Indefinite Detention On Trial

At the county convention we adopted a platform resolution against indefinite detention. Today a lawsuit on the matter began in NYC. It's reported by Courthouse News and begins:

Overcoming an initially "skeptical" federal judge, opponents of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act - which allows the military to indefinitely detain anyone it suspects "substantially supported" al-Qaida, the Taliban or "associated forces" - brought strong arguments Thursday to a case once believed to be quixotic.

Prominent writers and activists - led by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges - met in court for the first time for a hearing challenging the law, which President Barack Obama signed on New Year's Eve. The bill is also known as the Homeland Battlefield law.

Buried within the 565-page statute, opponents said, is a short paragraph that makes political activists and muckraking journalists susceptible to indefinite military detention for exercising free speech.

Section 1021 (b)(2) allows the military to detain anyone it suspects "substantially supported" al-Qaida, the Taliban or "associated forces," and to keep them detained until "the end of hostilities."

Hedges and others claim those words are so vague they could justify indefinite detention of political dissidents without due process.

As the hearing began, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest , , , ,

You can read the whole story at Courthouse News.

Shaw Gets Quoted Again

Radio Iowa reported on Wednesday:

The Iowa House late this morning passed a wide-ranging education reform plan that would require yearly evaluations for school teachers, a test for graduating high school seniors and an extra hour of class time each day for kids in state-funded preschool programs.

Commenting on the bill, Mason City Democrat Sharon Steckman said:

“Unfortunately our ideas that are research based — smaller class sizes, full support of early literacy, teacher collaboration andprofession development and decisions made at the local level by parents, teachers and administrators — were not accepted,”

Meanwhile our own Tom Shaw was also cited in the news report:

“Let’s get to the root issue here,” Shaw said. “We’ve taught young women it’s o.k. to kill your child and the fathers of those children they have no responsibility for it. It’s a free-for-all out there.”

The bill passed the House 56-43.

Rep. Steve King Suggests States Have A Right To Ban Contraception

Rep. Steve King Suggests States Have A Right To Ban Contraception: . . . ., the House Judiciary Committee held another hearing . . . . , which featured the rantings of Rep. Steve King (R-IA). In a lengthy screed against the Obama administration’s contraception rule, King scoffed at the progress made in women’s rights over the passed 60 years and suggested that [...]/p

Delegates Chosen, Platform Planks Debated

Several candidates for office addressed the Democratic County Convention March 10 in Pocahontas. State Senator Daryl Beall of Fort Dodge led off. He was followed by auditor Margene Bunda, county supervisor Ed Dewey, and supervisor candidate Jeff Ives of Rolfe.

Sheri Williams and Dick Gruber of Pocahontas and John Ryan of Fonda were chosen as delegates to next month's 4th District convention in Storm Lake.

These three platform plank resolutions were approved:

1. We support making health care and health insurance available to all US citizens regardless of ability to pay.
2. We oppose indefinite detention without charges whether military or civilian.
3. We support majority rule in the US House and Senate.

Three other resolutions were defeated (regarding drones, electoral college, and banks that are too big to fail). Seven more resolutions were not taken up by the convention following their approval at caucus in January.

Minnesota Officials Propose Third Way On Voter ID That Prevents Fraud Without Disenfranchising Voters

Minnesota Officials Propose Third Way On Voter ID That Prevents Fraud Without Disenfranchising Voters: pThe debate over voting rights, which sprung up again with force last year, comes down to a simple issue in the end: access versus integrity. Progressives want to ensure that everyone, regardless of race or wealth, has equal access to the ballot box, while conservatives are preoccupied with preventing voter fraud, whatever the cost. This [...]/p

Pocahontas Platform Debate Saturday

You can help build the Iowa Democratic Party platform on Saturday in Pocahontas. Part of the county convention will involve platform resolutions. A dozen resolutions were submitted from two of our January caucus groups. You can propose new ones in writing before the debate begins.

Here are two that are now pending:

We support electing the President by majority of individual votes cast.

We support limits on bank size: no bank should be larger than 1% of GDP.

Assessor to Address County Democrats

UPDATE: Due to a death in her family, Sue Reigelsberger will not attend the county convention as planned.


Pocahontas County Democrats will hear about property taxes from Sue Reigelsberger of Rolfe. She is the deputy county assessor and is about to succeed the retiring Brian DeWall.

Everyone in Des Moines claims to want property tax reform. But what does that mean for the many wind turbines in the county? What about the factories in Laurens or the taxes on Main Street? Will residential taxes go up when commercial taxes are cut? How is the plan of Iowa Democrats different from the Branstad plan?

Reigelsberger will speak to the county convention at the Courthouse on the afternoon of Saturday, March 10. The meeting convenes at 1:30 p.m. The convention will also select delegates to the state convention, approve a platform and elect local officers.

The public is invited. Registered Democrats may get to vote in the convention if their home precinct lacks a full delegation. Delegations were originally selected at the January precinct caucuses--first in the nation!