Much attention has been paid to the Iowa Lottery TouchPlay program that many legislators feel to be an end-run around state gambling laws and how slot-like the machines are; and with Gov. Tom Vilsack asking Lottery CEO Ed Stanek to issue a moratorium on machines not already ordered, the next two months will decide the future of the hot-button program. A top Des Moines business leader told us it is "clash of the titans time," as heavyweights Gary Kirke and Kum & Go founder Bill Krause duke it out to see who has more pull at the statehouse. Kirke is opening a casino in Emmetsburg that will have some 500 slot machines, while Krause is already said to have some 2,500 TouchPlay machines that Kirke and many others think are unregulated slot machines. "Gary and Bill have, in the past, contributed to many of the same political war chests," our source said, "so it should make for an interesting beef." When we asked a top legislator where early sentiment stood he said, "I think it will end up being pretty tough on the Lottery's deal." Lawmakers feel as if they got a fast one pulled on them and (the machines) could get pulled entirely because they are being sniped at from every side. "But in the end," our source said. "I'm guessing you are going to see tough regulations stipulating that the machines have to be more than roped off - actually secluded - with video surveillance. It will be tough on convenience stores to be in compliance."

Chet Culver announced last week that he has raised some $1.14 million, and we're hearing chief rival Mike Blouin will announce he has a little more than half that. Not bad in a crowded field, but both still pale mightily in comparison to the $2 million Republican Jim Nussle announced last month. And while Democrats are sweating Nussle's money and hoping Republican Bob Vander Plaats can at least make his race with Nussle interesting, we have learned that more than the governor's office is at stake with Nussle's big-money connections. A top Republican said that not only has Nussle raised more money than all the Democratic candidates combined, but Nussle has also been telling top party people that he wants a governing majority in the Iowa Legislature when he "takes back Terrace Hill." To do this, we've heard Nussle has guaranteed that he is going to find $1 million more strictly for legislative and executive council races. "Democrats are going to have to rely on a lot of national money if they hope to get back the governor's office, because they're obviously divided and are going to have to spend a ton down the stretch just to settle on a candidate. That hurts the smaller races. Add a million dollars to Republican legislative war chests and that spreads them really thin," our source said. When we asked this individual whether there was any truth to Vander Plaats' opting out of the race to run for Secretary of State so that Nussle could concentrate on next November, our source said, "It doesn't really matter."

It appears the Des Moines Register Editorial Board can dish it out but cannot take it. Letters written to the paper are edited for "length, clarity and accuracy," but a few unhappy readers have forwarded their original letters to the daily along with the printed version to Cityview. And while we take pride in printing every letter (good or bad), the Register seems somewhat sensitive to being criticized - so much so that it has gone beyond its stated mission. Here's an example from Des Moines attorney Matt Duncan with the edited out parts in italics. "Regarding the lead editorial of Dec. 20, 2005, ("King George went too far: No more spying") the editors are entitled to their collective opinion, but not their misrepresentation of the facts. The editorial asserts with respect to the recent disclosure of spying by the NSA without having obtained search warrants and the President's assertion that he was entitled to do so by dint of the Constitution is a "monarchical conception of the presidency [that] contradicts 200 years of American history." Maybe the editors meant 200 years literally since it was after 1976 that President Carter signed an executive order stating: "Attorney General is authorized to approve electronic surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information without a court order." Similarly, President Clinton signed such an order and his Deputy Attorney General stated that Clinton's administration believes the president "has inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches for foreign intelligence purposes." Perhaps the editors do not keep up on current events. For if they performed just a little research they would have found legal precedent from the court which the editors claim the President should have consulted. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review held: "All the... courts to have decided the issue held that the president did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence... We take for granted that the president does have that authority." So are the Register's editors right? Not on the current state of the law and prior practices of past presidents. The people of Iowa deserve more from the paper that Iowa depends upon."

And lastly, speaking of the Register, new editor Carolyn Washburn has eliminated locally written movie reviews from the newspaper, sending Jeff Bruner, who was getting quite a following, back to the editing desk. Meanwhile, staffers are still puzzling over one of Washburn's first edicts: asking staffers to bake and bring in cookies.CV

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