Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween: Amateur Month for Junk Crawlers

Happy Halloween: Amateur Month for Junk Crawlers



A non-political lead today:

The costume raid on second-hand stores extended past Iowa City's downtown. Popular items at Goodwill Stores, 985 Hollywood Blvd., included retro clothes, masks, wigs, and "all types of dresses," manager Mary Ann Garver said.

"October is our biggest month for sales," she added.


I don't do my usual junk crawling in late October; I'm too busy and the stores are too busy.




On to the politics:

The Gazette (useless "E-Edition" only) fuels an Obama in Iowa City? rumor, I'll keep you posted. Nussle launches an All My Base Are Belong To Me tour and Bob Vander Plaats is Halloween scary:

``Everything we hold dear is pushed to the center of the table,'' Vander Plaats said, listing education, the economy, and the ``culture of life'' issues of abortion, stem cell research and same-sex marriages.


The DI looks at the lowest profile election of all: Judicial retention.

Only four judges have failed to win retention since 1962, according to the Office of the Iowa Secretary of State, with the last occurring in 1994.

All 78 judges up for retention earned scores that demonstrated their competence, according to the Bar Association survey, with no judge garnering below a 71 percent rating.


My experience on these: They almost always average 80% yes, 20% no, and a close to 50% under-vote rate (i.e. people leaving them blank).

And the Register looks at all three of Steve King's opponents, which has the effect of reducing Joyce Schulte's stature to the level of the two independents. I remember a high on the ticket race once where the challenger to a very popular incumbent tried to shame the incumbent into debating by staging a forum with a half dozen third party opponents and an empty chair; the whole thing collapsed into a farce that climaxed with one candidate singing "God Bless America" in closing remarks.

Cheryl Brodersen, aunt of a young moman murdered by Israeli bulldozers, gets off the best zinger:

Brodersen opposes the massive U.S. border fence Congress already approved with King's strong support. "The joke in Denison is they are just waiting to see how tall to build the ladder."


Note to Roy Nielsen: Think about primary challenging King in `08...

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