Winners

Despite increased opposition to President George W. Bush’s war strategy, it appears as though the commander in chief still has some clout when last week he was able to get the Democratic-controlled Congress to reluctantly provide $95 billion to support the Iraq and Afghanistan wars without the troop withdrawal timeline that drew his veto and the scorn of Democrats earlier this spring. After getting the money, Bush went on to say that August could prove to be a bloody month for U.S. troops in Baghdad. In the meantime, Democrat lawmakers who oppose Bush’s policies promise to continue to fight for an end to the war. So far, however, their promises to voters haven’t netted any results leaving those who supported them last November wondering if their votes will effect any real change in policy.

On the surface it looks good, but time will tell whether or not Gov. Chet Culver did the right thing in signing legislation last week allocating $100 million for increasing the research and production of renewable fuel through the new Office of Energy Independence. We’re in favor of weaning Iowans from foreign oil dependency by 2025 as the bill proposes, exploring alternative fuel options like wind power and ethanol and reducing greenhouse gases. The Power Fund goes before the Legislature later this year and is expected to be in place next summer. Let’s hope lawmakers make the most of our tax dollars and consider all points of view — not just big business — when it comes to creating and using smart, efficient, alternative fuels.

Waukee supporters of Project Destiny claimed a small victory last week when the Waukee City Council approved a measure to give at least 30 percent of its money from a proposed 1-cent local option sales tax increase to the construction of a 200-acre recreational sports complex. Many Waukee residents have been pinning for such a complex in recent years. Whether their votes on July 10 will be enough to help approve Project Destiny is another story.

Losers

We Iowan’s aren’t as naïve as pundits from the coasts would like to believe. We realize that once the 2008 Iowa Caucus is over, candidates will leave town without looking back. But in the meantime, if they want our votes, our dollars and our sound bites, the least they can do is treat us and our first-in-the-nation caucus with some respect. Case in point, a pair of New York City candidates nearly blew it with Iowans last week when they dismissed us as irrelevant hayseeds. For starters, Republican presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani committed the classic blunder during an appearance on “Late Night with David Letterman.” When asked by Letterman about his experience on the campaign trail in Iowa, Giuliani produced a photo of him feeding a cow, then followed with the predictable, stereotypical banter that continues to damage our state’s image with the rest of the country. A few days later, Sen. Hillary Clinton’s deputy campaign manager Mike Henry urged Clinton in a secret memo that was later revealed to the media not to campaign in Iowa for fear it would siphon away resources that should be used in other states. [Some say the memo was leaked to the media as a way to get Clinton some much-needed press after she took a beating in the straw poll.] Wisely, the former First Lady spent the next few days doing damage control assuring Iowans the state deserved her attention.

Iowa State University’s lawsuit against Monsanto for patent infringement on ISU developed low-fat soy beans continued a tradition of Dow Chemical getting others to do their dirty work of fighting Monsanto for control of rights to the dominant commodity seed stocks. Dow’s subsidiary Pioneer owns the rights to everything developed at ISU soy labs. They should be suing Monsanto, not ISU. But there isn’t a jury that cares whether one corporate giant is ripping off another corporate giant. So, ISU and the sympathetic professor who developed the seed strain in question stepped in. Iowa State is a crass example of the private sector getting the public sector to carry its water.  

Stealing is one thing. Stealing from children is another. Last week, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department charged 30-year-old Jason Michael VanNevel of Iowa City with second-degree theft for allegedly stealing more than $9,000 from an Eastern Iowa Little League baseball program. VanNevel allegedly made 115 ATM withdrawals from the program’s account and used the money to pay for gasoline, dinners and his monthly satellite television bill. VanNevel faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $7,500. Here’s hoping the judge has a bean-ball mentality when it comes to sentencing. CV

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