Iowa: Iraq

Grassley Challenger Tom Fiegen Talks to Blog for Iowa about Global Warming, Guns and Butter, and Heroes

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."

This is the fourth and final segment of BFIA's exclusive interview with Tom Fiegen.  Click here to read

An Iowan's View of the Joe Wilson Flap

by Paul Deaton

I am okay with Joe Wilson shouting out “You lie!” during the President’s speech last week, and my perspective is from near the corner of Second Street and C Street in Washington, DC where I was having dinner with friends when Wilson made his remarks. The restaurant was within walking distance of Joe Wilson’s Washington residence and he was considered to be a neighbor by some at our table.

The next day my host, Joe Volk, wrote in his blog, “In shouting ‘You lie!’ at President Obama, Wilson sets himself up as a defender of truth.

Loebsack Town Hall – Progressives Carry the Day in Iowa City

You know you're in Iowa City when someone shouts, “Socialism!” and the room applauds.  Note to conservatives:  Please do not freak out, we were just joking!  It's Iowa Citians' way of injecting humor into a “debate” that has begun to feel like one bad, long, headache. 

It was surprisingly quiet outside of McBride Hall before the start of the meeting.  I saw two pro-healthcare groups.  One group was for single payer, and the other group told me they were a group of UI  health care workers, associated with SEIU.   Faux hospital shirts with “Every Patient Matters” printed on the front, were hung on a clothesline, and anyone could go up and write their health care message on a shirt.

Dan Rather Calls for Media Reform to be National Priority

The Aspen Times

Background note/commentary from BFIA editor:  Back in the very dark, dark days of the Bushies, in 2004, the right-wingers pressured CBS to get rid of Dan Rather after he, producer Mary Mapes, and a gaggle of CBS "60 Minutes" reporters got the goods on W's "preferential treatment" in the National Guard and reported it on TV.  While the myth surrounding the story was that the supporting documents were proven fake, they were never proven fake.  Under pressure from the GOP, who did not like the story, CBS stated they were "unable to prove the documents' authenticity" and made it look like Dan Rather did something slimy, like he was a liberal out to get the pResident.