Iowa: Bush

Learning from the 1999 Vote on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Part 1

by Daryl G. Kimball

When President Bill Clinton described the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as “the longest-sought, hardest fought prize in arms control history,” he was not exaggerating. In the face of international outrage over their rapid-fire pace of Cold War testing, U.S. and Soviet leaders attempted in 1958-1959 and again in 1963 to negotiate a comprehensive ban on all nuclear test explosions. They came close but were unable to agree on the details for inspections and had to settle for the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atmospheric testing.

An Iowa Nuclear Disarmament Primer, Part 2

by Paul Deaton

We don’t talk much about the legacy of the “greatest generation” when it comes to their creation and deployment of nuclear weapons. We grew up in an environment of “duck and cover” exercises at school, neighbors building bomb shelters and the worry of mutually assured destruction between the former Soviet Union and the United States. Thanks a lot folks! Neither does the threatening nature of this inheritance come through in Tom Brokaw’s sepia toned version of the citizens who grew up in the depression and fought and won World War II. In dropping the only two nuclear weapons ever deployed, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United States created a horror that, to many, was unthinkable.

Congress Has The Votes Needed To Pass A Public Option - TODAY

From Howard Dean, M.D.

We've worked together since the beginning of the healthcare debate to draw a line in the sand - the choice of a public option must be included in any reform bill passed this year. And every time Republicans have tried to kill it or the insurance industry has claimed it's already dead, we've stood up and proven them wrong.

The new line from opponents of reform is that Congress doesn't have the votes to pass a public option.

Once again, thanks to you, we've proven them wrong.

We've asked everyone in Congress where they stand.

Grassley Challenger Tom Fiegen Talks to Blog for Iowa About Wedge Issues and Fiegenomics - Part 1

by Dave Bradley

Dave Bradley and his wife, Carol, are activists from West Liberty. Both feel that retiring Chuck Grassley and finding the person to do that job, are the most important tasks for Iowa Democrats next year.  Dave has known Tom Fiegen since his re-election campaign for the Iowa Senate in 2004 in Senate District 40, where both reside. Dave and Carol met with Tom in Tipton at a new coffee shop called "A Place To Land."

BFIA:  Why did you decide to run for U.S. Senate?  What process did you go through to arrive at your decision?

I guess the first thing I'd say was  the dissatisfaction with the incumbent on economic issues.