Saturday, May 17,  2003

Armed Forces Day.

GENERAL NEWS:   

 Among the offerings in this morning’s update: 

…Seven of nine Dem wannabes invading Iowa today to do political song-and-dance routines for AFSCME members

…Graham under attack from old political friends – environmentalists

… Edwards hops on multi-debate bandwagon, supports Lieberman call for monthly engagements & home state paper refers to Edwards as being “among the lesser-known of the major candidates.”

…Kerry rolls out health care proposal yesterday in Des Moines as rivals start arriving for the weekend

…Washington Times column focuses on Gephardt’s gay daughter

…Financial records show Lieberman, wife cashing in on royalties and speaking fees

…Dean and wife worth $4.24 million

…Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) names four Iowans for “next generation of leadership” recognition …And the DLC – still believing they propelled Bill Clinton to the White House – criticize Dean and Gephardt for conducting campaigns that, for all practical purposes, alienate American voters 

…Meskwaki tribe, near Tama, feud escalates after takeover group replaces U.S. and P.O.W. flags at tribal headquarters with the Indian flag. And, radio talk show host Mickelson offers his theory about the flag switch

…Independent Women’s Forum launches effort to fight feminist judicial activism and campus indoctrination

…NH Dems plan way ahead – set annual dinner for next January

All these stories below and more. 

 CANDIDATES & CAUCUSES: 

Morning report:

... Seven of the nine Dem presidential hopefuls – all except for Kerry and Lieberman – are scheduled in Iowa today for an issues forum sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Kerry, who had a prior commitment to address a New Hampshire commencement, is to address the group by satellite and Lieberman – who doesn’t campaign on the Jewish Sabbath – was to send a videotape. The Quad-City Times reported that AFSCME president Jan Corderman said the candidates have “got to let Iowans see the differences between them. I hope they do that in the most respectful way possible.” Another Times excerpt: “Gephardt called the gathering an important one. ‘It’s an important union; it’s an important group of people. They care about the issues,’ he said.” (Iowa Pres Watch Note: On the other hand, has Gephardt even seen a union – or union boss – that’s not important to his political and personal aspirations?)  

... Several of the wannabes are scheduled for other appearances in the state over the weekend – Gephardt to be in southern and southeast IA, Graham has a Des Moines appearance set, Edwards is due in Ottumwa, Fort Madison and Burlington, and Dean will participate in a candidate forum sponsored by IA Sen Harkin in Davenport on Sunday.  

... Trouble in Graham’s Florida political paradise. Miami Herald report – headline, “Old friends say Graham is too close to Big Sugar” – by Peter Wallsten and Lesley Clark: “As he seeks the Democratic nomination for president, U.S. Sen. Bob Graham is under fire from environmentalists who say their longtime hero has failed them with his timid response to efforts by Big Sugar to loosen pollution restrictions in the Everglades. Citing the industry’s tens of thousands of dollars in donations since last year to Graham’s presidential campaign and political action committee, some critics are now charging that Graham is more interested in avoiding a fight that might undermine his ability to raise more money for what will be a costly campaign. The criticism of the contributions – including a $50,000 check last summer – could complicate Graham’s quest for the Democratic nomination in a field of rivals who have been quick to seize the issue popular with primary voters. Several of Graham’s competitors – including Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont – have called on Gov. Jeb Bush to veto the measure, while Graham, a former two-term governor of Florida, has stopped short of such a demand …All told, according to state and federal campaign finance records, Graham and his PAC, the Bob Graham Leadership Forum, raised $61,000 from the sugar industry …The controversy could prove dangerous to Graham as he seeks to establish national viability in the race to challenge President Bush. Environmentalists have a strong voice in the Democratic Party, in Florida as well as key 2004 primary states such as California, New York, Arizona and Iowa.  ” 

... But even Graham’s problems with his home-state environmentalists may pale compared to the Democratic Leadership Council’s criticisms of Dean and Gephardt. The Washington Times’ Donald Lambro reported yesterday that the two wannabes were singled out for “lurching to the left on positions that would ensure President Bush’s re-election next year.” Lambro wrote that the DLC criticized Dean for “what it called a message of weakness on national security” and Gephardt for “his universal health care plan, which the DLC derided as a liberal, big-government proposal that was doomed to fail.” The DLC was especially critical of Dean, basically describing him as a George McGovern clone (or George McGovern wannabe). The Associated Press report on the DLC statement said: “ ‘What activists like Dean call the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party is an aberration: The McGovern-Mondale wing, defined principally by weaknesses abroad and elite interest-group liberalism at home.’  

PANDER ALERT:
The AP coverage also noted that the DLC also said Gephardt’s health care plan was “too expensive” and added: “Every primary season unleashes the pander virus.”

... Headline from yesterday’s theunionleader.com: “Lieberman, wife cashing in on fees” AP coverage reporting the Liebermans last year collected about $127,000 from book royalties and speaking fees. An excerpt: “Hadassah Lieberman, who has been making regular speaking engagements since her husband’s 2000 vice presidential campaign wrapped up, collected $94,000 in fees. She gave eight speeches, all to various Jewish nonprofit organizations in Florida, Illinois, New York, California and Pennsylvania. In 2001, she earned $328,000 in speaking fees.” Lieberman spokesman Dan Gerstein was quoted as saying: “She is continuing to occasionally do speaking trips on her own. She is careful not to use campaign resources, not to talk about politics and not to do anything to promote her husband’s candidacy.” 

... Speaking of the required financial reports, New England media reports indicated that Dean’s family net worth was nearly $4.24 million – an increase of about $326,500 over the past year. He earned $85,235 as governor of Vermont last year.  

... From Greg Pierce’s “Inside Politics” column – under the subhead, “Daddy’s Girl” – in yesterday’s Washington Times: “Rep. Richard A. Gephardt expects his lesbian daughter to help him win the support of homosexuals for his presidential campaign. ‘Chrissy is a lesbian. She is a great young woman. She is doing great work. She’s a social worker here in D.C. And I’m very proud of her,’ the Missouri congressman said recently on CNBC. ‘And I want her help in the campaign. And she’s going to help with gay and lesbian people, but she’s going to help with people all over the country.’ Mr. Gephardt’s campaign Web site says: ‘Like her parents, Chrissy also attended Northwestern University for her undergraduate degree. She received her Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in St. Louis. She works with female survivors of trauma and abuse at a mental health agency in the District of Columbia. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her partner, Amy.’ Miss Gephardt will be profiled in an upcoming issue of People magazine, the Web site Gay.com reported last week.” 

... Edwards apparently was the first to voice support for Lieberman’s proposal that the wannabes debate on a monthly basis, starting in July. The News & Observer of Raleigh quoted Edwards spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri as saying: “We think it’s a great idea, and we’d be happy to work with the other campaigns to make them happen.” The newspaper’s DC guy, John Wagner, added “such debates would help Edwards, among the lesser-known of the major candidates, broaden his exposure during an important phase of the campaign.” (Iowa Pres Watch Note: So, if that’s the case, what’s it make Sharpton – one of the better known of the minor candidates?)

... From the New Hampshire Front: The Union Leader reported yesterday that the Dem state party’s annual 100 Club Dinner will be held at the Sheraton Tara in Nashua next 1/24 – the weekend before the scheduled first-in-the nation presidential primary. Party spokeswoman Pamela Walsh was quoted as saying the announcement was made eight months before the event to allow candidates and national media to plan accordingly. All Dem presidential candidates have been invited to speak. 

 IOWA POLITICS: 

... The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) concluded a two-day strategic planning session in DC by releasing a list of the “100 New Democrats to Watch: The Next Generation of Leadership” that includes the names of four Iowans: Des Moines Mayor Preston Daniels (who’s allegedly retiring after this year), IA Attorney General Tom Miller, State Sen. Matt McCoy of Des Moines (who had to back off a run for Congress when Boswell moved into the district), and State Rep. Phil Wise of Keokuk. The DLC said the purpose for listing the 100 “New Democrats” was to “cast a spotlight on elected leaders who are making a difference in their states and communities by using innovative means to solve real problems and advance the goals of security, opportunity and responsibility.” (Iowa Pres Watch Note: The DLC doesn’t indicate the criteria used to be a “New Democrat,” but it challenges the imagination to consider Tom Miller as a “new” anything – unless he was elected as attorney general on the same day he entered kindergarten. He was first elected AG more than two decades ago, ran for guv and lost, and won election again to the AG’s job. So much for the “next generation” designation.) 

MORNING SUMMARY:    

This morning’s headlines:

... Des Moines Register, top front-page headline: Local – “Deal kicks Gateway project into gear” Report says dilapidated businesses in downtown Des Moines will be razed by the end of next year to create an open spaces park. 

... Omaha World-Herald online, main world/national head: “Terrorist blasts rock Casablanca, kill 24” 

... Quad-City Times, top online headline: Local – “Davenport, R.I. eye joint riverfront plan” Report says River Action, Inc., outlines plan for Mississippi riverfront improvements, including a water park. 

... Top story headline, Sioux City Journal: “Demos push health care plans” Report says Kerry “rolled out a hefty stack of proposals for overhauling the nation’s health-care system Friday while other Democratic presidential hopefuls arriving in Iowa touted rival plans.” 

... Chicago Tribune online, main headlines: “15 students face battery charges in hazing brawl” Charges filed against 15 Glenbrook North seniors who police said took bullying to a criminal level. & “Smuggling pipeline flows freely” Smuggling migrants across Mexican border has Texans wondering aloud what exactly is inside each passing truck.

 ... More turmoil in Meskwaki tribal dispute – now a flag flap. The Meskwaki tribe – already ordered to close their casino because of a feud between tribal factions – has moved on to battle over removal of the U.S. and P.O.W. flags from their headquarters building near Tama. WHO Radio reported yesterday that the new council, which ousted the traditional Meskwaki leadership earlier this year, took down the flags and replaced them with the Indian flag. The groups are scheduled in federal court Monday to determine the fate of the casino, and a tribal elder told WHO Radio the takeover group should be removed because they have “no recognition” with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. And, after hearing about the flag change on a newscast, radio talk show host Mickelson (WHO, Des Moines/WMT, Cedar Rapids) expressed his theory that the decision to remove the U.S. and P.O.W. flags was a form of protest – “it is not a question of patriotism …[but an indication] of independence from the jurisdiction of the U.S. government.” 

WAR & TERRORISM: 

... From the Korean front: The Chicago Tribune – headline, “North Korea accused of heroin trafficking …Seized ship boost drug allegations” Excerpts from the Trib coverage: “Last month’s capture of the North Korean freighter Pong Su in a heroin bust off the Australian coast has reinforced longtime allegations that North Korea is growing and exporting the drug to prop up its struggling economy …according to U.S. and South Korean reports, heroin is an active and profitable enterprise in North Korea.” 

... VOANews (Voice of America) headline: “US Warns of More Terror Attacks in Saudi Arabia” Excerpt from the VOA report: “Three days after a deadly terrorist bombing targeting Americans and other foreigners in Saudi Arabia, the United States is warning another terrorist attack in the country may be imminent. Americans are also being told to be on alert in Kenya, where Britain has suspended all flights in and out of the country because of what it says could be an imminent attack there …U.S. officials are warning Americans against traveling to Kenya because of the possibility that terrorists could use a shoulder-fired missile to bring down a commercial airliner.” BBC News also reported: “Kenya Airways is planning to provide extra flights to take home Britons stranded by a ban on UK airline flights. The suspension of UK services was ordered by the government amid fears an al-Qaeda terrorist attack on a British plane was imminent …Hundreds of British tourists are trying to make arrangements to leave the country.”

FEDERAL ISSUES:  

... Under the headline “Cat fight,” John McCaslin – in his “Inside the Beltway” column in yesterday’s Washington Times – wrote: “Who better than a group of women to combat feminism and hatred of males? The Independent Women’s Forum is undertaking a major expansion and commitment of financial resources toward combating feminist judicial activism and campus indoctrination. ‘N.O.W. [the National Organization for Women] and other extreme feminists have been smart – rebuffed by public opinion and legislative bodies, they have worked hard to make their agenda into law by taking their pleas to activist, liberal judges who are willing to write law from the bench,’ says IWF President Nancy M. Pfotenhauer. ‘And they have permeated college campuses to such a degree that they have successfully killed intellectual diversity – college students with differing views are routinely intimidated into silence.’”

IOWA ISSUES:

... Newscasts report a Grinnell College student was in critical condition at University Hospitals in Iowa City after an apparent suicide attempt Thursday night. The 19-year-old female student was unresponsive when emergency crews arrived at her dorm room, she was taken to a local hospital and then airlifted to the university hospital. The news reports said the attempt was especially disturbing after two Grinnell students committed suicide during the past couple weeks.

... Radio Iowa reports that a Dickinson County (Spirit Lake) woman – Joanne Stockdale, a former CPA who owns Northern Iowa Die Casting in Lake Park – has been named by the U.S. Business Administration as the Iowa Small Business Person of the Year. She is the second woman to receive the Iowa small business award in its 40-year history.

OPINIONS: 

... Editorial from today’s Des Moines Register: “Give Grassley credit …He is trying to make Medicare fair for Iowa, but the proposal that passed the Senate is far from ideal.”

IOWA SPORTS: 

... About 1,500 teammates, family members and friends filled a Dallas church yesterday to attend funeral services for former Iowa State running back Ennis Haywood. Haywood, whose wife is expecting the couple’s second child in a few weeks, died suddenly last weekend. Included among the speakers at the service: NFL star running back Emmit Smith, who was on last season’s Dallas Cowboys team with Haywood, who was 23.

... Softball winners. The Iowa Hawkeyes and Central College both registered wins yesterday in their respective post-season collegiate tournaments. Iowa plays top-seeded Washington today in NCAA regional action in Lincoln, Neb., while Central meets Salisbury (Md.) this afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament in Salem, Va.  

IOWA WEATHER: 

... DSM 5 a.m. 54, fog/mist. Temperatures across IA this morning range from 44 in Mason City and Estherville to 54 in Des Moines. Today’s high 75, mostly sunny. Tonight’s low 55, clear. Sunday’s high 80, partly sunny. WHO-TV’s Ed Wilson reports there is “no reason to not get out and enjoy the weather this weekend. Highs will be in the middle 70s and there will be plenty of sunshine to take in. Have a great weekend.” 

IOWAISMS: 

... Good news for Hawkeye sports fans and drinkers. The Daily Iowan reported that an Iowa City sports institution – the Fieldhouse bar -- will reopen under new ownership this summer after being closed for nearly six months. The DI coverage said: “The Fieldhouse’s famous athletics memorabilia, including jerseys and photos, was included in the purchase price after owner Lew Converse deemed the bar to be no longer ‘financially profitable’ and put the 28-year-old sports mecca on the market in January.” 

... Bad news for State Fair enthusiasts and eaters. A landmark concession stand – located down by the livestock barns on the state fairgrounds – will be missing when the Iowa State Fair opens this August. The Chesterfield Christian Church of Des Moines dining hall, a fixture at fairs since 1912, has been forced to finally close because of declining church membership – depriving fairgoers of the homemade specialties, meat-and-potato meals and pies that were among fair traditions. As the Register reported, however: “Serving 11,000 people for 14 straight days requires more work than the church’s remaining volunteers could handle.” 

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