Posted July 03, 2013in Political Mercury
Mixed in with the blonde Bond Girls and gotcha gadgets, umbrella guns and lethal cigarette lighter sneakiness, The International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. features a display with a cyanide capsule, the quick out for spooks pulled in from the cold to the heat of interrogation. Snap off the end
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Posted June 26, 2013in Political Mercury
Concerned his party may be abandoning core principles in a rush to immigration reform, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, organized a “press conference” outside the nation’s capitol last Wednesday to protest what he called a push to amnesty for millions of people living in America without proper papers. About a
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Posted June 19, 2013in Political Mercury
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, says that most crucial of balances in democracy is now tilted too much to security and away from Americans’ civil liberties. Harkin spoke with Cityview and other media on a conference call Thursday, a day after a high-profile Senate hearing in which the director of
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Posted June 12, 2013in Political Mercury
Let’s play a word-association game. When you hear “governor,” what’s the first word your mind summons? Come on, Democrats, admit it, “Branstad” is likely in the category advertising professionals term “top of mind.” The five-term governor’s name is mentally fused with the office. The Des Moines Register’s recent Iowa Poll
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Posted June 05, 2013in Political Mercury
When Charles Grassley turned 65 — 14 years ago — the veteran U.S. senator started taking notice of the surroundings in nursing homes, watching the residents for more than just their reactions to his campaign and policy points. He really studied them, because, well, he was, using Medicare and the
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Posted May 29, 2013in Political Mercury
(Editor’s Note: This week’s guest Political Mercury column is from Breda, Iowa, native Merle Wilberding who has practiced law for more than 40 years. During the Vietnam War he served four years as a captain in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, representing the U.S. Government in the appeals of courts-marital
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Posted May 22, 2013in Political Mercury
Braley says abortion issue “balances” of rights of mother, baby; King says traditional marriage transfers values, no judgment on gays. Cityview: If a woman wants a child, we call it a baby. If a woman doesn’t want a child, it’s called a fetus. Why should a woman have that power
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Posted May 15, 2013in Political Mercury
Two Republicans who could top the 2016 ticket in Iowa offered similar messages on strategy during a party event Friday night in Cedar Rapids. Former State Rep. Rod Roberts of Carroll, a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate, and a Republican already in that chamber, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, stressed
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Posted May 08, 2013in Featured Story, Political Mercury
Former State Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll, is one of many Iowa Republicans in a political career holding pattern as U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, continues to roll over a decision about a Senate bid. “I think that needle’s just a little over 50-50 right now, just a little over,” King
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Posted May 01, 2013in Featured Story, Political Mercury
National Republicans are struggling with strategies and angles for the party’s relevancy and viability in the 21st century. Enough with the caterwauling over changing racial and family dynamics, this rather sad coveting of the 1950s, goes the trendy reasoning. Scrapbook photos, no matter how long you stare at them, won’t
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