Cases in point:
1. Bolkcom, others push for car loan rules:
Legislative Democrats including Iowa City Sen. Joe Bolkcom joined with Attorney General Tom Miller Monday in pledging to enact new restrictions on car title loans, which they claim are ``fundamentally unfair'' to consumers.
The Senate has three times approved the restrictions, but they were bottled up in the House, which had been under Republican control.
Bolkcom said he would push the restrictions as part of a larger package dealing with predatory lending practices, such as payday loans.
``For the last decade, Iowa's working families have been targeted by an increasing number of predatory lending schemes,'' said Bolkcom.
The proposal offered by lawmakers and Miller would cap car title loan interest rates at 21 percent...
2. Bye Bye 2000 Foot Law:
Anticipating a more welcoming political climate at the Legislature in a non-election year, opponents of Iowa’s controversial 2,000-foot rule for sex offenders on today rolled out an alternative proposal that they say would better keep children safe.
But as more registered sex offenders quit notifying authorities of their whereabouts, the measure and similar restrictions subsequently passed by local governments last year were roundly criticized as being neither effective nor enforceable.
“There is absolutely no correlation between someone’s residency and reoffending,” said Corwin Ritchie, executive director of the Iowa County Attorneys Association, which supports the measure.
Other groups that helped draft the alternative proposal are the Iowa State Sheriffs’ and Deputies’ Association, Prevent Child Abuse Iowa and The Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
If we repeal it, and correct me if I'm wrong, we'd be the first in the nation to do so...
You knew this was coming:
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2004, said Monday he is planning to run again...
Scary:
"I am not planning to run for president again," Gore said last week, arguing that his focus is raising public awareness about global warming and its dire effects. Then, he added: "I haven't completely ruled it out."
Linn County Auditor goes straight to the voters:
Linn County voters will be voting on who will be county auditor on Feb. 13, the same day they decide the fate of a 1 percent local option sales tax for schools.
Democrat Joel Miller, the mayor of Robins, is the only announced candidate for the auditor's job. He has been endorsed by the Linn County Democratic Party, of which he is the former chairman.
Ripple effect: Dems do get out the vote for a partisan office on sales tax day; how does that play? Money for The Kids, or Regressivity?
Aside: In addition to its other annoying habits, the Gazette has what seems to be a policy of ending every election article with a one sentence paragraph listing the salary of the job, as if the paycheck is the only reason people are running. I hate it almost as much as the mandatory mention - must be on the midterm in Journalism 101 now - of whether or not crash victims were wearing seat belts: "The Volkswagen was crushed to the thickness of a stale tortilla after being run over by a semi, and then burst into flames. (tone of warning) The driver of the VW was not wearing a seat belt."
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