Downtown Dems, Saw it Coming, and Lonely Halloween

Good Morning!
I'm stuck with about five bags of Halloween candy this morning after having only one kids come over to trick or treat Beggars Night. Paige the Princess was out only visitor...she got a lot of candy. I'm a little disappointed cause I didn't get my usual crop of Halloween jokes.
So now it sits around the house. Not that I'm complaining. It's just not going to help with my quest to lose a few lbs by Thanksgiving.

To the News:
Downtown Dems
So are we a swing state or is Sen Obama just taking a victory lap? I can't imagine it's the latter. If Sen Obama is here four days before voting starts someone has seen something that indicates Iowa is in play. It may be the same reason Gov Palin will be back in Debuque this weekend.
One more thing. The more we see and hear, the more we learn the Obama campaign is showing itself to be a well oiled machine. I say this only because it's unusual. Most of the time there is a certain amount of chaos associated with these campaigns, especially at this point when schedules are made at the last minute and plans change with the poll numbers. Not so with the Obama campaign. If they are planning last minute...if there is chaos behind the scenes were not seeing it. What that says about a potential Obama Presidency...draw your own conclusions.
Another note that just came into the newsroom....Our boss just came into the newsroom and said they're calling the plane Obama is flying in O-Force One. OK...
Memo to whoever coined that one:
Look behind you...you just crossed the line...

Saw it coming...
I never really felt I understood the reaction of parents I've worked with when we read stories about children who are murdered. Maybe it's because I have two on the way, but I think I'm starting to understand the reaction in a more personal way.
The story of a toddler murdered in eastern Iowa is horrible enough...whatever your background or family situation...but you have to wonder how a parent could do something like this to his or her child. That exactly what prosecutors are charging Michelle Kehoe with.
We all suspected this was going to be the eventual outcome...

That's all I've got. We'll see you at Noon. Maybe I'll do a little More blogging then.
PWD

Obama Infomercial, Trick-or-Treating and

Good morning everyone. Patrick is off to a meeting this morning so I will start the blog today. We had a fun show today and I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that it's Beggar's night and we're all hopped up on sugar from the candy we're supposed to hand out tonight. At least I am. I have to agree with a lot of you who blogged yesterday about candy corn. On its own, it's just ok. Mixed with salted peanuts, it's up there with pizza and fillet Mignon. Ok, maybe not that great, but I swear I could eat an entire candy dish of the stuff. According to our poll, peanut butter cups are the best Halloween candy. I would have to agree. My least favorite: Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate. Yuck! It always seems like when you buy that mixed bag of small Hershey's chocolate bars, there are ALWAYS more of those than the Mr. Goodbar and Milk Chocolate bars. Enough about candy... I'm starting to get hungry. On to the news.

Obama Infomercial
Did you see this 1/2 hour "commercial" last night? I completely forgot about it but Pat watched it and said from a news perspective, it was very well produced. We probably won't know how many people actually watched it last night until the Nielsen ratings come out later this morning, but you have to think that given its time slot, a lot of people tuned in and caught at least parts of it. No matter what your political perspective, it's hard to disagree that Obama has likely changed the way campaigns try to get their message out.

I think the best quote from John McCain's spokesperson. He said, "As anyone who has bought anything from an infomercial knows, the sales-job is always better than the product. Buyer beware."

Does Campaigning Really Matter? Apparently Not.
I saw this story a few weeks ago and it caught my attention. It basically argued -- with good evidence -- that elections are decided not by campaign ads and political maneuvering, but rather by economic and social indicators. In fact, with the exception of one presidential election in the past twenty-four, Political Science and Politics Journal has predicted the winner months before the election based on these specific indicators. Last summer, the journal predicted Obama would win and right now they think it will be by a margin of 54 to 56. Here's the article.

Trick-or-Treat
Most towns are handing out candy tonight instead of tomorrow night on the actual Halloween holiday. Although Grimes and Dallas Center are the exception to this rule. Post any good jokes you hear tonight.

I gotta go. Eric had to drop off Evan here at work and he's getting into everything as I try to type this. I'll try to remember to post pictures of his Halloween costume tomorrow. See you tomorrow!

Brooke

Dow Bump, You've just won a million Dollars! and Haloween Candy

Good Morning

If you watched the show...you know we don't have an overwhelming amount of news this morning. There was an overnight earthquake in Pakistan and a second earthquake that followed it...you'll be hearing a lot about that today. The usual news is coming form the campaign trail. We're being challenged with trying to come up with ways to say "just six days more" "we're coming down the home stretch", "Final Push"...insert end of campaign cliche here.

The markets are doing their best imitation of the flying Walendas and to top it off, crazy Cloris Leachman is out on Dancing with the Stars!

The big talk on the set was yesterday's poll and today's new question.

I wasn't all that surprised more than 50 percent of you responded to the flossing thing the way I did. My Hygienist said that's the way she would have predicted it would turn out. My teeth are great by the way. I hope she schedules out more time when I come in cause it always seems to take us an hour to get through the cleaning. My teeth aren't that cruddy...we just talk a lot. If I pushed back your appointment, I apologize!

To the News

Markets

The rate cut expected at the fed was kind of built into the big spike in stocks on Wall Street Tuesday. It will be interesting to see what happens when trading opens. We had Dow futures down all morning long, but just before the end of our show they spiked up a little. The foreign markets were generally up.

Is anyone else getting more interested in this stuff as it's been in the news the last few weeks. I have to say I never turned on CNBC in the past (except the season they has the Senior Tour Golf on the weekends). Now, I can't get enough of it. I have it on in the background as I'm home in the afternoon. It's really interesting! Maybe I'm just a geek in a new category.

You've Just Won a Million Dollars!

Unless they've got a briefcase, balloons and a big cardboard check, don't believe it! I get about fifty emails every morning from this or that "foreign attache" or from an "overseas businessman" who just wants to get his money out of Nigeria. Does this seem even plausible to anyone? Yes, I think they're going to contact Patrick Dix and give him a million bucks.

If anyone ever asks for your Bank information, your Social Security Number...whatever...DOn't give it out. You have to initiate the call. If it seems like a deal that's too good to be true...it usually is.

I always tell people to tell these guys to call back, but then give them the number of the Attorney General's Consumer Fraud Hotline.

I'm so bad about this. I think sometimes I give legitimate businesses a really hard time. There's a company that's supposed to be doing something with my mortgage. They FedExed me a piece of paper saying I was signing over my loan or subordinating or something. Anyway, I called Wells Fargo and asked what they knew about it. They didn't. It took me about four more phone calls to realize the call and the paper were legitimate, but it looks to me like it's not necessary. So I didn't sign anything or give out any of my information. My point is, I never give this stuff out and I'm sure my information is still ALL OVER THE PLACE!

Halloween Candy

Reading Murph's Blog this morning I was appalled to learn he hates Candy Corn! Does he also think George Washington is a liar? Does he think puppies are ugly?

The normally iconic image I have of one Keith Murphy is now shattered.

Candy corn isn't good all year long...it's only good for the fall and only in small doses. I agree with one of our regular bloggers, Melinda, who said Brach's Candy Corn is the only way to go. There are some others out there that make some bad imitations. Maybe Murphy had a bad experience.

That started a conversation on set today about Halloween Candy. We're going to do favorites today and least favorite tomorrow as out poll. If I left your favorite out...sorry. You can comment on why you think one is better than another.

For me it would be Lemonheads, Sour Patch Kids, Reece's PB Cups (not Pieces), Snickers, Three Musketeers, and a good ol Hershey's Chocolate Bar.

I finally put up that playlist from the iPod. It's not going to be for everybody but it's what I'm listening to now.

Have a Great Day.

PWD

Overnight Fire, Gas Prices and Assasination Plot

Good Morning!

I'm off to the dentist for a semi-annual cleaning after the show this morning so I wanted to get this started during the show. The trip made me think of a poll question. How many of you actually floss on a regular basis? C'mon now...this is anonymous. I admit to being one of those people who flosses more the closer I get to my check-up. They say every time..."Have you been flossing?" Now I could say yes, and just leave it at that. I don't know why I don't. I just can't lie about the flossing.

I am probably in the same boat as Pat. I floss more often the closer I get to a cleaning. But on average, I would say I do it once or twice a week. I always feel better after I do it and think I'll get into a daily habit. But it never seems to happen. I don't know why. It takes ten seconds. And really I should consider the consequences of skipping it. My former dentist had a sign in his office that read "You don't have to floss all your teeth. Only the ones you want to keep"

I added some of the "new" songs on my iPod to the list on the right side(up before noon). I'm thinking a lot about being a Dad these days and a lot of that thinking goes on while I'm running or working out at the gym...the result is a play list that, you may notice, has a theme of sentimentality. It has the added benefit of being good music though.

To the News:

Overnight Fire

An overnight fire in Delaware Township is still unexplained. We talked to investigators overnight...they told us they'd be on the scene well into the morning. A neighbor saw the flames and called 9-1-1. She went across the street to help just as her neighbor was coming out of the house. No explanation about the cause of the fire yet, but it reminds me that this is the time of year a lot of people turn on space heaters to try to save some money on heating costs. Please be careful!

Gas Prices

I thought it would drop to less than two dollars a gallon, but I never thought it would be so quick! Gas is $1.99 and we were talking about $1.50 a gallon on set today. That'd be nice.

Assassination Plot

Two White Supremacists were arrested in Tennessee earlier this month and the ATF just released the arrest warrants. scary. These guys planned on killing 88 black students at an unnamed high school in TN then beheading 14 more. For their "final act" they were going to try to kill Sen Obama or die trying. What does your life have to be like for you to consider something like this?

Just a thought. Next time you think about forwarding on an email about a politician you don't like...something outrageous that at least part of you says, "this can't be true"...think about where it's going to end up.

I'd submit the "harmless" questioning of Sen Obama's faith and his citizenship are the kindling for this kind of hate crime. Read this article from the Detroit News Website. I think it's a good summary about rumors on both sides of the race. They're the kind of thing that lead to people yelling "terrorist" in reference to Obama at a McCain rally. The GOP leadership should have come out and publicly denounce rumors like this. I've seen what actually happens. Instead politicians on both sides give a "Don't look at me" kind of look to reporters that allows them to deny they had any part in the rumor. That same look also infers a reporter might want to keep asking questions.... So much for a high minded campaign about the issues.

Staying Focused at Work and Home

I read this article last week in Redbook magazine and had an "Ah-ha moment", as Oprah would say. I never really understood the psychology behind my procrastinating nature until I read this article. I now understand why I will sit and mindlessly google on the computer instead of trying to cross off some of the important things on my to-do list. If you have the same problem, read this article and it might give you some insight. Basically, stimulus overload is to blame. So, put away the computer and turn off the television!

This cold weather is already making me a little nervous. Evan loves to be outside and on days when it is cold we usually spend the day inside trying to find things to occupy our time. The problem is that I can tell he is already getting bored and it's only October! Ahh. Any suggestions on things to do with your little ones when the weather gets cold? I am thinking of signing up for a few classes this winter.

Have a great day! See you tomorrow!

Brooke

Have a good one.

Pat

Windy Sunday, and A Less Than Perfect Monday

Good Morning!

I think this is going to be short if not sweet this morning. I think we're all dragging a little...who knows why...other than...It's Monday!

The News:

Wind

We decided to spend as little time as we could outside Sunday. The wind was just brutal! After working the AM show here, I went to the gym with Sally for a less than enthusiastic workout. We left for a fast food restaurant I won't name to get a little lunch and had an experience Sally was still laughing at later in the day. When we pulled up, the gal gave us our food, and then closed the window. I thought I heard her say..."Have a good day" but I wasn't sure. The problem was, I was still sitting there with the money I owed her. About two minutes later she opened the window back up and asked, "what do you need?" "To Pay you?", I answered. "You haven't paid yet?" she said. Nope. Anyway we watched big branches come off our oak tree through he front window all day.

That'll be fun to clean up.

Could be worse, we could have lost power.

Everyone should be back on by the time we get on the air for the Noon News.

Palin and Clothes

Here's what I don't understand: If she'd spent $150,000 of her own money I'd have to question her judgement. That the Republican Party spent the makes me question their judgement but I'll list that as about 50th on the list of question I have for the RNC.

I don't get how this answers anything about how she did her job as Governor. I don't understand how it helps me determine if she'll be a good Vice President. The money spent is over the top...given, but do you think she asked for all of the clothes? She's the Governor of a small state asked to be on a national stage. I don't think it's crazy to get her some new clothes...I just don't see why ANYONE is talking about it. It's gossipy, it's catty, and it's not going to help solve any of the problems the country is facing. So maybe we could just get back to qualifications.

From the Mailbag

Someone emailed us this morning and asked why we had so many old stories in our newscast today. Fair point but it deserves a little context today. Monday's are a different animal. We've often discussed that one or all of us aren't around a television the entire weekend except to watch sports. I imagine many of you are the same way. That means news that may be a couple days old is "news to us" Monday morning. I don't think it's out of the question to expect a few of you might have been busy enough that you haven't seen a newscast or even read the paper. I could be wrong. That's why I put it out there as today's poll question. How much news do you see over the weekend? Answer in comment form or in the poll itself on the right.

Have a good one!

PWD

Sunday Buzzing

Good Morning...
Don't adjust your TV sets...yes that was me on Today in Iowa Sunday.
Elizabeth is taking over the weekend evening duties for Dave tonight (I think) and Dan was up in the Twin Cities picking up some well deserved hardware last night. He and two of our Photojournalists won a regional Emmy award for their investigative effort we called, "What lies beneath". I'm sure we'll have it back up on the web in the next week or so if you missed it the first time around. Congratulations to Dan, Jeff Felton and Randy Schumacker.

To the News:
Republican Rallies
We spent a lot of the show talking about the two visits by the Republican ticket this morning on the Sunday morning news. Governor Sarah Palin continues to get excited crowds showing up all over the country and Iowa is no exception. The national media's effort to discredit the Governor as unqualified doesn't seem to be a deterrent to any of the people at these rallies. In fact, it seems to have the opposite effect. I think when we look back at Palin's candidacy, there certainly will be mistakes to talk about but I also think she'd shifted the way politicians will talk to voters in the future. If you are running for office i think it will pay off to have Palin's knack of talking to "average" voters. I think it's a mistake to dismiss her. In fact I wouldn't be surprised to see her again in four years if Sen McCain doesn't win.
Speaking of politics. Who writes these political ads? From Congressman Leonard Boswell's commercial: ...developing new fuels that ends our dependency on foreign oil." Seriously...c'mon! fuels END our dependency...fuel ENDS our dependency. If we were ending our dependency...that would be singular...but if you craft the sentence the way the commercial does, oil is ending the dependency.
Good thing the spot isn't about our dependency on education.

Don't have a lot more to talk about this morning. I'm off to the gym after this and back into my normal Sunday routine. No Bears this Sunday but at least I got to watch MIZZOU look a lot more like the team that started the season 5-0.
Any question about there being an upper echelon in college football? MIZZOU's not in it, but after the Texas, OK State game this weekend and the Penn St vs Ohio St....It looks like there are a handful of teams that can win the national championship.

Gloomy Futures, Endorsments, and Sleet?

Good Morning....
If you can call it good. I walked out this morning go have a cup of coffee with a woman from a Group called Prevent Child Abuse Iowa and as I was driving downtown SLEET started to fall on my windshield. I was thinking tomorrow might be my last round of golf for the year...now I'm not so sure.

To the News:

Gloomy Futures
If you saw the show this morning you heard us say they'd suspended futures trading before the opening bell at the NYSE. That's bad. The overnight sell off translated into a nearly 500 point drop when the markets opened. Thankfully some traders are seeing this as an opportunity to buy and the markets rebounded a little. As I write this over the Noon hour the Dow is down anywhere from 250-350 points.

Endorsements
What does an endorsement mean to you? This morning the New York Times endorsed Sen Barack Obama for President. anticipation of that choice produced the same kind of breathless anticipation as the sun coming up. Not a real big surprise. We should find out who the Register endorses this weekend. This morning they picked incumbent EJ Giovannetti. One of the reasons they gave is balance on the Board. The Register points out, and I've seen from experience, too often the majority party (Dems) walk into the meeting knowing what they're going to pass and what they're going to do. The decisions are made long before the public has a chance to hear from it's representatives.

Lute (and Why I was Wrong)
Some of you Hawkeye fans probably took note of Lute Olsen's retirement from University of Arizona. Olsen won more than seven hundred times in his thirty plus years coaching. He had a lot of those ins in Iowa City through the mid to late seventies. The Conversation about Olsen led Jeriann to ask me if I knew who'd won the most games as a College Basketball Head Coach. I answered Dean Smith of University of North Carolina and thought I was right, but I forgot Bobby Knight passed Smith back in January 2007, then retired shortly after.

Back to the beginning I should say I'm helping emcee the Pottery for Prevention Event as a fundraiser for Prevent Child Abuse Iowa. The event is November 7th. If any of you would like to support a good cause and come out for a fun auction we'll see you there!

Hope you all have a good weekend...
PWD

Unemployment #'s, New Polling #'s and Inspiring #'s

Good Morning...

Sorry about the blog yesterday, I needed to get some pre-sleep because I knew I was going to be up late last night. The March of Dimes asked if I would emcee their Signature Chef's Auction at the Embassy Suites and I was happy to help. I admit to not knowing much about MoD before I agreed to help but as I learned more...I found out I have a vested interest in success here.

For those of you who don't know March of Dimes is an organization dedicated to, "improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality." I can get behind that goal!

So March of Dimes set a goal of raising more than 146 thousand dollars for last night's auction. They made a great start by selling out the room with more than 400 people attending! 12 Chefs from around Central Iowa came in and cooked up everything from Spiced Lump Crab Cakes with Cajun Remoulade to Cherry-Smoked Brisket with Grilled Onions and Blue Cheese...um...YUM! That last recipe was actually the judges pick as the winner of the Chef's Challenge.

The live auction was a big hit that included an inspiring call to action from ISU Athletic Director Jamie Pollard. Jamie's son was born with some extraordinary medical conditions that kept him in and out of the hospital for years. His story helped drive home the point of the night...making sure babies are born healthy, and when they come early, that they have the best care possible.

Jamie's talk helped raise more than 30 thousand dollars in about 10 minutes. The incredible generosity in this community never ceases to amaze me. Overall March of Dimes raised more than 192 thousand dollars! Congratulations!

I was so happy to meet so many people who watch the show regularly. It's nice to hear the things you enjoy, and the things that you don't. As I always say, if we don't hear about it, we can't continue to make it better.

To the News

In about an hour we should get new nationwide unemployment numbers. We saw Iowa's numbers earlier this week and they looked god. Iowa's numbers went down August to September and are still well below the national average. That number would probably have been better all summer if the floods hadn't closed so many businesses. The nationwide numbers may not be as good but we'll see.

The markets took another dive yesterday as weak earning's reports from US companies come out. I think Mr Toad's Wild ride is going to continue for a while. Stay tuned.

New Polling

A new AP poll shows the Presidential race "'ain't over till it's over". The poll shows Barack Obama with a slim one point lead, not the double digit lead many of the other national polls show. This could be an aberration. It also might be more reflective of the actual situation on the ground. I haven't heard anyone serious say this race is over, and if you listen, you'll hear both campaigns echo that message. A good example of a poll's accuracy might be here in Iowa this year. Read David Yepsen in this morning's Des Moines Register .

"At this stage of an election, campaigns don't waste their most precious resource - their candidate's time - on hopeless states. Strategists in both campaigns say privately that their internal tracking polls of the contest in Iowa show the race much closer than those public surveys. Some of those public polls also have month-old data in them."

Stay Tuned!

Race for the Cure

I know we've been hitting this one kind of hard this week but it really is a great event. This morning we had the people from the Energizer Mobile Spa in studio. The spa travels the country and gives manicures and massages to cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. Can't think of anyone more deserving. The Spa is going to be at the Katzman Breast Center today in Clive and then it will be in the area of the start for Race for the Cure Saturday morning.

Hope you're having a good week!

10am UPDATE:Just got done interviewing a guy named Barry H Landau. He's a Presidential Historian with one of the best collections of Presidential memorabilia in the world. He's written a book called The President's Table: 200 Years of Dining and Diplomacy.

Many of you know how much I love history so a three minute taped interview turned into a one hour conversation. Interesting guy with great stories to tell. You can see him This Friday night at the State Historical Museum's Gala. Erin Kiernan is hosting. Should be a great night.

Call the State Historical museum for details.

I'm going to sleep!

Campaign Suspended, Budget Troubles, and STD Greeting Cards

Good Morning!
Thanks to all of you who responded to yesterday's poll question. I hope people aren't voting more than once. Not everyone wants to leave a comment so it helps us know how many people show up to take a look at the blog in the morning. Thanks for the comments as well. I'll respond here rather than leaving a comment on yesterday's blog.
Sally's feeling good. She is someone who prides herself on being healthy. The challenges of pregnancy don't always lend themselves to feeling like you are healthy. Mostly the babies are taking up too much room. It means eating smaller meals more frequently. Our overnight routine now includes a glass of milk for her when I get ready to leave. I'm convinced the body does things like this to make sure mothers are ready for the challenges of having a newborn.
As far as the sex of the kids, yes we know and this is where I'm going to beg off a little on the details. I hope you'll all understand.
To the news:
Campaign Suspended
Sen Barack Obama will go off the campaign trail Thurs and Fri to go see his ailing Grandmother. She's in Hawaii and is apparently in poor health. This means the Sen will not be in Des Moines this week as scheduled. No word on the chances of that trip being rescheduled. What a horrible thing to have happen. Take the candidate and the politics out of it. If you were a politician at the peak of your career, up for the highest office in the nation, and in the middle of a relatively close race for President. It would have to be a horrible decision to make. There has to be a part of him that knows it could hurt his chances Nov 4th if he takes two days off of campaigning. Then again, I know I would make the choice to be with my loved one at that point. Any thoughts? What would you do?


Budget Trouble
The city of Des Moines is facing a budget shortfall again. I say again because it wasn't that long ago that the city had to lay off a significant number of people when it faced the same kind of situation. I know a lot of people think there are places to "cut the fat" from government entities like the City. I've been in enough City budget meetings to know this isn't an organization with a lot of fat still to cut. Sure there are places you could debate, but most of the cost of government comes from Police and Firefighters. You want fewer of those in Des Moines? I know an increase in property taxes is unpopular but at what point does not raising taxes become ridiculous? The cost of everything goes up year to year. Why do we think the cost of running a City should stay the same? Anyway, there will likely be layoffs..


STD Greetings
Is this the weirdest "greeting card" you've ever heard of. They're offering an e-greeting card to tell people they might have been exposed to a sexually transmitted disease. On the one had I see the benefit letting people know. On the other hand, would you even believe this or open it if it came into your inbox? Some of the stuff we get in our email is so weird...this would fit right in.
Anyway, Jeriann thought this was interesting enough that we made it today's poll.
Judging by the votes on yesterday's, we'll keep this feature going.

Sorry this isn't getting on the web until Noon. Another busy morning with Brooke out sick today. Hope she's feeling better.
PWD

Powell for Obama, Palin on SNL and If the Stroller Fits!

Good Morning!
Hope everyone had a good weekend. We spent more time registering for baby stuff...there was some nipple confusion and a question about everything fitting in the trunk but I'll get to that in a minute..
I also hope you'll vote in this morning's poll questions. Also we've got a new list up. We'll try to update these things as much as we can.

To the News:
Powell for Obama
It's hard not to pay attention every time former Secretary of State General Colin Powell opens his mouth. You may not agree with him but I would find it hard to believe that anyone could honestly say they don't respect him and his contributions to this country. That said I wonder what you think about his endorsement of Barack Obama. I thought it interesting that he focused in on the whisper campaign about Sen Obama's religion and how turned off he was about that in particular. So is this going to make a difference for you as a voter? Let us know in today's poll question on the right.
On a related note I thought David Yepsen's column in the Sunday Des Moines Register was the clearest, most concise evaluation of the failing of Republican politics in this state and nationwide during this presidential election cycle. Anyone read it? What did you think?

Palin on SNL

If you missed it, Here's the video of Sarah Palin's appearance on SNL. I only posted the first one because I thought that was funny. The second time she showed up on Weekend Update, I thought it was a little hard to watch.





If the Stroller Fits
We did a little more registering for the babies this weekend and had a little more success. A visit to Consumer Reports and A LOT more reading helped...but only a little.
First, the victory. We found a stroller. It took us a while but we figured out one of the more popular twin strollers will, in fact fit in the trunk of Sally's Civic. Barely. Still it's good enough.
So that's out of the way.
But I had to ask Brooke about bottles this morning. When we walked into Babies 'r Us we started registering in the section closest to the front. It happens to be the bottle section. There's a type of nipple that Consumer Reports recommends. I was ready to register for those but nowhere on the box for the bottles does it say which nipples fit on which bottles. Sally had gone for a quick bathroom break so I'm standing, by myself, in front of a wall filled with bottle nipples looking for some sort of confirmation I'm registering for the right things...I finally had to ask, "do all of these nipples fit all of these bottles?". After confirmation from the lady in the store we moved on. Clothes will be the next thing we tackle.



And with that I'm headed home for a nap.
PWD

Bringin' the Funny, Women and Overeating, and Format Changes

Good Morning...
If you haven't noticed we tried something a little different with the Bog this morning. Blogger, (the host of our blog) allowed us to do a format change. I finally looked into it because we were notified we have a "follower". I don't think Brooke and I need a restraining order or anything, it's just someone who has a blog and wanted to be connected to ours. So, welcome Amy! Not sure who you are, but welcome none the less.

Anyway, I digress, in allowing a link to Amy's blog on ours, Blogger also offered some format changes. So we added a Daily Poll Question to the blog, hopefully you'll vote. We also added a list of the books Brooke and I are reading. It's called, On the Bedside Table. You might also notice there should be updated headlines on the right side now. I'm not sure how those get updated but I think it's through MSN. I'm still learning.

We'll mess with the format a little here. Providing I haven't screwed up the blog universe for everyone here at WHO-TV, we'll continue to improve the blog so you don't get bored.

To the News
Brinin' the Funny
We watched with great interest this morning to see who brought the funny last night. The Al Smith dinner honors the first Catholic Presidential Candidate for a major Party. Smith (on the right there) was the four time governor of New York and the Dinner that raises money for Catholic Charities every year draws an "A" list of politicians and Celebrities every year. It's a roast. SO We'll let you decide, Who was funnier, Barack Obama or John McCain. I'll put a third choice out there. Was SNL funnier satirizing both of them than they were making fun of each other? Vote on this morning's poll.







Women and Overeating
So there's a study out from The University of Texas that found women who overeat have a lack of dopamine receptors in their brain, so even when they ate something pleasurable, their response wasn't as pronounced as the women who's brains could accept the dopamine the body produced with eating. The result, you eat more to get the same kind of pleasure. So it's not you, it's your brain.

Zach on a Hotstreak

Zach Johnson will make my weekend interesting after shooting a 10 under 62 at the Shriner's Open (it's actually "The Shriner's Hospital for Kids Open Hosted by Justin Timberlake...what overinflated PR flunkies decided that would be a good idea?).

Anyway, Zach is winning and is playing well. Good to see. He had a lot on his mind this summer, family and friends effected by the flooding near CR. Looks like his putter is heating up again. I'd love to see him have another good season next year and make the President's Cup team.

The weekend beckons. We're going to take another stab at the registering for the baby stuff. I think we've zeroed in on a stroller...or as I like to call it, Winnebago. Enjoy the nice weather Jeriann swears we're going to have this weekend.

War of Words, Who is Joe the Plumber and It's Cold

Good afternoon everyone. I told Pat I would do the blog this morning but didn't have time after the show due to a story shoot I had scheduled. So, it's a little belated. We'll call it the afternoon buzz today.

This was one of those days when everyone was a little moody. Not sure why. For me, I think it had something to do with an experience I had the night before. Eric and I no longer go out for dinner now that Evan is at an age where he won't sit still for more than 10 seconds. But for some reason last night, we decided to go out instead of making something at home. I think I was feeling a little cooped up and wanted to get out of the house. Anyway, we decided to try P.F. Chang's. Big Mistake! We packed all his toys and favorite snacks thinking he would be content for a half hour while we inhaled our lettuce wraps. Well, the second we were seated Evan started screaming and arching his back to be let down. I knew this wouldn't be a relaxing experience. When we tried to put him in his seat, he screamed even louder and everyone started staring at us (some even glaring... but I don't blame them). So, I basically ended up walking around the restaurant with him trying to keep him entertained and we took our food and left. My apologies if you were at P.F. Chang's last night and heard the screaming baby!

This morning it was all about the debate. It's the last one and John McCain clearly came out swinging. All of the papers described this one as his last chance to try to illustrate the differences between himself and Barack Obama and really shine a light on some of the reasons why people might be hesitant to vote for Obama. All in all, most analysts agree this wasn't a game changer and Obama was the winner, although not by much.

The two candidates weren't even the "stars" of the evening. Apparently it was some guy named Joe the plumber from Ohio. If you watched the debate last night, you heard both candidates talk about this guy as an example of normal Americans effected by their proposed tax plans. Apparently, the guy isn't exactly excited to have all the attention. Here's an interesting interview with the man of the moment.

Summer is officially over. This morning was downright cold and Jeriann said it was just a few degrees above freezing. I already want the warm weather back. I am such a whiner. Sorry, I think I am still mad about P.F. Chang's. Have a nice day!

Brooke

Final Debate, New Rails and Right Turns...plus: From the Mailbag!

Good Morning!
We all seemed a little "off" this morning and I can only blame the weather...what a cruddy day to wake up to. I had a thought of crawling back into bed. Some days are harder than others. It must have come through because apparently I've driven one of our viewers to the point of insanity. From out Mailbag:

Name: Get rid of patrick
EMail: getridof@patrick.com
AreaCode:
Prefix:
number:
Message: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just take him off of my tv and put someone else on. i cant tak anymure of him.

I can't tak anymure of me either. This will be short.

To the News:
The final debate will be at Hofstra University tonight. I'll be interested to see how the format effects the exchanges. BCS's Bob Scheifer is moderating the debate. Both candidates will be seated at a table with Scheifer. Both men are going to try to project strong leadership qualities. The campaigns are banking on the idea that America wants a strong leader. I was reading that the polls are still close in about ten battleground states that will make the difference on election day. It reminds me that Sen Obama could win a pretty decisive win in the vote total and still come up short in the Electoral College. It's a slim chance however. Sen McCain would have to pick off some states Republicans didn't win back in 2004 and the polls show those leaning toward Sen Obama. You never know though...a lt could happen in the next two weeks.

New Rails and Right Turns
As someone who uses the 63rd St Exit ramp almost every day, I sympathize with the people who think you should be able to make a right turn on a red light there. When the signs went up it seemed to back up traffic. Now the DOT is shaving down the barriers that are in the sight line of a lot of drivers so they can take down the No Turn on Red signs and get traffic moving again.
My question is this: Who built the rails high enough so you couldn't see in the first place? Those bridges are brand new.

I'm off to a meeting. Sorry for the brevity...or maybe you're glad. Anyway, I'm happy to answer comments and concerns about the show if you have them...I'll check back through the day.

Rebound: Day 2, Bank Bailout, and Webkinz

Good Morning
You never know what you're going to hear on the studio floor during Today in Iowa. This morning, after a Mark Tauschek story about the local effect of the economic downturn, We learned a new word. Webkinz.

Anyone know Webkinz? None of us did. A quick Google search finds Webkinz are,
"...lovable plush pets that each come with a unique Secret Code. With it, you enter Webkinz World where you care for your virtual pet, answer trivia, earn KinzCash, and play the best kids games on the net!."
So basically this is the next Cabbage Patch Kids, Pokemon, Fill in the blank with the latest trendy toy. On the Market today.
Make this #432 on the list of things that scares the Beejezuz out of me about being a parent.

To the news:

Rebound
It was nice to see the rebound yesterday in the markets. I don't know about you but I'm still left with this sinking feeling there's still more pain to come before relief of any kind can kick in. It's nice that governments around the world are freeing up the capitol to make sure the financial markets can keep moving but it doesn't solve the more fundamental problems of the economy. Are companies growing? Are they expanding and trying to find new workers. Is there capitol being spent on innovation? I still feel like the world is in await and see mode. I'm afraid the move is simply the return of common sense to some of these stock prices that were artificially undervalued. But that's just my opinion.

Bank Bailout
I'm trying to decide if I can hold my nose and accept this idea that the government is going to buy into private enterprises. It may be a fine line, but I feel like if the money is an investment, and not a permanent stake in the businesses, I'm OK. If Uncle Sam stays too long, I'm worried.
The Dems in Congress have a new stimulus plan that would include billion of dollars spending on infrastructure projects around the country. I see program modeled after the New Deal. Here's the problem. This isn't the 40's and I don't trust the government. Unless Congress is cleaned out in this next election, I can't see giving money to people who will, no doubt use it to line to pockets of their friends and boost their own popularity at home. I'm not sure why I think that didn't happen back in the 30's, but I don't(at least not to the extend it would happen today) .

Obama and Religion
Anyone see the New York Times reporting about the source of the whisper campaign that says Sen Obama is a Muslim? Read it, it's interesting.

After you're done, put all of this aside and I still say this. Vote for him or don't but make your decision based on his ideas and his policies. The charge that "He's a Muslim" is nothing more than a cheap way to get people scared about a man they don't know. If you're conservative, there are PLENTY of other reasons not to vote for Sen Obama.
Do we really think he's going to take office and say,"Just kidding...I'm a Muslim...We're nationalizing religion! ." Do you really think the rest of the Government is so weak as to let something like that happen? By the way, you can see the same argument used again John F Kennedy. The Pope did not, in fact, take over decision making at the White House in 1960.
Take a look at Sen McCain's reaction to some of the shouts and comments made at his rallies when people have called Sen Obama an "Arab" or a "terrorist".

Did you see McCain's face? Even he thinks it's crazy. He's said so answering these questions.
Obama's a professed Christian. If you don't like the guy...pick a reason that has some relevance to the campaign and don't vote for him. That's fair.

City Kudos

I forgot to add my thanks to Monday's blog for the Work the City of Des Moines did to my front lawn.

Last fall the city hired a contractor to come in and replace the sidewalk. Unfortunately I got a new sidewalk and a destroyed lawn. They left a lot of damage, but it was too late in the year to grow new grass so I let it go. I thought I could request some seeding in the spring. Turns out, the Public works Department was a little busy this spring. Anyway, I decided to wait until the end of yea year. When I called I got a prompt response and a visit from a supervisor. They saw the damage, got a contractor in to fix it and I think I'll have some grass in the bare spots next spring. I'm the first in line to give government a whack in the head when they screw up. I think it's important to make sure to give them a pat on the back when they quickly fix an unintended error.

Hope you all have a good day,

PWD

Worldwide Rally, TPI Jobs and Registering

Good Morning!
No Brooke this morning. She's taking a well earned day off today. I hope any of you who have the long weekend are doing something fun today.
To the news:

World Rally
Watching overseas markets it hard not to feel a little anticipation before the opening of the US stock markets. Actions taken by Great Britain and other world banks over the weekend seemed enough to get world investors back on board in the stock market. We'll see if US investors will do the same. Banks are closed today as are government offices, the post office etc. Schools are in. It's scary to think about 40 percent of the value of my 401 k is gone. I know I'm the lucky one here because I get to buy into other stocks at lower prices for now. We'll be watching the markets and we'll bring you an update at Noon.

Viewer email
Just wanted to share the comment someone made here a few days ago. I responded under that day's post but I know some of you don't go back and look at it. It said:
...watch you guys every morning and since we have hit the political season I have been disappointed in yours and Brooks blatant Pro-Obama stance. I have to admit that I have low expectations given the liberal bias of the media but it is disappointing to hear it from the home town news. There are few us conservatives left out here and we start to question all you tell us when you let your biases come through on air.

That makes me laugh a little. I am always reminded what Keith says during and week the Hawks/Cyclones play. Usually there will be a few on each side that accuse him of being a homer for one or the other team. The part that's funny is, Murph really does not have a loyalty to either team.
It makes me smile when we get emails from both sides accusing us of being biased toward one side or the other because it means we're usually doing a pretty good job of keeping it down the middle.
If one side is upset the polls are coming back in favor of one candidate or the other...I can't do anything about that. I can only say, when we have a story about Sen Obama we always talk about a balance from the McCain Campaign and the other way around.

Bus Crash
A SE Polk bus flipped on to it's side this morning after the fist stop of the day. I just talked to the District and they told me the kids on the bus were fine. They refused treatment on the scene. In fact, they were just a few hundred yards from home. The driver is OK too. He had some cuts that needed stitches.

TPI
How about Newton. In an economic climate like this, you have to admire the way they're going after jobs. When is the national media going to pick up on this place as an example of how to transition from old manufacturing jobs to new? Good luck to them!

Registering
So we took out first stab at trying to register for a few baby products this weekend.
Now guys, don't be so quick to try to bow out of this duty. They give you one of those little scan guns so at least you get a gadget. Plus, you should probably get an idea of what you're getting into.
As for me, I could only take about 45 minutes of this. Between the breast pumps and the drying racks and the sterilizers...the bottles and boppies and Bjorns...it's all a little daunting.
The thing we're most anxious to get settled is the stroller issue. For twins, this is not an easy proposition. Some of the strollers billed as "twin" strollers are actually for one infant and one toddler. There are very few that actually take two infant car seats. Now if you're thinking..."This is already more than I wanted to know about twin strollers"....me too!
Anyway, I think we settled on one last night. We're starting to get comfortable with the idea that we're going to have to do our best. If we screw up a decision...we can always try again.

Who's Reading this Thing?
Apparently a few of you are actually reading this blog on a daily basis and we thank you. I had a chance to speak with our webmaster a few minutes ago and he checked. Over the last 30 days The Morning Buzz generated more than 11,000 unique visitors and more than 13,000 total views. He said 350 to 1,300 of you view this on a daily basis so I have another question...What are you guys? I'd love to hear your comments, questions for us, concerns of our coverage or something you'd like to know. We're open to most anything.

Lastly, I'm a little disheartened at how my Missouri Tigers played this weekend. That said, I know they've got a chance at redemption next week in Austin when they Play Texas. If the Tigers actually decide to show up for this one...it could be a great game.

Have a good one
PWD

Crash? Free Speech and David Sedaris

Good Morning
It was a late night for the Dix family last night. We went to see Author David Sedaris at the Civic Center last night. Funny stuff! I really enjoy the writing. His humor consists of those thoughts that never make it past the fleeting though part of the rest of our brains. It was worth the lack of sleep. We stayed out a little later to celebrate our Anniversary. We had a gift certificate to 801 so we used that and had another great meal. When we begged off on desert, our server even brought over a couple chocolate chip cookies with some vanilla ice cream. YUM!
I forgot to wish Sally a Happy Anniversary but as we enter year ten, we both were remembering a great day back in October 1999, and feeling pretty lucky to have a lot of people in our life who's supported our marriage.

To the news:
Crash?
Where do the superlatives end for the markets? We'll see if we need more today. Trading hasn't opened yet but when it does it looks like the US stock markets are going to go down again. We could be wrong. People keep saying, at some point, people are going to buy back in. Example: Principal Financial is trading at a fraction of what it was valued just weeks ago. Now I haven't seen their balance sheets but you can't tell me Principal financial is worth less than 20 bucks a share. Long term I would think you'd make a lot of money off that. There are still big concerns about a lot of big companies but I also think there are a lot of companies that are valued way to low in this market right now.

Free Speech
We didn't run it this morning but I noticed the story about the woman with the Obama sign she pasted the words "baby killer" on.
My question is this: Where does free speech stop being a right and start becoming a responsibility? You can't yell fire in a crowded theatre. We know that. This sign does not represent that kind of situation, of course; but I wonder, if you choose to live in such close proximity to others, and you agree to enter into a covenant of rules with those other homeowners, would something like this go too far?
I'm talking about being responsible with your right to express yourself. I would never say this homeowner should take the sign down. If they really believe that statement, it's that home owner's right to express that belief. I would, however, ask how this forwards the cause this sign would seem to promote? Wouldn't an invitation to your neighbors to have a discussion at your house one night be a better use of everyone's time. A free exchange of ideas? A sign saying voters should choose candidates based on their anti-abortion stance?
To say someone who's fathered two children, a baby killer? Words are important. How we use our right to free speech is important. I wonder how we'd feel on the other end of a similar accusation?
I would be interested to hear how you all feel about this.

Have a good one
PWD

Market Rebound? Buying into Banks, and Megan

Good Morning!
I hope those of you who were inquiring about Megan got the update and saw thew pictures of young Daniel this morning. I know some of you were anxious for news, and we weren't keeping it from you, we were just waiting for the OK from Megan and Randy. As with a lot of these things we love to share news of our personal lives but we try to respect each others wishes as far as when we do it.
I got some good news that I imagine is going to effect more than a few of you as well. I work out out in West Des Moines at Fitness World West. I don't know if any of you saw in the paper the other day but there was a mention of a new partnership with FWW and the new gym downtown gym FX. They're also linking in a gym in Pleasant Hill and one in Urbandale. My understanding about all of this is that members at each gym will have privileges at the others...Good news for a lot of people who live in the suburbs and work downtown or the other way around. it just makes it more convenient to get to the gym...no more excuses for any of us.

To the news:
World Markets, Bank Buyouts, and Home Sales...

There was a lot of mixed news on the economy.
It seems the experts think the rate cuts at fed banks around the world may be freeing up some of the credit markets and the money is starting to move again. I was watching CNBC yesterday afternoon and they were talking about a big bounce back on Wall Street to finish the week. Here's to hoping.

The other big piece of news was the a proposal for the federal government to buy into some banks to help shore them up. This is where I start to break out in hives. I know the markets and the Banks need help but I'm not sure the Federal government's role is to be in the banking business. One of my friends from college says we're headed for a socialist state. Anyone agree?
As I said yesterday, it's getting scary out there.

Politics gets dirty
The today show just had a piece on the Campaigns getting nasty this week and I for one am already tired of it. The guy introducing Sen McCain made a point of using Sen Obama's middle name when referring to him. All Sen Obama can talk about is how "angry" John McCain is. Look leave the thinly veiled inferences out of it. If you want to imply the guys a Muslim and try to scare a bunch of people into voting for your guy...go ahead and do it. If you want to try to infer that McCain is an old, out of touch republican who can't possible have any new ideas...just say it. Both tactics get a thumbs down from me.

Rice School
The best comment I've heard about this whole issue is from the Board President Dick Murphy. The Rice School property doesn't belong to the Beaverdale neighborhood. It belongs to the school district.
If I lived there I would probably like the idea of green space near my home. Too bad there's not another park two blocks away that has green space and a place kids can play. Then it would be easy to let the former Rice School property go...
My point is, the District should do what's in the best interest of it's students and in the best interest of the taxpayers. The role of the district isn't to provide park space for neighborhoods. If the neighbors want the park badly enough, lobby the City to buy it and keep it green space. That's why we have a Parks Department...and you know, Parks.

I'm going to go to a meeting...We'll add some pics when I get back.
PWD

Grading the Debate, Markets in Freefall, and Baby Talk

Good Morning!
Sorry about not blogging yesterday, after a morning meeting I was beat and slept for part of the day..
Thanks to all of you who've stopped me or written an email to say congratulations on our good news. I'm sure I'll have more to say about it along the way. For now I'll say Sally and I are excited, scared, totally clueless and we feel so lucky to have something like this to look forward to.

To the News:
Grading the Debate
Pretty much everyone you read this morning gives the debate last night to Sen Obama. Even the most conservative papers in the country are saying he did what he needed to do. We got an email from someone saying we were the most conservative biased news organization she'd ever seen. Did she see our show this morning?
We looked all over for someone who had something nice to say about Sen McCain and I couldn't find it. I mean, no one thought he did a bad job. He just didn't move the conversation his way enough. Time is something that's not on McCain's side right now.

Markets in Free fall
I resubmit my blog post of a few weeks ago. Is this what it felt like on the way into the depression? Asian, European, South American markets...they're all lower. As I write this the Dow is up a half a percent after the Fed cut interest rates. If you are someone who thinks the world isn't connected in a global economy...I'd like an explanation of what's going on around the world.

We'll watch these stories as they unfold today.
Please tune in at Noon for the latest!
PWD

All about babies, The economy and SIDS

Good morning everyone. It's Brooke today. I am the one getting the blog going since Pat had a meeting right after the show. If you were watching the show at around 6:15 or at the very end, you heard us talking about a "big announcement." We veered from the news for just a bit and got personal for a few minutes. We told you one member of Today in Iowa is expecting twins and then made you watch the end of the show to find out who we were talking about. If you didn't see the end of the show, we can now share with you that it is Pat. The Dix family is expecting in early March and couldn't be more excited. I'll let Pat share the details a little later.

And speaking of babies...
Some of you have been asking about Megan Reuther. Well, I can now share with you that she had her baby on Saturday night. Daniel Joseph is his name and he weighed in at 7 pounds 14 ounces and 21 inches long. She'll be on maternity leave until early December. Look for pictures and updates later.


The economy....
There was a glimmer of hope in today's news about the economy. The price of gas keeps falling. It's under 3 dollars a gallon and it could go down to $2.50 by the end of the year. But the bad news keeps coming at us like a freight train. Farmers are now getting break-even prices for their corn and beans. People are questioning whether the bailout package will be enough to rescue the economy. And people are resorting to giving plasma just to make ends meet. Jeriann had a big laugh over that one because she remembers doing the same thing when she first got started in the business. I didn't do that, but I did clean houses and work at a uniform shop selling scrubs on my days off. Let me tell you, it's a glamorous life.


SIDS....
I think this is a new parent's worst nightmare. I remember right after I had Evan, we went to the doctor for his 1 week check-up and I asked the pediatrician his opinion about Evan sleeping next to our bed. I asked the doctor if Evan stopped breathing, would I be able to hear him struggling with his breath? The doctor's response left me feeling scared and even more nervous. He said other than controlling your environment (which researchers think may reduce the chances of SIDS) by not smoking in the house and keeping the room cool, and laying your child on its back, there is nothing you can do to stop SIDS from happening. Well, with all of this said, researchers just came out with a new study involving 500 babies. It shows having a fan in your room may help with proper ventilation and temperature control and that may help reduce the chances of SIDS. We may never know exactly why children die of SIDS, but at least there is comfort knowing there are some steps you can take to lower the chances of it happening to your child.

Will the real Sarah Palin please stand up.
Did you hear about this one? SNL is in talks to bring Sarah Palin on the show. At least according to the celebrity news reporter for MSNBC. I guess that shows Palin a good sport, because while the Tina Fey impersonation is dead-on and hilarious, it's also makes fun of the VP candidate's intelligence. I guess SNL's ratings are way up... so people obviously cannot get enough of it.

That's all for now... have a great day!

Brooke

Wells Deal, Dealing with Disapointment and A Birthday Weekend

Good Morning...
If it looked like we're dragging a little this morning...we are. The TII crew didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Our new Producer Ericka is still getting her feet wet and so we're all coming in a little early to help back her up. It's one of the best and worst parts of this job. We get new people in often. If you hire talented people in a place like Des Moines....they're going to be tempted to move on. On the other hand, I love to have new opinions in the mix when we're deciding what should and shouldn't be in a show.

To the News:
Wells Fargo Deal
Wells is looking to buy Wachovia for a considerable amount of money($15 billion). More to the point, it's a considerable amount more than Citibank was willing to pay. The interesting part to me is, what would this mean to the Des Moines Metro? Any expansion of Wells Fargo can't be a bad thing.

Dealing with Disappointment
34 years as a Cubs fan and you learn to live with it. I had high hopes for this year's version of the Cubs but it wasn't to be. I had visions of my Uncle Bob this weekend (Cub fan extraordinaire) yelling at the TV. The choice words he had for Lou and the boys aren't fit to reprint here, but much like Bob...I'll be back again next spring. The Cubs are my team...

A Birthday Weekend
I was MIA on Friday because we had a visitor from the east. Our best man Shaun Lammert was in town to celebrate Sally's birthday and to play some early autumn golf. We played Friday, Saturday and Sunday; plus we managed to squeeze a little celebration in there too.
There's an old question golfer pose to one another...if you could choose a foursome to play one round of golf with who would it be. People choose Tiger Woods or Arnold Palmer but I think golfers who love the sport would always put someone like Shaun in that group first. I know there are very few things I'd rather be doing than playing a round of golf with Shaun on a 65 degree fall day.
We celebrated Sally's birthday at DJengo Saturday night. It's a new French place downtown and we had a great time. It's operated by the same people who brought you Centro and the atmosphere is the same. It brings a big city bistro feel to downtown Des Moines. I wanted to try about 12 things on the menu. We ended up splitting lamb. I recommend it.

Random Thoughts:
How bout those Missouri Tigers! Who spit on Chase Daniel? Why did the Bears ever bench Kyle Orton? If you haven't heard of a group called JackO'Peirce, you should listen to their new album. I think it's called Promise of Summer it's a return to the group's early albums. If you like this one, go back and get more of their music from the late 80's and 90's.
OK I'm out...
Have a good one
PWD

Bailout Take 2, Postseason Begins and Real Men Wear Pink

Good Morning!
We came in this morning to the News that Megan Reuther was in labor. We'll let you know how everything works out.
I also failed to tell everyone about our new arrival yesterday. We have a new Producer on Today in Iowa. Ericka Stoxstell moved here from Augusta Georgia. She's a Chicago native (on the plus side) and a White Sox fan (on the negative...but we won't hold it against her). We're excited to have her here and grateful to the people who've stepped up in the interim to make sure Today in Iowa keeps plugging along...

To the News
Bailout (or rescue) Take 2
So I'll ask all of you...is it a bailout or is it a rescue? What is Congress doing. Ok, I know that's an open ended question. The Senate decided to take another swing at this package today. The bill includes a lot of add ons including tax breaks and an exemption from the Alternative minimum tax for a lot of middle class families. The idea with the add ons was to attract some of the Republicans who voted against this bill the first time around.

Postseason
I'm not sure I'm going to get much done at night these next few days. The Cubs start their series with the Dodgers tonight at Wrigley. Should be fun to watch but there's a part of me that's nervous. I'm not going to go looking for a window ledge if they lose or anything but I think this is the year...
So I think I'm going to go out to the Mall to watch the first game. There's an event I'm participating in tonight out on the Lake at Jordan Creek. They're announcing their fundraising totals for the FORE OUR KIDS program. It's the Charity set up through the Principal Charity Classic. So I'll do that and then try to grab a seat in front of one of the big Screens at Champps after.

Real Men Wear Pink
I got a tie in the mail a few days ago. I don't usually get ties in the mail. This one is from a designer named Diane Katzman. Not sure how I got on her mailing list but the tie is one of 75 she designed to help benefit Breast Cancer research and treatment. The ties all have some sort of pink on them and are going to be sold locally at Younkers and Von Mour. Part of the proceeds go to the charity.

Hope you have a good day.
PWD