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God's blessings on America would be good. I'd ask for prosperity, generosity, intelligence, opportunity, and peace. Apparently some people think of other divine blessings. Like the Bronze Age Hebrews, they pray for God's blessing in war. From McCain's Website, we learn his position on Iraq: "I know the pain war causes. I understand the frustration caused by our mistakes in this war. And I regret sincerely the additional sacrifices imposed on the brave Americans who defend us. But I also know the toll a lost war takes on an army and on our country's security." McCain says that Obama's policies...

Palin completey changes the complexion of the election, and helps establish a narrative of two mavericks, one too old and one too young, waging an underdog quest against Battlestar Barack. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a 44-year-old with five children, a captivating TV-mom look and a brief and but weighty background as a reformer governor, could vault from relative national obscurity to star in a game-turning role as John McCain’s running mate. In fact, of all the candidates under consideration to ride shotgun with the Arizona senator, Palin brings the most to McCain. The Republican Alaska governor should be his choice....

Due to restrictions can only post link. College president to resign, collect $400,000

FORT DODGE, Iowa - An Iowa community college president resigned less than a week after a photo was published appearing to show him pouring beer into a young woman's mouth...

Developing... Obama campaign chief of staff Jim Messina slams McCain in a meeting with Iowa Democrats. Speaking of McCain’s home state of Arizona, says: “If Senator McCain continues to be the schmuck he’s being, we’re going to play there, you know, and go tell some truth.”

Postville has lost more than a quarter of its pre-raid population of 2,300. Besides the detained workers, scores more fled or went into hiding. People were pushed out of jobs and homes. Children were separated from parents. Businesses verged toward collapse.

TAJI, Iraq– Soon a group of Iowa National Guardsmen will be leaving Iraq and leaving behind a legacy of training and friendship with their Iraqi Air Force partners.“This day I would like to say goodbye to our dear friends who gave serious assistance and backup for our air force,” said Lt. Gen. Kamal, IqAF commander. “They did a major job to build our new Air Force.”“We would like to thank their families, said Kamal. “Because they were so patient waiting for them to do their duties here. Our salute to their families to wish them all the best happiness and...

Dave Nagle told the Iowa Independent that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is “throwing Iowa under the bus” by supporting a commission to study the Democratic nomination calendar. That commission will be headed by Debbie Dingell of Michigan, one of the fiercest opponents of Iowa’s first in the nation role. “The creation of this commission is a clear sellout to Hillary Clinton,” said Nagle, who chaired the Iowa Democratic Party during the 1984 caucuses and served in Congress from 1986 to 1992. Clinton supporters have been critical of the caucuses, arguing that they are too difficult to...

Someday, Spc. Andrew Birzer will return home to stay. And when he does, the Fort Dodge man suffering a traumatic brain injury from his Iowa Army National Guard duty in Afghanistan will step into a virtually new house. A small army of contractors will descend on the Birzer home next week to remodel it at no cost to the family. The job is being coordinated by Operation First Response, a group that provides a variety of support to military families, and the Associated Builders and Contractors of Iowa.

A small town struggles after immigration raid Email this Story Aug 16, 1:05 PM (ET) By MONICA RHOR Google sponsored links Get the facts on Peta - Find out the details of Peta's Euthanasia record. PetaKillsAnimals.com Information on PETA - Find out more about the founder's statements and philosophy. www.ActivistCash.com POSTVILLE, Iowa (AP) - A vague unease whispered through this tiny town in northeastern Iowa, where the rolling hills are a study in vivid colors - red barns, white clapboard houses, and vibrant green cornfields plowed with almost architectural precision. It drifted through Postville's downtown, where restaurants serving tamales share...

<p>POSTVILLE, Iowa (AP) - A vague unease whispered through this tiny town in northeastern Iowa, where the rolling hills are a study in vivid colors - red barns, white clapboard houses, and vibrant green cornfields plowed with almost architectural precision.</p>

A trio of Republicans have defected from their party's likely presidential nominee and kicked off an effort to garner support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The group, called Republicans for Obama, is led by two moderate Republicans -- James Leach, a former U.S. representative from Iowa, and Lincoln Chafee, a former U.S. senator from Rhode Island -- along with Rita Hauser, a prominent fund-raiser for President George W. Bush. Their reasons for crossing party lines are diverse, ranging from the war in Iraq to overspending in Washington, and signal unhappiness not just with the candidacy of Republican Sen. John...

Barack Obama likes to talk about "Obamacans" -- Republicans who he says approach him at political events and quietly pledge their support for his presidential candidacy. On Tuesday, he snagged two more Republicans, but these were high-profile politicians willing to speak out on his behalf. The first was former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa, who endorsed him during a conference call with reporters. Leach said he was concerned about the "current philosophy of government" and worried that John McCain would be "more of the same."

Barack Obama's campaign is rolling out a number of centrist Republicans who are endorsing the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee over Republican rival John McCain - in a show of his ability to win cross-over votes. A conference call Tuesday featured former Iowa Rep. Jim Leach, former White House intelligence adviser Rita Hauser and former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who represented his state as a Republican, but switched to become a Democrat so he could vote for Obama in the primary. Leach predicted that a lot of Republicans and independents are going to be attracted by Obama's campaign. The Obama...

Leach, Chafee start ‘Republicans for Obama’ By Walter Alarkon Posted: 08/12/08 01:48 PM [ET] Former Republican Rep. Jim Leach (Iowa) and former GOP Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R.I.) touted Barack Obama as the presidential candidate who represents the traditional conservatism that they feel has been forgotten under President Bush. In an Obama campaign conference call Tuesday, during which Leach announced his endorsement of Sen. Obama (D-Ill.), the two former lawmakers tied presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) to Bush’s positions, particularly on the war in Iraq and spending.

Former Republican Rep. Jim Leach endorsed Barack Obama's White House bid Tuesday, and said he hopes the Illinois senator considers a former GOP ally of rival John McCain as his running mate. Speaking on a conference call with reporters to announce a new effort among Republicans in support of Obama's candidacy, Leach said he thought Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel should join the Democratic ticket. "There are a number of impressive potential vice presidential candidates and this is a singular decision for one person, and that is Barack Obama," Leach said. "But personally I'd be hopeful in the list of serious...

Democrat Barack Obama plans to significantly expand his already large field organizing effort in Iowa, opening 10 additional offices with a focus on rural areas. The presidential candidate will open six new offices this week, adding four more next week to bring the total number of field offices to 36, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said Tuesday.

One of the challenges of the week for Chicago is finding a way to control the news cycle without the candidate. Today's answer: "Republicans for Obama." The most surprising name out there so far is probably that of former Iowa Rep. Jim Leach, a prominent figure in a battleground state. Also, former Sen. Linc Chafee, and Douglas Kmiec. There's still room for some higher-profile, more current figures -- an apostate of the profile of Joe Lieberman. The leading candidate for that slot still seems to be Chuck Hagel.

John McCain has cut Barack Obama’s lead in Iowa in half over the past month but still trails the Democrat 46% to 41%, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state. When “leaners” are factored in, Obama leads his Republican opponent 49% to 44%. Last month Obama had a double-digit lead on McCain, 51% to 41%. In June, after Hillary Clinton dropped out of the Democratic presidential race, he led McCain by seven points. McCain had held steady at 38% for two months running, so the three-point uptick in the new survey is good news...

John McCain has cut Barack Obama’s lead in Iowa in half over the past month but still trails the Democrat 46% to 41%, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state. When “leaners” are factored in, Obama leads his Republican opponent 49% to 44%. Last month Obama had a double-digit lead on McCain, 51% to 41%. In June, after Hillary Clinton dropped out of the Democratic presidential race, he led McCain by seven points. McCain had held steady at 38% for two months running, so the three-point uptick in the new survey is good news...

IOWA CITY - A University of Iowa political science professor faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of offering good grades in exchange for sexual favors from four female students. Arthur H. Miller, 66, was charged with four counts of accepting bribes, a Class C felony. He was taken to the Johnson County Jail on Friday afternoon and released on his own recognizance. Miller is accused of offering to improve grades for four students in exchange for favors from May 8 through May 13. Attempts to reach Miller were unsuccessful. On May 8, according to a police complaint,...

Des Moines, Iowa (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain didn't mince words Friday at the Iowa State Fair, telling corn producers he didn't want to subsidize their ethanol but was eager to help market farm products around the world. "My friends, we will disagree on a specific issue and that's healthy," McCain said as he stood near bales of straw at one of the nation's premier farming showcases. "I believe in renewable fuels. I don't believe in ethanol subsidies, but I believe in renewable fuels." McCain has never been shy about speaking against subsidizing ethanol when he is in...

HAMBURG, Iowa, August 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Nude dancing in strip clubs is "artistic" even when performed by an under age girl, according to an Iowa judge in a ruling issued late last month. Fremont County Judge Timothy O'Grady called the strip club a "theatre" and agreed with the club owner who argued that the state's indecency law does not apply to "theater, concert hall, art center, museum, or similar establishments." Hamburg, Iowa, a town of 1,200 just across the Missouri River from Nebraska, has one strip club. After the 17-year-old niece of the local Sherriff, Steven MacDonald, did a...

History records that Paul Weyrich, one of the founders of the Moral Majority, the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups, used to present himself as a soul-brother to the American worker. In his heyday he railed against the "elitist upper class" and established his bona fides by saying, "I come from a poor district of working-class people." Writing in the Washington Times last week, Mr. Weyrich was back in his old rhetorical neighborhood. The subject was Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, and Mr. Weyrich was writing to celebrate "the best record of accomplishment of anyone in the Bush administration." Read closely,...

Somebody call the Epidemiology Branch at the NIH. It's looking as if we're on the verge of a full-fledged epidemic of Obamania. As we noted here, NYT columnist experienced an acute case of the malady on live national TV yesterday, seeing visions of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Washington Monument where none existed in the McCain Obama/Spears/Hilton ad. By yesterday evening, Keith Olbermann had contracted the affliction in aggravated form, claiming, as NewsBuster Brad Wilmouth has noted, to see no fewer than three phallic symbols in the same commercial. Now, yet another variant of the dread disease can...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty today called Sen. Barack Obama too risky to be president. “The people of the United States and Iowa are wise. They understand what’s at stake in this election,” he said. “Voting for Obama is the political equivalent of bungee jumping.” Speaking at the grand opening of the Tom Latham for Congress and Victory 2008 headquarters in Ames, Pawlenty said Sen. John McCain has a long record of wisdom and judgment, something Obama can’t match. “We do not want the next president to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the world we live in,” he said.

Judge says "It's about time," to Rove Arresters The four Iowans arrested last Friday for attempting to make a citizen's arrest of Karl Rove Retired Methodist minister, Chet Guinn, 80, and Des Moines Catholic Workers, Ed Bloomer, 61, Mona Shaw 57, and Kirk Brown, 25, were arrested at a Des Moines country club where Rove was appearing at a Republican Fundraiser. Shaw was the first called before Polk County Fifth Judicial District Associate Judge William Price. After entering her plea, the judge asked Shaw, "Mamn, what were you doing at the Wakonda Country Club?" "I was attempting to make a...

Evangelical Christians in Iowa, dominant in the state's Republican Party, have denied Sen. Charles E. Grassley his request for a place on the state's delegation to this summer's Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. Mr. Grassley may attend the party's Sept. 1-4 nominating convention in St. Paul, but not as a voting delegate. With a majority of nine out of 17 members on the Iowa Republican central committee, religious conservatives made Iowa Christian Alliance President Steve Scheffler chairman of Iowa's 40-member delegation in a vote immediately after their state party convention July 12. Political observers in Iowa saw the...

A doctor who was granted permission to get an Iowa medical license despite patient allegations of improper touching has been arrested in Oklahoma. Kirk Smith, 35, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of three counts of forcible sodomy and lewd molestation on a person under 16, according to the Tulsa County District Court. Formal charges had not been filed as of Wednesday. He was released from jail after posting bond. An arraignment was set for Aug. 15. The Tulsa World reported the alleged victim was a female relative. According to the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision, no disciplinary action...

"Danos coraje. Danos esperanza. Danos amor." The words — "Give us courage. Give us hope. Give us love" — were a resounding theme Sunday in Postville, where an estimated 2,000 people from across the country gathered to rally for immigration reform. "This is an awesome moment. This is a historic event," said Sister Mary McCauley of St. Bridget's Church in Postville, where crowds of people filled the sanctuary and fellowship hall and the courtyard outside. McCauley said the interfaith service, rally and march through Postville were a call for immigration reform after the May 12 raid at the Agriprocessors Inc....

About 1,200 people marched Sunday in support of undocumented immigrants in Iowa. The Statue of Liberty stood on both sides of the main street of Postville on Sunday, a symbol of how the volatile issue of immigration divides not only this Iowa town, but this country. On one side, a woman who was part of a group of Twin Cities Jews that helped orchestrate the rally offered a picture of the statue as evidence that America has always welcomed the downtrodden. But across the street, on the other side of a line of police officers, Rosanna Pulido, painted green and...

Des Moines, Iowa (AHN) -- Four people were arrested Friday for attempting to make a citizen's arrest on Karl Rove. The group of three Catholic workers and a retired Methodist minister and Peace and Justice Advocate were cited for trespassing and released after trying to enter the Wakonda Country Club in Des Moines where Rove was scheduled to speak at a Republican Fundraiser. The small group were acting under Iowa law that states private citizens have a responsibility to arrest someone if they believe a felony has been committed. That person is then turned over to police officials and a...

POSTVILLE, Iowa — When federal immigration agents raided the kosher meatpacking plant here in May and rounded up 389 illegal immigrants, they found more than 20 under-age workers, some as young as 13. Now those young immigrants have begun to tell investigators about their jobs. Some said they worked shifts of 12 hours or more, wielding razor-edged knives and saws to slice freshly killed beef. Some worked through the night, sometimes six nights a week. One, a Guatemalan named Elmer L. who said he was 16 when he started working on the plant’s killing floors, said he worked 17-hour shifts,...

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Four peace activists were arrested on Friday as they attempted to make a "citizens arrest" of Karl Rove, who was one of President George W. Bush's top aides before leaving the administration last year. "It should be Karl Rove in that van. War Criminal!"

Captain Hayden Video at link

Harkin: Gas cheaper because of ethanol By Ian Swanson Posted: 07/24/08 11:39 AM [ET] Ethanol is keeping gas prices as much as 40 cents cheaper, according to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), one of the Senate’s top supporters of corn-based renewable fuels. As a result, the Bush administration should deny Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) request that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cut in half the federal mandate requiring the oil industry to blend 9 million gallons of ethanol into the nation’s gas supply, Harkin said. “Ethanol is keeping gas 24 to 40 cents cheaper than it otherwise would be,” Harkin...

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA -- Standing near a mound of rotting floorboards and door frames outside his home near the Cedar River, Steve Aldrich shouted to the volunteers who had driven 1,000 miles to muck out his finished basement and carve 4 feet of soaked drywall from the walls of the first floor. "I love you guys, thank you so much," he said as he headed off to the city planning department of the Midwestern university town, hoping to learn whether he would have to raise his house a foot above the 100-year flood plain in order to rebuild. "I'll be...

Click on the link for a great video report on the attempt by Democrat Rep. James Oberstar and unions to shut down the 1926 passenger steamboat Delta Queen, which sails America's inland rivers.

DES MOINES -- Republican Congressman Steve King carries a copy of the Constitution with him everywhere he goes. He said it reminds him of the oath he took when first elected in 2002 to Congress. King stressed at Saturday's GOP state convention that Constitution could come under fire if Sen. Barack Obama is elected in November. "If we don't exercise our rights, we will lose them," said King, noting he has defended the Constitution even when it wasn't popular, cheap or easy. "Even when we have a Constitution (we think) is a guarantee that doesn't mean it is a guarantee...

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, in his bid for a fifth term, still holds a 16-point lead over Republican challenger Christopher Reed. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Iowa voters finds Harkin ahead 52% to 36%. When “leaners” are included, the incumbent leads 55% to 37%. Last month, Harkin led his challenger 53% to 37%. The Democrat is currently chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, a key position for a farming state like Iowa.

Soldiers bring back uplifting stories from KosovoStaff Sgt. David Klein plans to make good on a promise he recently made to a Kosovo barber. Sgt. John "Chico" Oberfoell is exchanging his U.S. Army equipment for baseball bats and gloves.Hundreds of people welcomed back Klein and Oberfoell along with about 90 other Iowa Army National Guard soldiers Friday morning at the Peosta Community Centre. Last year, approximately 330 soldiers were mobilized from the 1st Battalion, 194th Field Artillery and Company A, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry for a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. Other homecomings took place Friday around the state in Algona,...

U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell was recovering well Thursday from "corrective surgery" and will return to work soon, an aide to the five-term congressman said. "Doctors expect he will return to work in short order," Susan McAvoy, Boswell's chief of staff, said in a statement. The statement didn't offer a timeline for Boswell's recovery. The surgery on Wednesday in a Washington, D.C., hospital came about three years after doctors removed a non-cancerous mass from Boswell's abdomen. Though the mass wasn't cancerous, the 74-year-old Boswell underwent radiation treatment after the procedure. Boswell declined to offer further details at the time, citing medical...

Local scouts donate to Little Sioux camp The Boy Scouts of Troop 66 on Fort Leavenworth were recognized Wednesday for donating $1,074 to help rebuild the Little Sioux Scout Ranch near Little Sioux, Iowa. The ranch was nearly destroyed when a tornado touched down in the camp on June 11, leaving at least four people dead and more than 40 injured. Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, commanding general of Fort Leavenworth, congratulated the scouts on a job well done. Lt. Col. Chip Bircher said his son, Brion Bircher, wanted to help the scouts affected by the tragedy after seeing...

QUAD CITIES -- Wednesday all Genesis Medical Center Pediatric Clinics suspended their use of childhood vaccines. The decision comes after a baby received routine vaccinations on Tuesday, then died several hours later at home. Genesis Health Group says its suspending pediatric vaccinations merely as a precaution until the cause of the baby's death can be determined. Tuesday morning a 4-month-old baby boy came to the Genesis East Pediatrics Clinic in Silvis for a routine checkup that included several vaccinations. The seemingly healthy baby boy was brought in for a "well baby" visit, that's a check up that includes routine vaccinations...

CEDAR RAPIDS - Two supervisors at the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville on Thursday became the first known members of the company's management to be arrested after a federal immigration raid of the company in May. A federal arrest warrant has been issued for another Agriprocessors employee whose whereabouts are unknown. Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, 35, and Martin De La Rosa-Loera, 43, are accused of encouraging illegal immigrants to work at the plant, in some cases even helping them obtain false documents before the raid. The two men were arrested at Agriprocessors on Thursday morning by U.S. marshals and were...

Scores of heavily armed federal agents last month stormed into Agriprocessors, which produces up to 70 percent of all kosher meat in America. The feds seized almost 400 of the plant's 900 workers in the largest single roundup of illegal immigrants to date, charging about 300 of them with identity theft and using stolen Social Security cards. Some of those workers have since sued the company, alleging abuse, fraud and sexual coercion. Postville, which once sold T-shirts boasting of the peaceful coexistence of its many cultures, has been left "absolutely shattered," said the Rev. Paul Ouderkirk of the town's St....

Des Moines, IA (AHN) - The marine dead zone resulting from the Midwest flooding is expected to expand to over 10,000 square miles, according to researchers from the Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. The water in the dead zone, approximately the size of Massachusetts, does not have sufficient oxygen at depth to support marine life. Since 1990, the zone, located off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, usually covers 6,000 square miles, varying according to the flow of the Mississippi River. Its low oxygen content is caused by the presence of large algae blooms which feeds...

Vandals stoned and beat to death about 50 ducks, including some that were just days old, at the Bever Park Children's Zoo overnight. A zoo employee discovered the dead birds around 7 a.m. this morning. Some were floating in a pond, and others were piled up near a broken rake. Dave Smith, the city parks superintendent, said whoever was responsible broke the lock on the front gate to the pen and broke into two of the three night houses where the birds are kept overnight. They believe at least one person herded the ducks together while someone else did the...

As Senator Barack Obama courted voters in Iowa last December, Representative Keith Ellison, the country’s first Muslim congressman, stepped forward eagerly to help. Mr. Ellison ...volunteered to speak on Mr. Obama’s behalf at a mosque in Cedar Rapids, one of the nation’s oldest Muslim enclaves. But before the rally could take place, aides to Mr. Obama asked Mr. Ellison to cancel the trip because it might stir controversy. Another aide appeared at Mr. Ellison’s Washington office to explain. “I will never forget the quote,” Mr. Ellison said, leaning forward in his chair as he recalled the aide’s words. “He said,...

During the week after Father’s Day, I received a number of interesting emails from readers asking me to write about the dearth of looting after the recent floods in Iowa. Specifically, they wanted me to write about the reason there was so much more looting in New Orleans after Katrina hit the “Chocolate City” in 2005. Of course, the problem involves so much more than race – a factor most people are thinking about, even if they won’t admit it...