, I might be willing to bat my eyelashes and unleash a soft, slow southern drawl if I were stopped by a nice male highway patrol officer. I might purposefully relax my jaws in an attempt to persuade my husband to take out the trash or fix something around the house. I've often employed the accent when commanding my dog. (Don't ask me why animals respond better to a southern accent, but they do.) I would never, however, switch to a southern accent anytime I wished to project intelligence and strength.

It didn't take long after moving to Iowa to understand what most folks expected from a woman who possessed such an accent. Think Daisy Duke... Mae West... Loretta Lynn. The perceptions of a woman with a southern accent are quiet different than the perceptions we have for males. Yeah, it's a double-standard, but one that every woman who has ever had/has a southern accent is well aware exists.

While zipping around the 'tubes' on the 'internets' today I came across the following news item from KRQE News 13 out of Albuquerque:

Call it the second-tier lament.

At a recent house party in the early voting state of New Hampshire, Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd became exasperated as he talked about being overshadowed by front-runners Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

Dodd, Clinton and Obama are senators from Connecticut, New York and Illinois respectively.

Another Democratic hopeful, Gov. Bill Richardson, was similarly frustrated campaigning in Iowa last week.

He said Iowans resent that the media has created a myth that two candidates are the only serious ones.

Dodd, Richardson and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden have stellar resumes, decades of experience and an inviting style on the campaign trail.

So far, though, this presidential race has been dominated by the celebrity treatment of Clinton and Obama and to a lesser extent John Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina.

That has left the second-tier hopefuls struggling to be more than blips on the national political radar.

The article is credited to the AP without an individual byline. So, this is the work of one of the largest news-gathering organizations in the world? Boy, are we in trouble.

The unknown reporter seems to be working toward the real crux of the issue -- that the media has unfairly treated the full field of Democratic (and Republican) hopefuls while spending most of their time fawning over a select few -- when she quotes Gov. Richardson stating that Iowans resent the myth created by the media.

Striking so close to the truth, however, must be painful because the article ends with no new understanding for the author or for the readers. Despite having these wonderful candidates with "stellar resumes, decades of experience and inviting style on the campaign trail" they will continue to be frustrated blips on the national political radar. I wonder why that is?

Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge joined with Senate Leader Mike Gronstal and the Iowa Pride Network College Coalition today to press the legislature to change the Iowa Civil Rights Code to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.

In a move which will, no doubt, truly disturb the fundamentalist and evangelical Christians throughout the state, Judge stated that the civil right's code had a "glaring" omission. "Discrimination and intolerance have no place in our society and that is why Chet Culver and I are supporting this change," she said.

While this may not be the best political move for Judge and Culver, we are extremely pleased they have decided to weather the storm. Iowa should not be a state of equal treatment for all humans. Good job, Patty!

There are simply times when a writer has so much to discuss that she doesn't quite know where to start. As I peer over my shoulder into the latest Missouri happenings, I do well to allow my lips to form "wow" much less try to make sense out of it all.

It seems that last spring a Missouri State employee - Heather Elder - brought to Gov. Matt Blunt's attention a complaint of sexual harassment against Agriculture Director Fred Ferrell (her boss). In Missouri, the Director of Agriculture is a gubernatorial appointed position.

Gov. Blunt decides to keep the whole mess hush-hush and instructed the state police to quietly investigate. When that investigation provided validity to the original complaint, the state agency (with the Governor's blessing?) cut a check for $70,000 for the complainer. She, however, refused the payoff.

Ten months later (Feb. 23) -- after the complainer had been placed on leave and other such nonsense happened -- the complainer filed official court papers and half the state of Missouri exploded. (Well, not literally of course.)

The blushing and apologetic governor requested his appointee resign while the state treasurer and state auditor caught a whiff of possibly misappropriated monies.

In midst of all the uproar, state legislators in Jefferson City are considering a bill to legalize sexual harassment in Missouri. (Yup, you read that correctly.) The legislation in question currently resides in state committee and would have made it much more difficult for Elder to sue Ferrell. Basically the bill changes the state definition of discrimination by deleting "any unfair treatment based on" such things as race, religion, gender or disability and inserting "an adverse action motivated by" those factors. Repeated words would mean nothing under the new law since an action such as demotion or firing would be required to prove the case.

The bill is actually so bad the Missouri Commission on Human Rights has come out in opposition, claiming the proposed changes could put the state in violation of federal law and cause the agency to lose federal funding.

Republican Sen. John Loudon, author of the bill, says he wrote it in response to a age discrimination suit against the University of Missouri - St. Louis and that it had nothing to do with the current mess. The university was found guilty in the discrimination case and was ordered to pay stiff compensation to former baseball coach James Brady (well over $1 million). The university argued they should not have been forced to pay punitive damages since those would come from taxpayer pocketbooks. The appeals court allowed the verdict and damages to stand.

The legislation addresses the definition of harassment, refuses punitive damages to a taxpayer-based entity, and would allow an employer already facing a discrimination lawsuit from a fired employee to come up with new evidence explaining why the employee was fired.

In a further plot twist today, state veterinarian Shane Brookshire submitted his resignation. Brookshire went with Elder to the governor's office to report the sexual harassment complaints, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol's report.

Also according to the MHP's report, Ferrell referred to his secretary as a "show dog" and told Elder he'd be the first in line to see her in a wet t-shirt contest. He also told another department head not to promote Elder since "we shouldn't have women supervising men."

But as disgusting as all of this is, perhaps the most telling thing about it is Gov. Blunt's own double-standards. While keeping the charges against his male appointee on the low-down, Blunt quickly and publicly ousted Dept. of Health and Senior Services Director Julie Eckstein for essentially making payments out of the wrong checkbook -- and then named his own lawyer as Missouri's new health director.

I don't care how much warmer the winters might be in Missouri, this girl would rather freeze to death in Iowa than join Missouri's sexist circus.

In November of last year, The Daily Iowan reported that IPERS had roughly $28 million directly invested in companies that Sudan Divestment Task Force lists as "warranting scrutiny." In other words, these are companies which could be funding and/or facilitating genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

Rep. Dawn Pettengill is one of two Democratic legislators who have made divestment a top priority this session. Pettengill along with Sen. Michael Connolly are equally concerned IPERS benefits from stock in PetroChina, a front for the Chinese government-owned China National Petroleum Corp. CNPC is an oil consortium accused by scholars and research groups of providing financing and weaponry to government-backed militias in western Sudan.

According to the bills in both the House and Senate, companies would be asked to halt operations and given 90 days to comply. Once that time period expired, if the company had failed to address the concerns, the state would begin a divestment process. While the original bills called for divestment in 15 months, the Senate bill has been changed to allow a three year divestment. Pettengill, who has been pushing for this measure upwards of three years, calls the Senate compromise unacceptable.

"I can understand bing more lenient with the mutual funds, but we need to drop the companies we're directly invested in right away. IPERS had an annual return of 11.1 percent, and none of those companies was above that. If anything, they're bringing the average down."

If passed and signed into law, Iowa would become one of six states who have elected to make their voice heard on a national level. The belief is that if enough individuals and states pull their money, the companies would be pressured into ceasing harmful operations -- which allegedly include arms-for-oil deals -- that have led to the death of nearly half a million Darfuris and the displacement of 2.5 million more. According to Pettengill, IPERS has more than $100 million invested in companies directly or indirectly connected with Sudan.

Both bills have cleared their respective committees.

Former Sen. John Edwards has announced a list of people who previously were number ones for former Gov. Tom Vilsack who have now committed to his campaign.

While we aren't typically the gals who bitch about people getting involved in the process, this list gives us pause (as we did after glancing through Vilsack's list). While there will always be some who will feel strongly about a particular candidate early on, is it really in the best interest of our state for elected officials to be endorsing any one candidate at this stage in the game?

If you look at the Edwards list -- and keep in mind these are only the previous Vilsack supports and not his entire list of Iowa ones -- you'll notice quickly at the top several Iowa Democratic Party Officials.

The time has come, we think for elected officials to have impartiality until caucus night written into their duties. That is, county chairs and other members of county executive boards, district central committee and state central committee members should not be allowed to endorse. Why?

Not to pick on the good folks down by Mt. Pleasant, but let's look at Edwards' list for Henry County. We've got the Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary all endorsing Edwards. (Note that this also means each of these people endorsed Vilsack -- which is probably understandable given the logistics.) This endorsement is all well and good for these people, but what about the remainder of the Democrats within that county?

I wonder how the other candidates are going to feel about contacting Henry County for visits and events in the coming months? Obviously the process put in place by the IDP is no longer of use to them and they will need to develop their own contacts within that county -- outside of the official party -- in order to campaign there effectively.

In this scenario, the endorsement by the county's elected officials limits everyone of their constituents and is unfair and, in our opinion, unethical. When one agrees to represent a group or region, one agrees to be part of something bigger than the individual. Therefore, you cannot be a good County Chair and a number one for any candidate.

To put it even more bluntly, we believe the Democrats in Madison, Henry and any other Iowa county in which executive board members have made formal endorsements should call a coup. We believe those on the State Central Committees of either party who have publicly endorsed a candidate should be immediately ousted from office. There are some things -- such as Iowa's status as First in the Nation -- which is bigger than any one person. Those elected to positions of influence and authority... those who have the most opportunity to perhaps tilt their county's relationship with a candidate should not be making endorsements. Period.

Iowans can say what they will about former Governor and former Presidential hopeful Tom Vilsack (goodness knows we have), but it's difficult to bash former First Lady Christie Vilsack.

Yesterday evening a small day school in the northeast corner of South Dakota was honored with the first ever Verizon Tech Savvy Award and given a $25,000 prize to continue and expand a school program. The program allows teachers to help American Indian parents write and produce children's books in the native Dakotah language. It fulfills a need for the parents while fulfilling a need in the community -- closing the digital generation gap between parents and children.

The awards are a joint creation of National Conference on Family Literacy, the Verizon Foundation and our very own former First Lady Christie Vilsack. The Tech Savvy is the first national award designed to provide an incentive for grassroots, community-based nonprofit organizations and schools to create programs that demystify technology for parents, enabling them to better guide their children in the use of new media.

In addition to the South Dakota grand prize winner, four additional programs were given regional awards of $5,000 at the banquet. Those four programs are:

• Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative - Providence, RI - Program teams an English-as-a-second language child with a technology teacher and children's teacher to increase parents' computer and tech skills while improving English comprehension skills.
• Iowa Central Community College - Fort Dodge, IA - Program teaches parents who to use the Internet to communicate with their children's teachers, learn about the web sites their children visit and enhance writing and basic computer skills.
• Forrest Outreach Foundation - Addison, TX - Click-For-Success Prorgram offers weekly computer club classes and home visits where mentors help parents and children work together to improve computer skills.
• LTSC Community Development Corp. - Los Angeles, CA - DISKovery Angelina Program helps immigrants learn to use computers to navigate the challenges of everyday life, including finding public transportation, child care programs and legal services.

"Literacy is no longer just about learning to read," Vilsack said. She added that she hoped the Tech Savvy Awards to draw attention to the need for technological literacy among entire families and spark discussion about the values which emanate from web sites and the importance of technology in our schools.

More than 1,600 educators and advocates traveled to Orlando, FL for the 16th National Conference on Family Literacy. Ironically, Florida ranks 45th in the country in linguistic integration and 47th in high school graduation. Christie Vilsack and Verizon Foundation President Patrick Gaston presented the awards last night.

Kudos to you, Christie! From looking over her web site, we know that Christie will continue to stay involved in our communities -- and that her involvement will bring about great things. (We promise to blog about the Belle Babb Mansfield project soon too!)

Hey, Mari, we know Christie has set the bar high, but we also expect great things from you too as you work for Iowa's women and children's services! Matter-of-fact, we're watching closely to see how much muscle you might flex in the upcoming budgeting battles.

The senior Senator from Connecticut, Christopher Dodd, scored an upset this past weekend during the York County, S.C. straw poll.

• Sen. Chris Dodd - 28%
• Sen. Barack Obama - 24%
• Sen. Hillary Clinton - 18%
• former Sen. John Edwards - 11%
• former VP Al Gore (write-in) - 8%
• Sen. Joseph Biden - 5.5%

It should come as no surprise to Iowans that Dodd is running an old-fashioned get-out-and-meet-the-people-in-small-groups campaign. After all, he's hired to long-time Iowa operatives to head up his effort:

Marc Beltrame, longtime senior staffer to Rep. Leonard Boswell, will run Dodd's South Carolina effort. Taylor West, press secretary for Gov. Chet Culver's 2006 campaign, was tapped to be Dodd's South Carolina spokesman. Dodd also picked up a couple from Sen. John Kerry's 2004 Iowa campaign.

Hey... maybe Iowa finally found something valuable we can export to the rest of the U.S.: campaign staffers.

If you're a stickler and still reading, looking for the estrogen in this story, you need to visit with Sen. Dodd and ask him to show you the pictures in his pocket.

In a move which has drawn quite a stir in Des Moines today, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has backed away from questions as to why a speech she gave on Friday to the Human Rights Campaign wasn't publicized. Clinton's response: "You'll have to ask my campaign."

Clinton delivered the keynote address at a luncheon meeting of the group on Friday. Roughly 400 were in attendance and video of the speech has since been posted on the group's web site: hrc.org.

In the speech, Clinton expressed to the group a desire, if elected, for a better partnership with the gay community. "I want you to know that just as you always have an open door to my Senate office, you will always have an open door to the White House and together we can continue this journey," she said.

Traditionally, this meeting has been closed to the press. This also marked the first time that video of a keynote address was published on the group's web site. Gov. Bill Richardson is scheduled to speak before the group's Gala Dinner in Los Angeles on March 24.

According to their web site, the Human Rights Campaign is American's largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

At a campaign stop in Dubuque tonight for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, it was an audience member who had the most memorable line:

Clinton: When you travel abroad people ask you: 'What's happened to America?"

Male Voice from the audience: "BUSH!"

Although Sen. Clinton attempted to recover with a witty comeback ("This school has some smart students"), it was obvious the best and most direct line of the night came from the audience and not from Clinton herself.

On the whole, the stop at the University of Dubuque was over-shadowed by earlier activities in Alabama commemorating the the 42nd anniversary of "Bloody Sunday." Still, roughly 1,100 people came out to hear the Senator on the stump.

While most of the usual suspects were in attendance, there was one instance which continues to perplex.

A woman -- quite obviously a Clinton supporter -- made the comment that "women have been cleaning up after men since the beginning of time." (Why do people take the microphone during question and answer time for the sole purpose of making a comment? Couldn't that be done in a letter to the editor or directly with the candidate? Fodder for another post, no doubt.)

I'm not sure if Clinton was trying to work religion into her speech, if she was making another attempt at humor, or if this is something she thought was just appropriate given the context, but she began to weave this tale of a minister who once introduced her saying, "it was Eve who got humankind into this mess and it will take another woman to get us out."

What the hell kinda comment is that?!? Left with nothing else, I guess I must accept the fact that when Bill Clinton got into his little flings, Hillary stayed around because she honestly believes that women are the root of all evil? Gimme a break.

This post is a very difficult one to write because the information it contains actually flies directly in the face of why EE was founded and what we are all about: empowering and encouraging women to take part in the political process.

We must admit, however, that explicit in our belief system is that all people involved in politics should work for the common good. By and large, the women involved in politics have. By and large... and therein lies the problem.

Yesterday, columnist and author Ann Coulter spoke before the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and had this to say:

"Oh, and I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards. But it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word "faggot," so I'm -- so I'm kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards. So I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions."

Special thanks to Media Matters