Tag Archives: Jeff Taylor

War in Ukraine: No easy answers

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CO2 PIPELINES. Rep. J.D. Scholten and I discuss legislation to restrict eminent domain. That conversation starts at the 30-minute mark of this week’s program. Legislation is moving in the Iowa House, and if you’ve got an opinion, now’s a great time to contact your rep and senator.

UKRAINE. There are no easy answers when it comes to ending the war in Ukraine. The predicted “new phase” of the war could even increase the risk of a nuclear exchange. Jeffrey Weiss and I discuss that.

I also ask Jeffrey how seriously we should take the resolution proposed by congressional Republicans to cut off military and financial aid to Ukraine. My own take: not very — though it probably won’t be retracted as was the letter from House Democrats to President Biden last October.

As Jeffrey sees it, there are a couple big-picture issues to keep in mind: “The US is spending close to a trillion dollars for the military-industrial complex and has a permanent war economy. The only people in the world who don’t know this are the people of the United States. Regarding this war specifically, one of the key questions we have to ask is what’s in the best interest of the people of Ukraine.”

MONOPOLIES. J.D. Scholten is tackling a problem that needs a bi-partisan fix. We discuss how Ticketmaster, Smithfield, Major League Baseball, and other corporate monopolies get away with gouging consumers due to weak anti-trust laws. Unless we do something, “the wealthy are going to get more wealthy and they’re leaving the rest of us behind,” says J.D. Continue Reading →

If Iowa Democrats lose in November, blame this

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Why do I think Democrats are headed for another train wreck? Let me take you back to 2006, when I ran for governor. Rural Iowans of all political stripes were fed up with Republicans’ unwillingness to fix the Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) problem. That issue was a key factor in Democrats winning the governor’s office that year and taking control of the Iowa House and Senate.

With a new party in charge, Iowans expected results. Voters gave Democrats four years to fix the CAFO problem. Democrats failed — miserably, in fact, arguably making the problem worse.

Today, the political landscape in Iowa is much the same. Republicans refuse to help rural Iowans threatened by 2,000 miles (yes, 2,000!) of CO2 pipelines. Once again, they’ve handed Democrats a winning issue.

And what does the leadership of the Iowa Democratic Party do? So far, it has refused to take a stand against this property-rights-trampling, public-health-menacing, faux-climate-solution greenwashing scheme. Continue Reading →

Iowa Republicans hand Democrats a golden opportunity

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Republicans just handed Democrats a winning issue: EMINENT DOMAIN! With nearly 2,000 miles of Iowa farmland in the crosshairs of three CO2 pipelines, most rural Iowans are concerned that their land could be taken by force.

The Poobahs of the Iowa Republican Party — Reynolds, Branstad, Grassley, Ernst, Rastetter — are all on board with CO2 pipelines.

What about rank-and-file Republican lawmakers? Hard to say, but it doesn’t look like legislative leaders have the guts to buck the Poobahs. Continue Reading →