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Thursday, August 11
Changes In Des Moines: Lamberti For Congress
by
Chad Thompson
on Thu 11 Aug 2005 12:56 PM CDT
 Changes In Des Moines: Lamberti Runs For Congress
This hit the Des Moines Register yesterday:
State
Senate Republican President Jeff Lamberti said Wednesday he has decided
to run for Congress, challenging incumbent Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa.
Lamberti,
a veteran of 12 years in the Iowa Legislature, said he has hired a
string of consultants and has decided to take a leave of absence from
his Ankeny law firm.
He will give up his seat in the Iowa Senate to make the race.
Naturally, this means that there will be a shakeup of GOP Senate Leadership next fall - Des Moines Cityview's
"Civic Skinny" column predicted as such some time ago - keep an eye on
them for some of the better political reporting being done in
Iowa. (Cityview also keeps an eye on "who's giving what to whom".)
Something
to keep in mind: Lamberti should answer for a little corruption
of his own coming into the 2006 race - according to the Des Moines
Register, Lamberti had his hand in directly funnelling state money to a
friend.
With
federal money cut off, ["Rock In Prevention" leader Pat] McManus sought
help last year from state Sen. Jeff Lamberti, an Ankeny Republican
whose father, Don, has contributed more than $285,000 to the group and
served as one of its honorary board members. McManus also contacted
state Sen. Matt McCoy, a Des Moines Democrat whom McManus describes as
a personal friend.
...
By
the time [a financing] issue was resolved, the 2004 legislative session
was in progress and lawmakers had clarified their intent by stipulating
that the $400,000 would be awarded through a "sole-source contract." In
other words, there would be no competition for the money.
(Note:
it's extraordinarily frustrating that two Democrats - including Tom
Vilsack - went along with handing over $400,000 without putting out a
Request for Proposal when we're facing much bigger issues with state
financing.)
Lamberti was also responsible for the rather silly "No Tax Under 30" proposal that garnered odd stares nationwide.
Add your "Jeff Lamberti" comments below.
Humans Dying of Pig Disease a Concern
by
Caroline Vernon
on Thu 11 Aug 2005 07:55 AM CDT
 Humans Dying of Pig Disease a Concern
By Margie Mason, AP Medical Writer
Based
on the state of many of the hog farms in Iowa, this issue hits pretty
close to home. I hope we are able to examine the situation very closely
so we are able to prevent the same thing from happening here - if
that's even possible. It's enough to make you want to become a
vegetarian!
Experts
on a strep germ that's sickening people and pigs in China are baffled
by reports of 37 farmers suddenly falling ill, bleeding under the skin
and dying — all previously unheard of with the disease.
While
not uncommon in pigs, Streptococcus suis is seldom seen in people and
never dozens of cases all at once — raising bigger questions about
whether the germ has mixed with some other bacteria or virus.
"Something
is different," Marcelo Gottschalk, one of the world's leading experts
on the disease, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
"We are worried and we wonder what's happening. We would like to have the strain to identify."
Gottschalk
works in the world's only reference laboratory for Streptococcus suis
at the University of Montreal in Canada and says no one in China has
contacted him for help since the outbreak was reported last month.
So few
people have studied this disease, he's unsure how the Chinese have been
able to identify it and what type of vaccine they plan to use since
immunizations typically are not effective. Chinese state media have
reported that enough vaccine for 350,000 pigs has already been sent to
Sichuan province from a company in southern Guangdong province and that
enough doses for 10 million swine will be shipped later....
The infected farmers who handled or butchered sick pigs have experienced nausea, fever, vomiting and bleeding under the skin.
Thomas
Alexander, retired deputy director of the University of Cambridge's
School of Veterinary Medicine, was a pioneer in studying this
particular strep germ. He said the bacteria is commonly found in the
tonsils of healthy swine in different parts of the world. However, it sometimes becomes pathogenic when too many pigs are crammed together in unsanitary conditions.
To read the rest of the article, click here
Late Night Political Humor
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 11 Aug 2005 04:03 AM CDT
 Late Night Political Humor
Woodbury County Democrats
It is time once again for Blog for Iowa to present the work of Rick Mullin over at the Woodbury County Dems website, where he has compiled (and graciously allowed us to steal) some late-night political humor. If only it weren't so true.
"The White House has changed their slogan from the war on terror to the
global struggle against violent extremism. Well that just rolls off the
tongue. Is that a good idea, giving [Bush] more syllables to
pronounce?"
--Jay Leno
"Pennsylvania Republican family values congressman Don Sherwood, who is
married, has admitted he had an affair for five years with a young
women. But he said it is a five-year affair he deeply regrets. That's
something - these guys only regret the affair after they've been
caught. They never regret it when the pants are going down - only when
they're coming back up. Before he got elected to Congress he was
a used car dealer. So he's married, a Congressman, and a used-car
salesman. That's like the trifecta of lying."
--Jay Leno
"John Roberts could be the newest member of the Supreme Court and I
gotta tell you - I haven't seen this much charisma since the Oreck
vacuum guy. He's everywhere. Now he's doing a lot of interviews hoping
to get nominated. Earlier today he was jumping up and down on Oprah's
couch."
--David Letterman
"Today in Scotland, [Bush] was riding his bike when he collided with a
police officer and fell off.... He could have avoided the collision
but, you know, he refuses to go left."
--Jay Leno
"Bush had a minor bike accident today. The White House physician said he should be fine and back on his Big Wheel in no time."
--Conan O'Brien
"Governor Schwarzenegger spoke about the dangers of global warming. Schwarzenegger's exact words were: fire, hot, bad."
--Conan O'Brien
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