Oct 22 2009
This may be a bit late but its worth a listen:
Apr 21 2009
Should Ashton Kutcher Punk Steve King?
Seriously. Douglas Burns,writing for the Carroll, Iowa Daily Times Herald, [Caution: bad html to follow] suggests a novel new platform for the “earnest” Kutcher:
Celebrity activist and new media pioneer Ashton Kutcher just beat CNN in a race for 1 million followers on the Internet social networking site Twitter.
A suggested next challenge for the Iowa native: move back to your home state – the western side, say Council Bluffs – and run for the 5th Congressional District seat.
As much as anyone in America Kutcher has brilliantly blended fame with substance to create an interactive organization that he’s trained on fighting malaria and child sex trafficking.
An obvious new platform for the earnest Kutcher would be a run for political office. And the place to do it would be in heavily conservative western Iowa where U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, appears to have a Gordian knot on elections, anchored as he is with an eye-poppingly reliable GOP vote in many northwest counties.
Among the noted qualifications of Mr. Kutcher:
- He claims to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal.
- He dislikes Sarah Palin.
- He has “Iowa Smarts”
- He is “clearly well-read and passionate”
Burns also notes some of King’s perceived weaknesses:
- He is “extreme right-wing”
- King says “provocative” things.
- He likes Sarah Palin
While the title of the article is “Why Ashton Kutcher should run for Congress in Western Iowa”, the question “why” is not really answered. Unless the reasoning is that fabulous celebrities need things to do.
Apr 06 2009
Study: Marriage ruling will help Iowa finances
There are very few immutable rules to remember when it comes to media consumption:
Rule 1: Don’t believe everything you read.
Rule 2: Don’t believe anything you read, when the headline begins: ” Study: … ”
Case in point, this bit of news from the CR Gazette:
By Terry McCoy
News correspondentA University of California at Los Angeles study says Friday’s Iowa Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage may generate $5.3 million annually for the state budget.
That figure is based on an analysis of how much money would be saved in Iowa’s public assistance expenditures, the amount raised by couples paying higher taxes and the increase in sales tax revenues from wedding planning.
The increase in “sales tax revenues from wedding planning” is directly proportional to how “fabulous” the wedding is.
Just in case anyone gets the idea that the UCLA study is trying to pull a fast one by simply making up numbers, the study admits that the $5.3 million figure is not concrete. It could be more!
Still, the study says, these numbers aren’t concrete. Iowa could make even more than $5.3 million.
“Evidence suggests that there are significantly more same-sex couples in the state than the U.S. Census Bureau reports,” the study states. “If so, the net gains to the state will be even greater.
Its not just the UCLA study that is predicting a windfall from this ruling according to the article “local experts” also predict that the decision will foster economic growth in Iowa.
Legion Arts in Cedar Rapids may begin hosting more weddings, said Mel Andringa, the producing director. He expects a sharp increase in the number of requests his organization gets.
Every spring, Andringa said, he receives frantic calls from people searching for a place to exchange vows and celebrate. And that was when marriage was just for heterosexual couples.
So for Andringa, the state Supreme Court’s ruling means one thing: cha-ching.
“We’re already hiring an Elvis impersonator so it’ll be like Vegas,” Andringa said.
John Carlson from the DM Register, sees the same silver lining and suggests that conservatives should suck it up and find a way to profit from the decision.
The Chicago Tribune was reporting Friday that bunches of gay couples from Illinois will soon be showing up in Iowa, presumably ready to spend money.
“People have traveled to Spain, they’ve traveled to Mexico and California and Massachusetts and Connecticut to be married,” said the director of a gay rights organization in Illinois. “Now they can just jump over the border. Just a couple hour drive and they can go into a state and be married.”
Hotels and restaurants in Davenport, Dubuque, Clinton and Burlington will be jammed.
Imagine, if you will, Fleur Drive or maybe Southwest Ninth Street in Des Moines, lined with flashy new wedding chapels, all there to serve the thousands of visitors arriving on all those additional flights sure to be heading to Des Moines.
For now, keep an eye on that abandoned muffler shop next to the airport. It’s about to sprout a steeple.
Feb 11 2009
Harkin Proclaims Support for Fairness Doctrine to Radio Audience of Dozens
Iowa Senator Tom Harkin appeared on uber-liberal Bill Press’ radio show and stated his support of the “Fairness Doctrine.” Which, of course, should be called the “force radio stations to continue employing Bill Press despite losing money in the process” Doctrine.
BILL PRESS: …And, thanks for your leadership, thanks for your good work, it’s great to have you there Senator. And, great to have you on the show. Appreciate it.
SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA): Well, anytime – just let me know Bill. I love being with you, and thanks again for all you do to get the truth and the facts out there. By the way, I read your Op-Ed in the Washington Post the other day. I ripped it out, I took it into my office and said ‘there you go, we gotta get the Fairness Doctrine back in law again.’
BILL PRESS: Alright, well good for you. You know, we gotta work on that, because they are just shutting down progressive talk from one city after another. All we want is, you know, some balance on the airwaves, that’s all. You know, we’re not going to take any of the conservative voices off the airwaves, but just make sure that there are a few progressives and liberals out there, right?
SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA): Exactly, and that’s why we need the fair — that’s why we need the Fairness Doctrine back.
BILL PRESS: We’ll work on that together. Hey, thanks, Senator! Always good to talk to you.
SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA): Thanks Bill, see you, bye.
BILL PRESS: There it is – you heard it here on the Bill Press Show. Senator Tom Harkin: bring back the Fairness Doctrine!
Nov 21 2008
A Tale of Two Smoking Bans
A tale of two smoking bans. This from the Muscatine Journal:
Compliance with the state’s public smoking ban forced Wilton bar owner Brian Froehlich to lay off all his employees and run his establishment single-handedly for about two weeks, Froehlich said during testimony at a hearing on Thursday.
Froehlich’s establishment, Fro’s Pub ’n Grub, could lose its liquor license for alleged smoking ban violations after the Iowa Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint in August that law enforcement officials had observed patrons smoking in the bar and the presence of ashtrays on tables.
Froehlich said during the hearing at the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division that his business went into a freefall after he started telling customers to go outside to smoke around Labor Day, which led to his decision on Nov. 3 to let go around a dozen employees and work almost around the clock by himself to keep the business running. He said he started to allow patrons to smoke in the bar after dismissing his employees because he claimed the intent of the ban was to protect workers from secondhand smoke.
“I have no employees to protect. I’m exempt,” he said during his testimony.
Judge Margaret LaMarche says that she would have a ruling within 30 days after written arguments are presented in December.
Froehlich is among several plaintiffs seeking to overturn the public smoking ban on the grounds that it puts unconstitutional restrictions on business owners. No court date has been set for the lawsuit.
The smoking ban has been said to have hurt businesses that previously allowed smoking as well as bars that were already smoke free. Iowa Department of Revenues public information officer has said the ban appears to have no effect on cigarette sales and that the ban was intended to protect employees from second hand smoke, although he admits that there is no way to measure that impact. Of course, the former employees from shuttered businesses should feel very well protected from second hand smoke. The silver lining in this cloud is that those out of work will find a smoke free environment at the unemployment office as well.
The smoking ban has been a savior for one industry: casinos. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal smoking bans are hurting casino profits in Colorado and Illinois. But Iowa’s unexplainable casino exemption has insulated Iowa casinos from this trend. This makes the Iowa Smoke Free Air Act the biggest gift to Iowa casinos since the legislature pulled the rug from under the Iowa Lottery’s Touchplay program, a move that cost the state over $5 million in legal settlements in addition to the approximate $120 million annual revenue. Regardless of one’s stand on gambling in Iowa, the handling of the Touchplay program was an unmitigated disaster.
On a related note, Iowa’s First Lady, Mari Culver, has admitted violating the state clean air act by smoking in a state-owned vehicle while in the presence of a state trooper. According to the Register:
Culver’s admission came a day after a Des Moines Register reporter noticed her openly smoking in a Chevrolet Tahoe that the state provides to her family. The black sport-utility vehicle was stopped at a stoplight in downtown Des Moines about 8:45 a.m. Culver was sitting in the passenger seat with the window rolled down and a cigarette in her hand. A state trooper was driving. Numerous pedestrians and motorists passed by the scene.
No word yet on whether the first lady will be issued a $50 citation.
Update: $50 citation issued and paid on Friday according to Omaha World Herald.
Nov 18 2008
Video: Media Malpractice… How Obama Got Elected
Here is a very enlightening video featuring footage gathered for an upcoming documentary on how the media impacted the 2008 election. Check out the details at HowObamaGotElected.com
When you couple the mainstream media’s criminally negligent reporting of facts with the American citizenry’s willful ignorance of history and basic civics, we get the American Idol presidency of Barack Obama.
The Obama voters that I have spoken with fall into two categories: 1) Those who have no idea where he stands on any issue. 2) Those who understand his ideaology but think he will be unable to pass any of his “more dangerous” ideas. There is no category three for those who agree with Obama on his ideaology because I don’t know any socialists. I guess I need to get out more.
