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  • A Snowy Linux Monday

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    A Snowy Linux Monday

    Happy Godfather's Birthday, everyone. Here's the weeks alternative operating system news:

    A comprehensive review of Ubuntu 9.10 ("Karmic Koala")

    Two o the things I do a lot are web design and astronomy. There's open source programs for both, and [...]
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    Posted: December 07, 2009, 7:17am EST
    by John

  • Sarah Sunday

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Sarah Sunday... and more

    It's Palinsanity in Sioux City as the Rogue herself goes to Sioux City to, ya kno, sell books, just happens to be in Iowa. O.Kay is waiting in line with the most devoted.

    Elsewhere:

    The expected has happened again as the Johnson [...]
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    Posted: December 06, 2009, 9:32am EST
    by John

  • Rettig nominated

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Rettig nominated, Senate candidates speak

    Not a surprise but now official-Janelle Rettig is the Democratic nominee for supervisor in the January 19 special election. Rettig handily won the vote at tonight's special convention.

    Self-starter Mary Jo Meggers put her own name forward but the vote wasn't close-76 to' [...]
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    Posted: December 03, 2009, 8:41pm EST
    by John

  • Conlin, Fiegen, Krause in Iowa City Thursday

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Three Senate Candidates at JCDems Special Convention

    All three Democratic challengers to Chuck "Public t*t" Grassley will speak at the Johnson County Democrat's special nominating convention Thursday night.

    Roxanne Conlin, Tom Fiegen and Bob Krause will address delegates gathered to nominate a county supervisor candidate for the January [...]
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    Posted: December 02, 2009, 4:29pm EST
    by John

  • So Much Election News 2

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    So Much Election News 2

    Bleeding Heartland has a much better on-the-ground analysis of Des Moines area local elections than I did: "If Griess becomes a rising Republican star, just remember that it could have been avoided if some people had talked Vlassis into retiring."

    Aside: Only [...]
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    Posted: December 02, 2009, 7:23am EST
    by John

  • So much election news

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    So much election news

    Many things on the Iowa scene in the last 24 hours...

    Probably the big news is the departure of manager Andrew Roos from the Culver/Judge(?) campaign team after just three months. On the record all is cordial, but off the record who knows? [...]
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    Posted: December 01, 2009, 10:08pm EST
    by John

  • Afghanistan: Obama has told us before

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Afghanistan: Obama has told us before

    Short version:

    Waaaay back in 2002, state senator Barack Obama told us that Iraq was the wrong war and Afghanistan was the war we needed to fight. But at caucus time, progressives pretended not to hear the Afghanistan part of Obama’s statements. [...]
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    Posted: December 01, 2009, 8:57am EST
    by John

  • Linux Monday: Karmic Koala vs. Windows 7

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Black Friday meets Linux Monday



    My latest effort to inflict Linux on a new user got more complicated, but more interesting this weekend.

    Like all geeks, my holiday family visits include a fair amount of tech support. A month or so ago my sister in [...]
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    Posted: November 30, 2009, 5:00pm EST
    by John

  • MMM is back

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 1
    Miller-Meeks joins deja vu primary field

    It's deja vu on the GOP primary ballot as three of the players from 2008 are facing off in a slightly different configuration in 2010.

    The big news over this long holiday weekend (four days with no post is the longest I've' [...]
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    Posted: November 29, 2009, 5:46pm EST
    by John

  • Thanksgiving Side Dishes

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Thanksgiving Side Dishes

    Just a reminder that if it seems like there's less on the ole Deeth Blog these days to check out my Des Moines Register stuff. Now on with the clips:

    New census numbers mean new analysis of the now year-old presidential election. Marc [...]
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    Posted: November 25, 2009, 7:05am EST
    by John

  • Running-Marquardt Wins House 33

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Running-Marquardt Wins House 33 with 78%

    And it's a Democratic hold in House District 33 in Cedar Rapids, as Kirsten-Running-Marquardt wins with 78% over Republican Joshua Thurston. One of the bluest districts in the state stays blue.

    9.5 percent turnout (for Iowa Citians, that's what we saw in [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 9:28pm EST
    by John

  • Scheffler backs GOP Purity Test

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 1
    Scheffler backs GOP Purity Test

    Back in the early days of teh interwebs, various versions of "the Purity Test" floated about. It was scored like golf; the lower the score, the less "pure" you were and vice versa. Some of the questions on the deluxe 500 question version wend [...]
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    Posted: November 23, 2009, 5:32pm EST
    by John

  • Linux Monday

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Linux Monday

    Second Linux Monday in a row as I try to re-establish the feature.

    Forget Obama's Nobel Peace Prize; these folks say it should go to Linux founder Linus Torvalds!

    Remember Chuck Norris Facts? We ubergeeks have Linus Torvalds facts: "Linus Torvalds can divide" [...]
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    Posted: November 23, 2009, 2:48am EST
    by John

  • JJ and More

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    JJ and More

    I skipped out on Jefferson-Jackson this year; I wasn't the only one as Tom Harkin stayed in DC to vote on health care and Dave Loebsack was MIA on “a mission out of the country,” which likely means some Armed Services related work on the front' [...]
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    Posted: November 22, 2009, 9:54am EST
    by John

  • Republicans set convention, too

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Republicans set convention, too

    And now the Johnson County Republicans have set their nominating convention. The Courier has the details and the party line, but the key facts are: Saturday afternoon Dec. 5, Coralville Library, Lori Cardella announced for nomination.

    Even though the petition drive was Republican-led [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 6:18pm EST
    by John

  • Johnson County Dems Set Convention Date

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Dems Set Nominating Convention Date for Dec. 3

    Johnson County Democrats will nominate their candidate for the Jan. 19 special supervisor election at a Dec. 3 convention at the Pappajohn Business Building on the UI campus. Registration begins at 6:30 p.m. and the gavel drops at 7.

    "We" [...]
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    Posted: November 19, 2009, 12:26pm EST
    by John

  • Team Cardella Over The Top already

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Special election: Over the top rhetoric already

    The Coralville Courier is really a must-read with your morning cup of coffee. Actually, tea (as in bag) might be more appropriate. It's a great insight into the mindset of local conservatives as the special election effort moves from petition stage' [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2009, 7:06pm EST
    by John

  • Mid-Day Clips

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Mid-Day Clips

    A good and rather objective post at the Iowa Republican on next year's primary for the right to lose to Dave Loebsack (hey, I never claimed objectivity.)

    What we all suspected: John Edwards wanted attorney general.

    What we all suspected 2: CNN [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:45am EST
    by John

  • Bar War in Iowa City

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Go Get `em Mike

    City votes to deny liquor license to the Summit; Summit owner Mike Porter (the political deep pockets behind 2007's successful no campaign on the 21 bar issue) sues the city. At issue is the policy of basing license renewals on the rate of PAULA citations [...]
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    Posted: November 18, 2009, 7:21am EST
    by John

  • Monday Miscellaneous

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Monday Miscellaneous

    It's Sarah Palin week and while far too many bytes have been wasted here's a couple takes worth reading:

    Jon Meacham at Newsweek seems to see Palin as the spiritual godmother to teabaggerism: "Her political celebrity is so powerful that it has reduced a large" [...]
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    Posted: November 16, 2009, 7:43am EST
    by John

  • Thoughts on the Special Election

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Thoughts on the Special Election

    So there's going to be an election. Date's set for January 19.

    First off, congrats to the petitioners. Believe it or not--and look back over the blog--I'm actually agnostic on the appoint vs. elect issue. Fifteen years ago, I was on the petitioning' [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 7:25pm EST
    by John

  • Petitioners Say They Have The Signatures

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Petitioners Say They Have The Signatures

    The special election petitioners say here at Coralville Courier that they have enough signatures.

    Developing; check back tonight for updates. var sc_project=288431; var sc_partition=1; var sc_security=""; [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 1:21pm EST
    by John

  • Weekend Events

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Weekend Events

    Some free plugs here for candidates:

    Kirsten Running-Marquardt, the Democratic candidate in the Nov. 24 special election in House District 33, is having a get-together at the home of Bob and Sue Dvorsky, 5 to 7 tonight. That's 412 6th Ave., Coralville.

    Rod Sullivan is' [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 12:30pm EST
    by John

  • UI Staff and Thinly Veiled Temperance Threats

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Thinly Veiled Temperance Threats

    Secure in the wake of last week's Iowa City election, the University's neo-Prohibitionists are at it again with. Yesterday's Daily Iowan offers this bit from Wallace Loh, UI executive vice president and provost, and Tom Rocklin, interim vice president for Student Services:
    We’re' [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 7:44am EST
    by John

  • One Big Long Tangent

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 1
    One Big Long Tangent

    Open Left takes a look at some of the reddest and bluest counties in the country and notes that enclaves of strong, historic ethnic identity plays a big role.

    Makes some sense to me; I mean, everyone knows us Swedes are a [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2009, 12:34pm EST
    by John

  • Taking the day off

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Taking the day off

    Veteran's Day is traditionally my outdoor cleanup day, as it comes at a convenient time just after election day. (I've got a lull for at least a couple days... after that we'll see.) Plus it's one of those rare days that I get off but [...]
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    Posted: November 11, 2009, 4:56pm EST
    by John

  • DI nails city election a week too late

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 1
    A little late for this

    The Daily Iowan editorializes about city issues:
    The city should also shift downtown police tactics. The police should concentrate their forces on the Pedestrian Mall — rather than inside the bars — and target public intoxication and violence instead of PAULAs.
    Gee, this would [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2009, 8:12am EST
    by John

  • Conlin Launches Web Ad

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Conlin Launches Web Ad

    The soon to be officially launched Roxanne Conlin Senate campaign hit the webwaves with a two-minute re-introductory ad Monday morning.



    "The special interests have had their turn, now it's our turn," Conlin says in the tag line (she does the full' [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 9:08am EST
    by John

  • Linux Monday

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Linux Monday

    With local election season over--or at least on hold until Friday's petition deadline for a special supervisor election--I'm trying to revive some of my other writing habits. It's Monday, so that means Linux.

    Geeks out there know that the much-promoted launch of Windows 7 coincided with' [...]
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    Posted: November 09, 2009, 7:51am EST
    by John

  • Saturday Clips

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Saturday Clips

    There's only one story in Iowa City today, of course, but here's a few other things:

    It's an administrative recount Monday in University Heights to double-check the two vote margin. The best part here: In the Iowa Code, recounts are covered under section 50.50. Think about' [...]
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    Posted: November 07, 2009, 9:44am EST
    by John

  • November Johnson County Dems

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    November Johnson County Dems

    After a longer than usual gap the Johnson County Democrats are back. No liveblog thanks to my once-again out of action laptop but here's some highlights:

    A unanimous endorsement of a One Iowa resolution opposing the constitutional amendement against marriage equality. (There's a double [...]
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    Posted: November 05, 2009, 9:19pm EST
    by John

  • City Election Wrap-Up

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Well, That's Over

    Aaaand... just like the primary. Near-record low turnout and Susan Mims and Terry Dickens win with almost identical percentages as they had four weeks ago: 75 and 70 respectively.

    It used to be progressive orthodoxy in Iowa City that the students should be represented, but' [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 10:54pm EST
    by John

  • Things to Watch Tuesday

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Things to Watch Tuesday

    The DI chimes in with an election morning endorsement of Connie Champion, Dan Tallon and, again, Susan Mims: "While many have lined up behind UI senior Jeff Shipley, we view it as more important for a candidate to substantively represent student and community interests" [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 7:34am EST
    by John

  • Iowa City Election: Slow Weekend Voting

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    The Townies Don't Care Either

    Last week's early voting on campus showed how disinterested students were in getting out to vote for fellow students Jeff Shipley and Dan Tallon. But weekend voting has illustrated that the Lifelong Residents and Taxpayers are either confident in a Susan Mims-Terry Dickens landslide, [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 7:05am EST
    by John

  • Vote Tallon and Shipley

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    A tantrum in the voting booth

    Today is a great day to live in Iowa City, as town and gown come together to celebrate.

    But before we all settle in for the game, let me tell you about my absolute least favorite thing about my beloved, adopted [...]
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    Posted: October 31, 2009, 6:00am EDT
    by John

  • Rettig Appointed2-1 vote with Treasurer ...

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Rettig Appointed

    2-1 vote with Treasurer Tom Kriz backing Mike Lehman.

    Quoted at the meeting: post-appointmment, applicant and Newport Road resident Greg Pickett said, "thank you for not overturning the election." (Refresher course: the late supervisor Larry Meyers had knocked off Lehman in the 2006 primary over [...]
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    Posted: October 30, 2009, 9:33am EDT
    by John

  • PC Endorsements

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    PC Endorses the Predictable

    Friday's big news of course is the supervisor appointment, but the forgotten city election keeps rolling with the Press-Citizen endorsements for... of course, Dickens, Mims, Champion:
    Although we appreciate the number of ideas that Tallon and Shipley bring to this debate, they have suggested' [...]
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    Posted: October 30, 2009, 7:50am EDT
    by John

  • Iowa City Summary

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Thursday Afternoon City Election Update

    Satellite voting on campus has come to an end and I've run out of anti-superlatives to describe how bad it did. 22 voters at Schaeffer and 28 at the Old Capitol Mall brings the eight site, four day campus total to 153. Compare that' [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 6:04pm EDT
    by John

  • Thursday Morning Coffee

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Thursday Morning Coffee

    Five days to election day and I'm slacking a bit on the writing, sorry folks. Here's the factoids you need:

    Another slooooow day of voting on campus with 37 at the UI library and a mere SEVEN at Hillcrest. Today: Old Capitol Mall and Schaeffer [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 6:29am EDT
    by John

  • Midweek Roundup

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Midweek Roundup

    No news to speak of at the Adler journalism building as a mere FIVE voters exercised the franchise at the satellite site. Burge fared a little better with 31 people... but compare that to 945 two years ago. Student city council candidates: now officially 97 percent less [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2009, 7:36am EDT
    by John

  • Campus Satellites Fizzle on Day One

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Campus Satellites Fizzle on Day One

    Campus satellite voting sites were drowned in waves of apathy Monday with less that two dozen voters participating.

    Pappajohn Business say only 17 voters, while Mayflower Hall was in single digits with a mere six. (Two years ago today, in the 21 [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 6:32pm EDT
    by John

  • Johnson County Dems BBQ

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Loebsack, Senate Contenders at JC Dems BBQ



    "Because we've been pusing hard in on the public option, we're beginning to see some movement in the Senate," Congressman Dave Loebsack told the 150 or so Democrats gathered in Hills Saturdayfor the Johnson County Democrats fall barbecue. "We" [...]
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    Posted: October 25, 2009, 12:01am EDT
    by John

  • Iowa City faces quietest election ever

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Iowa City faces quietest election ever

    The 2007 Iowa City election was like no other in city history, as a massive wave of student voters was pulled to the polls with the gravitational force of a black hole by a ballot initiative that would have kept those under 21 [...]
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    Posted: October 24, 2009, 5:42am EDT
    by John

  • Johnson County Dems BBQ Saturday

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Non-Mystery Candidates to Hills Saturday

    Well, the mystery candidate for the US Senate appears to be... Roxanne Conlin. The Reg has the scoop first while James Lynch at The Gazette talks to the non-mystery candidates.

    Those non-mystery contenders, Tom Fiegen and Bob Krause, will be in [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2009, 12:39pm EDT
    by John

  • Palin vs. Palin at the bookstore

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    A Pair of Palins



    It's Palin vs. Palin at the bookstore November 17 as the editors of the Nation make an intentional typo in the title of "Going Rouge."

    Official test: a nine year old can tell which one is the Palin book and' [...]
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    Posted: October 23, 2009, 7:03am EDT
    by John

  • Appointment Postponed To Oct. 30

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Board Appointment Postponed To Oct. 30

    The appointment to the Johnson County supervisors will take two days longer than originally planned. The committee of three deciders pushed the appointment, originally planned for Oct. 28, back to Oct. 30.

    The move was made to accommodate applicant Edgar Thornton's schedule. [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 5:05pm EDT
    by John

  • Supervisor Field Down to Eight

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Supervisor Sweet Sixteen Down to Elite Eight

    The supervisor appointment committee settled Tuesday on eight applicants to interview for the Board vacancy. The Elite Eight are:

    former UI student government president Maison Bleam
    Iowa City Council member Mike O'Donnell
    former supervisor Michael Lehman
    supervisor candidate Janelle Rettig[...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 5:23pm EDT
    by John

  • Two GOP Clips

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Two GOP Clips

    I always read Republican blogs and the Iowa Republican has two good posts:

    Craig Robinson has a must-read: [Is Romney Planning to Bypass Iowa?] It's not a viable strategy for a Democrat, as Hillary Clinton got roped in against [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 7:45am EDT
    by John

  • Supervisor applicant geography

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Supervisor applicant geography

    Since commentators asked, here's the geography on the 16 supervisor applicants.

    Badgett: southeast side Iowa City
    Bandy: North Liberty
    Bickford: rural West Branch
    Bleam: near west side, student apartments
    Dahms: North Corridor, Penn Township
    Dils: Tiffin
    Green: east side
    Knapp: Longfellow area
    Lehman: south rural,' [...]
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    Posted: October 19, 2009, 5:54pm EDT
    by John

  • Supervisor Vacancy Factoids

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Supervisor Vacancy Factoids

    It's bad journalistic form to start with a disclaimer, but it's well known that I work for one of the deciders on the Johnson County supervisor vacancy. It's also well known that I'm a political activist in my own right.

    What I'm saying here is' [...]
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    Posted: October 18, 2009, 10:53am EDT
    by John

  • Supervisor Field At 15

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Supervisor Field Closes at 16

    A flurry of last-day applications brought the field of folks seeking appointment to the Board of Supervisors to 16, topping the Bolkcom bar of 12 who applied in 1999.

    The big name on the last day was Edgar Thornton, who appears to be [...]
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    Posted: October 16, 2009, 5:03pm EDT
    by John

  • Kos polls Iowa

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Kos polls Iowa Governor, Senate Races

    With Terry Branstad set to make it official today, the timimg is on the money: Daily Kos releases a Research 2000 poll that shows Branstad five points ahead of incumbent Chet Culver, 48-43.

    "The governor's race promises serious fireworks," writes Kos:
    [...]
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    Posted: October 16, 2009, 7:33am EDT
    by John

  • Board Field Up To Nine

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Dahms Applies, Brings Field to Nine Applicants

    Terry Dahms filed for the Johnson County supervisor vacancy this afternoon. With one day to go the field stands at nine applicants.

    Dahms ran for the Board in the 2008 Democratic primary but trailed the three incumbents, 700 votes short [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 5:07pm EDT
    by John

  • Rettig Files for Board Vacancy

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Rettig Makes It Official

    No surprise as Janelle Rettig followd through and formally filed Thursday for appointment to the Board of Supervisors vacancy. She's already publicly said she would and stacks of letters with prominent signatures (Mary Mascher, Joe Bolkcom...) have been piling up.

    Rettig brings the field' [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 11:53am EDT
    by John

  • Grassley Loses in Health Care Vote

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Grassley Loses in Health Care Vote

    The WaPo's Chris Cillizza lists the winners and losers from yesterday's health care vote and among the losers:
    Chuck Grassley: Grassley... took himself out of the negotiations on the bill early on -- effectively ceding any ability to influence the legislation. Grassley's pull-out' [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 7:45am EDT
    by John

  • O'Donnell Applies For Board

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    O'Donnell's Hat In The Ring for Board

    Iowa City Council member Mike O'Donnell applied today for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors vacancy.

    O'Donnell is finishing his third city council term and is not running for re-election. He ran for the Board once before, in the 2004' [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 1:58pm EDT
    by John

  • Tuesday Clips

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    City Election Voting Starts

    Voting started yesterday for the November 3 election in Iowa City and the rest of Johnson County's cities. More on that later. For now:

    Save this clip: Hillary Clinton says three times she is Not, not, not running for president again.

    Duke1676 [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 7:38am EDT
    by John

  • Dick Taylor to leave Iowa House

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Special election soon in Iowa House 33

    We'll see another special election before the Iowa Legislature convenes in January as Cedar Rapids Democrat Dick Taylor announces his retirement.

    Dick Taylor (always first name to differentiate from fellow Democrat Todd Taylor, who represents the next district over) first won' [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 6:45pm EDT
    by John

  • Lehman First Board Applicant

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Lehman Files Board Application

    Former supervisor Mike Lehman is the first official applicant for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors vacancy created by Larry Meyers' death.

    Lehman was elected in 1998 and re-elected with no opposition in 2002, but lost to Meyers in the 2006 Democratic primary.' [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 12:30pm EDT
    by John

  • Monday Clips

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Monday Clips

    I was quite happilly out of the loop and out of state all weekend (with good reason). Here's some of what I missed:

    Potential challengers emerge in two congressional races. Iowa Republican rolls out Dubuque businessman and conservative columnist Rod Blum to challenge Bruce [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 7:36am EDT
    by John

  • Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

    Last year, when then-candidate Obama visited Europe and drew hundreds of thousands to his speech, I wrote, "The world wants to love America again." Here's our proof:
    Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a' [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 5:52am EDT
    by John

  • Iowa City Canvass Done

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Iowa City Margin Stays Seven

    The city primary is in the books as the canvass completed today. Two last-second overseas ballots got counted for a net gain of two votes Mims, one vote Dickens, and no change in Dan Tallon's seven vote margin over Jared Bazzell.

    Also released [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 4:50pm EDT
    by John

  • Branstad Memories

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Do My Work For Me

    I've been pretty much all local all the time at the Deeth Blog proper the last couple weeks, since my relationship with the Des Moines Register started. But I haven't forgotten the statewide stuff, and the formal start of the Terry Branstad "exploratory" [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 4:54am EDT
    by John

  • Bizarre Bazzell endorsement

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Bizarre: Bazzell endorses... Dickens?!?

    So much for student solidarity: Defeated student candidate Jared Bazzell tells the DI: “I’m going to work with Terry Dickens and help him get the student votes.” So backing a Lifelong Resident candidate, rather then successful student nominees Dan Tallon and Jeff Shipley and [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 12:43pm EDT
    by John

  • Crunching the Iowa City Numbers

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Crunching the Iowa City Numbers

    With a collective yawn the Iowa City primary is over, and we have a contradictory set of numbers: a giant landslide AND the closest result in city primary history, both on the same night.

    But the night's big number is a small' [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 10:02pm EDT
    by John

  • Election Day

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Election Day

    You know the drill: intermittent brief updates, number crunching sometime in the midnight ballpark.

    Early voting was way low. Just based on the 546 raw requests, it's the second lowest of the last seven Iowa City primary cycles--but even that that's deceptive. The law on [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 7:36am EDT
    by John

  • DI Endorsement Shocker

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Daily Iowan Endorses Tallon and... Mims?!?

    No one would have called this one: The Daily Iowan endorsed Long Time Resident candidate Susan Mims, along with student Dan Tallon, in this morning's editorial.

    In a slap at the other two students, the DI writes: "Pro-business platitudes don’t dominate" [...]
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    Posted: October 05, 2009, 10:43am EDT
    by John

  • Press-Citizen Endorses Four

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Press-Citizen Endorses Four

    The P-C endorsed four candidates for Tuesday's primary, in one more example of our concoluted city council system. Don't try to actually VOTE for four, because that means you vote for none. You only get to vote for TWO, in both October and November.

    [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: October 03, 2009, 9:51am EDT
    by John

  • Bazzell, Shipley Finance Filings

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Two Student Candidates In Debt To Selves

    City council candidates Jeff Shipley and Jared Bazzell filed their campaign finance reports today. The third student candidate, Dan Tallon, has opened a committee but not yet filed the report due today.

    Bazzell and Shipley have crossed the $750 threshold that [...]
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    Posted: October 01, 2009, 4:45pm EDT
    by John

  • Voted Today

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Voted today. Wrote myself in.

    I'm still planning on voting in November for whichever two students get through the primary. I'm just agnostic about which two should. var sc_project=288431; var sc_partition=1; var sc_security=""; [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 6:05pm EDT
    by John

  • Dickens raises $15,915

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Squashing a fly with a sledgehammer: Dickens raises $15,915

    In an apparent effort to squash a fly with a sledgehammer, local jeweler Terry Dickens has raised nearly $16,000 in his effort to defeat three unfunded student candidates in Tuesday's primary.

    Susan Mims, the other "long-time resident" in' [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 7:22am EDT
    by John

  • Biden Keynotes Iowa Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Joe for JJ

    Folks should get a nice long speech for their money at the Iowa Democratic Party's big fundraiser, as Vice President Joe Biden comes back to Caucus Land.

    The date's set for Nov. 21, which also relieves Johnson County Dems; nothing ruins a county barbecue like [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 4:38pm EDT
    by John

  • City Primary Slow

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    No Waves of Student Voters Seen

    It doesn't seem like it, but we're only a week away from the October 6 Iowa City primary, the first round of Iowa City's town vs. gown election.

    Chances are strong--no, make that certain--that the final on November 3 will feature two [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 7:35am EDT
    by John

  • Committee plans to appoint Meyers replacement

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Committee plans to appoint Meyers replacement

    Johnson County plans to appoint a supervisor to fill just over a year of the late Larry Meyers' term.

    The committee of the auditor, recorder and treasurer has tentatively scheduled an Oct. 28 date for the appointment. The application deadline is Oct.' [...]
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    Posted: September 28, 2009, 4:16pm EDT
    by John

  • Monday clips

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Minimal Effort Monday

    The big local political news comes out later this afternoon as the supervisor vacancy committee has its second meeting. Till then:

    I find myself in surprising agreement with Art Smith at the Conservative Reader on term limits. (We already have them. They're called elections.)[...]
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    Posted: September 28, 2009, 7:46am EDT
    by John

  • Deeth joins Des Moines Register

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    A New Relationship

    I started a new relationship today.

    Don't worry, Koni and I are still happily married. My new relationship is a journalistic one.

    I will be appearing on the Des Moines Register site, and perhaps occasionally in print, as a guest political' [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 12:39pm EDT
    by John

  • Mims Mailing Lands

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Mims in Mailboxes

    Iowa City council candidate Susan Mims hit mailboxes with her first piece this week. "I consider myself a political moderate," begins one paragraph.

    Back of the flyer is a list of prominent supporters, duplicated on her web site. It's very similar to the' [...]
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    Posted: September 25, 2009, 7:26am EDT
    by John

  • October Johnson County Democrats

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    October Johnson County Democrats

    It's a week early but we're at the "October" Johnson County Dems meeting stuffing envelopes. Me moved it up a week to get the mailing together for the October 24 BBQ in Hills. Our guests of honor, it says here, are Congressman Loebsack, new state' [...]
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    Posted: September 24, 2009, 7:07pm EDT
    by John

  • King: Gay Marriage is Socialist

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    King: Gay Marriage is Socialist

    No one can mix Republican memes like our own Steve King, and today he hit the Daily Double by working gay marriage and SO-cialism into one sentence on WorldNetDaily (audio) today: "not only is it a radical social idea, it is a purely" [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 9:18pm EDT
    by John

  • Supervisor Vacancy Committee Meeting

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Supervisor Vacancy Committee to Meet Thursday

    The statutory committee charged with replacing Supervisor Larry Meyers is scheduled to meet Thursday rescheduled Friday at 2 PM at the County Health and Human Services building. (That's where most County meetings are happening these days while the board room's being rebuilt.)

    [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 11:33am EDT
    by John

  • Cheech, Chong and Cyclones

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Something smells funny in Ames

    The drug war summed up in two Des Moines Register headlines hilariously placed this AM (big screen capture):

    "Cyclones suspended after pot charges"
    "Cheech & Chong to 'Light Up' Ames"

    Who would have ever though that THIS dude was [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 7:48am EDT
    by John

  • School Board Sworn In

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    New School Board Members Sworn In



    Michael Cooper sworn in for a second term, and Tuyet Dorau and Sarah Swisher join the board. Congrats to them and to Patti Fields, elected Board president.

    Here's some random stuff:

    Why Obama's approval is "slipping" (sic): [...]
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    Posted: September 23, 2009, 5:55am EDT
    by John

  • Larry Meyers

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 1
    Supervisor Larry Meyers loses cancer battle

    We lost a great guy, a great public official and a great Democrat this afternoon. Johnson County Supervisor Larry Meyers lost the battle with cancer that had lasted most of his three years on the Board. Larry was 58. Visitation is Thursday [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 4:37pm EDT
    by John

  • Sorenson vs. Appel

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Sorensen vs. Appel

    Craig Robinson at Iowa Republican has a must read as first-term State Rep. Kent Sorenson announces a state senate challenge to Staci Appel. (Note to my Dem friends: no one ever feeds me scoops like this...)

    I guess that means Sorenson isn't going to' [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 7:37am EDT
    by John

  • Polls, Values and Marriage

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Polls, Values and Marriage

    A slew of polls over the weekend with implications for 2010 and 2012.

    Nationally, the big news was out of the Value Voters' summit where 2008 Iowa Caucus winner Mike Huckabee scored a good-sized plurality win:
    Huckabee took 28.48 percent of the vote,' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 21, 2009, 4:41pm EDT
    by John

  • Sunday Summer Into Fall

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Sunday Summer Into Fall

    As summer turns to fall, just a few personal observations:

    The Smallest Farm is in decline as the pole beans begin to collapse the fence. I'm still picking some, but I'm leaving the last of them to dry and go to seed. The purple [...]
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    Posted: September 20, 2009, 4:53pm EDT
    by John

  • Johnson County's Other Cities

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Johnson County's Other City Elections

    Thursday was filing deadline in most Johnson County cities. We've already looked at the upcoming city elections in Iowa City and an unusually hot University Heights because they have earlier deadlines because of primaries (which almost happened for the first time since [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2009, 5:00pm EDT
    by John

  • Tea Party Deja Vu

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Tea Party Deja Vu

    Check back later today for a look at city council races across the county after yesterday's filing deadline. (Gazette has a Cedar Rapids roundup: 17 candidates for six jobs and the ever-popular PT Larson is back)

    In the meantime: Who do the tea [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 18, 2009, 7:41am EDT
    by John

  • Will Iowa City Progressives Sit This One Out?

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Will Iowa City Progressives Sit This One Out?

    Under-rated songwriter Larry McMurtry once wrote a song with a chorus "I'm not from here, I just live here," in which he decries the aesthetic decline of his adopted town:
    I'm not from here
    but people tell me
    it's' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 17, 2009, 5:57am EDT
    by John

  • Live from West Liberty with Michael Reagan

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Live from West Liberty with Michael Reagan

    6:00 on a Weds and good evening from the West Liberty Community Center where I'm at my first GOP event since maybe the tax day tea party. Michel Reagan, son of Ronald, is the featured guest at a $raiser for state Rep.' [...]
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    Posted: September 16, 2009, 6:02pm EDT
    by John

  • Iowans vote party line on Wilson

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Iowans vote party line on Wilson

    No surprises this afternoon as the House voted to "rebuke" Joe Wilson for his Tourette's outburst the other night. Boswell, Braley, Loebsack yea, Latham, King nay...

    But what's with the 12 no Dems? Gene Taylor of Mississippi I get, he's' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 15, 2009, 7:22pm EDT
    by John

  • City Council Developments

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    City Council Developments

    Early voting started this afternoon for the October 6 Iowa City primary, and another sign that we're 21 days from the first round of voting: the first yard signs are sprouting.

    Light blue Terry Dickens signs are popping up on business lots (such as Pleasant' [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 15, 2009, 6:49pm EDT
    by John

  • Senate Candidates Krause, Fiegen Work Steak Fry Crowd

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Senate Candidates Krause, Fiegen Work Steak Fry

    "He's gonna get the election of his life next year," State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald said of Republican Senator Chuck Grassley. Fitzgerald got a big whoop from the crowd at Sunday's Tom Harkin steak fry.

    The two main Democrats hoping to take [...]
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    Posted: September 14, 2009, 9:55pm EDT
    by John

  • Harkin Steak Fry with Al Franken

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Harkin Steak Fry with Al Franken



    It shouldn't surprise anyone anymore that Al Franken is a serious minded senator, but still, you keep waiting for the punchline.

    Instead, Tom Harkin cracked more actual “jokes” than his guest speaker at the 32nd Harkin Steak Fry. Franken's [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 13, 2009, 8:34pm EDT
    by John

  • Friday Clips

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Friday Clips

    I'm slacking this morning but check back Sunday for reports from the Harkin Steak Fry featuring him, Al Franken. For now:

    Larry Sabato gets Iowa's 2nd District way wrong by putting Dave Loebsack on the lowest tier of races to watch. Uh... why? The only [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 11, 2009, 7:30am EDT
    by John

  • Grassley a Knucklehead

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Grassley on Knucklehead List

    Salon lists 12 Senate "knuckleheads." Woowoowoowoowoo. Not listed: Congressional nitwits, morons and nincompoops.



    "Evidence of knuckleheadedness: Oh, pretty much just the entire debate over healthcare reform. Grassley's the primary Republican negotiator on healthcare in the Senate, and Democrats have been working" [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 10, 2009, 11:37am EDT
    by John

  • Early Polls Say Obama Speech Worked

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    Early Returns: it Worked

    Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research: Presidential approval jumps 8 points

    Democracy Corps (Carville's outfit): Support for plan up 20

    CNN: Support for plan jumps 14 var sc_project=288431; var sc_partition=1; var sc_security=""; [...]
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    Posted: September 10, 2009, 7:30am EDT
    by John

  • Joe Wilson Takes One For The Team

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 1
    Joe Wilson Takes One For The Team

    I can only find one explanation for the episode of Tourette's by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-Asshole) during the president's health care speech: stagecraft.

    Joe Wilson took one for the team. They looked at the advance script, picked the point in the [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 09, 2009, 10:31pm EDT
    by John

  • Iowa CIty School Board Numbers

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 2
    School Board: Crunching the Numbers

    The Iowa City school district sees the highest turnout since the record set in 1995, and the highest in a year without a bond on the ballot since 1993. Big fields of strong candidates in local elections drives (relatively) high turnout. 6% in this [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 09, 2009, 12:01am EDT
    by John

  • School Election Day

    —John Deeth

    Number of comments: 0
    School Election Day

    Don't forget it's school polling places today and polls close at 8.

    As per usual on E-Day, updates will be intermittent and The Grand Analysis will be late. Watch the turnout by precinct, especially North Liberty.

    Also one nearby to watch: [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: September 08, 2009, 7:42am EDT
    by John

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