Iowa primary precinct caucus and caucuses news">
Iowa primary precinct caucus and caucuses news, reports
and information on 2004 Democrat and Republican candidates, campaigns
and issues
IOWA
DAILY REPORT Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.
Wednesday,
July 2, 2003
Quotable I:
“Apart from the Sharptonkucinichmoseleybraun
also-rans, Dean is the best opponent the
Republicans could possibly hope for.”
– James
Tartanto in his “Best of the Web” report on
OpinionJournal.com
Quotable II:
“We’ve watched while products get dumped in
the United States and our people sit on their
asses. We have to fight back.”
–
Kerry, commenting on the Boeing-Airbus
rivalry in yesterday’s Seattle Times.
Political
Spin 101:
“Howard Dean’s
money reminds observers that the top tier in
this campaign can only be so big and this may
mean that we are moving closer to a two-man
race.”
–
Kelley Benander of the Kerry campaign,
apparently believing the other wannabe in the
two-man race besides Dean won’t be
Gephardt or Lieberman.
Among the offerings in this morning’s update:
Washington
Times report: Edwards first denies – and
then concedes -- he’s blocking Senate action
on HEROES measure to ease student-loan
burden on soldiers fighting overseas.
GOP staffer says Edwards is delaying
bill because “he wants to see his name on
it.”
New
Hampshire report: Dr. Dean offers medical
advice to volunteer “bit in her rear-end” by
a dog while going door-to-door in Nashua
In Iowa,
Guv Vilsack vetoes election reform
legislation, Register editorializes this
morning that Vilsack and GOP
lawmakers should “scrounge up” the money to
match federal election reform funds
The
latest Dem dilemma: LA Times analysis says
Dean’s become “an unlikely pacesetter,” but
establishment Dems consider him a “sure
loser.” Analysis adds that Edwards and
Lieberman now forced to “stave off” doubts
about their viability. Meanwhile, Dean’s
fundraising show continues to get big –
almost unavoidable – political ink and
airtime
And the
latest central IA dilemma: What to do about
newly-opened Lion’s Den Adult Superstore
located on Interstate 80 east of DSM?
Jasper
County (Newton} officials examining
zoning codes to find a loophole to shut it
down
In Seattle
interview, Kerry calls for subsidies
to Boeing, says “it’s get-tough time.”
Dean
plays property-tax card in New Hampshire –
says Bush tax cuts and unfunded fed mandates
raising property taxes, reducing funds for
education that local taxpayers are obligated
to pick up. Calls GWB “the big promiser”
Graham’s
debate challenge to Bush meets with
undebatable resistance
You’d
never know it now with the current outbreak
of Dean adulation, but some 72 hours ago a
San Jose headline read: “Gephardt shows new
strength”
That’s back
when a description of Gephardt’s chances
as “strikingly formidable” seemed
credible – before “people-powered Howard”
got things rolling over the weekend
Boston
report: “Dean’s surprise fund-raising
surge jolted Kerry”
View from
Taranto’s “Best of the Web” perspective on
Dean’s recent dominance: “…all the guys who
thought they had a chance of winning the
[Dem] nomination are in trouble.”
Will
labor union favorite Gephardt have a “home
field” advantage next month?
AFL-CIO
expects all nine Dem hopefuls to show at
union-organized forum a month from now in
Chicago
Editorial in Daily Iowan (University of
Iowa) endorses Internet primaries, says they
will restore “traditional grass-roots
participation” in political process.
Commends liberal-radical MoveOn.org for
“building electronic advocacy groups [on]
such issues as campaign finance,
environmental and energy issues,
impeachment, gun safety, and nuclear
disarmament.” All
these stories below and more. Top Cartoons:
New Cartoon:
Morning
Updates:
… Hot day
ahead – highs in the low 90s, but with
humidity the heat indexes are expected to
hover around 100 or above
… Morning
newscasts say that the investigation
continues into two central Iowa bank
robberies – which occurred yesterday
afternoon about 25 miles apart and about an
hour apart. A credit union in Newton
and a bank in Grinnell were hit, but
reports this morning say few details have
been released about either robbery
… The
Quad-City Times reports this morning that
rush-hour traffic on Interstate 80 north of
Davenport “slowed to a crawl for
miles” yesterday afternoon after about
24,000 pounds of plate glass fell from a
semitrailer and shattered, burying about a
quarter-mile of roadway in crystal shards.
Davenport Police Cpl. Brandon Noonan
said: “It looked like Christmas.”
… Radio Iowa reports this morning that 18
employees – about one-fifth of the staff --
are being dismissed at the National Pork
Board headquarters in Clive, a western
Des Moines suburb. Officials blame a
long slump in hog prices and lower
participation in the pork checkoff.
… While most
of the media observers – as well as eight of
the nine wannabes – appear to be awestruck by
Dean’s second quarter fundraising
frenzy, James Taranto brings a bit of rational
perspective. An excerpt from Taranto’s “Best
of the Web” column on OpinionJournal.com (Wall
Street Journal): “Money isn't everything,
of course; just ask John Edwards, whoever he
is. But Dean also has energy, a distinctive
message and an enthusiastic cadre of
supporters. Now that he's proved his
fund-raising prowess, there's no excuse not to
take his candidacy seriously. The [New York]
Times notes that Dean's success ‘seems
certain to cause a problem’ for Gephardt and
Joe Lieberman and reports that ‘several
Democrats said that Dr. Dean's success posed a
particular problem’ to John Kerry. In
other words, all the guys who thought they had
a chance of winning the nomination are in
trouble. Dean's star could fade,
but for now it would be hard to reckon him as
anything other than the front-runner… Karl
Rove must be jumping for joy. Apart from
the harptonkucinichmoseleybraun
also-rans, Dean is the best opponent
the Republicans could possibly hope for. Can
anyone imagine such an intemperate lefty
winning a single ‘red’ state? If President
Bush merely carries the same states he did
last time around, he has 278 electoral votes
and a second term. Against Dean he could
phone it in.”
… “Kerry
backs subsidies to help Boeing fight Airbus”
– headline from yesterday’s Seattle Times.
Coverage by the David Postman, the Times chief
political reporter: “Democratic
presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry says
the United States should subsidize Boeing like
France does Airbus. ‘I'm tired of Airbus
playing all kinds of subsidy games,’ Kerry
said yesterday. ‘We have to fight back, and I
think the government has to do more to help
leverage Boeing's position.’ Kerry,
D-Mass., said he would aggressively challenge
European subsidies of Airbus through the World
Trade Organization. Boeing and the United
States have claimed that Airbus' European
government support is illegal under WTO rules.
Kerry says the United States ultimately
will have to use business-tax cuts and other
economic measures to create an industrial
policy that gives Boeing what its foreign,
subsidized competitor has. ‘I think
it's get-tough time,’ Kerry said from
California yesterday afternoon before flying
here for his speech to state Democrats. ‘We've
watched while products get dumped in the
United States and our people sit on their
asses. We have to fight back.’ His
comments about Boeing come at a time when the
company's future in Washington state is
unknown, and efforts to persuade Boeing to
expand here have taken on great political
meaning…. ‘I'm not for tariffs. I'm not for
going into a trade war,’ Kerry said.
‘But if these guys are using unfair practices,
I'm not going to sit by and watch.’ Kerry
arrived in Seattle yesterday afternoon and
held a quick fund-raiser at the Mercer Island
home of Alex Alben, an executive with
RealNetworks, said Kerry's spokesman,
David Wade. Kerry then rode with party
activists on a bus to Tacoma, where he was the
featured speaker at the state party's annual
dinner to honor former Gov. Al Rosellini.”
… Under the subhead “Taking de(bait),”
Greg Pierce – in his “Inside Politics” column
in yesterday’s Washington Times – reported on
Graham’s latest wacky (and unsuccessful)
campaign ploy. Pierce reported: “Bob
Graham has struggled to win attention in the
Democratic presidential sweepstakes, so the
Florida senator seized on President Bush's
fund-raising visit to Mr. Graham's home state
yesterday. He challenged Mr. Bush to a
debate. In a letter to the White House dated
Friday and released yesterday, Mr. Graham
told the president: ‘It is my understanding
that you will be in my home state on June 30
for fund-raisers in Tampa and Miami. ...As
senior U.S. senator of this state, past
chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee
and a candidate for the presidency in 2004,
I invite you to a debate to discuss the future
of this state and our nation. This debate
will be with a neutral moderator, such as
Michael Putney, of ABC affiliate WPLG in
Miami, on the 30th of June, in either Miami or
Tampa. WPLG can broadcast our debate on their
station and surely ABC affiliates throughout
the state and the nation would be willing to
carry the debate as well.’ The senator said
that in deference to the office of the
president, ‘I will adjust my schedule to
accommodate yours.’ We checked the wires
yesterday and couldn't find anything about a
debate, so Mr. Bush must have turned down
the offer to match wits with a candidate who
so far has failed to make much of an
impression on fellow Democrats. On the
other hand, Mr. Graham may have won
some free publicity from gullible political
columnists.”
… All
Politics Is Local: Dean ties property
tax deadline in New Hampshire to GWB criticism.
(Iowa Pres Watch Note: We’re not sure why this
report from Sunday didn’t appear on the Union
Leader website until yesterday, but maybe the
New Hampshire Pony Express was running late.)
Headline from yesterday’s Union Leader – “Dean:
Tax cuts will drive property taxes” Report
by UL correspondent Stephen Seitz from
Lebanon, NH: “Unfunded federal mandates and
President Bush’s tax cuts will increase New
Hampshire’s property taxes by more than $136
million this year, former Vermont Gov. Howard
Dean said Sunday. ‘The President has been
telling us all how great his tax cuts are,’
said Dean, who is a contender for the
Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination. ‘With
the money in those tax cuts, he could have
fully funded special education and No Child
Left Behind.’ In New Hampshire, Dean
said, special education costs around $100
million, while the No Child Left Behind
education law costs $36.7 million. Because the
programs have to be paid for whether the
federal government funds them or not, Dean
said, the money has to come from somewhere
else — property taxes. ‘Tomorrow is property
tax day in Manchester,’ said Dean, ‘and
their property taxes are going up. The
President has chosen to cut income taxes for a
small number of the wealthiest Americans,
rather than fully fund education programs, as
I would have done.’ Dean also said that
the President’s tax cuts are an indirect
factor in New Hampshire’s current budget
crisis. ‘The budget problem wouldn’t be as
bad without them,’ he said. ‘The President
is a big promiser, but there’s no money to
the localities coming, and we’re not even
progressing on homeland security. But that’s
the President’s choice. He’s placed tax cuts
over homeland security. There isn’t even money
to defend the country because he’s given it
all away in tax cuts.’”
… It’s not
quite like Wimbledon or the French Open, but
Gephardt should be top-seeded – and probably
believes he has the home court advantage at
union forum next month. Associated Press
reports this morning: “The AFL-CIO said
Tuesday that it will host a Democratic
presidential primary forum next month in
Chicago to hear candidates' positions on
protecting rights to organize, health care and
other issues important to workers. The
union says it expects all nine candidates to
attend the Aug. 5 event, but it is still
finalizing the format. The AFL-CIO is the
umbrella organization for 65 labor unions
representing 13 million people. To win an
endorsement, a candidate has to get a
recommendation from the 54-member executive
council and support from two-thirds of the
general board, which includes the presidents
of all the member unions. But AFL-CIO
spokeswoman Lane Windham said the Executive
Council could revise that procedure.”
… “Edwards
blocks GI’s loan break” – Headline from
yesterday’s Washington Times. The Times’
Charles Hunt reports on efforts by Edwards
and his staff to initially deny his was
stalling the legislation. Excerpts from Hunt’s
report: “Sen. John Edwards, North Carolina
Democrat, is single-handedly blocking Senate
action on legislation all but unanimously
supported by the House to ease the
student-loan burden for soldiers fighting
overseas. In April, the House voted 421-1
to pass the HEROES Act, which essentially
would defer student loans for soldiers called
into action. The only dissenting vote was cast
accidentally by one of the bill's sponsors. The
bill is stalled in the Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions Committee under
a ‘secret hold,’ said Sen. Judd Gregg, New
Hampshire Republican and chairman of the
committee. Senate tradition allows members to
lodge secret, or ‘anonymous,’ holds against a
bill and block it indefinitely. Supporters
of the bill, the Higher Education Relief
Opportunities for Students Act, were mystified
for months that anyone would hold up such
popular legislation, but couldn't pinpoint the
culprit. ‘It's frustrating when something
has such overwhelming support and then it gets
held up like this,’ said the bill's sponsor,
Rep. John Kline, Minnesota Republican. Mr.
Gregg and Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
Republican, became so frustrated that last
month they wrote a letter telling a colleague
that the bill ‘has been held up in the
Senate and is unlikely to pass’ in its current
form. In their letter to Sen. John W.
Warner, Virginia Republican, Mr. Gregg and Mr.
Graham asked that their HEROES proposal be
slipped into the defense spending bill in the
Armed Services Committee, which Mr. Warner
leads. Capitol Hill speculation about the
secret hold eventually centered on Mr.
Edwards, one of four senators seeking the
Democratic nomination for president. ‘Apparently,
presidential politics got involved,’ Mr.
Kline said. One Republican staffer on the
Senate education panel said Mr. Edwards is
holding up the bill so that he can take top
credit for passing it later. ‘Edwards
likes this issue and he wants to see his name
on it,’ the staffer said. Mr. Edwards and
his office initially denied responsibility for
blocking the bill at all. ‘I just talked
to Senator Edwards,’ Mr. Graham said as
he stepped off the Senate floor last week. ‘He
said if he has a hold on it, he didn't know
about it. He didn't even know about the
bill.’ Told last week that everyone involved
with the legislation adamantly said that Mr.
Edwards put the hold on it, Edwards
spokesman Mike Briggs replied, ‘They're
adamantly wrong.’ Yesterday, however, Mr.
Briggs acknowledged that his boss was stalling
the bill. ‘We support this bill, but Senator
Edwards wants his amendment voted on,’ he
said. ‘He wants to make a good bill better.’
The Edwards amendment would waive
interest accrued by soldiers while engaged in
military action and would cost about $10
million per deployment, Mr. Briggs said.”
… Looming
question for the coming days: Will the bitter
Dean-Kerry battle become bitterer as
competition increases for coveted New
Hampshire victory? Andrew Miga’s report in
yesterday’s Boston Herald about Kerry
camp’s reaction to Dean’s latest
success: “Howard Dean, in a blow to bitter
rival Sen. John F. Kerry, raced ahead of
the Democratic presidential pack by raising
more than $6.6 million over the past three
months…Dean's surprise fund-raising surge
jolted Kerry {D-Mass.}, with whom he is
dueling in New Hampshire, a must-win
primary for the Bay State senator. The
Kerry camp had hoped to regain momentum
this quarter after being edged for the money
lead three months ago by Sen. John Edwards
(D-N.C.). ‘Howard Dean's money reminds
observers that the top tier in this
campaign can only be so big and this may mean
that we are moving closer to a two-man race,’
said Kerry aide Kelley Benander.
Kerry and Edwards are expected to raise
about $5 million for the latest quarter, which
ended yesterday.”
… Headline on
Los Angeles Times news analysis yesterday: “Dean’s
Momentum Stirs Opponents’ Fears…The
onetime outsider in the Democratic race is
raising money at an unexpected rate.” The
Times’ Mark Z. Barabak wrote: “Boosted by a
surge in fund-raising, Howard Dean has
emerged as an unlikely pacesetter in the
Democratic presidential contest,
outmaneuvering candidates with higher name
recognition, loftier resumes and broader
political contacts. Anger fueled the early
rise of the former Vermont governor, stoked by
liberals upset about the war in Iraq and what
they see as the party's mushy message in the
2002 campaign. But now money makes Dean and
his message a greater factor than ever.
And that is making some other Democrats
nervous. Thanks to a strong outpouring of
contributions in the last week, Dean
had raised more than $7 million by the time
the year's second quarter ended at midnight
Monday, according to his campaign Web site.
The site, which demonstrates the Dean
campaign's aggressive use of the Internet,
offered updates throughout the day in a bid to
spur further donations. His fund-raising
performance — well over double his showing in
the year's first three months — is expected to
put Dean at or near the top of the
second-quarter money chase among Democrats.
Even more significantly, it should ensure the
viability of his candidacy for some time to
come…No longer an insurgent, Dean now
is seen by most analysts as among the
front-runners for the party's nomination.
And that is something few would have imagined
just a few months ago. Even after he gained a
loyal following by criticizing the buildup to
war with Iraq — along with Democrats who
backed the Bush policy — Dean was
treated as little more than an irritant in the
contest. Most attention remained focused on
[Rep. Richard] Gephardt, the former
Democratic leader in the House, and a trio of
senators: [Massachusetts Sen. John] Kerry,
Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and John
Edwards of North Carolina. Lieberman
and Edwards, however, now are having to stave
off doubts about their viability — neither has
shown much strength in Iowa and New Hampshire,
where the nomination battle begins.
Meanwhile, some establishment Democrats are
starting to contemplate having their party led
in 2004 by someone they consider a sure loser.
‘They're worried [Dean] is too far left
and he'll be a George McGovern,’ said a
Democratic House leadership aide, referring to
the 1972 nominee who lost to President Nixon
in a landslide. ‘I don't think a lot of
people see Howard Dean winning the nomination.
But just thinking about it makes them nervous.’
That hardly worries the Dean camp.
Indeed, Dean's blunt-spoken style and
apparent contempt for the party establishment
— his opponents are typically dismissed as
‘those Washington candidates’ — have
contributed mightily to his appeal among the
party's grass-roots activists.”
… From the Files: Although Dean has
captured captivated the political headlines –
and apparently captivated the political media
over the past couple days – it may be time to
reflect back to the “good old days” when other
wannabes had a prayer of winning the
nomination. Join Iowa Pres Watch in
reflecting back just 72 hours ago when this
headline appeared on the San Jose Mercury
News: “Gephardt shows new strength” An
excerpt in a report that appeared in Sunday’s
editions by Steven Thomma of Knight Ridder
Newspapers: “Rep. Richard Gephardt, who's
running for president again years after a
failed bid in 1988, is in a surprisingly
strong position to compete for the Democratic
nomination. In Iowa, where the voting will
start next Jan. 19, Gephardt holds an
early lead. In New Hampshire, which votes
second, on Jan. 27, he is mixing it up with
three New Englanders and is tied for third
with Sen. Joseph Lieberman of
Connecticut behind former Gov. Howard Dean
of Vermont and Sen. John Kerry of
Massachusetts. In South Carolina, the site of
the first Southern contest, on Feb. 3, he is
second. Most importantly there, where 40
percent of the vote could come from African
Americans, he has the support of a majority of
the state's black mayors and could enjoy a
dramatic preprimary endorsement from U.S. Rep.
James Clyburn, the state's dominant black
politician. Four days later, the voting
moves to Michigan, where Gephardt's long
opposition to free trade has endeared him to
industrial union members who blame trade for
shipping jobs to other countries. Four
unions already have endorsed Gephardt, who
boasts, ‘you're going to see lots more
coming.’ For a 62-year-old longtime
lawmaker from Missouri who was widely written
off as a has-been just last year, Gephardt
looks strikingly formidable. How did he do
it? By careful organization, hard work and
in no small part by reinventing himself, or at
least how he presents himself. For 26
years, Gephardt has been a man of the
House; now he is running away from home. The
House of Representatives is a historically
poor springboard to the White House; only one
American has ever gone directly to the
presidency from it, James Garfield in 1880.”
… Dean
offers advice to campaign worker who suffered
dog bite in a bad place while going
door-to-door. Headline from yesterday’s
Union Leader: “Dean lives up to his
profession while campaigning.” Excerpt
from AP report: “Having a doctor on the
presidential campaign trail can come in handy.
In this case, it's the candidate, Howard Dean.
He assisted a campaign volunteer who was bit
on her rear-end by a dog Sunday while going
door-to-door in Nashua, campaign spokeswoman
Dorie Clark said. Later that day, Dean
was meeting with the volunteers to thank them
for their day's efforts in Manchester when the
volunteer asked him about her wound. Dean
gave her advice about how to treat the bite to
prevent infection. He did not examine her. ‘Considering
where the bite was, it would not have been
appropriate,’ Clark said.”
IOWA/NATIONAL
POLITICS:
… John
McCaslin – under the subhead, “3-D
disparity” – reported in his “Inside the
Beltway” in yesterday’s Washington Times: “First
we learn that cash flows could stymie South
Carolina's presidential primary, which is
supposed to take place in seven months,
because the cash-strapped state Democratic
Party doesn't have the money to pay for it.
The most recent state filing showed the
Democrats had only $288.93 in their bank
account, well short of the required $450,000
to hold the primary. Now we've gotten hold
of the current Federal Election Commission
June quarterly filing for net cash on hand for
the Democratic Congressional Campaign
Committee, or DCCC, in Washington — $514,677.
Compare that sum with that of the National
Republican Congressional Campaign Committee,
or NRCC, $5.43 million. In the previous
month of May, the NRCC raised $8 million,
compared with the DCCC's $1.5 million. As for
a yearly comparison, the NRCC thus far in 2003
has pulled in $39 million in contributions to
the DCCC's $10 million. No wonder
congressional Republicans are handing their
Democratic rivals a new ‘3-D’ theme of
alliteration: ‘disengaged, depressed and
destitute.’”
… Headline
from Daily Iowan (University of Iowa)
editorial: “Internet primaries involve more
people in the process” Editorial excerpt:
“The Internet is the 21st-century's
version of town meetings and neighborhood
potlucks to endorse candidates. The media,
pollsters, and wealthy donors have replaced
grass-roots politics by determining the
outcome of elections long before the average
citizen has a say in them. The Internet
addresses this problem by restoring
traditional grass-roots participation in a
manner that is nonthreatening, convenient, and
easy for busy-yet-concerned citizens. It
functions as a way to personalize an otherwise
impersonal Democratic system. Without it,
individual participation and involvement in
the democratic process would be severely
limited. In five years, MoveOn.org alone has
established a membership of 1.4 million
Americans and has raised more than $6.5
million for candidates. It has effectively
brought ordinary citizens back into politics
by building electronic advocacy groups to
propose priorities and strategies surrounding
such issues as campaign finance, environmental
and energy issues, impeachment, gun safety,
and nuclear disarmament. The Internet
gives citizens from all states the opportunity
to discover and reveal their political voice.
It would come as no surprise if the Internet
became the political movement of choice for
all citizens in the future.” This
morning’s headlines:
Des Moines
Register, top front-page headline: “Poll:
Most doubt claims on Iraq” Cites survey by
the Program on International Policy Attitudes
at the University of Maryland – 52% believe
Bush administration exaggerated evidence of
Iraq’s lethal weapons, 10% believe the
administration presented evidence it knew was
false and 32% believe the Bush administration
was being fully truthful.
Quad-City
Times online, main headlines: “Pentagon
develops urban ‘eye’” The Pentagon is
developing an urban surveillance system that
would use computers and thousands of cameras
to track, record and analyze the movement of
every vehicle in a foreign city. & “Bush
attempts to quell U. S. jitters over Iraq”
Featured
online headlines, New York Times: “Subject
of Anthrax Inquiry Tied to Anti-Germ Training”
& “Sharon, Abbas Stand Side by Side, Then
Begin Talks”
Nation/world
headlines, Omaha World-Herald online: “Kraft
says it’ll join battle of the bulge” The
makers of Oreo cookies and Oscar Mayer bologna
say they will cut back on sugar and fat in
some foods. & “Last tributes paid to
Thurmond”
Daily Iowan
(University of Iowa), nation/world headlines:
”Vatican sends tough bishop to Boston”
& “Abbas, Sharon vow to wage peace”
Sioux City
Journal online, top online stories: Iowa -- “Revenue
exceeds forecast, fueling hopes of rebound”
Report says state tax collections exceeded
forecasts during the fiscal year that ended
Monday. Tax receipts for fiscal year 2003 grew
by eight-tenths of a percent when compared to
2002, $12 million more than experts predicted.
Analysts had expected revenues to grow by 0.5
percent. Overall, tax collections grew by $39
million. & “Pope names O’Malley new
archbishop of Boston”
Chicago
Tribune, main online headlines: “Kraft goes
on diet” Food giant Kraft says it will cap
the size of portions and improve nutrition of
its products. & “Final Details Set for
Bethlehem Handover”
… Politicians, neighbors and news media
surprised by the opening of the Lion’s Den
Adult Superstore on Interstate 80 east of
Des Moines KCCI-TV {Des Moines}
reported: “Some Jasper County
{Newton) residents are upset over a new
adult store opening in their neighborhood.
The new Lion's Den Adult Superstore opened
Sunday along Interstate 80 between Colfax
and Newton. The building at exit
159 used to be an antique shop, but now
sells adult videos, DVDs, books, lingerie
and more. Residents in the area said they
were surprised to see the sign to go up.
‘I know they have a right to do it like they
say they do. But I just wish it wasn't in my
backyard,’ neighbor Bill Brown said.
Members of the Jasper County Board of
Supervisors told NewsChannel 8 they would
also like to find a way to close the new
store. ‘We're going to do what we can,
legally, to prevent this from happening,’
Board of Supervisors member Max Worthington
said.”
Iowa Briefs/Updates:
… WHO Radio
(Des Moines) reports that the
Dyersville hospital in northeast IA will
stop delivering babies next year – due to
nursing retirements over the coming months
that will produce a shortage of nurses. The
WHO account said the Dyersville
decision was part of a trend in Iowa. Over
the past seven years, 13 Iowa hospitals have
made similar decisions…Several reports about
highway blow-ups in western Iowa. The news
stories say two large sections – each about
13-feet long -- of U. S. Highway 6 near
Atlantic have “blown up” due to
excessive heat and moisture. DOT officials
said no accidents resulted, but vehicles
could have been “launched.”
… From the
Korean Front: “N. Korea Accuses US of
Aerial Espionage” – Headline from VOANews
(Voice of America). The VOA’s Kurt Achin
reported: “North Korea is unleashing a new
burst of harsh rhetoric against the United
States. Pyongyang says Washington's actions
are bringing the Korean peninsula closer to
war. North Korea's official news agency
accuses the United States of stepping up
aerial espionage over the past month.
Pyongyang says the surveillance is a precursor
to an Iraq-style pre-emptive attack by the
United States. On Tuesday, North Korea warned
it would take ‘strong and merciless’
retaliatory measures in response to any
economic blockade. Pyongyang has said many
times in the past it views a blockade or
sanctions as a declaration of war. A
representative of the North Korean People's
Army on Tuesday warned Pyongyang may
withdraw from the 1953 armistice that ended
hostilities in the Korean War. He said the
United States would provoke a withdrawal if it
applied sanctions or increased its troop
presence in the South.”
… Also from
VOANews, headline: “Columbia’s Uribe
Unveils Plan to Crush Rebels, Drug Gangs”
The report: “Colombian President Alvaro
Uribe has announced a new hard-line strategy
to rid the South American country of illegal
armed groups and drug traffickers.
President Uribe released a document outlining
his administration's plan for what he calls
democratic security. The new strategy calls
for strengthening the military and emphasizes
that citizens must aid the authorities. Mr.
Uribe took office nearly one year ago,
promising to crackdown on leftist rebels,
ultra-right wing paramilitary groups and drug
gangs. The rebels have been battling the
government and paramilitary groups for nearly
40 years, in a conflict that kills thousands
of people, mostly civilians, each year.
Both the guerrillas and the paramilitaries,
who are backed by landowners, finance their
illegal operations by drug trafficking with
the country's powerful cocaine cartels.”
… Headline
from this morning’s Sioux City Journal: “Vilsack
vetoes election reform” Excerpts from
coverage by Todd Dorman: “Gov.
Tom Vilsack followed through Tuesday on his
threat to veto a Republican-backed election
reform bill, even though his decision could
cost Iowa millions in federal dollars
earmarked for voting system upgrades.
The legislation
Vilsack rejected would have made Iowa
eligible for $34 million to help meet new
requirements under the federal Help America
Vote Act, or HAVA. Without those dollars,
local governments could be left to pick up the
tab for mandated upgrades in voting technology
and training.
Although he
supports HAVA reforms, Vilsack said he
could not accept other provisions tacked onto
the bill by Republican lawmakers. Among
them were limits on the use of absentee
ballots that likely would have curtailed
Democrats' election year get-out-the-vote
efforts.” Today’s
editorials:
… Today’s editorials, Des Moines Register:
“Scrounge up the money…Vilsack
and Republicans should figure out a way to get
federal ballot-reform help.” Vilsack
vetoed the election-related legislation
yesterday. An excerpt from this morning’s
editorial: “The Democratic governor and
Republican lawmakers should set aside their
differences on election ‘reforms’ for now and
see if they can find a legal way to scrounge
$1 million or so to secure the federal money
before it disappears.” & “Not one quagmire,
but two…Americans are dying in
Afghanistan, too.”
… Despite
skepticism about the popularity of hockey in
central Iowa, WHO-TV (Des Moines)
reports that two groups are competing to
locate minor league franchises in the city
when the new Iowa Events Center opens in DSM.
Given current construction schedules, it could
be 2005 before a new minor league team would
arrive in Des Moines. In the interim,
WHO-TV said the financially-troubled Des
Moines Buccaneers – which play in the United
States Hockey League and are reportedly being
sold to a Minnesota group – will remain in
DSM for at least one more season.
… DSM 7 a.m. 69, sunny. Tight – and warm –
temperature range across IA at 7 a.m.: From 63
in Harlan and 64 in Mount Pleasant,
Decorah and Pella to 70 at eight
reporting locations, including Clarion,
LeMars, Burlington and Waterloo.
Today’s high 92, partly sunny. Tonight’s low
70, partly cloudy. Thursday’s high 92, partly
sunny. Thursday night’s low 72, chance
T-storms. Fourth of July weekend – Friday
through Sunday: Highs 85-88, Lows 68 each
night, chance T-storms through the weekend.
From WHO-TV’s Brandon Thomas: “Parts of
northwestern Iowa could see t-storms Wednesday
night. Partly cloudy on Thursday, with highs
in the low nineties. A good chance of t’storms
in about the northern third of the state in
the morning and again Thursday night.”
top
of the page
click here
Paid
for by the Iowa Presidential Watch PAC
P.O.
Box 171, Webster City, IA 50595
privacy
/ agreement
/
/ homepage
/
search engine
to read past Iowa Daily Reports
THE CLINTON COMEDIES: