Summer Vacation

I don't know why I think of this movie everytime I hook up the camper for a long trip. Me and the woman that lets me live with her actually travel pretty well together as long as I drive and she is giving the directions. Travel and moving has been such a big part of our life the past six years that it has become second nature, and our daughter has logged more miles than a long haul trucker it seems.

So, tomarrow morning at the crack 'o' dawn we will be heading east to meet friends from Michigan for a week on the shores of the lake that they call Mishigami.

"The Long, Long Trailer, stars Lucy and Desi as an upwardly mobile couple who decide to buy a trailer for their vacations. Thanks to their naivete in such matters, they end up with a huge, bulky RV that costs five times what they planned. Their "seeing America" trip turns out to be a slapstick disaster...
... The story is told in flashback, as Desi 'splains the breakup of his marriage to a motel court manager."

.

Senator Harkin, Bringing Home the Bacon

The group "Americans for Prosperity" has compiled a list of the earmarks for the 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. AFP reports;

The 1,016 earmarks total nearly $392 million, and include millions for questionable projects such as $1 million in tax dollars for a museum dedicated to recreating the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival experience and $250,000 to help fund the Polynesian Voyaging Society, which makes and sails ancient canoes from Hawaii to Japan.

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin brought $28 million into a variety of state organizations including $100,000 for “Lighten Up Iowa,” an online program encouraging people to lose weight while also preaching the benefits of vegan diets. He also teamed with Republican Senator Chuck Grassley for another $10 million. Grassley on his own was only able to muster a mere $400,000. It's tough being in the minority.

Harkin's efforts didn't stop at the Iowa border however. He also brought home a little bacon for his constituents in Arizona, Florida, Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi Texas, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Which included a grant of $500,000 for the "National Council of La Raza" in Washington, DC.

The Incredible Shrinking Newspaper.

During the mid 90's as newsprint prices climbed past $600 per ton, newspapers began a frantic nationwide reduction in paper size. Reducing the width from the 25 year old standard of 27 inch to a slimmer 25 inch sheet. The larger papers spent upwards of a million dollars per pressline to convert their equipment to the narrower web size.

Today, despite low prices and a glut of newsprint in the market due to declining consumption, web width reduction is once again sweeping the industry as papers begin converting to a 24 inch sheet. One operation I talked with, which is now making the change to 24 inch is looking to the future by making the necessary changes to easily take the next step to a 23 inch sheet. To put that into perspective, a single newspaper page will be slightly wider than your standard paper towel.

The Newspaper Association of America has set the ad standards for the new web size leaving advertisers to decided if the rates for the new reduced columns are an effective use of ad dollars. With a plunge in ad revenues already in progress I am betting the answer is no.

Other signs of publisher desperation include the unheard of practice of selling advertising space on the front page at the Los Angeles Times and talk of The San Francisco Chronicle ending print operations entirely.

The death spiral continues.

Flotsam and Jetsam

I want to take this opportunity to thank Iowa Hawk's Dave Burge for helping me identify the make and model of the car in this old photograph of my dad. Turns out it is a 1948 Willey's Jeepster parked in front of the "EATS" Cafe. I am guessing Cedar Falls, Iowa early 1950's. Also over at the Iowa Hawk it's turning into a horse race in the Annual Hoosegow Honey competition and my favorite filly, April, is fading fast in 4th place.







Two events are going on this week that merit mention. The first is the Annual Oshkosh Airventure sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh Wisconsin. We visited the airplane extravaganza last year and I am still in awe. We have decided to vacation with friends on the shores of Lake Michigan so we won't be attending this year but if you love airplanes or even the occasional airshow this is a must see event.




The second event is the 35th annual "Register Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. Riders left the west coast of Iowa Sunday and will arrive at the Mississippi River on Friday. I have never ridden in the event but I hear that there it is a seven day party as you travel the back roads of Iowa.


The Agriculture Department reportedly paid over a billion dollars in farm subsidies to farmers that are allegedly dead. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley responded ‘‘We passed a law that said a person must be actively engaged in the business of farming before they could receive a farm payment,’’ Grassley said. ‘‘As far as I know, the only way dead farmers can be actively engaged is if they’re pushing up daisies."

Thx to CR Gazette

Governor Vilsack; Deal With the Devil

Former Iowa Governor and Presidential Candidate Tom Vilsack has offered his assistance to the Democratic front runner in the Iowa primary and in return is now able to retire his campaign debts.

On July 16th Radio Iowa reported "Clinton purchased a "strategic document" from Vilsack for $20,000. A LA Times report on July 17th states:

"Shortly after endorsing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack received nearly $90,000 in donations to his defunct presidential campaign from some of Clinton's major backers, campaign finance reports show. "

If you love a good conspiracy one has to ask, is the Governor hoping to be tapped for the VP slot on the ticket or is Obama already assured that position?

General Reid, "Bugler Call Retreat"

McConnell (adj) prudent: possessing or displaying shrewdness, tact, or cunning

From Hugh Hewitt @ Townhall

After Democratic leader Harry Reid’s MoveOn.org all-night session Tuesday night, a move that resulted only in helping unify the weak-kneed Republicans who were peeling away from continued support of the Petraeus surge in Iraq, McConnell, the Republican leader, served notice to anyone watching C-SPAN that he now runs the Senate.
After a couple of Republican amendments failed, Mitch McConnell took to the floor and offered his own amendment, which was a Sense of the Senate that Guantanamo detainees not be allowed released or moved to U.S. soil. To conservatives, this obviously makes sense. To liberals, especially California’s Dianne Feinstein, one of the chief proponents of the effort to close the detention center at Gitmo and relocate these detainees into the American justice system, especially when tagged onto a student loan and grant bill, you’d think this measure would go down in flames. Except a funny thing happened. The bill was titled in a way that you had to vote yes to vote no, and no to vote yes. The final vote was 94-3, officially putting the Senate on record as saying terrorist detainees shouldn't be moved to the U.S. Before the Democrats, who clearly hadn’t read the amendment, realized they screwed up, the vote was recorded.

The Democrats slowly realized that they had just had their heads handed to them. As a diversion Reed sent out pit bull Ted Kennedy for one of his tired tirades as a diversion while his forces regrouped. Reed then attempted a full frontal assault, but the agile McConnell quickly parried and responded by sweeping the enemy's flank, forcing the ever effervescent Harry Reed to pull the bill and once again depart the senate floor in a full retreat.

I predict a coup for the Senate leadership is in the offing.

The Night Mitch McConnell Became Leader of the Republican Party.

Flotsam and Jetsam

The Louisiana governor signed a bill making the "Pelican State" the 50th state to outlaw the sport of cock fighting.
The AP reported, "Louisiana breeders of the fighting roosters and owners of the cockfighting arenas, known as "pits," had argued that an immediate ban would be unfair, leaving them with equipment and hundreds of useless birds."
Equipment like say, tiny little punching bags or what? As for the useless birds I was thinking...Hmmm, How bout Soup!



s I caught the director of this organization, Lt. Pete Hegseth, on Chris Matthew's "Hardball". The articulate lieutenant handled the machine gun like questioning of Matthews and the dumb bombs of Ron Reagan with aplomb. The Vets for Freedom is an organization of Iraq veterans that recently met with congress urging members to give the surge time to work.




High winds and rain blasted across the great plains flooding streets, knocking out power, and as you can see devastating the Salmon corn crop. We are still waiting for FEMA. Oh the humanity of it!




You got to love the humor of the guys at Sirius Satellite Radio. They elected to name their liberal talk channel "Sirius Left" While the conservative channel has been christened "Sirius Patriot" . What could have been more appropriate? But there are some sectors that have their shorts in a serious bunch over the issue. Taylor Marsh , unknown progressive radio talk show hostette, suggested that Left be changed to Liberty, I was leaning toward Serius Socialist. Any Suggestions?

From the Cedar Rapids Gazette; When the depth of the water is less than the draft of your boat, you have probably run aground. Alcohol may have been a factor.

I'm Back.

I mentioned in my last post that I was going on "hiatus". I have never actually been on a hiatus before. Taken a vacation, called in sick from the river during salmon season a few times but never actually hiatused.
So I get a call the other day from my brother in Tex-ass berating me for saying I was going on hiatus. "You've been on hiatus for two years, you deadbeat" he says. This is from the guy that lived the life of Riley for three years after he sold his company and stayed home with his new son, which ironically he named Riley in honor of the life he was living at the time.
Deadbeat? I admit that after the my last job in the newspaper bidness turned into the job from hell I stayed at home until the unemployment ran out but hey I spent that time bonding with my new daughter. Then I enlisted full time at Tall Corn College and Technical Institute to get some education. Hardly what you could call a hiatus for someone my age.
But I get his point. Its time to get back work and put together some interesting or sometimes banal (this links for you my brother) posts here on the Salmon. God, its good to be back.
S.

Update: An anonymous commenter let me know that I had misspelled Riley. It should be Reilly. But doesn't this break the I before E rule?

Gone Fishing...

Going into this blogging project with a little trepidation I said I would give it a year, and yesterday marked the first anniversary of the Cedar River Salmon. It has been an interesting and somewhat challenging experience. I have found that the ability to come come up with interesting and original material on a regular basis and the time commitment is a tough proposition that I am sure results in the eventual death of many blogs. For the majority of the 6 million blogs that are not engaged in some slick marketing strategy most, like mine, cruise along in relative anonymity.
I am now planning to take a short hiatus from the blogging and enjoy the remainder of the summer before the start of the fall semester at the U.
For all my faithful readers, and you both know who you are, thanks for your support during the past year and I will return soon.

Gone Fishin!

Scott

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-

Read it all here.

......

Why We Keep This Creed By Michael Gerson

'Wonderfully Spared' BY JOYCE LEE MALCOLM

The Nation's Birthday from The Rocky Mountain News

Enjoy the Holiday!

S.

Loons

There are those that expect that the justice system is not interpretors of law but instead the final arbitor of morality. In this piece in the Saint Pete Times, we see comdemnation of the supreme court for not reaching a decision that fit the moral expectations of the writer. She writes;

"If there's a choice between casting their lot with the little guy and tipping a case toward compassion, or putting a foot on his throat, it's a safe bet that these four will be getting out their boots." And this; "Now we see that Roberts and Alito are cut from the same razor wire"

The implication that the supreme court is now the home of mean spirited, jackbooted, brown shirts is a cute use of rhetorical metaphor but it misses the mark in honestly interpreting the function of the court.

Power Hungry Giddiness

Pics Courtesy Drudge

Tax Increase

For those in Linn and Johnson counties today is the day we begin to ante up another penny in the local option tax for schools. So don't tell me we don't have enough money!

A Stake Through the Heart of Immigration Reform

For the first time in my memory the nation raised its voice in anger and actually swayed the political system. Like a B rated Dracula flick this bill was ram roded through the process because its keepers knew it could not stand the light of day. On Monday the actors in this drama had the opportunity to plunge a stake through the heart of a sleeping immigration monster but like any good horror story keeping the viewers on the edge of their seats the intrepid hero's hesitated. A collective gasp could be heard as cloture was passed on Monday. By Thursday the cacophony of the audience yelling kill it, forced the actors to finally plunge the stake through the heart of the beast.

Random Thoughts

Two years ago I took immigration as a research topic in a writing class and had an ongoing battle with the professor that felt I was racist just because my thesis was stemming the flow of illegals. So I shouldn't be surprised by the arrogance of those senators that berated the public for the outrage this bill generated.


They just don't get it!
President Bush: When the final vote was over I had to rewind the presidents statement several times because I couldn't believe he was saying "legal immigration" at his dismay of defeat of the bill. It was not about legal immigrants it was all about border security and amnesty Mr. President

Sen.Chuck Grassley:
I was glad to see the the Senator remained consistent in his immigration stance. Voting nay on both cloture votes.


Who are you and why are you calling me?
Senator Tom Harkin, a rabidly staunch immigration supporter, after twice voting to proceed with the bill, stuck his finger in the air and in one of the biggest displays of spineless capitulation said ;

"Quite frankly, I'm hearing from a lot of Iowans," said Harkin. "They're calling, they're writing." It's the No. 1 issue for those contacting his mobile van traveling around the state". By Thursday Tom Harkin had developed reservations about the
bill.

"I've been willing

to let it go to see how we could work it out, to see if things could be handled and stuff," Harkin says, "Boy I tell ya, the more it has gone along, the worse it has gotten." Harkin had said the "status quo" couldn't continue when it comes to immigration. But, he says this bill is not the answer

"To see of we if things could be handled and stuff" That's brilliant, BRILLIANT!
The senator, that doesn't even list immigration as as an issue on his web site was upset with the bill, not that it stemmed the flow if illegals but because it worked to end chain migration;

"the more it's gone along, the worse it's gotten." He said that includes a "crazy" system for guest workers and an elimination of family preferences for visas. "Aren't we for family?" he asked.

All in all a victory for common sense and sovereignty. We now have the obligation to see that the current laws are enforced and past promises are kept.

Iowa Hawk Hoosegow Honey.

The Iowa Hawk is running the second annual Hawkeye Hoosegow Honey of the Year.
I was torn between April, who even in an orange jumpsuit looks like she could remove the chrome from your bumper hitch, and Heather who will shoot you those adorable little puppy dog eyes right before she sticks that paring knife between you ribs. Oh wait, that was one of my exes.
Stop by and cast your vote.

Sunday is New Law Day.

Its that time of year again my fellow Iowans. When the fruits of our legislators labors ripen into the laws that are the basis of our civil society. I really don't mean to trivialize the "accomplishments" of our hardworking Iowa legislators (OK I lied) but here is a rundown of the new laws that go into affect on Sunday. Pay attention here, ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

• Keg registration — Requires that each beer keg sold in Iowa be registered and have an identification sticker applied by the retailer.

Not since the passage of the Patriot Act has a legislative body so trampled on the rights of its citizenry. We have started down that slippery slope where, I firmly believe, the next step will be outright banning of kegs. As you well know, when kegs are outlawed only outlaws will have kegs.

• Border Control — Makes livestock owners whose animals frequently stray responsible for building a fence.

Senator Wally Horn has had this legislation held up in conference committee since about 1874. The year barbed wire was patented!

• Don't ask don't tell. — Makes it illegal to discriminate against a person because of sexual orientation.

Are there any other groups left that are not now covered by these ridiculous pandering declarations.

• How are they going to get all those kids in the back seat of a Chevy? — Requires public and accredited non-public schools to teach sex education that is research-based, medically accurate and age-appropriate.


• Cloning — Will allow University of Iowa and other medical researchers to engage in embryonic stem cell research to find cures for diseases like Parkinson’s, cancer and diabetes. Human cloning remains illegal.

This appears to be the only campaign promise of the new governor that made it through this session. Other that raising taxes on smokes.


• You cant legislate stupid. — Caps interest charges for car-title loans at 21 percent (down from around 264 percent).

If you are willing to pay 264% interest I'm not so sure you should be on the road in the first place.

• Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh my! — Makes it illegal to sell or own dangerous wild animals, like wolves, lions or bears (existing owners are grandfathered in but must register their animals).

• I'll get your little dog too... — Makes it illegal to kill a licensed dog just because it is bothering your pet.

"Excuse me, I believe you are bothering my shitszu Mr. Pitbull, may I see your licence and registration please..." Before I give you the lead treatment.

• Cyber hunting — Bans the remote hunting of animals via the Internet.

Hmm...is this really a problem in somebodies district?

• Corpse abuse— Makes it a criminal offense to abuse a human corpse, punishable by up to five years in prison. Abuse includes mutilation, disfigurement or dismembering with the intent to conceal a crime.

Hmm...is this really a problem in somebodies district? Part II

• Flag protection — Makes it once again illegal to deface, defile, mutilate or trample the American flag.

After corpse abuse, flag abuse was the next logical step.

• Cha-ching! — Allows Vietnam veterans who have not collected their service (and who served between July 1, 1973, and May 31, 1975) to collect up to $500.

Finally, after all these years there is a handout I'm eligible for.

All in all a pretty harmless bunch of legislation. There were a couple more feel good actions dealing with schools, like cost sharing and bully control, but who can say anything bad if its for the children. We were spared the return of the touch play (sorry Wally ) and the states Right to Work law survived an attack from the Democrats and their union cronies. Now lets all go register a keg and see what we can come up with for next year.

New laws compiled courtesy of , The Gazette

"Democracy in America"

I recently came across an abridged translation of Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" Although I am only part way through book one I have come away with a better understanding of how our system evolved and why, imperfect as it is, it has survived wars, corruption, and insurrection.
Published in 1835 by an aristocratic Frenchman, Tocqueville who was sent to America to study the prison system was intrigued by the workings of democracy and came to understand that the democratic political philosophy could be a savior not only his native France but all of mankind. He writes;

It may readily be understood with what intention I undertook the foregoing inquiries. The question here discussed is interesting not only to the United States but to the whole world; it concerns not a nation but all mankind.

On Mexico: The Constitution of the United States
resembles those fine creations of human industry which ensure wealth and renown to their inventors, but which are profitless in other hands. This truth is exemplified by the condition of Mexico at the present time. The Mexicans were desirous of establishing a federal system, and they took the Federal Constitution of their neighbors, the Anglo-Americans, as their model and copied it almost entirely. But although they had borrowed the letter of the law, they could not carry over the spirit that gives it life. They were involved in ceaseless embarrassments by the mechanism of their dual government; the sovereignty of the states and that of the Union perpetually exceeded their respective privileges and came into collision; and to the present day Mexico is alternately the victim of anarchy and the slave of military despotism. (Ch 7)

Not much has changed in Mexico since this piece was written and it also could be applied to the attempts to bring democracy to the middle east.

A Warning On Earmarks: The disastrous influence that popular authority may sometimes exercise upon the finances of a state was clearly seen in some of the democratic republics of antiquity, in which the public treasure was exhausted in order to relieve indigent citizens or to supply games and theatrical amusements for the populace. (Ch13)

On Politicians: On my arrival in the United States I was surprised to find so much distinguished talent among the citizens and so little among the heads of the government. It is a constant fact that at the present day the ablest men in the United States are rarely placed at the head of affairs; and it must be acknowledged that such has been the result in proportion as democracy has exceeded all its former limits. The race of American statesmen has evidently dwindled most remarkably in the course of the last fifty years. (Ch 13)

There was a retired politician whose car broke down on a remote back road of Iowa. It took him several hours to make it to the nearest farm house, he finally reached the front door and knocked on it. A grizzled old farmer answered and the politician pleaded for a place to spend the night. 'Why sure, young fella, I can give ya a place to bunk,' said the hospitable old man. 'But, I ain't got no daughter for ya to sleep with, like ya always hear about in them thar jokes.' 'Oh!' said the politician. Then thinking a moment or two said, 'Just how far is it to the next house?'

Farmers beware.
Bill announces that he will be touring the state campaigning with the Hillary.

Grassley Watch

Senators Baucus (D) and Grassley (R)

From the The American Conservative Union:

It never fails, whenever the free market is poised to succeed and innovate further, there is always an effort to tax or regulate it from reaching its true potential. The most recent example: efforts to impose new punitive taxes on
publicly traded partnerships.
In view of several pending and potential Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) by private equity firms seeking to join the public markets, U.S. Senators Max Baucus (D-MT)and Charles Grassley (R-IA) unveiled punitive legislation in S.1624 late last week to actually RAISE taxes on ALL existing and new publicly traded partnerships.
Like bad tax policy before it, this legislation was offered without the benefit of normal Congressional or Joint Tax Committee hearings or any analysis from the U.S.
Treasury or the Internal Revenue Service. The free market community is united against any new tax increases and will oppose this bill vigorously. Not only is this legislation a major tax increase, it will actually depress tax revenues as other partnerships will choose to stay private or reincorporate abroad – neither of which is good for the economy, the government or investors. This legislation will more than double the tax-rate for ALL current publicly traded partnerships – the vast majority of which are not even private equity-based partnerships.

Swimming in the Shallows

The best of Hillary courtesy of Fark.com .

Grassley Watch

Senators Baucus (D) and Grassley (R)


When I recently discussed Senator Grassley’ calling the tax credits to the oil companies a “pig in a poke” as reported on the CBS website the quote was not quite what it seemed. The AP reported:

The bill's prospects are uncertain in the Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow majority. The top Republican on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, said the bill was "another pig in the poke" that targets incentives necessary to promote domestic drilling.[1]

If we go to the transcript of the senator’s statement on the senate floor, it would seem that he is against the rollback of oil company incentives. Or is he? From the Floor Statement of Senator Grassley:

Thursday, January 18, 2007
I rise to address an issue that has received much scrutiny during the past few months, and is currently being debated in the House of Representatives. The other body is debating a bill that will repeal the so-called sweet-heart tax deals for Big Oil that were included the Energy Policy Act of 2005….
During the campaign cycle, members on the other side sold the taxpayer a bill of goods. They committed to repealing all the “tax giveaways” to Big Oil that the Republican Congress included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005…. How much money are they going to take back from Big Oil to alleviate consumers’ pain at the pump?One provision. That’s right, Mr. President. After all the demagoguery against our party and ties to big oil, they’re going to repeal one single tax provision enacted in the Energy Policy Act. And that’s only half of the story. It turns out that this outrageous “tax giveaway” to Big Oil is scored by the Congressional Budget Office to save the U.S. treasury $104 million over ten years. Not $14 billion. Not $1.4 billion. A mere $104 million….
A word of caution to the voters across America – beware of the goods you were sold
by this new Democrat Majority. In the case of repealing the big oil “tax giveaways” from Energy Policy Act, it’s turned out to be another “pig in the poke.”[2]

It wasn’t that the majority planned to roll back $104 million in tax incentives but instead it seems that that sum was not enough for the good senator.
Fast forward to June 19 and it is reported that the bill would reduce incentives by $6 billion and raise a total of $15 billion through new taxes; it is here that the media portrays Grassley as being against the bill, the whole this being “a pig in a poke.”
Later that same day it was reported that the bill would raise $29 billion. But this time the AP reported:

Senators acknowledged that oil companies would howl over the new taxes. But Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the Finance Committee's top Republican, said, "We have entered a new era in energy markets ... (that) requires a dramatic shift away from tax incentives for oil and gas production" and toward support for other energy sources and efficiency. (3)

Suddenly the Senator from Iowa was firmly on board and joined at the hip with Senator Baucus chairman of the Finance Committee. In senate debates broadcast on CSPAN June 20th Grassley speaking from the majority side of the aisle, and arguing against an amendment by fellow republican Senator Kyl, Grassley stated that we now have sufficient offsets, ie. taxes, to make a serious contribution to developing alternative energy resources. Offsets, which by now had climbed to $31 million from the oil industry to pay for this new energy package.
To think that by supporting the socialist agenda of the democrats that he is doing the right thing for the people of Iowa is ludicrous. Surely the oil companies will do more than howl as Mr. Grassley stated. These actions will have an adverse affect on domestic oil drilling and refining and with the exception of Iowa farmers and the ethanol industry the rest of us will be paying for this fiasco every time we pull up to the pump.

[1] http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/WireStory?id=2805859&page=
[2] http://www.senate.gov/~finance/press/Gpress/2007/prg011807.pdf
[3] http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3294641

Salmon Riots

Just when I think that all that sensitivity training is starting to pay off some yahoo goes and gets the Muslim brothers all in a lather. After all there hasn't been a good flagellating, effigy burning
hoo ha since the worldwide cartoon imbroglio over a year ago. This time the Queen of England of all people set off another episode of derangement by knighting writer and blasphemer Salmon (love that name) Rushdie. Which begs the question, if the Iranians are such bad asses why is this guy still alive?...

Nussle Returns to Capital

Former Congressman Jim Nussle has been selected by President Bush to fill the position of Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Nussle is the first Iowan since Henry A. Wallace served as Vice President in the Roosevelt administration to fill a White House position.

In a bit of spit in your eye journalism the local paper pointed out that this position will pay considerably more than the governor makes.

After losing the gubernatorial election, Nussle opened a consulting business in Cedar Rapids and then became state political director for Rudy Giuliani, a leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

Culver's spokesman Brad Anderson said on Tuesday that Culver "wishes Congressman Nussle all the best and good luck with his new position."

Nussle's annual salary in his new job will be $180,100. The Iowa governor's job pays $130,000.

Senator Grassley Doublespeak.

From this mornings issue of The Cedar Rapids Gazette " Grassley Backs Democrat's (energy) Bill". The package plans to distribute $14 billion to various renewable energy sources. Senator Grassley states;

"This bill reflects energy needs in the 21st Century. Americans need clean, green, domestic energy for their homes and cars. I’m glad to see the extension of key renewable energy provisions for ethanol, wind, and bio-diesel. People need tax certainty to invest in infrastructure and keep production moving. Production has to meet demand, and alternative energy has never been in such demand.

This newest handout comes on the heels of a recent report that the phony panacea of the ethanol industry is reaching saturation and is in for tighter times ahead.

But wait. Didn't Chuckles lambaste the the democrats for rolling back oil company incentives for domestic production? Something he called a "pig in a poke". A bill that coincidentally would raise somewhere in the neighborhood of $14 billion.
Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens who had on a bright red shirt and made reference to it when he said this of the redistribution plan;

"It's the color of this bill we're debating, Communist red." The legislation amounts to a taking of private property" by forcing oil companies to renegotiate leases they view as valid contracts, he said.

Talking out of both sides of your mouth can be so confusing. Perhaps it's suppose to be when you are robbing Petrol to pay Ethanol.

Omnipotence.

A week into the Afghanistan campaign it was reported that we were bogged down and would suffer the same fate as the Soviets. Two weeks into the Iraq campaign supply lines were streched to the limit and we were in the midst of a quagmire. The day after hurricane Katrina blew through Louisiana reporters were standing on a freeway overpass screaming for the government to help. Dafydd at Big Lizards has identified this affliction as "Omnipotence Illusion" although delusion may me more accurate. He describes "OI" as;

The delusional idea that America is so powerful that we are literally omnipotent... thus, any result less than perfection, over a time frame longer than the length of a typical plot arc on CSI or the Sopranos, is rejected as lame and unworthy... and we must find who is to blame for America failing to be as effective as God.

Interestingly, those that are most afflicted with this condition such as Senator Reed seem to be displaying an impotence that is not reflective of this countries history or our current capabilities. At the same time they have no problem suggesting that they are omniscient and beneficent. The question then is two out of three close enough to be a God-like being.