Nuclear Power Isn’t It

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Paul Deaton
Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

Little has changed to make nuclear power a safe and affordable option to produce electricity. That didn’t stop Iowa Republican members of congress, all four of them, from voting for H.R. 6544, the Atomic Advancement Act of 2023. They were not alone, the bill passed on Feb. 29, 2024 (365-36-1). It awaits action in the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. What were they thinking? They were thinking they would take care of big business first.

In a sneaky, self-serving way, the bill revised the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s mission statement to emphasize the “public benefits” of nuclear energy instead of protecting human life and health through regulation. In other words, it promotes more nuclear power over safety.

Using questionable wisdom, the U.S. House of Representatives pushed more of the cost of recovery from a nuclear disaster upon tax payers. The bill calls for renewal of the Price-Anderson Act, a 1957 law which caps the industry’s liability for nuclear disasters at only $13 billion. H.R. 6544 extends it for 40 more years. The Price-Anderson Act makes US taxpayers liable for the full costs of nuclear disasters – which could run into the hundreds of billions of dollars – and exempts the insurance industry from covering homeowners and businesses for damages from those disasters. We regular folks never have it that good from our government.

Construction costs for new nuclear power are more than ten times those of comparable solar capacity. There are similar cost issues around fuel sourcing, waste disposal, safe operations, and escape of radioactive pollution from a power plant, none of which have been resolved. There can be agreement we’d like to use a method of electricity generation that minimizes pollution. Nuclear power isn’t it.

Entrepreneur Bill Gates is working to make nuclear power more cost effective and safe. When he decided to make nuclear power generation one of the projects in his post-Microsoft life, he said he wanted to solve its problems so it could replace more polluting methods. Gates believes nuclear power is an important part of solving the climate crisis. That may be, yet not until we solve the problems of cost and safety. Read about his effort in Kemmerer, Wyoming here.

The U.S. Congress is getting ahead of itself in advancing this bill. My House Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks was out with a statement shortly after voting for it, “The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing to discuss nuclear energy expansion. I believe nuclear energy plays a key role in the future of American energy and am proud to support it.” I have been writing about the representative’s affection for nuclear power since this post on Dec. 11, 2010. I wrote, “As a proponent of nuclear power to control toxic emissions from coal fired power plants and concentrated animal feeding operations in the state, she is expected to kick the ball down the road for the decades it would take to bring adequate megawatts of nuclear energy on line.” One decade down, how many to go?

It is obvious the nuclear industry has made little progress toward improving safety in operations and affordability as measured in unit cost of electricity produced. They hang their hat on the likes of Bill Gates, instead, and pray he solves the problems. I didn’t know those folks spent that much time in church.

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Abortion Heads Back To The Supreme Court

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Paul Deaton
U.S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. Photo Credit – U.S. Supreme Court Website.

When the U.S. Supreme Court decided Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 22, 2022, it was a matter of time before abortion would have another hearing in the high court. On Wednesday this week justices heard oral arguments on whether the State of Idaho’s abortion ban is constitutional in Moyle vs. United States. Alice Miranda Ollstein and Josh Gerstein reported on Politico:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will consider — for the first time since it overturned Roe v. Wade —whether an individual state’s abortion ban is constitutional.

The justices will hear arguments on whether federal law requires emergency room physicians in Idaho to perform abortions to stabilize pregnant patients experiencing a medical crisis despite the state’s near-total prohibition on the procedure, which only allows doctors to end a pregnancy when the mother’s life is in danger.

It’s the second major abortion case of the term, following last month’s arguments over the FDA’s regulation of the widely used abortion pill mifepristone, and the latest example of how overturning Roe and returning abortion rights to the states did not keep the courts out of the fray, as some justices had hoped. Decisions in both cases are expected in June.

The Idaho case homes in on the clash between red states’ desire to ban nearly all abortions and President Joe Biden administration’s efforts to preserve some access to the procedure, and the arguments come amid a roiling national debate on the issue. And it comes as doctors around the country plead for clarity on the parameters of the medical emergency exemptions to state bans, warning that vague definitions of “life-threatening” and the prospect of criminal charges are creating a chilling effect that deters them from providing needed care in patients’ most vulnerable moments.

5 questions about the Supreme Court’s next major abortion case by Alice Miranda Ollstein and Josh Gerstein, April 24, 2024.

Read the entire article here. I recommend following Alice Miranda Ollstein’s work at Politico.

The irony in 2024 is that Roe Vs. Wade was the compromise on what was then, and continues to be, the controversial issue of abortion. It is unlikely times have changed in that regard since Jan. 22, 1973, when Roe was decided (7-2). Despite talk about “letting the states decide” on abortion, given diversity of opinion among the states, combined with Republican efforts to have government control women’s bodies and health care, SCOTUS will inevitably have to re-decide Roe or something like it. When that will be is anyone’s guess, yet I submit, that day is coming.

Based on the boiling-over outrage I heard from three female justices during oral arguments on Wednesday, Idaho seems unlikely to prevail in this case. I mean, if one is arguing a case before the Supreme Court in support of your state’s extreme abortion ban, you might need Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett on your side. Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern explained on Slate:

Justice Amy Coney Barrett famously provided the crucial fifth vote to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. So if you are arguing in favor of an abortion ban, you probably don’t want to alienate Barrett—by, say, condescendingly dismissing her concerns when she points out that your legal theory doesn’t make any sense. Yet that is what Joshua Turner did on Wednesday while defending Idaho’s draconian abortion restrictions, and much to Barrett’s evident irritation. Turner—who represented the Idaho solicitor general’s office in the second major abortion case to come before the high court after it promised us in its Dobbs opinion that the court was out of the abortion business in 2022—might just have lost his case by repeatedly mansplaining his self-contradictory position to Barrett and the other three women justices. In his toneless, dispassionate telling, his entirely incomprehensible position was just too complex for them to understand. And so he just kept repeating it, over and over. These justices, including Barrett, sounded increasingly fed up with his chin-stroking dissembling on an issue that’s literally life-or-death for pregnant women in red states.

The Lawyer Defending Idaho’s Abortion Ban Irritated the One Justice He Needed on His Side by Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern, Slate, April 24, 2024.

Read the rest of the article here. You can’t go wrong reading Dahlia Lithwick. How the case is decided is anyone’s guess after oral arguments.

Democratic Congressional Candidate Christina Bohannan held a round table discussion about abortion on March 26 in Iowa City. 10 people were in attendance to share their personal experiences and thoughts on the state of abortion rights in Iowa, according to the Daily Iowan. Citing a Des Moines Register poll, “61 percent of adults in Iowa believe abortion should be legal in all or most situations, and 35 percent believe abortions should be illegal in most or all situations.” A lot is at stake in the post-Dobbs era. It will take election of Democrats to turn the Republican tide that favors government intrusion into a woman’s health care.

Here is a link to the Iowa Democratic Party to get involved today.

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Welcome Back Net Neutrality!

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Trish Nelson

Dave Loebsack

The free and open internet is back!  Republicans are having a cow about it. They are breaking out their best catchy phrase,  “government takeover” for the occasion. Not a party inclined to follow rules, any rule or regulation that levels the playing field for everyone is characterized by Republicans as a “government takeover.”  Do they think voters can’t remember when the internet was free and open before the corrupt ex-president’s FCC got rid of it? Rs would like you to think this is a new terrible thing.

Miller-Meeks wore this “6” mask on the floor of congress

Just for the record, Blog for Iowa posted upwards of 70 posts during the net neutrality fight since around 2006. If Republicans think bashing net neutrality is a political winner in Iowa, they apparently don’t remember when Trump’s FCC readied to kill net neutrality there were protests around the state.

Back when we still had Democratic representation in congress,  our  Democratic congressman Dave Loebsack (now retired and replaced by MAGA-R Mariannette Miller-Meeks who tragically slipped past Democrat Rita Hart by six questionable votes) was a strong advocate for net neutrality and called for reclassification to ensure a free and open internet. Blog for Iowa posted in 2014:

“Congressman Loebsack sent a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and FCC commissioners calling on the commission to maintain a strong net neutrality policy,  to consider banning paid prioritization, and urging reclassification of ISPs as common carriers to ensure that there can be oversight for strong net neutrality rules.”

You can link to the post  here.  I also posted the congressman’s letter below.  Just know that Dave Loebsack’s MAGA Republican successor, Mariannette Miller-Meeks sent this tweet out Wednesday when the FCC announcement came down that net neutrality is being reinstated.

If you would like to return to Democratic representation and you live in District 1 (formerly District 2), you can achieve that by supporting and voting for the Democratic candidate Christina Bohannan and send the Trump supporting accidental congresswoman Miller-Meeks packing.

Here is a sample of the real representation we can have when we elect Democrats.

May 21, 2014

Chairman Wheeler and Commissioners
Federal Communications Commission
445 Twelfth Street, SW, Room 8-C453
Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Wheeler and Commissioners,

Last week, your Commission advanced a proposal regarding rules governing the open internet. I am deeply concerned about the potential of this proposal to run afoul of a strong net neutrality policy that treats some online content differently by Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

I strongly believe that the internet is a space and a tool that must remain equal to all users. The internet has become more than just a research tool and gathering place, it has become a necessary tool for individuals and businesses to function in our modern society and economy. In many aspects of life, we now have a system that revolves tightly around access to the internet and its ability to perform – for things like education, commerce, medicine and health care, as well as completing government requirements that are increasingly moving online. For each person or business, each use of the internet takes on a different priority and it is critical to provide an equal playing field for all uses.

As this proposal now moves forward and into the public comment phase, it is imperative that you take all options for maintaining a strong net neutrality policy into consideration. I appreciate you soliciting comments specifically on whether paid prioritization should be banned, and I urge you to give serious consideration to reclassifying ISPs as common carriers in order to ensure strong open internet rules.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Dave Loebsack
Iowa’s Second District

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Kim Reynolds Is Not Looking Out For Iowa

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Trish Nelson

I would just like to say, how dare Kim Reynolds steal our money thinking she has the right to do with it whatever she wants.  She refused $29 million in federal funds that rightfully belongs to Iowans. Iowa taxpayers. Iowa kids. What a despicable, irresponsible act. Who is looking out for Iowa when our own governor would do this to our state?
_______

And now from our inbox:  A word from Iowa’s only statewide elected Democrat, state auditor Rob Sand.

A few months back, Governor Reynolds declined $29 million in federal funds to feed Iowa school kids during the summer.

And yeah, it’s as bad a move as it sounds — especially when you consider what she’s doing instead:

Iowa Starting Line: Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday that Iowa will start a competitive $900,000 grant program to feed Iowa children over the summer—this comes months after she declined $29 million in federal funds to feed kids via a different summer program.

You read that correctly: After declining $29 million in federal funding to help feed hundreds of thousands of kids, she’s instituting a hunger games-style grant program worth a fraction of what we could and should have had.

This is just another example of partisan insiders playing politics with our children instead of doing their jobs.

It’s outrageous, and Iowans deserve to have the facts to see for themselves just how bad a decision this is.

Can I count on you to make a quick political contribution to equip my campaign team with the resources they need to shine a spotlight on this story and give Iowans the facts?

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End Of Session Summary By House Democrats

Posted on April 24, 2024 by Trish Nelson

Another session where the victories were the terrible bills that didn’t become law.

Follow Iowa House Democrats on Facebook

Sign up for the Blue Alert emails: https://actionnetwork.org/…/sign-up-for-the-blue…/

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Pipeline Update: Financial Problems for Summit?

Posted on April 23, 2024 by Trish Nelson

Summit Sued for Terminating Purchase Agreement with Pipe Maker

On Monday, April 15, pipe maker Welspun Tubular LLC filed a lawsuit against Summit Carbon Solutions and SCS Transport for terminating a Purchase Agreement for 4,142,185 feet of pipe for $182.5 million.

Take action:

Summit is asking for a permit in Iowa. Submit an objection to the Iowa Utilities Board. Watch the short video. Scan the QR code in the video to go straight to the objections page. Tell IUB to deny the permit.

Follow Iowa Sierra Club on Facebook.

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Office of the Governor Weekend News Dump

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Trish Nelson

She who can’t be bothered to answer questions from reporters.

Blog for Iowa would like to take a moment to wish a happy Earth Day to our loyal readers!

Paul Deaton posted over the weekend about how we’re doing meeting our goals to save the planet. Paul has excellent credentials as a climate activist. If you missed it, I hope you check out his article here.

If you are looking for Earth Day events around Iowa, click the link for what looks like a pretty complete listing.

Kim Reynolds’ Press Release

Friday night news dump brought this.  Kim Reynolds is apparently licking her chops to sell off public school buildings at bargain prices to her MAGA-R friends, in a revelation that will be startling to no one:

“Charter School Expansion: Adjusts per pupil funding to support educational freedom opportunities and allows vacant or underutilized public school district facilities to be available for lease or purchase by nonpublic or charter schools.(SF 2368)”

Posted below is the entire press release with all the Republican crazy you could ever want or need thinly disguised by misleading rhetoric, distortions and mistruths. Particularly humorous:  “proliferation of unmanned traffic cameras” – as if traffic cameras are equivalent to guns or nuclear threat. And this one “educational freedom opportunities” aka taking public school money and giving it to private schools

While we’re on the subject of traffic cameras, which is better?  A – being pulled over by a police officer when you are running late for work, making an excuse why you were speeding, waiting for the officer to check your registration and decide what punishment you deserve, making you even later?  B – Continuing on your way without getting delayed, and receiving a statement in the mail for your fine?  They got you on radar so there’s nothing really to argue about. You did it. This seems much more efficient especially if you want to cut government like they do.  Rs just like to complain whenever they have to follow a rule even if it’s a public safety rule – there go our freedoms!  Such cry babies. They don’t like getting caught breaking rules because rules shouldn’t apply to them.

In that endearing way the Republicans have of pointing fingers at others for things that no one is doing but them, Rs felt it necessary to declare once and for all, there will be no looting or grooming (unless Republicans do it like looting covid funds for software or staff raises or refusing to accept government funds to feed Iowa kids or taking public school money and giving it to private schools – when Republicans loot they call it “reducing government” or “reform.”

Looting: Establishes the criminal offense of looting and providing penalties. (HF 2598)

Grooming as a Crime: Establishes a criminal offense of grooming and provides penalties. (HF 2602)

Read on…

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Governor Kim Reynolds ★ Lt. Governor Adam Gregg

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Saturday, April 20, 2024
CONTACT: Kollin Crompton, (515) 745-2840,  Kollin.Crompton@Governor.Iowa.gov

Gov. Reynolds Statement on 2024 Legislative Session

DES MOINES – Today, Gov. Reynolds released the following statement in response to the conclusion of the 2024 legislative session:

“Iowa has set a course for transformation, and it was the driving force of the 2024 legislative session. We prioritized special education reform and early literacy instruction to help all students reach their potential, and increased teacher salaries to attract and retain the best educators for our schools. We cut taxes, further reducing and accelerating the implementation of a flat tax for all Iowans with taxable income. We aligned the state’s behavioral health system to support consistent, coordinated care and improve outcomes, and established Thrive Iowa to help at-risk individuals find local support and create a plan for self-sufficiency and long-term independence. We reformed an outdated system of board and commissions, further reducing government’s size and scope, and protected Iowa’s farmland by strengthening foreign ownership laws.

“Iowa is a state that values education, rewards hard work, and encourages strong families. A place where government is driven by a sense of responsibility to the people it serves. I’m proud of what we accomplished this year and I look forward to continuing to build upon our strong foundation, ensuring prosperity and stability for every Iowan.”

Lt. Governor Gregg released the following statement:

“Governor Reynolds set out to have another transformational legislative session, and she has done just that. From increasing teacher salaries to attract and keep the best educators in our state, to protecting Iowa’s farmland, to providing healthcare to the mothers that need it the most, she has set forth and accomplished a broad range of reforms and initiatives that will better serve all citizens of our state. I am proud to serve alongside Governor Reynolds as she executes a bold vision for serving Iowans.”

Governor’s Key Legislative Priorities: 

 Tax Cuts: Accelerates the flat income tax at a reduced rate of 3.8 percent, lowering the tax liability for every Iowan who pays income taxes. Returns over $1 billion to the hard-working men and women of Iowa. (SF2442)

Special Education Reform: Focuses on improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities, and providing transparency, accountability, and consistency to the state’s Area Education Agency (AEA) system. (HF 2612)

Teacher Pay Increases: Increases the minimum salary for teachers in Iowa to $47,500 and sets a $60,000 minimum salary for teacher with 12 or more years of experience for FY25 and grows those minimums to $50,000 and $62,000 starting in FY26. (HF 2612)

Improving Early Literacy: Implements evidence-based reading instruction to help students move from the critical phase of “learning to read” into a lifelong practice of “reading to learn.” Requires schools to create personalized reading plans and to notify parents of retention options if a child does not meet proficiency in grades K-6. (HF 2618)

Expanding Work-Based Learning: Establishes a $30 million Workforce Opportunity Fund, provides schools more flexibility to offer core credit for Work-based Learning opportunities, finalizes the transition to a State Apprenticeship Agency, and allows Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship participants to accrue classroom time toward student teaching requirements. (SF 2411) 

Charter School Expansion: Adjusts per pupil funding to support educational freedom opportunities and allows vacant or underutilized public school district facilities to be available for lease or purchase by nonpublic or charter schools. (SF 2368)

Behavioral Health Alignment: Aligns Iowa’s 13 mental health regions and 19 substance use regions into seven unified behavioral health districts to provide consistent, coordinated services statewide and improve outcomes. (HF 2673) 

Post Partum Coverage Extension: Extends post-partum Medicaid coverage from two months to one year for thousands of mothers. (SF 2551)

Thrive Iowa: Authorizes the use of resources to support the launch of Thrive Iowa, a platform that will connect individuals and families in need of assistance with support outside of government leveraging faith-based organizations and private sector networks. (HF 2698)

Strengthening Iowa’s Foreign Ownership of Land Laws: Further protects Iowa land by increasing reporting requirements, giving the Attorney General subpoena power to investigate potential violations, and strengthening penalties for foreign owners. (SF 2204)

Mega Sites: Establishes a MEGA project tax incentive program to recruit major development projects (> $1 Billion) to locate in Iowa. Includes funding for rural certified sites to also be established. (SF 574)

Streamlining Boards and Commissions: Returns accountability to the people of Iowa through their elected representatives by eliminating 83 unnecessary and redundant unelected boards and commissions. Requires an ongoing annual review process of boards and commissions. (SF 2385)

Gender Balance: Repeals gender balance requirements for appointive bodies ensuring the most qualified Iowans can serve regardless of gender. (SF 2096)

Government Regulation Review: Cuts red tape and improves Iowa’s regulatory environment, requires a regulatory analysis of all new rules, and sunsets rules unless they undergo a substantive review and are re-adopted at least every five years. (SF 2370)

Government Alignment: Eliminates barriers for newly aligned agencies to fully implement new efficiencies across state government, unlocked in last year’s legislation, to better serve Iowans. (HF 2686)

Other legislative priorities that passed during the 2024 Legislative Session:

eligious Freedom Restoration Act: Prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person’s constitutional right to religious freedom unless it has a compelling interest and uses the least restrictive means to support that interest. (SF 2095)

Immigration: Prohibits certain aliens, as defined in 8 U.S. C. § 1101, from coming to Iowa following their illegal reentry into the United States. The bill also prohibits arrest in certain locations like churches and schools, provides immunity from liability and indemnification for enforcement actions, sets sentencing restrictions, and provides penalties. (SF 2340)

School Safety: Addresses the use of school security personnel by school districts and authorizes school employees to be issued professional permits to carry weapons. (HF 2586)

DEI Elimination: Prohibits diversity, equity, and inclusion at institutions of higher education governed by the state board of regents with exceptions for compliance with federal law and accreditation. (SF 2435) 

Civil Statute of Limitations for Boy Scout Victims: Allows child sexual abuse victims to make claims in the Boy Scout bankruptcy proceeding without being time barred. (SF 2431)

Graduation Requirements: Requires the department of education to conduct a comprehensive review of the state’s high school graduation requirements, core curriculum, core content standards, and educational standards, and to recommend policy changes. (HF 2545) 

Mutual Insurance Industry: Allows flexibility to utilize reinsurance resources and introduces new options to acquire capital to stabilize the mutual insurance market. (HF2100, HF2490, SF2361)

Livestock Capital Gains: Reinstates the capital gains deduction from the sale of cattle or breeding livestock. Retroactive to January 1, 2023. (HF2649)

Ag Class Credit: Modifies provisions related to the curriculum provided to students enrolled in grades nine through twelve by allowing instruction related to agriculture to meet a portion of the unit requirements related to science and allowing instruction related to applied sciences, technology, engineering, or manufacturing to meet a portion of the unit requirements related to mathematics. (HF 2465)

Biomarker Testing: Improves quality of life and saves lives by including biomarker testing as a covered cost by health insurers. (HF 2668)

Teaching Licenses: Modifies requirements related to teacher intern license programs and establishes a temporary initial teaching license to be issued by the board of educational examiners to applicants who complete an alternative teacher certification program. (HF 255)

Looting: Establishes the criminal offense of looting and providing penalties. (HF 2598)

Grooming as a Crime: Establishes a criminal offense of grooming and provides penalties. (HF 2602)

Psychiatric Medical Institutions for Children (PMIC): Increases reimbursement rates for children behavioral health providers and provides family-centered behavioral health services. (HF 2402)

Meat and Poultry Inspections: Allows state meat and poultry programs to provide the opportunity for state official poultry plants to also preform custom-exempt slaughter and processing, as is currently allowed for official red meat plants. (HF2257)

Small Business Investment Programs for Veterans: Includes veterans in the small business linked investment programs. (SF 461)

Renewable Fuels Infrastructure: Provides a transition period for renewable fuel infrastructure upgrades supported by the Renewable Fuel Infrastructure Program. (HF2687)

Swatting: Relates to false reports to or communications with public safety entities, and provides penalties. (SF 2161)

Use of Local/County Funds: Provides additional flexibility to local government to use public funds to tackle the child care needs of their community. (HF 2264)

Insurance Coverage for Diagnostic Breast Exams: Requires insurance coverage for supplemental and diagnostic breast examinations. (HF 2489)

MOMs: Allows HHS to partner directly with pregnancy resource centers to provide maternal supports and services to pregnant women and new mothers. (SF 2252)

Improving Access to Professional Licensure: Several bills reduced unnecessary barriers to entry to professional licensure in high-need health care professions. (HF 2232, SF 477, HF 2515, HF 2512, HF 2013)

Rental Property Management: Eliminates unnecessary licensure for rental property management activities. (HF 2326)

Pharmacy Benefit Managers: Creates additional pricing transparency for pharmacists, prohibits bad faith negotiations as well as retaliatory business practices. Grants insurance division additional regulatory tools. (HF2099)

Traffic Cameras: Pauses the proliferation of unmanned traffic cameras including new regulations and oversight by the Department of Transportation. (HF2681)

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Misinformation About Climate Change

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Paul Deaton
Earthrise. Dec. 24, 1968 by NASA/Bill Anders – Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=306267

We hear in public forums that “climate is always changing,” or that “climate change is part of a natural cycle.” This is a form of misinformation intended to deflect from the existential fact Earth should be cooling according to natural cycles and it is doing the opposite. Action to mitigate the causes of planetary warming is necessary and urgent.

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe explains some scientific facts about natural cycles and misinformation about them in this short video.

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Immigration Iowa – Style

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Paul Deaton
Photo by Matt Barnard on Pexels.com

In an effort to present a contrast with Joe Biden, Republicans insist upon elevating immigration as a top tier 2024 campaign issue. My issue with this is they lie, dissemble, and obstruct.

Are there are many “contacts” at the border. Yes. Is there a problem with illegal importation of the narcotic fentanyl? Yes. Are there 15 million undocumented persons inside the U.S. border right now? Probably yes. Why don’t politicians do something about this? Republicans decided that instead of legislating our country out of a potential problem, they would rather use immigration as one of three key issues to cudgel Joe Biden as president. (The other two are right to choose, and the economy).

On the April 5 edition of Iowa Press, Jeff Kaufmann was asked about abortion suppressing Republican voter turnout: “You know, I think it remains to be seen when you’ve got this overwhelming interest and these overwhelming numbers in terms of people’s disappointment on the border and with the economy. What is the bandwidth in terms — can you have three major issues? Can you have four? Is immigration going to overwhelm the issues debate? We’re ready for that debate.”

I don’t know anyone among my neighbors and friends for whom immigration is a significant issue. For Iowa Republicans, immigration is a top three issue.

Kaufmann explained the electoral calculus to Brianne Pfannenstiel of the Des Moines Register.

And quite frankly, Brianne, I’d like to say it’s all rallying around Donald Trump, but there’s also an element there too of if you have a choice between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, even people that are not necessarily thrilled about the personality of Donald Trump, they’re going to vote for Donald Trump.

When the founders wrote the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, immigrants were on their collective mind. Many of the founders were immigrants themselves, and no one asked native populations whether white immigrants from Europe were legal or could take the land and physically remove them. When the British began importation of slaves to North America in 1619, few people considered this human chattel to be immigrants, let alone have standing with the government. In short, white colonists began protecting their stolen and domineering rights with the 1790 Naturalization Act, which required two years of residence in the country, “good moral character,” and that an applicant must be a “free white person.” The bias toward white naturalization continued until 1965 when Lyndon Johnson opened the country’s doors to immigration from other parts of the world.

Current immigration policy, Iowa-style, is a reaction to liberal policies dating back to LBJ.

Anyone paying attention can see what’s going on:

  • The governor sends Iowa National Guard Troops to Texas to help with border patrol.
  • Iowa members of Congress voted to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
  • Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst signed a petition to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring the impeachment to an immediate trial.
  • Senate Majority Leader immediately takes a vote and dismisses both articles of impeachment. The votes were 51-48 and 51-49, both along party lines.
  • Characterization of fentanyl addiction as a killer (by Miller-Meeks, et. al) when Iowa has one of the lowest drug overdose mortality rates in the nation.
  • Wanton use of the phrase “every state is a border state” when nothing could be further from the truth. If Iowa was a border state, there would be no reason to send troops to Texas.

I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. All the same, there are more important issues at stake in this election. The only way to overcome Republican hyperbole about the border is to elect Democrats.

Here is a link to the Iowa Democratic Party to get involved today.

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How Are Things Going Before Earth Day?

Posted on April 20, 2024 by Paul Deaton
Image of Earth 7-6-15 from DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory)

Earth Day is Monday, so how are we doing? Is the news media helping us create a better environment?

Bill McKibben follows issues centered around the climate crisis better than almost anyone. Here’s the stark truth from his substack, The Crucial Years:

At the most fundamental level, new figures last week showed that atmospheric levels of the three main greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—reached new all-time highs last year. Here’s how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the figures:

While the rise in the three heat-trapping gases recorded in the air samples collected by NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) in 2023 was not quite as high as the record jumps observed in recent years, they were in line with the steep increases observed during the past decade. 

The global surface concentration of CO2, averaged across all 12 months of 2023, was 419.3 parts per million (ppm), an increase of 2.8 ppm during the year. This was the 12th consecutive year CO2 increased by more than 2 ppm, extending the highest sustained rate of CO2 increases during the 65-year monitoring record. Three consecutive years of CO2  growth of 2 ppm or more had not been seen in NOAA’s monitoring records prior to 2014. Atmospheric CO2 is now more than 50% higher than pre-industrial levels.

Entirely unsurprisingly, the planet’s temperature has also continued to rise.

The Crucial Years, a substack by Bill McKibben, April 10, 2024.

Not long ago, McKibben headed an organization called 350.org, which advocated keeping average surface concentration of CO2 below 350 ppm. At 419.3 ppm, and increasing about 2 ppm per year, we are going the wrong direction.

How do news audiences perceive the climate crisis? A recent study explored this question. Why is it important? How we perceive and receive news about the climate crisis determines, in large part, whether and how we address it.

Around Earth Day, we expect to see more news stories about the climate crisis. Folks at Reuters Institute studied news use and attitudes about climate change, using data from Brazil, France, Germany, India, Japan, Pakistan, the UK, and the USA. The issues are similar to what we see in response to media on any topic: Should we trust scientists? What is misinformation and what isn’t? What news sources are trustworthy? Are direct action protests covered fairly by media? They found a lot:

  • In most of the eight countries there has been a slight increase in climate change news use, with just over half (55%) on average using climate change news in the previous week.
  • Climate news avoidance and trust in climate information from the news media have remained roughly stable, but avoidance has decreased slightly in the UK, USA, and Pakistan, as well as trust in the UK and Germany.
  • Scientists remain the most trusted sources of news and information about climate change, trusted by 73% on average, and respondents more often see them used as sources in the news media than any other source of information.
  • Over three quarters (80%) of survey respondents say they are concerned about climate change misinformation, consistent with data from 2022.
  • Once again, respondents think television and online (including social media and messaging apps) are where they see most climate-related misinformation. Politicians, political parties, and governments are frequently mentioned as sources of false and misleading information.
  • Nearly two thirds of respondents believe that news media play a significant role in influencing climate change decisions, actions by large businesses, government policies, and public attitudes, with particularly strong beliefs in Brazil, India, and Pakistan.
  • There is large variation in how soon respondents think people in their country will face the serious effects of climate change, with significant proportions in every country thinking the consequences are decades away at least. However, people who use climate change news on a weekly basis are considerably more likely to think that people are being affected by climate change now.
  • Significant disparities exist in perceptions of the impact of climate change on public health specifically, with those in Global South countries (Brazil, India, Pakistan) generally perceiving larger effects (50% or more) than those in the Global North (UK, USA, France, Germany, Japan).
  • Just over half of respondents think that climate change has a larger effect on poorer people (53%) and poorer countries (52%), but there is a considerable partisan disagreement on this in France, the UK, and the USA, with those leaning politically right less likely to agree.
  • People are more likely to think that richer countries and more polluting countries should take greater responsibility for reducing climate change, and weekly climate change news users are more likely to hold this view.
  • In the UK, USA, Germany and France opinion is roughly evenly split on whether direct action climate protests (e.g. blocking roads, disrupting sporting events) are covered fairly by the news media. But in Germany, the UK, and the USA opinion varies depending on whether people support or oppose the protests.
  • People in our survey expressed a high level of interest in various types of climate coverage, including news that discusses latest developments, positive news, and coverage presenting solutions. People did not express a clear preference for the type of solutions journalism they are most interested in.

What do these findings mean? Assessing news in media has become a critical skill in 2024. It is important to align our lives with accurate information about the climate crisis. Rich McKibben is a good source of information. So are Katharine Hayhoe and Al Gore. Knowing the truth about the climate crisis will make us better advocates. It will set us free to create a better world for our progeny.

On Earth Day 2024, we are a distance from achieving our goals. Things are not going as well as we need and it is complicated by reliance on media fraught with misinformation. We can do better.

~ The author helped organize the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 in his home town. He served as chair of the county board of health, and has been advocating and writing on environmental issues all along his journey. He joined Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project in 2013.

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