My Best Life

New Blog, Please Redirect Yourself!

2007-03-25T13:56:00.000-06:00

http://clairesbestlife.typepad.com/my_best_life/

Say it Ain't So, Mrs. E

2007-03-22T17:30:00.000-06:00

I am very sad about today's news that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer has returned. I can imagine the thoughts that must be going through her mind. And knowing her, she is thinking about everyone else besides herself. I know that John Edwards would never have continued his campaign without Elizabeth's full support.

technorati tags: elizabeth edwards

Could You Do a Year Without Toilet Paper?

2007-03-22T08:42:00.000-06:00

A couple in Manhattan are four months into a year-long experiment called "No Impact" during which they are trying to make no carbon footprint on the earth. Some of the sacrifices: No toilet paper No appliances No cars, cabs or buses No paper cups, brown paper lunch bags or straws No restaurant food Some of the benefits: Saving money Losing weight More sex I admire people who try to be carbon neutral. I don't know if I could do it. But it's inspiring. My aunt and uncle in St. Louis don't produce much garbage, but they still drive cars and use electricity. Their lifestyle seems extravagant compared to this couple. Here's the link to the Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/garden/22impact.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1

Catholic Workers Roughed Up in Colorado

2007-03-21T20:02:00.000-06:00

My dear friend Frank Cordaro, who happens to be a former priest, sent me an email today detailing his recent trip to Colorado Springs on St. Patrick's Day. He and a small group of fellow workers went out to walk in a parade with a bookstore who had applied for a permit in the parade. The trouble started when the group displayed anti-war posters during the peaceful march. Here are the photos that tell the rest of the story. Protesters roughed up: http://csaction.org/StPatsDay/31707.html

All About Bears

2007-03-20T22:58:00.000-06:00

I was just surfing the Web and found this cool site. For some reason I was just thinking about bears today. http://www.bearden.org/

The Silent Victims of War

2007-03-18T16:06:00.000-06:00

I just read a stunning article in the Times about the numbers of women who experience PTSD due to being sexually assaulted while serving in the military. They are exposed to all the normal combat stress, just like male soldiers such as roadside bombs and nighttime mortar attacks, but they constantly have to worry about being raped or propositioned by male soldiers who are away from home with no sexual outlet. I didn't know this before reading the article, but male and female soldiers are both more likely to have experienced previous sexual exploitation before even entering the military. Professionals who help the affected soliders have found that these traumatized women come home to a medical system more geared toward helping male amputees and less equipped to help women who have been assaulted, sometimes by their superiors. Here is the URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/magazine/18cover.html?pagewanted=8&ref=magazine

Zodiac

2007-03-18T15:28:00.000-06:00

Jim and I saw Zodiac last night. All I can say is WOW, what a great movie. I had to go pee the entire time and did not feel like I could get up and go because I was sure I would miss something. The movie was 2 hours and 40 minutes long, and it was fascinating. The only stand-out performance I can point to is Robert Downey Jr., who is one of the men in the movie who "lose themselves" to the investigation. He becomes a raging alcoholic and is unable to work due to his obsession with solving the case. The costumes, sets and music that accompanied the movie's dialogue was right on. You felt like you could feel the polyester in the clothes, smell the smoke in the air and remember what it was like to ride in a gigantic old Dodge with no seatbelt on. I need to go buy that book. The movie is definitely worth seeing, but don't drink a lot of soda before you go in!

General Pace's Comments on Gays in the Military

2007-03-15T07:16:00.000-06:00

General Pace just said out loud what most of the military brass probably think to themselves. It does not surprise me that one of the most macho organizations in the world is trying to stake itself out as anti-gay. Why would a gay person seek to serve in the military knowing that he or she is gay? By that time in their lives, I'm sure they already know the level of hatred that can be thrown their way. They must have a terrific sense of patriotism and duty to be able to overcome the level of bigotry they'd most likely face if they showed their true identity. General Pace's comments are not only outrageous, but he should be fired. The U.S. military lost its ability to be a moral authority in the world the second they marched into Iraq in this illegal and misguided attempt at imperialism. And to be perfectly clear, NO I do not think homosexuality is immoral. But, do think perpetrating a war where thousands of innocent civilians die is about as immoral as you can get.

John Edwards's Health Care Plan DVD

2007-03-12T22:57:00.000-06:00

I got a DVD from the Edwards campaign today. It's an interesting delivery system for his message. It's only about 10 minutes long, so it wasn't intrusive. I think Edwards has incredible political courage for coming out and saying that people deserve health care. I mean, think about it. What do people actually "deserve?" I would venture to say that people deserve to eat. Yet there are people in the richest country in the world that go to bed hungry. I think people deserve shelter, yet there are millions who look for place to lay their heads at night. I think people deserve to have a chance to go to college, yet it's out of reach for most young people due to the skyrocketing costs. Everyone needs health care. Medical emergencies can happen at any time, to anyone. Everyone has to be born, everyone has to die. In between, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go NOT as planned. For example, I just got the bills for Chelsey's surgery. Between the surgeon, the outpatient surgical suite, the anesthesia and the lab, the costs were nearly $8,000. And that was after all the insurance discounts. The U.S. already spends 50% more on health care per person than any other country in the world. In Edward's plan, he mentions that everyone will have to be smart about their health care. That means comparing prices, not going to the emergency room when you can go to a clinic and getting generic drugs whenever possible. Edwards also supports allowing people to choose from a variety of private insurance plans and also having a government sponsored plan. People would no longer have to worry about losing their health insurance if they lost or quit their job. It would also allow pre-existing conditions. We are all already paying for health care for all. The 47 million uninsured use the most expensive delivery systems and wait until they are very sick to get help. That is not to mention the indignities they suffer while waiting for even the most basic services. In the richest country in the world, where we flush money down the war machine and don't think a thing of handing the richest companies in the world billions of dollars in tax breaks, it's about time that we offer every person the assurance that they will be covered.

Why Can't We E-File for Free?

2007-03-10T21:40:00.000-06:00

Jim and I discovered that the fee for e-filing state of Iowa tax returns is $9.95. We have to file three 1040EZ's for our teenagers between the two of us. Doesn't seem quite worth it when they're only getting back such a paltry amount. The main fee for the long federal form has gone up too. Geez, give the little people a break, Tax Man. We're helping you out by e-filing instead of mailing, remember?? This is the same logic we heard when they introduced ATMs and said that it would save money be reducing staffing costs. Then banks started charging ATM fees up the yin-yang. What a crock!

Google Should Move to Iowa

2007-03-10T11:13:00.000-06:00

Those Google-ites seem to have it all. They get free fancy chef-prepared food 24-7, can bring their dogs to work and now have a free shuttle bus to help them avoid notorious Silicon Valley traffic. But what kind of life quality do they have outside of work? Sure, the big guys have mansions on the coast and personal assistants to schlep their dry cleaning and groceries. But the workers are living in tiny apartments and buying a house will cost you 800 large for a bungalow in a marginal neighborhood. Google, I invite you to come and check out Iowa. Imagine having your fabulous campus here in the heartland...where the living is easy. You could duplicate the same arrangement you have in California for half the price. All of your employees could park on site and be able to afford homes. A quarter of a million bucks can buy you a very nice home here. You'll even have money left over for a new car, a boat and a terrific vacation every year. Your commute would most likely be around 20 minutes. We have safe neighborhoods, great schools, and plenty of cultural attractions and sporting events. Car insurance is the lowest in the nation. Gas is a dollar per gallon cheaper. I know, I know, you like living next to the beach. But how often do you get there? Uh huh, I didn't think so. Google, I invite you to email me at claire.celsi@gmail.com to set up your personal tour. I'll bet the governor would pick you up at the airport.

The Apalling Mistreatment of Our Wounded Warriors

2007-03-08T23:19:00.000-06:00

I had some inkling before this big story about Walter Reed Army Hospital came out that our soldiers were not getting the care they deserved. I'd heard random stories on TV and on NPR that many more soliders are surviving the war, not dying on the battlefield. Many are suffering from traumatic brain injuries that render the soldiers unable to sufficiently plan their own care. So when I heard the actual details about how soldiers were unable to complete the mountains of paperwork required to obtain outpatient treatment, I was not completely surprised. When I heard that soldiers were living in substandard conditions, it did not come as a shock. Actually, I think our country is becoming numb. I am numb to the lack of common sense and disregard for doing the right thing that seems so pervasive in the Bush Administration. I believe that when most people, when confronted with the simple choice of doing the right thing or doing the wrong thing, will chose the right thing. Unless they are being told not to do the right thing, or forced not to do the right thing. I am totally against the war in Iraq, morally, philosophically, financially...all of the above. But it is a sin to warehouse our brave young men and women in subhuman conditions and throw them away like pieces of trash. Reminds me of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Bush is such a reckless and dangerous president. I don't trust him to do anything in my best interest. As they say in Ambar province...Embrace the Suck. I guess that's all we can do for now.

Iowa $1 Tobacco Tax Passes Senate with Flying Colors

2007-03-08T08:26:00.000-06:00

Iowa's long-awaited tobacco tax is one step closer to passage, winning approval in the Iowa Senate. My fellow Dowling alums Sens. Matt McCoy and Brad Zaun were on opposite sides of the issue. I guess Urbandale doesn't have underage smokers, Senator Zaun?

Bye, Bye Miss American Pie

2007-03-08T08:13:00.000-06:00

NASA finally got rid of Lisa Nowak. I can't believe she threw away her entire career for a man. I think she'll go to jail for a while, so she'll have plenty of time to think about it. Any guesses how much money NASA had invested in her training?

Poor Scooter

2007-03-07T08:10:00.000-06:00

I often wonder how Dick Cheney can sleep at night, knowing that he is evil incarnate. But now that he has thrown Scooter Libby under the bus, I hope he wakes up at 3:13 every morning for the rest of his life. Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted on Tuesday of lying to a grand jury and to F.B.I. agents investigating the leak of the identity of C.I.A. operative Valerie Plame in the summer of 2003 amid a fierce public dispute over the war in Iraq. Dick Cheney has denied knowing anything about this scheme, which I find extremely unlikely. I met Joseph Wilson (Valerie Plame's husband) during the Kerry campaign in 2004, when he came here to speak as a surrogate on behalf of Kerry. Wilson is the guy who disputed the claim by the Bush Whitehouse Iraq had tried to acquire uranium in Africa to bolster the case for going to war. Turns out he was right. There was no evidence of it. Testimony at the trial showed that Wilson’s criticisms had alarmed and angered Bush administration officials because they amounted to a direct attack on what had been the principal reason for invading Iraq: the claim that Saddam Hussein had an active program of developing unconventional weapons. So these cowards released the name of Wilson's wife to the press, which was a federal crime. When I think about the crooked people who are running our country, it makes me cringe.

Hillary Does a Flip-Flop on Ethanol, Lands on Feet

2007-03-06T08:31:00.000-06:00

Hillary Clinton was in town yesterday, touring Pioneer Hi-Bred, one of the biggest players in corn-based ethanol research in the world. In 2000, she vehemently opposed an ethanol mandate on the coasts. Now that it's required due the ban of MTBE in gasoline, New York state blends more ethanol in its gasoline than Iowa. This from the Des Moines Register: Clinton, who was elected to the Senate in 2000, had voted during her first term against measures that called for requiring all pumps to offer ethanol-blended gasoline or for significant increases in the annual production of ethanol. But now that New York has four ethanol production plants in development, fears of higher fuel costs associated with transporting the additive have diminished, she said. Clinton supports incentives for corn-based ethanol, but also advocates increasing spending to develop technology to produce ethanol from grasses and forest waste. Last week, she proposed an energy plan built around eliminating tax breaks for oil companies and requiring them to spend some of their profits on alternative energy development. Good recovery, senator. When Bill Bradley flip-flopped on ethanol, all he did was make a lame excuse about "representing his east coast constituents" which he did very nicely by voting for tax breaks for pharmacaeutical companies.

These are the Things That I Know For Sure

2007-03-04T22:39:00.000-06:00

Hello Blog World! I just felt like spouting a little today. Sometimes it just hits me that I've actually learned a few things in my short time on the planet and I just wanted to share a few of my recent observations on life. 1. When in doubt about the "right thing" to say to someone, go for a compliment or a funny observation. 2. If someone you know accomplishes something extraordinary, send them a handwritten note. You will be surprised how much they will appreciate it. 3. Talk to children in social situations where their parents may be distracted. The child will always remember you and the parent will be grateful for it. 4. Make new friends. 5. Leave a legacy of love to your children. That's all for now.

Ann Coulter's Comments About John Edwards

2007-03-04T16:06:00.000-06:00

Ann Coulter is a sad, lonely shrew who's only outlet is to use hate speech in her role as party blo-hard. She has sunk to the level of Limbaugh in her stupidity, Hannity in her inaccuracy and Savage in her homophobic slurring of John Edwards. The republicans so desperately need a decent-looking woman to be on their side that they are willing to put up with her. Here is her quote, and it pretty much speaks for itelf. Now I have to go take another shower. Ew. "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I -- so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards," Coulter said.

McCain: Let Us Remember the Keating Five

2007-03-04T11:30:00.000-06:00

Most Americans have a very short political memory, so I thought I would remind you about one of the biggest scandals in American politics, ever. One of the players? You guessed it. John Sidney McCain III. I borrowed this passage from Wikipedia: The Keating Five (or Keating Five Scandal) refers to a Congressional scandal related to the collapse of most of the Savings and Loan institutions in the United States in the late 1980s. McCain was one of five senators who met at least twice in 1987 with Ed Gray, chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, seeking to prevent the government's seizure of Lincoln Savings and Loan, a subsidiary of Charles H. Keating's American Continental Corporation. Between 1982-1987, McCain received approximately $112,000 in political contributions from Keating and his associates. In addition, McCain's wife and her father had invested $359,100 in a Keating shopping center in April 1986, a year before McCain met with the regulators. McCain, his family and baby-sitter made at least nine trips at Keating's expense, sometimes aboard the American Continental jet. After learning Keating was in trouble over Lincoln, McCain paid for the air trips totalling $13,433.[46] Federal regulators ultimately filed a $1.1 billion civil racketeering and fraud suit against Keating, accusing him of siphoning Lincoln's deposits to his family and into political campaigns. McCain received a rebuke from the Ethics Committee for exercising poor judgment for intervening with the federal regulators on behalf of Keating. On his Keating Five experience, McCain said: "The appearance of it was wrong. It's a wrong appearance when a group of senators appear in a meeting with a group of regulators, because it conveys the impression of undue and improper influence. And it was the wrong thing to do."

Giuliani's "Weird Factor" May Not Be An Issue

2007-03-01T23:52:00.000-06:00

Oh yeah, that's Rudy Giuliani in women's clothing! Seems he is a bit of a public cross-dresser. Which is fine, don't get me wrong, but I guarantee you that the conservative right wing of the republican party are going to shit when they realize how many skeletons Giuliani has in his closet. He is going to make Bill Clinton look like the angel Gabriel. So let's review a few other weird things you may not know. Giuliani married his second cousin and then got his marriage annuled. Then he married Donna Hanover (the mom of his precocious son Andrew) and eventually divorced her after a well-documented affair with his 28-year old staff member. He is now married to his third wife Judith Nathan. His consulting business has produced more than its share of mini-scandals and he has not yet announced his net worth. I wonder how much the republicans are willing to overlook just to save the White House. My guess is that they will sell their souls for it and look the other way.

Cool Idea to Stem Brain Drain in Iowa

2007-02-28T06:05:00.000-06:00

Iowa has the same problem as many states...our college educated young people leaving the state with their excellent Iowa education under their belts, and also a hefty loan debt. So the catch 22 is that they have to get a job to pay off their loans but some of the entry level jobs in the state do not help them meet that obligation. So a young group of freshmen legislators (all in their 20's) is proposing a board of 15 people ages 18 to 35 to advise the Legislature and the governor on the best ways to attract and retain young people in urban and rural areas. The panel would include a mix of men and women, from different political parties, from across Iowa. The bill has made it out of committee and is headed to the House for a vote soon. I'll keep you posted. The committee itself would not prevent brain drain, but it would be a step in the right direction.

Iowa's Anti-bullying Law

2007-02-27T00:09:00.000-06:00

The anti-bullying legislation proposed by Governor Culver during his campaign is finally headed to his desk for a signature. The legislation includes a provision that specifically includes gay and lesbian students. I think this is an essential component of the bill. Everyone who has gone to high school for the last 40 years can remember the words "faggot" and "gay" being hurled at students no matter what their sexual orientation might be. It is much more common for students to come out as middle school or high school students now. I think it is essential that these children be protected as much as possible from the cruel taunts of their fellow students. These bullies are too young to know what harm and permanent damage they may be causing to others. It is up to the adults to protect all children from bullies and this bill is a great start. Some republicans in the Iowa house and senate were opposed to adding the sexual orientation provision, arguing that that group of kids does not need to be specifically protected by name. I think that naming the victims is essential when writing laws dealing with bullying. It gives some power back to the victims of the crime.

A Redneck Wedding

2007-02-25T23:25:00.000-06:00

Last night, Chelsey catered a wedding reception with Cole's family, who owns a restaurant. She does it because she can make a quick hundred bucks. Anyhoo, this was your typical redneck wedding reception. First of all, there was a raging blizzard going on at the time, so only 100 of the planned 450 guests showed up. They still had to pay for all the food, so I'm guessing the hosts were not in the greatest mood to begin with. Everyone had a little too much swamp juice and things got ugly fast. The bride and her sister left for an hour to change clothes (or something) and the groom proceeded to make out with other women on the dance floor and play grab-ass with the staff. When the bride returned, they started to scream at each other (ain't love grand) and eight people ended up getting arrested. Chelsey said there was blood everywhere. As the cops came to arrest the ruffians, a few redneck mammas tried to shuffle their kids outta there (yes, this was a family redneck wedding) and the cops arrested three drunk moms. Chelsey went to hide out in the bathroom for a reprieve from the madness and walked into a smoke-filled ladies room (the facility is non-smoking). The kids didn't get done until after two in the morning. Poor babies.

Melissa Ethridge's "I Need to Wake Up"

2007-02-25T22:54:00.000-06:00

Melissa Ethridge sung "I Need to Wake Up," from the film "An Inconvenient Truth" tonight during the Oscars. Then Leo DiCaprio and Al Gore came up to present an award. Be still my beating heart! I LOVE AL GORE! Here are the lyrics: Have I been sleeping? I’ve been so still Afraid of crumbling Have I been careless? Dismissing all the distant rumblings Take me where I am supposed to be To comprehend the things that I can’t see Cause I need to move I need to wake up I need to change I need to shake up I need to speak out Something’s got to break up I’ve been asleep And I need to wake up Now And as a child I danced like it was 1999 My dreams were wild The promise of this new world Would be mine Now I am throwing off the carelessness of youth To listen to an inconvenient truth That I need to move I need to wake up I need to change I need to shake up I need to speak out Something’s got to break up I’ve been asleep And I need to wake up Now I am not an island I am not alone I am my intentions Trapped here in this flesh and bone And I need to move I need to wake up I need to change I need to shake up I need to speak out Something’s got to break up I’ve been asleep And I need to wake up Now I want to change I need to shake up I need to speak out Oh, Something’s got to break up I’ve been asleep And I need to wake up Now

Wimbledon To Pay Women Equally

2007-02-24T16:47:00.000-06:00

The All England Club announced that this year women will earn the same prize money as men at Wimbledon for the first time in the tournament's history. All England Club chairman Tim Phillips said that the "time was right to bring this subject to a logical conclusion and eliminate the difference". "Tennis is one of the few sports in which women and men compete in the same event at the same time," he said. "We believe our decision to offer equal prize money provides a boost for the game as a whole and recognizes the enormous contribution that women players make to the game and to Wimbledon. "We hope it will also encourage girls who want a career in sport to choose tennis as their best option. In short, good for tennis, good for women players and good for Wimbledon." The announcement brings the tournament into line with the US and Australian Open, while the French Open last year announced that it would award the same prize money to its winners, but not to other female competitors. Jeez, it seems like it's about time.

Vilsack: Dissecting What Went Wrong

2007-02-24T12:26:00.000-06:00

David Yepsen had a great column this morning in the Register about what went wrong with Vilsack's ill-fated presidential run. I have a few observations to add. First of all, Vilsack has a blindly loyal staff that has always insulated him from reality. All of us who have "drunk the Koolaid" before, and you know who you are, know what I mean. Throughout his governorship, they have been incredible advisors, but have shielded him from political reality. They did the same thing this time, by supporting his presidential run. If a few of them would have said "no" and went to work for someone else, maybe Vilsack would have got the message. Another BIG mistake was announcing so early. It gave him a two-day media bounce but not much else. Inexplicably, he also opened seven offices in Iowa. That was just stupid. Not only do you have a staff in each office, but you have overhead in the form of phones, rent, etc. He shouldn't have done that until he had a strong network of supporters in place. One of my jobs when I worked for Gore was getting those satellite offices up and running, and it takes a lot of money and time. Gore wasn't doing that until just months before the caucus, and only after he had literally thousands of supporters solidly in place. And this is the harshest reality of all. He did not have the rank and file supporters he needed. If he had a solid grassroots movement going, it wouldn't have mattered that he didn't have a lot of money right away. But he didn't even have the support of the Iowa democrats that he spent the last eight years governing. Why didn't they support him? I have my own theories. But the last year of his governorship, it was clear to me that he left the keys to the shop to all of his department heads and went off to campaign. Most of them were very competent, but on big issues like emminent domain, the Fort Madison prison crisis, Touchplay, the U of Iowa presidential search and the Swift immigration debacle, he came off as "catching up" instead of leading proactively. This, coupled with the other disasterous policies like Steve King's English-only bill, he screwed himself. His base doesn't really trust him. Nationally, he wasn't that well-known despite his leadership position on the Democratic Leadership Counsel. That is still a "party" position not a "consumer" one. That, coupled with Vilsack's charisma deficit, made him just another policy wonk on parade. There are others who have a similar background that never made it either, such as Bruce Babbitt and Paul Simon. Both were very smart, decent people but lacked that "oomph" that catches the camera and the imagination of the people. Al Gore technically falls into this category, too. Al Gore inspired plenty of people who knew him well, but he still got the "wonk" brand from the press. Too bad, he would have made a terrific president. Vilsack also had his wife pushing him into the spotlight, and she didn't seem to mind it herself. I think she had a few public moments that gave her a taste of the limelight and she seemed to thrive there. Most presidential spouses are protective of the family life they will be losing, but Christie seemed to be walking in lockstep with Tom right off the cliff. Sadly, Vilsack did not acknowledge his lack of support in his decision to drop out. I think that is very telling that he's still under the delusional belief that he is the only person with leadership skills and new ideas in the race. That's just untrue. He used the "I couldn't raise enough money" excuse. It is valid if you are in the exploratory phase. Mark Warner and Evan Bayh both realized it early on and bowed out. They didn't have to worry about people questioning their motives. Vilsack has set himself up for criticism due to his statements on national TV about winning the race. It came off as cocky, not optimistic. I have no doubt that Vilsack will resurface in a very important national policy posistion. I can see him being alternative energy Czar. He would no doubt tackle the issue with energy and enthusiasm. Vilsack is a good guy, he just needs to be thoughtful and train his ambition to serve him, instead of leading him into situations where he gets in over his head. Like running for president.

Vilsack to Drop Out of Presidential Race

2007-02-23T09:44:00.000-06:00

This from the Des Moines Register: Vilsack expected to drop out today Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack plans to withdraw from the 2008 presidential campaign today, Democratic sources in Iowa said. Vilsack planned to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. to make what campaign "major campaign announcement," aides to the candidate said. Vilsack had said he would win the leadoff Iowa caucuses. He had been trailing three better-known candidates in the state, according to early polls. Vilsack had returned to Iowa Thursday after participating in a multi-candidate forum in Nevada. He had been campaigning in Iowa earlier in the week and had campaign events planned for Fairfield and Ottumwa this evening. Prior to that, Vilsack had spent 17 days campaigning outside of Iowa, making key speeches on Iraq and energy policy in front of influential activists and donors. He had also appeared on The Tonight Show, in an attempt to raise his low name identification. Vilsack, who announced his candidacy in November, continued to rank at the bottom of national polls, registering support from about 1 percent in most national surveys of Democratic presidential preference. However, sources said the deciding factor was that Vilsack's challenge to raise the estimated $20 million to compete through the early nominating contests, including the Iowa caucuses, was becoming too difficult. He reported raising $1 million from Nov. 9 to Jan. 31. However, his rivals were expected to have raised far more in the early part of 2007. Vilsack also had planned to campaign in the first-in-the-nation primary state, New Hampshire, Monday and Tuesday. It's all about the money. Sad but true.

The Higher Power of Lucky

2007-02-22T14:34:00.000-06:00

The children's book "The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan Patron is causing quite a stir among school librarians everywhere. On the first page, the book’s heroine, a scrappy 10-year-old orphan named Lucky Trimble, hears the word "scrotum" when another character says he saw a rattlesnake bite his dog, Roy, on the scrotum. “Scrotum sounded to Lucky like something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much,” the book continues. “It sounded medical and secret, but also important.” The Newbery-award winning book is being pulled of the shelves of libraries across the country. Good Lord, what has this world come to? My kids have to use public computers at the library with perverts who are allowed to download porn and kids in school can't read the word scrotum? Gimme a break.

Controversy over HPV shot

2007-02-21T23:29:00.000-06:00

Merck has been lobbying all over the country to get it's expensive Gardasil vaccine listed as a required immunization for school attendance. Human papilloma virus -- the one that causes cervical cancer is very common. According to the CDC, approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year. Men are carriers of the disease, and can suffer from genital warts and develop pre-cancerous cells. The same thing can happen to women, but it goes further, because HPV causes cervical cancer. The HPV virus can be prevented by getting a series of three shots. The shots are most effective if received by young girls before they reach puberty, but can be given at any age to prevent the disease. I called my insurance company to see if it's covered for my girls and it is. They aren't too happy about receiving three painful shots in the arm, but understand that it's preventative medicine. I think it's a good idea to make the shots mandatory, but parents should be able to get waivers just like they do for other shots. I also hope that insurance companies are required to cover the shots. Right now, they are running at $125 per shot. You can now see why Merck is so interested in lobbying for it. I can't wait until we have universal health care in this country. I heard today on NPR that we spend over one trillion dollars per year on health care in this country and that the spending is going up at about 6% per year. We could afford excellent coverage for everyone for that amount and preventative medicine could be the norm instead of the exception. Here is the "Tell Someone" campaign Web site. Brilliant marketing tactic. http://www.tellsomeone.ca/e/page2.html

My Dear Country - Norah Jones' New Song

2007-02-21T09:00:00.000-06:00

I bought Norah Jones' latest album a couple of weeks ago and it's taken a while for me to listen to all the songs a few times. Here is one of my favorites, it's called My Dear Country: My Dear Country 'Twas Halloween and the ghosts were out, And everywhere they'd go, they shout, And though I covered my eyes I knew, They'd go away. But fear's the only thing I saw, And three days later 'twas clear to all, That nothing is as scary as election day. But the day after is darker, And darker and darker it goes, Who knows, maybe the plans will change, Who knows, maybe he's not deranged. The news men know what they know, but they, Know even less than what they say, And I don't know who I can trust, For they come what may. 'cause we believed in our candidate, But even more it's the one we hate, I needed someone I could shake, On election day. But the day after is darker, And deeper and deeper we go, Who knows, maybe it's all a dream, Who knows if I'll wake up and scream. I love the things that you've given me, I cherish you my dear country, But sometimes I don't understand, The way we play. I love the things that you've given me, And most of all that I am free, To have a song that I can sing, On election day. So far I like her albums in the exact order they came out. Come Away With Me first, then Feels Like Home, then Not Too Late.

Welcome Home, Brave Soldier

2007-02-20T08:23:00.000-06:00

This from the Des Moines Register: U.S. Army Spc. Travis Vaughn of Cedar Falls was among eight American soldiers killed Sunday in a military helicopter crash in Afghanistan, family members and friends confirmed Monday. He was the 52nd person with Iowa ties to have died in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2003. Vaughn, 25, "was a real solid kid," said the Rev. John Fuller, pastor of Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls, who learned of Vaughn's death Sunday morning. Fuller married Vaughn and his wife, Heather, in an Iowa ceremony two years ago. The couple had lived near the Fort Campbell, Ky., military base. "He came into Heather's life, and he became Christian. Heather had a son, and he really took on the father's role. He was a good father and a good husband," Fuller said. The U.S. Central Command said eight soldiers died and 14 others were injured when the CH-47 helicopter had a "sudden, unexplained loss of power and control" and crashed in eastern Afghanistan. The Defense Department withheld some soldiers' names pending notification of relatives. "The loss of these service members is felt by all of us here in Afghanistan, and we offer the deepest sympathy to the families of those who were killed," said Lt. Col. David Accetta, a U.S. spokesman. I often wonder if the families of the dead care anything at all about the war on terror. To me, the war has not been worth the sacrifice of these brave young people. He did his duty and I respect him for it, but I wish he was alive.

John Edward's New Home

2007-02-20T06:25:00.000-06:00

John Edwards has built a new home and it's the same old crap from the media. Here he is touting his "Two Americas" and talking about poverty and then has the audacity to build a beautiful home for his family. Last time I checked, it was just fine for people to spend their hard-earned money on anything they want. It's that what the American Dream is all about? John Edwards rose from obscurity and a working-class childhood to an extremely successful career, complete with all the sacrifices that entails. Elizabeth left her law career behind to care for their family and she deserves to be able to enjoy a nice home. This is not a news flash people. Most people who run for president have a lot of money. We hear the same whining over and over yet you don't see anyone clamoring for the poor candidates. So I guess if you look at net worth, you'd probably better support Mike Gravel for President. http://www.gravel2008.us/ The Edwards' have probably given more money to charitable causes than I will make in my lifetime. And I'm still just fine with that.

Healthy Habits You Can Learn From a Dog

2007-02-18T23:24:00.000-06:00

From my friend Alison Griffin who is rebuilding a small town on the Gulf Coast with Americorps: Healthy Habits We Can Learn From A Dog: (by the way this is my darling lap doggie Trixie) Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride. Allow the experience of fresh air and wind in your face to be pure ecstasy. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them. When it's in your best interest, practice obedience. Let others know when they have invaded your territory. Take naps and stretch before rising. Run, romp, and play daily. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you've had enough. Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not. If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it. When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently. Thrive on attention and let people touch you. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do. On warm days, stop to lie on your back in the grass. On hot days, drink lots of water and lay under a shady tree. When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body. No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout, run right back and make friends. Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Iraq War Worst Foreign Policy Blunder Ever? Not Quite.

2007-02-18T21:53:00.000-06:00

Today on Wolf Blitzer, Harry Reid (Senate majority leader) made the assertion that invading Iraq is the worst foreign policy decision that any U.S. President has ever made. I totally agree, but is everyone just figuring this out? Back when Al Gore was running against Bill Bradley for the 2000 nomination, I kept a picture of of George W. Bush on my desk and a copy of a Molly Ivins column telling a cautionary tale of George's misguided "leadership" in Texas during his time as governor. During that time, my cousin Jacque who lives in New Mexico emailed to tell me she was voting for Ralph Nader. She mailed me a newspaper article about how similar Al Gore and George Bush were and that voting for either one of them would basically be like voting for the same policies. After the war, Jacque finally admitted that she was wrong. Can you imagine what would have been different? The U.S. would have signed the Kyoto global warming treaty, never started this God-forsaken war, and been able to afford health care for everyone. I'm guessing that our name would not have been dirt all over the world and that we would have dealt with the "war on terror" in a much more strategic way. In many ways, I am so glad that Al Gore wasn't president when 911 happened, but then again it might not have happened. If George Bush wasn't so busy scheming how to end social security instead of heeding all the warnings about Bin Laden that the Clinton administration had given them...who knows what would have happened instead. There is no doubt that Vietnam was a complete cluster, but the global implications of Bush's horrible decisions are much worse than I could ever have imagined. Plus, Al Gore wouldn't have gone around the world embarrassing our country and himself like Bush does every day. So I think that the worst blunder was ELECTING Bush in the first place. He is so lucky the democrats have decided not to impeach his ass.

What to do

2007-02-18T09:57:00.000-06:00

This week while Chelsey was recuperating from her surgery, her dad called. This was just a random call, mind you. he didn't even know that his own baby girl had just had surgery the day before. He hadn't seen her or talked to her since July, until Chelsey showed up at his house last week. So I guess his guilt is starting to work on him. What did he want? He told her that he wanted her and her sister to come and talk to him before the end of the week. The only problem is that Chelsey couldn't because she was stuck in bed and Bailey had to work and already had plans. I'm glad they didn't drop everything and run over there. They are both devastated by his lack of regard for them, so are learning to protect their feelings a bit. I am all for living large emotionally and putting all your feelings out there, risking. But in this situation I am recommending that they both put all that in check and guard themselves against certain future disappointments they are likely to experience. By the way, I truly feel that risking rejection and sharing feelings is the only way to feel a connection with another person. The more you keep inside, the less of a gift you are giving your loved one. Both of those darling little girls (ok, young ladies) have always just kept on loving him, through all his mental illness, through his coming out as a gay man, through him changing his personality nearly weekly, through verbal abuse and intolerance, through homelessness. They have never stopped loving him. Somehow he has always managed to come through intact to them. Part of that is that I have always reminded them what a great dad he was before things fell apart. They've always clung to those stories like a life raft. But it can't hold them up from the reality that he has changed. He has let go of the possibility of being a functional parent and person. I know it must be very difficult to chose that and keep walking forward without turning around to look back. But that's the decision he has made and there is nothing I can do to change that. I have an appointment with my lawyer. I am going to get full custody on paper, which I've technically had for years. I am going to sue him for all the money he's never paid me for health insurance and educational expenses, and I am going to turn him in to the IRS for making a nice cash living under the radar. Fuck it. I am sick of covering for him. I can't do it anymore.

Bye Bye Hard Drive

2007-02-18T02:31:00.000-06:00

I lost the hard drive on my home computer. Dells are such pieces of crap! A friend of mine fixed it for me free, but the parts and some new memory set me back $189.00. Damn. The most valuable thing lost was my kids' I-tunes, but at least they have most of those on their I-pods somewhere. I did lose tne chapter summary that I wrote for one of my future books. This one was about what it was like to be single and some of the experiences I had after my divorce. I don't think I'll be writing that book now. I am thinking about writing a book about why I no longer attend church. I'm still thinking about how much my poor mother would be able to take. I may wait until she's gone to write that one.

Carrie and Rob and Grey's Anatomy

2007-02-17T16:55:00.000-06:00

My friend Carrie called from Salt Lake City last night. I was relieved to know that she was in California when the recent shootings took place. She shops at that mall all the time, so it's particularily sad. She told me she was listening to the radio the other day and heard of a young married couple that had met at the mall to buy the rings they could finally afford, and the young bride was killed by the murderous rampage. How sad. Carrie was just home from her trip and had spent the entire day running errands, shopping, cleaning and cooking dinner. She sat down to watch Grey's Anatomy, her favorite show. Rob, her boyfriend, was working late. He came home just before the show ended, there was about 10 mintues left. She called up to him as he arrived that she was just watching the last ten minutes of a show and that she would be up in a bit. At the time, they only had one TV connected to cable because they'd just moved in and the cable guy had only connected one set. So she couldn't go in another room. Rob proceeded to complain that SHE WASN'T PAYING ATTENTION TO HIM! For God's sake. Carrie is still pissed at him and I have no idea how they will resolve this one! What is it about guys and attention? You pay attention to them 90% of the time and that 10% you try to carve out for yourself is NOT OK when they are around. I think men should be just as considerate to women when they are doing something they enjoy as women are to them. I know there are a couple of guys out there chomping at the bit to respond. Guys, batter up.

Knowing When It's Your Time.. And When It's Not

2007-02-16T08:20:00.000-06:00

I read an article today about how Hillary and Obama are raising money like gangbusters in Iowa, and how two of Vilsack's own statewide elected officials are not supporting him. I also got emails from two colleagues who are working for Obama and Hillary respectively. It got me thinking about how selfish Vilsack would be if he keeps going. He keeps comparing himself to Clinton ("The Little Engine That Could") in the 1992 presidential race. The big difference between then and now is that there were not three gigantic, larger than life candidates in that race. And Harkin ran, changing the Iowa dynamic for the worse. His biggest problem is that he checked out more than a year ago. He can only muster 1200 supporters in Iowa so far. That is not enough. He should have 15,000 by now. I know selfish is a strong word, so let me explain. He has some of the brightest people in the state on his campaign staff. Now is the time the other campaigns are hiring, so he should quit and let them go work for another candidate. If he waits until the money runs out, (with seven Iowa offices that will be very, very soon) it will be too late. All the good gigs will be gone. Vilsack is a good person with a bright future and a sharp mind. He will be able to get any number of high profile positions within government or the private sector. Christie and he would be able to move anywhere in the country. Vilsack should have a come-to-Jesus with himself and sit this one out. It's just not his time.

Supporter Cards All Over Again!

2007-02-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

Two of my former Al Gore team mates from Gore 2000 Iowa caucus campaign are coming back to Iowa, this time for separate candidates. Angelique Pirozzi, a Boston girl, will be heading up the Clinton campaign in Iowa. Paul Tewes will be the leader of the Obama effort in Iowa. I am so excited to have these extremely talented campaigners back in the state! Plus they are a ton of fun and I'm sure will have a few smack downs with each other over beers at the Alpine Lounge. When we were drumming up support for Al Gore, we were required to get "supporter cards" signed at every event. Angelique has a Boston accent (think Matt Damon) so her rallying cry became, "Suppota Caaads," which got all of us perfect Iowa accent people laughing pretty hard. My favorite story about Paul Tewes was the tumor that wasn't. One day Paul walked into my office with a splitting headache so bad that he decided that he had a brain tumor. After a very serious ride to the ER and three hours later, Paul burst out from the hospital practically singing, "No Tu-MA! No tumor!" That became his nickname the rest of the campaign. Good luck to both campaigns. This will be extremely interesting to say the least.

Last night

2007-02-15T08:20:00.000-06:00

My mom and dad got engaged on Valentine's Day 42 years ago. So my sister and I decided to cook dinner for my whole family to celebrate. We went all out, with filet mignon, champagne and three kinds of dessert. Chelsey came with us and at first she was quite nauseous because her tummy's been upset by her pain meds, but then she ate a banana and felt better. She laid on the bed in Teresa's room for most of the night but came out to see Cole (her boyfriend) when he arrived from work. It was a great dinner and a lovely evening. I love Valentine's Day.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto

2007-02-13T22:39:00.000-06:00

The Kansas board of education finally overturned the ridiculous rules about teaching "alternatives" to evolution in its schools. Most of the rest of the country can separate science from religion, but the ultraconservatives in this backwards state had a hard time doing that, to the detriment of their students. I certainly don't ever want to stop my kids from knowing there are alternative theories out there, but keep it out of science class please! Even my Catholic school taught evolution in science class 25 years ago.

Chelsey is Doing Fine

2007-02-13T13:21:00.000-06:00

Quick update: Chelsey is home and back in her own bed. We left the hospital at 10:00 and after a slow and snowy trip home, tucked her right in bed. She took some pain pills before she left the hospital and they kicked in right away. She is very sore and can't lay on her tummy or side, so she's a bit uncomfortable. She hasn't eaten at all yet today so I am guessing she will be as hungry as a bear by this afternoon! I will go out and get her some yummy comfort food and stop at the drug store to get her prescription filled. I'm just working from home from my livingroom.

Chelsey

2007-02-13T06:54:00.000-06:00

My oldest daughter Chelsey is having surgery today. She has a non-malignant tumor on her breast and decided to get it removed. When she first found it, it was a tiny little bump and the doctor told her it was ok to wait 6 months to see what happened to it. So we waited, and it grew about 10 times larger than it originally was. It's now about the size of a golf ball. They told us that it is a common tumor in young women and is caused by the large amounts of estrogen in the bloodstream. We go in at 6:00 a.m. and her surgery is at 7:30. It should only take about half an hour to do the surgery then she'll recover, then we'll come home. I tried to put it out of my mind, but slept very fitfully last night. Wish us luck.

The Police Reunion

2007-02-11T20:07:00.000-06:00

I will be front and center during the Grammys to see my all time favorite band of all time, the Police!! I saw them live circa 1980 in Cedar Falls and then Sting on a solo tour just a few years ago. Let me tell you, he is fabulous on his own, but there is just something about them all being together again. Their classic "Don't Stand So Close to Me" is my all time favorite song, closely followed by "Roxanne." My favorite solo hit is "Lazarus Heart."

Drew Gilpin Faust Breaks the Glass Ceiling

2007-02-11T18:43:00.000-06:00

Harvard named it's first female president today. Faust is a notable choice not only because she is female, but she's the first president since the 1600's to not have graduated from Harvard. I wonder where the argument that men are genetically smarter than women will go now that she is in charge.

Giuliani Turns on Abortion Rights, Panders to the Right

2007-02-10T15:08:00.000-06:00

Giuliani's missing playbook has turned up...On Sean Insanity's show. In South Carolina talking to conservative media outlets, Giuliani has talked about how he would appoint “strict constructionist” judges to the Supreme Court — code among conservatives who seek to overturn or limit Roe v. Wade. Funny, he never mentioned that while running for mayor in NY City, where voters overwhelmingly support abortion rights. “I hate it,” he said of abortion in a recent interview with Hannity of Fox News. “I think abortion is something that, as a personal matter, I would advise somebody against. However, I believe in a woman’s right to choose. I think you have to ultimately not put a woman in jail for that.” Gee thanks, Rudy. I guess women can breathe a sigh of relief that none of us would be arrested and thrown in jail for controlling our own bodies. If he is honest about this views, conservatives will reject him wholesale. But they are so desperate for a hero right now, since their last one didn't quite turn out to be the one they were banking on.

On John Edwards and Al Gore

2007-02-10T10:41:00.000-06:00

Let me just tell you this right up front. I love Al Gore. I have to get some pictures scanned from when I worked for him. The girls and I met him in 1999 right when I first started working for him. He is brilliant, principled, accomplished and downright hot to boot. :~) But I don't see him running again. He has said he's not interested. He's already been down that road and he has turned back to his one true love (besides Tipper), the planet Earth. He's fulfilling the mission that I believe he was put on this planet to accomplish. I wish him the best and I miss seeing him, but he has shed the stigma of loss, and is good as new. I smile everytime I see him on TV and in a magazine, because he looks happy. I'm sure he would make a great president. Think how different this world would be if it hadn't been for the few thousand votes in south Florida that were accidentally cast for Pat Buchanan. By the way, just to be a smart ass, I have to point out that Al Gore quit smoking before he ran for president. But now, we must move on, and I am 100% for John Edwards. It has nothing to do with puppy love. The first time he ran, I did not support him because I felt he wasn't quite ready. He has proved himself to me 10 times over.

Obama is Trying to Quit

2007-02-09T08:28:00.000-06:00

This from the Des Moines Register this morning: We couldn't find any credible polls on whether Americans are likely to elect a president who smokes. But Sen. Barack Obama isn't taking any chances. According to the Chicago Tribune, Obama is working to kick the habit. Some of us around the editorial department didn't know the senator smoked. In a sense, it makes him more human. But it's a chink in the armor of his boy-next-door image. It also makes us wonder how many other public officials are privately puffing. After all, smokers are no longer seen as cool or sophisticated, the way Franklin Roosevelt might have been viewed when he toted around his cigarette holder. These days, those gripped by addiction are seen as weak, a damaging attribute for a candidate. We figure Obama has a pretty good shot at quitting, since his every move is being captured by the media. Sneaking a puff in a parking garage or car won't be an option when photographers are lurking around every corner. We wish him the best of luck. As any former smoker will attest, it's tough to quit. There's never an easy time to do it - let alone when you're starting a marathon campaign aimed at the White House.

The Edwards Blog Controversy

2007-02-09T08:20:00.000-06:00

John Edward's campaign made the decision to hire a couple of very controversial yet potty-mouthed bloggers. He's taking a risk by doing this and you can bet they will point it out if he makes a mistake on the campaign trail. But if you want to play in the blogosphere, rule number one is you can't sensor on a sponsored blog. I personally think the women are extremely angry about something, and are vile for sure. But that's just me. I think Wal-Mart should hire Amanda Marcotte of the Pandagon blog site and Melissa McEwan of the Shakespeare’s Sister blog to write for them. HA! That would be interesting.

Poor Anna Nicole

2007-02-08T19:10:00.000-06:00

Love her or hate her, she's dead. All I can say is WOW. Sometimes she made some pretty questionable decisions, but she always made you look. Kind of like a train wreck. I think she was a tragic figure, almost destined to die young. I feel sorry for her little girl.

You can't make this shit up

2007-02-07T07:58:00.000-06:00

They say that life is stranger than fiction. Well, it's been proven true again! This astronaut (Lisa Nowak) gets in her car in Houston (wearing diapers so she doesn't have to stop to pee) and drives to Orlando Florida to confront another gal who is boning her boyfriend. Oh, by the way, Nowak is married and the mother of three children. Bill Oefelein, the astronaut pictured here, in typical cowboy fashion, was gettin' it on with two lovely ladies, it seems. So, Nowak claims that she wasn't there to hurt her, only talk to her. Yeah right! She was wearing a disguise, sprayed her with pepper spray, and had a steel mallet, bb pistol and rubber tubing in her car! My guess is that Nowak planned to dump her in a swamp in Louisiana on her way back to Houston. The burning question I want to know is...Were the diapers Depends or are there a special kind of space diaper that astronauts wear?

The History of Valentine's Day

2007-02-06T06:28:00.000-06:00

For those of you who believe that Valentine's Day is a made-up holiday, read on: As early as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual rite to passage to the God Lupercus. The names of the teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end this practice. They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier. According to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D. At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius-II who had issued an edict forbidding marriage. This was around when the heyday of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Learning declined, taxation increased, and trade slumped to a low, precarious level. And the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asian increased their pressure on the empire's boundaries. The empire was grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Thus more of capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage. Valentine, a bishop ,seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrement of matrimony. Claudius learned of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully. On February 24, 270, Valentine was executed. While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after. Valentine thus become a Patron Saint and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St.Valentine's name. The Valentine's Day card spread with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of the earliest card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.

George W. Bush vs. Carter...who is worse?

2007-02-05T19:35:00.000-06:00

Dana is the husband of one of my best friends. Last night while we were watching the Super Bowl he made the assertion that George W. Bush was a better president than Jimmy Carter had been. After I choked on my spinach dip...I strongly disagreed. My view is that while Carter lead with his heart instead of his brain most of the time, Bush leads with his foot but is blindfolded. And doesn't really have a brain to speak of... See this recent article from USA today: Sorry Dana, the majority of Americans disagree with you. Majority say history won't be kind to Bush Updated 12/12/2006 Just 19% expect President Bush to be seen by history as being outstanding or above-average, less than any of his five most recent predecessors. USA TODAY GALLUP POLL How do you think each of the following presidents will go down in history? President Outstanding / above average Average Below average / poor Gerald Ford 23% 60% 12% Jimmy Carter 38% 38% 22% Ronald Reagan 64% 26% 10% George H. W. Bush 32% 50% 18% Bill Clinton 45% 29% 25% George W. Bush 19% 27% 54% Source: USA TODAY/Gallup poll of 1,009 adults nationwide taken Dec. 8-10. Margin of error +/- 3 percentage points. By Susan Page, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — History's view of George W. Bush will be harsh, Americans predict. In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, a 54% majority says Bush will be judged as a below-average or poor president, more than double the negative rating given any of his five most recent predecessors. Just 19% expect him to be seen as outstanding or above average, placing him last among the six. Bush, re-elected in 2004, now trails three presidents who were rejected by voters when they sought second or full terms, including his father, George H.W. Bush. "The public sees this war in Iraq as a failure, and that's at the center of it," says Robert Dallek, a presidential biographer and author of Hail to the Chief: The Making and Unmaking of American Presidents. Criticized for the war and the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, Bush "has lost his credibility," Dallek says, "and you can't govern when people don't trust you." "Presidents are often viewed very differently by history than they are by their contemporaries," counters White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "While the president is aware of the polls and recognizes there's a call for a change in direction in Iraq, he will continue to make decisions as commander in chief that he believes are in the best interest of the citizens he swore to protect." Rated most highly: Ronald Reagan, seen as outstanding or above average by 64%, below average or poor by 10%. Bill Clinton ranks second; 45% say he will go down in history as an outstanding or above-average president. He is followed by Jimmy Carter, the elder Bush and Gerald Ford. Ford's positive rating is 23%, only slightly better than the current president. However, just 12% give Ford a negative rating, less than one-fourth of that given Bush. That may reflect today's polarized politics. Half of Democrats but just 3% of Republicans say Bush will be seen as a poor president. Ten percent of Republicans but just 1% of Democrats predict he will be judged outstanding. Overall, Republicans rate Bush third, below Reagan and the elder Bush but above Ford and the two Democrats. They rank Clinton last. Democrats rank Clinton first and Carter second, followed by Reagan, Ford and the elder Bush. The current president is last. The telephone poll of 1,009 adults has a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points. Predictions of Bush's standing in history are much more negative than they were about two years ago. The proportion who rate him positively has dropped by a third. Those who give him the lowest rating has doubled. Near this point in their second terms, Reagan was seen as an outstanding or above-average president by 62%, Clinton by 36%. The passage of time could boost Bush. "Things change," says Fred Greenstein, a presidential scholar at Princeton. "Presidents who were viewed as failures become lionized and presidents who were idealized at one point in time become marginalized." Consider Carter. When he lost his bid for a second term in 1980, 14% called him above average or outstanding; 46% called him below average or poor. Judgments have mellowed since then. Now 38% rate Carter positively, 22% negatively.

A Note to my Muslim Brothers and Sisters

2007-02-04T00:37:00.000-06:00

I don't know where to begin. But I've been thinking of writing to you for a long time. My first thought after 9-11 was to write a letter directly to Us*ma B*n Lad*n appealing to his sense of reason. But then I realized he had most likely lost any sense of reason that he ever had, and there was also the small matter of an address for the letter. I didn't think writing "Cave in Tora Bora" would cut it. So that idea went away. My next thought was to write a letter to some oppressed women in Afghanistan. But even if I got their addresses, I remembered that they most likely could not read, and besides that, probably would not be allowed to receive and send correspondence from complete strangers. So after waiting more than five years, I still have some things to say, and this is the way I've chosen to say it. I doubt that any actual Muslims read my blog, but if any of my readers happen to have a Muslim friend, please send them a link to my blog so they can read it. Thanks. What I would like to say is I'm sorry for the way the government of my country has treated Muslims across the world. I'm sorry for the way we invaded Iraq. I'm sorry for all the lives that have been lost. While I also grieve for the lives that were lost here in America and for the Americans that have died at the hands of extremists, I know that most Muslims have nothing to do with that. There are a few who have given the holy ancient Islamic faith a bad name. Simply, I do know a few things. I know that Christians and Muslims revere the same God, and it is the same God as the Jews worship as well. I think God would want us to figure out a better way to treat each other than we have so far. I don't think I can personally contribute to that happening, except to say that I support any efforts that are already trying to do that. I don't think there is anyone on Earth that can definitively say that there is only one way into heaven. One thing I know for sure is that I'm not able to make that determination from my lowly spot here. I guess one day we'll all find out what we did right and what we did wrong. For now, I just wish all the fighting and killing could stop long enough for us to find something within our common humanity that we can agree is worth improving. I sincerely hope that someday all the religious conflicts that divide not only the Muslim world and the Middle East but my country as well, will cease. I look forward to the day when we spend as much time and energy into improving the world as we do now destroying and dividing it. For what it's worth, when I look at the news of the war in Iraq on TV, I always seek out the faces of the children. Their smiles and sparkling eyes are just like the ones I see here and they are still innocent. I hope they can keep some of that into adulthood and help to build new positive relationships in the future.. Sincerely, Your Friend, Claire

Al Gore Enlists Help to Spread Global Warming Message

2007-02-02T08:49:00.000-06:00

Global warming caused by human activity is real and will continue for hundreds of years, a panel of some of the world's top climate scientists said Friday. Officially releasing a 21-page report in Paris on global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gave a bleak observation of what is happening now and an even more dire prediction for the future. By their predictions, sea levels around the world could rise by 7-23 inches, creating a dislocation of hundreds of millions of people from coastal areas. Al Gore has a presentation that he's been giving to sold out crowds all over the world and he's enlisted the help of a thousand volunteers, including housewives and Cameron Diaz. The only way people are going to get the message and change their behavior is to hear the message from their friends and neighbors in their own communities. It's called grassroots organizing and Al Gore is the master at doing that.

The Ten Pound, 2 and 1/2 oz. Wonder

2007-02-01T23:20:00.000-06:00

Yep, that's how much I weighed when I was born. My mom, the former nun Anita Marie, got a rude push into motherhood giving birth to a bowling ball like me. Dad, at a diminutive 5'3, had his graphic artists poking fun at him by drawing a figure of a gigantic baby girl holding her bespecled little Daddy in the crook of her arm. Mom was not happy in those early years of her marriage. She never let on when I was a child, but as an adult shared that she had literally broken out in hives because she was so upset at her fate. Dad is 11 years her senior and a good seven inches shorter. He was great at courting my mom, letting her think that he had more money than he did. But the reality was that he was the sole provider in his home, and he lived with his mother even after they married. Their house, right next door to Grandma's, was not quite yet done. I was born just a month shy of their year anniversary, which just happens to be September 11th. My mother took such good care of me. She doted on my every whim and even when I didn't deserve it, coddled me. She breastfed me until she got pregnant with my twin brother and sister just nine months later. Mom said that I was very gentle with Frank and Teresa for about two weeks and then started walking around the house saying, "Babies go b-bye?" "Babies go b-bye?" Mom went to her parish priest a few months later and asked about using birth control. He told her that she and my dad should sleep in separate beds. Mom went on the pill.

Russian Babies Gagged with Plaster

2007-02-01T08:20:00.000-06:00

Just when I thought I'd heard it all, a hospital in the southern Ural town of Yekaterinburg, Russia, has apparently taken to dealing with the cries of infant orphans by gagging them. The cellphone video taken by an observant patient, has caused waves across Russian culture, according to BBC News: The patient who reported the incident, Elena Kuritsyna, had been in the hospital with her own children. She said she heard the suppressed crying of young children in the next ward. “I heard that a baby was mumbling in a neighboring room; when I looked in, I saw the baby with plaster over his mouth; he could not cry or do anything, was just mumbling,” she told Reuters television. She approached the nurse in the ward and was initially told to mind her own business. Children were crying too loudly, and distracting nurses from their work, she was told. She eventually persuaded the nurse to remove the plaster, but she says that afterwards the nurse did it again. The nurse has been suspended and on Wednesday the head doctor at the hospital was reprimanded. It was not an isolated incident. A criminal investigation has been opened and, according to the prosecutors’ press service, as quoted by the BBC, “children in the first year of life were systematically gagged with sticking plaster to make children behave quietly.”

Publicity Stunt Gone Bad in Boston

2007-02-01T06:17:00.000-06:00

People in the PR business are always trying to think of ways to get attention for an issue, product or person. I watched the news last night and just shook my head... Here is an excerpt from the AP story: More than 10 blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a publicity campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. The devices depict a character giving the finger. Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless. "It's a hoax and it's not funny," said Gov. Deval Patrick. Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc. and parent of Cartoon Network, said the devices were part of a promotion for the TV show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," a surreal series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball. "The packages in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger," Turner said in a statement. It said the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, San Francisco and Philadelphia. "We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger," the company said. What a bunch of morons. At the very least they should have asked permission to place the devices in public places and alerted the police to the existence of the devices. In the end, it will still mean more publicity for Aqua Teen Hunger Force. By the way, that is the dumbest name since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Molly Ivins...A Great Liberal

2007-01-31T22:41:00.000-06:00

Molly Ivins lost her long battle with cancer today. I loved reading her column because she had the gift of saying everything I felt about George W. Bush. She made me feel like I wasn't the only person in the world that hates what Bush has done to this country. She was a brave fighter. She stood up for the powerless and voiceless. I will miss reading her provacative and sometimes hilarious musings.

Al Gore's Oscar Nominations...You go, Big Al.

2007-01-30T23:38:00.000-06:00

An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's brilliant documentary on global warming, was nominated for two Oscars. One for best documentary feature and one for best song..."I Need to Wake Up" by Melissa Etheridge. This is one of those movies that I went to see by myself because it was that important to me. Ever since I worked for Gore during the 2000 campaign, I have followed this issue very closely. I bought and read his 1992 book "Earth in the Balance." He said it then, and it still makes sense, that every individual has responsibility to this earth. It's so true. The Bush administration is taking a beating on this issue right now after a survey of government scientists revealed that many of them were intimidated into not sounding the alarm on global warning sooner, or watering down their findings. The science is very telling. I'll be watching Al and Tipper on the red carpet.

Me and the girls in the paper today

2007-01-30T08:40:00.000-06:00

There's an article about online spending that the girls and I are quoted in today. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007701300360 Check it out!

My blog...A note from the editor

2007-01-30T08:30:00.000-06:00

I usually post all comments to my blog. But the beauty of being the editor is that I get to decide what to post and what not to. If I feel that your comment is mean-spirited or insulting and has no discussion value, then I will delete it faster than a speeding bullet. If you don't like it, then quit reading it.

Obama and his cancer sticks

2007-01-29T08:13:00.000-06:00

There's a rumor floating around that Barack Obama is a smoker. If that's the case, I think that he needs to quit. You can bet that a photo of him smoking will make it into the mass media and that would set a horrible example for a lot of people who are looking up to him right now. Smoking rates for young African American men have skyrocketed 80% in the last decade, according to the National Cancer Institute. Obama has a huge opportunity to set an example by quitting, then by speaking out on the issue and getting some real reforms placed on public smoking in the U.S. I quit smoking at the age of 28, having already smoked for 14 years up to that point. I grew up in a house full of secondhand smoke too. My dad smoked around us kids, and somehow that gave me a license to start smoking myself. Dad was in no position to tell me to quit so I kept smoking. Obama's kids deserve to have a smoke-free home and a healthy dad.

The War on Individual Freedom...A True Story

2007-01-28T13:18:00.000-06:00

Maher Arar, Syrian-born a Canadian citizen (his family emigrated when he was 17), was detained in New York on his way home from a Tunisian vacation in 2002. Despite the fact that he was a citizen of Canada, the U.S. government deported him to Syria, where he was held for 11 months, tortured and forced to make false confessions. The Canadian government recently apologized for ruining his life and gave him 10 million dollars. He has been unable to find work since his ordeal (go figure). The U.S. government has yet to admit fault and compensate this innocent man. This is a prime example of the Wild West mentality of our government. Some would argue that this dragnet will catch more terrorists. I don't know that it's working the way it's supposed to.

Women in politics: A little courtesy, please.

2007-01-27T10:45:00.000-06:00

If you Google Nancy Pelosi and click on "images" it's digusting how many of them are photoshopped images that are demeaning and degrading. Here's one I found that is typical of the junior high pranksters who are posting out there. I've been listening to the conservative radio shows talk about Hillary this week. It's almost as if they're describing a horse at an auction. They talk about her flanks, her teeth and her temperment. Don't even get me started on Michael Savage. That man is criminally insane. I also read another article on Nancy Pelosi and heard Sean Insanity talk about Pelosi "breastfeeding a child on the House floor." He was kidding of course, and I can take a joke, but do you ever hear a comment like that being made about a man? On CNN (the supposed "bastion of liberal media") ran a story about how many times Pelosi blinks. I do remember reading an article about how many times Bush blinks per minute, so I guess turnabout is fair play. I think I see a trend. White boys are scared about losing their power, so they sling insults and assign undesirable characteristics to women to keep themselves superior (at least in their own minds)? Pelosi and Clinton are playing by all the same rules as the men who preceeded them. Let's all back up a little bit and give them some room to succeed. And please, a little common courtesy and maybe even some old-fashioned deference, gents.

Happy Birthday, Chet! Minimum wage for Iowa

2007-01-26T08:44:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Iowa's new minimum wage law was signed by Governor Chet Culver. Congratulations to the thousands of working people who will receive a well-deserved raise. It was also Culver's birthday. Now if our national leaders could just do the same...wouldn't it be nice?

Shame on the U.S. Senate

2007-01-25T08:25:00.000-06:00

The House has already passed a bill which would allow the minimum wage to increase to $7.25 per hour, without giving small businesses a tax break. Am I missing something? If the minimum wage passes, then the people at the Dairy Queen will get a raise, and the people at the Dairy Sweet down the street do too. The price of an ice cream sundae goes up at both places. Problem solved. After ten years, people deserve a raise. Period. I've blogged before about this issue and I always hear the same B.S. on the radio from Sean Hannity. "Only teenagers get a raise...blah blah blah..." Not only is that NOT TRUE (More than 40% of all minimum wage earners are breadwinners in their families) but what is wrong with giving teenagers a raise? They go to school all day, then work until 9 or ten at night. Some of them are helping raise their family's standard of living (mine are!) Those teenagers work hard and deserve a raise once every ten years! Pass the bill without the tax breaks attached!

Sad State of the Union

2007-01-23T23:05:00.000-06:00

I have never seen such political pandering in my entire life. Bush, in a desperate attempt to not look like the pathetic loser of a president that he is, paraded a string of war heroes, a subway hero and a seven foot tall NBA basketball star past the cameras. You're not fooling me, Mr. Bush, and you can bet the American people won't be fooled either.

At the back of the pack

2007-01-23T08:34:00.000-06:00

I've met both Richardson and Biden. Both of them are nice guys, but they also are pretty lackluster. Biden's been in the Senate for years and Richardson's been secretary of energy and a governor. They both have more experience than Vilsack, who continues to trail in national polls. My prediction for the Iowa Caucuses...Edwards, Clinton, Obama, Vilsack, in that order.

Good luck, Hillary

2007-01-22T08:46:00.000-06:00

In yet another "Web announcement" Hillary is throwing her hat into the ring. She's the first-ever truly credible woman contender for the White House. She experienced, she's smart and she truly has the fundraising power to raise nearly unlimited amounts of money. I like her. She is engaging, funny and personable. She is a disciplined campaigner. You can bet she has done her homework on every issue under the sun. It will be interesting to see how people react to her. So many people say they can't stand her, men and women alike. But when they actually meet her and hear her speak, many people change their minds. This will be so interesting! People like me in Des Moines have a front row seat. I wish her the best of luck. I hope people will give her the chance to express her views and be respectful.

Archie Brooks and Christopher Columbus...both exploiting plunderers

2007-01-20T13:16:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about Christopher Columbus. Mostly because people of Italian heritage tend to celebrate the fact that Columbus is hailed as "the great explorer" in history. The reason it's come to my attention lately is because South-side Des Moines residents of Des Moines are thinking about changing the name of the Archie Brooks community center back to it's original name "Pioneer Columbus." The center sits in an area that is half way between Columbus park and Pioneer Park. Hence the combo name. Archie Brooks has been indicted by the U.S. attorney and is charged with 27 counts of crimes ranging from fraud to conspiracy. He most likely will be trying not to bend over in Leavenworth for 10 or 15 years. His name will not stay on the building, that is for sure. Changing it back to represent Columbus would bother me tremendously. I don't think the true nature of Columbus' numerous voyages to the new world are widely known. I don't think the good people of the Italian American Cultural Center would hold a Columbus Day dance every year if they knew that Columbus' real legacy was slavery and mass murder on a biblical scale. Here is an excerpt from a book I'm reading. History Not Taught is History Forgot: Columbus' Legacy of Genocide Excerpted from the book Indians are Us (Common Courage Press, 1994) by Ward Churchill Columbus and the Beginning of Genocide in the "New World" It has been contended by those who would celebrate Columbus that accusations concerning his perpetration of genocide are distortive "revisions" of history. Whatever the process unleashed by his "discovery" of the "New World," it is said, the discoverer himself cannot be blamed. Whatever his defects and offenses, they are surpassed by the luster of his achievements; however "tragic" or "unfortunate" certain dimensions of his legacy may be, they are more than offset by the benefits even for the victims of the resulting blossoming of a "superior civilization" in the Americas. The 1492 "voyage of discovery" is hardly at issue. In 1493 Columbus returned with an invasion force of seventeen ships, appointed at his own request by the Spanish Crown to install himself as "viceroy and governor of [the Caribbean islands] and the mainland of America, a position he held until 1500. Setting up shop on the large island he called Espa–ola (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic), he promptly instituted policies of slavery (encomiendo) and systematic extermination against the native Taino population. Columbus's programs reduced Taino numbers from as many as eight million at the outset of his regime to about three million in 1496. Perhaps 100,000 were left by the time of the governor's departure. His policies, however, remained, with the result that by 1514 the Spanish census of the island showed barely 22,000 Indians remaining alive. In 1542, only two hundred were recorded. Thereafter, they were considered extinct, as were Indians throughout the Caribbean Basin, an aggregate population which totaled more than fifteen million at the point of first contact with the Admiral of the Ocean Sea, as Columbus was known. It has long been asserted by "responsible scholars" that this decimation of American Indians that accompanied the European invasion resulted primarily from disease rather than direct killing or conscious policy. There is a certain truth to this, although starvation may have proven just as lethal in the end. It must be borne in mind when considering such facts that a considerable portion of those who perished in the Nazi death camps died, not as the victims of bullets and gas, but from starvation, as well as epidemics of typhus, dysentery, and the like. Their keepers, who could not be said to have killed these people directly, were nonetheless found to have been culpable in their deaths by way of deliberately imposing the conditions which led to the proliferation of starvation and disease among them. Certainly, the same can be said of Columbus's regime, under which the original residents were, as a first order of business, permanently dispossessed of their abundant cultivated fields while being converted into chattel, ultimately to be worked to death for the wealth and "glory" of Spain. Neither one of them are “heroes” worth remembering, in my humble opinion.

Special guest blogger -- Immigration Nation

2007-01-18T08:39:00.000-06:00

My friend Rachel Garst (from Coon Rapids, Iowa) wrote this guest editorial for the Des Moines Register a few weeks ago. I asked her permission to share it with you: Many Iowans believe that the abruptly deported Swift workers and their families, as "illegals," have gotten what they deserve. Having lived in Central America for 20 years has given me a different view. I cannot think about immigration without seeing the faces of families living in misery: Feeding their kids sugar water to calm their cries of hunger. Injured from falling on rocks while washing clothes in the river. With sick kids and no way to buy antibiotics. Youngsters with no education for want of basic school supplies and bus fare. I have met hundreds of good parents, industrious, honest people who - no matter how hard they work - still cannot support their loved ones. Too often, they watch them die. When you ask a Central American how many children they have, they will tell you how many alive and how many dead. Iowans also need to ask themselves WHY Latin America is so poor. Might it have something to do with U.S. corporate interests insisting on tax breaks, tax-free imports and free-market pricing policies? Or with the U.S. military and CIA supporting repressive elites and brutal dictators in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Chile? In Guatemala, I watched 200,000 civilians, including women and children, die under a regime of state-sponsored terror. Their repressive government was born of a U.S.-engineered coup that overthrew the only democratically elected government Guatemala ever had. We blocked social change in their country, and then we blame them for trying to leave? Simpler still, take a look at the tiny percentage of our gross national income dedicated to foreign aid (0.2 percent), with most of that targeted not on the poorest, but on our geopolitical allies. As holders of such great wealth, with such a miserly attitude toward sharing it with others, we carry part of the blame for the poverty that is driving people north. The hue and cry about the illegality of undocumented workers also ignores the near impossibility of getting a work visa to the United States. The quotas just aren't there. Put yourself for a moment in these people's shoes. If you were walled into a ghetto watching your children starve, and across the wall you saw people supporting their families with paying jobs, what would YOU do? Accept that your little children were born into the wrong country? Rob and steal? Give up your children for foreign adoption so that - even if you never see them again - they have a shot at a decent life? Or might you try to cross the border (even illegally!) to a country where you could work to support those you love? Personally, I cannot call that person a criminal. Thinking in purely religious terms, which is more immoral: crossing the wall or putting it up in the first place? Iowans also seem to lack a clear-sighted understanding of our own situation. Expert after expert warns us, as loudly as they can, that the real challenge for the Iowa economy is not immigration but a growing shortage of workers and children in our increasingly elderly state. Without more young families in Iowa, our whole economic and social future will quickly be in peril. So how do we respond? By seeking to drive away the very people - hardworking and with big families - who are the best hope for the revitalization of our economy and schools. English-language-only laws, denying in-state tuition rates to children raised in Iowa and preventing drivers from getting licenses are not just policies that punish decent people; we are shooting ourselves in the foot. The United States should open legal avenues to immigrants, and Iowans should welcome this diversity. However, there is no way even expanded quotas can absorb the rising flood of desperate people. The only long-term solution is not walls and police, but foreign aid and trade policies to help Latin American countries create employment and provide social services at home. Scrooge saw the light. It was in his own self-interest to be understanding and generous. So, what is it going to take for us Iowans? RACHEL GARST is outreach director of Whiterock Conservancy, near Coon Rapids, Iowa.

Car Alarm

2007-01-18T08:32:00.000-06:00

For the past two or three weeks, I have been awoken at all hours of the morning (1,2,3 and 4 to be exact) by a car alarm in the neighborhood. It's like listening to the sound of an ambulance going through an intersection, only the ambulance is right next to your bed. I know where the car parks (the neighbor behind me) and I have the license plate number. What should I do with it? By the way, it's the same neighbor who also occasionally rides his Harley home at all hours of the night in the summer and leaves it idling in his driveway while opening his garage door, then revs it up before shutting it off. One night after he finally shut the damn thing off, I opened my window and told him that some people are asleep!!!!!! Or used to be... People are so rude.

Obama jumps in

2007-01-17T08:15:00.000-06:00

I really didn't think he would run. But he is. It's just mind numbing to think about a primary race between Obama and Hillary. Since they're both from Illinois, I'm sure that will somewhat split the base there. I've never been to a caucus with such heavyweights involved. I still think that John Edwards is the best choice overall. He is much less polarizing than Hillary and has more experience than Obama. I hate to say that Hillary is polarizing, because I think she's great. But, I have met so many people who say they won't vote for her because of that perception. I also think her vote on the war will hurt her. Not only because she voted for it, but because she really hasn't said it was the wrong thing to do. To a caucus-goer like me, that is crucial. One thing that Obama could really do is energize the black vote in the South. I haven't seen any polls by region yet, but I'd be interested to know which candidate Latinos prefer.

From the WTF files

2007-01-15T23:28:00.000-06:00

I would like to know why Christopher Dodd walked in with Senator Harkin at Culver's inauguration. I understand he was in town...but that alone should not be enough for him to parade in with all the Iowa elected officials. On a day that should have been partially to thank Governor Vilsack for his eight years of service to the state, his opponent for the presidential nomination got some very undue recognition. I thought it was very tacky. I'm sure 99% of Iowans had never even seen him, so I guess Dodd got something out of it.

The ACLU now battles for men's right to change names

2007-01-14T22:57:00.000-06:00

From ABC news: Wow....good for him. Before Michael Buday married his fiancée, Diana Bijon, he decided to honor her family by bucking tradition and taking her last name. But, it wasn't so easy. Under California state law, he needed to pay more than $300, go to court, file a petition, and publicly advertise his name change for four weeks in a local newspaper. If he had simply gone along with tradition, it would have cost only $50 to $80. So Buday, 29, went to court, along with the ACLU, to change the law. They recently announced their plans to sue the California Department of Health Services, which oversees marriage licenses and name changes. After years of fighting for women's rights, the ACLU is now battling for equal rights for men. California is one of 44 states with unequal name change laws for people getting married. Right now, only six states — Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York and North Dakota — explicitly allow a man to change his name through marriage with the same ease as a woman can. According to the ACLU, the obstacles facing a husband who wishes to adopt his wife's last name violate the equal protection clause provided by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. "California has the perfect marriage application for the 17th century," said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California. "The laws reflect a mind-set that the wife is to be subordinate to the husband." I didn't know that I lived in such a liberal state! I do know one Iowa couple who changed their names to reflect both surnames...they just hyphenated it to read "Smith-Jones" and that's their kids' last name too. I think it's great. I always regretted taking my former spouse's name. Not because I am such an independent "liberal" woman but more because I like my name. When I got divorced I took it back, even though my kids' names are different. Never once has there been a problem.

Condi on the hotseat

2007-01-13T18:50:00.000-06:00

Poor Condoleezza Rice. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) went a little apeshit on her last week when once again Condi was forced to defend her boss' dumb idea in front of the Senate foreign relations committee. Sen. Boxer noted Rice has no children of her own to lose overseas. "Who pays the price?" Boxer repeatedly demanded. "You're not going to pay a particular price," she told Rice, because the secretary has no "immediate family" at risk. It was a little silly and very unfair to throw poor Condi under the bus for not having a kid in the war. What she should be thrown under the bus for, is continually bringing these lame strategies before the committee, where they pretty much are so frustrated that they start blaming the messenger. Let's be clear here, the real messenger is Bush. He is years late and more than 350 billion dollars short.

Best Friends

2007-01-12T08:34:00.000-06:00

Last night two of my three best friends met me for dinner to celebrate a December birthday that we delayed celebrating. Deanna (the belated birthday girl) is on the left, Stacy is on the right. We went to high school together and then all got back together as young adults and have been close ever since. Carrie, my other best friend, moved to Salt Lake City last year. We called her last night at dinner just to include her in some way in the evening. We went to a relatively new place called Lucca in the East Village. The appetizers were really spectacular so we really looked forward to the entrees. They were a little disappointing. I had asked for vegetables on the side and my plate arrived with roasted red peppers and black olives, all kind of mixed in with the mashed potatoes. First thing you have to know is that I hate olives. So I tried to pick them out but it was impossible. I finally sent my plate back, reminding them that black olives are not a freaking vegetable. They cheerfully re-cooked my dinner and brought it back. We brought our own wine, which was nice but the corking fee was a little steep. After dinner, we decided to go to the Greenwood lounge, a little hole in the wall bar that we'd all gone to for years after high school. I stayed long enough to have a diet coke and play a few songs on the juke box, which by the way, is the best one in Des Moines. It's too smoky for me anymore, but a great little bar. You can tell we are getting older...the conversation had less to do with boyfriends and shopping and more to do with aging parents and hormone fluctuations! I love my friends. Dee and Stacy (and Carrie), you're the best friends a girl could have.

Congressman Steve King is an embarrassment to Iowa

2007-01-11T08:16:00.000-06:00

Shame on you, Congressman King! King is suing the governor-elect Chet Culver (former secretary of state) and Michael Mauro (current secretary of state) for posting "illegal voting forms" on the Iowa secretary of state's Web site. King authored the Iowa English only law as a state senator and apparently now is trying to enforce it. Culver responded in November, saying that the English-language law includes a provision that allows for "any language usage required by or necessary to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, or the Constitution of the state of Iowa." Attorney General Tom Miller then ruled that Culver had authority to offer the forms in foreign languages. As long as they are offered in English too, which they are, what difference does it make? We are trying to attract newcomers to our state..we should be welcoming, and make it easier for them to assimilate into society.

Finally, a minimum wage increase!!!

2007-01-10T21:18:00.000-06:00

The new democratic congress (ALL OF THEM) were joined by 80 of their brave republican colleagues and passed a minimum wage increase today. If it stays intact all the way to the President's desk, it would raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. According to the government's own statistics, 75% of minimum wage workers are 20 and older. More than 40% of all minimum wage workers are the sole breadwinner in their family. 50% of minimum wage workers work at least 40 hours per week. The 2006 poverty line for a family of three is about $16,000. A minimum wage worker who works 40 hours per week takes home only $10,712 annually. This figure has not changed for nine solid years. I know how much my expenses have gone up since 1996, when the last increase went into affect. This is outrageous considering that congress, social security recipients and most of the rest of us get at least some sort of raise every year. It's a great day to be an American. I finally have something to be proud of.

People's Choice: Vaughn and Aniston

2007-01-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

I usually don't watch the People's Choice Awards but my daughter and I caught the last few minutes of the show last night before we went to bed. I noticed that Jennifer Aniston won for best female star (what happened to Angelina? oh yeah, she was in Africa saving the world). And coincidentally, Vince Vaughn won best leading man. He went head-to-head with Brad Pitt came out on top. So my deduction is that there a quite a few people who also think "Brangelina" are overrated just like me. Vince had some serious bags under his eyes and seemed a little wacked out when he walked up to receive his award, but I'd pick him over Brad Pitt any day!

Happiness 101

2007-01-09T08:40:00.000-06:00

I read a fascinating article in the NYTimes yesterday about clinically measuring happiness. Among the insights: There are at least several hundred "postive psychologists" who've taken up the study of what makes people happy. Seems there are certain measures of happiness: pleasure versus selfless giving, gratitude and forgiveness, close relationships and love, spirituality and well-being and finally “meaning and purpose in life.” Essentially, positive psychology brings the same attention to positive emotions (happiness, pleasure, well-being) that clinical psychology has always paid to the negative ones (depression, anger, resentment). Psychoanalysis once promised to turn acute human misery into ordinary suffering; positive psychology promises to take mild human pleasure and turn it into a profound state of well-being. Positive psychologists have developed “interventions,” or practices, designed to maximize positive emotions and have tested them on thousands of people. One such intervention is to think every night about the good things that happened to you that day. Another is to make sure in any given day that you either work or play in a new area that draws on what positive psychologists call your “signature strengths” to create a sense of well-being. According to positive psychology, your signature strengths play a special role in building your confidence and thus bringing you happiness. They list a Web site with a 240-question test for happiness, written by one of the foremost researchers in the field, Dr. Martin Seligman. Here is the link... authentichappiness.org

Funny joke

2007-01-09T08:21:00.000-06:00

A woman married three times walked into a bridal shop one day and told the sales clerk that she was looking for a wedding gown for her fourth wedding. "Of course, madam," replied the sales clerk, "Exactly what type and color dress are you looking for?" The bride to be said: "A long frilly white dress with a veil." The sales clerk hesitated a bit, then said, "Please don't take this the wrong way, but gowns of that nature are considered more appropriate for brides who are being married the first time - for those who are a bit more innocent, if you know what I mean? Perhaps ivory or sky blue would be nice?" "Well," replied the customer, a little peeved at the clerk's directness, "I can assure you that a white gown would be quite appropriate. Believe it or not, despite all my marriages, I remain as innocent as any first-time bride. You see, my first husband was so excited about our wedding, he died as we were checking into our hotel. "My second husband and I got into such a terrible fight in the Limo on our way to our honeymoon that we had that wedding annulled immediately and never spoke to each other again." "What about your third husband?" asked the sales clerk. "That one was a Republican said the woman, "and every night for four years, he just sat on the edge of the bed and told me how good it was going to be."

Angelina and Wal-Mart? Ugh

2007-01-08T14:43:00.000-06:00

Kate Kretz has painted for 20 years but none of her previous work has garnered the attention given "Blessed Art Thou," showing this weekend at Art Miami, an annual exposition of modern and contemporary art. The purpose of art is to get people to think. I thought about it for about five seconds and concluded that I can't decide which is worse...Angelina Jolie or Wal-Mart. It's a toss-up. It's supposed to represent Angelina, holding her brood, as heaven, and Wal-Mart as hell. While I agree that Wal-Mart could be equated to hell, Angelina as a Madonna or angel figure makes me want to puke.

The Good Shepherd

2007-01-07T13:50:00.000-06:00

Jim and I saw "The Good Shepherd" last night. It was a long movie, at 2 hours and 40 mins. It was also very well done. Angelina Jolie played Damon's wife. That was the only bad part of the movie. I just can't watch her...I think she's an evil homewrecker. Sorry. You should go see the movie. It will make you appreciate all the sacrifices the people of the secret services make for us.

Speaker Pelosi's Big Day

2007-01-05T08:45:00.000-06:00

I was home over the noon hour yesterday and just happened to catch Speaker Nancy Pelosi's swearing in and the speech that John Boehner gave before she was sworn in. The Washington Post reported: When House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) rose to present the gavel to the new speaker, he was magnanimous in acknowledging both the roots of Republican defeat last November and the historic import of the moment. "In a few moments, I'll have the high privilege of handing the gavel of the House of Representatives to a woman for the first time in American history," he told his fellow lawmakers. "Whether you're a Republican, a Democrat or an independent, this is a cause for celebration." He concluded with a warning for Democrats, gleaned from his party's pursuit of power and the lessons learned from defeat: "If there is one lesson that stands out from our party's time in the majority, it is this: A congressional majority is simply a means to an end. The value of a majority lies not in the chance to wield great power but in the chance to do great things." In what must be another first, the gavel changed hands with a hug and a kiss. Just a side note, the only person the chamber not to stand and applaud was Rep. Joe Barton of (R-Texas). What a pussy. No pun intended.

An honest-to-goodness hero

2007-01-04T08:33:00.000-06:00

I'm a total sucker for a good "Good Samaritan" story. Here's the link to the New York subway hero's story. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/nyregion/03life.html?em&ex=1168059600&en=1651d936e987225f&ei=5087%0A

Giuliani screws up early

2007-01-02T18:55:00.000-06:00

Wow, the ink on the new calendars isn't even dry yet and Giuliani has already shot himself in the foot! A campaign operative apparently left a "playbook" of sorts on an airplane and it fell into the hands of a reporter, who published the somewhat embarrassing details.

For Giuliani, running for president is clearly a career move, not something he's doing to move the country forward. Shame on him, and good for us for finding out his true stripes so early.

My New Year's Resolutions

2007-01-01T23:39:00.000-06:00

These are not in any particular order. Talk less, listen more. Keep my nails painted. Lose weight. Work smarter, not longer. Pay all my bills on time (even the damn water bill). Spend more time with my kids. Find time to work out regularly. Eat less. Give more money to my favorite charities. Blog more. Speak out. Be nice to people who piss me off. Figure out what I'm going to do with this hair. Meet my blogging friend Michelle Baines. Stop cussing in the car. Call all my first cousins (there are 30 of them). Learn how to make a perfect panini.

How John Edwards got rich

2007-01-01T15:05:00.000-06:00

Some people are very uncomfortable with the way that trial lawyers make money. The profession is frought with risk. The risk is in the gamble that lawyers take: They usually make no money unless they win the case. In the case of John Edwards, he has taken some very difficult liability cases and tranlated that into millions of dollars in settlements for his clients. He gets a percentage of the winnings, and that's how he got rich. Sound easy? Hardly. My favorite case that Edwards won was against the Sta-Rite company. A maker of drains for wading pools, it continued to manufacture dangerous drains even though 12 previous lawsuits found the design to be flawed. In this case, a 5-yr old girl had her bowels sucked out of her body by one of the pool drains made by this company. The little girl lived (if you can imagine) and Edwards agreed to take the case. I have a lot more of a problem with professional athletes making millions of dollars a year for their athletic ability than I do with a lawyer who uses his brain to win a case for a little girl who's life is permanently altered by a careless company. The 25 million dollar settlement was the largest personal injury award ever given by a North Carolina jury. Without lawyers like Edwards to take on these corporate scumbags, people are at risk. The judicial system plays a huge role in our society. As for "Two Americas" and John Edwards, he knows what it's like to grow up poor. He's been there. He watched his parents struggle and knew the only way out was education. Disparaging him for being wealthy after working his whole life to get out of poverty's grip is a very hypocritical stance. I'm happy for him and his wife and family. I could care less if they built a palace. I know that they'll always be family people, with good moral values and caring hearts. I say good for them.

U.S.-led posse finally kills Saddam

2006-12-30T09:09:00.000-06:00

I'm not saying that Saddam didn't deserve punishment for the horrific crimes he committed. He did. And if there's a hell, I'm sure he's burning in it right now. I am very bothered, however, about the blood-thirsty nature of his execution. With more than 60 Iraqis (some of them totally innocent) being found beheaded in the streets everyday, how does the murder of Saddam Hussein contribute to peace? For that matter, how does another government-sponsored murder send the signal to the people that government-sponsored murder is wrong? If capital punishment brought anyone who was murdered back to life, or gave anybody back their shattered life, I would say bring it on. But all it does is perpetuate the cycle of violence. It was interesting to read the AP story that was in the paper this morning. The writer said, "Clutching a Quran, Saddam Hussein went to the gallows before sunrise today, executed by vengeful countrymen after a quarter-century of remorseless brutality that killed countless thousands and led Iraq into disasterous wars against the United States and Iran." That last part sounds like fantasy revisionist history to me. Wars are most often disasterous. When will we learn that the way to peace is not war?

The Obama and Hillary factor

2006-12-29T15:50:00.000-06:00

A few people have asked me whether I will still support John Edwards if Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama were competing for my caucus vote. The answer is absolutely. I am a very loyal supporter. Unless Edwards did something really stupid or morally wrong, I would support him until the day he dropped out, if that ever happened. If Edwards did drop out, I would give my full support to whomever the Democratic nominee was. I like both Obama and Clinton, they are both very bright and likable people. I think both of them bring distinct strengths to the presidential race. Some would argue that they both have some weaknesses that would render them ultimately unelectable. I don't think that's true. They've both won some pretty impressive victories in their home states and are used to being under the microscope. They'd both fare very well in a national campaign. I've talked to all three candidates and any of them would represent us well as president. The Dems, in my opinion, have a lot more quality candidates running than the Republicans, by a long shot. Guiliani and McCain both have weaknesses with the conservative base of the Republican party. We'll see how all that shakes out. I'm looking forward to the campaign and hearing the new ideas all the candidates bring to the table.

John Edward's decision

2006-12-27T13:24:00.000-06:00

I've been waiting for John Edwards to make his decision whether to run in 2008 but I don't know if it's really about whether he would be a viable candidate (he obviously is) but more about what he could accomplish as president. Since the 2004 race, Edwards has kept meeting with people, listening and talking to anyone who would listen. He has the great advantage of having a seasoned staff and support team already in place. You should check out his Web site: oneamericacommittee.com Mr. Edwards is coming to Des Moines Thursday to talk to activists. I won't be able to attend because I already had plans but if I was there I'd tell him to emphasize his ability to listen and learn from his mistakes (he's admitted that the war in Iraq was a bad idea and that he should have questioned it more). This country has learned a painful lesson that leadership is NOT simply following a course of action and simply saying "we will prevail" but accessing the situation and making changes as they are necessary. I think John Edwards has the humility to lead. I'm watching CNN right now about how Gerald Ford led during a time where there was a leadership vacuum in the United States. I truly think we're in that situation again, only worse, because many thousands of people had to die. Edwards is on record saying that he made the wrong decision about the war. I do not see this as a sign of weakness, but strength. What I would say to John Edwards is: Have the courage to lead, the humility to listen, and the courage to change your mind. That is more of an accomplishment than anything.

Three years without Wal-Mart

2006-12-24T09:38:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that it's been more than three years since I've bought anything at Wal-Mart. I've also managed to avoid even stepping into a Wal-Mart store. I'd like to reflect on what I've learned...for what it's worth. The first and most important thing I've learned is that I've actually spent less money shopping in more expensive stores. When I shopped at Wal-Mart I was always tempted to buy cheap crap that I didn't need. I usually came out with a shopping cart full of junk that I hadn't planned to buy. This is exactly what they want you to do. How can you NOT live with that gigantic woven basket? Answer? Easily. I'm also glad that I haven't contributed one red cent to the greedy Walton family. They and their investors make money on the backs of their employees. I don't want any part of that. Sam Walton would not have approved of the direction the company is going. I'm not even talking about just the store employees. The corporate employees are treated shabbily as well. They go through marketing people like toilet paper in Bentonville. One has to wonder why. Speaking of employees, hardly a month goes by when you don't hear about another lawsuit filed against Wal-Mart for its hiring and promotion practices. Women aren't given promotions and raises nearly as much as men, even though there is a pending lawsuit on the same subject. Wal-Mart's current scheme is to take long-time employees' schedules and turn them upside down. Got comfortable working 8-4 on weekdays have you? Oh, let's see... We'll have you work 4-7 and Saturday from 10-3. Nevermind that you have no tranportation or daycare at those hours. That seven dollars an hour you make means you should be able to afford cab fare. This sounds terrible, but I also don't miss the store itself. It's grubby and smelly and the restrooms are always filthy. Yuck. I feel sorry for people in small towns who have no other alternative to Wal-Mart. It's really a vicious cycle...Wal-Mart comes in as the town savior, sucks the life out of all the retail businesses, lowers wages and spit out former employees like exhaust fumes, then eventually closes up and leaves town when profit margins are not being met. Wake up America! We're all to blame. Your buying patterns do have an effect on what happens. Wal-Mart, the largest company in the world, hasn't seen a decent profit in years. It's the people not shopping there who are making a difference. Wal-Mart is losing customers faster than they are gaining new ones. It's losing wealthier customers and marginally gaining poor ones. It's a failed business model.

Yepsen on Vilsack: "Annus horribilis"

2006-12-22T06:17:00.000-06:00

This week Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen did a great job pulling together all the reasons why Vilsack should really reconsider his run for president. If Bayh can't raise the money and garner support, it's a good bet that Vilsack will run into the same trouble. Here it is in its entirety, with permission from David: The weekend decision by Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh not to seek the Democratic presidential nomination was good news for Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. Vilsack needs a little cheer in his own bid for president. He's had a rough final year in office. Both Bayh and Vilsack are ciphers who trail better-known candidates in polls of the race. Both are Midwestern centrists who appeal to the same sorts of people. Bayh had been mounting a strong effort in Iowa, a state critical to Vilsack's hopes. So, it's helpful to Vilsack to be rid of this competitor. Yet one wonders what Bayh sees that Vilsack doesn't. Everyone sees Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards holding wide leads. A poll of likely Democratic caucus-goers taken in late October showed the trio leading Vilsack in Iowa. If the governor fails to win his own home state, his viability as a candidate will be in question. It's also hard enough to raise the $20 million needed to mount a credible presidential campaign. With those three in the race, it might be impossible for back-benchers like Bayh or Vilsack to amass the necessary grubstake to get in the game. Unlike Bayh, Vilsack might be underestimating this financial piece of the equation. Don't be surprised if, in the coming year, Vilsack has to drop out because he just isn't able to put gas in the tank. Part of Vilsack's troubles this year can be traced to that need to be out of state raising money. He's not been home minding the store. Consider: - He was embarrassed when the Legislature overwhelmingly overrode his veto of a bill restricting governments' ability to take private property. - The controversy over the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium (CIETC) exploded earlier this year. It's yet to be concluded. He did fire some people after the story broke, but the fact remains that he put some old political cronies in charge of the Department of Workforce Development, and they let him down. - A variety of racial issues are boiling to the surface in Iowa. There are lawsuits and allegations of discrimination in hiring in state government. Relatively large numbers of African-Americans are incarcerated in Iowa's prisons. Many black students perform poorly in Iowa's schools. - The controversy over the selection of a new University of Iowa president is likely to cost Vilsack badly needed caucus votes from Johnson County. This began when Vilsack appointed regents who wanted to see the U of I do more to bolster the state's economy. A popular president left the school when he failed to move fast enough on a strategic plan for the school. (My personal favorite reason:) - Recent arrests of illegal immigrants in Iowa highlight Vilsack's positions on immigration questions. He seems to have been on all sides. Early in his term, he worked to attract immigrants. Then he signed an English-is-the-official-language bill, only to tell Latino audiences after he was re-elected that he regretted doing it. State government has done little to discourage illegal immigration. Instead, it's started welcome centers. These raids have also revealed a dirty little secret about Iowa. Meatpacking, one of our largest industries, requires cheap labor to be profitable. So cheap, it can only be done by those who come here illegally and work for less than citizens. Vilsack is now left with the embarrassing task of having to explain all that to a national audience that is deeply divided over immigration questions. Add it all up and it's easy to see how this has been an "annus horribilis" for Vilsack. These stories tend to crowd out the positive things he's done as governor or the healthy state economy he's leaving behind. Would these things have happened if he'd spent more time in Iowa instead of traveling the country? Maybe not. A leader can do only so much via cell phone and e-mail from the road. Had Vilsack been in Iowa, moving around and listening, his antennae would have picked up on this stuff early on. He could have taken steps to avert problems that will now come back to hurt his presidential efforts.

Merle Fleming, One of My Heroes

2006-12-07T05:01:00.000-06:00

Last week, I attended the funeral of my true friend and mentor, Merle Fleming. She was a woman beyond her time. She taught me so many things. Months ago, Jim said something to me about how "all my heroes were politicians." I can see where he thought that was true, I do talk a lot about how I admire some of them. But it also disturbed me and made me realize that I need to talk more about how I'm inspired and admire real people in my life who have made me who I am today. Merle was raised dirt poor in rural Iowa and really never got over the feeling that her clothes and physical appearance somehow never were presentable enough as her classmates. She set out purposely in life...to purposely be a woman of substance and style. To change the status quo. To right wrongs in the world. And that is exactly what she did. Her obit is pasted in below, but what it doesn't say is that Merle was a feminist, a humanist (which was a new and interesting concept to a Catholic girl like me) and just generally a person who lived her convictions. She will be sorely missed. Merle Wilna Fleming, 80, of Iowa City and formerly of Des Moines, died Sunday, November 26, 2006, at University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, of complications of Alzheimer’s and cancer. Merle Wilna Fleming was born October 23, 1926 in Iowa City, Iowa, the third daughter of Samuel Thomas and Chelsea Eunice (Tadlock) Fleming. Raised on a farm near Frytown, Iowa, Merle graduated from Washington Twp. Center High School in 1943, the year her family returned to Iowa City. In 1948, she received her B.A. with a Certificate in Journalism from the University of Iowa, where she worked for the Daily Iowan newspaper. She also worked as the Iowa City correspondent for the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the Davenport Democrat, and the United Press. In 1945, Merle served as the summer city reporter and sports editor of the Clinton Herald. On October 2, 1947, Merle married Elliott D. Full, and together they raised four children in Iowa City. They later divorced in 1971. During the 1950s and 1960s, Merle served as a part-time reporter the radio station in which her husband was a partner, KXIC, largely covering school board meetings. Merle was active in politics and public service positions during these decades, serving as an officer of the Johnson County Democratic Central Committee, 1954-56; a board member of the Iowa City League of Women Voters, 1950-1954; and organizing the Johnson County Democratic Women’s Club in 1954. In 1958, Iowa Gov. Herschel Loveless appointed Merle to a Bipartisan Committee on Reapportionment, for which she worked as lobbyist in the 1959 General Assembly. By 1960, she was working for Loveless’ U.S. Senate campaign. In 1962, she served as the only woman on Gov. Harold D. Hughes’ campaign committee. In 1965, Gov. Hughes appointed her to the first Iowa Civil Rights Commission, which she chaired from 1966 to 1968. As she raised her children, Merle was also an active supporter and president of the Iowa City Swim Club, president of the Southeast Junior High PTA, and president of the Unitarian Women’s Alliance. From 1970 to 1971, Merle worked as a hearing examiner for the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, hearing the first sex discrimination case to reach public hearing. She also established a private firm, Equal Opportunity Consultants Inc., in 1972, which assisted Iowa banks in complying with affirmative action regulations. In 1977, at 50, Merle returned to the University of Iowa to earn an M.A. in Public Administration and, in 1980, a J.D., graduating with distinction. From 1980 until 1989, she was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Iowa, assigned to the Board of Regents and the Department of Public Instruction where, among other things, she wrote opinions upheld by the Iowa Supreme Court concerning uncertified Christian schools. In 1990, Merle was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame for her work in civil rights and education reform. In 1992, she ran for Iowa House District 68 from Des Moines. After leaving the AG’s office, Merle continued to work, first for the Ahlers, Cooney, Dorweiler, Haynie, Smith & Allbee law firm (until 1995), and then as a case-by-case hearing examiner for the Iowa Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services. She has served as chair of the Iowa Bar Association’s Women and Minorities Committee, board member and president of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, chair of the Des Moines Strategic Planning Commission, vice president of the Metro Des Moines Opera Guild, and parliamentarian for the Drake University Head Start Policy Council. Merle also sang the song of the poet, especially in the early 1970s, when hundreds of poems “poured” from her heart and intellect, unrestrained and unstoppable, a legacy intended for her grandchildren who might wish to know her better. Merle is survived by one sister, Shirley Sieglaff, of Iowa City; two sons, Michael Full (Diane McDonald), and Jerome Full (Jan Nash), of Iowa City; one daughter, Anne Ulbright (Philip) of Bremerton, Washington; and one daughter-in-law, Helene Full of Reedsburg, Wisconsin. She is survived also by five grandchildren: Jennifer Winter of Omaha, Neb.; Jayson Full of Iowa City; Jonathan Full and Christopher Full of Reedsburg; Wisc.; and Benjamin Ulbright of Bremerton, Wash.; a step-grandson, Eric Thomae of Tucson, Ariz.; and three great-grandchildren. Preceding her in death were two sisters, Melva Wertz and Eunice Bright, a brother, Raymond. Her second son, Stephen D. Full, also preceded her in death. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of Iowa City, the Drake University Head Start Program, Des Moines, or the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines.

The Ex dilemma

2006-11-19T18:08:00.000-06:00

I am so sad for my youngest daughter. Tonight, we went shopping and had a great time at the mall picking out some new clothes and a coat. She has been working a lot so has quite a bit of her own money to spend, too. On the way home, she complained about having to spend Thanksgiving with her dad's family (minus her dad, of course, since he hasn't called his daugthers for months now). She truly doesn't feel that they're really her family. I told her she didn't have to go. They are driving to be with her aunt and uncle who live in Indiana. Then, she started to cry. She is just bewildered as to why her dad "doesn't want her" anymore. The only thing I could do was to just hold her and let her cry. She said that her dad is "ruining her Thanksgiving." Her dad does not like the holidays and always tends to get more depressed around that time of the year. Then she said something that just broke my heart. She said, "I don't want to ever get married, because I know my dad will not be there." Poor kid already is anticipating all her future disappointments before they even happen. I was so lucky growing up, my dad and mom were always there for me. To this day, my dad is my best friend. He's always there for me. The girls are getting ripped off so bad. I wish I could tell my ex how he is hurting them but he won't speak to me. I just have to continue to love and support the girls even though they deserve so much better than me.

The Republican presidential nominees...a very cursory impression

2006-11-16T18:27:00.000-06:00

Here's my impression of the announced Republican presidential contenders, for what it's worth... John McCain: His head scares me. He cheated on his ex-wife. He seems to be kissing ass now that the Republicans lost ground in the election. He was grilling Abizaid on the war and the General was very honest about the troop levels. He said they're aren't enough troops to do what needs to be done...and McCain yelled at him for being honest. I just wish those Generals would have stood up to Bush a long time ago. McCain is shown here trying to make out with George Bush. Tommy Thompson: Seems like a decent enough guy. He's the architect of welfare reform in Wisconsin, but Bush dissed him as Health and Human Services cabinet man. Go figure. He also has been known to hug George Bush. Rudy Giuliani: He cheated on his ex-wife. He is the face of 911. He also apparently loves George Bush. More on my impressions later.

Vilsack Steals Chet's Thunder

2006-11-10T07:07:00.000-06:00

Typical Tom Vilsack. Chet Culver's victory wasn't even 48 hours old and Vilsack just had to see his own mug on TV again. I see by some of the recent posts on my blog that the Vilsackers are out there getting his name out...GREAT! That's what their job is now. But don't I have the same right to do the same for my chosen candidate? Yep, I do. John Edwards spent one term in the Senate and Tom Vilsack spent eight years as governor of a small state. I'd say that is comparable experience. Plus, Edwards spent two years on the campaign trail and already has the national connections that Vilsack has to build up. I do think it was a smart move for Vilsack to announce right away...but he could have waited a week after the election out of respect for Chet and the people of Iowa. As far as me being a player, I don't even claim to be. But Vilsack called me when he ran for governor. My West Des Moines Democrats group was one of the first groups he met with in Polk County when he was still driving himself around the state in his brown SUV. I wish Mr. and Mrs. Vilsack the best of luck...I just reserve the right to support my choice. And that's still John Edwards.

Our six choices for 2006 Iowa Great Places

2006-10-26T21:36:00.000-06:00

It was a very hard decision, since the people in each place poured themselves into the task of demostrating readiness to becoming a Great Place. I have seen and heard so many awesome things this week. I love our state and the people who make it great! Here are our six 2006 Iowa Great Places: Adams County Dubuque Fairfield Guttenberg Jackson County Mason City Congratulations, and see you next year!!!