Still Cleaning Up, Getting on the Bandwagon, and Raising some $$

Good Morning,
I don't know if it's the new house or the fact that I haven't had a lot of time at the grill this summer but I nearly ruined two more steaks last night. I'm feeling like a baseball player in a slump. It's was still a pretty good summer dinner...corn on the cob and steak.
Great way to get back into the work week...

Still cleaning up
I hope we can continue to keep some of this summer's flood victims in the news. It's going to be difficult because the bulk of people in Central Iowa had minor or no flood damage at all. It will take months...even years to clean-up and recover from these floods. Amazing, the national media spent a day...one day on Iowa.

Still cleaning up 2
On the Gulf Coast the natural disaster that is getting so much more attention is Hurricane Katrine. Of course, that's as newsworthy as it gets. I've enjoyed seeing some of the stories they've done about rebuilding in New Orleans and some of the precautions they've taken to make sure the City doesn't flood again. I was talking to someone Friday about that. Haven't we learned yet? The minute you think you've built a wall big enough or a system that should keep the water away...it will impact someone/something else. That water has to go somewhere. City of Ames take note. As you talk about bigger levees or drainage areas...think of the impact that's going to have on other parts of your town/or downstream.

Katrina's five year anniversary was Sunday...

More on The Muslim thing
Newsweek has a good article about the misinformation being spread by people who don't really have any ideas of their own. Worse, the people that should have ideas refuse to stop the rumors, instead they say..."Well I don't agree but when this many people think there's something wrong...I don't know...you have to be suspicious."
Get a grip. Lets have it out over the issues facing the country...this is not one of them.

On the Bandwagon
-Mad Men won again for the best drama at the Emmys...I need to start watching. Maybe we'll go over to Blockbuster and rent season one.
-Jane Lynch is one of the best actresses on TV or in Film right now.
-Modern Family is funny but I didn't follow it all season...too much TV, not enough time.
-I loved Tom Hanks Steven Spielberg's series "The Pacific" but it wasn't Band of Brothers. I think that's why it got a lot more technical awards than it did acting.

Raising some $$
Thank you to all of you who came up and said hello at the Science Center of Iowa's Auction Friday night. With the help of some very Generous people The Science Center raised more than $75,000 in their live auction. Don't have totals for the other fundraising parts of the night. Aside from that it's a good party every year. It's also getting a little dressy!
I was the emcee, and part of the auction. Melissa Bernhardt's husband Jeff bid on a round of golf with me. That's Melissa on the left of the picture here...bidder number still in hand.
Someone else won a round of golf with John Bachman. Andy Fales agreed to host a party as an auction item and WHO-HD pitched in with tickets to Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon.

Great night and a lot of fun to be a part of.

700 and counting
Congrats to the team that puts Soundoff together every week. I wish I could stay up and watch.

Fair Fights, Pre-school visit and Thanks James

Good Morning....

We'll get back to a little news

More Fair Fights
So we find out in this morning's Register that now Des Moines Police are saying the firsts that broke out outside the Fairgrounds both weekends of the Fair may not have been race motivated after all. There are a lot of conflicting reports here and the Police had a much different story yesterday then they did at first when this story broke. So how many of you believe there are roving bands of young people randomly beating people up on the East side? I guess I have a hard time with that one. I think more likely there were some people who got out of hand after a long weekend day, or more accurately, night at the Fair. Are there racial tensions in this town? I think we've seen recently that there are. Is this a place where someone may have said something that would have escalated a situation from bad to worse? I would says yes.
It's been my experience when things like this happen that you have a lot of people representing accounts of the "fact" that weren't actually there. they may have been nearby, they may have heard it from their brother...whatever. That story gets passed on and so on and so on. Don't get me wrong, this was news and it is never good in any part of town when a big fight breaks out like this. But to hear some people talk, we are on the edge of race riots here in Des Moines. I may be woefully out of touch, but it I have a hard time believing that.

Pre-school Visit
We went over to the boys pre-school this morning to show them the room and introduce them to their teachers. It looks like a fun place. I think Mom and dad are going to have a harder time leaving them, than they will have leaving us.


Thanks James
...For yesterday's post! I wanted to continue our look at what the founder/what our government says about the separation of church and state. Here's one from The Washington administration...It's a treaty signed (actually by Adams) negotiated in Washington's first term.

As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion--as it has itself no character of enmity against the law, religion or tranquility of Musselmen [Muslims], ...

-("Article 11, Treaty of Peace and Friendship between The United States and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary," 1796-1797

Just a reminder, the Senate has to vote to ratify and the President had to sign that treaty.

Here's what James Madison had to say about the matter:

And I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one
has done, in shewing that religion & Govt will both exist in greater purity,
the less they are mixed together.

And I'm happy to continue the conversation...
Have a good day
PWD

On A Roll

Some of my Facebook friends decided I'd gone off the deep end when I started posting quotes from The Framers and the Constitution itself.
I may be but in the context of yesterday's blog, I'm getting very interested in how our Framers viewed someone's faith in relation to their qualification to be a part of the Government.

Most everyone quotes The 1st amendment as the place where freedom of religion is established.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

It's one of my favorites.
But the Article 6 of he original Constitution that no one ever quotes. I stumbled back on it this morning.
For all of the people screaming about following the Constitution...follow this:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members
of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

That seems pretty clear to me.
I would think that clears up this matter.
Then I read The Register this morning.

Why is it that some people who are asked about this seems to be hedging?

"She is voicing opinions. Whether they're correct or misconceived, a lot of
people have them. Is the president a Muslim? I have no idea. The only person who
can answer that question is the president himself."
-Wes Enos, a Republican from Bondurant who is on the GOP State Central Committee

It is an opinion that's for sure, but why wouldn't someone who knows a statement to be untrue perpetuate it by saying only the President can answer the question?
We DO have an answer..it's just not the one that allows anyone to continue perpetuating fear in voters.

The answer that is more honest sounds more like the one given by Jeff Coffman, treasurer for the Republican Party in Muscatine County.

"I disagree with her. In eastern Iowa, most of the Republicans I'm involved
with would disagree with her. I'd have no reason to dispute that he's a
Christian, and I don't think it makes any difference anyway. It's like the issue
brought up by some Republicans about his birth certificate. To me, it's
immaterial. He's the president. He was born in the United States, in Hawaii, and
I'm not sure why we keep bringing these two issues up as a party."

I am not sure either.
Back to the news tomorrow
Have a good one
PWD

Random Stories You Didn't see on TV

Good Morning...
I find myself almost unable to concentrate after reading some of the news this morning. Much of it isn't going into our newscast and that's OK. I'm not sure it makes a huge difference in your every day lives, but here I go...here's a few of the stories that caught my eye.

Iowa RNC Member Thinks Obama is a Muslim
So one of two Iowa Republican National Committee members from Iowa says the President is really a Muslim.
Previous posts will guide you on how I feel about this argument in general but here's a way to take it one step further.
Kim Lehman says The President's Speech in Cairo in 2009 is proof he is a Muslim. Then she backed off and instead says he's sort of nodded in the direction of Muslim's and that proves he's really a Muslim.
Here's what he said in Cairo as it appeared in The Register:

"I'm a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes
generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard
the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk. As a young
man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their
Muslim faith. ... So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the
region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that
partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what
it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United
States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear."

Here's what he said to a Christian publication about his own faith when asked the question directly:

"I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a
path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I
believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick
and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful. I didn't 'fall out
in church,' as they say, but there was a very strong awakening in me of the
importance of these issues in my life. I didn't want to walk alone on this
journey. Accepting Jesus Christ in my life has been a powerful guide for my
conduct and my values and my ideals."

So he answered the question. Still there are people who doubt the answer is true. I guess that's your right but if we're going to start doing that, I would like to include some other people.

Kim Lehman says she's a Christian but she said the word Muslim a lot lately. She is also trying to focus a lot of attention on the President...Could this be misdirection...I mean she SAYS she's a Christian, but...There must be some stone worshiping Celtic Tribe or Tree Loving Germanic Hoard in generations of Lehman's past.
I think you see the point I'm trying to make. How do we know she's not really a Pagan?

Actually I am in No position to question Kim Lehman's faith. It is hers alone and I take her at her word. I believe her when she says she will,"stand by that. I'll die by that."

I have a few questions for you bloggers.
Can you be an American and be a Muslim?
Is America only for the Christians?
Can you serve your Country and be a Jew?
Do we welcome all faiths to this country, but only if they shut up and look as much like Christians as possible when outside their place of worship?

We debated whether to run this story and decided not to. I argued that it's up to Media outlets to put the quotes out there and let people decide for themselves. Others were arguing that no matter what we said, there would be certain people who would only hear the headlines and believe it...Obama is really a Muslim.
I'd really like to hear what you all think.

Fair Fights Take 2
I really would like to think the two nights of fights near the Fairgrounds were just people being stupid after a night of drinking.

Daily Show with Blago
This was really funny stuff!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Rod Blagojevich Extended Interview Pt. 1
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Then there's this that I think dovetails off of our previous conversation

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Parent Company Trap
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Stem Cell Ruling
A Federal Judge put a stop to federal funding of stem cell research projects that benefited from the easing of restrictions by the Obama Administration. I just thought that one would be a talker.

Tiger Splitsville
Tiger and Eilen are divorced and that's probably for the best. Can we stop talking about this now?

Pre-school Orientation
So we went to pre-school orientation for the boys last night. No joke. I know they're 18 months old. It's not really school, it's a Parents Morning Out. It seems like a good program and we're looking forward to having someone pushing the boys around a little...it will be good for them.

PS- I'm watching a commercial for The Snuggie that's set to the tune of The Macarena. Seriously? A judge in a snuggie? This isn't an SNL skit right?

Have a good day, and really I do want to hear from you.

Fair Fights and Fair Fun and T-shirts

Good Morning and and welcome to the end of summer....
Most of today's news is a rundown of time at the fair....Hey everyone else has done it, I figure why not?

Fair Fight
The second of two fights happened outside the fair gates and after the Fair ended last night. Part of me feels like...what the heck is going on...shouldn't the Fair be a place you can go at night and not feel like you're going to be caught in the middle of a scene from The Outsiders?
The Fair, of course is not...but these nights at the fair set aside for this group or that...The Fair might want to take a closer look.

Fair Fun
I had a great time out at the Fair Saturday and Sunday. So many of you came up to say hello and that you watch us in the morning. It's nice to put faces with people who email or call in. I totally balked at the Fair Food. We took the boys out to the Fair Friday night because Sally had to work a shift out there. We had our Gyro and a Strawberry smoothie and even a lamb kabob...I think I'd had my fill. Plus, Fair food is pretty hard to eat when it;s that hot. All evidence to the contrary from the hoards of people walking by the Fair Booth. Here are some other observations.
-Maybe we should have had a "None of the above" jar on the table, but we wouldn't have known that until the voting started and we started getting feedback. once you start, you can't very well change the choices. Also, if we'd made that choice that would indicate some level of editorializing on our part right?
-T-shirts: Brooke's pick: Don't Meth with Iowa
Brad: PETA: People for the eating and tasting of animals.
Me: Lez-b-friends: on the back of a woman who had her shirt pulled up so her gut could air out a little.
Jeriann couldn't think of one.
-I hate people who do this and now that I actually have to make parenting decisions I think differently about judging anyone, but I saw a lot of kids younger than mine screaming in their stroller while their parents put blankets over them Sunday. When we had our kids it was winter and we wouldn't take them out of the house in February because we were worried they would be too cold. Why is it different when they're hot. I saw one kid crying and the mom slapped the kid. I'm not kidding. I saw some people who were around her step in and try to explain that that kind of behavior is unacceptable. Heat, a baby and the Fair...It just doesn't seem like a recipe for success.

Drivers Ed
Did you hear about the Mom that let a 12 year old get behind the wheel and drive a couple other kids to Iowa City. The Police pulled the kids over when they saw the car swerving all over the Road. I cant imagine what state of mind you would have to be in to agree to let your 12 year-old drive down the block much less 32 miles away.

Apologies...and Catching Up

Good Morning!
Apologies for not blogging this week. The week's activities just got to be too much. So here's a recap:


-We Moved. The weekend was a whirlwind. I owe some big thanks to my Brother Matt for helping us disassemble and reassemble cribs. I'm terrible at that kind of thing. HUGE thanks to our friend Linda, who was a trooper. I'm not sure we could have done it without her.
-The move took a lot longer than we expected because the movers brought a truck that was too small for our stuff.
-When the Cable guy showed up to install the cable...he informed me...they don't actually install cable. Sweet. The ensuing debate I had with the Mediacom customer service rep rivaled the one that produced the Bill of Rights.
We got our stuff from one place to the other, we had very few casualties (broken dishes) The boys and the cat seem to be adjusting.
-Monday Night, I went to bed early because we were headed to Washington for the Honor Flight VERY early Tuesday morning. The Alarm was set for 12:30am. At 11:30...i woke up to a bat flying around our room. That's right...a bat. I called Des Moines Police just to see if animal control was still around. The very nice woman I talked to told me they'd gone home at 10:30. She also told me I couldn't touch or kill the bat. Really? Yep, they're a protected species.

Well, what if the bat has a bad accident? I asked. We've got a ceiling fan...what if he doesn't see it and has an "accident"? The reply came...they're pretty good at navigating sir...
Not that good, I said...he ended up in my bedroom.
She assured me that if the bat ended up dead because of an unexpected collision with the ceiling fan, that it would be considered suicide, not murder.

None of this helped me get the bat out of my house mind you. So the Dispatcher suggested I try to herd the bat downstairs and out of the house. It actually worked. The bat was annoying and a little creepy, but he was also cooperative. about thirty minutes later he exited the building but I was up for the duration.

-So the Honor Flight was a long day, but I wouldn't trade that day for anything. Hanging out with these World War Two Vets is a real privilege. There's a reason the Call em The Greatest Generation. If you didn't catch our stories from Washington D.C., you can see them at WHOTV.COM. A couple of behind the scenes kind of things.
-First for all of the Firefighters and EMTs that went along on the Honor Flight as volunteers...thank you. These men and women made sure that a group of aging men go through a long...and at times hot day safely. There were any number of times during the day that one of these Guardians caught a Vet as he lost his balance or made sure the Vets kept hydrated after being out in the heat.
The DC Fire Department also shows up at each of these Honor Flights to help the Vets off the plane. They also gave us an escort into town...very classy! On top of that, there's a group of volunteers called the Honor Flight Ground Crew. They're local volunteers from the DC area that show up and becomes an additional support team for the Vets. They all deserve a Thank You.

-Home and a little sleepy on Wednesday, it got chaotic at our house. Not only did the boys have a meltdown at dinner, JT knocked down the tension gate at the top of the stairs...He rode the gate about halfway down the stairs and then flipped off the thing when it stopped halfway down. He didn't hurt himself, he just scared himself. He also almost gave his Mother an aneurysm.
I knew one of the kids was eventually going to fall down the stairs at this new house. As we give them a little more freedom, their world gets a little more dangerous.

-Thursday calmed down...a lot. Our renovation project in the Master Bathroom is coming along and I think will be done in the next week or two...life will get back to normal.

More News:
-Does anyone believe the Register just happened on the 2001 Police report citing Brad Zaun for harassment of a former girlfriend? If they did, they're not saying so. I'd like to hear what precipitated the article. I guess I would like to know, if they were doing this kind of background checking, why not do it when the primary was going on?
I don't excuse the behavior that produced the report and I have no opinion on the validity of the claims of the woman involved. The Register's Kathie Obradovich points out, and I agree...Zaun was the Mayor of Urbandale at the time and should have exercised better judgement.
Lets assume the things the woman accused Zaun of are true. My issue is that it has nothing to do with the current Campaign. Bottom line is that Zaun is accused of having a heated exchange with someone. ANYONE can file a Police report against ANYONE. The key here? No charges were filed and there was no pattern of this kind of action with this or any other woman.
There is no pattern of behavior that is disturbing...what's the point?
The point is to try to smear Zaun.
Congressman Boswell says he knew nothing about it and I take him at his word. He should, however, denounce the report as a smear tactic and look into who gave it to the Register. If it's anyone who is connected with his campaign he should see to it that he cuts ties with that person.
These two candidates should be talking about deficits, farm subsidies, education...the issues that effect the Third District. And please no comments on how women's issues effect the Third District. Of course they do...but this is not talking about women's issues...it's a chance for the Congressman to answer questions with , "well I've worked a lot on women's issues."
The Democratic Congressional Committee must really be worried about this race.

-And before the Dems in the Blogosphere fire off an email telling me I'm a raging Conservative...a little balance.
Are there really 24 percent of people in this country that doubt the President is from the United States? Are there really people who think he's a Muslim? This borders on insanity.
The bottom line is that people who spread that line as if it's fact are trying to make a buck off of it...usually as a talk show host. There's plenty to disagree with The President on if you are a Conservative...you don't need to conjure up a false impression to have the debate...unless you have nothing better to offer the voters or the country...and I think that's probably the case for the people who are putting this out there.

-To the most important issue of the day...I have the #2 pick in my Fantasy Football draft this weekend. Who should I take?

-And finally, please stop by the Fair table and feel free to debate these or any other points you'd like with me this weekend. I'll be out there from 12-3 Saturday and Sunday.
Have a good weekend.
PWD

Think before you speak?

Good morning everyone. Patrick is off today so it's me again. I hope you can get out and enjoy the weather today. Jeriann says it's going to be near perfect. We could use a nice day after yesterday and what felt like a downpour all day. I was surprised to hear we got less than an inch because it felt like it was more than that. I am thinking this might the right day to do the State Fair.

The newscast included a lot stories about flooding and cleanup. I think it's hard to understand what it feels like to deal with flooding until you've been there. One of the Red Cross volunteers said it best yesterday when he made the comment that flooding victims are like people who lose their homes to a fire because you can lose everything in a matter of minutes. Imagine returning to your home for the first time and seeing everything soggy and smelly. It must be overwhelming. Yet, you hear people say over and over that at least they are ok. We had unexpected flooding in our basement in June and had boxes of books and pictures get wet. So, I got just a tiny understanding of what it must be like to experience flooding. It's shocking and you feel helpless. Lots of prayers for the people who are hurting and putting their lives on hold right now to deal with the aftermath. And, I keep holding my breath for the people of Oskaloosa. It sounds like the Skunk River will begin to go down and the water treatment plant SHOULD be safe from flooding.

The other story that got me thinking this morning is the one involving Dr. Laura Schlesinger. She's the talk show host who used the n-word several times on her radio show while talking to a woman about inter-racial marriage. This morning I saw a great Facebook post about the story from a friend I have always admired. And it reminded me that speaking your mind should include thinking about the impact of your words first. Here's what Melanie Posey said: (She used to be a reporter here at WHO and currently works in Alabama)

"Okay... this is not about whether I think Dr. Laura was right or wrong in what she said nor is it a comment in regard to her decision to retire. But is is me passing along the lesson I learned from the situation and that is: regardless of what I think about anything, it is imperative that I watch what I say. A statement that takes a mere second to speak can knock down what has take a lifetime to build."

Well said Melanie. I am posting it in my cubicle as a reminder of the power of the tongue.

Deep thoughts!

That's all for today. See you tomorrow!

BB

State fair observations and an Honor Flight

As I write this, Patrick is on his way to Washington, D.C. to cover the latest Honor Flight taking veterans to visit World War 2 memorials. Of all the reporters and anchors in our newsroom, I think Patrick loves history and learning more about our veterans more than anyone else. So, someday when he looks back on this career, this is one of those stories that will no doubt become a favorite. I can't wait to hear all about it when he gets back. Last time he had a lot of touching moments to share and some of the most moving experiences seemed to come when some of the men opened up about their time at war. If you know anyone who fought in World War 2, you know how private and guarded they can be about what happened to them and what they saw while fighting for our country. It's when they do begin to tell you some of the details that you really understand the kind of brutality they witnessed and the sacrifice they made. And yet, they are among the most patriotic men and women we know. I think Patrick's stories will air tomorrow night at 10. One of the groups he will be following is 5 brothers who fought at the same time in different locations. Can you imagine the kind of daily fear their mother lived in? Again, I am humbled.

On a lighter note, yesterday I spent the morning at the WHO Cast Your Kernel booth. And this time I didn't almost pass out from the heat. I was also there on Thursday when we had a heat index of 115 degrees and I am pretty sure it was the hottest weather I have ever experienced. Seriously. So, yesterday felt like heaven. I am always amazed by how many people will actually take time to stop and cast their kernel. Most people who walk by will come over and vote... even parents will strollers and kids. It's as if people know the importance of having their vote counted, even if it is just a poll and a non-scientific one at that. Although we were a little disappointed Governor Culver didn't stop by to cast his kernel when he was standing in front of the booth. :) Terry Brandstad did walk by but told us he already voted once and didn't want to cheat. Anyway, we heard a lot of interesting comments. Here are some of my favorites:

*"When are you expecting?"
*"Jeriann's a Democrat, isn't she?" (To which I answered, no, she's independent like all of us at WHO)
*"You look better in person"
*"I am sorry... but the camera makes you look heavy"
*"Wow... you are a lot thinner in person."
* "Did you know we are related? My grandfather and your aunt are third cousins."

I also ran into some very upset people when they found out there wasn't a jar for Jonathan Narciss. I will say this much, his supporters are very loyal.

All in all I had a great day and I heard a lot of really nice things from people who watch WHO and specifically Today in Iowa. And I am reminded by the kindness of the people of our great state.

And I can't believe I am saying this, but I didn't have any food at the fair. I am saving my calories for Thursday when I head out with family. What's your favorite food? I always get the pork chop on a stick and this year it's the chocolate covered Twinkie I'll try. Lord, help me.

Patrick isn't back until late tonight so it's just me tomorrow morning. Have a great day.
BB

Water, Grounding, and Still Moving

Good Morning! I hope you all had a good weekend.
I'll make this really quick.

Water...
In Ames they're starting the work week with water. I would file this one in the "under-promise/over-perform " category. The City of Ames was smart of tell people what the worst case scenario would be. That way, when City engineers figured out a way to make the water work A LOT earlier than expected...people feel pretty good about the job the city did. Good Job Ames!
Meanwhile a lot of other towns are still dealing with flooding. I hope people get the assistance they need. I also hope the woman in Colfax get a lot of offers to help clean up her house. She's 80, her basement is flooded and she's spent the last few days volunteering to help OTHER PEOPLE at the local flood shelter. There's another big example of why I love living in Iowa.

Grounding
What a way to lose a golf tournament.
Dustin Johnson has a one shot lead and grounded his club in a hazard on the 18th hole of the Championship Sunday. He missed the playoff because of a two stroke penalty. I thought it was a crappy local rule that allowed the penalty...What do you think?
Meanwhile if Zach Johnson Doesn't make the Ryder Cup team, I'm not watching. Tiger should make it too. How stupid are you going to look leaving the #1 player in the world off your team. He's still Tiger Woods.

Still Moving
Many boxes are unpacked...many more still need to be. I'll try to post some pics.
Have a good one
PWD

Still Flooding, Scotch, and Moving

Good Morning!
I'm going to make this quick but we've got a lot of news to get to.

Flooding
So the Today show came to Colfax this morning. The IA flooding was their lead story. Inevitably we will get emails from friends and family around the country today asking if we're OK. Of course we are but it just makes me chuckle a little bit. The rest of the country is just picking up on the fact that it's a little wet here in the Midwest.
In Ames the City says people aren't doing enough to conserve water. The problem is, you can still use the water in some places to do things like take showers or flush the toilet. So I have a question for our bloggers. Could you do it? Do you think it would be hard not to cheat a little? Would you be able to conserve? What would your definition of conservation be?

Hot!
If the flooding wasn't enough, the heat and humidity added on it just brutal. This would be my least favorite kind of weather. I would rather it be 30 below and ten inches of snow.

LLWS
Congrats to the team from the Grandview little league. Watched a little bit of the semi-final game they played and lost yesterday. They can be really proud of how far they went in the tournament.

Scotch
Did you hear about the case of scotch from the turn of the (last) Century that they found in New Zealand? Great story, but why don't they let someone enjoy the Scotch?

PGA
Whistling Straights (site of the PGA Championship this year) is one of the places I want to golf before I die. My Dad was there for round one and texted me to tell me how amazing it was. That my father used his cell phone to send a text message should help you infer the impression this golf course made. Zach is still in the hunt at -1 as is Tiger and Phil. I will try to watch but it's going to be difficult with our schedule this weekend.

Things I learned Today
Someone wrote , "Low and behold" in one of our scripts and I'm pretty sure it was , "Lo and behold." Sure enough it is. Apparently it's a Biblical reference to Genesis.

The word 'lo' as used in this phrase is a shortening of 'look'. So, lo and behold! has the meaning of look! - behold!. Lo in this and its other meaning, which is more akin to O!, has been in use since the first Millennium and appears in the epic poem Beowulf.
Something not very far removed from lo and behold appears in the Bible, Genesis 15:3 (King James Version):
"And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir."
The complete phrase is first recorded in an 1808 letter in the Correspondence 1787–1870, of Queen Victoria's lady of the bedchamber - Lady Sarah Spencer Lyttelton:
"Hartington... had just told us how hard he had worked all the morning... when, lo and behold! M. Deshayes himself appeared."

I'm listening to a book on Columbus' Fourth voyage to the New World and it's really good. I learned this morning on my way to work that sailors on 14th century vessels would go to the bathroom off an area on the front of the ship called the beakhead. That was shortened to "head"
You learn something new every day.

Moving
We've begun the process of moving by taking a lot of stuff over to our new house but it becomes official tomorrow. We're picking up and moving out of the first stand alone house we owned. It's been a great place to live and has a lot of happy memories for us, not the least of which is bringing our kids home from the hospital. There's some nostalgia there for me but not a lot. I am excited to make new memories in a new place. Home is where my family is.

I will try to take a few pictures of the house empty and then of all of us moving...
We'll see you Monday.
PWD

Again?

Good Morning...there is a lot to catch up on so I'll get you caught up on my slacking off over the last few days in a minute...

The News:
Rescue
Is there a better example of what we've been talking about during flooding than what happened on NW 54th near Altoona this morning? Three cars decided to try to make it through water rushing over the roadway. The water swept all three cars off the roadway. Emergency crews managed to rescue ten people. Polk County Emergency Management told us two more are unaccounted for. If you think...I can get through that...you can't...if you think, it's no big deal...I have four wheel drive...it doesn't matter. TURN AROUND DON"T DROWN.

Flooding
I came home to find our sump pump working overtime. The thing I was told over and over as I saw more and more people around here the last 24 hours....everyone has water in the basement. It doesn't matter if your house sits high on a hill or lower in a valley; there's just too much water for the ground to handle. In the City of Ames, Our Roger Riley talked to the Fire Chief. He's worried Squaw creek is going to cut off most of the roads in and out of town because of flooding.
A lot of businesses are closing in the Ames area...they will be posted at WHOTV.COM for your reference.


Crazy Flight Attendant
Folk Hero? That's what we're calling this guy now?
I can't laugh. I can, however make fun of a news organization who went a little too far in trying to depict what happened aboard a Jet Blue Flight where a flight attendant went bonkers and quit his job.


I'm not sure we need to be glorifying behavior like that. I don't think we'll be doing any graphic recreations of someone going crazy and quitting their job.

Vacation?

That's where I was. If you missed last week's post I went fishing with my father-in-law.

We had a great time, great weather and I got a lot of sleep. Since these were my stated goals before my vacation...I consider it a success. For those of you wondering WHERE I was....,here's the website.

The Amyx family has operated the Rockbridge Trout Ranch for about 60 years now. Sally's Grandparents started going there in the 50's and I'm the fortunate heir of that tradition. Sally's Dad (that's him on the right) and I go down there each August for a guys trip.

If you like fly fishing, if you've always wanted to learn...it's worth the six and a half hour trip.

Now it's back to work. Lots to keep up with. We'll try to keep the blog current this week.

PWD

Round Deux

Did the rain wake you up AGAIN last night? It got me up. Jeriann says we got a few inches in the Des Moines area. But the folks in southern Iowa are really getting hammered. Again. We interviewed the Mahaska County Sheriff this morning on Today in Iowa and he said he's never seen flooding like this in his 30 plus years in law enforcement. In addition to Highway 92 flooding, a family living near a creek outside of Oskaloosa had to be rescued when water started rising too quickly against their house. To make matters worst, a fire broke out in nearby Wright, but firefighters had a hard time accessing the home because of flooding. I think we need a break. Doesn't sound like we are going to get it yet. Jeriann says more rain is expected tonight. Oh, yeah, and more heat today.

In the news..

*Airline attendant goes postal! Even though this story is a little disturbing, it also resonates with a lot of people. At least according to some of my friends on Facebook who were giving this story a "thumbs up." A Jet Blue attendant was arrested at his home yesterday after he had a meltdown on a flight that was supposed to take off from Pennsylvania. The guy was reminding a passenger about a luggage rule when they got into an argument. The attendant got so mad he got on the PA system and cursed at the passenger, grabbed a beer and activated the emergency slide on the plane and got off. It sounds like a scene from a movie, but I think anyone who has spent time on an airplane can kind of empathize with the attendant. You can see the worst in humanity on an airplane. And when you deal with this day in and day out, you're probably going to have a bad day. And apparently this Jet Blue employee's day is about to get worst. He'll probably spend a lot of money on legal fees and maybe even do some jail time. Still, it was a little funny. Is that wrong of me to say?

*Culver v. Branstad . A new Rasmussen Poll out shows Brandstad with 52 percent of likely voters supporting him in the November election for governor. Current Governor Chet Culver gets 36 percent.

Hope you survive the day. See you tomorrow. Pat is back and I am sure he'll have lots of fun stories from his fishing trip in Missouri.

BB

Houston... we have a problem

Good morning! Mondays can sometimes be a little slow in the newsroom. But this morning was the exception. When I walked in at 3:30, there was no power. A few lights and the computers were running on a generator and that was about it. It was a very bizarre feeling driving into work and seeing no stop lights, street lights and building lights. EVERYTHING was dark. You never feel completely safe coming into work in the middle of the night and getting out of your car when it's dark outside. But today felt very unsafe. But that was the least of our problems. Doing a newscast with minimal power can be quite an adventure. A big thanks to all our engineers and other people who work behind the scenes for getting us on the air. At the top of the show, we didn't have video to air and our audio wasn't really working. We also didn't have scripts because our printers weren't powered. So, I was praying prompter would stay powered. It did. And we eventually got power back at around 6. So, if you watched at the show at 5:00, our apologies for any glitches. It wasn't pretty but we got it on.

Ok.. now that the adrenaline is still working its magic... I have to finish helping with cut-ins. Sorry this is short. Promise I will write more tomorrow. Have a great day everyone! It's going to feel like 105 degrees. Welcome to August in Iowa!

Brooke

Breakfast IS the most important meal

Good morning everyone! Patrick is off today and hopefully enjoying the morning with his boys. As I write this... my hands are starting to shake from the sugar still coursing through my body. And if you look at the picture to the left, you'll understand why. Our newsroom is now a makeshift buffet table. Nothing says breakfast like Better than Sex Cake, Angel Food Cake, cookies, brownies and bagels with cream cheese. I couldn't resist. And, I had to try a little bit of everything. Don't want to do the math on all those calories. But, who cares. It's for a good cause. Two of our morning show producers are celebrating a birthday today. Happy Birthday Jenny and Chris!
(sorry for the sideways picture)

In the news...

* Bob VanderPlaats will put an end to speculation today that he will run for governor as an independent. If the political "insiders" and bloggers are correct, he'll say he's NOT getting into the race.

* More soldiers are headed out today. Another send-off ceremony will be held today in Marshalltown and on Monday there's one scheduled at Vets Memorial Auditorium. I NEVER ever get tired of seeing video of these very emotional moments. Let's hope the welcome home ceremonies include every single man and women who left for Afghanistan. Lots of prayers for those brave soldiers and their families!

* The tax free holiday starts today. Even though this is the 11th year for the event, I was still surprised by the items that are not on the list. Megan Ruether pointed them out for us this morning in her live shot. According to the state's website, you can buy a corset without paying sales tax, but the pencils and papers your children need are not exempt. Make sense? Not really. But I guess there is a formula to it all.

This was the funny moment of the morning. I called Megan Salois "honey" by accident. Not sure where that came from!

Eric and I are planning to take Evan to the Balloon Classic tonight. I haven't been to the event in ages. I hear they have fair food. I guess I am on a roll today! Fried food sounds really good right now. After all those sugar, I need something salty. By the way, the sugar buzz is wearing off. I need coffee!

Sounds like good weather for tonight and the rest of the weekend. Hope you have a good one!

Brooke

Confirmation, Constitution, and Gone Fishin'

Good Morning...
I love all you people but I need a break.
My timing couldn't be much worse.
I am headed out of town just after we close on our new home and get ready to pack up and move. In the middle of all of this, I am going to take a vacation. Sally gets
Best Wife Ever points again this year for taking up the slack both with the boys and with the moving preps. Her Mom will also be here to help and I'm not sure we could do it all without her. It's good to have such great family that is so willing to spend time with us.
If you can believe it I'm headed to Southern Missouri to do a little fly-fishing.
I am looking forward to the time with no phones, no TV, no computers.
There will be plenty of fresh air, some good fighting rainbow trout and a cold beer at the end of the day.
I will try to take some pictures or have my Father-in-law take some of the fishing trip. Good thing the water stays a brisk 52 degrees...It's going to be about 110 heat index.

The News

Confirmation
Elena Kagan is going to be a Supreme Court Justice. There will be a lot of Senators who vote against her nomination and that's certainly their right...but I tend to think of this as one of the things that comes along with a win in the White House. The American voter knew it was a possibility this President could nominate Justices, and what kind of justices they would be. The Senate's role is to Advise and Consent. They don't get to pick and choose. Just as Democrats had to allow the fact that Sam Alito and John Roberts were not only qualified, but that they would be good Justices; I think we'll find that Justice Kagan will not only be qualified, she will serve honorably on the Supreme Court.

Constitution
Fire up the emails telling me I'm an idiot but I just don't see how a California Judge could have ruled any differently. And by the way, this activist Judge was appointed by the Bush Administration.
I continue to remind people, just because the legislature passes a law, or the people vote on something, that does not make it Constitutional. If we'd had a vote on segregation in schools when Brown v Board of Education came down, separate but equal would still be the law.

Also, this Judge did not PASS A LAW yesterday. He ruled an amendment UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Now, that effectively reverses the amendment in Prop 8, but he did not legislate from the bench. I think we've heard that so much, there are actually people who think there is a new law in Iowa saying Same Sex Couples can get married. There isn't. They can't be denied a Marriage License.
Here's the Conclusion from the ruling:

Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.
Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.
Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and
lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its
constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis,
the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.

I understand the Religious objection and would argue to protect the practice of any religion that denies same sex couples the right to marry in their church. In this case, because marriage has also become government sanctioned and licensed, the Government cannot discriminate. It has to issue the licenses equally.

Let me know what you think.
This is a pretty hot topic so please try to be respectful.
Have a great weekend
PWD

Vilsack, Ground Zero and Coaches for Cancer

Good Morning!
Hope you all had a restful night. We didn't at our house. I don't mind it so much when the storms show up at 2am...it's when I get up anyway. it's when the storms show up 45 minutes ahead of my alarm that they're kind of annoying. That last 45 minutes is an important part of my night.

To the News
Vilsack
So this group is calling for Tom Vilsack to resign as Secretary of Agriculture. Why? Because he made a mistake? Are they accusing Vilsack of being a racist? If they are, they're barking up the wrong tree.
If we expect our political leaders to be perfect I think we are going to find NO ONE is qualified. Vilsack did the best anyone who's made a mistake can do, apologize, take responsibility and try to make it right.

Ground Zero
A New York City Commission takes a vote on whether they can tear down a building near Ground Zero that would be turned into a Mosque. I am interested in hearing what you all have to say about this.
To me, if this is a mosque where true Islam is going to be taught; where radicalism will be rejected, then it should go in. It's a slap in the face to the terrorists who tried to disrupt our way of life on 9/11. They WANT us to reject all Muslims. It would confirm their belief that Western Culture is bigoted and not as open to multiculturalism as we say we are.
Here's an example that might make you think of this argument differently...The Klan was a "Christian" organization. Does anyone actually believe it represented Christianity? I didn't think so. A religion should not be judged by its radical arms.

Coaches for Cancer
I get the chance to play The Talons at Tuscany this afternoon for the first time. I was invited to play in the Coaches vs Cancer golf outing today. I will report my findings in tomorrow's blog.

Goodbyes, Good Reading and Good Times

Good Morning...well it's afternoon but who's counting?
Brooke is off this morning so I am getting to this a little later than normal.
Here goes nothing...

Goodbyes
The number of Iowans leaving for Afghanistan(2800) may not sound like a huge number but now that we've started to see the number of going away ceremonies for these soldiers...i think we're getting an idea of just how many people will be touched by this deployment. it's is going to be a difficult year in Iowa.

Economy
We got an email from a woman calling our story on the economy slanted this morning. I think she was saying it was biased against Democrats. Unusual for the media to be called too Conservative but I didn't think the story was biased. I think everyone is telling half truths in the debate over renewing the Bush era tax cuts. I think like a lot of people who fall into a mid range income we wouldn't see that much change, unless Congress lets the entire thing expire. I don't think that's going to happen. I also don't think it's as easy as some people say it is...raise taxes on the people who earn more...that'll solve it. Spending has to be cut back substantially and even people like me have to start paying a bit. Does it make sense that I get a child tax credit?
It's not as easy as either side makes it sound.

Good Reading
I've heard and read people talk about our Founding Father is if they were intent on making sure GOD was an every day part of life in the country they were creating. There are those that argue documents like the Declaration of Independence and Constitution hold clues that these were men who put God first, and who wanted Christianity in particular to guide our laws.
So I picked up a book this weekend that looks at the religious lives of the Founding Fathers. I'll let you know what I learn. I suspect I will read about a wide variety of views on religion and government represented among the Founders. I doubt any of them wanted a National Religion.
Speaking of I have a road trip coming up. Anyone want to suggest a good book to listen to in the car?

Good Times
I survived Sally's trip to Dallas and in the interest of full disclosure I did not have to do it on my own at all. The wonderful woman that takes care of our kiddos in the morning came to the house as usual. Bedtime was interesting and, for that, I was on my own. The boys and I had to have a few conversations about following Dad's instructions.
I remember as a kid one look from my Mom or my Dad could shut me up and get me to fall into line. I'm working on channeling that look.

I think we've got a big brother and a little brother on our hands. We took Will and JT to Holiday Park Pool this weekend and again, it was Will with a fearless attitude. he wanted to play with the big kids and had no fear running off the side and jumping in his Mom's arms. Meanwhile JT and I were hanging out in the fountains and slowly checking out the wading area. I'm glad we've got two distinct personalities that seem happy to be themselves.
We just made a trip out to the crab pool in the backyard Sunday. JT practically had purple legs cause the water from the garden hose was so cold...he didn't seem to mind. Will decided running around the yard was more interesting than the pool.
Hope you have a great start to the week!