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.
Iowa Independent has been covering the ongoing White House debate over Iran. Up until now, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who had argued for diplomacy, had won the president's ear. But now the Guardian reports that Vice President Dick Cheney, who supports military action against Iran, has won the day, at least for now:
The balance in the internal White House debate over Iran has shifted back in favour of military action before President George Bush leaves office in 18 months, the Guardian has learned.
The shift follows an internal review involving the White House, the Pentagon and the state department over the last month. Although the Bush administration is in deep trouble over Iraq, it remains focused on Iran. A well-placed source in Washington said: "Bush is not going to leave office with Iran still in limbo."
This is quite alarming news. Though Cheney's political capital has diminished, he still seems to be the top dog in this administration. The Guardian also noted that according to the source, Bush and Cheney "did not trust any potential successors in the White House, Republican or Democratic, to deal with Iran decisively." As Bush has taken on the role of lame duck, he has been freed from all political constraints. An overwhelming majority of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing, but he is not running for re-election and he thinks history will vindicate him. This places the United States in a precarious position until January 2009. Let's hope that the grownups in the administration — if there are any left, or were to begin with — take the reins of U.S. foreign policy. Otherwise, and I don't mean to be melodramatic, I fear for the world.
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