Republicans vow bipartisanship during 2010 legislative session, as long as they get their way.

Corps of Engineers assurances on the small likelihood another record flood will hit Cedar Rapids during the next 50 years doesn’t seem to be comforting Cedar Rapids.

250,000 Iowans will lose Sinclair stations at midnight unless a deal can be struck.

Political endorsements don’t carry much value in Iowa, unless they do.

Gov. Culver heading to Tempe, Ariz., for the Insight Bowl, and no doubt he’ll once again be paying his own way.

Sholom M. Rubashkin

Rubashkin, who is the 50-year-old son of Agriprocessors founder and president A. Aaron Rubashkin, was convicted of all possible money laundering and mail, wire and bank fraud charges. He was also convicted on 15 out of 20 counts of failing to provide timely pay to livestock auctions and providers.

The verdict followed nearly a month of testimony and evidence in which the government sought to paint Rubashkin as one, if not the, mastermind in a plot to defraud creditors. The defense team, in contrast, chose to portray Rubashkin as inexperienced, naive and unprepared to serve as day-to-day manager for such a large undertaking as the kosher meatpacking plant in Postville.

Following the lengthy reading of the verdict, Rubashkin was taken into federal custody, and his defense attorney, Guy Cook, pledged to appeal. Rubashkin is expected to return to eastern Iowa next week for sentencing and a possible bail hearing pending appeal. He faces a maximum sentence of more than 1,000 years in prison for the guilty verdicts.

An early December trial has been slated for an additional 72 federal immigration-related charges against Rubashkin, and he also faces a trial in state court this spring for possible child labor law violations.

All of the charges stem back to a massive May 12, 2008 immigration raid at the Postville facility. More than 300 immigrant workers detained by federal authorities pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to identity theft within days of their apprehension, and the bulk have been deported after serving brief federal prison sentences. Some immigrant workers, however, continue to live in and around Postville and are expected to be called by the prosecution in the upcoming trial.

The road between the actual raid and the federal trial in Sioux Falls, S.D., was long and has often wound its way through traditionally uncomfortable conversations for Americans regarding immigration, civil rights, religious expression and the composition and worth of charity.

The Rubashkin family, all ultra-orthodox Jews affiliated with the Hasidic Chabad Lubavitch movement, have at times suggested that the charges against them stem not from any alleged illegal activity, but from anti-Semitism. Throughout the investigation, and especially following the initial arrest and jailing of Sholom Rubashkin, many of the Jewish religious faithful, either through their own conscience or through the prodding and help of Chabad, have defended the Rubashkins from wrongdoing and stood as character witnesses for the family’s contributions.

Both inside and outside of Jewish circles, however, the Rubashkins have drawn criticism, many believing that generosity was born of ill-gotten-gains, harvested on the back of an underpaid and often mistreated immigrant workforce. Media reports, which prompted the move of the trials from Iowa to South Dakota, have given supposed victims of child labor and sexual harassment at the Postville plant a voice.

The company known as Agriprocessors fell into bankruptcy last year, and has re-emerged as AgriStar under the new ownership of SHF Industries, a venture of Canadian businessman Hershey Friedman. Heshy Rubaskin, brother to Sholom and son of Aaron, continues to work at the reborn business.

At least six former members of plant management or the human resources department have pleaded guilty in the wake of the 2008 immigration raid:

April 13, 2009 — Elizabeth Billmeyer, 48 and the former human resources manager, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit and one count of knowingly accepting false resident alien cards.

March 19, 2009 — Penny Ann Hanson, 41 and a former human resources employee, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make false statements on immigration documents.

Dec. 10, 2008 — Karina Pilar Freund, 29 and a former human resources employee, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of aiding and abetting a pattern or practice of hiring undocumented aliens.

Oct. 29, 2008 — Laura Althouse, 38 and a former human resources employee, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Aug. 27, 2008 — Martin De La Rosa-Loera, 43 and a former plant supervisor, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the harboring of undocumented aliens.

Aug. 20, 2008 — Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, 35 and a former plant supervisor, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to hire illegal aliens and one count of aiding and abetting the hiring of illegal aliens.

Former plant operations manager Brent Beebe, 51, will soon be tried on immigration-related charges in federal court. Two additional plant managers — Hosam Amara and Zeev Levi — also face criminal charges, but have yet to be apprehended by authorities.

Rubashkin, the former day-to-day executive at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville, recently had his federal trial moved from Iowa to Sioux Falls, S.D. in an effort to mitigate jury tainting due to excessive media coverage. He faces a host of immigration-related and fraud charges that stem from a May 2008 immigration raid at the Agriprocessors plant. On Thursday, a half-page advertisement ran on page 5 of The Des Moines Register that was paid for by “Friends of Sholom Rubashkin” using a Brooklyn, N.Y., address. It was a move which caught the ire of federal prosecutors as well as the judge who agreed to move the trial from Iowa to South Dakota to mitigate pre-trial publicity.

A half-page ad that ran Thursday in The Des Moines Register, linked to members of the Rubashkin family, has not appeared in Sioux Falls media where the trial of Sholom Rubashkin is scheduled to begin this month.

Chief Judge Linda R. Reade, according to The Gazette, said that if such an advertisement ran in the similarly Gannett-owned Sioux Falls newspaper, that she was “going to hit the roof.”

Guy Cook, defense attorney for Rubashkin, told the court that he was not aware of the advertisement and that it didn’t stem from the council of rabbis who are providing defense funding for his client. The address used in the advertisement, however, is also used by Rite Surgical Supplies, a company that has ties to the Rubashkin family. Levi Balkany, a grandson of Agriprocessors founder A. Aaron Rubashkin and nephew of Sholom M. Rubashkin, listed himself as vice president of Rite Surgical Supplies on forms required by the Federal Elections Commission by those who make political contributions.

Levi Balkany is the son of one of Aaron Rubashkin’s daughters and Milton Balkany, a Rabbi who was charged in 2003 with misappropriation of nearly $1 million in federal grant money intended for disabled students at a Jewish school. After Milton Balkany apologized and made restitution, he did not face prosecution. Milton Balkany has also been referred to as the “Brooklyn bundler” for his ability to gather and bundle numerous campaign donations (many from Rubashkin family members) for primarily Republican candidates, in exchange for consideration of issues important for Orthodox Jewish institutions. Part of the federal deal for deferring prosecution on the grant money was that Balkany would be barred from lobbying the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, although federal prosecutors declined to elaborate on why this particular activity was of importance.

Levi Balkany is one of 16 individuals, members of the Chabad Jewish Community in Brooklyn, that were named in December 2008 to “The Committee of Concerned Anash for Pidyon Shevuyim,” a group organized to create a top-notch legal team for Sholom Rubashkin and to mount a donation and public relations campaign on his behalf.

In a press release the committee said that they want “the public to know they are the official group to assist and aid the Rubashkins, endorsed by the family” and that they have “years of experience in dealing with pidyon shevuyim (prisoner of war) cases.”

Although the committee’s efforts have been prominent in Jewish circles, the half-page ad in Iowa is one of the few times the group has sought to sway overall public sentiment regarding the case. Weekday reach of The Des Moines Register into the Sioux Falls area is roughly 3,500 households, according to a company spokesperson.

Judge Reade, citing media accounts that prohibited seating an impartial jury in the case, decided in August to move the upcoming trial from Iowa to South Dakota. At that time, the court warned prosecutors and defense attorneys about tainting the Sioux Falls media prior to the start of the trial, which is scheduled for Oct. 10.

Defense attorneys during a pretrial hearing in Cedar Rapids on Thursday argued that prosecutors had already dismissed the court’s warning by sending out press releases announcing the guilty plea of Mitchel Meltzer, a former chief financial officer at the plant, to numerous press outlets, including those in Sioux Falls. Despite the press releases not being targeted to that specific media market, Judge Reade nonetheless admonished the prosecuting team.

Reporters covering the case in Sioux Falls, according to Reade, will not be allowed any access to immediate story filing through blogs or social networking sites like twitter. Laptops and cellphones will be barred.

The Des Moines Register's historic downtown office building.

The paper reports cuts will come from the U.S. Community Publishing division, which consists of more than 80 local dailies, citing an anonymous source within the company. Jim Hopkins, who follows the company at GannettBlog, reported last month that layoffs were expected to take place July 8 and total 4,500 jobs in the company’s newspaper division. Hopkins now reports that the layoffs will include a mix of newsroom and business positions, and notices will be completed by the end of the month.

Last year, Gannett eliminated more than 4,000 newspaper positions, including more than 100 newsroom positions in Iowa. The Register alone eliminated nearly 70 positions. Since the layoffs, the company has instituted two rounds of weeklong furloughs in hopes of staving off another round of job cuts.

Sources inside The Register’s newsroom said there has been no formal announcment from management regarding layoffs.

Holstein cows (Photo: Wikipedia)

Although their message may have gotten lost in the ‘tea party’ hype, Iowa dairy farmers spent time at the capitol this week to raise awareness of drastically low farm milk prices. During the past year, farmers have seen the price they are paid for milk drop by nearly half, even while retail prices have remained relatively high.

“This has reached a crisis point in rural Iowa,” said Jerry Harvey, a dairy farm producer in the southern portion of the state.

Francis Thicke, an organic dairy farmer who is considering a run for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture as a Democrat, explained that as prices rose for producers, prices also rose in grocery stores. Now that producer prices have fallen, however, retail prices have remained steady.

John Bunting, a New York dairy producer and member of the National Family Farm Coalition commissioned to write a report on the dairy industry earlier this year, concluded that a few “elite players, with little or no governmental oversight, are running the dairy markets.”

…The current financial situation provides an opportunistic moment for key players to unduly depress farm milk price and reap both profits and market power.

Farm milk prices began to fall in late 2008, in spite of data which suggests it should not have happened:

• Nearly as much nonfat dry milk was exported in December 2008 as was exported in December 2007.
• December 2008 imports of milk protein concentrates were massive.
• Imports of casein, another dairy derived protein, also increased in December 2008.
• “Butter and other milkfats” imports increased nearly 60 percent in December 2008 compared with December 2007.
• Cheese imports for December 2008 increased 15 percent over December 2007.
• Commercial disappearance of dairy products increased in December 2008, and, for the 2008 year, increased 2.6 percent according to USDA data.

If, indeed, as most experts believe, too much milk drove farm milk prices down, there is no easy explanation of the dairy exports and imports of December 2008.

The premise of Bunting’s arguments — that a lack of oversight is playing a major role in the dairy crisis — was echoed by Thicke during the local demonstration. Specifically, Thicke questioned why Dairy Farmers of America, billed as a cooperative of farmers, has 12 licenses to import dairy products into the U.S. and how such imports could benefit the organization’s farmer members.

In December 2008, two former Dairy Farmers of America executives and the organization agreed to pay a $12 million civil monetary penalty to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for attempting to manipulate milk futures and exceeding speculative position limits. The Kansas City-based organization is believed to represent more than 18,000 dairy farmers and control between 30 and 40 percent of the commodity milk market.

Dairy farmers at the Iowa rally on April 14 called for a congressional investigation into dairy and commodity price manipulation, passage of a milk marketing improvement act, and enforcement of anti-trust laws.

“We are at a crossroads in agriculture,” said Chris Petersen, president of the Iowa Farmers Union. “We need to decide who will produce our food — farmers or vertically integrated corporations.”

The National Family Farm Coalition has asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to implement the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, which requires the agency to adjust farm milk prices within all federal orders to reflect the price of feeds, availability of supplies and other economic conditions.

Former Iowa Republican Congressman Jim Leach (right) speaks with Cedar Rapids businessman Bill Aossey following a Republicans for Obama event Friday morning.It hasn't necessarily been a good week for Republicans.

Despite a rush of Republican pundits to applaud Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s performance in the vice presidential debate, GOP supporters awoke to polls indicating that most uncommitted voters favored Delaware Sen. Joe Biden’s performance.

Nine-term Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrest told the Washington Post that his own party has “become more narrow, self-serving, more centered around ‘I want, I want, I want’.”

“We’re in this bad place as a country because of the evangelicals, the neocons, the nasty, bitter and mean … very clever ideological groups that use money, technology, fear and bigotry to lead people around,” Gilchrest said. “Voting according to your knowledge and experience — that’s out the window. Competence and prudence? Forget it.”

In Iowa, Republican leaders had the added frustration of watching a man from their side of the political aisle — a man they’d sent to Congress for more than 30 years — host a “Republicans for Obama” event.  Congressman Jim Leach, who served Iowa’s 2nd District until an unexpected 2006 loss to Democratic challenger Dave Loebsack, was introduced at the Obama event by Don Palmer, a Linn County Republican who twice sought election to the Iowa House.

Leach, speaking with Iowa Independent after the event in Cedar Rapids, wasn’t prepared to go quite that far. Leach said that he alone was responsible for the 2006 campaign that ended his career in Congress, but acknowledged that “everyone knows there is a [national] background with which one campaigns.”

“I have to hold myself accountable [for 2006], and would not put that on anyone else,” he said when asked if he felt the climate generated by the current White House administration was partially to blame for his defeat. “In terms of the Republican Party, there have been choices made that are causing the Republican Party to take on a different dimension. There have also been policies made that all governments have to be accountable for.

“Obviously, successful administrations build successful parties while weaker administrations weaken parties. It would be hard to consider this a successful administration at this stage.”

While speaking with those gathered at the event for Obama, the former congressman spoke about his decision to endorse the Democratic nominee for president despite his personal affection for Arizona Sen. John McCain.

“I simply don’t know anyone in the legislature — from either side of the aisle — that isn’t impressed with Barack,” Leach said, adding that Obama has surrounded himself with “good people.” He also said that Obama’s use of “change” — a campaign slogan that Leach believes has become even more relevant as the election season has progressed — has been somewhat distorted.

“What [Obama] is saying is that we will go back to the way things were previously,” he said, noting the recent power-grabs by the Bush administration.

“There are aspects of this administration that are not consistent with American history,” Leach said. “The word that comes to mind is ‘aberration.’”

“We’ve been blessed with unparalleled dedication from our state, federal and local officials for many years,” Iowa National Guard Public Affairs Officer Greg Hapgood said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

The state of Iowa had earmarked $5 million in matching funds in 2003 and 2004, and the Iowa Legislature approved appropriations each year since then. Johnson County agreed to a land swap in 2001, which helped provide the space needed to build the facility and the City of Iowa City agreed to provide sewer and water capabilities.

However, the readiness center didn’t receive the green light until this spring, when Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, helped procure $13 million in federal funds.

“I feel proud to have been able to secure these funds for the brave women and men who serve our country every day,” Harkin told members of the 109th Medical Battalion at a February press conference. “The construction of this new facility will help the Iowa National Guard complete essential mobilization and readiness training and prepare for their missions. Iowa Guard members play an integral role in strengthening our nation’s defenses, and they deserve the very best as they prepare for their duties.”

Due to the changing role of the National Guard, which has become more of an operational force since the war on terror began with the attacks of 9/11, guardsmen outgrew their current training facility. Built in 1937, the 18,000-square-foot facility served as a riding arena and stable for the Iowa cavalry, accommodating 125 men and their horses. The center currently houses training facilities for five Iowa National Guard units with nearly 400 officers. The increasing demands of the National Guard and the building’s poor conditions have required expensive repairs and renovations.

“I must compliment the Iowa National Guard for your resourcefulness in maintaining the operational

capacity of this readiness center. But at 71 years old, it does show its age, and enough is enough,” Loebsack told Guard members at the February press confernece. “It’s time for something new. The citizen soldiers who serve the Iowa National Guard deserve only the finest training facilities, and this is clearly not up to par. We have a responsibility to serve you with the same dedication that you have served us, and I believe this readiness center reflects our commitment to doing so.”

The new center will consist of more than 93,000 total square feet at an estimated cost of approximately $17.6 million, the Iowa City Readiness Center is 75 percent federally funded, and 25 percent state-funded. National Guard officials said that sustainable design is one of their priorities, so this facility is designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standard. More than 500 soldiers from five Iowa National Guard units will be headquartered at the new facility. It is anticipated that the project will be completed in 2010.

Representatives for Loebsack, Harkin and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, attended Monday’s event, the Press-Citizen reported. Iowa City Mayor Regina Bailey and Johnson County Supervisor Pat Harney also came to the groundbreaking.

“I’m delighted this project is coming on line,” Bailey said.

After 20 years of collaborative efforts to procure funding for a new readiness center for Iowa National Guard troops, members of Iowa’s Democratic delegation, Sen Tom Harkin and Rep. Dave Loebsack, announced the center’s groundbreaking this summer, thanks to the procurement of $13 million in federal funds.

Sen. Harkin (right) and Rep. Loebsack (middle) talk with members from the 109th Medical Battalion

Rep. Loebsack addresses 109th Guard members while standing next to picture of proposed readiness center

The federal funds were the final notch in the funding scheme, for the state of Iowa had already earmarked $5 million in matching funds in 2003 and 2004, and the Iowa Legislature approved appropriations each year since then, Adjunct Gen. Ron Dardis said. “This journey truly has been a partnership,” Dardis said. “In addition to the federal and state funds, we couldn’t have done this without the land swap with Johnson County in 2001 and the City of Iowa City providing sewer and water capabilities.”

The new 80,000-square-foot facility will be located on approximately 25 acres, providing an assembly hall, kitchen, classrooms, and administrative and recruiting space. It will include parking for personal and military vehicles. The project has been the Guard’s top priority for the past three years and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2010.

Harkin, a Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War, addressed some of the current readiness concerns that face Iowa’s citizen soldiers. “As you all know very well, this is a new era for the Guard. You are shouldering a major share of the combat burden of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Harkin said. “Many Guard members are on their third or fourth deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. I think it speaks volumes that four times as many Guard members have been killed in Iraq than there were in the entire war in Vietnam — my war.”

“Like you, during all my years of training in the military, there was one thing that was always drilled into my head: Never leave a buddy behind,” Harkin told Guard members. “That not only applies to the battlefield but to the home front as well. We owe you the best facilities and equipment, and on that score, we have been falling woefully short. In my opinion, we have been leaving many of our guard members behind. The good news, however, is that we are not in denial.”

In addition to the numerous slam poetry competitions and spoken word awards he has won, Bamuthi is a Broadway veteran and was the featured artist on Russell Simmons’ “Def Poetry” on HBO. Despite all of his performance accolades, Bamuthi’s proudest work has been Youth Speaks, where he mentors 13- to 19-year-old writers and serves as the artistic director of The Living Word Project, the resident theater company of Youth Speaks.

Marc Bamuthi Joseph (center) poses with Michael Harrington (The Arts Farm representative pictured second from left), some members of West High’s literary magazine, “Favonius,” and newly formed slam poetry team

Bamuthi’s dual roles as an arts activist and educator are what brought him to Iowa City to engage high school students. Bamuthi’s visit was made possible by The Arts Farm, a new organization in Cedar Rapids dedicated to enrichment through the “promotion of arts through arts education, innovative performance, and creative discovery by and for young people.”Marc Bamuthi Joseph Performs at Iowa City West High School
(filmed and edited by Iowa Independent’s Adam Burke)

Barmuthi wasted no time, hooking his audience with a spoken-word piece that personified race, hate, racism, ignorance, capitalism, slavery and a slew of other -isms. As he walked the aisles of the auditorium, Bamuthi occasionally paused to “spit” his poetic magic couched in expert wordplay. And when he wasn’t using his words to speak, he let his feet do the talking.

Using a blend of straight narrative, hip-hop, spoken word and dance, Bamuthi told the audience about his introduction to tap-dance at age 9 and how this introduction ruptured his relationship with his Haitian-born father. “In 1984, I got my first pair of tap shoes, and my pop was not cool with this. I reeked of America,” Bamuthi said while tap-dancing on stage. “Coming from Haiti, he loved American culture, but he shunned American culture. What my father did not realize is that tap-dance is African drum.”

Bamuthi told the audience that Africans that were new to the New World had to use alternative means of communication. “The colonies made it an offense, punishable by death, for anyone to be in possession of any noise-making device,” Bamuthi said. “However, they had enough business sense not to devalue their own private property (points at dancing feet). And that gave us just enough space to bring back our rhythm, and that’s where tap-dance steps in. My pop stopped listening to me, so I engaged in a call and response between my feet and the floor.”

Iowa Independent: You said you are a child of hip-hop culture. What do you mean by this? What’s the difference between hip-hop culture and, say, MTV hip-hop culture?

Bamuthi: You can’t buy hip-hop in a store, just like you can’t buy punk music in a store. The music in the stores is just a manifestation of a culture, but you cannot buy a culture. Hip-hop to me is about form. It’s about approach and attitude.

Iowa Independent: What motivated you to get involved in the educational aspects of the arts?

Bamuthi: I love the classroom. I would much rather be in the classroom than up on the stage. I’m not a fighter. I’m not a guns-and-ammo person. Education is the way that I wage revolution. I think the planet can be better, and I’m really turned on by the circus of ideas that are possible in the classroom. I’m also very conscious of all the things that inhibit the carnival of ideas. In the context of a classroom, where I can discuss ideas with a smaller number of students, being an agent or facilitator of change in that mix is my cultural contribution. I have a spiritual relationship to the call-and-response ethic. My mom and grandmother are great teachers, so I’ve cultivated a spiritual relationship with teaching. Fate also played a role in revealing my destiny to me, so here I am.

Iowa’s former First Lady says Hillary Clinton is going to close Iowa caucus-goers, make the final sale, with the argument of experience.

“I think in the end when people are thinking not only who they like for the Democratic nomination but who can win in the fall – because it’s not just about nominating somebody who we like in Iowa (they’ll go with Clinton),” Christie Vilsack said in Carroll. “We have to think beyond that. We have to think about who can win against the Republicans.”

Vilsack, wife of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, met with about 30 residents and visitors at the Regency Park long-term care center (formerly known as Carroll Manor).

Vilsack received laughs and light applause after noting that her first political experience was meeting President Harry Truman when she was 3 years old.

The Vilsacks have been diligent Clinton surrogates around Iowa.

Tom Vilsack campaigned here weeks ago for Clinton and appeared with the Democratic presidential candidate at Northwest Park this fall.

After mingling with residents and posing for pictures, Vilsack stopped for an interview with Iowa Independent, Daily Times Herald and Carroll Broadcasting.

Vilsack said she thinks Clinton has crossover appeal with Republicans, something the New York senator has demonstrated in the Empire State in her re-election there.

Moreover, Independents and women are likely to be in Camp Clinton on caucus day, Jan. 3, says Vilsack.

“I think our secret weapon, our margin of victory, lies with a lot of people who will caucus for the first time,” Vilsack said. “I’ve just been talking to a few people here who will caucus for the first time.”

Vilsack stressed Clinton’s comfort and connections on the world stage, noting that on her first day as president, Clinton could pick up the phone and talk to more than 80 world leaders she already has met as a U.S. senator and the wife of former President Bill Clinton.

“And I want the president on the first day to know more about health-care than anybody else in the country,” Vilsack said.

In her appearance in Carroll, Vilsack was on message and refused to stray from the campaign’s carefully crafted talking points in an interview with reporters.

She declined to comment on stories relating to Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s admission of past drug use and the reaction of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney to Obama on that matter.

She also declined to discuss some of former Massachusetts Gov. Romney’s strongly worded comments on immigration here in Carroll and how those comments ran counter to the 2010 plan on Iowa’s workforce and population championed by her husband.

Vilsack simply insisted that Clinton had a comprehensive immigration reform package.

(Photo: Former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack speaks with Norbert Hagemann at Regency Park in Carroll. Both are strong supporters of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.)