Great rant Attaturk, thanks.

Hi Attaturk. How’s the weather and the coffee in Des Moines?

I don’t get it. What’s the media doing in Iowa?

Is there something important happening there?

Ha! time to start putting a face or two to some GOP nightmares. I’m hoping the GOP leads off with an “oh no he or she is to Left for the country attack”.
To which we reply Iowa is a Mostly white, well educated, midwestern state, but if you look at the number of people total who voted Dem vs GOP we got you beat six ways to Sunday.
I wonder how long it will be before the GOP can beat us in total votes in the primaries in just one state? Bwahahaha!
(Evil Laughs are a great way to start your morning right their good for the cardiovascular system):)

“What I was going to say,” said the Dodo, in an offended tone, “was that the best thing to get us dry would be a Caucus-race.”

“What is a Caucus-race?” said Alice: not that she much wanted to know, but the Dodo paused as if it thought that somebody ought to speak, and no one else seemed inclined to say anything.

“Why,” said the Dodo, “the best way to explain it is to do it.” (And, as you might like to try the same thing yourself some winter-day, I will tell you how the Dodo managed it.)

First it marked out a race-course in a sort of circle (”the exact shape doesn’t matter,” it said) and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no “One, two, three, and away!”, but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However, when they had been running half an hour or so, the Dodo suddenly called out “The race is over!”, and they all crowded around it, panting and asking “But who has won?”

This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of thought, and it sat for a long time with one finger pressed upon its forehead (the position in which you usually see Shakespeare in the pictures of him) while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo said “Everybody has won, and all must have prizes.”

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reade.....eader-link

Ethanol production uses more energy than it produces which means the current tax breaks for ethanol are a waste of money. Now then what if we were to build some wind farms and solar plants in Iowa so that the energy is free.
Once the cost of building the farms is paid for the power is free.
Plus they are really starting to do some cool things with electric farm tractors, I wonder how much gas/diseal America could save if we put some serious tax breaks for electric tractors?
I wonder how much the cost of food would drop if Farmers didn’t have to pay for fuel for their tractors?
http://www.coate.org/jim/ev/tractors/index.html

Is it true Iowan’s nice goopers would really game the Democratic caucuses

” Electric farm tractors are a much better idea than trying to run them on biofuels because biofuels require about ten acres of a biofuels crop to produce enough diesel fuel to run a typical farm tractor, such as those below, for a year.

The owners of the two tractors below have gone a step further and have solar-powered them. That means their tractors will run for years with absolutely no fuel expense of any kind, and produce zero pollution. In addition, these farmer won’t have to be immersed in the very noisy and poisonous area of a typical diesel-powered tractor where they would be forced to breathe diesel fumes all day long.”

http://www.evmaine.org/html/farm_tractors.html

Ten acres just to run the tractor! Why thats insane! Solar Tractors people! doesn’t anyone in Congress actually study the issues or do they just listen to what the lobbyists tell them?
Ban the lobbyists now! We need ideas to be researched by experts whose opinions are not bought and paid for! The system is broken!
Oh wait I just had a better idea than the ethanol lobby, does that mean I should get paid like a lobbyist? No but it does say something when even Lefties writing in the Comments have better ideas than Washington Lobbyists Hacks!
Are all Lobbyists hired straight off of the small school bus?

Yes but will they this time I don’t know.

Good morning Attaturk and firepups. Happy Caucus Day 2008. Have never been to Des Moines, but I did visit Ames once. Seemed like too nice a place to have a plague of MSM reporters visited on it. Glad for all you Iowegians that it’s finally over.

msgop’s morning jerks the bickersons Mika and Joe Scaborough claim the goopers are all going for obama…of course they works for the Hillary Hating network that thinks it’s only historic if Obama wins but the first woman is just a big yawn or not a good idea.

and they never mention Edwards at all…or any other candidate.

they also like hucksterbee

What if we ban factory farms and reward farmers for the quality of food produced rather than the quantity? “Mr Maldonado has taken the art of creating the finest ham to new heights. His Iberian pigs are reared as if they were pets, living wild for two years, with individual swineherds to look after them as they roam the countryside, nourished on a diet of acorns to perfect the taste of the ham.”

“But Mr Maldonado’s stroke of genius, foodies insist, is to slaughter the pigs then cure the meat for two years – twice the normal period. The elaborate process produces a delicacy which, apparently, justifies the astronomic price.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t.....419227.ece

Acorns he feeds them acorns which grow wild and are free but he is charging “The 2006 Alba Quercus Reserve has a starting price of £1,000 for a whole leg, or £80 per lb. “
Plus just imagine how many acres of Oak trees we can keep from getting chopped if we just let pigs run wild and of course no soil erosion. If the forest is big enough pig waste should decompose naturally if you move the pigs around the forest.

I think that they are afraid of Obama and are trying to dismiss the impact of his potential win in Iowa. Plus they get to diss Hilary at the same time which lets face it the GOP hates strong women.
They have to ignore Edwards though cause if he wins then America is not quite the country the beltway bubble heads believe it to be.
So if Edwards wins the GOP spin should be especially humorous because the GOPers will not be able to accept the idea that yes America really wants to end the war and we all want healthcare with minimal insurance company hassle even if it means gasp price controls!

Happy Caucus Morning!

here’s what’s on CSPAN this morning

WASHINGTON JOURNAL
On Our Program . . .
Washington Journal is LIVE from Des Moines, Iowa. Our guest, Dan Gearino, a political reporter for Lee Enterprises Newspapers gives us the latest information on the presidential campaign in Iowa. Mr. Gearino also discusses recent campaign developments & the latest polls, campaign ads and candidate schedules.

7am - Newspaper Articles & Viewer Calls
7:30am - Dan Gearino, Lee Enterprises Newspapers, Political Reporter
8am - Larry Scanlon, AFSCME, Nat’l Political Dir.
8:30am - Janet Metcalf, Iowa Republican Party, Precinct Caucus Leader
9am - Sujatha Jahagirdar, US PIRG New Voters Project, Program Dir. - New Voters Project

we don’t need no special hams from spain

we got special hams from iowa

http://www.laquercia.us/

Attaturk,
The NYT talks about candidates falling victim to last 24 hour sleep deprivation and making gaffs. And if the MSM did the same,more from knowledge deprivation. I am trying to imagine an entire Onion--like tabloid filled with seemingly false but actually true articles about MSM antics. Surely worth an old college try, which is how the Onion started.

As for gaming the Caucuses, how would that work on the personal level? Do people in precincts know each other well enough to recognize when a well known member of party X who has been support Y of the X shows up at the Z caucus?

And generally, have there been dirty tricks played in Iowa, by the parties, not the MSM, about whom the question need not be asked.

Anyway, it’s windchill -10 in the BlueBayState, so we share that much with you.
That’ it for the day. May sneak a peek later. G’morning all.

looks like thompson is history allready

DES MOINES, Iowa – Several Republican officials close to Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign said they expect the candidate will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in Thursday’s Iowa caucus.

Thompson’s campaign, which last spring and summer was generating fevered anticipation in the media and with some Republican activists, has never ignited nationally, and there are no signs of a late spark happening here in Iowa, where even a third-place finish is far from assured.

Good morning, pups. As if freezing to death weren’t enough, it’s TOMC and Cohen today. Hmmph. TOMC advises us to ignore whatever happens in Iowa. The identity of the next leader of the most powerful nation in the world is not supposed to depend on the opinion of one small state. I guess it’s supposed to depend on what serious thinkers like her have to teach us about the candidates… Crap. Mr. Cohen natters on about something or other almost equally incoherent. He says, in a thing called “Brazilian Lessons for 2008,” that no new president is going to deliver a tropical United States, which is more or less what Brazil is, or cabinet members who recommend sex for airport blues.

http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/

The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and I’ve got hot sticky buns which somehow always seem to make a bad day better. I’m late, late, late. And it’s cold, cold, cold. Have a good day. Fingers crossed for Edwards in this house…

g’mornin lady marion *bows at the waiste*

The identity of the next leader of the most powerful nation in the world is not supposed to depend on the opinion of one small state.

what’s important in the first couple of primaries is not who wins it’s who makes unpredicted positive movement

that would be edwards and mccain

looks to me like mccain is gonna be the man we run against and I think mccain is their best shot, huck has no shot and mitt has no shot, the ghoul would have had a shot if he had a shot, but he has no shot so he’s not gonna get a shot

I am pulling for edwards, I would rather hillary then obama

The point is all meat should be like this! High school hot lunch and the stuff they give you in the county jail well it should be a crime to serve that stuff to animals let alone people! (where was Peta when my intestines were emptying like I drank Dranio)
Plus more farmers could make a better living if they sold fewer high end pork, especially if the feed is free.
I would rather have tax breaks so farmers could produce stuff I want to eat rather than produce corn syrup, and low quality mass produced food.

If it’s McCain perhaps he’s display some of his temper fits during the “regular” campaign season…

Booman has a good pot on why lefty blogs go for Edwards. Has to do with method: We fight & so does Edwards.
http://www.boomantribune.com/s.....4649/23794

TOMAC Must think Edwards is going to win:)

Are you familiar with groups like Food Matters
in my area they are working to change school food policy
it is a long slow slog because people are clueless but they are making progess

I was very sorry there was not more discussion of the new Ag bill

I would rather have tax breaks so farmers could produce stuff I want to eat rather than produce corn syrup, and low quality mass produced food.

Now there’s a thought that only a liberal fascist could love! Well, and me, and pretty much anyone with a brain…

Oh joy. Israel is launching massive airstrikes in Gaza, instantly annointing all the dead as terrorists, while an Israeli tank in the West Bank just blew up a house, killing two women. Well, you know, you’ll never get rid of all the terrorists until you’ve first destroyed the wombs that give birth to them.

Thank goodness, then, that there’s no need for any of our Democratic candidates, or non-candidates, or any of our respected media spokesmodels to use their bully microphones to remind us that collective punishment is a war crime. Because their faith in the pinpoint accuracy of Israel’s evildoer-seeking radar is exceeded only by Mike Huckabee’s conviction that the Lord Jesus currently sports an “I Like Huck” button nailed to his chest.

mMmmm mmm
thanks for the sticky buns for Caucus Morning :)

pork, especially if the feed is free.
I would rather have tax breaks so farmers could produce stuff I want to eat rather than produce corn syrup, and low quality mass produced food.

corn syrup should be made illegal, sugar or go out of bussiness I say

as far as “tax breaks”, let’s start calling these “investments”

when we raise taxes on the wealthy let’s start calling those “claiming the dividends from investments”

or

“reclaiming assets given to friends of corrupt officials”

g’mornin eCAH!

*waves*

*waving back on you*

Then bring it up here on the early morning threads. We all need new topics to discuss to get our brains running in the morning. I like the idea of changing food policy. In college I knew a few people who only ate cereal in the dorms because the food made them sick and no they were not all women looking to lose weight.

Good morning! The Dog & Pony Show is about to begin. Should be a very interesting day for sure.

and g’morning to ALL caucus breathing firedogs!

Good Morning, Firepups!

It’s 14° and clear here in central Jersey. Brrrr! But it was always colder and snowier in Iowa, where I lived from age 2 to age 6. I have fond memories of Des Moines. Good travels for all the caucus attenders, and a big fat raspberry to the MSM, who collectively seem unable to provide the kind of reporting that American voters need.

I’ve got hot coffee and tea, and more fresh bagels this morning. Help yourselves.

Work for peace, every day!

I like the idea of changing food policy too.
It is a complicated and interesting area –and has lots of unintended consequences.

University of California at Davis is currently doing a study to try an quantify some of the issue involved in food choices.

I was very sorry there was not more discussion of the new Ag bill

I don’t think any representative ever wants to have an open discussion on the farm bill

Good morning! The Dog & Pony Show is about to begin. Should be a very interesting day for sure.

Shouldn’t that be The Dodge and Phoney Show?

sorry, can’t remember who said that first

I’d gladly put up with traditional media if I had a chance that my primary vote would matter, or get a chance to question a potential candidate face to face.

elliots here too?

I should have read all the responses to see who to yell g’morning to

anyway;

HI ELLIOT

*waves*

I think every California member of Congress wanted an open discussion of the Farm Bill. We get bubkis from it and are looking for some dramatic changes but Saxby Chambliss would rather give money to cotton farmers than food stand recipients

LOL Yep. That works too! Good morning Elliott. You made my day. ;-)

Got a link on any of this information?

waving to Perris and

Millineryman — I wish I had a primary vote that counted, too.

Maybe the Cotton farmers should sell high end pork. I think California which sells a lot of fruit and veggies should get money because they make what we should eat. Provided that the food is not canned or processed.

I wish I could claim credit for that, actually I wish I could credit the one who originated the phrase. :)

Does anyone know when we can expect results from the voting today?

and yet fresh vegetables get nothing in the way of tax money

another thing that bothers me is labeling for country of origin
I want to know if my frozen box of spinach distributed by an American company but packed in China

I buy nothing labled from China

Does everyone feel that today’s decision by Iowans will reflect who will be on the ballot this year? I’m not so sure of it. I think each caucus is going to be a madhouse.

The China question is of concern even the GOP does not want to defend free enterprise and China’s food quality problems. We need to remeber this the next time a GOPer talks about government regulations stifling business and free enterprise.

the caucus start around 6pm central time
and the results should start coming in about an hour and half later

aHA! here it is, the h/t is for reader dude

I’m expecting a spate of “Not that I recall.” and “I don’t think that I knew anything about that.”, in the continuing saga of dodge and phony shows with members of the Bush Administration. (H/T to reader dude.)

Christy back in June

my bold

Yes Iowa is first a third place win by Hilary means a week of Tweety laughing about is it over for Hilary. A win by Obama means we have to be ready for Karl to pull the race card.
An Edwards win means the GOP will freak.
A win in Iowa and New Hampshire means the race might be over.

I’m expecting Gonzo to be very sick and be unable to testify.

It’s going to be an interesting day! I’ll be watching the Tweety Bird Forehead for vein popping to give me a clue as to how things are going. ;-)

Thanks Katharine for the info.

Tried to buy some fresh rabbit at an upscale market in a major university town. The only thing available was frozen rabbit from China. I passed.

Iowa is the punxsutawney phil of presidential politics. We live in a closed society, clearly.

Public financing of elections is the only solution to America’s antiquated, convulted system of selecting presidential candidates. As is, it’s too easily gamed by a corrupt media and moneyed interests.

Best thing about tonight? Romney will have spent over $50 mil to place second to Huckabee. Absolutely delicious.

Yep. Shuster is the only one who will point out that Edwards is a contender.

Morning,

I’ve participated in caucuses at the local level. They are not indicative of general votes. The intense media scutiny is more to affirm the often subtle “instillments” generated by the media on the population.

C-Span a tax exempt public service should become the mechanism by which politicians get their messages across to the general population. The vast fortunes wasted to get a “message across,” like the accumulative cost of energy over the decades has been wasted and should have been better applied and utilized. $100.00 dollar oil, sucking the life out of America, Pakistan w/nukes, war war and more war, lack of aherence to constitutional law, FISA illegalities, foriegn leaders murdered and a caucus in Iowa is going to determine the outcome of the election.

Nonesense, however I sure hope whatever the outcome, it sends a clear message to the status quo that independant minded Americans are disgusted…..

Go Edwards, go Dodd and most of all good luck to progressive Iowans!

If you’ve driven Interstate 80 in the past 7 years or so, you would be aware of the massive wind farms one can see from the highway. While I have no statistics, it is not hard to extrapolate that there are likely to be wind farms across Iowa that one cannot see from the highway. Prairie states are sprouting wind turbines like the suburbs sprout strip malls. My sister’s ambition, in yet another midwest state, is to take the family farm off the grid. It’s not like folks out here don’t think about and take action on this stuff. Where the hell do you think soy diesel came from, after all?

Good lord, and all this time I thought I was the only Iowegian who blogged!

Dunno why I wasn’t able to figure that out from your blogging name….

http://norwegianity.com