Owner: Mainstream Iowan URL:http://mainstreamiowan.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2006 19:37:37 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: Thoughts, editorials and opinions on events from a conservative working-class, midwestern family in central Iowa. Different perspectives from the family's husband and father, wife and mother, and yes, even their kids. Musings, rants and raves mixed with h Site statistics:Click here
Famous Females Consensually Bastardize A Child 2006-12-07 13:35:00 Mary Cheney:Who Is The Proud Father?Conservative leaders voiced dismay Wednesday at news that Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney, is pregnant, while a gay-rights group said the vice president faces "a lifetime of sleepless nights" for serving in an administration that has opposed recognition of same-sex couples.Mary Cheney, 37, and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, 45, are expecting a baby in late spring, said Lea Anne McBride, a spokeswoman for the vice president."The vice president and Mrs. Cheney are looking forward with eager anticipation" to the arrival of their sixth grandchild, McBride said.The vice president's office declined to elaborate on the circumstances of Mary Cheney's pregnancy.Read Article... ***More On Women IntentionallyMaking Their Children BastardsMary Cheney's pregnancy poses problems not just for her child, but also for all Americans. Her action repudiates traditional values and sets an appalling example for young people at a time when fathe Read more:Famous
, Females
How Far To Go In Religious Accommodation? 2006-12-06 14:00:00 New Demands From Muslims In AmericaMuslim women in the USA have been asking the public to accommodate their religious beliefs about modesty, a trend that some Muslims worry will provoke a backlash.In some recent examples: In Lincoln Park, Mich., Fitness USA relented when Muslim women demanded that the gym wall off a co-ed aerobic center from their women-only section because men could see them working out. In Bridgeview, Ill., a Muslim school says it wants its girls' basketball team to play road games against non-Muslim schools provided the public schools ban men and teenage boys from the game. In North Seattle, Wash., a public pool set up a swim time for Muslim women in which men, even male lifeguards, are banned.Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of Muslim Public Affairs Council, says the right to petition for special accommodation based on religious beliefs is protected by the First Amendment."Whether a woman wants to cover her hair or not is her personal choice," he says. "As lo Read more:Accommodation
More About The Recent Imam Airline Pray-In 2006-12-05 13:55:00
Was U.S. Airways Justified InRemoving Imams From Flight?
A hat tip to Watersblogged for this one...
Mainstream Iowan previously blogged
about the 6 Mustlim Imams who were escorted off a flight in Minneapolis in handcuffs. The Imams had said they were merely praying before the 6:30 p.m. flight on Nov. 20, and later led a protest by prayer with other religious leaders at the airline's ticket counter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
One detail that's escaped most reports is that other Muslim passengers were left undisturbed and later joined in a round of applause for the U.S. Airways crew.
An Arabic speaker was seated near two of the imams in the plane's tail. That passenger pulled a flight attendant aside and, in a whisper, translated what the men were saying: invoking "bin Laden" and condemning America for "killing Saddam," according to police reports.
All six imams had boarded together, with the first-class passengers - even though only one of t Read more:Airline
, Recent
Iowa - ISU Wrestling Rivalry 2006-12-04 14:10:00
Only One Word To Describe This New Rivalry
WOW!
As a former wrestler myself, occasionally I blog about the Sport Of Wrestling which in Iowa is among the best in the world at the High School, Collegiate and Olympic levels.
The meet yesterday was filled with intimidation, intensity and rivalry on the mat between wrestlers and off the match with coaching staffs. Had you asked me prior to the meet who would prevail, I would have given the nod to Iowa State. Was I ever wrong!
There was sideshow had to do with something about the ISU assistant coach Hartung, who was a former coach at Iowa under Zalesky. ISU received a warning against their bench. Hartung should have known better, trying to intimidate Gable is an act of lunacy. By the meet's end, the ISU bench had been humbled.
I had forgotten the emotion of Brands and Gable. After yesterday's meet one would think they not only have gotten it back, it has increased exponentially. I am suprised they weren't warned
Who Created Congressman Ellison's Controversy? 2006-12-02 00:45:00 Congressman-Elect Ellison
BroughtThis Controversy
On Himself! Frequently Asked QuestionsQ. Who started this controversy?A. CBS News Reported: Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran. ABC News reported this too!Q. How are Congressman Sworn In?A. CNS News Reports: Ellison will not use any book during the ceremony, Dave Colling, who served as the Minnesota Democrat's campaign manager, told Cybercast News Service. "Neither will any other member of the House," Colling added, since "no one has ever taken the oath of office in Congress with a Bible, a Koran, a Torah or anything else."Instead, the members of the chamber are sworn into office as a group, Colling noted. "They all raise their right hands and repeat the oath that's prescribed in the Constitution."Drew Hammill, spokesman for Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), confirmed Colling' Read more:Congressman
University Of Georgia To Recognize Christian Fraternity 2006-12-08 14:05:00
Lawsuit Against The University
of Georgia
Helps Administrators Change Their Mind
Two days after Christian
lawyers filed a discrimination lawsuit against the University of Georgia, administrators announced Thursday they would recognize a Christian fraternity and consider eliminating the school's non-discrimination policy regarding religious groups.
The Alliance Defense Fund
and the Christian Legal Society on Tuesday sued the university after it denied official recognition to Beta Upsilon Chi, a Christian fraternity.
The group was denied recognition, because it refused to sign the school's non-discrimination policy that would have required to the group to accept non-Christian members and officers.
Lawyers for the Christian groups which have successfully challenged similar policies at other universities argued that the policies violated students' right to freedom of religion.
Tim Tracey, a CLS lawyer, told Cybercast News Service Thursday afternoon that the group had Read more:Recognize
A Desperation Act Of A Defeated Congresswoman 2006-12-11 13:30:00
Goodbye And Good Riddance
The outgoing Congresswoman
Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) has taken one last shot at an administration she has always held in contempt.
Rep. McKinney has announced a bill in the House to begin the process of impeaching President George Bush.
The legislation is purely symbolic, however, as incoming Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says she won't entertain any motion to bring sanctions against the President, for real of wasting two years of Democratic congressional control on petty issues.
McKinney, an Atlanta Democrat has had her share of negative news, making headlines when she struck a Capitol Hill police officer who asked her to present ID.
With only hours left in the Congressional session, McKinney introduced legislation claiming the Commander in Chief violated his oath of office. Oddly, that's what many of the Georgia voters said of McKinney when they voted to replace her with DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson.
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Read more:Desperation
More On Discrimination In The State of Iowa 2006-12-12 01:55:00 NAACP Rejoining Discrimination
InvestigationFor State
Government In Iowa So much Iowa's outgoing governor who thinks he may be president. Tom Vilsack has recently agreed to allow the task force investigating claims of racial discrimination in state employment to look at previous complaints and hire an independent investigator."While this is a long-term process, I am glad that we are moving forward in this important work," Vilsack said in a written statement Monday. "I am personally opposed to all types of prejudice, whether overt, hidden or passive, inside or outside government, and I remain committed to ensuring a level playing field for all individuals seeking employment with state government."***The fact is, there will be a change in administration with election of Chet Culver and his incoming administration. What is going to become of Vilsack's people, and how will these people be rewarded with final favors from the Vilsack Administration?Mainstream Iowan has it from several stat
Illegals Arrested In Marshalltown Iowa 2006-12-13 14:00:00 ICE Arrests Illegals
AtSwift & Company In Six StatesFederal agents targeting illegal immigrants raided meatpacking plants in six states yesterday, arresting hundreds of workers on the uncommon charge of identity theft and shutting down the world's second-largest meat processing company for much of the day.About 1,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with search warrants entered plants owned by Swift & Co., of Greeley, Colo., charging that "large numbers" of workers illegally assumed the identities of U.S. citizens or legal residents by using their Social Security numbers to get work, ICE officials said.Company and union officials said agents, some dressed in riot gear, locked down six beef- and pork-processing plants early in the morning, segregating workers into groups of citizens and non-citizens after questioning. Some illegal workers were bused to detention facilities hours away, labor officials said.ICE officials would not say how many people were arrested, pending
Impressed By The Movie Apocalypto 2006-12-15 13:55:00 Brutal, Violent And Graphic...Mel Gibson Has Another Winner!Deciding to take some time out from this season's hustle and bustle, it was time to get some entertainment diversion. We decided to see what many are describing as the current best movie out.Mel Gibson's historical epic follows the decline of the Mayan civilization 600 years ago, just before Spanish invaders arrived to conquer Central America. The story revolves around one native named Jaguar Paw who fights the Mayan marauders who raid his village and capture natives for human sacrifice.Apocalypto appears to be the leading movie moneymaker, even with the movie market being down due to the Holiday Season. We found time for the movie just to get away for a break from the shopping madness.The area of the Maya civilization extended throughout the northern Central American region, including the present-day nations of Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras and El Salvador, as well as the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, a
Illegal Immigrants Supported By Churches With Bad Theology 2006-12-18 14:00:00 Churches Misrepresent Christianity By Supporting Illegals That Break Laws And Deny Authority Of Both God And ManClergy members railed against federal immigration officials Sunday at an evening service in Des Moines called to protest last week's raid at six Swift & Co. meatpacking plants on the Day of the Virgin Guadalupe, considered sacred by many of the thousands arrested.To do it on one of the most celebrated holy days, the Lady of Guadalupe, smacks of indifference that is chilling," said Jim McCarthy as he read a statement from Bishop Alan Scarfe of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. "We know better than this."About 200 people turned out at Grace United Methodist Church to hold candles and pray in a show of solidarity for detainees and their families.Read Article... ***What Churches Have Seemed To Have ForgottenAs Christmas approaches, it is time to reflect the teachings of Christianity in view of our government's recent actions of arresting illegal immigrants in Iowa and throughout t Read more:Churches
, Illegal Immigrants
The Exploitation Of Illegals Revealed 2006-12-19 14:05:00 Remember When Workers In Meatpacking Plants Earned A Respectable Living?Former employees are suing Swift & Co. for $23 million, alleging the meatpacking company conspired to keep wages down by hiring illegal workers.The 18 former employees are legal residents who worked at a plant in Cactus, Texas, north of Amarillo. The plant was one of six facilities - including one in Marshalltown, Ia. - raided in a multistate federal sweep that led to the arrests of nearly 1,300 employees and temporarily halted Swift's operations."These plaintiffs are ... victims in a long-standing scheme by Swift to depress and artificially lower the wages of its workers by knowingly hiring illegal workers," said their lawyer, Angel Reyes.The lawsuit was filed late Friday against Swift, based in Greeley, Colo., and investment firm HM Capital Partners LLC, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. They contend Swift and HM Capital Partners engaged in racketeering to manipulate commerce."When the S Read more:Exploitation
, Illegals
Iowa's Illegal Alien Problem Becomes An Entire Industry 2006-12-21 14:00:00 ICE Uncovers Vendors ForGenuine Identification DocumentsUnderstanding The Industry of Exploiting Illegal Alien
sDocuments filed with an administrative search warrant - most of which was released Wednesday after a request by The Des Moines Register - show that federal immigration authorities believe they "have identified document vendors in the Marshalltown, Iowa, area that are selling genuine identification documents to illegal aliens. "Details about those vendors were not contained in the portions of the documents made public Wednesday. Parts of the search warrant materials involving the vendors had been removed by federal authorities before the records were turned over to the newspaper.The indictments accuse the immigrants of using falsely obtained state identification cards from Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas to obtain jobs at the Swift plant in Marshalltown.U.S. Attorney Matthew Whitaker of Des Moines said the 23 people whose charges were made public Read more:Illegal Alien
, Problem
President Issus Pardons, Commutation 2006-12-22 14:05:00 President
Must Have Christmas Spirit
Note: A pardon is considered federal forgiveness for a crime, while a commutation cuts short an existing prison term...
Iowan Phillip Emmert, 50, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison without parole after being convicted in 1992 of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. In prison, he underwent addiction treatment, became a committed Christian and then took correspondence courses to become a licensed minister for the Assemblies of God.
Emmert is only the third prisoner who has had a sentence commuted by Bush, according to the Associated Press.
A White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, said President Bush had issued 113 pardons and commuted three sentences in his nearly six years in office.
Mr. Bush has issued the fewest pardons of any president since World War II. President Bill Clinton issued 457 in eight years in office. Mr. Bush's father issued 77 in four years. President Ronald Reagan issued 406 in eight years, a
The Grinches Have Not Stole Christmas! 2006-12-26 14:20:00 For Those Who KnowThe Authentic Meaning Of Christmas
Ichthus: "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior." For many a holiday is no longer a Holy Day. The world has seemed to secularize and commercialize a day set aside to recognize a most important day in the Christian religion. They have become the modern day Grinches by stealing the meaning of Christmas. They have made Christmas into Xmas by removing Christ from this Holy Day.The birth of Jesus Christ is something many people will understand Christmas to be. So many less that can understand the full significance of Christ's birth. Others yet, those who call themselves followers of this Christ and will ignore and pervert His teachings. Young Christian children often know more about Santa Clause than the story of Christ.Upon finding the meaning of what the Chi Rho pictured above, perhaps those who celebrate this holiday may be able to put Christ back in Christmas. For those faithful in many Christian denominations, they will know and underst Read more:Stole
Problems Again, Again, Again and Again At Iowa Penitentiary 2006-12-27 13:50:00 State Of Iowa Continues To IgnoreLack Of Security At Fort Madison A convicted murderer serving a life term at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison has been accused of assaulting a female visitor in a bathroom that is off-limits to prisoners.The Sunday morning incident is the latest in a string of lapses that have led to questions about security at the Fort Madison prison, the oldest in Iowa.A prison official said employees found the woman facedown on the floor in the female visitors' restroom with inmate Bobby Morris after hearing a scuffle behind the doors at 11:40 a.m.The Fort Madison penitentiary is where Iowa's most dangerous inmates are housed. Questions were raised about the effectiveness of the institution's security following the escape of two inmates in 2005 and two drug-smuggling incidents inside the prison this fall and winter.The two escapees avoided detection by security cameras and guards. The drug incidents have led to concerns that prison employees or visitors Read more:Again
CIETC Deserves No Break To Hide Records... 2006-12-28 14:05:00 CIETC Does Not Deserve Any Favors FromIowa Attorney General Tom Miller Jonathon Wilson Still Soaking Iowa Taxpayers The state is withholding public access to records that explain $90,000 worth of spending this year at the publicly funded Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium.The records describe some of the legal expenses incurred by CIETC in the immediate aftermath of a payroll scandal at the Des Moines job-training agency. That scandal has resulted in a criminal investigation and the firing of two state officials and three top CIETC administrators.Attorney General Tom Miller is blocking public access to the documents for two weeks to give CIETC time to seek a court injunction to prevent the release of the records.CIETC lawyer Jonathan Wilson could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but in a letter to state officials he indicated that CIETC would challenge any attempt to make the records public.The records describe $91,281 in legal expenses incurred by CIETC between May a Read more:Break
, Records
Rosie Is A Classless, Mean, Slanderous, Shameful Woman 2006-12-29 14:00:00 Rosie
O'Donnell CallsMiss America A Hooker
Rosie O'Donnell: Miss USA Tara Conner is a Hooker, Trump the Pimp
Rosie O'Donnell is silent no more. The round mound of put down has fired back at Donald Trump and Miss USA Tara Conner and all beauty contestants with one of her silly blog entries dubbing the girls hookers and nemesis Donald Trump as the pimp.
People Magazine notes that the blog posting describes "beauty pageants/where women were paraded around/judged valuable or not/by old white men/it is always old white men."
She continues: "Remember the seventies/a young girl in nyc/meets a pimp/he cons her into a life of illusion/she works for him." She then says Cagney & Lacey (of 70's detective show fame) swoop in and save the hooker from the evil pimp.
Read Article...
***
Of Course Rosie Is Jealous...
"Rosie got mentally beaten up by me," Trump told The Post yesterday, "because she's a mental midget, a low-life."
"It's too bad a degenerate is
Hoping The BBC Is Wrong... 2007-01-02 14:05:00
Troops To Be Boosted In Iraq
US President George W Bush intends to reveal a new Iraq strategy within days, the BBC has learnt.
The speech will reveal a plan to send more US troops to Iraq to focus on ways of bringing greater security, rather than training Iraqi forces.
The move comes with figures from Iraqi ministries suggesting that deaths among civilians are at record highs.
The US president arrived back in Washington on Monday after a week-long holiday at his ranch in Texas.
The BBC was told by a senior administration source that the speech setting out changes in Mr Bush's Iraq policy is likely to come in the middle of next week.Its central theme will be sacrifice.
The exact mission of the extra troops in Iraq is still under discussion, according to officials, but it is likely to focus on providing security rather than training Iraqi forces.
The proposal, if it comes, will be highly controversial.
Read Article...
War
Bush
Iraq
Read more:Wrong
CIETC - Still Ripping Off Taxpayers... 2007-01-03 14:00:00 Jonathon Wilson Leads ChargeTo Further Bleed Iowa Taxpayers
CIETC's bills to Wilson's firm now total $267,655!It appears CIETC has changed its name to the Regional Workforce Investment Alliance. What's the difference? Anyone can call poop by a different name, but it still looks like it, stinks like it, and still comes from the same place and for the same purpose! After a front page spread by the Des Moines Register on Iowa's most famous and controversial gay, we read that in May Wilson wrote a pro-CIETC letter for publication in The Des Moines Register. State officials say Wilson's law firm billed CIETC $1,193 for the time he spent writing and reviewing the letter.Then CIETC asked the state to reimburse the agency for the expense using job-training money. State officials say they refused that request. Wilson has argued that state officials should not make public his law firm's bills to CIETC.Read Article... Iowa Des Moines CIETC Scandal
Sheehan In The News Again 2007-01-04 13:55:00
Cindy Sheehan
Breaks Up PressConference By House Democrats
Iraq war protesters broke up a press conference by House Democrats on Wednesday with chants to bring American troops home from Iraq.
Chanting "de-escalate, investigate, troops home now," the protesters disrupted a briefing aimed at outlining priority goals when Democrats take over the House and Senate on Thursday.
Cindy Sheehan, an anti-war activist and mother of a soldier who died in Iraq, led the group to Capitol Hill to warn Democrats that party activists expect them to end the war in Iraq and confront the White House on a change in Iraq strategy.
"We didn't put you in power to work with the people that have been murdering hundreds of thousands of people since they have been in power," Sheehan said. "We put you in power to be opposition to them finally and we're the ones who put them in power."
Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., cut the press conference short when protests drowned out his voice through a dozen microphone Read more:Again
CIETC Thought To Have Misspent More Money 2007-01-05 14:05:00
Keep Counting The Taxpayer's Green
$$$ It Ain't Totaled Yet $$$
The Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium appears to have misspent $269,900 more in taxpayer money than previously reported, state officials now say.
The money was supposed to be used to help disadvantaged youth in central Iowa find and retain jobs, but the Des Moines job-training agency allegedly spent the money instead on salaries for CIETC staff.
The latest allegation involves roughly $626,000 of federal funding the state awarded to CIETC last year to help disadvantaged youth. CIETC subcontracted the work to a Des Moines nonprofit agency called Iowa Comprehensive Human Services.
Until recently, the state had been saying that CIETC had misspent $1.5 million in public money on salaries and bonuses. But state officials notified CIETC on Wednesday that an additional $269,932 is now being questioned.
That means CIETC's potential liability now stands at almost $1.8 million.
Read Article...
Read more:Money
Another Alternative - Amniotic Stem Cells 2007-01-08 13:31:00
Why Don't People Listen?No Need For Unethical Stem Cell Research
Researchers have found stem cells in human amniotic fluid that appear to have many of the key benefits of embryonic stem cells while avoiding their knottiest ethical, medical and logistical drawbacks, according to a study published Sunday.
The stem cells--easy to harvest from the fluid from amniocentesis tests given to pregnant women--were able to transform into new bone, heart muscle, blood vessels, fat, nerve and liver tissues, the study said.
"So far, we've been successful with every cell type we've attempted to produce from these stem cells," said Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. He is senior author of the report published online by the journal Nature Biotechnology.
The finding points to an avenue of research that sidesteps the hurdles facing embryonic stem cell research, which has been stymied by moral Read more:Alternative
On U.S. Military Action In Somalia 2007-01-10 13:40:00
What Will Be The Cost?
Somalia
n Transitional PresidentSays U.S. Was In The Right
After the United States launched air strikes on suspected al Qaeda fighters in Somalia, experts debated to what extent the United States should get involved militarily in the anarchic country embroiled in a years-long civil war.
"Nothing you do militarily comes without a political cost," said Anthony Cordesman, an expert on terrorism and the U.S. military at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "But if you don't act because of the risk of hostile political perception, you're going to create a far worse future."
Other experts questioned whether the priority for the United States in Somalia right now should be trying to hunt down suspected terrorists
Defending the air strikes, President Abdullahi Yusuf, head of Somalia's transitional government, told journalists in Mogadishu Tuesday that the United States "has a right to bombard terrorist suspects who attacked its emb Read more:Action
, Military
US At War In Somalia 2007-01-09 13:45:00 Now Fighting Islamic FightersOn African ContinentAn official and a witness say there have been at least two US airstrikes on different locations against terror targets in Somalia
.And Somalia's president says the United States has the right to carry out airstrikes against al-Qaida suspects in his country.Officials say the targets were al-Qaida figures wanted for the bombings of two US embassies in Africa in 1998, killing more than 250 people.A Somali government spokesman says there were "a lot" of casualties but exact numbers aren't known. He says most of the victims were Islamic fighters. But witnesses say at least four civilians were killed. One man told The Associated Press that his four-year-old son was among them.Read Article... Africa War Terrorism Islam
Another Front For The War On Terror - Somalia 2007-01-11 14:00:00
War On Terror
More Than Iraq
While politics are played concerning Iraq, another terror front seems to be ignored. This emergin terror front is in Somalia
:
U.S. special operations forces are in Somalia hunting suspected al-Qaida fighters, but Pentagon officials dismissed the idea they are planning to send any large number of ground troops to the African nation.
U.S. and Somali officials said yesterday a small American team has been providing military advice to Ethiopian and Somali forces on the ground. The officials provided little detail and spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
The U.S. forces entered Somalia with Ethiopian forces late last month when Ethiopians launched their attack against the Islamic movement said to be sheltering al-Qaida figures, one of the officials said.
The small teams of special operations forces serving as liaison officers, advisers and trainers are a different matter, the officials said. They declined t Read more:Front
Greater Love Hath No Man... 2007-01-12 13:41:00
From Reuters:
Tears run from the eyes of U.S. President George W. Bush during a ceremony in honor of Medal of Honor winner Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham in the East room of the White House in Washington, January 11, 2007. Cpl. Dunham was killed when he jumped on a grenade to save fellow members of his Marine patrol while serving in Iraq.
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War
Iraq
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