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.
Steve Schmidt, the senior campaign strategist for Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid, and Meghan McCain, the candidate’s daughter, have begun calling for their party to drop their opposition to same-sex marriage.
Both are scheduled to address the Log Cabin Republican convention this weekend in Washington, D.C.
Schmidt, according to a transcript of his speech attained by CNN, says becoming more accepting of same-sex marriage is critical for the party to remain relevant. He also criticizes opposition to same-sex marriage on moral grounds.
Schmidt likens the fight for gay rights to civil rights and women’s rights, and he admonishes conservatives who argue for the protection of the unborn as a God-given right, but against protections for same-sex couples.
“It cannot be argued that marriage between people of the same sex is un American or threatens the rights of others,” he says in the speech. “On the contrary, it seems to me that denying two consenting adults of the same sex the right to form a lawful union that is protected and respected by the state denies them two of the most basic natural rights affirmed in the preamble of our Declaration of Independence — liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
“That, I believe, gives the argument of same sex marriage proponents its moral force,” Schmidt will say.
Meghan McCain, in a column written for the online news site The Daily Beast, called herself a “pro-life, pro-gay marriage Republican.”
I believe life begins at conception and I believe that people who fall in love should have the option to get married. Lest we forget, our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, grants the same rights to everyone in this country—“All men are created equal.” If you think certain rights should not apply to certain people, then you are saying those people are not equal. People may always have a difference of opinion on certain lifestyles, but championing a position that wants to treat people unequally isn’t just un-Republican. At its fundamental core, it’s un-American.
In Iowa, a state McCain lost by nine percentage points to President Barack Obama, recent polling by the University of Iowa shows two-thirds of Iowans support some sort of recognition of same-sex relationships, either civil unions or marriage. When only voters younger than 30 are polled, that total rises to nearly 75 percent.
County recorders are to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 10 days.
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