Iowa: Obama

Meet Francis Thicke - Progressive Democrat for Iowa Agriculture Secretary

 by Jay Mattsson

I’ve known Francis Thicke and his wife, Susan, for over 30 years, and I can testify that he is the real deal. Francis is running for Agriculture Secretary because he has a sincere impulse to engage in public service for the sake of improving Iowa.  Interviewing Francis gave me a chance to experience his brilliant grasp of complex, pressing issues.  Francis has the best mix of qualifications, knowledge and experience that I could hope for in a progressive Democrat seeking to be Iowa’s Agriculture Secretary. I’ve come away from this interview convinced that he’s a viable candidate who has the integrity, humility and wisdom this state needs.

Party of "No" (no leaders/no ideas/no morals) Blocks Obama's Department of Labor Appointee

by Tracy Kurowski

Nine months has passed since the start of the Obama administration, and Republicans continue to block the appointment of M. Patricia Smith as Labor Department Solicitor, the nation’s top cop prosecuting labor law violations.

M. Patricia Smith was nominated for Labor Department Solicitor in the spring, and her confirmation hearing was held last May. Yet, after the Senate HELP Committee finally voted to approve her nomination on October 7, Republican Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming (the country’s least populous state) filed a procedural motion to put a hold on her nomination and delay the appointment.

Are Iowans Being Brainwashed by Fox News?

[Brainwash:  subject (a person) to a process by which ideas are implanted in the mind]

Well, it does feel like torture, listening to Fox or right-wing talk radio for any length of time at all.  To listen, you either have to allow yourself to be indoctrinated, or go crazy, or laugh (but it's hard to do that because it really isn't funny), or turn it off and then pretend it isn't there.  And it seems progressives and the unindoctrinated are mostly dealing with it by pretending it just isn't there.  You hear this all the time:  "Where do people get these ideas?"

We really hope Michael Moore's next movie will be about the right wing media.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Hailed as the “New Champion of Local Food” 

by Francis Thicke

Francis Thicke (Tic-kee) is running as a Democrat for the office of Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in the 2010 election.

A recent story on National Public Radio highlighted the Obama administration’s push to encourage Americans to buy more locally grown food.  [Listen to the audio here]
 
The Obama administration’s Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, has become an articulate spokesperson for local foods.  Said Vilsack, "There is, I think, a movement in the country where people are very interested in knowing where their food comes from."

"There's a disconnect between the food that we eat and our awareness of where it comes from," Vilsack said.