MediScare!

I don't get it!!!  When the last Congress passed the Health Care Reform Act, Republicans whipped Seniors and Tea-Partiers into a frenzy by CLAIMING that President Obama wanted to get rid of Medicare. They  use fear and anger to manipulate voters, because they don't have any plausible, responsible plans.  Part of the point of Health Care Reform was to reduce the deficit. NOW, Republicans are claiming that in order to reduce the deficit, they want to end Medicare as we know it; cut benefits, raise ages, and privatize most of it. Remember when they wanted to privatize Social Security?

Where were their screams about the deficit during the Bush years when he gave away our revenue with massive tax breaks to the richest 2% of Americans and to corporations? Where were their screams about the deficit when he started two massive wars off-the books? Don't let them fool us anymore. They don't care about real people, they only care about the money they get from lobbyists and big insurance and drug companies.

Tell Steve King that you can't believe that he supports the Ryan plan!

---

Rep. Paul Ryan's 2012 budget proposal was one of the most brutal attacks on the social safety net in decades. And almost all the Republicans in the House joined in by voting for it.

Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman called Rep. Ryan's budget bill both "ludicrous" and "cruel." "Ludicrous" because the budget projections were pure fantasy, "cruel" because it proposed massive spending cuts for programs that mainly help children, the poor and the elderly, while slashing taxes for corporations and the ultra-rich.

One of the main programs targeted by the Ryan budget was Medicare, which under the proposal would be destroyed in all but name, and replaced by a voucher program for seniors who'd be dumped into the private insurance market. And if the vouchers didn't cover the cost of insurance, too bad.

I just signed a petition to hold my member of Congress accountable for voting for this irresponsible and extremist proposal. I hope you do too.

You can find out more and take action at the link below.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/medicare/?r_by=20144-1369725-HegSyUx&rc=paste1 

Email exchange

To Ted: "Steve King in a public meeting today said and 200 people at the meeting agreed:

'Health care is a privilege not a right.'~Rep. Steve King (R), Iowa

Do we let them die in the street. No i do not thinks so. What is Steve's answer to an elderly person with out health insurance die in the street. Do we let a young women with a problem pregnancy miscarriage because of lack of heath insurance."

Ted's Reply: "Isn't that the great irony? Protect the unborn from abortion, but once you're born you're on your own. Don't teach Darwin in our schools, but practice Social-Darwinism all day long."

Survival of the fittest, if you're not rich enough or smart enough or lucky enough to get good insurance, better to let you suffer, you must deserve it. How about if conservatives and liberals agree that we need to work together to make things better for everybody? Pre-born and post-born, young/and elderly, affluent and struggling. I wish that the folks who are so opposed to reform (often- ironically- who use and want to protect Medicare) would think back to what it was like in the 60's when Johnson was working on getting Medicare. Then Gubernatorial CANDIDATE Ronald Reagan tried to scare people into believing that Medicare was the first step toward SOCIALISM and it would be a slippery slope toward no longer being a free society.

Here's what I'd love to see- Steve King propose an alternative to the Demorcat's plans.
Teddy Roosevelt had a word for it, "Muckruckers." People who rake the muck, stir the shit, but don't shovel it- quick to criticize and condemn, but don't offer any other solutions.

Here's a proposal that Iowa Republicans King and Grassley are more than welcome to call their own and take credit for- put all Iowa public school teachers into the same insurance pool with other state employees. The more members of a plan, the less the risk and the lower the cost!

Offer me that and I'll back off of supporting a national plan with a public option because I'll be taken care of. Meanwhile the deductions to pay for Welmark are practically half my monthly paycheck yet my copays and precription costs are way higher than they were under Principal last year and Welmark won't cover as many things as Principal used to.

And there's my brother and sister-in-law. They never know when they might get laid off because their company just went bankrupt. My 7 year old nephew went to the doctor yesterday and might have pneumonia. And don't forget the threat of H1N1 this year.

How can anyone continue to defend Steve King when he says idiotic things tike this? Listen, ether he's a jerk or a fool. This isn't just his opinion or a different philosophy. A privilege not a right? Then we should revoke his privilege to Congressional benefits like Government health care. I'd like to revoke his privilege to a Congressional salary, but we can't seem to get anyone strong enough to run against him in the 5th District.

How can the same people that claim to believe in a "right to life" say that health care is not a right? So, potential death, suffering, and poor quality of life due to injury, illness, or other health conditions shouldn't be prevented? That's not a human right?

Steve King votes against recognizing slave contribution

King said "I opposed yet another bill to erect another monument to slavery because it was used as a bargaining chip to allow for the actual depiction of 'In God We Trust' in the Congressional Visitor Center."

I figure he'd want 'In God We Trust' in the visitor center, even if he had to compromise by placing a marker there that recognized the work of slave labor to build the capital building. That's called compromise, it's what politics is all about. As a Christian, I appreciate his desire to honor God, yet I also think it's a little ironic and hypocritical for us to try to put on airs about being such a pious, religious people yet deny our collective sin of slavery.

Republican Teddy Roosevelt opposed having 'In God We Trust' inscribed on our money because he thought it was a blasphemous insult to God.

I'm glad I went to the work of finding out King's reasons and I actually appreciate that he thinks he's standing on principle. But I still disagree with him.

Even if he was trying to defend God (who doens't need defending) it came off looking to the rest of the country like the one congressman who doesn't want to commemorate the contribution of slave is from Iowa- Not Mississippi, Alabama, or South Carolina, not some member of the White Citizen's Council, not a Confederate flag waving Southerner, but our very own Steve King.

It like Congressman King frequently says thing and makes decisions that confound and quite frankly embarrass me. He really does have a reputation for being very congenial personally, however outlandish his ... Read Morebehavior on CSPAN. Whenever I post stuff like this or lampoon him in political cartoons (and back when I used to write about him in my column) I hope that you understand that I'm reacting to a political public figure and not deliberately attacking any of you readers or your personal friend.

His positions and statements frequently offend me, but that doesn't mean I'm deliberately trying to hurt or offend any of you.

He does have a reputation for being a great guy one-on-one. He also has a way of trying to explain his way out of every vote or press conference or policy which appears to the majority of people to be grossly insensitive or potentially racist.

Barry Goldwater said that he advocated "States Rights" because of a stricter interpretation of the Constitution but plenty of Southerners loved it because it was a non-racist code for denying voting rights, civil rights, and continuing segregation and discrimination.

Out of the 435 members of Congress and 199 fellow Republicans, many of whom are surely members of the religious right, he's the ONLY one who thought he should vote against this because it was just a "bargaining chip" to get what he wants anyway? What a martyr.

Walks like a duck, talks like a duck.

King needs history lesson about New Deal

From the Omaha World Herald; MIDLANDS VOICES
Facts are against New Deal’s foes

BY JIM BECHTEL

The writer, of Omaha, teaches at a local community college. He holds a master’s degree in modern American history.

In a Feb. 6 Midlands Voices essay, U.S. Rep. Steve King, (R) ­Iowa, echoes claims made by Wall Street Journal editors and Public Pulse writers: The New Deal is a bad model for Presi­dent Barack Obama’s recovery program because it failed. This is untrue.
Historian David McCullough warns that amnesia is as harm­ful for a country as it is for an individual. Let’s remember the realities.

In the first place, the New Deal consisted of many parts, including bank deposit insur­ance (there were 4,004 bank failures the year before it be­gan, zero the year after), Social Security, unemployment com­pensation, accessible Federal Housing Administration mort­gages, a minimum wage and the Glass-Steagall Act, which sepa­rated risky investment banking from commercial banking. (This was later rescinded, to our current misfortune.) Because it was so successful, the New Deal was overwhelm­ingly endorsed by Americans the first chance they had. In the 1934 midterm elections, the Re­publican Party suffered its worst defeat since its founding. Some haven’t gotten over it.

Then, as now, collapse meant private investment had dried up, so public investment had to fill the gap. Public workers built New York City’s Tribo­rough Bridge and Lincoln Tun­nel and the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. They went to work on 2,500 hos­pitals, 45,000 schools, 13,000 parks and playgrounds, 7,800 bridges, 700,000 miles of roads and a thousand airfields.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha has a grand old build­ing, built by the Works Pro­gress Administration, that is still in use three-quarters of a century later. Now called Arts and Sciences Hall, you can see it at the northeast corner of the campus as you drive down Dodge Street.

It’s ironic that the South has become the core of the Republi­can base. History texts note that the modern South was born as a result of New Deal pro­grams. For example, the Ten­nessee Valley Authority, cham­pioned by Nebraska’s own U.S. Sen. George W. Norris, brought progress to many parts of Ap­palachia. Cheap electricity from its hydroelectric plants sparked the rebirth of Mem­phis, Tenn., and Atlanta.

With millions of workers re­building the nation’s infra­structure, as President Obama proposes doing, the unemploy­ment rate dropped by nearly 43 percent [I had "an average of five perect a year"] from 1933 to 1937! This is a simple fact of record.

Now, unemployment did bounce back up in 1937 when President Franklin D. Roose­velt, listening to conservatives, thought the economy had re­covered enough that he could cut social programs. This “turn to the right,” as it has been called, taught him a lesson. He resumed the stimulus pro­grams, and unemployment re­sumed its steady downward march.

Congressman King claims that the Depression was the “result” of the New Deal. This defies logic: A “result” must, by definition, come after its cause. The New Deal was launched in response to 25 percent unem­ployment. You can rewrite his­tory, but you can’t make time run backward. As the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan used to say, everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not to his own facts.

And yet, right-wing publi­cists like Amity Shlaes persist in claiming the New Deal failed. How do they get away with it? Simple. They say “tem­porary jobs in emergency pro­grams” don’t count. That is, if your paycheck came from the WPA, then building that grand old structure at UNO was somehow not a “real” job.

Never mind increased pride in being usefully employed or the new shoes for the kids and the food on the kitchen table. Forget the grocer’s smile; ig­nore the decrease in human suffering. The jobs must be erased from history because they fly in the face of fervently held ideological dogmas about supply-side economics.

It seems like the obstruction­ists in Congress would rather sacrifice the common good to their “Invisible Hand” mythol­ogy and subordinate the public interest to partisanship.

Fear itself

Recently our Congressman, Steve King wrote an op-ed piece where he tried to make voters afraid of the Stimulus package currently before the Senate by comparing Obama's strategies to those of FDR. King wants to blame the Great Depression.

"The short-term result of FDR's spending was minimal. Food shortages remained, mil­lions of Americans still lacked jobs and true recovery did not occur. In the long run, FDR's stimulus led to higher tax rates and greater government in­volvement in Americans' lives. "

But tale a glance at this graph from the depression era and the correlation between New Deal policies and prosperity are pretty plain. You don't have to be an economist to see it. Once again, Republicans are pandering in fear and paralysis rather than practical, pragmatic action meant to bring about progress.

Stop listening to the fear-mongering. We need some good old fashioned Relief, Recovery and Reform. King and the national Republicans want to make us scared because they're scared because they were the ones who benefited most from dismantling all the New Deal reforms that Reagan and both Bushes managed to do over the last few decades. Lobbyists, special interest money and the whole culture of corruption were designed to take advantage of the working middle class.

The best thing for our economy would be if President Obama WERE more like FDR. Tell King to go back to school and take a few History and Economics classes.

Steve King would be rolling over in his grave, if he were dead

This one has been festering in me for months

So what if no one ever reads it. At least I got it out so it won't fester like a bad blister or a hangnail anymore.

Now, I really should go cold turkey on both the cartooning and the blogging. I seem to have ticked a lot of people off today, even though I though I was trying to be as humble and open and honest as I could. I guess at least it shows me that people read this thing.

Here's a tip; never talk about sex, politics, or religion if you don't want to offend people.

Here's an example of talking about all 3 simultaneously-

While I think abortion is bad, I don't think that it's the only moral issue voters should consider when they choose a candidate.

Now, I was just being candid and was not deliberately trying to be inflammatory, but you'd be AMAZED at how provocative that one sentence can be, especially here on Iowa's "left coast."

Want to place any bets on how long I can stay away from blogging? God help me.

Who are your choices?

Rob Hubler is a passionate progressive with lifetime roots in western Iowa’s vast fifth congressional district. He is a retired Presbyterian minister, a Navy veteran who served on submarines, a teacher of severely disabled children, and has experience working for both Dick Clark and Tom Harkin. He is a candidate that Iowans of any party can be proud to have as their representative—a serious, competent, compassionate public servant with a lifetime of service to his country and his fellow citizens.


Steve King, on the other hand, is an extreme right-winger, who shamelessly defends the dishonesty of the Bush administration and has lined his pockets with special-interest group and lobbyist money. Like Bush and Cheney, and other "chickenhawks," he never served in the military himself.He's pretty well liked and firmly entrenched in Iowa's fifth as a home town boy. He wants to deport the widows and orphans of legal immigrants and is a chief proponent of building an actual wall along the US-Mexican border, of course offering contracts to build it to his son's construction company. King said the events of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse "amounts to hazing." He's disrupted House Judiciary committee meetings on torture and the politicization of the Justice Department. He's even said that terrorists will dance in the streets if America elects a Black man president.

To find out more about Rob, visit http://www.hublercongress.com/home.html

To find out even more about Steve, visit http://www.kingwatch.org

Impeachment Hearings are the Appropriate and Necessary Next Step

posted by John Nichols on 07/25/2008 @ 2:32pm

As the House Judiciary Committee took up the question of how best to address what its chairman described as "the Imperial Presidency of George W. Bush," it was one of the ranking Republicans in the room, Iowa Congressman Steve King, who observed that, "We are here having impeachment hearings before the Judiciary Committee."

"These are impeachment hearings before the United States Congress," King continued. "I never imagined I would ever be sitting on this side when something like this happened."

King was not happy about the circumstance.

A resolute defender of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, the congressman was objecting to the very mention of the "I" word.

Ted's take: Doesn't it figure, that Iowa 5th's own embarrassment Steve King is afraid of impeachment hearings? He'll be high and dry and powerless without the Neocons culture of corruption and politics of fear.

Read John Nichol's entire article in The Nation

King decrees widows penalized

by: Douglas Burns | The Iowa Independent
Jul 21, 2008 at 14:05 PM

Congressman Steve King is now using a preposterous hypothetical that characterizes our servicemen as booze-hounds prone to one-night stands and black-out drunk marriages.

King, a Kiron Republican who is not even subtle with his beliefs that America should be populated by native-born whites, is a strong supporter of the so-called "widow penalty." More than 150 foreign-born widows and widowers face deportation because their spouses died less than two years after the marriages and before citizenship paperwork could be processed.

Congress is working to end the tragedy but King doesn't want to cut the widows a break, in large part because he questions the legitimacy of mixed-race families, believing them a product of white men wilding on foreign soils with exotic women. Read his own words:

"A soldier, man or woman, could get drunk in Bangkok, wake up in the morning and be married, as will happen sometimes in places like Las Vegas or Bangkok, be killed the next day, and the spouse who was a product of the evening's celebration would have then a right to claim access to come to the United States on a green card," King said during debate on the widow penalty, according to The Des Moines Register.

Read King's own words:

"A soldier, man or woman, could get drunk in Bangkok, wake up in the morning and be married, as will happen sometimes in places like Las Vegas or Bangkok, be killed the next day, and the spouse who was a product of the evening's celebration would have then a right to claim access to come to the United States on a green card," King said during debate on the widow penalty, according to The Des Moines Register.

Ted's Take:

"I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts." (emphasis mine)

- Malachi 3:5

That's from this book I read once. Forget what they call it, "Bibliosomething,?" Sounds like Babel. Anyway, King probably wouldn't like it, it wasn't written by a white American. Although I thought it was a big hit with the "family values" crowd for a while a few years back.

King acting like class clown to sabotage torture inquiry

Expect a cartoon from me on this next week!

Steve King found yet another creative way to disgrace himself and embarrass Iowans yesterday. Here are some news clips so far today: Washington Post: Washington Sketch describes King's shenanigans http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502670.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 Iowa Independent: King's Antics Block Congressional Testimony on WMD, Torture http://www.iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2590 Council Bluffs Nonpareil: Hubler to King: Let's Debate http://www.nonpareilonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19854579&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=555106&rfi=6 Des Moines Register: Private Medicare is no answer for rural access (editorial) http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080716/OPINION03/807160346/1035/Opinion Chicago Tribune: Iowa Congressmen raise money http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-congress-money,0,4105897.story Des Moines Register: Iowa FEC filing information http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080716/NEWS/80716025/1056/NEWS09 And, as usual, Charlie Cook pretty much nails the presidential race in the National Journal: http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/print_friendly.php?ID=cr_20080712_5747

The Fifth District in play?

Editorial, The Storm Lake Times, July 5, 2008
The Fifth District in play?
By Art Cullen

Four years ago, John Kerry led George Bush in the Iowa presidential voting 52-48% until the Fifth Congressional District phoned in. Bush won Iowa as a result. The reason? The state and national Democratic political apparatus wrote off Western Iowa because it was too conservative, by the numbers.

The Obama campaign does not intend to give up any ground with its 50-state strategy. Iowa is among the top swing states targeted by the Illinois Democrat. Winning the rural vote will be a key to his success, and unlocking the Fifth District is essential to that victory.

We’re told by the Obama camp that it will push to win the Fifth District. It may sound far-fetched, but Democrats Berkley Bedell and Tom Harkin proved that a progressive with common sense can win in Western Iowa.

The conservative Christian base of the Republican Party that prevails in these quarters is not energized by GOP standard bearer John McCain as it was with Bush. It’s possible that turnout could be muted in November among this key voting bloc. Obama also has been attempting to reach out to evangelicals with some success.

We were stunned with the level of organization the Obama campaign put into gear in Buena Vista County for the caucuses. That sort of organization will be on the ground this fall. Since McCain largely avoided Iowa, he does not have the same number of foot soldiers committed to the cause.

We could see Obama carrying the Fifth by winning Dickinson, Clay, Buena Vista, Carroll, Woodbury, Pottawattamie and Cherokee counties. That’s where the population is, and that’s where the most independent voters are. He might be able to compete in Crawford and O’Brien counties.

These places view ethanol in particular and the bioeconomy in general as important stepping stones into the future. Obama, by virtue of being from Illinois, is far more well-versed on the topic than McCain, who opposes ethanol subsidies.

An Obama win here is a long-shot. But McCain cannot take it for granted. If the Arizona senator wants to win Iowa, he will need to show up in Storm Lake, Spencer, Carroll, Denison and Spirit Lake to defend what should be his turf — and not just make the Sioux City airport stop. That’s going to be tough as he tries to play defense in the Rocky Mountain states and Deep South where Obama intends to bring his considerable resources to bear.

Republican despondence also may be a threat to incumbent Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron. Scoff if you will, but again recall that Harkin defeated incumbent Bill Scherle and Bedell knocked off incumbent Wiley Mayne in the post-Watergate landslide. The atmospherics may be similar this year.

King embarasses Iowa AGAIN

When Scott McClellan, Bush’s former spokesman, testified before Congress about Bush lying to the American people, Steve King again embarrassed Iowans and made national news with this statement to McClellan:

“Couldn’t you have taken this to the grave with you and done this country a favor?”

If you can’t believe he would actually say something that unpatriotic, watch this clip:

steve-king-r-ia-to-mcclellan-why-couldnt-you-just-shut-up

If you are tired of being embarrassed by Steve King, please, PLEASE vote for Rob Hubler for Iowa's 5th District. At least pay a visit to http://hublercongress.com

Congressman Artur Davis, who serves on the committee with King, reminded King of Teddy Roosevelt’s words:

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

If there was any doubt that the distinctions could be starker between Steve King and Rob Hubler, King’s affinity for embarrassing his constituents at every turn and Rob’s defense of constitutional principles surely erased them.

Consider Hubler

http://www.hublercongress.com/about_rob.htm

Who is Rob Hubler?

1960's- A Veteran who opposes war

Served in the Navy on nuclear subs during Vietnam, 1962-69
Good Conduct Medal winner
Editor of college newspaper Parson's college in Fairfield, IA
Graduated with honors
Co-chaired Fairfield Citizens for Peace
Fairfield Chamber of Commerce "Man of the Year 1971"

1970's & 80's- Someone who knows Iowa politics

Western Iowa campaign coordinator for Dick Clark and Tom Harkin
Legislative assistant for transportation and military issues
Campaigned for John Cavanaugh (NE), Gary Hart (CO), and Paul Simon (Ill)
Entered the University of Dubuqe's Theological Seminary, 1989

1990's- Someone who lives his faith, instead of just using it to sell an agenda or to scare people with wedge issues

Presbyterian Pastor in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska
Teacher for severely disabled children in Pasadena, CA
Returned to Iowa in 2005

Hubler brings extensive experience. He believes that Iowa's 5th District deserves a Congressman who is informed, educated, thoughtful, and who will be a positive voice toward creating a more perfect union.

Please pass this email on so that voters in our district can learn more about Hubler and see that we have a real alternative to Steve King.

Visit Hubler's website to learn more for yourself:
http://www.hublercongress.com/about_rob.htm

Pro-Bono Work

I donated my Steve King Cartoon to a Democratic website dedicated to preventing his re-election; http://www.kingwatch.org/bigotry.html

I don't know about the ethics here, I figure political cartoonists are unavoidably partisan if not mercenary, right? I didn't get any money out of the deal (perhaps a counter-productive move, career-wise) but I was just so outraged by King's comments about Obama, that I'm glad to prostrate my skills for the sake of exposing his dark soul (if he has one)!

Plus, what the heck, it widens my exposure- which has to be good in the long-run.

I swear, Iowans are not as dumb or as racist as this guy!

Rep. Steve King (R) of Iowa's 5th District strike's again!

Last night on the local news, my idiot Congressman ACTUALLY said pretty much just what I wrote above about Barack Obama. I was so incensed that I HAD to draw this cartoon.

For God's SAKE, will somebody PLEASE get this guy out of office! Clarence Hoffman, since you're stepping down from the State Assembly, why don't you challenge this numskull for your party's nomination!?! PLEASE!

Of course, due to plumbing disasters, we're temporally living with my inlaws while our home undergoes repairs, so I am without PhotoShop till I go back to school on Monday, so I'm posting it pretty raw. If I use it for the PRESS for March 20, I'll obviously rework it some- but then the incident will also be 2 weeks old, so who knows if I will or not.

Click here to see more of my cartoons about Steve King

Be sure to visit www.kingwatch.org

Tired of "Chicken Hawks"

War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.
- Thomas Mann

(German novelist and essayist whose early novels—Buddenbrooks (1900), Der Tod in Venedig (1912; Death in Venice), and Der Zauberberg (1924; The Magic Mountain)—earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929.)

I listened to a speech by our Congressman Steve King today at the dedication of our local Veteran's Memorial. To his credit, he drew attention to the nearly 510 service men and women who lose their lives every year during peace time training, who die unheralded as part of the cost of being prepared to defend our freedoms. I liked that part.

Unfortunately, mush of what he said was pretty typical pro-Bush, pro-War propaganda. He contends that you just can't solve some problems by talking and you may as well use your military as long as you have one. He mentioned how scary Iran is and even went so far as to quote Sun Tzu's "the Art of War."

I thought to myself that even heap big macho Republican god Ronald Reagan talked us into better relations with Russia, and Gary Sick, who served on the National Security Council under three presidents contends that Reagan's campaign met secretly to negotiate the release of the American hostages from Iran (but not until January 1980, so that Carter couldn't take credit). Every preschooler and kindergartener knows, to "always use your words, hitting never solves anything.".

Hello??? It's called "militarism," it's what Italy, Japan, and Germany were practicing in the 1930's. Our honored veterans of the "greatest generation" (God bless them) fought and died to defeat this viral, insidious philosophy! It seemed like Congressman King was trying to make himself sound smart by citing historical references. I think he needs to go back to school and brush up a little on both history and philosophy.

Whew! Thanks, now that I've got that out of my system, I can go write a nice, pleasant, innocuous, objective news story about the dedication of the memorial, which really is beautiful, solemn, and moving.

I always believed that America's founding fathers hoped that we would be a nation built on reason and intellect, not military might, like the great European empires that preceded and eventually spawned us. But alas, it looks like, as happens to almost all adolescents when they grow up, we have become our parents- the very thing we once held in such disdain.

This brings me to Thomas Mann's quote. I think of it as an antidote for Sun Tzu (and Machiavelli, for that matter). I think when I finish reading "Cannery Row," maybe I'll try to get my hands on some of his work. This is some of what Wikipedia says about him:

In 1930 Mann gave a public address in Berlin titled "An Appeal to Reason," in which he strongly denounced Nazism and encouraged resistance by the working class. This was followed by numerous essays and lectures in which he attacked the Nazis. At the same time, he expressed increasing sympathy for socialism and communism. In 1933 when the Nazis came to power, Mann and his wife were on holiday in Switzerland. Due to his very vociferous denunciations of Nazi policies, his son Klaus advised him not to return. However, Thomas Mann's books, in contrast to those of his brother Heinrich and his son Klaus, were not amongst the many burnt publicly by Hitler's regime in May 1933; apparently, since he was the literature Nobel laureate for 1929 (see below), they did not dare that so early. Finally in 1936 the Nazis denied officially his German citizenship.

"Images of Disorder", by social critic Michael Harrington in his collection The Accidental Century, is a highly literate account of Mann's political progression from the right to the left.

One last quick aside- at the pancake brunch before the ceremony, one member of the VFW, a retired Air Force General, called me a "reactionary liberal." I wasn't too offended because for one thing, in spite of George H. W. Bush's spin on the word back in 1988, I think that being liberal something to be proud of, even though I'm really pretty moderate to conservative on many issues. And because basically, anyone who writes about politics is reactionary, you're always reacting or responding to something. In this post, I'm reacting to what a dweeb I think my Congressman can be sometimes. The other reason I wasn't too offended, was that what he actually said was, "There's my favorite writer, of course I wish you weren't such a reactionary liberal, but you're still my favorite writer." How can you be offended by something like that? Thanks Doc.

Please get rid of Steve King

Tuesday can make all the difference
Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper — Schleswig Leader, Thursday, November 2, 2006 – Page 3

This upcoming Tuesday is going to be interesting, to say the least, for political news junkies like me. I may have to take my radio along when I take my daughter to dance class so that I can listen as the returns come in.

The fact that there are three candidates, two independents and a Democrat running against Fifth District Republican Congressman Steve King suggests that people are tired of being represented by him. Unfortunately, it also probably means that the traditional conservatives, moderates and what few progressives there are here will have their votes split three ways, so the radical neoconservatives will be able to get King reelected.

One of the independents is Cheryl Broderson, a nurse at Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison.

She believes that representatives need to be accountable to their constituents, not a political party. She’s for reducing the deficit (that kind of thing used to be conservative) but also for health care reform (something often thought of as traditionally liberal idea). She’s also concerned about alternative fuels and national security (who isn’t?).

Another independent is Roy Nielsen, an Orange City small businessman and had been a Republican.

Nielsen told the Sioux City Journal recently that he kept waiting for some other Republican to challenge Steve King for their party’s nomination. When no one did, he decided to step up and run himself as an independent. I guess I don’t understand why Nielsen didn’t just oppose King for the Republican nomination himself in the first place, but whatever, he’s running now.
Nielsen, like a lot of moderates and traditional conservatives, feel like King, like the Bush Administration have abandoned the needs of families and the middle class.

Like Brodersen, he feels that the Republicans currently in power have been fiscally irresponsible, turning a surplus into a massive deficit. He also thinks that current tax policies favor the “investor class.”

He also thinks that the situation in Iraq has gotten out of hand and while he supports securing our Southern border, he fears that Steve King’s plan for hundreds of miles of electrified fencing may replace the statue of Liberty in many peoples minds as a symbol of a less welcoming America.

Finally there’s the Democratic alternative, Joyce Schulte. I suspect that people write her off as unviable just because she ran against King before and lost. Of course, the fact that she doesn’t have access to massive amounts of money from Republican PACs like King probably doesn’t help her either.

Schulte is the Director of the Student Support Services program at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa. She’s been a farmer and educator and the widowed mother of two.
Schulte is concerned about the message having King as our congressman sends. Verbally demeaning people, discriminating against minority groups, and reinterpreting history are just some of the ways she thinks he’s been irresponsible.

Her priorities would include reauthorizing the Farm Bill, reforming immigration, addressing the Mideast , including Iraq, and health care as well.

She’d like to have “Iowa Produced” marked on food products grown here. She also supports the development of alternative fuels including wind and ethanol.

Like Nielsen, Schulte believes that the tax system needs to be reformed to favor families and the working and middle classes instead of corporations and the extremely wealthy.
The oldest of the four candidates, she’d like to see a repeal of the Medicare bill that charges more prescription drug programs for seniors. She’d rather have the government negotiate with drug manufacturers to achieve acceptable prices for medication.

She also believes that health insurance plans should regard mental illness and chemical dependence on an equal footing with all other physical conditions.
She supports small and medium sized businesses and family farmers.

Schulte would like to increase Pell grants and other forms of financial aid and student assistance to make the dream of higher education a reality. She also thinks that it would be important to try to find funding for Head Start, Special Education, after school programs, and teacher recruitment and training programs.

I said it before and at the risk of offending anyone, I’ll say it again. We really have an opportunity to make a difference by replacing Steve King. I consider him a loose cannon on the sinking ship of state.

With the vote split four ways, maybe his seat is safe, but at least we can send him a clear message that we’ve had enough of his radical, ultra right-wing bombastic rancor. If he returns to Washington with a small enough plurality, maybe it will be a wake-up call for him to start paying attention to the real needs of real Iowans, not just wedge issues and National Republican rhetoric.

exposing and opposing arbitrary power by speaking and writing truth

Ted, here is a little comment about your column this week.

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From:
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:50:27 -0500
To: <mpress@longlines.com>
Subject: Mallory column

What exactly is that column suppose to be? Opinion, editorial, news article ? The column in the Oct. 19th

Paper was totally out of line. If it is an opinion column it should be named as such if it is the views of your paper, I am sure you will lose a lot of subscribers, republicans and democrats a like.

A republican with self respect,

At least one reader was very offended by my column that ran Oct 19 that skewered Fifth District Congressman Steve King. I never enjoy having people angry with me or disliking me, so in the tradition of so many American politicians, I’d like to offer a non apologetic apology: I’m sorry if anyone was offended that I so severely criticized Congressman King, but I’m also sorry to have to tell you, that I’m not sorry for criticizing him.

We all have the right to redress our government for grievances, we all have the right to free speech and free press. I’m constantly encouraging readers to submit their own writing, letters, comments, opinions or otherwise for publication. Many of King’s positions, actions, attitudes, and especially things he’s said have grieved me and embarrassed me. I’m sorry if my being offended by him offends any of you. I’m sorry if more people aren’t grieved, embarrassed or offended by King, I think that that either means that they aren’t paying much attention or that they don’t care. I’m also sorry if King hasn’t grieved or embarrassed everyone in our district, because that means he’ll probably get reelected. It’s just a really sorry situation all around.

In 1935, Andrew Hamilton told a New York court that New York Weekly Journal publisher Peter Zenger should not be locked up for criticizing Colonial Governor William Cosby because freedom of the press “is not of small nor private concern nor is it the cause of a poor printer, nor of New York alone. No, it may affect every Freeman to deny the liberty of both exposing and opposing arbitrary power by speaking and writing truth.”

I’ve always thought that this was something noble to aspire to; exposing and opposing arbitrary power by speaking and writing truth. Granted, I may look at the facts and interpret the “truth” differently than someone else. That should make you think, maybe even rile you up, but it doesn’t have to raise your blood pressure too much or cause you to cancel your subscription.

One should just assume that any newspaper column is an opinion piece and that the opinions are those of the columnist, not of the paper itself or anyone else. Even sports columns, food columns, and humor columns. I wanted to be an editorial cartoonist since I was in sixth grade. That’s probably part of why, when I attended Concordia Teacher’s College, a Church school, I majored in History and Art. You can guess what some of my great passions are; American history and politics, faith and theology, and helping people understand things. If I can do these things with a little humor, all the better.

What’s wonderful about this column is that by promising to talk about “sex, politics, and religion…not necessarily in that order” I’m free to write about political issues, religious issues, and silly or funny things without being restricted to writing in only one of these categories.

I can’t help it if Steve King is a drip who embarrasses me. I suppose that you can’t help it if I’m an over-opinionated left-winger who offends you. I’m sorry that that’s the way things go.

Sorry.