Iowa Coast to Coast (statewide news)
From Salon: Sen. Joni Ernst, certainly has absorbed the first rule of MAGA: You're never in the wrong as long as you're "triggering" the liberals. On Friday, she drew outrage from her constituents at a town hall in Butler County, Iowa, with her bizarre defense of taking away people's medical care to pay for tax cuts for billionaires: "Well, we’re all going to die." The crowd, furious about her plans to vote for drastic cuts to Medicaid that will deprive millions of health care, booed her. Ernst, having absorbed Donald Trump's philosophy of always doubling down, responded on Saturday with a favorite lady MAGA trick: pretending to be stupid. "I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth," she sneered while walking in a cemetery. "So I apologize, and I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well." Ernst may play the mean bimbo for the camera, but she is aware that people aren't asking to live forever. They just don't want to die decades before their time, due to a lack of basic health care. But while most of the media focused on her act, her follow-up spin was, if anything, even more callous. She invoked Jesus Christ as the reason it's okay to let people die from easily preventable causes. "But for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my lord and savior, Jesus Christ," she smugly declared. (We can also bring up JD Scholten entering the race with this convo)
From the CR Gazette: Iowa poll workers will be allowed to challenge a voter at the polls on the basis of their citizenship status under new legislation signed into law Monday by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The new laws also make changes to election recount procedures in the state, ban ranked choice voting and make it harder for third-party groups such as Libertarians to qualify as a major political party in the state. House File 954 addresses election laws regarding voter registration, citizenship and major party status. It also bans ranked choice voting in Iowa. It adds citizenship status to age and residency under which an election precinct official can challenge someone’s voter registration, and creates new language on declaration forms confirming the voter is a U.S. citizen.
Cauc Talk (political news)
From Bruce Lear in Bleeding Heartland: Principled conservatives disappeared and have been replaced by enablers. I hear critics shouting, “Wait, a bunch of politicians still claim they’re conservatives.” But finding a true conservative among them is like finding a house with a working VCR. You might find one, but it’s a long search. First, it’s important to define what a conservative politician looks and acts like. Since we’re talking about new technology, here’s an AI definition of political conservatism. Being politically conservative generally means upholding traditional institutions, customs, and values. This often includes prioritizing individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, and a strong national defense. Conservatives often emphasize fiscal responsibility, free markets, and the preservation of social order. If we compare this definition to what’s happening in our government, either AI really is just a steak sauce (and wrong), or conservative politicians vanished. True conservatives value the co-equal branches of government and hold what the Founders built as sacred. Now, the executive branch is defying court orders, ignoring Congress, and legislating by executive order. Are conservatives screaming about these violations? No, there’s silence.
From the Daily Beast: Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard wants to turn President Donald Trump’s daily intel briefings into Fox News-type broadcasts because he “doesn’t read.” Gabbard is hoping to add animations and more dynamic multimedia elements to Trump’s President’s Daily Briefs, or PDBs, to fit his viewing habits and hold his attention, five people with knowledge of the discussions told NBC News. Gabbard also reportedly consulted with current and former intelligence officials on bringing in a Fox News producer and host to reshape the PDBs—which are usually text and image-based for national security reasons—to deliver the intel in broadcast form. NBC News reported that the process could involve granting the Fox News team security clearance to access classified information.
Wider Scope
A.Iowa
From State Scoop: bipartisan coalition of more than 260 state legislators from all 50 states on Tuesday sent a letter to Congress opposing a provision in the federal budget reconciliation bill that would impose a 10-year ban on state and local regulation of artificial intelligence. The lawmakers argue that the decade-long moratorium would hinder their ability to protect residents from AI-related harms, such as deepfake scams, algorithmic discrimination and job displacement. The outcome of this legislative dispute will likely influence how AI technology is governed across the United States. The bill is expected to go to the Senate in early June. Proponents of the contested provision, which the House passed in May, say it aims to prevent a fragmented regulatory landscape that could hamper U.S. tech firms’ global competitiveness, particularly against China. However, state legislators contend that the moratorium would strip them of the ability to address fast-evolving AI threats and protect their constituents. “As state lawmakers and policymakers, we regularly hear from constituents about the rise of online harms and the impacts of AI on our communities,” the letter reads. “AI will raise some of the most important public policy questions of our time, and it is critical that state policymakers maintain the ability to respond.”.
Factoid of the Week
Spencer’s Top 5 Demonyms
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