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Aug31
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The story of how I quit smoking 13 years ago is featured in this month's Health Magazine. It ended up on CNN today, so I thought I would share the link.
If you are in a struggle to quit, don't give up. Use whatever technique you have to go get it done. You'll feel much better and stop paying tobacco companies to end your life sooner than normal. You'll also contribute to the overall health of those around you. In my case, my then-toddler daughters needed their mom to be healthy. Once you make up your mind to do it, give yourself a fighting chance. Get counseling, use the patch, and surround yourself with positive, supportive people.
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Aug31
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Fred Thompson has finally announced that he is announcing his presidential bid on September 6. Why is he waiting so long, you might be wondering? Let me clear that up for you.It's really all about money:By waiting until September 6th,...
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Aug30
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What a nice surprise in my own home town today! Polk County Judge Robert Hanson overturned an Iowa law that bans same-sex marriage. This after a week of listening to conservatives pontificate about morals, this ruling couldn't have been issued...
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Do you think the name "caucus" sounds gay? Maybe we should change it to "posse."No one is allowed to walk by themselves in public. Twos also looks suspicious, so everyone find two traveling buddies. Do **not** skip, hold hands, or...
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Aug28
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What do all of these unfortunate republicans have in common? They were each caught satisfying a private and unspeakable urge, for which they were publicly villified. All of them are so-called conservatives. But the problem with people who tell...
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America, apple pie, fighting for the family. All in a day's work for Republican Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho). Oh yeah, don't forget that you can get anonymous sex in bathroom stalls all over the country but tapping your foot. Who...
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Aug27
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The resignation of Alberto Gonzales has finally been tendered, a day late and a dollar short. I've written about the sad state of the U.S. Justice Department before, and the post that sticks out to me the most is the...
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In order to meet its increasingly difficult recruiting goals, the Army has resorted to giving new recruits more than a year's regular pay when they agree to ship out to basic training right away. The Washington Post reports that the...
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Aug26
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In a rare and unusual move, the Democratic National Committee has sanctioned the Florida Democratic Party. Florida tried to move its primary date up to January 29, thwarting previously approved plans of Nevada, South Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire. The...
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Pollution in China is killing hundreds of thousands its people every year. People in many industrial cities in China never see the sun, or blue sky. Cancer is now the number-one cause of death in all age groups. 500 million...
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Barack Obama is sticking to his principles...all the way to stupid-land. As discussed over at Bleeding Heartland (an excellent Iowa political blog), Obama's handlers have made the commitment to more voter outreach, and therefore, fewer debates. In my humble...
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Aug24
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Here's a "must-read" article for anyone who cares about the environment or follows Wal-Mart. Fast Company (In my humble opinion, the best business magazine out there, period!) profiles environmental activist Adam Werbach on the cover of its September issue. Adam...
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Hidden on the law section of CNN's Web site this morning was a sad milestone: Texas Executes its 400th inmate since the 1972 Supreme Court ruling allowing the ultimate penalty to exist in our country. The irony of George W....
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In a desperate attempt to be right about something, republican pundits like my counterpart over at Elephant Biz are still trying to project the latest fallacy of the Bush administration: that somehow the "surge" is working. There is plenty...
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Aug23
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Former Iowa Congressman Dave Nagle slammed John Edwards today in a blog post on the Des Moines Register Web site. Nagle seems furious that Edwards would support the state of Michigan in its bid to become more significant in the...
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Aug22
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In what must be a nail in the coffin of the Iraq war, U.S. Generals are openly calling for a change in the "Democracy or Bust" attitude of the Bush administration. From an article today on CNN: U.S. Ambassador to...
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Hillary Clinton's comment during a speech to the VFW in Kansas City, when she shamefully bought into the current guilty talking point, "The Surge is Working" is coming back to haunt her.First of all, make no mistake. "The Surge"...
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Aug21
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Overnight, the sub-prime housing market and credit crunch have brought the economy to its knees, with the government having to step in to lower rates and pump money into the economy. All the experts are on the tube and radio...
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This morning I was surfing the Web and found a post on the NY Times Caucus blog about Hillary Clinton's recent speech at the Kansas City VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars). The audience reaction was reported to be respectful, yet...
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Aug20
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Karl Rove hit the talk show circuit yesterday. I like to think of it as his "Cover Your Ass" Tour. As usual, he took responsibility for absolutely nothing, provided no insight into anything, and showed us that he really is...
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Aug19
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There's no doubt that Barack Obama is taking a beating on his foreign policy goof-up during the YouTube debate. The longest sequence of the debate today was a series of questions to all of the other candidates on whether Obama...
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ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" took their show on the road for the second time to Des Moines this morning. The democrats' debate, though predictable in many ways (how many questions CAN you ask about Iraq???), this one was...
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Aug18
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Bright and early tomorrow morning, Yours Truly will be attending the ABC presidential debate at my alma mater Drake University. I went to the media reception tonight and did not meet any other bloggers. That does not mean they weren't...
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Aug17
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The military establishment revealed that the rate of suicide among its members is the highest it's been in years, in part due to the increased number of months services members are deployed in war zones: (Washington Post)Failed personal relationships, legal...
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All I've been hearing from my counterpart over at Elephant Biz and other conservative pundits is how Fred Thompson is the Great White Hope of the republican nomination. Conservatives are settling for "conservative lite" in fatally flawed Rudy Giuliani...
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Aug16
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We've all heard about the politcally motivated kidnappings of foreigners in Iraq. That's no surprise in a country filled with people who literally have nothing to lose.What is surprising are the rising numbers of kipnappings of ordinary Iraqi citizens,...
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The U.S. casualty mark passed 4,000 today. Each soldier deserves our respect and grateful thanks. But there are other casualties of war that don't get talked about much. I'm going to spend some time blogging about them.In a growing epidemic,...
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Aug15
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There is something very important the "Pro-Lifers" don't talk about in their literature. The very policies they promote are causing more abortions. The U.S. still has an extremely high abortion rate compared to other industrialized countries due to this dangerous...
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Aug14
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Wal-Mart has caused shoddy Chinese goods to flow into this country with its relentless cost controls. First pet food, then lead paint on toys, now Mattel toys. Besides Wal-Mart's cost-crunching approach, it is corporate greed plain and simple. You don't...
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Aug13
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My good friend Bryan Loop came up with such a good quote today! It was so funny that it made me laugh out loud. I knew you'd enjoy it too."My Dark Master has called me home," said Rove, choking...
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Karl Rove, the chief architect of President Bush's miserable presidency, is finally calling it quits and leaving the White House. Rove has been with Bush since his days as governor of Texas.Rove says he is leaving for his family, but...
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Aug12
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There is a lot of "the surge is working" talk on the news and on the blogs lately, but the fact is that America's allies in Iraq are either already gone or packing up to leave later this year.In fact,...
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The lack of an exciting candidate in the republican field showed yesterday at the Ames Iowa republican straw poll, a fundraiser for the Iowa Republican Party. The turnout was nearly 10,000 people less than 1999's event, the last year a...
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Aug10
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All day Thursday, I was at the Iowa State Fair with my client, the Iowa Department of Economic Development. We were right on the Grand Concourse, which is like the "main drag" of the fair. Since we were in prime...
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Aug 9
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South Carolina is asserting its apparent "right" to be the first presidential primary in the South. The state's decision will have a domino affect on Iowa and New Hampshire. Iowa's state law stipulates that Iowa must have the first caucus...
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Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (and of course, he's a republican!) is scrambling to undo the political damage from his very public and very recent veto of a Minnesota Department of Transportation bill that would have increased his state's gas tax...
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Aug 7
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Newt Gingrich has obviously lost his republican mind, while at the same time seems to be gaining some common sense in his old age.As Common Iowan notes, Newt isn't sounding very presidential these days:Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday...
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This morning on the Huffington Post Jay Rosen muses about Why The Mainsteam Media Sucks, and comes to the conclusion that most journalists have not yet digested that the dynamic between writer and reader has fundamentally changed.Personally, I also...
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Aug 6
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In a sign that the Romney campaign has way too much time on its hands, I received a robo-call from the Romney campaign which allowed for verbal responses.I learned that robo-calls do not accept answers like, "not a chance...
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The Ron Paul campaign is combating the usual strategy of winning the Iowa Straw Poll this coming weekend in Ames, Iowa.The usual strategy is to buy the votes of republican activists, paying for their $35 admission ticket in exchange for...
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Aug 5
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Finally, an honest man has stepped out of George Bush's shadow and made an honest statement about Iraq.President Bush has nominated General Michael Mullin to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During questioning in the Senate last week, Mullen gave...
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My alma mater, Drake University, hosted a debate that was aired live on ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos. Never mind that is was at the un-godly hour of 8 a.m...the real story was there was no story. The white...
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Big news flash out of the House yesterday was,"Texas Republicans Oppose Energy Bill That Taxes The Oil Industry." Well, it looks like there is more where that came from. The bill, approved by the House yesterday, also requires stricter building...
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Aug 3
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In a bold, bipartisan way, the U.S. House passed a bill vastly expanding the State Children's Health Care Program (SCHIP), which covers children of the working poor. The measure goes to the Senate today where a more modest version has...
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Aug 1
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Ron Paul billboards are appearing on the Des Moines landscape lately. Thanks to the Kansas City Ron Paul blog site for the photo. It is identical to the billboard in Des Moines that I drive by on my way...
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A bill that would impose new rules on lobbyist's contributions to campaigns has passed the House with flying colors. Republicans in the Senate actually threatened to filibuster it, with esteemed Senator Ted Stevens (cough cough..criminal..cough cough) leading the threat....
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