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.
Earlier this month, The Iowa Family Policy Center made headlines when it publicly claimed that homosexual activity was “more dangerous for individuals who engage in it than is smoking,” and because of this, state lawmakers need to pass a constitutional amendment overturning last year’s Iowa Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
The influential Christian group doubled down on its statement last week by repeating the claim in a blog post entitled, “What’s Worse — Smoking or Sodomy?” Accompanying the post is a photo of U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., smoking a cigarette. Frank is openly gay.
The group’s president, Chuck Hurley, released a statement March 12 in response to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that said gay men have higher rates of HIV and syphilis than the general population. Hurley looked at the numbers and concluded that if the state allows gay men to get married they are “sanctioning self destructive behavior.”
Critics were quick to point out that marriage and promiscuous sex are two very different things. And despite the fact that the CDC made it clear in its report that “factors such as homophobia and stigma” can prevent gay men from seeking prevention, testing and treatment services, Hurley maintained that legalized same-sex marriage would “lead to dramatically higher rates of HIV and syphilis in Iowa.”
In the latest blog post, IFPC addresses the criticism as “pro-homosexual groups like One Iowa [deciding] to attack the messenger rather than to address the content of the message.”
So, the question remains – Why has Iowa has outlawed smoking in public, and now texting while driving, in an effort to improve public health and safety while continuing to sanction self destructive sexual behavior? What’s worse, smoking or sodomy? According to the numbers, it’s not even close.
Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of marriage equality in Iowa. Hurley is encouraging Christians to “attend pro-family events scheduled for every city in Iowa” in order to convince lawmakers to “punish wicked behavior.“
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