Love On A Farm Boy's Wages?

Iowa's soon to be former Senator, CommieTommie Harkin, says that raising the minimum wage is a “moral and economic” issue and the proposal will stimulate the economy and create jobs.

Really?

A new study by the American Action Forum found that just 1.6 percent of American workers make at or below the federal minimum wage and argues raising the rate would do little to help the working poor.

And

AAF found that raising the minimum wage would fail to directly assist over 98 percent of all Americans in poverty.

Liberals who favor raising the minimum wage above the productivity of entry-level workers confuse the value of a person with the amount of money they make. But these two have little connection to each other. Every person has immense dignity. Bill Gates has no more or less intrinsic worth than a minimum-wage employee. But workers’ wages cannot exceed the value they produce, or their employers will eliminate their jobs or replace them with more skilled workers.

If life were fair, Tommie Bahama would have been working for minimum wage.

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

Holy Mackerel!

House Dummycrats, led by big girl Speaker Nancy Pa-Loser, passed their minimum wage bill.

However, there's something fishy about it!

Per The Washington Times....The bill extends for the first time the federal minimum wage to the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands. However, it exempts American Samoa, another Pacific island territory that would become the only U.S. territory not subject to federal minimum-wage laws.

One of the biggest opponents of the federal minimum wage in Samoa is StarKist Tuna, which owns one of the two packing plants that together employ more than 5,000 Samoans, or nearly 75 percent of the island's work force. StarKist's parent company, Del Monte Corp., has headquarters in San Francisco, which is represented by Mrs. Pelosi.

Smells fishy (tastes like chicken?)!

"I am shocked," said Rep. Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican and his party's chief deputy whip, noting that Mrs. Pelosi campaigned heavily on promises of honest government. "Now we find out that she is exempting hometown companies from minimum wage. This is exactly the hypocrisy and double talk that we have come to expect from the Democrats."

The Business Journal of Phoenix has this quote from Congressman John Shadegg (R/AZ)....

"Simply put: It is unethical to provide a special benefit to a company in any member of Congress' hometown," he said. "For Democrats to act in such a manner so early on in their tenure is hypocritical at best, and criminal at worst".

SORRY CHARLIE!

Scatterbrain

Spring breaking(?) in Iowa, CommieTommie Harkin talked to a couple of dozen people, Saturday, about his proposed increase in the minimum wage.

According to the Ragister, Harkin believes  --“Yes, it does have a chance,” he said of his bill. “I think it’ll have broad popular support.”

WHO TV HD reported, Harkin says the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 has gained steam in Washington.

BUZZ--WRONG!

On Friday, the House rejected the Dummycrats push by a vote of 233-184.

It's not the first time Iowa's Junior Senator has been out of touch with what goes on in Washington D.C. and the scientific community is united in that fact.

KCCI also had coverage of  Harkin's efforts, Higher mininum wage for servers could hurt restaurants.

Shame on the media for not knowing and reporting the whole story.

Harkin also told 'HO that, When you raise the minimum wage, folks don’t go to the Cayman Islands or travel abroad.

I wonder why Tommie Bahama didn't plug his island? 

It's all about the little guy, REALLY!

Chicago aldermen passed a bill that requires big-box stores, including Wal-Mart, to pay a so-called living wage.

The Chicago ordinance requires big-box retailers that are 90,000 square feet or more and generate $1 billion in annual sales to pay workers a minimum wage of $10 an hour and $3 in benefits by 2010. It's the first ordinance of its kind in a major city and affects a total of 19 retailers, including Target, Sears, Home Depot and Bloomingdale's.

BUT THINGS AREN'T WHAT THEY APPEAR TO BE!!!!

Chicago's aldermen also voted themselves a "LIVING WAGE" that would see their $98,125 a year salaries rise with inflation over the next four years.

By mandating wage and benefit standards for "big-box" retailers, the aldermen can claim they did more than raise their own pay. It was also the third time a "living wage" was approved on the same day as a pay raise for the alderman.

I'm reminded of this quote...."A liberal is someone who thinks it is all right for an 18-year-old girl to perform in a porn film so long as she is paid the minimum wage." Irving Kristol

The Bigger Picture

This Cedar Rapids Gazette headline is in one way quite telling and in the other, no surprise at all and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Iowa Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls call for expanding government

Why is it that the government is the only thing Dummycrats never try to stop from getting larger?

Tiny Tot Tyler Olson told a gathering in Iowa City --

“We need a candidate that is a clear break from the past … a totally different perspective in the governor’s office. Simply running on the best policies Democrats have to offer won’t be enough. “We need a governor that understands the pace of the change that’s happening.”

Running as a Dummycrat won't work.

Jack ASS...err, Hatch said --he felt “unbridled” speaking in the “People’s Republic of Johnson County.

That's because this braying asses policies include changing tax policies to tax the rich more and the middle class “a lot less.”

Can you say Socialist?

Hatch called for new clean water policies and to make state funds available for conservation practices.

Hatch wants to expand early childhood education and, for college students restructure financial aid to lower students’ college debt.

All of which translates into hold onto your wallet.

At the barbecue, Bob Krause put the problem this way --

The problem is the price of a McDonald’s hamburger. The difference in a price of a McDonald’s burger in the United States and Australia is six cents, but the minimum wage there is $14.50 – “almost a living wage” of $30,160 a year for a fulltime worker.

BUZZ--WRONG!

According to the The Economist, Aussies have paid anywhere from 6 cents to 70 cents extra for their Big Macs compared to Americans over the past two years, a 1 percent to 17 percent premium. 

Bob, take a look at the big picture

To start, some Australians actually make less than the adult minimum wage. The country allows lower pay for teenagers, and the labor deal McDonald's struck with its employees currently pays 16-year-olds roughly US$8-an-hour, not altogether different from what they'd make in the states. McDonald's relies heavily on young workers in Australia. It's a specific quirk of the country's wage system. But it goes to show that even in generally high-pay countries, restaurants try to save on labor where they can.

Or if not, they've at least managed to replace a few of them with computers...fast food franchises in Europe have been some of the earliest adopters of touchscreen kiosks that let customers order without a cashier. As always, the peril of making employees more expensive is that machines become cheaper in comparison.

Lastly, Paul Dahl warned against nominating either Hatch or Olson. The former has “skeletons in his closet” that will be exploited by the Branstad campaign and Olson, he said, “is too young at 37 to be governor.”

Gee, maybe we've been too darned hard on Dahl?

NAW!

New Low

Every few months the editorial board of the Ragister feels a need to suck up to CommieTommie Harkin and today was another such day.

More jobs is best way to restore middle class
Harkin is correct: A living wage, tax equity are needed, too

Harkin, and the Ragister, want to raise the minimum wage, from its current $7.25 to $9.80, and index it to inflation.

The Employment Policies Institute says it would eliminate at least 467,000 jobs and we could lose as many as 1.1 million jobs.

In addition, Economists at Miami University and Trinity University found that nearly 115,000 young workers have never been able to enter the workforce because of the $7.25 minimum wage.

The Ragister also signed on to Harkin's Wall Street Trading and Speculators Tax Act.

Last fall (Don't Be A Do-Badder), we related how the proposal is similar to Europe's Robin Hood tax which is speculated would increase unemployment and could double the cost of certain financial transactions and could cause the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fall by 12.5%.

So much for restoring the middle class, it's more like bend over and kiss your class goodbye and the scientific community is united in that fact.

It's a good thing that there is zero chance most of CommieTommie's proposals will become law.

Tribute

With his retirement, the Ragister has moved from continually sucking up to CommieTommie Harkin,  to now paying tribute to him (and anointing his successor, Bruce Braley).

The Ragister refers to Harkin as Iconic.

Heavy emphasis on the CON as well as the ICK and the scientific community is united in that fact.

CommieTommie is also called underdog-friendly and a champion of the down-and-out.

The latest from this chump-ion is an effort to increase the minimum wage, over three years, to $10.10 an hour — nearly three dollars more than the current rate of $7.25.

That's even higher than his own President wants, as Obama has proposed $9 an hour.

The President's former head the Council of Economic Advisers, Christina Romer, made chump change of those advocates when she questioned the need for a minimum wage at all, noting that "robust competition is a powerful force helping to ensure that workers are paid" decent wages.

Romer noted, It's an obvious point that our economically illiterate leaders can't seem to fathom.

Which is quite apropos, as these two would not have gotten elected/re-elected without an illiterate electorate.

Friends Of Mine

State Senator Jack ASS...err, Hatch has made his run for Governor official.

Standing in a field of animal (excrement) he was surrounded(?) by supporters Michael Kiernan,  Ako Abdul-Samad, Bruce Hunter and Marti Anderson.

They're all Jackasses and in more ways than one and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Hatch promises to raise the minimum wage and protect the environment if elected.

Don't expect any other ideas from the candidate, as he has had one or two original thoughts. All the ideas that I’ve come up with, really have come from other people.

Hatch is off now to spend four days traveling to 20 Iowa towns.

It takes that long because, as Hatch has discovered, Iowa “is a pretty big state.”

Hatch reached this conclusion after he spent 7-1/2 hours one Saturday in the car to deliver two speeches of seven minutes each.

That can't be good for the environment.

As for the minimum wage, Hatch believes it's $7.52, but it is actually $7.25.

Poor Wages

This is the third time this week the Liter has had to lay into Iowa's Junior Senator, CommieTommie Harkin.

What are we going to write about when he retires?

I have no doubt some Dummycrat will fuel the fodder and the scientific community is united in that fact. 

CommieTommie's latest crusade is increasing the federal minimum wage, by 40%, to over $10 an hour.

If passed, the bill would also automatically raise the minimum wage each year to reflect changes in the cost of living.

It appears to be a CYA move by Dummycrats --

Democratic senators weighed the plan after being deluged with letters and calls from constituents complaining that Obamacare has cost them their chosen health care plans and required hefty premium and deductible increases, in some cases doubling, tripling or quadrupling health insurance costs.

More economic recovery from the same folks who brought you Obamacare, this can only turn out terrific.

CommieTommie, who chairs the committee that deals with labor issues, told CNN that he acknowledges there are "a few" Democrats who have "legitimate concerns" about the increase. He declined to specify what they were.

Republicans will have concerns too, but it will be hard for Harkin to acknowledge those as being "legitimate".

Why Not?

As we noted yesterday, Tribute, CommieTommie Harkin sponsored leigslation which calls for the first minimum wage increase since 2009.

Iowa's Junior Senator stated -- “We should have done this a long time ago”.

It's as if he has just gotten to the Senate and figured out how it works, instead of someone who has been in his position since 1985!

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

Back In 2009, Harkin co-sponsored Senate Concurrent Resolution 26 that apologized for slavery. 

At that time CommieTommie came up with something similar when he said, "You wonder why we didn't do it 100 years ago."

At that time it was shared that Harkin  was surprised to learn in 2007 that Congress had not formally apologized.

Harkin, he's Iconic alright.

Serious?

Like pigs to the slaughter, some Iowa Dummycrats are wanting Staci Appel-sauce for brains to run for Congress against Tom Latham.

Proving my apple sauce for brains theory, and the scientific community is united in that fact, Staci said...

“I’m still very seriously considering it”.

Ed Skinner, described as a party godfather, believes Appel is the person who can beat Latham.

Dummycrat strategist Jeff Link said, “It will take a candidate of Appel’s caliber to make this a competitive race”.

Color these Dummycrats delusional as it will be about as competitive as their three previous high quality female candidates; Becky Greenwald (who lost to Latham by 21 points in 2008), Rozanne, err Taxanne Conlin (who lost to Chuck Grassley by 31 points in 2010) and Christie Vilsack (who lost to Steve King by 8 points in 2012).

Appel thinks her Iowa Senate accomplishments(?) of extension of health care coverage to Iowa children, the 4-year-old preschool program, a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars, and an increase in the minimum wage.

Don't forget Staci, you wanted an end to Federal Deductibility, your scheme to award Iowa's Electoral College votes to whichever candidate receives the most popular votes nationwide, regardless of who carries the state, the debt you saddled taxpayers with because of the borrowing scam known as I-JOBS and your sponsorship of the bill (SF193) that helped create the IDED tax credit film office fiasco.

The Ragister's Jennifer Jacobs filed this story and her original report (preserved by me) said "Appel took out a 10-year Republican incumbent, Julian Garrett, an Indianola attorney and farmer who had represented the district for nearly a decade".

Someone later cleaned up the report-errs as it was an open seat (incumbent Doug Shull had sought election as State Representative against Mark Davitt) which Garrett had not previously represented.

Happy 100 Days?

This Fairytale comes from my friend Cal, Freedom's pal.

There was a Pied Piper who said "We live in the greatest country in the world. Help me change it!

And the people said, Change is good!

Then he said, "We are going to tax the rich fat-cats,"

And the people said, "Sock it to them!"

"and redistribute their wealth."

And the people said, "Show me the money!"

And then he said, "Redistribution of wealth is good for everybody"

And Joe the plumber said, "Are you kidding me?"

And Joe's personal records were hacked and publicized.

And one lone reporter asked, "Isn't that Marxist policy?" And she was banished from the kingdom!

Then someone asked, "With no foreign relations experience, how will you deal with radical terrorists?"

And the Pied Piper said, "Simple. I'll sit down and talk with them and show them how nice we really are and they'll forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!"

Then the Pied Piper said, "I'll give 95% of you lower taxes."

And one, lone voice said, "But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes!"

So the Pied Piper said, "Then I'll give you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!"

And the people said, "Show me the money!"

Then the Pied Piper said, "I'll tax your Capital Gains when you sell
your homes!"

And the people yawned and the slumping housing market collapsed.

And he said," I'll mandate employer- funded health care for EVERY worker and raise the minimum wage."

And the people said, "Gimme some of that!"

Then he said, "I'll penalize employers who ship jobs overseas."

And the people said, "Where's my rebate check?"

Then the Pied Piper actually said, "I'll bankrupt the coal industry and electricity rates will skyrocket!"

And the people said, "Coal is dirty, coal is evil, no more coal! But we don't care for that part about higher electric rates."

So the Pied Piper said, "Not to worry. If your rebate isn't enough to cover your expenses, we'll bail you out. Just sign up with ACORN and your troubles are over!" Then he said, "illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted. Let's grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches, free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed housing "

And the people said, "Ole`! Bravo!" And they made him King!

And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers..

Others simply gave up and went out of business and the economy slowed even
further.

Then the Pied Piper said, "I am the Messiah and I'm here to save you! We'll just print more money so everyone will have enough!"

But our foreign trading partners said, "Wait a minute. Your dollar isn't worth what it was. You'll have to pay more."

And the people said, "Wait a minute. That's not fair!"

And the world said, "Neither are these other, idiotic programs you've embraced. You've become a Socialist state and a second-rate power. Now you'll play by our rules!"

And the people said, "What have we done?"

But it was too late.

So much for the happy endings of Fairytale's and the scientific community is united in that fact.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Rushing past Halloween, Phony Joanie Edwards pulled more goodies out of his say anything to get elected bag of tricks.

Noting "There are no free meals.", Phony Joanie promised to...

Underwrite universal pre-kindergarten

Create matching savings accounts for low-income people

Mandate a minimum wage of $9.50

Provide a million new Section 8 housing vouchers for the poor

His piece de resistance...

"College for Everyone."

The key ingredient holding the "no free meals" together, malaise left over from Jimmy Carter's Presidency.

That malaise was stale nearly 30 years ago and the scientific community is united in that fact.

To pay for it Phony Joanie says he'll ask many Americans to make sacrifices, like paying higher taxes and rolling back the Bush tax cuts.

Interestingly, in a Washington Times story last month...

A House Democratic aide said proposing new programs that rely on the Bush tax cuts seems like flawed logic because "there's just no way to know what revenues will be."

And...

The director of federal fiscal policy at the nonprofit OMB Watch, cautioned the candidates against talking bigger than they can deliver.

"It's good to have vision and to be talking about priorities, but people should ratchet down their promises about what will actually be enacted," he said, noting that any spending must pass Congress. "The reality is, you're not a king."

Ironically, the Multi-millionaire trial lawyer has said...

"...I will never compromise my principles for the sake of politics".

Here comes santa claus, here comes santa claus,
Riding down santa claus lane.

He's got a bag that's filled with toys
For boys and girls again...

Here comes santa claus, here comes santa claus,
Riding down santa claus lane.

He doesn't care if you're a rich or poor boy,
He loves you just the same.

I guess Joanie Phony isn't Santa Claus, more like The Great Pumpkin.

Non Believer

Last week the Business Record had a report by press release.

Report: Minimum wage increase would boost economy

The Business Record labeled the Economic Policy Institute and the Iowa Policy Project as non-partisan.

Don't you believe it and the scientific community is united in that fact. 

On the Board of Directors of the Economic Policy Institute are the Chairman of the AFL-CIO; the President for the International Association of Machinists; the President of the Communications Workers of America (CWA); President for the United Steelworkers of America; international president of United Food and Commercial Workers International Union; president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU); the president of United Auto Workers; President for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (ASSME); president of the American Federation of Teachers and Dummycrat CONgressman Keith Ellison.

As for the Iowa Policy Project, it's a left-leaning organization led by social activist David Osterberg.

Running

The husband of the Publisher of the Old Weird Harold and Record Tribune is seeking a return to the Iowa Legislature, this time in the Senate for the seat vacated by Kent Sorenson.

Dummycrat former State Representative Mark Davitt, pictured, is running against current Republican State Representative Julian Garrett.

I can't wait until the November 19 special election to vote against Davitt, so the absentee ballot will be in the mail and the scientific community is united in that fact.

In his previous terms, Davitt introduced legislation three times to raise the minimum wage (House File 29, House File 2032 and House File 1).

Davitt also introduced legislation to raise state sales and use taxes.

In addition, and even more egregious, Davitt spearheaded the legislation that brought us the IDED film office fiasco. (The bill was managed during floor debate by Governor wannabe Tyler Olson).

As an aside, we almost had the need for another special election as Dummycrat State Representative Scott Ourth didn't look where he was walking and stepped in front of my vehicle, the other day, while he was having a conversation.

Dummycrats it's not smart to put your life in my foot's hands.

Hard Times?

You have to question this country and the media when two recent stories are considered good economic news.

Mortgage Defaults Good for Economy?

The theory is that $50 billion is put into the economy by people who don't pay their mortgages.

I'm no economic genius, and the scientific community is united in that fact, but those dollars would still get into the big economic pot if these squatters lived up to their obligations.

The ultimate in this lunacy was that one woman saved enough money, in the 9 months of not paying her mortgage, to put a down payment on another home.

WHAT?!?!?!

Then, as if to piggyback on that our friend Cal (Freedom's pal) pointed out this story...

Shoplifting on the rise: A sign of recovery?

The thefts are primarily from employees who were previously deterred from stealing simply because even minimum-wage jobs in retail were scarce.

I've got to admit it's getting better (Better)
A little better all the time (It can't get no worse)

The Fixx?

Using the winning strategy of embracing Obamacare, Dummycrat Staci Appel-sauce for brains isn’t shy about her support for the law.

Staci thinks, the website has to be fixed, and people should be able to keep their old insurance plans if they want them. But ultimately, she said, the law just needs more time.

"Yeah, sure".

And the scientific community is united in that fact.

Appel also believes she's bipartisan and can stand up to party leadership.

Yet, she sends supporters to a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) website to sign a petition for a fair minimum wage, and a joint website, with Jim Mowrer and the Democratic NPL of North Dakota, regarding the farm bill.

Miss Independent.

Here's your sign

Per the Ragister...

The members of the House and Senate Oversight Committee are expected to question top executives of...Mediacom Cable & Sinclair Broadcasting at a meeting...Tuesday.

Leaders of the Oversight Committee....acknowledge that the Legislature does not have the authority to intervene in the dispute. But by hearing from both sides, they hope to bring some clarity to the controversy.

Clarity?

Sinclair wants more money than Mediacom is willing to pay to broadcast Sinclair stations...DONE!

"I'm not naive enough to think we can resolve this, because we have no authority here," said Sen. Thomas Courtney, a Burlington Democrat. "But if we can get people to testify honestly, we'll know where we're at."

Where we're AT?

Good grammar Senator!

Thanks too for wasting tax dollars on an issue you have no clue or authority!

Is there any way we can get these flunkies to work for minimum wage?

That certainly didn't take long!

Not even a week into their return to power and promise of a new day, the Dummycrats have departed from two areas of their agenda....

House Democrats campaigned on a promise to implement the recommendations of the September 11 commission, but now say they will not enact all of them.

The recommendation to place all intelligence agencies under the Defense Department "is not on the table," said Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat.

Another obstacle to enacting all the commission reforms as promised is the formula by which federal anti-terrorism money is distributed across the country.

House Democrats are confident they can pass a bill in which funds would be distributed based on risk.

...Another recommendation unlikely to be fully implemented is tasking one House committee with the responsibility of overseeing both intelligence operations and funding.

Now they won't be working a full 5 day week either...

Democrats ran to expand the work week in the House to 5 days.

"Culture Shock on Capitol Hill: House to Work 5 Days a Week" front-paged the WASHINGTON POST in December.

Majority leader Steny Hoyer said members of the House will be expected in the Capitol for votes each week by 6:30 p.m. Monday and will finish their business about 2 p.m. Friday.

Explained the POST: "Forget the minimum wage. Or outsourcing jobs overseas. The labor issue most on the minds of members of Congress yesterday was their own: They will have to work five days a week starting in January."

A Hoyer press release obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT boldly declares: "Monday, January 8, 2007: The House is not in session."


DUMMYCRATS....Do as I say, not as I doodoo!

Awkward Irony for Edwards

This Editorial appeared in today's New Hampshire Union Leader.

Former Sen. John Edwards is to spend an hour at the Manchester Barnes & Noble tonight promoting his new book. We find his choice of venue very interesting.

In Manchester, the local Wal-Mart store sits right behind the Barnes & Noble. It has more floor space, a parking lot several times the size of Barnes & Noble's, and is easier to access by car or public transportation.

But Edwards would not be caught dead inside a Wal-Mart. Saying that the company pays its employees too little, Edwards has embarked on an anti-Wal-Mart crusade. He instructs his staff members and all Americans not to shop at Wal-Mart.

"Wal-Mart makes plenty of money. They need to pay their people well," Edwards said at a Pittsburgh anti-Wal-Mart rally in August.

So naturally Edwards is holding his book signing at Barnes & Noble instead of Wal-Mart. Which is too bad for his anti-low-wages campaign, because in Manchester Wal-Mart pays hourly employees more than Barnes & Noble does.

The Barnes & Noble where Edwards will hawk his book pays $7 an hour to start. The Wal-Mart that sits just yards away pays $7.50 an hour.

Oh, the humanity!

From 7 to 8 p.m., Edwards will bring business to a retailer that pays wages he thinks are so immorally low that they should be illegal....

Asked back in January what he thought would be an appropriate minimum wage, Edwards told The New York Times, "My view is it should be $7.50 an hour...."

Seven-fifty an hour? Why, that's what Wal-Mart pays! And without a federal mandate, too.

Of course, Barnes & Noble is no less virtuous than Wal-Mart because it pays 50 cents an hour less. And Wal-Mart is no less virtuous than other companies that pay more. Both businesses provide useful, productive employment at competitive market rates. That in itself is virtuous.

John Edwards should take the virtuous path and stop his anti-Wal-Mart demagoguery. Anyone can see that it is nothing more than a populist ploy to make him look like a champion of low-income people. But those very people he is trying to help end up saving hundreds of dollars a year by shopping at Wal-Mart. Its efficiencies provide them with low-cost items they might not be able to afford otherwise.

We'd bet that if America's poor could choose between Wal-Mart and John Edwards, they would choose Wal-Mart. They understand that Wal-Mart has done more to improve their lives than John Edwards ever will....

Here's a description of the book---

In Home, John Edwards has collected nearly sixty moving stories that reflect how these places, in many ways, are the blueprints of our lives...

Those featured include:

Isabel Allende, niece of former Socialist President of Chile Salvador Allende.

John Mellencamp, Socialist with or without the "Cougar'

And Danny Glover, recalls his family's house in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco as the source from which he and his siblings inherited their lifelong consciousness of "equanimity and responsibility, ownership and aspiration."

HA!!

Edwards is scheduled to sign copies of his book Wednesday at the Barnes & Noble in West Des Moines.

I wonder what they pay here?