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Aug31
How I Quit Smoking: In This Month's Health Magazine

Claire_photo_707The 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.

Aug31
Fred Thompson Avoids FEC Filing By Announcing Late
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,... Continue Reading
Aug30
Iowa County Judge Turns Over Anti-Gay Marriage Law
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... Continue Reading
Top Ten Things Overheard in the Senate Republican Caucus
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... Continue Reading
Aug28
The Problem With Conservatives
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... Continue Reading
Idaho Senator Craig Resigns From Romney Campaign
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... Continue Reading
Aug27
Good Riddance, Gonzales!
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... Continue Reading
"All-Volunteer Army" Gives $20,000 Recruit Bonuses
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... Continue Reading
Aug26
Good News for Iowa -- The DNC Smacks Florida For Moving Primary Date
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... Continue Reading
Chinese Pollution Levels Rise as American Demand for Cheap Plastic Crap Continues
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... Continue Reading
Obama Dissing the AARP = Political Suicide
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... Continue Reading
Aug24
Werbach and Wal-Mart: Savior or Sellout?
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... Continue Reading
U.S. Death Penalty is Shameful Policy
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.... Continue Reading
Warner Calls on Bush to Send Troops Home
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... Continue Reading
Aug23
Nagle Slams Edwards Decision to Renounce Iowa's First Caucus Status
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... Continue Reading
Aug22
Democracy in Iraq: Round Peg, Meet Square Hole
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... Continue Reading
Hillary Backpeddles on "Surge is Working" Comment...And Rightly So
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"... Continue Reading
Aug21
Capitalism Run Amuck
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... Continue Reading
Do People in the Military Hate Hillary Clinton?
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... Continue Reading
Aug20
Rove's Farewell Talk-Show Tour
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... Continue Reading
Aug19
ABC Debate at Drake University, Part II
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... Continue Reading
ABC Debate at Drake University -- Part I
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... Continue Reading
Aug18
ABC Drake Des Moines Democratic Debate Preview
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... Continue Reading
Aug17
Military Suicide Rate Highest in 26 years
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... Continue Reading
Yawn...Fred Thompson Makes His First Trip to Iowa
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... Continue Reading
Aug16
The Casualties of War Part 2: Kidnapping is a Cottage Industry in Iraq
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,... Continue Reading
The Casualties of War: Iraqi Women Forced Into Prostitution to Feed Their Children
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,... Continue Reading
Aug15
"Pro-life" Movement Causes More Abortions
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... Continue Reading
Aug14
Mattel Toy Recall Exposes Wal-Mart China Connection
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... Continue Reading
Aug13
Karl Rove's Parting Words
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... Continue Reading
Good Riddance, Rove
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... Continue Reading
Aug12
Iraq Surge Won't Matter Once Brits Leave Basra
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,... Continue Reading
Iowa Republican Straw Poll Turnout Down by 10,000
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... Continue Reading
Aug10
Presidential Candidate Sightings at the Iowa State Fair
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... Continue Reading
Aug 9
South Carolina Creates Chaos in Primary Process
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... Continue Reading
Pawlenty Has a Change of Heart on Gas Tax After 35 W Disaster
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... Continue Reading
Aug 7
Newt Gingrich Comes Undone
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... Continue Reading
Why The Mainsteam Media Sucks
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... Continue Reading
Aug 6
Mitt Romney Campaign Calls Me...Huh?
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... Continue Reading
Ron Paul Campaign Asks Supporters to "Adopt an Iowan" For Iowa Straw Poll
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... Continue Reading
Aug 5
Whack-a-Mole Terrorism Strategy
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... Continue Reading
Republican ABC Drake Debate in Des Moines Today
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... Continue Reading
The Hummer Loophole Finally Gets Closed
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... Continue Reading
Aug 3
Up Yours, President Bush
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... Continue Reading
Aug 1
Paul and Romney Launch Hateful Anti-Immigration Ads
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... Continue Reading
Ethics Bill a Good Start, But Doesn't Go Far Enough
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.... Continue Reading

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