Seems like the Republican National Committee is disguising a fundraising letter as a Census form! I got this email from Congressman Loebsack of Iowa:

I was very disappointed when I heard from concerned citizens in the 2nd District that Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, has sent a fundraising appeal into our district that looks like an official Census document. This fundraising letter even calls itself a 'Census survey' and asks people to pay for the cost of processing the census form.

The Census is vital for our communities because an accurate count helps ensure that Iowans get adequate funding for schools, roads, and hospitals. It is also critical for flood recovery, and helping our disaster stricken neighbors.

Please look for your official Census in the mail over the next few months. It will not ask for party affiliation or for money.

That the RNC would target our district shows just how determined they are to take back the House. Please stay vigilant and please be in contact if you see any further attempts to mislead our community: info_at_loebsackforcongress.org.

I have not seen any such form in my area, so I can't judge the level of duplicity that the RNC has sunk to. However, it seems to me this could be outright fraud. Has anyone out there received such a letter? I would like to get a scan of it.
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Republican Senator Chuck Grassley has a 2010 challenger. Here is an announcement from Iowa:

Together, I know we can take on the Washington special interests and fight for a voice that gives relief to Main Street, not Wall Street. Help small business grow, instead of shipping jobs overseas.

We have the most educated, skilled workforce right here in Iowa, ready to get this economy back on track -- preserving the jobs we
have while also creating new ones with a renewable energy revolution.

It's an uphill battle, but with your support and help, I know we can do it -- together!

Please visit our website, www.roxanneforiowa.com, to watch our campaign launch video and feel free share it with your friends and family.

I am going to need your help in order to take our fight to Washington and represent the voice of Iowans. You can visit our website for volunteer opportunities and to make contributions to the campaign.

Thank you.
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This should be of interest to EVERY Congressional Representative of either party from Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota, the main corn growing states. From Rural Wire via Daily Kos:

Keith Bolin, President of the American Corn Growers Association (ACGA) called upon the U.S. Congress to pass healthcare reform legislation this year.

"There are a multitude of reasons that ACGA supports healthcare reform, but I wish to focus on two key reasons that have yet to be discussed – international competitiveness and jobs," said Bolin.

"Because of dozens of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements ratified by Congress over the past quarter century, America’s farm and ranch families now compete in a global economy," explained Bolin. "We are constantly seeking to keep ‘a level playing field’ on which to compete in this global economy. But when we review issues that tilt that playing field of competition, healthcare must be addressed. Looking across the northern U.S. border to farm families in Canada, which come as close to U.S. farming practices as any of our other international competitors, we find that they have a sizable competitive advantage because of their national healthcare system. We must have better healthcare options if we are to successfully compete with the Canadians as well as the Europeans and farmers in all other countries with national healthcare programs."

"As for how healthcare impacts jobs in rural America, I can tell you that more times than not, a farm spouse must take a job in town just in order to acquire healthcare coverage for the farm household," added Bolin. "I can attest that there is always plenty for both spouses to do on the farm but more importantly the off-farm job taken by a farmer is a good job or it would not have healthcare benefits. Therefore, that farm spouse is taking a job from someone else just because of the healthcare benefits. When viable healthcare option is provided to farm households, those good off-farm jobs would be available to others in our rural communities."

Bolin’s request follows ACGA’s annual business meeting held last week in Sioux City, Iowa, where the Board of Directors passed a resolution supporting national healthcare reform, including a public option. ACGA’s resolution on the pending healthcare legislation states;

ACGA believes that it is of critical importance that Congress pass meaningful national health care reform in 2009. Such legislation should include a public option to provide real completion in the health insurance industry. The nation’s farmers and the United States as a whole can no longer avoid this issue from either a moral or international competitiveness perspective.

September 1st is a special election for Iowa's 90th House District (Jefferson, Van Buren, and Wapello Counties). Let me introduce the Democratic candidate is Curt Hanson:

Here is a blurb from MyDD:

The Democratic candidate for the special election is Curt Hanson, a retired driver's education teacher who has won various teaching awards. Hanson is campaigning on bread-and-butter issues: jobs, health care, education, and balancing the budget. He doesn't mention marriage equality or the Iowa Supreme Court ruling on his site's issues page.
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September 1st is a special election for Iowa's 90th House District (Jefferson, Van Buren, and Wapello Counties). Let me introduce the Democratic candidate is Curt Hanson:

Here is a blurb from MyDD:

The Democratic candidate for the special election is Curt Hanson, a retired driver's education teacher who has won various teaching awards. Hanson is campaigning on bread-and-butter issues: jobs, health care, education, and balancing the budget. He doesn't mention marriage equality or the Iowa Supreme Court ruling on his site's issues page.
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Iowa got the ball rolling. New Hampshire, Maine and Washington, DC are making advances rapidly.

New Hampshire is poised to further advance marriage equality. From the Concord Monitor:

The New Hampshire Senate voted, 13-11, today to allow adult same-sex couples to marry, approving an amended version of a House-passed bill after a vote to kill the legislation altogether failed by the same margin.

The bill passed by the Senate recognizes a distinction between civil and religious marriages and allows religious denominations to decide whether they will conduct religious marriages for gay or lesbian couples. Civil marriages would be available to both heterosexual and same-sex couples under the law. “This bill recognizes the sanctity of religious marriage and the diversity of religious beliefs about marriage while still providing equal access to civil marriage to all New Hampshire citizens,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan, an Exeter Democrat.
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