Mon May 06, 2013 at 07:25:00 AM CDT
|
|
In a decision announced on Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for the Iowa Department of Public Health to refuse to list a non-birthing lesbian spouse on a child's birth certificate. Details on this nearly unanimous ruling are after the jump. I was intrigued by how Governor Terry Branstad's three appointees from 2011 handled this case.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 1520 words in story)
|
|
Wed Apr 03, 2013 at 18:35:00 PM CDT
|
|
What's on your mind, Bleeding Heartland readers? Four years ago today, the Iowa Supreme Court announced its unanimous ruling in Varnum v Brien, striking down our state's Defense of Marriage Act. After the jump I've posted some links about that case, marriage equality in general, and today's Iowa Governors Conference on LGBTQ Youth.
This is an open thread: all topics welcome.
The return of Iowa wildflower Wednesday is probably still a couple of weeks away. By the first week of April 2012, many spring wildflowers were already in bloom (far earlier than usual), but even the bloodroot isn't out yet where I live.
|
|
There's More...
:: (4
Comments, 919 words in story)
|
|
Thu Feb 14, 2013 at 10:00:07 AM CST
|
|
The Iowa Senate Ethics committee (unofficial slogan: "See no evil, hear no evil") met yesterday to consider an ethics complaint filed against Republican Senator Kent Sorenson. Five of the six committee members voted to table two serious allegations raised by Peter Waldron, who was a consultant for Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign while Sorenson was the campaign's Iowa chair in 2011.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 675 words in story)
|
|
Thu Jan 17, 2013 at 07:35:00 AM CST
|
|
Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady delivered the annual Condition of the Judiciary speech to Iowa House and Senate members yesterday. As he did in 2011 and again last year, Cady appealed to lawmakers to fund the judiciary at an adequate level. Highlights from his case are below.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 1525 words in story)
|
|
Fri Dec 28, 2012 at 07:35:00 AM CST
|
|
An Iowa Supreme Court ruling announced last week made news around the country. The seven justices unanimously rejected a gender discrimination claim from a plaintiff whose boss had obviously treated her unfairly.
|
|
There's More...
:: (6
Comments, 2381 words in story)
|
|
Fri Nov 09, 2012 at 15:00:00 PM CST
|
|
What surprised you most about the 2012 general election results? Please share your thoughts in this thread. My top five surprises are below.
|
|
There's More...
:: (14
Comments, 702 words in story)
|
|
Thu Nov 08, 2012 at 17:15:00 PM CST
|
|
Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins kept his job Tuesday by a surprisingly large margin of 670,013 votes to 556,782. The percentage of yes and no votes on Wiggins (54.61 percent to 45.39 percent) was a mirror image of the 2010 votes on Chief Justice Marsha Ternus (55 percent no), Justice Michael Streit (54.4 percent no), and Justice David Baker (54.2 percent no). Whereas only ten of Iowa's 99 counties voted to retain three Supreme Court justices in 2010, 36 counties recorded more "yes" than "no" votes this year.
Maps are after the jump, along with some clips on the retention vote. I also list which pro-retention counties produced a plurality of votes for President Barack Obama, which "yes" counties went for Mitt Romney, and which "no Wiggins" counties went for Obama.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 937 words in story)
|
|
Wed Nov 07, 2012 at 07:25:00 AM CST
|
|
Supporters of LGBT equality are celebrating yesterday's votes for same-sex marriage rights in Maine, Maryland, and Washington, as well as Minnesotans rejecting a constitutional amendment designed to restrict marriage rights to heterosexuals.
The election also slammed the door on any prospect of overturning marriage equality in Iowa.
|
|
There's More...
:: (13
Comments, 525 words in story)
|
|
Sun Nov 04, 2012 at 19:20:00 PM CST
|
|
The Des Moines Register's new poll by Selzer and Co is the latest survey to give no clear sign of whether voters will retain Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins on Tuesday.
|
|
There's More...
:: (8
Comments, 1506 words in story)
|
|
Mon Oct 29, 2012 at 06:35:00 AM CDT
|
|
The second "No Wiggins" television commercial hit Iowa television screens on October 26, featuring an "Iowa mom" who happens to be Iowa's new Republican National Committeewoman. The video, transcript, and related news clips are after the jump. Bleeding Heartland covered the first "No Wiggins" ad here.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 1196 words in story)
|
|
Fri Oct 19, 2012 at 17:30:30 PM CDT
|
|
Republican Mitt Romney leads President Barack Obama in Public Policy Polling's latest survey of likely voters in Iowa by 49 percent to 48 percent. For Romney, that's a big improvement since PPP polled Iowa in late September and a much better finding than yesterday's poll from NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist.
PPP's new poll also suggests Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins might not be retained. More details are below.
UPDATE: On October 21, PPP released a different Iowa poll conducted during the same period, which showed Obama leading Romney by 49 percent to 48 percent. I've added excerpts from that polling memo at the end of this post.
|
|
There's More...
:: (3
Comments, 922 words in story)
|
|
Thu Oct 18, 2012 at 08:35:55 AM CDT
|
|
"No Wiggins" campaign materials on display at two churches in Burlington have stirred up a local debate over whether such advocacy is an abuse of tax-exempt status or an exercise of free speech.
|
|
There's More...
:: (2
Comments, 2446 words in story)
|
|
Tue Oct 16, 2012 at 13:05:00 PM CDT
|
|
Last time Bleeding Heartland discussed the Iowa Senate district 30 race, two-term Democratic incumbent Jeff Danielson and his Republican challenger Matt Reisetter had just launched their first television commercials in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. Both candidates have followed up with advertising that I've enclosed after the jump.
I applaud the openness of both campaigns in Senate district 30. Most of the Iowa House and Senate radio and television commercials from last cycle were never uploaded to YouTube, and I expect the same lack of transparency this year.
As for content, Reisetter's third tv ad includes one of the most ludicrous interpretations of an Iowa legislative vote since the infamous "heated sidewalks" of 2010.
|
|
There's More...
:: (2
Comments, 1946 words in story)
|
|
Tue Oct 09, 2012 at 11:46:53 AM CDT
|
|
It's time for another thread to discuss this year's judicial retention elections. Recent links on the campaign are after the jump, along with the first television commercial urging Iowans to vote against retaining Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins.
UPDATE: Progress Iowa cut a pro-retention video featuring "Iowa Nice Guy" Scott Siepker. I've added it at the end of this post.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 3109 words in story)
|
|
Tue Oct 02, 2012 at 12:05:00 PM CDT
|
|
Having exhausted all possible appeals, the city of Des Moines will have to refund tens of millions of dollars collected through "franchise fees" attached to residents' utility bills between 2004 and 2009.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 421 words in story)
|
|
Tue Sep 25, 2012 at 15:25:00 PM CDT
|
|
Just as several Republican presidential candidates got involved in the 2010 campaign against retaining three Iowa Supreme Court justices, two leading GOP contenders for the next presidential race are lending support to the "No Wiggins" campaign in Iowa this week.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 1387 words in story)
|
|
Fri Sep 14, 2012 at 09:50:00 AM CDT
|
|
The first statewide poll on the 2012 judicial retention elections suggests that the four Iowa Supreme Justices who will be on the ballot this November have good chances of being retained. However, the pollster does not distinguish between support for retaining the justices as a group and support for Justice David Wiggins, whom opponents of same-sex marriage rights are trying to defeat.
|
|
There's More...
:: (0
Comments, 802 words in story)
|
|
Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 08:52:50 AM CDT
|
|
Bob Vander Plaats confirmed over the weekend that he will lead the campaign against retaining Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins, who concurred in the 2009 Varnum v Brien decision on civil marriage rights. Earlier this month, Republican Party of Iowa Chair A.J. Spiker called on Iowans to vote against Wiggins as well.
|
|
There's More...
:: (3
Comments, 1798 words in story)
|
|
Tue Jul 31, 2012 at 11:25:00 AM CDT
|
|
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled this month on three cases balancing the public's right to know with an entity's right to keep certain information confidential. In two of the majority rulings, justices found other considerations outweighed the grounds for disclosure, but three justices dissented from each of those decisions.
|
|
There's More...
:: (1
Comments, 2841 words in story)
|
|
Mon May 07, 2012 at 07:26:48 AM CDT
|
|
Vice President Joe Biden appeared to make news on "Meet the Press" yesterday with a clear statement backing full marriage rights for same-sex couples. Obama administration staff immediately tried to deny that Biden had said anything newsworthy.
UPDATE: Added information below about the debate over endorsing marriage equality in the Democratic Party's national platform and the honor three ousted Iowa Supreme Court justices will receive later today.
|
|
There's More...
:: (1
Comments, 1454 words in story)
|
|
|
|
![[Bleeding Heartland Logo]](http://www.bleedingheartland.com/upload/logo.jpg){kind=logo}
