Odds 'n' Ends

There's so much stuff I wanted to write about that I couldn't really sort things out.  So, here we go with "Odds 'n' Ends".

[Insert a FoxNews-style "Whoosh" Here.]

Yesterday in D.C., a "Sense of the Senate" amendment was added to a general Senate budget resolution.  The purpose statement read as follows:

To express the sense of the Senate that Congress should reject any Social Security plan that requires deep benefit cuts or a massive increase in debt.

"Sense of the Senate" amendments are usually political freebies - they don't really force anyone into uncomfortable positions and allow for a good measure of pandering.   One might think that this would be a no-brainer, passing 100-0, saving arguments over "deep benefit cuts" and "massive increase in debt" for another day.

Guess what?  This amendment was defeated.

The roll call vote is here.  Evidently, our own Chuck Grassley voted in favor of "deep benefit cuts or a massive increase in debt."

The Iowa House Republicans show off their priorities again.  Rather than take up and debate important things that we call "the budget" - it was grandstanding time yesterday.

"We didn't bring this fight on," said Michael Hartwig, vice president of Marriage Matters of Iowa. "We feel like the institution of marriage is being attacked through the judicial body."

No matter where you fall on this issue, I can tell you that the failure of this Legislature to take up serious legislation on the methamphetamine epidemic in Iowa is a direct and real threat to both families and marriages, not to mention the economic prospects of the next generation.

Instead, the House GOP just wastes everyone's time with this all-too-typical nonsense by using a full day to discuss this "important" issue.

In the "places to visit" category, there is a rather active little community posting on politics and other topics at a website called Iowa Underground.  I've already pulled a few interesting items from various posters - you might enjoy it, too.


A final requiem:   I have been running a site for a little over a year called the "Iowa Populist".  My posting for Blog for Iowa and the inevitable "real work" contributed to my not updating the blog for some time.  I took down the website and cancelled the hosting service last week as my contract with a provider ended.

Thanks to all who read and commented there in the past - I hope you'll continue to read and comment here on "Blog for Iowa".