Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
President Barack Obama’s comments on the Islamic center planned to be built a few blocks from the site of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City has again raised the hackles of likely presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty.
On Fox News’ Sean Hannity Show Monday night, Pawlenty claimed Obama is playing the role of “law professor” in his opinion that the center’s organizers have rights under the law to practice their religion on private property: “Our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable,” the president said.
“Well, I think it’s another example of him playing the role of law professor,” Pawlenty said. “This isn’t about the technical, hyper-technical legal issues. This is about basic decency, judgment, respect, and appropriate recognition of the tragedy and crisis that was 9/11.”
“And to suggest this is somehow going to be lawyered up, and we’re gonna hide behind his legal arguments — we can have a great debate about the legal arguments — but it’s not about that. It’s about being sensitive, being respectful, and having good judgment about not putting a mosque within two blocks of Ground Zero. Anybody with common sense can see that.”
Pawlenty concluded by discussing his repeat trips to Iowa. He said he’s trying to help 2010 candidates through his political action committee, and as for his own plans and whether they involve him gunning for Obama’s job, Pawlenty said, “We’ll decide that early next year.”
Pawlenty has consistently performed poorly in early presidential polls; the most survey of Iowa caucus goers had him finishing in a tie with South Dakota’s John Thune, with 1 percent of the vote.
Pawlenty’s earlier comments about the Ground Zero-area Muslim center earned him rebukes from leaders of local and national religious groups and from U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, who highlighted Pawlenty’s White House ambitions. “I know he wants to be president really bad,” he said on Friday, “and I know he’s trying to appeal to the most extreme elements of his party to do that, but I hope he doesn’t want to be president so bad that he’s willing to dishonor the First Amendment and our heritage of religious tolerance.”
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