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.
At the American Constitution Society blog, Rick Hasen breaks down the possible meanings of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to put a hold on gay marriages in California. He concludes that while it’s hard to read anything into how the Ninth Circuit will ultimately rule on Proposition 8, the decision might increase the chances that the Supreme Court will side with gay-marriage supporters.
The stay decision, Hasen argues, might have been issued for a number of reasons, most obviously to preserve the status quo. That way, if the opinion of Judge Vaughn Walker ends up getting reversed, the state won’t be involved in a whole new round of litigation surrounding the gay marriages that occurred in the intervening period of time.
Had the Ninth Circuit upheld Judge Walker’s denial of a stay, the issue would have fallen into the lap of Justice Kennedy (the Supreme Court Justice who handles emergency appeals from the Ninth Circuit) on an expedited schedule. Observers believe he’s likely the swing vote on Proposition 8’s constitutionality, and an emergency stay request could have brought the issue to him without giving him time for adequate reflection and rumination on the constitutional issues.
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